Category Archives: AM

RNZ: “Signal to noise – is AM radio really under threat?”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Connor Walsh, who shares the following piece from Radio New Zealand:

Signal to noise – is AM radio really under threat? (RNZ)

Audio Player

Old-fashioned AM radio was an information lifeline for many during Cyclone Gabrielle when other sources wilted without power. Now a little-known arrangement that puts proceedings of Parliament on the air has been cited as a threat to its future. But is a switch-off really likely? And what’s being done to avoid it?

“Government websites are a waste of time. All they’ve got is a transistor radio – and they need to actually provide a means for these people who need the information to damn well get it,” Today FM’s afternoon host Mark Richardson told listeners angrily on the day Cyclone Gabrielle struck.

He was venting in response to listeners without power complaining online information was inaccessible, and pleading for the radio station to relay emergency updates over the air.

Mobile phone and data services were knocked out in many areas where electricity supplies to towers were cut – or faded away after back-up batteries drained after 4-8 hours. In some places FM radio transmission was knocked out but nationwide AM transmission was still available.

“This will sharpen the minds of people on just how important . . . legacy platforms like AM transmission are in Civil Defence emergencies,” RNZ news chief Richard Sutherland told Mediawatch soon after. [Continue reading at RNZ…]

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Radio Waves: RÚV LW Transmitter Demolished, Dave Rowntree & Longwave, Radio Angela Anniversary, and Como Audio Closes Permanently

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

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 Dennis Dura, ______ for the following tips:

Third largest structure in Iceland demolished (RUV English)

Once ubiquitous, few radios now receive long wave broadcasts. Priority is now given to boosting FM signals. RÚV’s long wave transmitter in East Iceland has been demolished.

Monday saw RÚV’s East Iceland long wave transmitter switched off. The mast at Eiðar, at 218 metres the third tallest structure in the country, transmitted RÚV’s radio services across the east of the country and out into the Norwegian Sea. In a statement, RÚV say that the equipment needed to maintain the service is very expensive, and few radios now receive long wave broadcasts.

The change is being made in association with Iceland’s Civil Defence and other bodies concerned with emergencies, as long wave signals have traditionally formed part of emergency communication planning. However, an upgraded FM system will take over this function.

The long wave signal from Eiður, on 207kHz, has been replaced by a more powerful FM network in East Iceland. RÚV has increased the number of FM transmitters and renewed existing masts. Long wave transmissions will continue for a time on 189 kHz from Hellissandur at Gufuskálar in West Iceland – Iceland’s tallest structure at 412 metres – but it too will ultimately close, and then the FM system will fully take over the role of safety broadcasts. [Click here to continue reading and watch demolition video…]

Click here to watch the RUV report on the end of this longwave service (in Icelandic).

Blur’s Dave Rowntree: Long wave radio changed my life – BBC mustn’t switch it off prematurely (iNews.co.uk)

Long wave radio changed Blur drummer Dave Rowntree’s life. Now he warns the BBC not to switch off the shipping forecast signal until the whole country is digitally connected

From childhood to his chart-topping days with Blur, long wave radio has played a central role in Dave Rowntree’s life.

Now the drummer has warned that the BBC’s plans to switch-off the crackly signal could disenfranchise millions of radio listeners who still struggle to receive digital transmissions.

The BBC will end AM radio transmissions – including long wave, home of the Shipping Forecast and medium wave – currently still accessed by an estimated 6.5 million listeners each week.

BBC Radio 5 Live’s medium wave frequencies will fall silent by the end of 2027 with a date for ending long wave currently under discussion.

Rowntree, who holds an amateur radio licence and took inspiration from the shipping forecast for Blur’s hit “This Is A Low”, said the signal should not be turned off prematurely. Continue reading →

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Radio Waves: Listeners Share LRA36 Recordings, CW Clock, Tabletop Radio, and Dropping AM in Cars

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

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 Adrian Korol, Richard Cuff, and Dennis Dura for the following tips:

Radio Nacional Arcangel San Gabriel picked up around the world (Radio Nacional)

Radio Nacional Arcangel San Gabriel broadcasts on the short wave on Wednesdays from 21 to 23 UTC and on Saturdays from 21 UTC until 03:00 on Sunday on frequency 15476 Khz (USB).

Due to improvements in the audio chain and transmission line and good propagation, we are receiving messages from listeners who had not been able to listen to it for decades and also reception reports from countries such as India, Iceland, Japan, United States, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and all the National territory.

During the summer we broadcast a program called “Uniendo Voces”, a production of the Joint Antarctic Command, the University of Quilmes and RAE, with the presentation of Juan Carlos Benavente.

