Author Archives: Thomas

History of the Radio Intelligence Division Before and During World War II

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Mike, who writes:

Good afternoon, Thomas. Recalling that there have been a few postings on the SWLing Post over time on the FCC’s Radio Intelligence Division, I thought this might interest you and some readers. I just came across this (I don’t even remember what linked me to it) and have only briefly looked reviewed it, but the manuscript appears to be pretty interesting. https://www.qsl.net/w3df/sterling/ridhist.pdf

Additional history can be found here: https://www.qsl.net/w3df/sterling/dfh1.html.

An interesting local (to me) tidbit on page 19: “It [RID] patrolled the outside of the Oak Ridge, Tennessee installation, the scene of the Manhattan Project but without the personnel knowing what atomic developments were being made inside.“

73,
Mike in Knoxville,
KW1ND

Fascinating! Thank you for sharing this, Mike.

The Voice of Mongolia – Then and Now

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Voice of Mongolia Transmitter Site (Photo by Mark Fahey)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who writes:

The Voice of Mongolia from Ulaanbaatar was always tough to hear from my location in southern Ontario, Canada. Relatively quiet conditions and a clear frequency eventually allowed me to make a recording of their interval signal and bilingual identification (presumed Mongolian and English) on November 1, 1998. This was on 12085 kHz at 1230 UTC. I was using a Panasonic RF-3100 portable receiver and a very long wire antenna.

Recording #1 November 1, 1998 1230 UTC 12085 kHz sign on in English (received in Ontario, Canada)

Today, reception of their programs still seem to be challenging, even with the use of remote SDR’s. Their schedule runs from 0900 to 1100 UTC on 12085 kHz, and again from 1300 to 1500 hours on 12015 kHz. Half hour English language segments begin at 0900 and 1430. Their distinctive interlude tune has remained the same through the years.

Recording #2 July 11, 2025 1300 UTC 12015 kHz sign on in Japanese (used Korean SDR)

Recording #3 July 12, 2025 1430 UTC 12015 kHz Chinese ending then sign on in English (used Korean SDR)

Dan Greenall, Ontario, Canada

Thank you for sharing these fine recordings, Dan!

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of NHK and Japan Meteorological Agency (July 14, 2025)

Video: Dan’s Weather Radio Primer

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Van Hoy, who writes:

After the recent tragedy in Texas, I realized a lot of people might be looking for weather radios. So, I decided to make a video on that topic which I believe will be informative for just about everyone.

Even some of the knowledgeable members will have a video they can refer their family and friends to for further education and guidance:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Thank you for making and sharing this excellent video, Dan!

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of Rádio Nacional (July 11, 2025)

Arctic 252 Longwave Returns: Test Transmissions Set for August

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Paul Jamet who notes that Arctic 252 plans to conduct on-air tests in August 2025. The project received a donation of a Nautel ND2000 transmitter, complete with its matching antenna tuning unit and antenna.

Initial test transmissions will run at 500 Watts. Once testing and fine-tuning of the antenna system are complete, transmission power will be increased to 1 kW for broader reach beyond Finland.

For more updates as the launch approaches, visit arcticradio.net.