Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Jeff McMahon over at The Herculodge for his recent post, “Dude, You Really Love Radios: A Nostalgic Ode to the Tecsun PL-660.”
Jeff reflects on rediscovering the Tecsun PL-660, a “Pre-DSP Glory Era” classic, sharing insights about its design, performance, and the irresistible pull of nostalgia. Like many of us who love radios, he’s already contemplating buying a second one!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares illustrated radio listening report of a recent Radio Nikkei 1 broadcast.
Carlos notes:
*Better listened with earphones*
Part of Radio Nikkei 1 news bulletin (Nikkei Electronic News) in Japanese. BYD, a major Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, announced on the 24th that it will launch a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV) in the Japanese market at the end of 2025. Listened in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who shares:
Hi Thomas
I was doing some random tuning on shortwave this evening using the KiwiSDR at VK2ATZ in New South Wales, Australia, when I came upon a repeating music box-like tune on 13705 kHz that I thought had a familiar sound to it. It was like running into someone who you hadn’t seen in many years and trying to place where you knew them from. Yes, the sound was a bit different, perhaps even a little slower (age does that ?), but then it came to me, could it be Radio Japan, the overseas service of NHK? A quick check at Short-Wave.info revealed this was indeed NHK World Radio.
It felt like I had found an old friend, one that I knew from my high school days over a half century ago. Still recognizable after all those years, and it felt good to know that they are still around.
Attached are two recordings:
Radio Japan, interval signal and bilingual ID, as heard in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada on 9505 kHz in 1970:
NHK World Radio, interval signal and sign on in Thai on 13705 kHz, January 23, 2025 at 2300Z (via VK2ATZ KiwiSDR):
73
Dan Greenall
London, Ontario, Canada
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Jeff McMahon, who notes that he’s recently published a short review of the Tecsun PL-880 on his blog, The Herculodge.
Jeff has discovered something that portable radio enthusiasts have known for more than a decade: the PL-880 sports some of the best audio fidelity in a modern portable radio!
His review prompted me to search for my original review of the PL-880. It turns out I published it in December 2013. Has it really been over 11 years since the PL-880 was introduced? It’s hard to believe—but I’ll admit it still holds its own. I’ll never let mine go.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan, who shares the following YouTube video about Worldspace satellite radio.
If you’re not familiar, WorldSpace Satellite Radio was a pioneering satellite radio network that operated from the mid-1990s to the early 2010s. It provided digital audio broadcasting services to underserved regions, particularly in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. An amazing program, but sadly, funding ran short.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Alan, who writes:
Thomas,
You have been reviewing radios on your site lately, which has prompted me to produce an up-to-date table of all frequencies allocated to radio and TV broadcasting.
Worldwide radios need to tune any frequency up to 240 MHz. DAB+ in the 1.452 – 1.492 GHz band has been a failure. TV is as indicated.
Some chip manufacturers are making FM reception for the CIS and Japanese markets, they need to tune down to 47 MHz to cover all of band 1 for DRM.
Please note that DRM and DAB+ can transmit coloured slide shows to the screen in DAB+ and DRM receivers provided they have a colour screen included.
Alan
Thank you for creating and sharing this reference sheet, Alan!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Alan, who writes:
Thomas,
I came across this PDF from the ITU: Use of International Radio for Disaster Relief frequencies for emergency broadcasts in the High Frequency bands
With so many disasters, may be of interest to your posters.
Thank you, Alan!