We also share with you videos and posts in which listeners from around the world share their reception of LRA36. [Continue reading…]

Morse Code Clock For Training Hams (Hackaday)

It might seem antiquated, but Morse code still has a number of advantages compared to other modes of communication, especially over radio waves. It’s low bandwidth compared to voice or even text, and can be discerned against background noise even at extremely low signal strengths. Not every regulatory agency requires amateur operators to learn Morse any more, but for those that do it can be a challenge, so [Cristiano Monteiro] built this clock to help get some practice.

The project is based around his favorite microcontroller, the PIC16F1827, and uses a DS1307 to keep track of time. A single RGB LED at the top of the project enclosure flashes the codes for hours in blue and minutes in red at the beginning of every minute, and in between flashes green for each second. [Continue reading…]

The Changing Face of Tabletop Radios (Radio World)

While some still offer OTA reception, the specialty segment is dominated by online connectivity

There was a time, of course, when radios were fixtures in people’s homes. But according to Edison Research’s “Infinite Dial 2022” report, the percentage of U.S. homes with “zero” radios inside went from 4% in 2008 to 39% in 2022.

Among the radios that remain, clock and emergency radios have the best chances of justifying their presence to internet-centric consumers. But good ol’ fashioned tabletop radios? AM/FM receivers housed in eye-appealing laminated wood cases with big speakers and hefty knobs?

Mass-market companies such as Panasonic and Sony have abandoned such products. But specialty/quality brands such as C. Crane, Grace Digital, Sangean and Tivoli Audio have not.

These brands bring fresh approaches to the tabletop radio segment through innovation and the harnessing of streaming technology. Still, it’s an uphill battle in a world obsessed with all things internet.

There are several reasons conventional AM/FM tabletop radios have been disappearing from homes.

The first and most obvious is that even by the beginning of this century, radio had long ceased being a destination medium around which the family gathered to listen. In recent decades, the more common uses were morning wakeups, rush-hour commutes, sports on the go and weather emergencies, all well-served by portable radios, though there was still some degree of at-home listening.  [Continue reading…]

Who Benefits By Removing AM From Cars? (Radio World)

Three perspectives on this hot potato threat

Car manufacturers claim they cannot suppress noise getting into the AM signals in their electric vehicles. This article presents the viewpoint of three people who beg to disagree.

Tom King, the chairman of Kintronic Labs Inc., is an expert on AM transmission and noise interference. His company manufactures most of the phasing cabinets for directional arrays on AM stations around the world. Continue reading →

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Radio Waves: AM Buzzkill, AM FEMA Push, AM Devitalization, and RFI-Blocking Chips

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

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 Rich Dalton and Dennis Dura for the following tips:

The JacoBLOG Junk Drawer – The AM Radio Edition (Jacobs Media Strategies)

Is there a bigger buzzkill blog topic than AM radio?

In a an era where digital has transformed radio broadcasting’s content and revenue focus, the last thing anyone wants to talk about in 2023 is lowly AM radio. But like that old drunk uncle who shows up at the reunion, AM is still part of the radio family.

In its heyday, AM ruled the radio roost. It wasn’t until the late 70’s when FM surpassed AM in total listening, and later profitability. Before then, AM was the behemoth. And the biggest and best in class could be magically heard in dozens of states each night. Weather, atmospherics, and bodies of water all factored into AM reception.

Many Baby Boomers vividly recall laying in bed at night, precariously tuning in a faraway AM station carrying a ballgame or even broadcasting progressive music. Or grabbing a portable transistor radio – like the one sitting in our junk drawer – taking it to a sporting event and having a great audio soundtrack from legends like Vin Scully, Ernie Harwell, or Jack Buck. [Continue reading…]

Former FEMA Leaders Continue Push for AM Preservation (Radio World)

Say the removal of AM radios from cars is “a grave threat to future local, state and federal disaster response and relief efforts”

The laundry list of current and former government officials advocating for the safeguarding of AM radio in electric vehicles continues to grow.

On Feb. 26, seven former leaders of the Federal Emergency Management Agency penned a letter to Secretary Pete Buttigieg of the Department of Transportation advocating for the preservation of the senior band and urging regulators to take action to protect the nation’s public safety.

“Because of the great distances that its signal carries, and due to its resiliency during even the worst natural disasters, the success of the National Public Warning System hinges on the use of AM radio,” the collective of former FEMA leaders wrote. “However, should EV makers continue removing AM radios from their vehicles, this vital public safety system will no longer function as intended.”

The dialogue between automakers and AM advocates has grown signficiantly in recent weeks. As we reported earlier, the Alliance for Automotive Innovation sent a reply to Sen. Ed Markey after he asked individual car companies about their commitment to broadcast AM radio in electric and other future vehicles. In the days following, Markey, the alliance, the National Association of Broadcasters and, now, FEMA officials and and an FCC commissioner have continued a public discourse.[Continue reading…]

AM Devitalization (All Access)

Been to a shopping mall lately?

