Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio art describing the news he received, via Radiofax, in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Carlos says, “Expect the unexpected from Kyodo News (again!).”
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 Paul and Dennis Dura for the following tips:
Time to upgrade that receiver if you’re one of the few Swiss that still don’t have one able to receive DAB+ signals
Swiss radio listeners will soon have to toss out their old sets, as the country plans to end analog FM broadcasting on December 31, 2024, in favor of a total conversion to digital.
The move has been a long time coming in Switzerland, which has largely already transitioned to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB+, an evolution of standard DAB that was designed to address early issues). More than 99 percent of the country have access to a DAB+-compatible receiver and fewer than 10 percent of radio signals in the country still being broadcasted in analog FM, according to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. [Continue reading…]
There will be no substantive changes to the legislation
A bill in the House of Representatives that would mandate AM capability in new vehicles is about to be revised, according to a person familiar with the developments.
New information indicates that one of the original co-sponsors of the bill, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), plans to introduce an amendment to the bill (H.R. 8449). Changes would only include minor technical updates.
The planned amendment to the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act comes on the heels of last week’s last-minute cancellation of a planned vote by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which could have advanced the legislation to the full House for a vote. [Continue reading…]
Opponents play up the possibility that carmakers would have to choose
If Congress requires AM radio in new cars, vehicle manufacturers might have to drop safety features instead.
That’s the message from opponents of the proposed law in Congress. A guest commentary published by Automotive News restates the key points that opponents have been making since the legislation was introduced; but their blunt emphasis on a possible tradeoff with important safety features seems notable.
“To accommodate analog AM radio as a primary design requirement, certain carmakers may need to scrap advanced safety features, with engineers having to prioritize outdated technology over current or future safety innovations,” they wrote. [Continue reading…]
Many thanks to Paul who shared a link to this Mastodon thread discussing the technology behind the SAQ/Grimeton broadcast station: https://mastodon.social/@tubetime/110970146022678448
Here’s is a video (we’ve posted in the past) that gives even more detail about the design and operation:
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The Grundig FR-200 Self-Powered Analog Radio
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood, who writes:
I accidentally ran across this Brazilian government press agency release … In Spanish, then I found an English version.
Somewhat dated as the floods were back in May.
Thank you, Tracy. This article didn’t come to our attention in May, so we appreciate the link!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, André, who writes:
I have been following the SWLing Post for many years and really enjoy it. Like many DXers, I have a YouTube channel where I share my catches.
But I have something a bit different, that your readers might find interesting. It is an interview with a producer and presenter at an Ethiopian clandestine SW station, Voice of Fano.
I think it is interesting to hear from someone who is directly involved in a clandestine station, during a time of conflict, about their station. How they make programmes, the listeners, why they started the station, why shortwave, are they being jammed and more.
The station transmits from Issoudun, twice a week only, 15215 kHz. It can be heard on Wednesdays and Saturdays, 17:00 to 18:15 UTC. The WRTH listing has not been updated yet, they used to broadcast for 30 minutes only, but have increased this to 75 minutes. They have been transmitting for just over five months.
Kind regards,
André
Johannesburg, South Africa
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares his A-24 (version 3.0) season guide to music on shortwave. Alan provides this amazing resource as a free PDF download:
Click here to download Music on Shortwave A-24 v3.0 (PDF)
As always, thank you for sharing your excellent guide, Alan!
This dedicated page will always have the latest version of Alan’s guide available for download.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes:
Last night on my bedside radio I heard on BBC World’s ‘The Forum’ a wonderful 49-minute piece about portable audio. Much of it covers the earliest portable electron tube radios and transistor radios, and their influences on society in different countries. Mediumwave, Shortwave and FM radios and stations are discussed, as well as evolving technologies. The societal impact of the Compact Cassette and digital audio players and recorders is also discussed. Probably all SWLing Post readers will find this worth listening to!
Cheers,
-Ed
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct5n09
Released On: 22 Jun 2024
Many of us remember the first portable music device we owned: a transistor radio, a boombox, a Walkman or perhaps an iPod. We might even recall the songs we played on it. But we might be less aware of how profoundly audio technology developments from the 1950s to 2000s changed the ways in which we consume music and other audio outside of the home or concert venue. Transistor radios allowed outdoor sounds and noises to mix and compete with those coming over the airwaves, creating new auditory experiences; the cassette player gave the listener a cheap way of making and re-making their own playlists; and the advent of digital music players encouraged us to ‘own’ music recordings without possessing a physical copy of the audio.
Iszi Lawrence discusses the history of portable music with Dr. Annie Jamieson, Curator of Sound Technologies at Bradford’s National Science and Media Museum; American drummer and writer Damon Krukowski; Dr. Jahnavi Phalkey, science historian and Founding Director of Science Gallery Bengaluru, India; Karin Bijsterveld, Professor of Science, Technology and Modern Culture at Maastricht University; and World Service listeners.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Ally, who notes that the digital version of WRTH 2024 is available to order online: https://shop.radiodatacenter.net/product/wrth-2024-e-book/
Many thanks for the tip, Tom!