Author Archives: Thomas

Giuseppe’s Ingenious Recycled Antenna Board for SW & MW Listening

Screenshot

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Giuseppe Morlè, who writes:

Dear Thomas,

I’m Giuseppe Morlè, IZ0GZW, from Formia, in central Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea.

I’d like to show you my antenna board for shortwave and mediumwave listening with portable receivers like the Tecsun PL-660.

The board has two distinct circuits:

      • A small-diameter loop with two turns for shortwave reception (3.5–18 MHz).
      • Three ferrite rods with 30 turns each, plus a four-turn link coil that carries the signal to the receiver for mediumwave reception.

In the video, you’ll see how the board works on its own, and then how performance improves when I connect a 15-meter wire and throw it over the balcony of my house. In that case, the signal becomes much stronger.

Tuning is done with a 900 pF variable capacitor. To listen to mediumwave, I simply disconnect one side of the shortwave loop. With just that single variable capacitor, I can tune all of the bands.

It’s a surprisingly effective antenna for small portable receivers, and it’s built entirely from recycled materials—at no cost.

I hope you enjoy it. Greetings to all the friends of the SWLing Post.

73, Giuseppe Morlè, IZ0GZW

Click here to view on YouTube.

Many thanks, Giuseppe, for once again sharing your creativity with us. I’m always impressed by the antennas you design and by the performance you achieve—especially considering they’re largely homebrewed from recycled parts. That’s radio at its very best!

[Note that his video is in Italian, but you can turn on subtitles for your preferred language.]

Hammond Museum of Radio Welcomes Visitors Again

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Markku Koskinen, who shares the following tip from Guelph Today:

Hammond Museum of Radio reopens after two years

After a two-year-long closure the Hammond Museum of Radio has reopened.

The museum at 595 Southgate Dr. attached to Hammond Power Solutions was closed because of a major renovation to the building which included an addition. In order to protect more than a thousand artifacts from construction, dirt, dust and vibrations the museum closed. Everything was covered with tarps and cloth.

Some of the more valuable radios were relocated to storage. Employees would regularly check there were no leaks coming from the ceiling and no cracks in the walls. The museum reopened last month by appointment only. [Continue reading…]

Hurricane Erin from NOAA radiofax via USCG Honolulu

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Carlos Latuff, who shares the following radiofax images and notes:

Hurricane Erin, featured on NOAA’s 24/48 tropical surface forecast, received a radiofax last night in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from the USCG radio station in Honolulu, Hawaii (16135 kHz USB).

Curiously, the signal from the USCG radio station in Honolulu reached Porto Alegre MUCH better than the signal from the USCG radio station in Boston. Honolulu is approximately 12,744 km away from Porto Alegre, while Boston is 8,307 km.

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of Voice of Turkey (August 18, 2025)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report of a recent Voice of Turkey broadcast.


Carlos notes:

Pakistan flood death toll exceeds 300, Voice of Turkey, 9870 kHz

Click here to view on YouTube.

KPH Crypto Transmission on August 30, 2025 at 20:00 UTC

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Paul Jamet, who notes that the Maritime Radio Historical Society is hosting another Crypto Transmission from KPH on Saturday, August 30, 2025 at 20:00 UTC.

Click here for full details about the event and how you can participate on the Maritime Radio Historical Society website.

Radiofax imagery of Hurricane Erin

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:

Here in Porto Alegre, for the past two days, it’s been difficult to receive radiofax from the USCG radio station in Boston. Weak signal, short radio propagation window and lots of noise. Only today morning I was able to receive NOAA chart featuring Cat 4 Hurricane Erin.

100 Years Ago: A Teenager in Iowa Reaches Greenland by Radio

Collins QSL Card via the Collins Bookshop

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor David Iurescia, who shares this fascinating article from The Gazette:

Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association celebrates 100th anniversary of major radio breakthrough in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Years before the first trans-Atlantic phone call, and decades before international direct dialing would become available, a Cedar Rapids teenager had a direct line to one of the most remote places on earth.

And decades before companies like Collins Radio and Rockwell Collins became multibillion dollar enterprises, a 15-year-old’s ham radio was connecting Arctic explorers with the world from an attic on Fairview Drive.

On Aug. 3, 1925, Arthur A. Collins made headlines as the first person to communicate with MacMillan scientific explorers in Etah, Greenland on short-length radio waves — what The Evening Gazette in Cedar Rapids hailed as “a new chapter into the history of radio.”[…]

Explore the full story on The Gazette.