Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mei Tao, who writes:
Hi Thomas,
These days I’ve just got the Tecsun’s newest product, the M-301 radio and would like to share some detailed information with you and other BCLers.
The M-301 has two color versions, white and black. It’s a three-in-one model including FM radio, Bluetooth Receiver and MP3 Player. As you can see in the below pictures, it’s very slim and compact, just slightly bigger than Apple 4S cell phone.
But it offers so many features–much more than similar radios I have owned. I had to take much effort to study how to operate it correctly.
Below are its major features:
FM reception: Frequency coverage: 64-108, 76-108, 87-108, and 88-108MHz
Bluetooth 5.0 technology: Can answer calls through the hands-free function.
MP3 Player: It can play 16bit/44.1k FLAC/WAV/WMA/APE and MP3 format music stored in TF card (Max 128GB). Repeat mode: Folder/One.
Recording: It has 3 recording modes–namely, Mic Recording, Radio recording and Bluetooth Recording.
Three tuning methods: including manual tuning, ATS, tuning preset stations.
100 memory presets.
Rechargeable battery: Working time for about 17 hours at medium volume, charging by DC 5V micro USB cable, charging time for about 2.5 hours.
Can be used as computer external speaker through micro USB cable.
Sleep timer: Shuts off automatically after specified times (0—120 minutes).
Clock and alarm: wakes you up by radio broadcasting or music stored in the TF card.
Can display Fahrenheit or Celsius temperature.
Can store one favorite station or one music file on the “Favorite Program” button.
Hand strap is also used as the antenna.
Yesterday, Jan 28th, the Tecsun M-30 hit the market in China, but I don’t know when or if it will be available in the North America and European markets in the future. I hope so.
Good Luck.
Mei Tao
Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Mei Tao! This looks like a nice, slim travel radio since it sports a clock and alarm and options for both Bluetooth and USB connectivity to other audio devices. While it’s a shame it doesn’t include AM or SW reception, I imagine FM reception will be great based on the fact this is such a strong suit for similar DSP portable receivers.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, TomL, who shares the following guest post:
Magnet Wire Vertical Loop Antenna
by TomL
For those of you in a noisy condo like me, the environment does not give me many options. I was experimenting with a YouLoop on the wooden porch with somewhat acceptable results. For its size, it is an excellent performer, especially on the lower bands. Here is a very interesting review of the YouLoop, including close-up pictures of the innards of the phase inverter and 1:1 balun, by John S. Huggins. However, it is not waterproof and I was concerned about the ice and snow ruining it. I could tape up the connectors with waterproof tape but I also wanted something with a bigger capture area. A magnet wire stealth antenna might be just the thing!
I just happened to have a waterproof 1:1 ATU balun from Balun Designs that I was going to use for future Amateur Radio use whenever I get around to passing the next level test; it is total overkill for what I intended to use it for. It would make a good connection point and (this one) also acts as an RF choke as well. One can make a 1:1 balun by buying the right Type of ferrite core and winding it yourself. Here is just one idea from Palomar Engineers.
So I dusted it off, went to a local store to get a 100 foot spool of 26 gauge magnet wire and tested it strung up around my living room. It came out to be a rectangle about 42 feet in circumference. Results were usable. I expected lots of noise and there is a great deal across the bands, so only the strongest shortwave stations were received. However, I was surprised by how strong the mediumwave band was and good to listen to without an amplifier.
I am ambivalent towards trying to perfectly match the impedance since this is a broadband receive-only antenna and the impedance will vary greatly over MW and SW bands. And I don’t want to mess with a remotely controlled tuned loop since this antenna was destined for the outdoor porch. I tried a Cross Country Wireless preselector at my desk but had some mixed results. I later found out, by disconnecting things in series, that the preselector inline raised the noise level about 5 dBm, so I took it out for now. Perhaps it needs more internal shielding or the connecting cable is bad.
Polarization is an issue, too. I have read that most man-made noise (QRM) is vertically polarized, so why would I use a vertically oriented loop? Then I saw David Casler’s video on loop antennas where he explains that connecting a vertical loop antenna at the bottom or the top makes it horizontally polarized (connecting the coax on the side makes it vertically polarized). I never knew that! Horizontal polarization will mitigate some of the offending QRM as well as match the polarization of mediumwave band transmitters. Furthermore, I read that a horizontal loop will have poor signal pickup at low frequencies because it is not high enough off the ground, similar to a horizontal dipole. For now, a vertical loop connected to facilitate horizontal polarization is what I want.
