Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Harald (DL1AX), who shares the following announcement from Radio SE-TA 2:
RADIO SE-TA 2 will start broadcasting on September 1st, 2020 via our own transmitter in Hartenstein (Saxony), Germany.
There will be a one-hour opening broadcast on the frequency of 6115 kHz from 10:00 UTC (12.00 CEST). In the evening, this one will be repeated again from 18.00 UTC (20.00 CEST).
With these transmissions reception conditions will be tested. But it will also be about program content topics at RADIO SE-TA 2, some of which have already been scheduled and others that are still being planned.
In the future, regular broadcasts are planned via our one transmitter according to a broadcast scheme, which we will inform you about in due course.
Our quarterly broadcasts continue to be aired on the 1st Saturday in the new quarter via the facilities of MEDIA BROADCAST in Nauen on 6095 kHz with a radiation power of 125 KW.
Transmissions are already booked as follows:
03.10.2020 – 10.00-12.00 UTC (= 12.00-14.00 CEST) – special length!
02.01.2021 – 11.00-12.00 UTC (= 12.00-13.00 CET)
03.04.2021 – 10.00-11.00 UTC (= 12.00-13.00 CEST)
Your letters with comments, criticisms, music requests and reception reports are welcome to: [email protected]
SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, and I have been evaluating a pre-production model of the Tecsun PL-990x portable shortwave radio–the same model which will be soon sold by Anon-Co.
Dan has just completed his initial assessment and included a long-format video. Many thanks to Dan for sharing the following:
I was able to spend some time outside my house here in Maryland, running the 990x and comparing it to the older receiver by Tecsun, the PL-880.
Tecsun undertook a thorough re-design of the PL-880, which among other things was known for its superb sound through a large speaker.
The 880 was available both on its own, or in a hard-case kit that also included (or includes assuming these are still purchasable) a separate Tecsun-branded solid state recording device, spare knobs and other accessories including Li-ion batteries.
So, the long-awaited PL-990, which we have been seeing in YouTube videos being tested by various individuals who purchased pre-production versions from Asian sites such as AliExpress, is finally here – or will be in coming weeks and months.
Those who view my videos know that I like to do fairly long hands-on tests of receivers, and this is no exception, at about 50 minutes. My test did not include medium wave or FM, focusing only on shortwave performance and using only the telescopic whip antenna.
Throughout the video, I do put the 990x up against the older PL-880, which had the well-known issue of poorly-implemented synchronous detection (SYNC was not an official feature in the older receiver).
IMPORTANT NOTE: On the 990x, hitting the “4” key while the radio is powered on activates DNR (Dynamic Noise Reduction) which then activates auto-bandwidth switching, a feature I found quite annoying in the PL-880 and would no doubt find just as annoying in the 990x. I can’t imagine why anyone would want bandwidths auto-switching on their own.
I always tell people who come to me for advice about radios that you don’t always have to have the latest receiver to enjoy what’s left of shortwave.
I am a big fan of classic older portables such as the SONY ICF SW55s, 7600GRs, SW100s, SW-07s, SW-1000Ts, SW-77s, etc along with other classics such as the Panasonic RF-B65. I own one or more of most of these – they’re a joy to use assuming they are in good condition.
One more thing – I did not compare the 990x to the Tecsun S-8800. I think they are really different radios – the 8800 has that gorgeous remote control and fantastic audio . . . I really don’t put it in the same category as the 880/990s or even the 600 series Tecsuns.
I will leave extensive tests of the 990x on medium wave and FM to others – there are already quite a few YouTube demonstrations online showing this. In the tuning I did on MW and FM, the radio did seem quite sensitive. I noted that whereas the 9 kHz bandwidth is not visible on shortwave, it is on MW.
Here is my list of high points and low points for the 990x. Since this receiver, and the still-to-be-released H-501, may in fact be the last we will ever see from Tecsun, it’s up to the individual to make a judgment as to whether to buy.
PL-990x High Points
A thorough physical re-design of the old PL-880
Tecsun has mostly fixed the problem with synchronous mode which is now a regular as opposed to a hidden feature.
Selectivity options are still excellent.
Calibration function retained (but see below)
Audio is fairly full and powerful.
Sensitivity seems good
Tecsun has added mp3 play capability and a microSD slot
Tecsun has added bluetooth capability (NOTE: This is activated by pressing the RADIO/MP3 key in powered off state, and then toggling Bluetooth on or off with the PLAY/PAUSE button).
Tuning and other knobs remain of high quality as on the PL-880
Bandwidths given their own separate buttons
Line out retained and hidden feature can adjust line out level
Claimed “Triple Conversion” in AM mode
Timer functions
ATS (automatic station tuning) retained
Nice faux-leather case retained
PL-990x negatives:
Re-design appears to have come at expense of speaker real estate.
