Author Archives: Thomas

The Amazing World of Short Wave Listening: Hallicrafters 45 RPM

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(Source: WW2E on QRZ.com)

(Source: WW2E on QRZ.com)

SWLing Post reader, Michael Black, remembers the Hallicrafters 45 RPM promotional record in a comment:

“All this talk of early listening, especially when it’s about the same period I joined in, reminds me of the Hallicrafter’s 45RPM record that was used as a promotional tool.  Send 25cents, get the record back, and hear what you could hear with a shortwave receiver.

I don’t think I ever had a copy.  But I did some searching, and it’s apparently available in multiple places on the internet.  I won’t add a link because I’m not sure which one would be most reliable.  But a search on “hallicrafter 45rpm” gave results.

One site pointed out that the average listener would not have been able to hear much of what was on the record.  But that too represents the image of the time.  My Hallicrafters S-120A had a horrible sliderule dial, but endless space to mark exotic places like “Antarctica” and things like “aeronautical mobile”.  The receiver was awful, you’d have a hard time hearing much other than the strongest of sw broadcast signals, but going into the hobby, some of that marketing was what made it exotic.  For those of us who were young at the time, it wasn’t just about this new world of shortwave, in some ways it was about “this new world” that was beyond our world that wasn’t much bigger than school.   Antarctica wasn’t just exotic because you might be able to hear it on shortwave, it was an exotic place to begin with.”

I took Michael’s advice and searched the term, “Hallicrafter 45RPM” and found this YouTube video. Enjoy:

The Tecsun ICR-110 packs AM/FM and digital recording/playback

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Photo: BigBargainsOnline from eBay

In a comment, SWLing Post reader Owl mentions:

“Tecsun has just released ICR-110 which is as BIG as the PL-880 and seems to have the same speaker too.”

The ICR-110 can be found on eBay–click here to search. At $46.00 US shipped, I’m very tempted to purchase it. Though it lacks shortwave, it appears that it can record AM (MW) and FM broadcast stations in either MP3 or WAV formats. While I’ve yet to find a radio that can make a digital recording with acceptable fidelity (the CC Witness Plus being a notable exception) I would like to think the engineers at Tecsun have nailed it.

I have a friend who has recently purchased the ICR-110, and am looking forward to his review! (hint, hint)

Popular Communications: free download of November and December 2013 issues

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2013_12_pc_coverMany thanks to SWLing Post reader Lynn Kelly who writes:

“Anyone, subscriber or not, can get a free copy of the November and December Popular Communications to download as a PDF on the Popular Communications site.“

Lynn also mentions that many Pop Comm subscribers may not have received these two issues due to printing problems–thus you should download these while they’re still available.

Simply go to the Popular Communications website to download your copies (download by clicking on the November and December front covers).

For your convenience, here are direct links to download the November 2013 and December 2013 issues.

Can you help Bill find a Kenny Mayer aircheck?

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(Photo source: http://www.qsl.net/wb1gfh/mayer.html)

(Photo source: http://www.qsl.net/wb1gfh/mayer.html)

SWLing Post reader, Bill Albert, writes:

“I am trying to find an “air check” of Kenny Mayer, a well-known Boston late-night radio show host (now deceased) during the 1960’s and 1970’s. His show aired from 12-2AM Mondays, so it was one of the few interesting things one could listen to at that hour. He would play bits from classic old comedy albums (e.g., Bill Cosby and Bob Newhart in their stand-up days), and he’d ad-lib the sponsors’ advertisement spots himself. He was really a character, and his voice had a very unique cadence and intonation. I did manage to find one clip from a 1966 show featuring a routine entitled “The Great Society Affair”—a parody of the wedding of President Johnson’s daughter. God, how long ago that was!! Different world. There was also a bit by Godfrey Cambridge, and a number of Kenny’s home-made commercials. However, I’ve since lost that clip, and in any case I played and replayed it to exhaustion. If anyone has another “air check” of Kenny’s show, I would love to get a copy.”

If anyone has a lead for Bill, please comment!

If you’d like to read more about Ken Mayer, Bill suggests this article.

[Update: When I posted this request a few hours ago, I mistakenly posted the photo and information for Kenny Meyer instead of Kenny Mayer. Both of these gentlemen were prominent figures in the Boston broadcasting scene around the same time period (hence my confusion!).]

Russia “quietly” ends longwave services

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Zenith Transoceanic tuned to shortwaveThe BBC reports that Russia has “quietly switched off nearly all of its long-wave transmitters, ending almost nine decades of broadcasting – as cost finally catches up on the medium.” Read the full story on the BBC News.

Not a huge surprise as many countries are pulling the plug on longwave, despite the medium’s large local broadcasting footprint. It does make one wonder if VOR shortwave could also be pulled with little fanfare or warning.

Indeed, check out Jonathan Marks’ comments on the changes at the (former) Voice of Russia which we’ve mentioned has at least, administratively, been liquidated and consolidated.

I can tell you that for those of us in North America, VOR is now a much harder catch on shortwave–a very strange shift from the ubiquity of the broadcaster’s signal in past decades.

But if you want to hear frank, public comments about how these changes are affecting the staff of VOR, just bookmark and listen to From Moscow With Love. Hosts Vasily and Natasha happily march to their own beat and comment openly to listener inquiries.

TuneIn adds the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive

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IMG_0135
I’m pleased to announce that TuneIn Radio has added our Shortwave Radio Audio Archive (SRAA) podcast as a new Internet streaming broadcaster.

For those of you not familiar, TuneIn’s website and mobile apps offer the user the ability to listen to streaming audio of thousands of radio networks and radio stations worldwide, including AM, FM, HD, LP, digital, Internet stations and podcasts. Check out this post from 2012 where we review TuneIn.

TuneInLogoWhy stream shortwave radio recordings?

While most international broadcasters can be streamed directly via TuneIn or via the broadcaster’s website, listening to the shortwave archive will make your computer, smart phone or Wi-Fi radio sound like a proper shortwave radio–you’ll hear all of the noises, fading, ionosounders and things that go “bump” over the ether.

So if you like the low-fi sonic texture of shortwave radio (ahem, I do!) add the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive to your favorites on TuneIn Radio.