Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes:
Who can identify the classic Hallicrafters in the 1960s show Sky King?
Thanks, Dan! Readers: if you know the answer, please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Marty, who writes:
Hi Thomas,
Here’s two interesting opportunities for hams and SWLers from NASA:
Radio Jove and HamSci:
https://www.popsci.com/science/radio-jove-solar-eclipse/
Link for required radio kit: https://radiojove.net/kit/order_form.html
From the article: “Radio JOVE hopes to improve our understanding of the ionosphere… if you’re a ham radio operator, you can get involved with HamSCI, which also plans to observe the upcoming eclipse.”
Sounds like fun!
Regards,
Marty
This is a brilliant idea and Radio Jove is a solid project. You’re right that enthusiasts should also follow HamSCI as they have many opportunities to be a citizen scientist in the radio realm! Thank you for sharing, Marty!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gérard Koopal, who notes that Radio Northern Europe International will be broadcasting from Woofferton today beaming to Europe. Here are details from the RNEI Twitter page:
Woofferton confirmed: 3955kHz, 19:29:30UTC, 28th September! Europe beam 🙂
ITS HF application’s prediction of 3955kHz; we’re feeling it’s going to go further than this but this is the “guaranteed” reception areas! 🙂
Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors David Iurescia, Paul, and Andrew for the following tips:
Click here to read about this international radio event that takes place between September 29 – October 7, 2023.
Gaston County resident Oscar Norris, also known by his call sign W4OXH, is turning 106 on Sept. 25.
Norris is not only the oldest living amateur radio operator in North Carolina, but according to information from the American Radio Relay League he is also the oldest living operator in the United States.
The Gaston County Amateur Radio Society and the Gaston Radio Club, both of which Norris is a long-time member, have come together to host a special airwave event for him from Sept. 20 – Oct. 1.
This event will honor Norris and his life, and will be hosted by operators in three different states, according to Gaston County Amateur Radio Society president Tony Jones.
Both on and off the air, Norris “is one of the most gentle and kind people,” a person could encounter in life, according to fellow amateur radio operator and friend, Mike Harvey. [Continue reading…]
Radio Taiwan International (Rti) celebrated its 95th anniversary with an event featuring remarks by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday. Additional speakers included Legislative Speaker You Si-kun, Ambassador of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Taiwan Andrea Bowman, and Rti Chairperson Cheryl Lai.
In her speech, President Tsai said that Rti has witnessed important events in the development of Taiwan’s democracy over its 95-year history. Tsai says Rti has carried out its responsibilities from then until now by continuing to cover Taiwan’s growing engagement with the world. Tsai also said Taiwan’s ability to connect people all over the world was demonstrated by the many postcards received in various languages on display at the event. She thanked Rti for its past work and says she hopes Rti will continue to bring the voices of Taiwan to the world.
Rti Chairperson Cheryl Lai also gave remarks at the event. Lai says Rti is Taiwan’s only public media company to broadcast in 20 languages across multiple platforms. Lai says Rti has been an important channel for people in Southeast Asian countries to understand Taiwan. She says the Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Thai language services have a long history at Rti, and are important resources for Taiwan’s new immigrants and migrant workers. Lai says that Taiwan also began a Ukrainian language social media service following the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Lai concluded by saying that as Taiwan grows more vibrant and diverse, Rti will continue to spread Taiwan’s voices to all corners of the world.
Ambassador Bowman said in her speech that reaching 95 years of service is not an easy accomplishment to achieve. She says Rti represents an excellent model for how to spread the message of democracy and peace across the globe. [Read this article on the Rti website…]
It was 1923, and radio was the phenomenon of the day. Over 600 broadcast stations were on the air, and Americans bought 100,000 receivers that year. (Sales would jump to 1,500,000 in 1924.)
This new instant mass medium flashed news of important events around the country in minutes instead of days. In addition to news, tens of thousands tuned in to hear music and learn from lecturers holding forth on their areas of expertise. A few tried to make sense of broadcast guitar or swimming lessons.
Those without radios gathered in taverns and restaurants to listen to election returns and descriptions of baseball games.
New radio owners everywhere strung wire across their rooftops to make aerials, and then puzzled out how to connect a loudspeaker to the set, along with the A, B, and C batteries the setup required. (Soon enough, “house-current” radios would come along; most of the early ones were designed to draw power from fittings screwed into lamp sockets.)
Once the radios were set up, many owners hosted “radio parties” and danced to the latest jazz music with their friends.
At the same time, the game of Bridge was sweeping the country. It had been brought to New York from England in 1893. Here, as across the Atlantic, Bridge replaced the popular game of Whist as a top pastime, and quickly spread across the nation. [Continue reading…]
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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Martin Tobisch, who shares the following guest post and videos from his home in Malta:
Many AM medium wave listeners are looking for solutions to improve the reception performance of their radios.
After many attempts, which I don’t want to entertain anyone with, a coupler was created that feeds the external antenna directly into the ferrite antenna. I use my 66 foot long wire antenna on 50 ohm RG-58 cable, but other antennas will have similar success.
The clips available on YouTube speak for themselves:
https://youtu.be/FIylJk3F9Xk?si=Kp7SowdUXI5i5QAV
https://youtu.be/RHAla9jPoi8?si=VoG3w274k08Ul8Q4
Experiments with smaller ferrites and antenna rods met with no success. It is important that the coupler still works even at a distance from the ferrite antenna and without precise alignment.
With tube radios it easily bridges the distance from the housing to the ferrite rod Antenna
The finished coupler consists of 6 NiZn ferrite cores, which are connected with glue to form a rod. 8 turns of wire are wound over this and soldered to an RG-58 cable. Some electrical isolation tape and ready. So far I’ve just put it in a box. Of course there are finer solutions and it should be protected against shock. Ferrite cores are notoriously brittle.
Here is a link to the ferrites used (purchased at AliExpress).
Advantages: Advantages to what? Nothing comparable exists.
So there are advantages to feeding via an antenna socket. The signal coupler is also good for radios without an antenna socket. But in case of using an antenna socket, common mode wave interference picked up in the house goes unlimited into the radio. Due to the magnetic coupling to the ferrite antenna, common mode waves are completely suppressed. They do not create a magnetic field in the coupler.
No changes are necessary in the radio
The biggest advantage is, that you can listen to distant stations loud and clear, which previously only produced a quiet scratching noise.
I very much welcome reports of experiences.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes:
In these screen grabs from Spy Ops, an Afghan military leader is shown using an ICOM HT as part of post 9/11 operations against Taliban forces.
Thanks for sharing this, Dan! One can almost read the model number on the HT.
RRI’s Tiganesti-based shortwave transmitter centre (Photo source: Radio Romania International)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gérard Koopal, who shares the following announcement and schedule via Radio Romania International’s English Language Service:
Dear friends,
Please find below the programme schedule for 2023-2024.
You are invited to discover our new slots:
Working in Romania – a segment devoted to the increasingly numerous foreign nationals working in Romania;
Romania – the Eastern Flank – a show devoted to foreign military deployed to Romania;
Music from A to Z, featuring all music genres as well as interviews with famous artists.
Feel free to distribute this list to members of your clubs or to other listeners.
Please also note we are working on ways to send out digital QSLs in 2023.
We wish you good reception conditions!
73s
Click here to download the schedule [PDF].
—
The English Service
Radio Romania International
60-64 G-ral Berthelot Street, district 1, Bucharest
PO Box 111, postcode 010165, fax 00.40.21.319.05.62
E-mail: engl@rri.ro.