Monthly Archives: December 2016

Open Call for Sound Works: Short Waves / Long Distance

(Source: Wave Farm via David Goren)

Open Call for Sound Works:

SHORT WAVES / LONG DISTANCE

Wave Farm and The North American Shortwave Association are pleased to announce “Short Waves / Long Distance,” an open call for works exploring the sonics of the shortwave radio spectrum (2-30 mHz), and the experience of long-distance listening. The call is in conjunction with the 30th Anniversary of the Winter Shortwave Listener’s Fest and Wave Farm’s 20th Anniversary, both of which will be celebrated in 2017.

Selected works will be:

Featured as part of a one-hour program during David Goren‘s Shortwave Shindig held at the Fest on Friday evening March 3, 2017, and broadcast worldwide on shortwave via WRMI(Radio Miami International) and Wave Farm’s WGXC 90.7-FM in the Upper Hudson Valley, New York.

Included in a special program to be produced for the Ràdio WEB MACBA series INTERRUPTIONS.

Archived online at wavefarm.org, and shortwaveology.net.

Submission Deadline: January 31, 2017

Submission Guidelines and Instructions:
• Submissions are welcomed from all genres.
• Both pre-existing and newly created works are eligible.
• Works should not exceed ten minutes in duration.
• Shortwave Listening Resources:
Shortwave Receivers Online: KiwiSDR, Global Tuners, WebSDR
Frequency Guides and Schedules: Short-Wave.info, ShortwaveSchedule.com
Receiver Reviews and Listening Tips: SWLing.com, DXing.com
Shortwave History: On the Short Waves, The Shortwave Radio Audio Archive
• Artists seeking additional ways to record shortwave sounds are encouraged to contact David Goren for guidance at [email protected].

Click Here to Access the Online Submission Form

Jury and Notification Schedule:
• A jury comprised of The Shortwave Shindig’s David Goren, and Wave Farm’s Galen Joseph-Hunter and Jess Puglisi will review submissions.
• Selections will be announced in February 2017.

About Ràdio WEB MACBA
Ràdio Web MACBA is a radiophonic project from the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona that explores the possibilities of the internet and radio as spaces of research, creation, synthesis and exhibition. Their shows are available on demand, and as a podcast subscription, and depart from contemporary thinking, philosophy, contemporary art, sound art and everything in between. The INTERRUPTIONS series features a theme-based musical selection and a related essay, which aims to explore the potentiality of two very different modes of engagement, text and sound, and the relationship and bridges that can be built between them. http://rwm.macba.cat/

About The Shortwave Shindig
The Shortwave Shindig is a live immersion into the wavering, noisy sounds of the shortwave radio spectrum. Live performances, presentations and extended, multi-layered audio mixes combine real time and archival shortwave sounds, taking the listener on a guided tour through the atmospheric neighborhoods where shortwave stations cluster. Reels of archival audio and a bank of receivers and are on hand for tuning-in to the distant, elusive sounds of the shortwave bands. http://www.shortwaveology.net/shortwave-shindig/

About the Winter SWL Fest
The Winter Shortwave Listener’s Fest (March 2nd-4th 2017) is a conference of radio hobbyists of all stripes who listen to frequencies from “DC to daylight.” Every year scores of hobbyists descend on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburbs for a weekend of camaraderie and talking radio. The Fest is sponsored by NASWA, the North American Shortwave Association, but it covers much more than just shortwave. Additional topics include Medium wave (AM), VHF scanning, satellite TV, and pirate broadcasting. http://www.swlfest.com/

About Wave Farm
Wave Farm is a non-profit arts organization driven by experimentation with broadcast media and the airwaves. Wave Farm programs—Transmission Arts, WGXC-FM, and Media Arts Grants—provide access to transmission technologies and support artists and organizations that engage with media as an art form. Wave Farm’s WGXC 90.7-FM is a creative community radio station. Hands-on access and participation activate WGXC as a public platform for information, experimentation, and engagement. Over 100 volunteer programmers produce shows, and WGXC commits over 60 hours a week to transmission art and experimental sound. https://wavefarm.org/

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Zach records the final episode of Radio Prague’s Mailbox program

Photos from the final Danish Shortwave Club International meeting

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jonathan Marks, who shares the following photos he snapped during the final meeting of the DSWCI meeting (click images to enlarge):

Anker Petersen kicks off the final DSCWI meeting of all.

The group shot outside the longwave transmitter at Kalundborg, about 1 and a half train ride from Copenhagen.

Danish Radio is doing some interesting experiments with AM on this site as a back-up technology to DAB+.

