Author Archives: Thomas

Brock International Prize: seeking jurors who understand radio and education

Brock-Prize

SWLing Post readers: my friend, Dr. Ed Harris, administrator for the Brock International Prize in Education could use your help.

Ed writes:

Hello Fellow SWLers,

I recently wrote a post re: Why Shortwave Radio is Still a Superior Educational Technology. I am both an educator and radio enthusiast. One my roles as an educator involves overseeing the Brock International Prize in Education, an award that goes to innovative educational ideas and practices that make a difference. For some time, I have been looking for a juror for the Prize who understands radio and education and can recommend a nominee who has done a lot with radio regarding some aspect of education. I am in the process of looking for jurors for the 2016 deliberations. Below are a couple of FAQs:

What is the Brock International Prize in Education? The Brock Prize is about big ideas that make a difference. It is presented annually to a person (or team) who has an educational idea, concept or practice that fundamentally impacts society. The Prize is comprised of a velum certificate, $40,000, and a sculpted bust of Sequoyah, which are presented to the laureate in the spring of each year. For more information about the Prize, past jurors and laureates, please see our Brock International Prize in Education website. You may also contact me (ed.harris@okstate.edu).

What are the jurors’ responsibilities? Jurors play an vital role in the process, and your participation and perspective on the jury would be extremely valuable. Below are some of their general responsibilities:

By September 1, 2016 develop a 20 to 50 page (maximum) portfolio of your nominee and forward it to Cindy. Usually, the portfolio includes the nominees resume’, any award information, articles, speeches, etc. We can send you examples of what this has looked like in the past. (Note: you do not have to write this, per se, but rather, collect materials that are already in existence.)

On an afternoon of Thursday October 13, 2016, all jurors will come to Tulsa for an Acquaintance Dinner with John Brock and me.

On the following day (Friday October 14), we will hold the deliberations. Each juror will have 30 minutes to present his/her nominee. Some jurors have presented short video clips, others have used PowerPoint, while others have just talked about their nominee’s accomplishments. After deliberations, the Jury votes.

On Friday evening following the deliberations, we hold the Announcement Dinner to declare the laureate. We will fly you back home on Saturday.

Jurors will receive a $500 stipend, and of course, all expenses will be paid. If you or someone you know might be interested in being a juror for the prize, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thank you!!

Click here to view the Brock International Prize in Education website.

Alex’s updated shortwave frequency charts

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Great news! SWLing Post reader, Alex, has just informed me that he’s updated his printer-friendly shortwave frequency charts for the B15 broadcasting season.

Note that Alex creates his charts based on listening to broadcasters rather than importing schedules from other sources. His charts are essentially UK-centric, since this is where he lives and logs the broadcasts. With this said, however, many listings are appropriate for other parts of the world.

You can download the free charts on his website:
Shortwavetimes.com

Many thanks once again, Alex!

Kaito KA108: Unboxing Kaito’s new compact portable radio and MP3 player/recorder

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Yesterday afternoon, I ventured off of our snowy mountain for the first time since Thursday. I was very pleased to find the new Kaito KA108 waiting for me at the post office. Universal Radio kindly dispatched a unit to me for review from their very first shipment. Thanks, Universal!

I’m starting to put the KA108 through its paces: checking out reception on shortwave, mediumwave and FM. I plan to make a few recordings today and see if its internal recorder is effective (my fingers are crossed on this one!).

By request, I took a few photos while I unboxing the Kaito KA108 last night (click each image to enlarge):

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Kaito-KA108-Unboxing-2

 

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Check back soon as I plan to post at least a short review/overview within a few days.  Follow the tag: KA108

WRTH 2016: B15 season update now available for download

WRTH-2016Many thanks to Sean Gilbert who shares the following on the WRTH Facebook page:

WRTH has released a free of charge update file for the B15 (winter) international and clandestine/target broadcast schedules. The file is in PDF format and follows the same styling as the WRTH printed edition.

To download the file, please visit either: http://www.wrth.com/_shop or http://www.wrth.com/_shop/?page_id=444.

