Author Archives: Thomas

Mali shortwave relay site back on the air with CRI

China Radio International Recommits to Africa

Mali relay site near Bamako is back on air diffusing China Radio’s shortwave signal. The site carries CRI’s shortwave broadcasts for more than 20 frequency hours a day to Africa. The move has also benefited Mali’s own shortwave transmissions, which were reportedly suffering from weak signals and poor modulation. “The reactivation of the facility is in contrast to the shuttering of other shortwave sites on the continent, such as the Sentech facility in Meyerton, South Africa,” writes Hans Johnson.

Click here to read the full article at Radio World.

Radio travel: Rob enjoys a shortwave-capable rental car in Namibia

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rob Gray, who writes:

I recently returned back from a three-month trip in Africa (Namibia, South Africa, and Morocco) and had a couple of shortwave-related items that you might be interested in.

The rental car in Namibia had shortwave capabilities in the in-dash radio! The rental company was oblivious to the option when I mentioned it as a huge perk, I really don’t think they understood or cared. The radio was a Sony CDX-G1200U, and while I find this radio for sale in North America, I don’t see any mention of shortwave. I suspect shortwave is either an option for foreign markets (at least Namibia in this case), or possibly activated via a modification or firmware upgrade. Perhaps any shortwave enthusiasts travelling to other regions of the world might keep an eye out for this model.

There were two ‘bands’, low (SW1) included some of the tropical bands up to 41 meters, and high (SW2) covered 31 meters through about 19 MHz or so. Decent coverage for casual mobile listening.

I found the performance of the radio quite satisfactory in Namibia, the BBC came in very well in the mornings and evenings. There was a little more on shortwave during the day in English, Channel Africa, etc., but the BBC was by far the best offering for listening.

Another equipment data point from around the world, this time in Morocco.

Several vendors in the Medina’s sold various radios (of questionable quality). The photo [above] was taken in Tetouan (which isn’t a touristy area) in March, but I did note similar for sale in Fez.

Brilliant, Rob! It sounds like you’ve visited some gorgeous parts of the world in your travels. I imagine on the long stretches of rural roads in Namibia, you could enjoy a proper low-noise environment for shortwave listening as long as the car itself didn’t produce RFI!

Post readers: Have you driven a car recently that sported a shortwave radio capabilities? Please comment!

Mendelsons preparing to close?

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who notes that George Thomas (W5JDX) visited the iconic surplus/parts store Mendelsons in Dayton, Ohio.

George spoke about his visit on HamNation and plans to air his tour and interview with the owner on a future episode. The owner did mention that they plan to close the store possibly within a year. Here’s the video clip from HamNation:

Click here to view on YouTube.

This would be a true loss for anyone in the Dayton area who enjoys building and making things. Mendelsons is so much more than a radio parts store–their selection is vast. In fact, that’s an understatement. It’s mind-boggling…gobsmacking!

I took a few photos inside Mendelsons in 2017 when I visited the store with friends (that’s WD8RIF in many of the shots!):

As George mentioned in the video, if you haven’t visited Mendelsons before, you do so soon. And plan to be there for multiple hours–it’s quite the pilgrimage!

Click here to visit Mendelsons online.

Hamvention Highlights: Affordable diversity reception with the SDRplay RSPduo

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Each year at the Dayton Hamvention I enjoy checking out the latest radio products and services. This year (2019) I found an exceptional number of innovations and will share these in Hamvention Highlights posts. If you would like to check out 2019 Hamvention Highlights as I publish them, bookmark this tag: 2019 Hamvention Highlights

Diversity reception with the SDRplay RSPduo

Last year, during the 2018 Hamvention, SDRplay announced the RSPduo, a 14bit dual-tuner SDR. We posted a review of the RSPduo on the SWLing Post.

At the time, SDRplay mentioned that the RSPduo could eventually be used for diversity reception.

Diversity reception is the ability to combine or select two signals, from two (or more) antenna sources, that have been modulated with identical information-bearing signals, but which may vary in their fading/noise characteristics at any given instant.

In short, diversity reception gives one a powerful tool to mitigate fading and noise, and to improve a signal’s overall integrity.

Andy and Mike with SDRplay demonstrated SDRuno’s diversity reception functionality and noted that it will soon roll out as a free upgrade to SDRuno, SDRplay’s open SDR application.

I should note here that the SDRplay booth at the 2019 Hamvention was incredibly busy—no doubt, because the RSPduo must be one of the least expensive, most accessible, ways to experiment with diversity reception. Case in point: the new Elecraft K4D transceiver will support diversity reception, but the price is about $4,700 US; the RSPduo can be purchased for $280 US.

Based on the demonstration, this feature will be quite easy to use and I love how it has been implemented in the SDRuno GUI (graphical user interface).

To learn more about the RSPduo, check out SDRplay’s website or read our review. Of course, when SDRplay releases the diversity reception upgrade to SDRuno, we will make an announcement!

If you would like to follow other Hamvention Highlights, bookmark the tag: 2019 Hamvention Highlights

Hamvention Highlights: The Ten-Tec Model 588+ OMNI VII+

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The Ten-Tec OMNI VII+

The Ten-Tec booth had more activity this year than I’ve seen in many years. The company is certainly showing signs of entering proper production again and innovating.

According to the T-T representative I spoke with at Hamvention, the company’s focus is on improving/upgrading many of their legacy products like the Eagle, Argonaut, 100 Watt Amplifier, and the OMNI VII. Iterative improvements will eventually be made to the full product line. Upgraded gear will have an added “plus” to the model name.

Ten-Tec’s featured model at Hamvention was the OMNI VII+—their flagship transceiver.