A note about wire size. People make a big deal about it but those are mostly amateur radio people. Transmission depends on efficiency so things like wire size, skin effect, standing waves, and other things matter (see here, for example). With a receive-only antenna it is OK to use very thin wire. Resonance can matter if you want the last ounce of signal strength with an antenna tuner, like in high-Q type loops where the bandwidth is very narrow and you are using a multi-turn loop with variable capacitor and a pick-up coil of wire to the receiver. Comparatively, my simple loop is depending more on a single turn of wire, the aperture size, length of wire for its performance, and carefully isolating the feedline coax using RF chokes at both ends.
Here is one example of a strong station from Cuba I was able to record because WLW was off the air for some unexpected reason.
Radio Reloj, Cuba 870 kHz (At the end, you can hear WLW come back online with CBS news):
Side note about Radio Reloj on Wikipedia, the strange format seems to fit well with a totalitarian regime, including a “corrector” who “corrects the content/writing errors to meet the requirements”. Read the wiki link for yourself. Not a society I want to live in, thank you very much!
Example of 80 meter band performance – Greetings to a new person from members of the “Awful, Awful, Ugly Net”, 3855 kHz:
Encouraged by the results, I “installed” the magnet wire around the support beams of the wooden porch, wrapping it carefully to create a square loop. Holding it in place is a brick at each bottom corner since I am not allowed to nail anything into the Association-owned porch. The length came out to about 32 feet (8 feet per side), so I trimmed it and connected to the balun. I also added an RF choke at the Airspy HF+ input from Palomar Engineers which helped bring noise down a couple of S-units. That might not sound like a lot but by also shutting off the living room air filter and an AC switch with “wall-wart” AC power adapters on it, I was able to reduce the noise a little bit more. There is still a lot of noise from the neighbors, so it is not a perfect situation.
Here are two examples of reception with the outside installation.
Side note about the Radio Newsletter. I stumbled on it when using the YouLoop and found that some of the content is very interesting and informative. Of course it is geared mostly towards amateur radio but some of the news items are of general radio interest as well. It airs 1pm Saturday through 2am Sunday, USA Central Time. Obviously, many segments repeat during that lengthy timeframe and reception depends on propagation from Missouri.
KDDR 1220 kHz, West Fargo, ND station ID (presumably “nighttime” power of 327 watts):
The shortwave bands are still a noisy disaster but signal levels are higher compared to the YouLoop. Only the strongest stations come in like WRMI, WHRI, Radio Espana, Radio Habana, and CRI. And I can hear the loudest amateur radio operators.
Just for grins, here is Radio Rebelde on 5025 kHz when band conditions were above average:
Another phenomenon I am looking into is the reception pattern of a vertical loop. Less than 1/10th wavelength, the null is through the center of the loop. At one wavelength, the null manifests in the plane of the wire loop. They are too close to phase them but switching between two directional loop antennas might improve reception depending on frequency. We shall see in the future.
At least for now, I have a decent mediumwave band which performs better than the useful CCrane Twin-Ferrite amplified loop antenna that was used in the (noisy) indoors, I can hear the 160 & 80 meter amateur bands better, and the reception of the strongest shortwave broadcasters are more predictable. Not bad for four dollars of wire!
Brilliant, Tom! Again, I love how you’ve not only made an inexpensive antenna, but you’ve even done it within your HOA regulations. You’re right, too: if you’re not transmitting into an antenna, it blows the experimentation door wide open! Thank you once again for sharing your project with us.
Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio
Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Trevor S, Ron, Phillip Smith, for the following tips:
President Joseph Biden this week designated FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel as acting chair of the FCC. She succeeds, at least temporarily, former FCC chair Ajit Pai, who resigned effective on January 20.
“I am honored to be designated as the Acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission by President Biden,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “I thank the President for the opportunity to lead an agency with such a vital mission and talented staff. It is a privilege to serve the American people and work on their behalf to expand the reach of communications opportunity in the digital age.”
Prior to joining the FCC, she served as Senior Communications Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Before entering public service, she practiced communications law in Washington, DC.
