In my previous post, I mentioned how much I enjoy the built-in digital audio recorder in the new Icom IC-705. While I wouldn’t buy a QRP transceiver specifically for built-in audio recording–there are less expensive options out there–it is an incredibly useful feature in my world.
After publishing that post, I was reminded that Monday morning (October 12, 2020) I connected the IC-705 to my homebrew Noise-Cancelling Passive Loop antenna mounted indoors at my parents’ house.
My NCPL antenna
Their house is like so many others in that it is inundated with RFI (radio frequency interference). I find that the NCPL antenna does a fine job mitigating most of that noise on the mediumwave band when I position it so that the bulk of the interference is nulled.
Monday morning, I tuned the IC-705 to my favorite local AM station: WAIZ on 630 kHz.
Weekday mornings, Dave and his “Wacky Wake-Up Crew” always put me in the right mood. They’re incredibly goofy/corny and 100% original.
It’s extraordinarily rare these days to find a local radio station, with local talent, creating a local daily radio show. Almost all of their ads are local, too.
I made the following off-air recording for myself, but decided to upload it for others to enjoy. I’m not sure what the receiver audio EQ or bandwidth filter was set to when I recorded this. It’s not a demo of receiver performance, just a little radio fun.
Enjoy:
Thanks, Thomas, for the extended recording. Homegrown, cornball humor is a rarity. Kind of like the humor in those local, freebie newspaper stand circulars that are distributed through local Dunkin Donuts, i.e., “Orange Peel Gazette”, among others. http://www.orangepeelgazettekaneco.com/editions-2/
I will have to check out this radio station more!
Wacky indeed, Thomas! This kind of impromptu, off-the-cuff station is rare in these days of cookie-cutter syndicates. Thanks for the tip on WAIZ…I think their web stream is going to be a regular for me.
You won’t be disappointed, Guy. The same station owner (Dave) is behind one of the best classic rock stations on the planet: 95.7 “The Ride” WXRC. Only album cuts, no interrupting music, proper DJs who take a deep dive into music history and tracks you won’t hear elsewhere. Their FM audio is the best you’ll ever hear on the air.
And Dave is one of the kindest, most enthusiastic guys in the radio business. And he owns an original Buick Reatta with touch screen and AM stereo!
The man couldn’t be any cooler. Just couln’t.
🙂 Thomas
How do you get around the 640am powerful signal from Atlanta? It’s a beast!