According to the Ten-Tec website, pricing starts at $2,699 US ($3,078 US configured with an internal ATU) and there are a number of units in stock, ready to ship.

The new OMNI VII+ Features (via the Ten-Tec website):

NEW! the 588+ has an All aluminum front face, side feet and side carry handle.
NEW! dedicated rear panel pan adapter output jack
HF 6 Transmit coverage on 6 through 160 meters, 100 watts output, even on 6. General coverage receives from 500 kHz to 30 MHz continuous plus 48 to 54 MHz. SSB, CW, AM, FM, Digital modes. Dual VFOs with SPLIT and REVERSE functions.
Full function Color Screen STN transmissive color LCD display with CFL backlight, 320 240 pixels.
Legendary QSK CW includes adjustable rise and decay times. User adjustable at the touch of a knob for hard or soft keying according to your taste. Built-in keyer can be used in Curtis A or B modes, adjustable 5 63 WPM.
17 selectable transmit bandwidths from 1000 4000 Hz. DSP generated to give your SSB audio a well-rounded sound tailored to your voice characteristics. A low-frequency roll off provides further control.
RX EQ and TX EQ in 6 dB octave filters selectable in 1 dB steps from high pitched at minus 20 dB to essentially flat response at 0 dB to bassy at plus 20 dB.
DSP Noise Reduction, automatic notch, and manual notch reduces interference from undesired carriers and random noise. Manual notch range 20 4000 Hz center, 10 300 Hz width, gt 50 dB rejection.
Band Sweep gives you a snapshot of the entire band in seconds. Find the pileups or scout for a clear spot automatically without touching the tuning knob.
Broad range Auto Tuner identical tuner as used in the ORION II, matches most antennas up to 10 1 SWR HF only. 100 Tune Memories. Order your OMNI VII with or without this option.
Three antenna connectors Two SO 239 transceiver outputs, plus a third SO 239 connector for auxiliary receive only antenna. Antenna switching is front panel selectable.
Updates by Flash ROM Serial port interface for local rig control via PC and for Flash ROM updates available via the Internet. Commands are a superset of those used for the Jupiter. To obtain the very latest version of the OMNI VII, visit our firmware download the software below. Connect the radio to a serial port on your PC and you are up to date in a flash. Easy!
Quad band-stacking registers and 100 memories
Optional Model 302R remote encoder keypad works with the OMNI VII. Plug it in and control selected features sitting back in your easy chair.
Aluminum chassis construction and steel outer case makes the rig an easy traveler at only 5 inches H x 12 inches W x 14.75 inches D. Weighs just 14 pounds
8 pin mic connector
70 MHz IF up conversion
455 kHz 2nd IF with Collins Mechanical filters

One of the unique features of the OMNI VII+ is that it sports Collins mechanical filters—likely the only modern transceiver that can make this claim.

I’m happy to see that Ten-Tec is innovating and manufacturing again. Certainly a highlight from the 2019 Hamvention!

If you would like to follow other Hamvention Highlights, bookmark the tag: 2019 Hamvention Highlights

Click here to check out the Ten-Tec website.

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OTR: Listen to “The Spy On The Kilocycles”

Hamvention Highlights: The Palstar TR-30A EMP, an EMP-hardened HF transceiver

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And now for our first highlight…

The Palstar TR-30A EMP

I’ve long been a fan of Palstar, a US company known for their fine antenna tuners and the classic R30 series HF receiver.

At the 2013 Dayton Hamvention, Palstar showcased a prototype HF transceiver called the TR-30. I posted a note about this at the time on my ham radio blog, QRPer.com. The TR-30 never seemed to make it to the market, but that’s not surprising considering the Elecraft KX3 and a number of other QRP transceivers were released the following year.

This year when I approached the Palstar booth, I found a new prototype transceiver: the Palstar TR-30A EMP.

This TR-30 iteration will, without a doubt, have a unique place in the radio market since it has been designed to withstand electromagnetic pulses (EMPs). To be clear, I know of no other transceivers on the ham radio market that are EMP hardened.

Post readers might recall a primer we published about how to protect your gear from EMP pulses (click here to read). I believe taking some simple precautions to protect gear from natural or man-made EMPs is simply a sound practice. In fact, I keep one complete rig stored in an EMP-proof container as described in our primer.

The Palstar TR-30A EMP requires no external EMP shielding or special handling/storage. It will be natively EMP-proof, even while hooked up to an antenna and without an RF ground attached.

I spoke with Paul Hrivnak (N8PH), President and CEO of Palstar, at Hamvention and he shared a few details about the Palstar TR-30A EMP:

The transceiver will be general coverage and will be able to operate on all of the HF ham radio bands.
It will have a very simple set of functions–at this point, he doesn’t even plan to have dual VFOs.
The output power will be 20 watts.
The front panel controls will be very simple and intuitive.

The TR-30A EMP’s unique internal antenna tuner will–if I understand it correctly–be able to match pretty much any load. It will have manual controls, but will be digitally controlled. Paul said that the ATU is being designed so that a satisfactory match can be found for any make-shift field antenna. I can’t wait to check it out for myself because I hold Palstar in high regard when it comes to antenna tuners.

Of course, from the ground up, the TR-30A EMP will be hardened against EMPs.

He hopes the Palstar TR-30A EMP will be in production by the end of 2019 and retail for $1,100 – 1,200 US.

Of course, I will post any news and updates about the Palstar TR-30A EMP here on the SWLing Post. I will also plan to review and evaluate the transceiver when it hits the market.

If you would like to follow product updates, please bookmark the tag: Palstar TR-30A EMP

If you would like to follow other Hamvention Highlights, bookmark the tag: 2019 Hamvention Highlights

Click here to check out Palstar’s website.