Photo credit: Lietuvos centrinis valstyb?s archyvas.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giedrius Blagnys, who notes:
The first national radio broadcast in Lithuania started on 1926-06-12 d. Photo above: the mic used for the first broadcast.
Recording of the first transmission:
Many thanks for sharing this interesting bit of history with us, Giedrius!
Many thanks to my buddy, Skip, who shared the following video on his Facebook page:
Photo from the RCI Sackville transmitter site in 2012, a few months prior to its closure.
Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: 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 Troy Riedel, NT, Tracy Wood and the Southgate ARC for the following tips:
The former head of CBC News laments the evisceration of CBC’s international service and Canada’s shrinking voice in the world
For a country that once regarded itself as one of the world’s leading middle powers, Canada’s voice on the international scene is a strikingly quiet one these days. It reminds me of the line from that famous “dead parrot” sketch in Monty Python: “bereft of life, it rests in peace.”
The latest sign of this is the decision by CBC/Radio-Canada to implement changes that have effectively smothered Radio Canada International (RCI), its fabled global audio and online service that has helped serve as “Canada’s Voice to the World” for more than a half century.
In a December announcement replete with CBC doublespeak, the CBC unveiled a “major transformation” of RCI that, it claimed, would ensure RCI remains “a strong and relevant voice” in this century’s media landscape. Not surprisingly, the practical impact of these changes is precisely the opposite.
Flipping RCI’s historic mission on its head, the service will now focus more on ethnic minorities within Canada rather than on continuing to produce programs tailored uniquely for international audiences. More than half of RCI’s beleaguered staff have been laid off.
This latest CBC battering of RCI — a pattern that has gone on for decades — triggered considerable criticism. In February, a group of 32 prominent Canadians sent an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other senior government ministers urging that the CBC scrap its planned strategy and appoint an independent committee to plan a rebuild of the international service: “In an interconnected world in search of truth, facts and honest journalism, countries like Canada cannot abdicate their role on the world stage.” Its signatories included former prime minister Joe Clark, former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy, former UN ambassador Stephen Lewis, actor Donald Sutherland and author Naomi Klein. Continue reading…
Live streams for radio and TV stations owned by the Cox Media Group, one of the largest media conglomerates in the US, have gone down earlier today in what multiple sources have described as a ransomware attack.
The incident took place earlier this morning and impacted the internal networks and live streaming capabilities for Cox media properties, such as web streams and mobile apps. Official websites, telephone lines, and normal programming remained running but some live programming could not go on air as scheduled.
“This morning we were told to shut down everything and log out our emails to ensure nothing spread. According to my friends at affiliate stations, we shut things down in time to be safe and should be back up and running soon,” a Cox employee shared in a private conversation earlier today. Continue reading…
The Asheville Radio Museum reopened to the public Saturday, June 5, following a months-long closure due to the pandemic.
The museum, located on the campus of A-B Tech, and closed in November to follow the campus’s COVID-19 protocol to protect students and staff.
Asheville Radio Museum boasts a premier collection of vintage radios with the goal to educate, demonstrate and fascinate visitors about the importance of the radio, which was named the second most important invention of the twentieth century on the Science Channel.
Saturday’s reopening was highlighted by the addition of newly-procured radios as well as refreshed displays throughout the museum. Continue reading…
The Graphene Manufacturing Group in Brisbane, Australia together with the University of Queensland have according to the GMG website developed a Graphene Aluminium-Ion Battery energy storage technology that has up to three times the capacity of a lithium-ion battery and can charge up to sixty times faster.
The battery was created by inserting aluminium atoms into perforations made in graphene planes.
The company claims that because the batteries lack an upper Ampere limit that would otherwise cause spontaneous overheating, the batteries are also safer. The stable base materials also facilitate their recycling later.
The company hopes to bring these cells to market by the end of 2021 or early 2022
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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rob, who writes:
I have a question about the digital signals I received today during what must have been an E skip opening to the southwest.
Can you identify by the bandwidth the wide signal in one screen capture vs. the normal FT8 signals which were decoding today quite well using the 7610?
Typical 6 meter band FT8 signals
Wide digital signal on 6 meters.
The wide signal didn’t decode in FT8 mode, but I have no idea what mode was being transmitted. Any idea?
Great question, Rob. I’m posting this because I’m no expert on timed digital mode signals. I recognize FT8, and assume this could be FT4, JT65 or similar, but the timing is identical to FT8. I’m sure someone in the Post community will solve this signal mystery in very short order!
Readers: Can you help Rob ID this wide, timed digital mode signal? If so, please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave, who writes asking if any Icom IC-705 or IC-7300 owners have created a database of SWL frequencies that could be imported into memory. I think this is a great idea as both transceivers are quite capable shortwave listening receivers.
If you have a database file and would like to share it, please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Porter, who shares information about a multi-media arts project set at the North Hessary Tor Transmitter site in Devon, England. Dave writes:
A little while back I was contacted by Alex Robins as he and others were involved in an Arts Project centred round the North Hessary Tor Transmitter site in Devon, England.
The web page for the Arts Centre is here: https://www.thenorthwall.com/whats-on/north-hessary/
There is a link on the page describing how their project was executed and what was involved in compiling all the information required for their on-line experience. Click here to read.
I was pleased to have been able to assist them in some background information as to what can be found inside a transmitting station.
The culmination of their work was the creation of a video game and it is here on this link
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing this, Dave!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
Today (June 5, 2021) I heard another mysterious CW transmission here in Rio Grande do Sul coast, this time on 8779 kHz, 18h31 UTC.
I did some research and this frequency is related to Rome Radio (which is no longer transmitting in CW) and a marine channel (ITU821) related to Cape Town Radio but I’m not sure:
https://capespectrum.wordpress.com/hf-marine/
I’m sure your readers will solve this puzzle as well.
Thanks for sharing, Carlos!
Post readers: Can you help Carlos ID this station? Please comment!