The newest FCC commissioner, Nathan Simington, a Republican appointee, said Rosenworcel “brings deep knowledge and experience and highly informed judgment to her new position,” and he expressed appreciation that the Biden Administration acted promptly to establish FCC leadership by “selecting such a distinguished public servant for this vital role.
Fellow Democrat Geoffrey Starks said Rosenworcel “has been a passionate advocate for bringing the benefits of broadband to all Americans — particularly our children.” He said her designation as acting chair “comes at a critical juncture for the Commission, as COVID-19 has made bold action to end internet inequality more vital than ever.”
The Commission’s other Democratic appointee, Brendan Carr, called Rosenworcel “a talented and dedicated public servant, as evidenced by her 8 years of distinguished service on the FCC.”
On Twitter, Rosenworcel said, “The future belongs to the connected,” and she described herself as an “impatient optimist, mom, wife, [and] inveterate coffee drinker.”[…]
Ludwig Koch was once as famous as David Attenborough, as pioneering as ‘Blue Planet’ and as important as the BBC Natural History Unit. They all owe their existence to this German refugee who first recorded the music of nature. Through his archive and new field recordings the poet Sean Street tells the story of Ludwig Koch.
When Sean Street was recording in a store-room at the Science Museum for a Radio 4 archive programme he came across a grey crate, stencilled, as if it belonged to a band on tour, with KOCH on it. This was the disc-cutting machine which Ludwig Koch used for a decade to make the recordings of birds, mammals and insects that led to a new field of study, of broadcasting and the creation of the BBC’s Natural History Unit.
Sean and his producer then began investigating and discovered that Koch made the first ever wildlife recording, of a bird, when he was eight, in 1889 – and that it still exists in the BBC’s archives.
Koch was an effusive man and this led to several confrontations with Nazi officials, whom he despised. There is an extraordinary recording of him telling the story of a Berliner whose bullfinch sang ‘The Internationale’. He was carted off to prison and the bird ‘executed’. “Under dictatorship,” Koch observed, “even songbirds suffer”. He came to England, worked with Julian Huxley on theories of animal language, and recorded birds from the Scillies to Shetland.
In 1940 he joined the BBC and soon became a household name, beloved of comedians (there’s a great sketch by Peter Sellers parodying him at work) because of his resolute pronunciation of English as if it were German.
As well as being wonderful radio in itself his work was of great significance. It inspired producer Desmond Hawkins to start ‘The Naturalist’, (using Koch’s enchanting recording of a curlew as its signature tune). Sean Street uses his recordings and contributions of those who worked with him in what becomes a natural history programme in itself, with Koch the subject and Sean exploring his habits and habitat.
There is also an attempt to record curlews as he did so successfully, to shed light on the achievements of this courageous, influential and loveable genius. Today sound-recordists use tiny digital machines and sophisticated microphones. But there are other problems – traffic, planes, people – and fewer, shyer curlews.
The author of this commentary is chair of the Digital Radio Mondiale consortium.
Right from the beginning of 2021, Prasar Bharati, the public radio and TV broadcaster of India, has put its cards on the table. First it clarified that no AIR station was being closed anywhere in any state, a rumor that had made the media rounds in India.
Prasar Bharati has further announced that it is moving ahead with its plans to strengthen All India Radio, expanding its network with more than 100 new FM radio transmitters across India.
The AIR Network already comprises a few hundred stations and several hundred radio transmitters in one of the world’s largest public service broadcasting networks that operates on multiple terrestrial, satellite and internet platforms.
Prasar Bharati is also moving ahead with its plans to introduce digital terrestrial radio in India. According to the Indian broadcaster, select AIR channels are already available through digital DRM technology to listeners in many cities/regions. They can experience the power of DRM through a choice of multiple radio channels available on a single radio frequency in digital mode. These include AIR News 24×7 dedicated to news and current affairs, AIR Raagam 24×7 dedicated to classical music, apart from local/regional radio services and Live Sports.
According to Prasar Bharati AIR is in an advanced stage of testing digital technology options for FM radio, and a standard will be announced soon to herald the rollout of digital FM radio in India.
