Yearly Archives: 2013

VOA Radiogram, 10-11 August 2013, includes MFSK 16, 22, 32

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VOARadioGram(Source: VOA Radiogram)

In this weekend’s VOA Radiogram, one VOA News item will be in the MFSK22 mode (80 words per minute), a mode we have generally not used for complete VOA News stories.

Another “feature” in this weekend’s program will be five seconds of silence whenever modes are changed. This might improve the performance of the RSID.

The Flmsg-formatted VOA News story in this weekend’s program is 9 minutes, 6 seconds long. That might seem unusually long, but it includes 4 minutes, 20 seconds for a VOA logo in SVG format as part of the html. This was created for us by Mark Hirst in the UK.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, 10-11 August 2013:

2:30  MFSK16: Program preview

3:26  MFSK22: VOA News re import of Apple products

3:12  MFSK32: Greetings to l’Associazione Italiana Radioascolto

2:10  MFSK32 image: AIR logo

9:06  MFSK32/Flmsg*: VOA News re one year of Curiosity on Mars

2:26  MFSK32 image: Curiosity tire tracks

1:10  MFSK16: Closing announcements

2:20  Surprise image, text, image of the week

*To make Flmsg work with Fldigi (both can be downloaded from w1hkj.com), in Flmsg: Configure > Misc > NBEMS — Under Reception of flmsg files, check both boxes, and under that indicate where your Flmsg.exe file is located.
VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

Please send your reception reports, audio samples, screenshots, comments, ideas, suggestions to[email protected] .

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The new Tecsun PL-880 sounds promising

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The Tecsun PL-880 (Photo: bbs.tecsun.com.cn/)

The Tecsun PL-880 (Photo: bbs.tecsun.com.cn/)

Last night, I discovered news of the new Tecsun PL-880 on Jeff’s excellent blog, the Herculodge.

Out of all of the current shortwave radio manufacturers, Tecsun seems to be one of the only companies making new models for the radio hobbyist–models with important features like SSB, bandwidth control, fine tuning steps, capable AGC, etc.

According to a comment Owl left on this post, it sounds like the PL-880 could be a performer:

Two photos of Tecsun’s new model PL880 appeared yesterday. It uses an analog+DSP architecture similar to ATS909X but has made some significant improvements (4 AM bandwidth + 5 SSB bandwidth) and better audio compared to previous Tecsun portables.

http://herculodge.typepad.com/herculodge/2013/08/new-tecsun-pl-880-on-its-way.html

I will plan on reviewing the PL-880, once it hits the market. If it’s no larger than my Sony ICF-SW7600GR, it might make for a great travel radio.

TecsunPL-880Box

(Photo source: bbs.tecsun.com.cn)

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Retirement Sale: Grove Enterprises liquidating inventory

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grovewebheaderIt appears that Monitoring Times is not the only division of Grove Enterprises that will close shop when owners, Bob and Judy Grove, retire.

Indeed, Grove Enterprises is liquidating their entire inventory in a retirement sale. There are deals to be found in their shortwave radio selection and entire catalog of products.

Still, sad to see this reputable radio retailer close shop. I’m grateful that Universal Radio and C.Crane are still in business. I’m a strong believer in purchasing from radio retailers rather than online sources like Amazon.com. No doubt, Amazon has competitive pricing and good customer service, but frankly they could care less about the radio hobby in general.  To Amazon, shortwave radios are simply a few dozen consumer electronics products out of the tens of thousands they offer.

Universal Radio and C.Crane both support radio clubs, events and hobby-related activities–Amazon does not. Plus, pricing is often very close or even lower than that of Amazon. This is why I always purchase from them if they have what I seek.

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Victor Ashe joins CUSIB after leaving the Broadcasting Board of Governors

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Victor Ashe

Victor Ashe

Without a doubt, Victor Ashe has championed US international broadcasting on the Broadcasting Board of Governors and has voiced his support for continued funding of the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station. He will now join The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting Advisory Board:

(Source: CUSIB Press Release)

The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB – cusig.org) announced that departing Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) member Victor Ashe has joined CUSIB Advisory Board.