Synchronous mode improved, but there still seems to be some distortion which is more noticeable on some frequencies and in some reception situations than others.
PL-880’s wide AM bandwidth of 9 kHz is no more at least on SW, but it does appear when using MW.
Sensitivity seems good BUT in some situations, PL-880 sounded better and seemed to bring in stations better
MicroSD capability does not provide recording from broadcasts (likely due to copyright issues)
Method for re-calibrating radio is puzzling – more information needed on this
Birdies are present
Top element of telescopic antenna is VERY thin, vulnerable to bending and breaking
Number keys seem to be not as good as they could be – the white paint on the keys is certain to fade over time. On my test unit part of the “W” on the MW/LW key was already beginning to disappear.
Many thanks, Dan, for sharing your initial review with us. As always, your expertise as an experienced DXer is incredibly valuable.
I’ve tested every function on the PL-990 save some of the hidden features (yes, there will be hidden features). Dan and I are both trying to sort out the calibration sequence so that when these units hit the market, there’ll be a documented procedure in place.
We’ve been comparing notes along the way and are in agreement on all of the major points with this radio.Still more testing to do, but updated with be posted here with the tag: Tecsun PL-990x
As Hurricane Laura starts to make landfall this evening (Wednesday, August 26, 2020), it is expected to be a category four hurricane—producing extreme winds, life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding.
This has been an active and early tropical storm season here in North America and September may produce even more named systems.
A few readers have asked about frequencies to monitor the HWN, so I thought I’d share this short primer.
Hurricane Watch Net (HWN)
The Hurricane Watch Net is a group of amateur radio operators who are trained and organized “to provide essential communications support to the National Hurricane Center during times of Hurricane emergencies.” The HWN focuses on “ground truth” observations (much like SkyWarn nets).
The Hurricane Watch Net is activated when a hurricane is within 300 statute miles of expected land-fall. The HWN covers the Caribbean, Central America, Eastern Mexico, Eastern Canada, and all US Coastal States.
The HWN operates in both English and Spanish, and is active on 14.325 MHz (upper sideband) during the day and 7.268 MHz (lower sideband) at night.The HWN is known to operate on both frequencies if propagation allows.
The HWN provides updates on their website regarding activation times and frequencies. As an example, here’s the latest for Hurricane Laura:
The Hurricane Watch Net will activate Wednesday morning at 8:00 AM CDT (1300 UTC) on our primary frequency of 14.325.00 MHz. Beginning at 4:00 PM CDT (2100 UTC), we will begin simultaneous operations on 7.268.00 MHz. Once activated, we will remain in continuous operation on both frequencies until the bands close. We will resume operations on those bands just as soon as propagation returns.
Please keep HWN frequencies clear
If you’re an amateur radio operator, please avoid using 14.325 MHz and 7.268 MHz anytime the HWN has been activated.
Monitoring hurricane frequencies
If you have a shortwave radio with a BFO/SSB mode, or a ham radio transceiver–and you live within the propagation footprint–you can monitor the Hurricane Watch Net.
Note that you’ll need to use upper sideband on 14.325 MHz and lower sideband on 7.268 MHz.
You can also monitor the Hurricane Watch Net via a number of WebSDRs on the KiwiSDR network and even potentially via the U Twente WebSDR in the Netherlands if propagation is favorable (although a WebSDR in North America would be preferable).
The lab599 TX-500 Discovery is a general coverage transceiver with AM mode, which means it can do double-duty as a shortwave receiver.
If you’ve been following previous TX-500 posts, you’ve seen me take this near military-grade portable transceiver to the field. I’ve activated a total of 6 parks in 6 days with it and it’s been a load of fun.
At home, I’ve also been doing a fair amount of SWLing with it in the evenings. I have a pre-production model that doesn’t include all of the accessories that will be provided with the production model. I don’t have a good way to port the audio out of the transceiver for recording at present, but I have been listening to broadcasts in the shack using a simple battery-powered amplified speaker.
I made a short video demonstrating the shortwave listening experience with the TX-500. It’s not a deep-dive by any means, but I thought it might provide a little more context. Keep in mind, I recorded this with my iPad, so the audio is far from ideal.
In general, the TX-500 is a fine radio for shortwave radio listening. It has the sensitivity and selectivity even a demanding DXer would seek. The TX-500 has a very low noise floor and an effective RF gain for mitigating summer QRN (static crashes) here in North America. I wish I had the time to tinker with the audio and see what sort of fidelity is possible. I’m not sure I’ll have time to cobble together a connection to my station monitors before I need to send it on.
Speaking of which, I’ll be sending this TX-500 to Ham Radio Outlet within the next two days. If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask now!
I will write-up a comprehensive review of the TX-500 in the October issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine (my IQ32 overview is in the September issue).
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Phillip Novak, who writes:
A question or perhaps comment on the Icom IC-R30 that I’m hoping SWLing Post readers might shed some light on.