Already in 2020 AIR had introduced nonstop pure DRM transmissions with three services or programs on one frequency in four key metros: Mumbai 100 kW (1044 kHz), Kolkata 100 kW (1008 kHz), Chennai 20 kW (783 kHz) and New Delhi 20 kW (1368 kHz).[…]
Coming to your desktop, laptop, and tablet: March 13 and 14, 2021 and “on-demand” until April 12, 2021
?Early Bird Ticket Sales begin January 4, 2021
?Our first QSO Today Expo was a great success with over 16,000 attendees! We’re working hard to make our upcoming Expo even better with new speakers, panel discussions, kit building workshops, easy-to-use video technology to meet with exhibitors, and much more. There’s no need to travel – anybody can participate in this groundbreaking, amateur radio Expo built on a virtual reality platform.
After our last Expo, we asked for feedback from the amateur radio community on how we could make our next Expo even better. We received great suggestions, many of which we’ve incorporated into our upcoming event. Whether you’re a ham that doesn’t want to travel because of Covid or just live too far from a hamvention, the QSO Today Expo offers the opportunity to learn from many great speakers, meet with exhibitors to see the latest technology, and engage with fellow hams without leaving your home ham shack. And save thousands of dollars since you don’t have to worry about travel, food, and lodging! Early Bird Tickets are just $10 (to help cover the cost of this event, $12.50 at the “door”) and include entry for the Live 2 day period as well as the 30 day on-demand period).
Take part in Live virtual kit building workshops. Kits will be available for purchase and delivered to you in time for the Expo so you can participate and build from the convenience of your home.
Walk through our virtual exhibit hall filled with popular amateur radio suppliers. Watch new product demos and interact directly with booth staff. At this Expo we’ll introduce new video technology to enable a better experience when engaging with exhibitors.
Prior to the Expo, take advantage of our new speaker calendar technology to download speaker times in your local time zones to Google and Outlook calendars. This way you’ll have a complete schedule of what sessions you want to participate in.
Return over the next 30 days to listen to speakers you missed during the Live period, explore, and re-engage exhibitor offerings.
Many thanks to the host of This Is A Music Show, who shares the following announcement:
Hi Thomas,
Just wanted to let you (and your readers) know about the special milestone broadcast happening on Wednesday evening in North America: “This Is A Music Show” will be having its 100th episode, and to celebrate the occasion the show will be 2 hours long. The show is broadcast on WRMI’s 5850 kHz transmitter, which covers most of North America coast-to-coast. The official schedule:
Thursday 0200-0400UTC on 5850 kHz (Wednesday 6-8pm PT/9-11pm ET) via WRMI
For those who haven’t heard the program, each week I play the finest secondhand vinyl records found at thrift stores, garage sales, flea markets, etc. The 100th episode will feature some favourite finds from the past couple of years, along with a wide range of lesser-known-but-still-great tunes that you may or may not have heard before. I hope you can tune in and maybe hear your new favourite song or artist. 🙂
From the Isle of Music, January 31-February 6:
This week, we repeat a 2020 episode with Zule Guerra, one of Cuba’s ascending jazz vocalists.
The broadcasts take place:
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 Sofia, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK)
2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 on WBCQ, 7490 kHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EST in the US).
3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UTC and Saturday 1300-1400 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 kHz from Rohrbach, Germany.
Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/fromtheisleofmusic/
Our V-Kontakte page is https://vk.com/fromtheisleofmusic
Our Patreon page is https://www.patreon.com/tilford
Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, January 31-February 6:
In episode 202, special guest Julio Cesar Pereira from Brazil shares some excellent Brazilian Funk, Soul and Tropicalia with us.
The transmissions take place:
1.Sunday 2300-0000 (6:00PM -7:00PM EST) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 kHz from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
2. Tuesday 2000-2100 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 kHz from Rohrbach, Germany for Europe.
3. Saturday 0800-0900 UTC on Channel 292, 9670 kHz from Rohrbach, Germany for Europe with a directional booster aimed eastward.
Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/UncleBillsMeltingPot/
Our V-Kontakte page is https://vk.com/fromtheisleofmusic
Our Patreon page is https://www.patreon.com/tilford
In 2019, shortly after Icom announced the Icom IC-705, I speculated that this rig might be a contender for “Holy Grail” status.
