Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio
Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Dennis Dura and Harry Dence for the following tips:
Gen Tojo’s Teeth: Morse Code Shows Up In The Strangest Places (Hackaday)
The Baader-Meinhof effect is the common name for what scientists call frequency illusion. Suppose you are watching Star Trek’s Christopher Pike explain how he makes pasta mama, and you’ve never heard of it before. Immediately after that, you’ll hear about pasta mama repeatedly. You’ll see it on menus. Someone at work will talk about having it at Hugo’s. Here’s the thing. Pasta mama was there all along (and, by the way, delicious). You just started noticing it. We sometimes wonder if that’s the deal with Morse code. Once you know it, it seems to show up everywhere.
One of the strangest places we’ve ever heard of Morse code appearing is the infamous case of Tojo’s teeth. If you don’t remember, General Hideki Tojo was one of the main “bad guys” in the Pacific part of World War II. In particular, he is thought to have approved the attack on Pearl Harbor, which started the American involvement in the war globally. Turns out, Tojo would be inextricably tied to Morse code, but he probably didn’t realize it. [Continue reading at Hackaday…]
the CityRadio – Hear the world (TechMoan on YouTube)
A ‘radio’ that lets you listen in to broadcasts from cities around the world…but there’s a catch.
M5STICKC Turned Wearable Morse Code Trainer (Hackaday)
Have you ever felt the options for Morse code communication were too limited? Well, look no further than [marsPRE]’s open source WristMorse communicator that can connect over WiFi, can act as a Bluetooth keyboard or just be used as a Morse Code trainer.
[marsPRE] uses the M5StickC Plus as the base device and attaches a custom “hat” consisting of a 2.5 mm plug for a radio connection and two capacitive touch paddles that act as the Morse Code keyer. The add-on is housed in what looks like a custom 3D print and hangs off of the end of the M5StickC Plus, connecting the hat through an eight 0.1 inch pin header. [Continue reading at Hackaday…]
Sister Boniface episode “Dead Air” is a pirate radio-themed
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Harry Dence, who writes:
Do you watch BritBox? Hope so!
Today they released Season 2, Episode 8 of the Sister Boniface mysteries, called “Dead Air.”
Set in England of the Radio Caroline era, the episode concerns a pirate radio station called Radio Catherine, a bit of humor along with the mystery, and an homage to Radio Caroline in its ending. Also a sight gag that will please Spinal Tap fans and reference to the GPO controlling the airwaves.
Thank you for the tip, Harry!
WeAreBroadcasters: “Encourage Congress to support local radio!”
Note: this is a petition managed by WeAreBroadcasters in opposition to a proposed tax:
Encourage Congress to support local radio!
Legislation that would force local radio stations to pay new fees simply for playing music has been introduced in Congress. The American Music Fairness Act (AMFA) would put stations out of business and impact their ability to provide the news, traffic, weather, emergency information and entertainment you rely on every day. The Local Radio Freedom Act opposes new performance fees on local radio stations and recognizes radio’s vital role in every community. Please take action today and encourage your members of Congress to oppose the AMFA and cosponsor the Local Radio Freedom Act. Your voice matters!
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If you are a radio hobbyist and are going to invest in an external speaker/bluetooth speaker, shouldn’t the speaker have BHI like noise reduction features for a bit more money?
Can we talk about how AMFA affects the people who make music? I know that radio stations would be opposed to it because it would cost them more money, but why should they not pay royalties to the people who create the music they play?
Especially when the act has carve-outs for reduced fees for small stations.
The link to them is here: https://www.afm.org/what-we-are-doing/american-music-fairness-act
If I understand correctly they want broadcast stations to be subject to the same rules as streamers; currently they pay little to nothing.
Unfortunately when I tried to look at the actual text of the bill its a mishmash mess of edits without anything showing “before” and “after” text so it’s hard to say exactly what the bill actually does.
Hope this helps
The thing Matt of Techmoan looked at is really just a bluetooth speaker that only works with an app you download on your phone.
That’s exactly the catch… it’s not what it appears to be and the reason I shared the video with all.
Amusing, I have read a lot of history but never
“Tojo’s dentures & Morse Code”.
I believe that other “junior” Japanese Army officers,
not General Tojo,
started what we call WW-II when they completely disobeyed their orders from Tokyo and attacked Russian troops at the “Battle of Khalkhin Gol”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Khalkhin_Gol
Then these junior Japanese Army officers,
after their defeat by Russian General Georgi Zhukov and two other Russian officers,
developed the idea of:
“The Russians are too tuff from fighting their civil war for 16 years,
let’s attack the softie,
peace at nearly any price,
Americans, British and Dutch instead.”
This mistake by junior Japanese Army Officers is in a way lucky for the USA.
If Japan and Germany had attacked the land of USSR jointly from two coasts,
after the Japanese Navy and Germany Navy had jointly defeated the British Navy in the Atlantic, then Pacific – with the USA on the sidelines due to no Pearl Harbor – the outcome could have been terrible for the USA and Allies.
What happened to the two other officers who helped General Zhukov defeat the Japanese?
Stalin’s secret police shot them,
for no real reason except Stalin was not 100% certain they were pro-Stalin.
Like Stalin said publicly: “Better to kill ten men, 9 of whom are innocent, in order to kill one potential assassin.“
I was a Boy Scout at the 1970 World Jamboree at the park at the foot of Mt Fuiji in Japan ,went through the +120 mph Typhoon that hit the park in which I broke my glasses, got rescued by USA Army troops and taken to a Japanese High School, and then was taken by Japanese Boy Scouts in a tiny car at high speed to a Japanese Eye Doctor in Kyoto who did an eye exam and made me new glasses (cost $11). The Japanese scouts and Eye Doctor could read English pretty well but could barely pronounce it.
I also learned as a 13 year old that Japanese street side vending machines sold both alcoholic beer and powerful fireworks to anyone with coins.