I’m a very new and extremely pleased owner of one of these units for the past 2 weeks. Aside from receive capability, usability is a big deal for me and this thing has proven to be a joy! The menus, buttons and build quality just feel great and frankly, I’m pretty happy about having made the “investment”.
So, it was with great excitement that my wife and I have the week off at the cottage – more so for me, as I was looking to really break the R30 in while sitting on the lake shore.
And then …. I was extremely disappointed to find out that the r30 headphone jack is mono (just like the IC-R6 that I already owned). On top of that, the jack is slightly recessed into the body of the unit, which renders the mono-to-stereo split adapter useless! (I really thought they would have changed it!)
Someone, please enlighten me as to why Icom would choose a mono plug!
It’s funny you mention the recessed plug as I had the same issue with a portable recently–the audio out port was recessed to the point that only the provided cheap earphones would fit!
Perhaps SWLing Post readers and IC-R30 owners can provide you with a simple solution? Of course, you can always purchase or build a mono-to-stereo adapter or patch cord–one with a slim profile to fit in the IC-R30 audio port recess (that’s the tough part, of course). But perhaps there are even earphones that have this functionality built-in? I honestly don’t know. Any ideas, readers? Please comment.
And, Phillip, we’d welcome your review of the IC-R30!
My friend, Macon Dail (WB4PMQ), is the Transmitter Plant Supervisor for the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station in eastern North Carolina, USA. He recently sent the following note and asked that I post it here:
“If anyone asks about the status of their QSLs from our station, please tell them that we had several returned over the past months as not deliverable. We think that the Covid-19 pandemic may have stopped some of the international mail delivery. I plan to resend them in the next week or so to see if they can make it through the postal service. “
Thanks for sharing the update, Macon!
In fact, this is not the only shortwave station experiencing problems. If you’ve requested a QSL this year, it could take much longer to get a response. You might make a note to follow up with broadcasters once this pandemic is in the rear-view mirror. Not all will be as careful about following up like Macon.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Schuster, who shares the following guest post:
Vlado works his magic on my Sony CRF-160
by Michael Schuster
Back in the 1970’s my grandfather gifted this solid-state portable to me as it was more than he needed. It was the first “real” radio I can remember owning, and it initiated my habit of scanning the dials into the wee hours of the morning. I began my serious SWLing using this set as it had excellent sensitivity, dual conversion design, big booming audio, and generous bandspread tuning for each major SW broadcast band.
One of the best-known SWL programs at the time was Happy Station on Radio Nederland, and I have distinct memories of listening in our back yard one summer afternoon when the show came up on the African Service over the Madagascar relay. My family was astonished at the program coming from so far away and even more so when Tom Meijer happened to read my letter over the air during the mailbag segment!
Fast forward many years (and two moves) later, it sat on a shelf until, trying it out again, I was dismayed to find both slide rule tuning dials, and the rotary drum band selector, to be frozen in place. And so there it sat until….
In a few online forums I kept hearing about a magician named Vlado at Ham Radio Repair. He specializes in restoring old sets, and has the courage and curiosity to tackle just about anything. Thinking this might be my last chance to bring this fossil back to life, and armed with a scanned copy of the service manual downloaded from the Radio Museum web site (the Internet is a marvelous thing) I began a several months’ long email exchange with Vlado entitled “Would you be willing to work on…”
He is chronically swamped with sets to work on, and has little room to store pending jobs, but was more than willing to have a look. Several months, and one pandemic later, we touched base again and I arranged to ship this monster off to him. Vlado is especially interested in the stories behind old hardware, so I shared its history with him as it adds that extra “human factor”.
The radio is in great shape as he noted, but needed a total rework of the tuning dials and drum selector. He also replaced all of the electrolytic capacitors (most were leaking as pictured), replaced some tiny light bulbs with LED’s, and realigned all of the circuits for maximum performance.
Unpacking and trying out the restored set was a true blast and somewhat miraculous. It performs just as I remember and now sits on the shelf, this time in use rather than in storage, booming its audio across my basement work room.
Now this set will probably outlive me as it did my grandfather; hopefully it will end up in the hands of an appreciative recipient for the next generation of radio enthusiasts.
Thank you for sharing this repair story, Mike. I visited Vlado’s home a few weeks ago and saw the box labeled “Sony CRF-160” in-line to be repaired. As Vlado worked on it, he sent me a couple of photos, too, because I believe it was the first time he had ever worked on this particular Sony model. It is certainly a gorgeous radio–wow! And I do love your philosophy as it’s the one I adopt too: keep vintage radios alive and working beyond our generation.
Vlado is truly the most capable ham radio repair guy technician/engineer you’ll ever meet. He’s also as honest as the day is long. If you have a vintage or late-model solid-state radio that needs repair or restoration, contact him.
