Author Archives: Thomas

radio six international: 60th Anniversary Celebration with 24 hour broadcast on SW and MW, June 6, 2023

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tony Currie, who shares the following announcement:

radio six international

SCOTTISH RADIO STATION CELEBRATES 60th ON SW AND MW

On 6th June 1963, four schoolchildren gathered in the attic of a house on the Ardrossan seafront in Ayrshire to launch their very own radio station. Cobbled together with tins, clockwork gramophones, and lots of wire, the opening day’s programmes were line fed to a radio receiver two floors down. But it was a start and, against the odds, the station survived in a variety of forms and today can be heard 24/7 on the internet. With listeners in 208 countries, and both daily direct FM and regular shortwave rebroadcasts as well as a network of 30 affiliate AM, FM and Digital stations around the world, radio six international is a force to be reckoned with.

Programming is largely unsigned and indie performers worldwide, while at weekends a team of some 30 seasoned professionals provide specialist music programming. The station is now based in a purpose-built headquarters on the Inner Hebridean island of Lismore, a tiny island sandwiched between Oban on the mainland and the much bigger island of Mull to the west.

To celebrate the station’s 60th anniversary on 6th June 2023, a day of original programmes from all the current station presenters will be broadcast, with the entire 24 hours carried on 9,670kHz in the 31 metre band from Röhrbach in Germany, as well as from FM transmitters in New Zealand on 88.2 and 107.6MHz between 00:00 and 23:59 GMT.   And as well as the streaming at www.radiosix.com (Alexa, “play radio six international”) the two hour live special programme “Sixty Swinging Years” hosted by Tony Currie will air on 1,323kHz from the Nexus-IBA transmitter in Milan, Italy between 19:00 and 21:00 GMT.  A special QSL card will be issued for the occasion and reception reports are encouraged. They can be sent during the broadcast (with probable mentions on air) to: [email protected]

For further details contact: Tony Currie (Director of Programmes)  [email protected]   Tel: +44 1631 760 100

radio six international The Studio, Port Ramsay, Isle of Lismore, Argyll, PA34 5UN, Scotland

Radio Waves: State of AM Radio, Quindar Tones Hack, AI DJs, BBC Pop-Up Station for Sudan, Artemis II & Ham Radio, and a Morse Revival

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Source: NASA

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, David Shannon, and Eric McFadden for the following tips:

Bouvard Laments “Yawning Gap” in Marketer Perceptions About Radio (Radio World)

Cumulus publishes analysis to counter prevailing sentiments about AM and radio in general

“Ford owners are massive users of AM radio.”

So writes Pierre Bouvard, chief insights office of Cumulus Media, citing data from MRI Simmons.

That is but one of his observations as Cumulus Media/Westwood One released an analysis of listening data from sources that also include the Nielsen fall 2022 survey, Edison Research’s “Share of Ear” and research by Advertiser Perceptions.

Bouvard regularly posts about the power of radio and what he calls misperceptions about the medium among the broader marketing community.

He summarized takeaways from the new Cumulus analysis:

“The Nielsen Fall 2022 survey reveals that 82,346,800 Americans listen to AM radio monthly; 57% of the AM radio audience listens to news/talk stations, the very outlets that Americans turn to in times of crisis and breaking local news; and one out of three American AM/FM radio listeners are reached monthly by AM radio,” he wrote. [Continue reading…]

AM News Radio, your go-to in a crisis, could itself be in trouble (NorthJersey.com)

“Some clouds over the city right now. I’m Paul Murnane,” says a familiar voice.

“I’m Wayne Cabot,” says another.

Few would know their faces. But as names, they’re as recognizable as anyone in New York.

Fewer still could tell you their address — an 11th floor studio in a light-brick high-rise in lower Manhattan, between a Chase bank branch and patisserie named Maman.

But hundreds of thousands know where to find them on the AM dial — right between 820 WNYC (“public affairs”) and 930 WPAT (“multi-ethnic”). That, for 56 years, has been the location of WCBS Newsradio 880 — one of those rare unchanging institutions in a changeable city. [Continue reading…]

Apollo Comms Part 27: Quindar Tones Microphone Hack (CuriousMarc on YouTube)

The last DJ nears? Radio station uses artificial intelligence, cloned voices (WRAL)

GENEVA — The voices sound like well-known personalities, the music features trendy dance beats and hip-hop syncopations, and the jokes and laughter are contagious. But listeners of an offbeat Swiss public radio station repeatedly got the message on Thursday: Today’s programming is brought to you by Artificial Intelligence.