CUSIB is a nonpartisan, independent NGO supporting U.S. international broadcasting. CUSIB has worked with individual BBG members, heads of BBG entities, members of the U.S. Congress, and media to identify and correct management problems that hamper effectiveness of U.S. international broadcasting. CUSIB members were active in successfully opposing proposed cuts to Voice of America (VOA) radio and satellite television programs to China and VOA radio programs to Tibet. CUSIB also defended dozens of Radio Liberty journalists in Russia who were fired by the previous Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) management. Some of the journalists were rehired after the BBG hired Kevin Klose and acting RFE/RL president. Klose initiated management reforms at RFE/RL.

At the BBG, Victor Ashe was a champion of accountability and transparency. He won respect of rank and file employees for his willingness to communicate with them and address serious management issues. Ashe insisted that top agency executives not ignore the problem of record low employee morale under the management of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), as measured by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS).

Ashe said in a statement: “I am honored to serve on this [CUSIB] Board and appreciate their dedication to transparency and fairness. There is still much work to do for international broadcasting by the United States due to serious management issues which still exist.” “I am hopeful the new BBG Board with the leadership of Jeff Shell will make the decisions necessary to move BBG forward,” Ashe added.

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All Night Flight: Weiskopf takes us on an audio journey

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ANF_WebI’m a big fan of practically anything that Myke Dodge Weiskopf produces.

We’ve mentioned Myke numerous times on the SWLing Post; based in Los Angeles, California, he’s a radio producer, historian, broadcast artist, multi-instrumentalist, sound recordist, and composer.

Recently, I noticed that one of Myke’s audio mixes, ALL NIGHT FLIGHT, was featured on the über-cool experimental radio broadcast platform, Radius.

In Myke’s artist statement on Radius, he describes this mix simply:

This edition, produced exclusively for Radius, is a 73-minute distillation of the inaugural «ALL NIGHT FLIGHT» performed, created, and mixed live by Myke Dodge Weiskopf in the desert of Joshua Tree, California, on 20 July 2013, 10 PM – 5 AM PST.

I have embedded this mix below, but encourage you to check out Radius for his detailed mix description and Myke’s homepage for details on ALL NIGHT FLIGHT and his other interesting projects.

So, go ahead: put on your headphones, relax in your listening chair, and let Myke take you on an audio journey…

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Paul reviews the mystery radio

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Many thanks to Paul for providing this review of his mystery radio (see previous posts):

MysteryRadio2This is a basic AM/FM radio with clock and alarm functions. It runs off three AA batteries (for the radio) or a 1.5 V small cell battery (for the clock). There is also the option of powering it with an AC adapter (4.5 V DC, center positive). The speaker is 8 ohm, 0.5 W. As Ulli pointed out the three AA batteries are a very tight fit. Besides radio and alarm, there is also a headphone jack.

The SET and DIS buttons on the radio are for setting the clock and alarm. In absence of a manual it took a little time to figure out how to do this. The clock LCD tilts up as shown in the photos. Needless to say the viewing angles leave much to be desired. This radio is meant to be used laying on a table; it has a curved bottom and cannot stand up on its own.

MysteryRadio1In terms of performance, it’s good for powerhouse AM and FM stations. DXing is very limited or next to impossible due to the stiff tuning knob (you need two fingers to move it around; the dimple is not helpful) and the short circular tuning range. It’s hard to tell whether the radio has below average built-in selectivity with the Sony CXA1191S chip, or are problems zeroing in on stations due to the poorly designed knob. In my unit the volume knob was scratchy; this was easily fixed with a little DeoxIt spray.

MysteryRadio3Among other curious things about this radio is its antenna, which goes out only at a fixed angle – not straight up. It can be moved from left to right at this angle and extended.

Overall this is a basic AM FM clock radio, measuring small (6.25 x 3 x 1.25 inches), and honestly, nothing really special!

Paul, thanks for the review and great photos of your radio. It might not be a performance machine, but it was fun solving the mystery and reading your review of this obscure little radio! -Thomas

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