We understand from some of our web visitors that there was an issue with our donations button not working properly – this has been rectified and you are now able to make a donation to WRTH, should you wish to. This is entirely voluntary, of course.

If you haven’t already purchased your copy of the 70th anniversary edition of WRTH (2016), now is the ideal opportunity! Head to our website for more information. Best wishes and happy listening/DXing from the WRTH Editorial team.

Click here to read our overview of the 2016 WRTH.

Purchase your copy of WRTH 2015 directly from WRTH’s publishers, or from a distributor like Universal Radio (US) and Amazon.com (US), or Radio HF (Canada). BookDepository.com, a U.K.-based seller, is also offering WRTH at a discount and with free worldwide shipping.

Sun Radio: solar-powered FM stations

SunRadio-2Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gregg Freeby, who writes:

I thought your readers might be interested in this story about a solar powered FM radio station operating in Austin, Texas. The article also includes a brief history of broadcast radio.

http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2016-01-22/anthem-of-the-sun/print/

Here’s an excerpt from The Austin Chronicle:

Up on the second-story rooftop of Sun Radio, one looks east to the antenna farm near Loop 360 in West Lake Hills, and southwest at the Hill Country gateway of Dripping Springs. From where Denver O’Neal stands, eight rows of solar panels lay out along the north side of our perch.

“We’ve got 48 panels sucking in the sun’s juice,” explains O’Neal, 30, operations director of the station. “It goes into this control box, then converts AC to DC. The juice comes out AC from the panels, where it converts to DC for the outlets.”

Sunlight remains the most abundant natural resource on the planet. A single hour produces more energy than Earth’s population uses in a year. Whereas any child who’s used a magnifying glass to wreak havoc on an anthill has witnessed solar power in action, the U.S. didn’t start harnessing rays to light homes and businesses until the Seventies. Decades of steady market growth meant that by 2004 states began offering rebates for solar panels.

[…]Sun Radio – 88.9FM in Johnson City, 99.1FM for Fredericksburg, 100.1FM here in Austin, 103.1FM out in Dripping Springs, and 107.1FM around Central Texas – began its love affair with solar energy in 2009. Daryl O’Neal and his son Denver bought the station as the 5-watt KDRP running out of a defunct studio in Dripping Springs. Back then, solar tubes were the franchise, reflective consoles installed into the roof in an effort to refract sunlight. Panels replaced them when the O’Neals stretched their signal to a transmitter a mile away.

Think of transmitters as a set of bunny ear antennas. They take the signal being broadcast from a station and cast it toward the horizon. The taller the tower, the further out the signal extends. At 96 feet, Sun Radio’s Dripping Springs tower could barely register among the 1,000-foot TV towers overlooking West Lake Hills. Yet the boost in wattage allowed the station to blanket town.

In 2012, the station bought yet more space on a tower in West Lake Hills to expand its coverage, then installed panels and energy storage batteries there. In Dec. 2013, KDRP itself uprooted from Dripping Springs to Bee Cave, going solar at that location two years later. The panels currently provide enough energy to power the non-commercial station from dawn till dusk, after which they use electricity.

In September, their utility bill read negative $17.12.

Continue reading at The Austin Chronicle…

As Gregg notes, the article actually goes in-depth about the history of radio. Great read–thanks, Gregg!

This article makes me wonder how long will it be before batteries and solar (PV) panels become so efficient and compact that shortwave pirate radio stations can simply deploy a solar-powered transmitter box that absorbs energy during the day, then transmits at night?

Indeed, perhaps someone is already doing this? My only fear would be that an unattended Lithium Polymer pack might cause a fire hazard.

Dan notes a Collins 51S-1 NOS that is near record price

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[See update below]

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

This NOS 51-S1 is headed for a record price for an Ebay sale. I have only seen one of these in this condition in my decades on Ebay. This is a rare rack version complete with box and original accessories. The preselector, also NOS, sold earlier today:

Click here to view on eBay.

I’ll watch this auction just to see how high the price goes. At time of posting, it was at $4,850 US (plus shipping):eBay-Collins

UPDATE: The winning bid was $5,500 US plus $56.19 shipping:

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