It’s not pretty. Vacancies dot even the most successful malls. The lesser malls feel abandoned, like modern ruins, isolated and scary. One mall near us is so barren, they’ve marked off part of one end and use it for pickleball. Even the mall walkers are gone. If a mall can’t draw mall walkers in South Florida, that’s a harbinger of doom.

The reasons that big indoor malls aren’t thriving anymore aren’t a secret. Habits changed. Tastes changed. People shop online now, or go to discounters like Walmart or Target. Department stores have fallen out of favor. Teens don’t hang out in the food court anymore; they’re congregating on TikTok. What’s left are traditionalist shoppers who want to try stuff on or handle it before buying, or people who want to see stuff in person before firing up the Amazon app and buying it there. Other than Apple stores and a few other chains with loyal customers, there’s not a lot to draw people to the mall anymore, and what’s left is kinda creepy. Some malls are now mostly occupied by local businesses trying to make a go of it, and things like gyms and churches and DMV offices. I got my Florida driver’s license in a half-repurposed mall. It was strange. [Continue reading…]

Boffins concoct interference-busting radios (The Register)

Radio interference can be a pain to deal with, regardless of whether it’s a rogue baby monitor interrupting your Wi-Fi or a stadium full of smartphone signals drowning each other out.

However, brainiacs at MIT say they’ve developed a radio chip that can see through the noisiest RF hellscape by actively blocking unwanted frequencies before they can scramble messages.

The chip was developed to address the growing challenges associated with 5G and other wireless communications standards. It takes inspiration from several adjacent domains – including digital signal processing and applied electronics – explained Negar Reiskarimian, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT.

The work, presented at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) last week and detailed in a recent blog post, combines a number of existing technologies into a novel radio chip, which researchers say can contend with RF interference 40 times higher than existing wideband receivers. What’s more, they say the method doesn’t require large, bulky filtering equipment.

Even in its current development stage, the chip is small enough – just 0.65mm square – for use in mobile devices, according to Reiskarimian and Soroush Araei, an MIT grad student working on the project. And while 5G is highlighted as a potential application for radios based on the design, they note there’s no reason it can’t be used for other wireless signals like Wi-Fi. [Continue reading…]

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Radio Waves: The DLARC, NASA Citizen Science, PopShopRadio DRM to Europe, Hackers Disrupt Russian Radio, and Afghan Radio Closures

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

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 Trevor Robbins and Dennis Dura for the following tips:

Digital Library Of Amateur Radio And Communications Is A Treasure Trove (Hackaday)

Having a big bookshelf of ham radio books and magazines used to be a point of bragging right for hams. These days, you are more likely to just browse the internet for information. But you can still have, virtually, that big shelf of old ham books, thanks to the DLARC — the digital library of Amateur Radio and Communications.

A grant from a private foundation has enable the Internet Archive to scan and index a trove of ham radio publications, including the old Callbooks, 73 Magazine, several ham radio group’s newsletters from around the globe, Radio Craft, and manuals from Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu, and others.

There are some old QST magazines and the index to newer ones. You can find catalogs and military documents. We miss a lot of these old magazines and newsletters. For example, RCA’s “Ham Tips” is something you won’t find anything like anymore. Most of the material is in English, but there are some other languages represented. For example, the Dutch version of Popular Electronics is available. There’s also material in Afrikaans, Japanese, German, and Spanish. [Continue reading at Hackaday…]

Ham Radio Operators, We Need Your Help During Solar Eclipses! (NASA)

Ham Radio operators, we’re calling you! Members of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) will be making radio contacts during the 2023 and 2024 North American eclipses, probing the Earth’s ionosphere. It will be a fun, friendly event with a competitive element—and you’re invited to participate.

Both amateur and professional broadcasters have been sending and receiving radio signals around the Earth for over a century. Such communication is possible due to interactions between our Sun and the ionosphere, the ionized region of the Earth’s atmosphere located roughly 80 to 1000 km overhead. The upcoming eclipses (October 14, 2023, and April 8, 2024) provide unique opportunities to study these interactions. As you and other HamSCI members transmit, receive, and record signals across the radio spectrum during the eclipse, you will create valuable data to test computer models of the ionosphere.

For more information, go to https://hamsci.org/festivals-eclipse-ionospheric-science

DRM to Europe (DRM Consortium Newsletter)

The Canadian pop music station PopShopRadio in British Columbia has just announced that they will use the DRM standard to broadcast their best pop music towards Europe on the 5th March 2023 at 2000-2100 CET (GMT+1) on 5875 kHz (85kW) from Wooferton in the UK.

This radio station is specialised in transmissions of well-known pop music from the 60s and 70s or even before that. They are collecting the best tunes from various countries and offer them to the world using shortwave. This time round they wish to also use the DRM standard in SW to be able to reach distant parts of the globe in much better sound quality.

For more details please click here and here.

