Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rolf Snijder, who writes:
Here are some pictures from my new XHData D-808.
It performs well, only a soft muting when I change the dial.Longwave is not great–it receives, but is too weak. Mediumwave and shortwave look great for this radio.
Have a great new year!
Thank you, Rolf!
I expect to receive my XHDATA D-808 within a week or so. I’m very curious how it will compare with the Digitech AR-1780!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill (KD5XN), who writes:
I enjoyed your article on the C Crane Skywave SSB this month in the Spectrum Monitor. I too have both of the Skywaves now, and agree they are near-ideal travel radios.
I bought a protective case by “Hermit Shell” that I stumbled across on Amazon that may well be one of the best protective cases I’ve ever seen for a portable radio.
It is made specifically for the Skywave(s) and fits like a glove. I believe one could kick it across a parking lot and never worry about any damage to your radio it’s so well padded. I put the earbuds and a clip lead for attaching to a reel antenna into the pouch in the cover. Not much else is going to fit.
I know that you are also a “bag geek” so I’ve sent the Amazon link for you to peruse.
[…]The only slight negative that I could say is that the cased radio is approximately twice the thickness of the radio alone, if tight packing is an issue.
I just thought I’d pass this along as I don’t recall ever seeing anyone mentioning it. At $14.99 it’s cheap but good insurance if you travel where things “take a beating.”
73, Happy Holidays and thank you for all your reviews and articles.
Click here to view on Amazon.com (affiliate link).
Thank you for your recommendation and tip, Bill!
We actually have mentioned this on the SWLing Post before, but obviously the article is rather buried at this point. Thanks for the reminder.
Like you, I do see the negative that this case effectively increases the size of the CC Skywave for one bag travel, but it would certainly do a fine job protecting the Skywave in transit. Indeed, I believe that’s a pretty acceptable compromise. I especially like the fact that the earbuds will also fit in the case. I might pick one of these up with some Christmas credit I have at Amazon.
Afterall, the CC Skywave SSB is a $150 radio–! I suppose since I buy $15-$20 protective cases for my $150 smartphone, my radio should at least get the same treatment! It’ll certainly outlast my smartphone!
(Source: The Mainichi via Kim Elliott)
HELSINKI (AP) — For nearly three decades, Finland’s YLE radio has broadcast a weekly news program in Latin to a small group of committed listeners around the globe.
With the audience numbering just 10,000 and people increasingly turning to the internet for content, Friday was meant to be the end of the road for “Nuntii Latini,” which means “news in Latin.” But don’t underestimate the passion of Latin aficionados — more than 3,000 of them wrote in from around the globe, some in fluent Latin, encouraging the station to save the program.
YLE leadership listened, agreeing to extend it until at least its 30th anniversary in 2019.
“Ne umquam desperaveris,” (loosely translated: “never give up,”) said co-announcer Reijo Pitkaranta, a docent and lecturer in Latin at the University of Helsinki.[…]
Happy New Year SWLing Post community!
A few months ago, I published a post about Colin Anderton’s excellent Radio Moscow recordings from the late 1970s. Being a space flight enthusiast, all of Colin’s brief off-air recordings feature news from the 1977-1978 Soyuz 26 mission to the Salyut 6 space station.
Recently, I started posting Colin’s recordings on a schedule so that each recording is being published exactly 40 years from the original broadcast date. Check out the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive each day (or subscribe via iTunes) to listen to the recordings.
Below, I’ve embedded the recording from New Year’s Day 1978 where we learned that Yuri Romanenko and Georgi Grechko toasted the New Year with fruit juice (for obvious reasons, champagne was not allowed on the station!).
Photo by Michael Browning on Unsplash.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who notes that the excellent website, Atlas Obscura, recently featured The Shipping Forecast:
Why a Maritime Forecast Is So Beloved in the United Kingdom
For the penultimate song on their 1994 album Parklife, Blur chose the swirling, meditative epic, “This Is a Low.” The song envisions a five-minute trip around the British Isles as an area of low pressure hits.
“Up the Tyne, Forth, and Cromarty,” sings the lead singer Damon Albarn, “there’s a low in the high Forties.” The song’s litany of playful-sounding place names, including the improbable “Biscay” and “Dogger,” may seem obscure to listeners abroad, but to a British audience, they resonate.
The song’s lyrics were inspired by the Shipping Forecast, a weather report that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Sailors working around the coasts of Britain and Ireland, recipients of the wrath of the North Atlantic and North Sea, are the ostensible beneficiaries of the forecast.
But, for listeners who tune in while tucked in bed rather than sailing the high seas, the reassuring sound—a simple, steady listing of conditions in the seas around the British Isles, broken down into 31 “sea areas,” most of which are named after nearby geographical features—is something more akin to the beating pulse of the United Kingdom, as familiar as the national anthem or the solemn chimes of Big Ben.[…]
Continue reading the full story via Atlas Obscura.
Thanks for the tip, Eric!
SWLing Post readers know that I’m quite a fan of The Shipping Forecast. We’ve posted a number of articles about the Forecast on the SWLing Post in the past–click here to read through our archives.
When I lived in the UK, I would often fall asleep and/or wake up to the Shipping Forecast. Here in the States, I can listen to the forecast live via the U Twente WebSDR, but I rarely remember to do so.
And, of course, I can navigate to the Radio 4 website and stream current and past forecasts on demand, but I find the audio a little too clean and full fidelity. I prefer listening to my maritime poetry via Amplitude Modulation (AM)!
To satisfy my desire for some AM forecasts, this morning I fed my SSTran AM transmitter with audio from the Radio 4 website, then made a recording with my AirSpy HF+ SDR.
Here’s my AM version of the Shipping Forecast:
Click here to download as an MP3.
For the record: this is what you get when you combine a radio and shipping forecast geek!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael (N9YZM), who writes:
Hi Thomas,
I took the plunge and purchased the Skywave SSB. It was under the tree on Christmas morning.
It was with some trepidation that I unwrapped it and installed a pair of AA batteries. I had read all the reviews regarding whistles and whines and had decided to give it a go anyway, particularly with the knowledge of the manufacturer’s excellent reputation for product support.
I am pleased to report no whistles or whines so far!
This morning I was listening to the breakfast club net on 3973 kHz. Reception, with just the whip, was not quite as good as my Commradio CR1-a with the W6LVP loop, but still very readable, and good enough to put a smile on my face and remove any thoughts of returning the radio to the manufacturer.
Air band, Weather Channel, FM, AM all seem to work great. I bought the radio primarily to throw in the bag when travelling, and can’t wait for the next business trip! I will still take the PL-880, and do some comparisons.
If I could change anything on the Skywave SSB, It would be to soften up (or remove) the detent on the tuning knob.
Holy Grail definitely comes to mind !!
Excellent, Michael! It sounds like your Skywave SSB is one that received a proper calibration and quality control run! I think you’ll find it makes for a superb compact travel radio.
Thanks for sharing your review!
As a side note, my full (4,300 word–!) review of the Skywave SSB has been published in the January 2018 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. You can purchase and download the issue for $3, or (better) purchase a one year subscription for only $24. As I’ve said before, TSM is one of the best values in our radio hobby!
(Source: The Mighty KBC)
Moving frequency!
Important news for our listeners across the pond! On December 31 we are moving to 6150 kHz. Sunday 00:00 – 02:00 UTC. Please spread the word.