Anker Petersen hosts the final DSCWI dinner at a great restaurant in Kalundborg.

The town of Kalundborg, famous for its church with 5 spires – and its longwave transmitter still used by the fishing fleet.

Victor Goonetilleke, early DSCWI member, travelled from Sri Lanka to be part of the historic gathering.

Thank you for sharing these photos, Jonathan. It’s sad to see an institution like the DSWCI come to an end–especially because clubs like this become an amazing venue for friends to meet.

Update: Jonathan notes that he’s posted more photos on his flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathanmarks/

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WRMI special broadcast: Danish Shortwave Club International’s final meeting

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(Source: WRMI)

Last-minute program change: WRMI is broadcasting a special program about the final meeting of the Danish Shortwave Club International this Sunday, December 4. The program was scheduled to air at 2030 UTC on 11580 kHz, but it will instead be broadcast at 2000 UTC on the same frequency, in place of our regular program Wavescan. Here is the complete schedule for the two-part special program on WRMI:

PART ONE
2300 UTC Saturday, December 3 5850 kHz to North America (especially Central and West)
2330 UTC Saturday, December 3 11580 kHz to Eastern North America ( and Europe )
2000 UTC Sunday, December 4 11580 kHz to Europe ( and Eastern North America )
2300 UTC Sunday, December 4 5850 kHz to North America (especially Central and West)
0230 UTC Monday, December 5 9955 kHz to the Caribbean, North and South America

PART TWO
2300 UTC Saturday, December 10 5850 kHz to North America (especially Central and West)
2330 UTC Saturday, December 10 11580 kHz to Eastern North America ( and Europe )
2000 UTC Sunday, December 11 11580 kHz to Europe ( and Eastern North America )
2300 UTC Sunday, December 11 5850 kHz to North America (especially Central and West)
0230 UTC Monday, December 12 9955 kHz to the Caribbean, North and South America

Note that the Monday transmissions on 9955 kHz are actually Sunday evening in the Americas.

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History of the NBC Chimes

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Original NBC Chimes. Photo taken at the NCRTV museum

Original NBC Chimes. Photo taken at the National Capital Radio and Television Museum

If you have thirteen minutes today, do yourself a favor and listen to this excellent radio documentary about the NBC chimes from the podcast Twenty Thousand Hertz. It’s fascinating!

(Source: Twenty Thousand Hertz via 99% Invisible)

NBC’s three little chimes didn’t just define a television network, they defined a generation. Where did they come from and what is the surprising impact they have had on current and future media? Featuring the last person to play the NBC chimes on the NBC radio network, broadcaster Rick Greenhut, and radio historian, John Schneider.

https://soundcloud.com/defactosound/20k-the-nbc-chimes

Click here to listen to the podcast via SoundCloud.

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Possible record auction price for a Panasonic RF-8000

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who discovered this excellent condition Panasonic RF-8000 which recently sold on eBay for $5,100 US:

Dan believes this is possibly a record price for this receiver. I would tend to agree. It does look like a beautiful receiver.

Any SWLing Post readers own a Panasonif RF-8000? What do you think of it?

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John responds to the Wired.com review of the Como Audio Solo

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Figliozzi, author of The Worldwide Listening Guide, who comments with this critique of the Wired.com review of the Como Audio Solo:

I wonder how experienced this reviewer is with this class of audio devices.

First he states that the Solo receives AM. I doesn’t. (Unless you count receiving AM stations via their Internet streams.)

It does receive FM, although its sensitivity to fringe signals is a bit substandard comparatively, even with the built-on rod antenna. He notes a disappointing audio performance at higher volumes, but fails to distinguish between sources. Lower bit rate digital audio does reveal its insufficiencies with increased volume, but that would be true regardless of the speaker ratings.

A 30 watt RMS driver/tweeter speaker combo in a box this compact bespeaks a pretty efficient and powerful digital amplifier that would shine if fed audio of sufficient “heft”. With so much compressed digital audio out there–especially on Internet radio–it’s hard to judge what the objective limits of this unit aurally truly are.

He also doesn’t seem to be conversant with the set-up process, which is quite intuitive, or the fact that the unit comes with a remote.

At $300 MSRP, it is premium priced and will be too rich for the blood of some. Furthermore, its Internet station list as provided by Frontier Silicon seems a bit more limited than others I’ve experienced. But it is beautifully designed and presented and is quite versatile. Then again, as much as I like it, I can’t see myself populating my home with one in every room. There are other products out there that do this more efficiently and affordably.

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