Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and supporter, Chuck Rippel (K8HU), who shared the following comment on this post regarding his excellent Superadio restoration services. I wanted Chuck’s comment to get more visibility, so I am reposting it here (hope you don’t mind, Chuck!).
Chuck comments:
A number of folks have written, asking if I have any radios to sell. Every now and again, there is a model 1 or model 2 (they are electrically identical) that I offer for sale.
However, there is a better approach to obtaining a restored SR-1 or 2. Go up on E-Bay and look for a nice GE SR and have the seller ship it to me after you purchase it. Make SURE the seller encloses a note with your purchase with your name and contact information so I know to whom the radio belongs.
This one caught my eye and would be a worthy candidate for restoration and to add to a collection:
[Note: the eBay Partnership link above supports the SWLing Post at no cost to the buyer]
It’s also an excellent example of a decent SR being sold 2nd hand.
Couple things to watch for:
Shipping charges in excess of $20. Save for coast to coast or a rural area, $20 is about the reasonable limit. Many of the radios are picked up by people wandering through estate sales, thrift shops, garage sales, etc…. who have no idea what they are buying. Many see “GE Super Radio” and put it on E-Bay simply because the radio carries the “Super Radio” label. I would guess that is why there are so many Super Radio model 3’s on E-Bay. Those were made by RCA with a GE label printed on them but their performance is sub-par to the model 1 or 2.
Finally, if you have a SR-1 or 2 you’d like me to work on, drop a note and I’ll send you back a 2 page FAQ. It outlines what will be done, how to ship it and pricing which includes a couple of options from which to choose. Please read and understand the FAQ before shipping. If you decide to send it, please do it promptly and let me know it’s coming. I ask you to include your POC information with the radio and that’s best done on a word processor or note pad then printed. Sometimes, handwritten script is a bit difficult to read.
I’ve gotten radios with no return address or POC sent from a UPS store, (who does that go back to?). There are a few options from which to choose and I strongly recommend 1, having Conformal Coating applied to the solder side of the PCB’s. Solder is hydroscopic and can absorb moisture over time and we won’t get into battery acid. My conformal coating is similar to the “MFP” process used on certain mil-spec electronics save that unlike MFP, I only apply coating to the solder side of the board. A board treated to MFP has both sides coated.
Ok, now a general question:
I created a Groups.io page where those interested in the 2 GE Super Radios can share their experiences. The initial invitations went out, give it a couple days but if you did not get one and are interested, drop me a note. My e-mail address is in several location on this blog [including in this post].
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ulis Fleming, who shares the following article from KFIZ via Twitter. I love these articles where a mediumwave DXer blows the minds of a small AM radio station’s staff!
A man from Finland contacted KFIZ recently to let us know he was listening to our station IN Finland earlier this month. And while it doesn’t sound like such a big deal since we do announce you can listen around the world on the “Tune In” app, this person actually heard us on the AM spectrum of frequencies.
Jari is a self described AM radio enthusiast in Finland that says he is passionate about listening to and identifying AM stations from around the world.
In early December, Jari travelled about 750 miles from his home in southern Finland, by train and car, to an isolated area in Northern Finland, well into the Artic Circle, where he has a base station set up designed to pull in AM radio signals from around the world. Jari says conditions are ideal there because there is ample space for long antennas and little to no man-made electrical noise or interference.
On December 4th at 6:00 Universal time, which would have been midnight local Fond du Lac time, Jari recorded a transmission on his receiver. Its very faint but it’s our station’s radio ID that we play often throughout the day that says “News Talk 1450, KFIZ Fond Du Lac – a Mountain Dog Media Station.”
Given how hard it is to hear, you can respect the fact that Jari now has transmissions confirmed from over 800 stations from North America.
While generally AM radio waves only travel at most 100 miles from the transmitting antennas, with the right conditions, usually during the nighttime hours, AM radio waves can reflect off the ionosphere and propagate past the curvature of the earth, a phenomenon called “skywave” propagation.
So from all of us here at KFIZ, if you are listening locally, on the tune in App, or isolated deep within the Artic Circle, we want to say thanks for listening.
Access to radio becomes even more important for America’s producers in times of emergency.
Producers of milk, wheat, cotton, sugar, corn, rice and many other farm and ranch products in the United States are speaking up in support of the federal legislation that would require AM radio in new vehicles.
Twenty-five agricultural groups have sent a letter to Capitol Hill endorsing the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. (Read the letter.)
The National Association of Broadcasters highlighted the letter. It said the bill has 196 cosponsors in the House and 44 in the Senate.
“Our members rely on AM radio and the vital services it provides daily,” they wrote.
“AM radio is a source of weather, commodity and national farm policy updates for our members. Access to radio becomes even more important for America’s producers in times of emergency.” [Continue reading…]
Edison Research releases its latest “Share of Ear” data
Pierre Bouvard is chief insights officer for Cumulus Media and Westwood One. This story originally appeared on his blog.
Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” study is the authoritative examination of time spent with audio in America. Edison Research surveys 4,000 Americans annually to measure daily reach and time spent for all forms of audio.
Since “Share of Ear” has been running continuously since 2015, it affords an opportunity to examine an eight-year view of American audio usage. Here are the major trends:
The proportion of in-car AM/FM radio listening has surged from the prior year to pre-pandemic norms
For all ad-supported audio, the proportion of at-home listening remains elevated
Spoken word is on the rise: All forms of non-music content (News, Personalities/Talk, and Sports) increased strongly during the pandemic; Since then, spoken word growth has accelerated
Podcast shares are up +575% since 2016
Pandora/Spotify ad-supported music streaming shares are down -31% over the same period
AM/FM radio streaming’s audience share is now greater than Pandora/Spotify combined
At a 69% share overall and a massive 85% in-car share, AM/FM radio remains the dominant ad-supported audio platform. [Continue reading…]
South Africa first came into my life as a young boy in Canada for two reasons.
One, I had an uncle who worked for a shipping company. Among other things, the company imported goods from and exported goods to South Africa.
A ship carrying South African tinned pineapple, bound for Montreal, sank in the St Lawrence River in the 1960s. My uncle was involved in the salvage operation, and, as a consequence, my family and many other relatives ate tinned pineapple from South Africa for the next few years — we grew to hate it.
The second reason was radio. My grandfather gave me a shortwave radio when I was about eight years old. One of the distant radio stations that blasted into my bedroom, loud and clear, was Radio RSA (now Channel Africa), the voice of the South African government of the day.
I listened to Radio RSA, as I listened to any shortwave station I could pick up, because it was exotic.
The easiest stations to pick up in those days were from the big broadcasting countries — the BBC, Radio France Internationale, the Voice of America, Radio Moscow and Radio Havana Cuba, to name but a few. Even Albania had a strong-signal broadcaster — Radio Tirana. [Continue reading…]
Journalists at VOA have pushed back on newsroom leadership’s AI policy regarding “synthetic voices,” documents obtained by FedScoop show.
Dozens of journalists and staff at Voice of America are strongly opposed to the state-owned news organization’s plan to use AI-generated synthetic voices, documents obtained by FedScoop show, with employees expressing concerns that the tool could breed mistrust with its audience, cause misinformation to spread and potentially eliminate jobs within the newsroom.
VOA, which has a weekly worldwide audience of approximately 326 million, is the largest and oldest of U.S. government-funded news networks and international broadcasters.
The news organization released internal guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in November, following months of discussions with journalists and labor representatives that stirred up backlash and controversy within the news organization.
FedScoop obtained the new AI guidance as well as a letter of opposition — signed by dozens of journalists within the news organization — that was sent to VOA leadership in October and has not been made public until now.
“We are deeply concerned that a portion of the Artificial Intelligence guidance that the agency is preparing to issue will do more harm than good,” the signed letter said. “Specifically, we object to language that would allow Artificial Intelligence to be used ‘for voicing scripts.’” [Continue reading…]
Earlier this month, we broadcast a community Christmas program to benefit our local theater in town that is being restored. The broadcast featured two old-time radio dramas and local music. Coffeyville, KS is a small town with a population under 9,000, but it has one of the oldest and largest radio stations in the area. 10 KW day and 5 KW night on 690 kHz. I thought some in your audience might enjoy trying to tune in Christmas morning at 8 a.m. CST for the rebroadcast of the program. A link for more information and the audio as well is available here:
For those who are interested in the technical details of the broadcast, I used two ribbon mics and the main microphones, an RCA 77-DX and an RCA BK-11. The room acoustics proved to be a bit of a challenge with the final mix, but the whole thing was live with no edits and while it was far from perfect, I think the genuine nature of the community program shines through. The signal was sent to the station using a VHF Marti remote pickup unit. This particular recording was made at the station.
Also, if your readers are interested in submitting QSL reports, I would be glad to answer them. We usually get a few throughout the year, and I especially enjoyed a report early this year from some of the serious DXers in Norway!
Merry Christmas and 73!
James Copeland, KDØICP
Many thanks, James, for sharing this here on the SWLing Post. We all love a good radio production! It’s brilliant that you’ve brought this tradition to Coffeyville, KS!
I’ve also linked to the audio file of the broadcast below:
Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors who have shared this article from Tedium.co which takes a deeper dive into the issues and politics surrounding AM radio in EV automobiles in the US.
Sen. Rand Paul objected, saying “mandating that all cars have AM radio is antithetical”
A maneuver by Senate sponsors of the “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” to pass the bill by avoiding a vote of the full Senate this week has fallen short.
The push to use “unanimous consent” to pass the bill was led by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Edward Markey (D-MA) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM). However, (R-KY) objected to its passage.
