(Source: Southgate ARC)
Spain’s national amateur radio society the URE has made annual compilations of its magazine Radioaficionados available for free download
PDFs of the magazine are available from 2001 to the end of 2015.
To download each year click on the Descargar buttons at
http://www.ure.es/component/docman/cat_view/110-revistas/156-.html?orderby=dmdate_publishedURE website in Google English
http://tinyurl.com/SpainURE
The Como Audio Solo
Alas, I find that I’m frequently blamed by SWLing Post readers who cite this blog as the reason they spend so much money on radios.
But for the record, I’d like you to know that such spending is actually a two-way street! A couple of days ago, Post contributor Robert Gulley sent me a link to a cool Kickstarter campaign for two new multi-format digital radios: the Solo and the Duet by Como Audio.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/819585793/solo-and-duetto-one-touch-music-streaming-with-hif
Having just completed an in-depth review of several WiFi radios for The Spectrum Monitor magazine, the good-looking Solo in its wood casing really caught my attention! (the Duet, meanwhile, is a two-speaker version of the same rig). At first glance, the Solo appears to be compatible with a much wider range of digital formats than many of its competitors, so naturally I’m eager to determine if this is so. Here’s a list:
It even has a “high-performance” FM tuner and is DAB+ compatible, especially great if you live in Europe.
It also sounds like they’ve spent time designing a proper acoustic chamber/chassis and are fueling a 3″ woofer and 3/4″ dome tweeter with a 2 X 30 watt RMS amplifier. This radio should pack some audio punch.
The Como Audio Duetto
The only obvious thing I see missing on the Como Audio WiFi radios is an internal battery.
Still, after watching the video and reviewing the specs, I backed the campaign to receive a walnut Kickstarter Edition Solo. If all goes well––and I never actually expect a campaign to produce and ship a product in the amount of time they expect––they may be shipping the radios as early as October.
The campaign has already met it’s goal of $50,000 and is now stretching for $100,000 with more incentives.
So, I didn’t really need another WiFi radio, but thanks to Robert’s email––yep, I bought one! Now the only question remains: can you actually make impulse purchases on Kickstarter? I think I just proved that you can.
We’ve just posted yet another excellent recording by Tom Laskowski to the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. I thought a number of Post readers might appreciate this one.
Tom notes:
KNLS – Anchor Point, Alaska, from what I believe is a test transmission on August 1, 1983. According to Wikipedia, KNLS signed on the air July 23, 1983. The program consists of the sign-on ID in English and Russian then is mostly a mix of Big Band music. This recording is 31 minutes long.
Tom’s receiver was a Sony ICF-2001 and he started recording at 09:00 UTC on 11.820 MHz. His location, at the time, was South Bend, Indiana (USA).
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
You can listen to more archived shortwave recordings at the SRAA website, or by subscribing to the audio feed via iTunes. You can also listen to the archive on TuneIn radio.
I’m currently in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Québec (Canada) and having a brilliant time. I’ve been sans Internet for the better part of a week (save a little online time at local cafés) which is why I’m quite far behind on correspondence.
The lack of Internet, though, has a positive side: it has given me uninterrupted time to surf the shortwaves!
The only bad news is that I’m staying in a condo and the radio interference is…well…a little high.
Still, I’m fortunate to have a balcony where I can relax and listen to my Sony ICF-SW55 outdoors. In truth, I’m truly amazed with the reception I’ve had each evening this week from the Voice of Greece. Though, VOG’s broadcasts have been somewhat unpredictable after their official return to the airwaves, I’m appreciative every time they fire up their Avlis transmitter and pump out music on 9,420 kHz.
I should mention that Radio Romania International is also a very easy catch and, like VOG, punches through the RFI with colors flying.
This is one of the great things about shortwave radio–even when you’re far away from home, you can still hear a familiar voice on the air.
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Walter Salmaniw, who comments:
I reviewed Paul’s excellent program this morning and worked on decoding the image broadcast during his 2nd hour.
Unfortunately the slant was all wrong! But gradually, working the slant on the Fldigi resulted in a nice image of his dog [see image on right], using about -6250 (Configure > Soundcard > Settings >RX Corrections.
Thanks for a great program, Paul!
Thanks for sharing the image, Walter!
Paul, I think it’s brilliant that you included your beagle in the show! Thanks for putting the great tunes and content on the air!
The Kchibo KK-9803 portable shortwave radio
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kim Elliott, who shared a link to this tweet by USAID and notes:
“I don’t know if USAID is doing them any favors by giving them a Kchibo KK-9803 …”
.@USAIDOTI provides radios 2 communities displaced by Boko Haram in #Nigeria so they can access credible information pic.twitter.com/JR6MKikEfl
— Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization (@USAID_CPS) June 10, 2016
I agree with Kim. Even though, of course, I’m committed to the idea that radios bring access to information in parts of the world that need it the most, USAID obviously did no research prior to purchasing the Kchibo KK-9803 for humanitarian use.
No doubt, the Kchibo KK-9803 is one of the poorest performing radios I’ve ever reviewed (click here to read the full review). Though I fully support the concept of what USAID is doing, almost any other receiver would have been a better choice.
At ETOW, we work on a very modest budget–indeed a micro budget by USAID standards–but we would rather invest in better equipment, even if it means sending a smaller quantity to the field. Since so many resources are used just to deliver equipment to remote areas, one hates to waste those resources on equipment that may not perform the intended task or suffer from poor longevity.
My hope is that someone at USAID will read this and, at least, consult us prior to future distributions. An efficient analog portable (even the TECSUN R-911, for example) would be a much better choice.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares his updated Music on Shortwave list for the A16 period.
If you love listening to music on the shortwaves, you’ll love Alan’s free guide.