I must admit…the more I use this radio, the more I love it. It is a proper Swiss Army Knife of a radio. Even though I’ve owned and operated it for a few months, I still haven’t explored all that it can do, and I keep finding features I love.
After completing the upgrade, I hooked the ‘705 up to my main antenna and worked a few Parks On The Air (POTA) stations off of the supplied battery pack (instead of a power supply). While I worked on other projects in the shack, I checked the POTA spots and work a few stations with a whopping 5 watts of output power.
After a couple hours on the air (mostly listening), the internal battery pack still had a good 60-70% capacity.
At one point, I tried a little daytime mediumwave DXing and cruised past 630 kHz which some of you might already know is the home of one of my favorite hometown radio stations, WAIZ.
From my home, WAIZ is a tough catch, so it was weak, but I could hear it.
This reminded me that I had made a recording of WAIZ with the IC-705 when in my hometown earlier this month.
Normally, I pull the MicroSD card out of the IC-705–which almost requires needle nose pliers and is one of my few complaints about this rig–and view the files on my PC or MacBook, but I was curious if perhaps the IC-705 software had a built-in file display.
Of course it does!
Simply press the MENU button, then the RECORD button on the touch screen, and you’ll see the following selections:
Press “Play Files” and you then see a list of folders organized by date:
Click on a folder and you’ll see a list of recordings made that day:
These are some of the most important pieces of information I use to index my audio recordings and the IC-705 does this automatically. In fact, if you allow the IC-705 to gather its time information from the internal GPS, the time stamp will be incredibly accurate.
The only thing I add to the file name after export is the broadcaster name/station callsign.
If that wasn’t enough, if you touch one of the recording files, the IC-705 will open it in an audio player:
The built-in player displays the meta data, and even includes a number of controls like fast-forward, rewind, skip to next or previous file. and pause.
I’m sure this is the same audio player found in the IC-7300, IC-R8600 and other late-model Icom SDR rigs. But in a portable battery powered transceiver? This is a genius feature.
As I type this post I’m listening to the audio from the WAIZ file shown above. I can imagine when I’m able to travel again (post-pandemic), how useful this will for one-bag air travel.
Not only is the IC-705 a QRP transceiver and wideband multi-mode general coverage receiver, but it’s a recorder and audio player with a built-in front-facing speaker. I can set this transceiver at my hotel bedside and listen to recordings I made in the field earlier that day or week.
Keep in mind that the IC-705 is an expensive radio–certainly one of the most pricey QRP radios ever produced at $1,300 US (at time of posting although I’m sure we’ll start seeing lower pricing this year). But if you’re an SWL and ham, you’ll find the IC-705 is the most versatile portable transceiver on the market. If you’re an SWL only, you can disable the transmit on the IC-705 and essentially have a portable battery-powered SDR receiver with built-in audio recording and playback with color touch screen spectrum and waterfall display.
Despite the price, this is Holy Grail territory in my book.
Icom IC-705 Review
If you subscribe to The Spectrum Monitor magazine, you’ll be able to read my (4,000 word!) review of the IC-705 in the upcoming February 2021 issue.
As part of Channel 292’s celebration of its 10th Anniversary, From the Isle of Music and Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot will feature broadcasts with content specifically chosen for the occasion.
From the Isle of Music will feature recordings of Cuban music for which the producer and host, Bill Tilford, wrote the liner notes, and Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot will feature a potpourri of music from around the world.
Broadcast times and frequencies are as follows (all transmissions from Rohrbach-Waal): FROM THE ISLE OF MUSIC February 1, 0100-0200 UTC on 3955, 6070 and 9670 kHz with 9670 on a directional booster beam southeast towards South Asia, may be listenable in the Near and Middle East.
Repeats 0300-0400 on 3955, 6070 and 9670 kHz with 9670 on a directional booster beam towards Africa. UNCLE BILL’S MELTING POT February 1, 0200-0300 UTC on 3955, 6070 and 9670 kHz with 9670 on a directional booster beam southeast towards South Asia, may be listenable in the Near and Middle East.
Repeats 0400-0500 on 3955 and 9670 kHz with 9670 on a directional booster beam towards Africa. (6070 kHz will carry Alt Universe Top 40 at that hour). Congratulations and thanks to Channel 292 for 10 years of making shortwave airtime affordable for independent broadcasters!
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