Monthly Archives: May 2014

WPLN host, Bradley George, says shortwave radio shaped his career

SX-99-DialMany thanks to SWLing Post reader, Richard Cuff, for sharing this article written by Bradley George of Nashville Public Radio:

“From ages 11 to 15, I spent hours hunched over a tiny Magnavox radio, straining to hear the world’s shortwave radio stations.

The big dogs of international broadcasting — BBC World Service, Voice of America, Radio Canada International, and Radio Netherlands were easy to pick up. Their signals were strong, and the cheap receiver I had would find them automatically.

Otherwise, listening to shortwave takes patience and lots of fine tuning. Signals bounce off the earth’s ionosphere, and travel further at night. Stations fade in and out. Imagine someone talking in a gigantic tin can on a beach — a hollow, static filled sound.

But through that static comes a grand, global audio bazaar.[…]”

And it still does today…! In fact, we just posted a recording of the Voice of Korea on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive; George mentions Radio Pyongyang as memorable QSL.

Click here to read Bradley George’s full post, with photos, at WPLN.

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Numbers station presentation by Peter Staal

Many thanks to Jonathan Marks who discovered the following video–a lecture by Peter Staal at TU Delft–on the topic of numbers stations:

Note that they attempt to sort out a technical problem in the first three minutes of the lecture.

Check out Jonathan’s post on Critical Distance for his comments and videos of Speech Morse Generators: the machines behind the numbers.

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Alex updates shortwave frequency charts for summer season

AlexCharts

SWLing Post reader, Alex, has just informed me that he’s updated his printer-friendly shortwave frequency charts for the summer broadcasting season. Alex mentions that he posted English in Europe on one A4 sheet, plus 5 A4 sheets running through the vast majority of stations that can now be heard in Europe.

Note that Alex creates his charts based on listening to broadcasters rather than importing schedules from other sources.

You can download the free charts on his website:
Shortwavetimes.com

Many thanks, Alex!

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Last day of the 2014 Hamvention

Morning on Wright Patterson Air Force Base
Today is the the final day of the 2014 Dayton Hamvention. For exhibitors, it’s the slowest day of the weekend (Saturday is the busiest).

My voice is hoarse from speaking with so many people–it’s been great! Many thanks to the SWLing Post readers who stopped by our booth to talk radio.

This morning, I’m listening Pacific Break on Radio Australia with my buddy Eric McFadden while we eat breakfast and prepare to leave. I started listening to RA on my Tecsun PL-310ET and Eric (of course) brought out his Sony ICF-SW7600G and AN-LP1 for comparison. A little radio fun before the craziness yet to come.

Sony ICF-SW7600G and Tecsun PL-310ET

We’re not staying in a hotel this year, and we have much quieter conditions for SWLing. Eric, as a I mentioned in a previous post, is retired from the Ohio Air National Guard; this year, he was fortunate enough to secure us a “TLF” (Temporary Lodging, Family) on Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Our TLF is a three bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house with a living room, laundry room, outdoor patio, yard and is surrounded by acres of green space. It’s about half the price of a local hotel, so we feel most grateful! Better yet, a TLF is like being at home: we can string up antennas indoors or outside and play radio.

photo 2

Eric eating cereal and doing an informal A/B comparison. The AN-LP1 is attached to the dining room window.

Many thanks to Eric (WD8RIF) and his son, Miles (KD8KNC), for being such dedicated ETOW volunteers.

As I head out this morning, I thought I’d post a few more photos I took yesterday:

photo 1 (1)

Though I wouldn’t have a clue how to operate this Collins 10B (above), I would love for it to adorn my radio table.
photo 2 (1) photo 3 photo 4 photo 5

I’ve also taken photos of new products vendors displayed at the Hamvention. I plan to post them after returning home later this week.

If you’re visiting the Hamvention today, please stop by Booth BA411 and introduce yourself!

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Dayton Hamvention flea market: a few photos

I had a little over one hour to check out the Dayton Hamvention flea market yesterday morning before manning our inside exhibitor’s table for Ears To Our World.

Here are a few radios that caught my attention:
CollinsRadios

Hallicrafters-SX-24I actually purchased the Hallicrafters SX-24 in this photo (above) for $60. I would have purchased the speaker as well but he wanted $200 (!!!) for it.

Hallicrafters-SX-42 Hallicrafters-SX28 Hammarlund-HQ145ABy the time I made it back to this Hammarlund HQ 145 A, someone else had already snagged it. It was a beauty!

Panasonic-RF-4800 Philips Racal-RA6790GMI probably saw eight of these RA6790/GM’s scattered throughout the flea market.

Signal-Corps-BC-1308 Zenith

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Going to the Dayton Hamvention? Stop by our booth!

Dayton Hamvention logo_2For the third year in a row at the Dayton Hamvention, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW).

This year, we will be in booth 411 in the Ball Arena (BA0411). Stop by and introduce yourself! Here’s a map.

Look forward to meeting you there!

-Thomas (K4SWL)

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