Three months in the making, the French-language station Couleur 3 (Color 3) is touting a one-day experiment using cloned voices of five real, human presenters — in what managers claim is a world first — and never-aired-before music composed almost entirely by computers, not people. From 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., the station said, AI controlled its airwaves. Every 20 minutes, listeners got a reminder. Continue reading →

Guest Post: Review of an affordable, compact DAB+ portable radio

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mangosman, who shares the following review:

DAB+ digital audio/FM receiver and Bluetooth Audio Player with 2.4 inch LCD Display 

by Mangosman

Digital Audio Broadcasting with improved audio compression and error correction is called DAB+. I have had this radio for a few years.

Retail in Australia DAB+/FM radios are generally double the price and more. There has only been one model of DAB+/FM/AM radios which is now no longer trading.

This is a size comparison, the sound is very clear and is surprisingly good on music as well, despite having such a small speaker. Even at maximum volume there is no audible noise or distortion. The stereo program HE AAC compressed and FM and Bluetooth and is available on cabled headphones. Such a small speaker cannot produce much in the way of bass, but it is present on headphones.  Since DAB+ is a pure digital system, there is, full stereo, no noise as the radiated signal deteriorates, until the receiver mutes when error correction fails. The radio has a 400 mm long telescopic antenna.

On FM this receiver will decode Radio Data System data, I have had more sensitive FM reception.

This is the most sensitive DAB+ receiver I have owned. I am also currently also using two BUSH clock radios. I also have used older headphone radios, but push buttons and headphone sockets haven’t been very reliable.

This screen shows a full  colour album cover which can fill the screen and title. Smooth FM is the broadcaster’s name because it is simulcast in some other cities on FM and DAB+. The indicators on this screen are level of battery change, muting, stereo indicator, when decoded and the signal strength. Continue reading →

Alan Roe’s A23 season guide to music on shortwave (version 1.1)

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares his A-23 (version 2) season guide to music on shortwave. Alan provides this amazing resource as a free PDF download:

Click here to download Music on Shortwave A-23 v2 (PDF)

Thank you for sharing your excellent guide, Alan!

This dedicated page will always have the latest version of Alan’s guide available for download.

Mark’s collection of vintage micro radios

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Pascoe, who writes:

Hi, Thomas.

I rarely see photos of micro radio collections, so I thought some of your subscribers may be interested in seeing my little collection.

These are all late 50s to 60s radios made in Japan and hand soldered. Just over 50% of them are still working ( Deoxit is my best friend) l live in Adelaide Australia and recently retired doing the customary downsizing thing. Now I live in a small townhouse and have what must be one of the smallest radio shacks, 1m x 1/2 metre!

With a 50 ft long wire running front to back above my roof. I’m not an overly experienced SWL, and I have a question. I have 3 SW radio’s with 5 antenna attachment points. Is there a recommended antenna splitter that goes 1 into 5 without any interference ? I currently manually connect/disconnect my antenna’s.

Thanks Mark Pascoe.

These are simply amazing, Mark! I don’t believe anyone has ever shared photos of their micro radio collection before, so we’re most appreciative. There are some amazing designs in this collection!

Radio Waves: Gen Tojo’s Teeth, City Radio Review, Wearable CW Trainer, Sister Boniface, and “We Are Broadcasters” Oppose Tax

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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!

Click here to sign.

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Bob’s Bespoke “Rack of Radios”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Colegrove, who shares the following:

A Rack of Radios

by Bob Colegrove

You simply cannot have enough radios – a principle I learned a long time ago.  The difficulty occurs when it comes to storing them and yet having them at the ready when necessity calls.  Turns out several of my portables fall within a dimensional range that they can be conveniently stored in a rack on the table.

I would like to say I made a project out of this choosing a fine hard wood for construction, carefully routing each divider into a finely milled slot, tastefully finishing the whole thing off with appropriate stain and varnish, and perhaps lining each slot with felt of finest virgin wool.  However, never having been one to let form triumph over function, instead, I found a couple empty cracker boxes of the right dimensions, made a few cuts with a hobby knife, and applied some hot glue.  Whalla!

Wait a minute.  Is that an unused slot at the end?  Hmm!

I love it, Bob!

I mean, you know those cracker boxes just wanted to become a custom radio rack–! I say save the fine wood working to build the shelf upon which you’ll place your bespoke cracker box radio rack. 

Thank you!