“Mandating that all cars have AM radio is antithetical to any notion of limited government,” Sen. Paul said on the floor of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.
Paul said there is irony in seeing Republicans come to the floor to pass bills that place mandates upon American businesses, “therefore picking winners and losers.” [Continue reading…]
The U.S. Coast Guard also is concerned about petition from the Shortwave Modernization Coalition
Numerous commenters have told the FCC that a proposal to “modernize” the shortwave band is a threat to amateur radio operators in the United States and possibly the end of ham radio as we know it. And hams are just one source of opposition to the idea.
The FCC inquiry was prompted by a request from the Shortwave Modernization Coalition for a rulemaking to amend the Part 90 rules.
SMC believes there is underutilized spectrum in the high-frequency bands. The coalition wants to use 20 kW transmitters for the transmission of time-sensitive data from fixed stations. It wants the FCC to allow these fixed, long-distance, non-voice communications in multiple bands between 2 MHz and 25 MHz.
Ham opponents worry about interference. One also characterized the coalition as being “packed with special interest groups that harbor little interest in shortwave modernization beyond their own needs to getting faster financial market information.”
The commission’s Office of the Managing Director sought comments on its proposal this summer. The petition, RM-11953, drew more than 800 comments. [Continue reading…]
Many of us hold fond memories of listening to AM radio in the car. But these days, drivers are just as likely to listen to satellite radio, Spotify, audiobooks or podcasts. Good ole FM radio is still around too. That’s led many people to question if AM, America’s oldest broadcast medium, still has a future?
Not many people noticed when Tesla removed AM from new vehicles a few years ago. Ostensibly, they did so because the frequency interferes with electric vehicles. Never mind that older Teslas previously had functioning AM/FM radios. Or that the Federal Communications Commission has rules to limit electrical interference. Seemingly no one questioned Tesla’s decision.
In the past couple of years, other manufacturers including Ford, Audi, Volvo, BMW and Porche began removing AM receivers from new models or announced plans to do so. This elicited a more passionate response from AM listeners, particularly those in rural areas. For them, the frequency is more than just entertainment. They say it’s a lifeline for those in remote areas who otherwise wouldn’t have access to emergency information. It’s also one of the last places where they can get hyper-local news and entertainment. [Continue reading…]
It has been with great interest that I’ve read about carmakers dropping AM reception capability in new cars, particularly EVs, and about the introduction of the “AM for Every Vehicle” Act.
The reason most often cited by makers of electric vehicles is interference from on-board systems to AM band reception. The truth is we have ourselves to blame.
The assault on AM band purity predates the popularity of electric vehicles by decades. The onslaught of cheap switching power supplies in consumer electronics, RF noise-producing computers and personal devices, and the absolute lack of any care given to protecting the spectrum are incompatible with AM quality.
For far too long, consumers, manufacturers, the NAB and even the FCC did not fight to protect the band. It seemed nobody cared whether new fluorescent lights (remember those?) caused so much noise that they even affected reception in neighbors’ homes. Nobody took up the fight to keep the band clean and make noise-free AM reception even somewhat possible in high-density housing areas. Nobody seemed appalled at this complete disregard for the usefulness of the band in the future. [Continue reading…]
ARRL The National Association for Amateur Radio® is asking that all radio amateurs urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to continue the existing use of the 60-meter band. A public comment period is open until October 30, 2023. ARRL encourages expressions of support to the FCC for the current 100 W ERP power limit (instead of reducing the power limit to 15 W EIRP) and continuing secondary access to the current channels.
When submitting your comments, be sure the correct proceeding’s docket number, 23-120, is included on the form.Your name and comments will be entered into the official public record of the proceedings and will be viewable by anyone who visits the docket web page.
While radio amateurs are encouraged to include any comments they would like in their submissions, they’re especially encouraged to draw upon their personal experiences using the 60-meter band for public service purposes and for its location between the amateur 80- and 40-meter bands, which is critical to ensuring signal propagation to certain geographic areas during variations in time and the solar cycle.
Some of the main points to comment on for this NPRM are:
Urging the FCC to keep the four existing channels allocated to amateur radio on a secondary basis.
Urging the FCC to keep the 100 W power limit for the four existing channels and the new 15 kHz subband.
ARRL Public Relations and Outreach Manager Sierra Harrop, W5DX, underscored the importance of commenting, urging members to speak up. “ARRL members make up the strongest voice in matters of amateur radio spectrum defense,” said Harrop. “Your membership and participation in the rulemaking process both ensure ARRL continues to make the difference when our band privileges are threatened. Please join us in effort to protect our 60-meter band privileges.”
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and supporter, Chuck Rippel (K8HU), who shared the following comment on this post regarding his excellent Superadio restoration services. I wanted Chuck’s comment to get more visibility, so I am reposting it here (hope you don’t mind, Chuck!). 
