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 and applications making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors David Iurezcia, Mark Hirst, ReLLL, and Julian for the following tips:
Photo: Vít Šimánek, ?TK via Radio Prague INternational
Iconic Czech transmitter towers demolished (Radio Prague International)
Two 355-metre-high radio transmitter towers in Liblice, Central Bohemia, were demolished on Thursday.
For nearly 50 years, the towers, which were 120 metres apart, had been the tallest structures in the country. They were also the tallest towers in the world used for broadcasting in the medium-wave range.
Operator ?eské Radiokomunikace (CRA) had been unable to find another use for them or a buyer capable of ensuring their repair and safe operation. For safety reasons, it did not publicly announce the date of the demolition in advance; nevertheless, hundreds of people watched the event from within a cordoned-off area.
Global Public Broadcasters Gather in Seoul for 2026 PBI Conference (KBS)
About 300 executives and media experts from major public broadcasters, including the BBC, Japan’s NHK and France Télévisions, attended the event.
KBS, the only full member of PBI in South Korea, is chairing this year’s conference.
It is hosting the gathering for the third time, following previous conferences in 2007 and 2018.
In a written congratulatory message for the opening ceremony, President Lee Jae Myung said the media landscape is undergoing unprecedented changes amid advances in artificial intelligence and digital technology, with misinformation proliferating and commercialism intensifying.
He stressed that public media must firmly uphold their core mission to ensure that people around the world have access to reliable information and quality content.
T8/FT4 DX Decoder for SDR++Brown
Hello Thomas,
I am the developer behind the GitHub handle ReLLL. I have released Advanced FT8/FT4 DX Decoder, a free GPL-3.0-or-later receive-only plugin for SDR++Brown on Apple Silicon macOS.
It decodes FT8 and FT4 inside Brown and shows a DX map, countries/stations heard, receiver SNR, and grid-based distances. Unique stations, all messages, and Countries heard tables support filtering, sorting, and saved column layouts. It also offers persistent CSV reception logs, optional waterfall notifications, and a direct WSJT-X-format UDP feed for GridTracker. Closing its window keeps decoding while the plugin remains enabled.
The decoder uses pinned SDR++Brown/MSHV code. The current binary targets SDR++Brown 1.2.1 (August 4, 2026 build), macOS 15 or later, with macOS 26 tested. It is not advertised as compatible with standard SDR++, Windows or Linux. Distances are estimates from grid centers; it is a reception tool, not a transmitter or a propagation forecast.
Project and installation: https://github.com/ReLLL/advanced-ft8-ft4-dx-decoder
Release 1.0.24, matching source and checksums: https://github.com/ReLLL/advanced-ft8-ft4-dx-decoder/releases/tag/v1.0.24
User guide: https://github.com/ReLLL/advanced-ft8-ft4-dx-decoder/blob/main/docs/USER_GUIDE.md
I thought this might interest SWLing Post readers who monitor amateur HF digital activity with an SDR on a Mac. Would you consider a short mention in a project?
I have attached two screenshots of the plugin receiving live signals. They are also available here:
Thanks,
ReLLL on GitHub: https://github.com/ReLLL
A Visual Path, Open-Source Browser-Based SDR App
Hi Thomas,
I build SDR–, a free, open-source SDR app for macOS, Windows, and Linux. You wire radios, decoders, maps, and recorders together on a canvas. You can also run the server next to your antenna and operate it from a browser.
Also mentioned on:
RTL-SDR Blog: https://www.rtl-sdr.com/sdr-a-software-defined-radio-application-with-visual-signal-path/
Hackaday: https://hackaday.com/2026/10/01/sdr-lets-you-patch-together-your-setup/
73,
Julian
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