Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Guy Atkins, who shares the following video demonstrating how the Elad FDM-S2 can be controlled with the $99 HP Stream 7 Windows 8.1 tablet PC:
You can read more about Guy’s FDM-S2/HP Stream 7 setup in his previous post.
There are few things in our wonderful hobby that can can be purchased for as little as $10.00. Fortunately, an annual membership to the Canadian International DX Club is one of those few.
I’m reminded of this great value as I just received and read the latest CIDX Messenger, the CIDX’s monthly electronic bulletin.
The CIDX Messenger is chock-full of news, articles and loggings covering shortwave radio, AM and FM radio, utility transmissions, pirate broadcasting, satellite and Internet radio.
Check out the latest table of contents from the CIDX Messenger below:
The Messenger is sent to all CIDX members by e-mail in PDF format so can be viewed on pretty much any digital device.
Membership can be mailed in (click here to download the application) or payment can be made via PayPal, (U.S. or Canadian), by sending the payment to: [email protected].
The membership fee for Canadian, U.S. and International members is $10 Canadian or US per year.
A sample copy of the Messenger is available, free of charge. Simply send an e-mail to [email protected] requesting a free sample.
I’ve been a member of CIDX for at least three years and look forward to every issue of the Messenger.
C. Crane has sent me their new CC Skywave shortwave portable for review. I’ve been using it since Friday and have started putting together a quick review.
If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment and I’ll try to address them in the upcoming post.
(Source: Toshi Ohtake, Japan Short Wave Club, via Sean Gilbert)
RMRC Shortwave broadcasts in December 2014 about the EDXC’14 Conference
The Rhein-Main Radio Club ( RMRC ) of Frankfurt, Germany, plans to broadcast a one-hour program in English about the EDXC 2014 Conference held in September in Nice , France. There will be three separate transmissions:
There will be taped interviews with several well-known DXers who attended the meeting. Thank-you very much to Mr. Toshi Ohtake of the Japan ShortWave Club (JSWC) for taping and providing these interviews.
QSL-verification is <only> via the RMRC and either as electronic or as paper QSL. Reception reports to either:
[email protected] or RMRC, Postfach 70 08 49, 60558 Frankfurt / Main, Germany. Return postage is not required.See also our web-page www.RMRC.de for details (“QSL-Info”).
Via Sitkunai, Lithuania:
Target Area / Frequency / UTC / DayJ/As / 11690 KHz / 2100 – 2200/ Sat 13 Dec
Via WRMI, Okeechobee, Fl, USA:
Target Area / Frequency / UTC / DayWNAm. / 7455 KHz / 0000 – 0100 / Mon 15 Dec
ENAm. / 5850 KHz / 0000 – 0100 / Mon 15 Dec
Car/LAm. / 5015 KHz / 0000 – 0100 / Mon 15 Dec
Eu / 15770 KHz / 2100 – 2200 / Mon 15 Dec
Aw, gee–you know you’ve made it the in the world when the talented and inimitable Jeff Murray (K1NSS) takes the Mickey out of you with his quirky vintage-style imagery. This time, it was yours truly that got a dose of the Murray treatment…
Jeff, you inject this hobby with the requisite dose of whimsy. Thanks so much for “plugging” Ears To Our World!
Merry listening, friends! If you would like to support Ears To Our World with a tax-deductible donation, click here!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again–if you want to hire a talented artist for graphics or a unique QSL card, Jeff is clearly the guy to call upon.
A bit hat tip to SWLing Post contributor, London Shortwave who sent a link to this article from the Spanish news site prtelevisión [click here for English translation].
According to prtelevisión and this article from La Opinión A Coruña [English translation], yesterday morning, the Board of Directors of RTVE approved a proposal to broadcast on shortwave four hours a day: from Monday to Friday (between 20:00 and 24:00 hours) and Saturday/Sunday between 16:00 and 24:00.
The following broadcasts will air:”24 Horas”, “Radiogaceta de los deportes“, “Españoles en la Mar” and “Cinco Continentes“. In addition, REE plans to cover sporting events.
It appears that the fisheries industry is to thank for this decision to bring REE back on shortwave as ships had no viable means to listen to REE while at sea. According to these sources, shortwave broadcasts will re-start in the near future.
Readers: please comment when you hear REE back on the air.
The HP Stream 7 Windows 8.1 tablet
Regarding the Elad FDM-S2, Guy Atkins comments:
“This week I bought an HP Stream 7 tablet from the local Microsoft Store for $99, and it runs my Elad FDM-S2 receiver great! This recently introduced tablet is the perhaps the lowest priced new computer with Windows 8.1. I can even record the entire MW band, and play back the WAV files without audio stuttering. CPU load is an impressive 11-12%. Once you add a small OTG USB adapter you can plug in a USB hub and attach a wireless mouse receiver, the SDR’s cable, and other stuff. I was recording to a micro SD card (the slot is a bit of a pain, as you need to remove the back cover of the tablet. Recording to a USB external HD or SSD may also work). I also had an AC adapter powering the USB hub, as the tablet’s micro USB port cannot supply enough current for the Elad SDR.
This will be a neat, very portable setup for camping DXpeditions and when I want to take the SDR right to the termination of a phased loop array antenna for adjusting nulls. I do that now, but it’s more of a hassle with a regular laptop.
I presume I’ll be able to run the Afedri SDR-Net in “LAN mode” also but I’ll need to attach a USB-to-LAN adapter to the tablet first. A LAN rather than a USB connection is required for this particular SDR to have the bandwidth to handle all of medium wave at once.
Here’s a review of the 7-inch, Win 8.1 tablet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoPNzx8bcVQ. Also, when you buy it for $99 USD it includes a one-year subscription to MS Office 365, that can be used on two different devices. That’s worth $70 in itself.”
Wow–thanks so much for sharing this, Guy.
I’m very impressed you can record the entire MW band to an SD card and playback without stuttering. The quad core Atom processor must have enough horsepower to cope with the incoming data.
This setup would be ideal for field recording then taking the SD card back to the PC for analyzing later on a larger screen.
As you use this set-up, Guy, please keep us informed about any tips or quirks you discover along the way!
I found the Stream 7 at the following places online:
Update: Check out Guy’s video demonstration of the Stream 7/FDM-S2 combo.