Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rolf Snijder, who writes:
Here are some pictures from my new XHData D-808.
It performs well, only a soft muting when I change the dial.Longwave is not great–it receives, but is too weak. Mediumwave and shortwave look great for this radio.
Have a great new year!
Thank you, Rolf!
I expect to receive my XHDATA D-808 within a week or so. I’m very curious how it will compare with the Digitech AR-1780!
From the Isle of Music, January 7-13:
This week our special guest is rumbero/percussionist extraordinaire Jesús María Abreu Hernández of Los Papines, who will share some of their exciting new release Rumbeando a mi manera. We will also converse about the history of the group. Plus, a taste of Los Hermanos Arango, one of the most interesting Rumba/Jazz/Fusion groups in Cuba today
Four opportunities to listen on shortwave:
1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100Kw, Sunday 1500-1600 UTC on SpaceLine, 9400 KHz, from Kostinbrod, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK)
2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 UTC on WBCQ, 7490 KHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EST in the US). This is running on a backup transmitter due to a recent fire.
3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UTC and Saturday 1200-1300 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 KHz from Rohrbach, Germany.
Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, January 7, 2018
Hot and Cold
Episode 44 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot will include some music to warm us up in this cold winter.
Sunday, January 7, 2018
2300-2330 UTC (6:00PM -6:30PM Eastern US) on
WBCQ The Planet 7490 KHz shortwave from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
Reception reports are especially welcome right now due to WBCQ’s recent transmitter fire.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill (KD5XN), who writes:
I enjoyed your article on the C Crane Skywave SSB this month in the Spectrum Monitor. I too have both of the Skywaves now, and agree they are near-ideal travel radios.
I bought a protective case by “Hermit Shell” that I stumbled across on Amazon that may well be one of the best protective cases I’ve ever seen for a portable radio.
It is made specifically for the Skywave(s) and fits like a glove. I believe one could kick it across a parking lot and never worry about any damage to your radio it’s so well padded. I put the earbuds and a clip lead for attaching to a reel antenna into the pouch in the cover. Not much else is going to fit.
I know that you are also a “bag geek” so I’ve sent the Amazon link for you to peruse.
[…]The only slight negative that I could say is that the cased radio is approximately twice the thickness of the radio alone, if tight packing is an issue.
I just thought I’d pass this along as I don’t recall ever seeing anyone mentioning it. At $14.99 it’s cheap but good insurance if you travel where things “take a beating.”
73, Happy Holidays and thank you for all your reviews and articles.
Click here to view on Amazon.com (affiliate link).
Thank you for your recommendation and tip, Bill!
We actually have mentioned this on the SWLing Post before, but obviously the article is rather buried at this point. Thanks for the reminder.
Like you, I do see the negative that this case effectively increases the size of the CC Skywave for one bag travel, but it would certainly do a fine job protecting the Skywave in transit. Indeed, I believe that’s a pretty acceptable compromise. I especially like the fact that the earbuds will also fit in the case. I might pick one of these up with some Christmas credit I have at Amazon.
Afterall, the CC Skywave SSB is a $150 radio–! I suppose since I buy $15-$20 protective cases for my $150 smartphone, my radio should at least get the same treatment! It’ll certainly outlast my smartphone!
(Source: The Mainichi via Kim Elliott)
HELSINKI (AP) — For nearly three decades, Finland’s YLE radio has broadcast a weekly news program in Latin to a small group of committed listeners around the globe.
With the audience numbering just 10,000 and people increasingly turning to the internet for content, Friday was meant to be the end of the road for “Nuntii Latini,” which means “news in Latin.” But don’t underestimate the passion of Latin aficionados — more than 3,000 of them wrote in from around the globe, some in fluent Latin, encouraging the station to save the program.
YLE leadership listened, agreeing to extend it until at least its 30th anniversary in 2019.
“Ne umquam desperaveris,” (loosely translated: “never give up,”) said co-announcer Reijo Pitkaranta, a docent and lecturer in Latin at the University of Helsinki.[…]
Happy New Year SWLing Post community!
A few months ago, I published a post about Colin Anderton’s excellent Radio Moscow recordings from the late 1970s. Being a space flight enthusiast, all of Colin’s brief off-air recordings feature news from the 1977-1978 Soyuz 26 mission to the Salyut 6 space station.
Recently, I started posting Colin’s recordings on a schedule so that each recording is being published exactly 40 years from the original broadcast date. Check out the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive each day (or subscribe via iTunes) to listen to the recordings.
Below, I’ve embedded the recording from New Year’s Day 1978 where we learned that Yuri Romanenko and Georgi Grechko toasted the New Year with fruit juice (for obvious reasons, champagne was not allowed on the station!).
