Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes:
Hi Thomas
Back in the 1970’s, I used to enjoy hunting for “utility” radio stations outside the regular SWBC bands. When I came across a copy of the Utility DXer’s Handbook from 1971 recently on eBay, I couldn’t resist purchasing it. I have since made a page on archive.org for it to help preserve this unique piece of radio history. Anyone interested can follow this link and take a look at the world of utility radio as it was over 50 years ago.
Also, I have included links to some of the recordings and QSL’s from these stations that I have set up on the Internet Archive.
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- The Utility DXer’s Handbook (1971)
- Vintage PTT stations 1970’s part 1
- Vintage PTT stations 1970’s part 2
- Vintage PTT stations 1970’s part 3
- A.T. and T. voice mirrors 1970’s
- Cable and Wireless voice mirrors 1970’s
- Tropical Radio Telegraph Company voice mirrors 1970’s
- France Cables and Radio Company (Africa) 1970’s
- French Telecommunications Service 1970’s
- Utility Radio QSL cards
- Utility Radio QSL letters
- Prepared Form Card (PFC) QSL’s
Wow, Dan! What a utility DXing treasure trove you’ve created on Archive.org. Thank you for sharing these resources and recordings with us!
A comprehensive listing of all the former utility stations is Ferrell’s Confidential Frequency List which was published during the “golden age” in at least 13 editions. A PDF of the 380-page 7th Edition is downloadable at https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Logbooks. Then scroll down and select Ferrell’s-Frequency-List-7-th-1988.pdf.
Wow, thanks!
Very helpful.
Happy New Year!
Cheers, Jock
For those seeking a PDF version, it should be easy enough to download alll the JPEG images (maybe from the torrent, in case the ones directly available on the website are further compressed than a JPEG normally is) and then just use some kind of freeware, online document maker or just something like Photoshop or InDesign. Export to PDF and you should have a nice little document.
Thanks for this! I live in Dixon, California, and often wondered about the radio station south of town, which still had an AT&T sign on the fence when I moved here in 2005. The antennas were still up (sloping Vs, oriented sw as I recall). The site has been long since plowed under.
Thanks for sharing! Utility DX was my first love when I began DXing in 1959. I especially enjoyed searching for the pre-satellite HF SSB links that provided point-to-point radio telephone service all over the world. I lived in upstate NY so many of them were pointed in my direction and that them easy to hear. My first receiver only had a BFO and drifted quite a fit so it was a challenge to keep them tuned. Interestingly later I got involved in Engineering on what may have been the last generation of 10kW SSB/ISB Transmitters for this kind of service and when I moved to sales I sold them to several Asian countries. Great memories!
Dan,
Is there any way to download the Utility DXer’s book as a PDF?
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Cheers, Jock
Yes, Jock, I think PDF would be a better format for this. I should be able to do this. Thanks for the suggestion.
Fascinating, Dan. Love the QSLs. Wish I had kept mine from that same period. HNY.