Hackers Disrupt Russian Radio (Radio World)

Air raid sirens broadcast in a dozen cities

Radio stations in several Russian cities were disrupted on Feb. 22 by the sound of air raid sirens and a warning of imminent missile strikes.

The broadcasts were reportedly heard in Belgorod, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Magnitogorsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novouralsk, Pyatigorsk, Stary Oskol, Syktyvkar, Tyumen, Ufa, and Voronezh, among other cities. Recordings of the broadcast were shared on the social media network Telegram and reported on by Meduza.

Meduza, an independent news agency now based in Latvia, was forced to move its operations out of Russia during the media crackdown that followed Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. [Continue reading at Radio World…]

Radio Closures Hit Afghanistan Hard (Radio World)

Only 223 stations remain on air 18 months after Taliban regained control of the country

In the 18 months since the Taliban retook full control of Afghanistan, 177 radio stations have gone off the air in the country, displacing about 1,900 journalists and other employees.

In a statement released on World Radio Day 2023, the Afghan Independent Journalists Association noted that during the Islamic Republic period from 2004–2021, there were as many as 401 radio stations operating in Afghanistan. As the Taliban Insurgency increased its control of the country, about 56 stations went off the air before the Taliban took control and reinstated the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan in August 2021.

Since then, around 120 stations have ceased broadcasting due to economic pressures. The AIJA stated that only 223 stations currently operate in the country.

With these stations going dark, more than 1,900 journalists and media workers are now unemployed in the country, include 1,075 women. [Continue reading at Radio World…]

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A “knobs and switches” oldster investigates the SDRplay RSPdx . . . Wow!

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By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM

It is hard to imagine a less spectacular looking piece of radio gear than the SDRplay RSPdx. It is literally a black box. Aside from the printing on top of the box, the most exciting thing about the RSPdx are the two red plastic covers on the antenna connectors on the side. There are no switches, no knobs . . . you can’t do anything to it except connect an antenna (or antennas) on one side and a USB cable on the opposite.

But once you connect the USB cable to your laptop and fire up the SDRuno software (that you have previously downloaded and installed), you are now in command of a listening post that covers from 1 kHz to 2 GHz.

We’ll get to the important stuff in just a minute, but first a little background.

For an oldster retrocrank like me, a proper radio has knobs and switches . . . preferably a knob or switch for every job. Lately, however, I have noticed that a lot of DXers and ordinary listeners are reporting good success with SDRs – software-defined radios. So I started to wonder about them.

There are three elements to a software-defined radio like the SDRplay RSPdx:  the SDR box itself, which is the part of the system that actually receives the radio signals; a Windows computer (laptop or desktop), which provides the command and control for the SDR; and whatever antennas are required to receive the signals that the listener would like to hear. And, just to be absolutely clear, you need all three elements for the SDR system to work at all.

With my curiosity about SDRs rising, I inquired of Thomas, SWLing’s Maximum Leader, whether SDRplay – one of SWLing Post’s sponsors – might like me to take a look at one of their SDRs. Their answer was an emphatic Yes, and I had an RSPdx in my hands just a couple of days later at no cost to me or the SWLing Post.

I have to admit I had some trepidation about the process of bringing the RSPdx online because any time you have three different elements from three different sources that must work together for a system to function properly, there is always the possibility that some of the elements might not “play well together.”

Installation is easy and fast. Connect the RSPdx to the computer using a USB A-male to B-male cable (which the user must supply; often called a printer cable), then connect the antennas using the appropriate cable. In my case, I connected an MFJ 1886 Receive Loop to the Antenna C connector and an off-center fed dipole to the Antenna A connector.

To SDRplay’s great credit, they have produced an excellent video for first-timers and folks not familiar with SDRs — https://youtu.be/Oj_-dOLVzH8 . I recommend watching it, perhaps a couple of times, before you get started.

When you first fire up the SDRuno software, you will see the main panel:

Click on the “RX” button, and the Receive panel will be displayed. After you slide it over, it will look something like this:

Click on SP1 or SP2 in the main panel, and one of the peak displays will appear:

Finally, click on the PLAY button in the main panel, and whatever frequency you have selected will begin to play. Continue reading →

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Paolo’s review of the Eton Elite Satellit

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paolo Viappiani, who shares the following guest post:

ETON Elite Satellit: an expensive flop 

by Paolo Viappiani, Italy 

Introduction 

After various and sometimes conflicting announcements that have created strong expectations in radio listening enthusiasts, ETON has recently launched on the extra-European market (basically in the United States) what should have been its “top of the range” portable, the Elite Satellit model . Aesthetically (and also functionally) inspired by the previous E1 model, the new portable radio should have been free from the defects of its predecessor, in particular as regards the “sticky” coating of the plastic case but also with respect to other technical drawbacks repeatedly reported by users (display contrast and shading, etc.).

The new Elite Satellit was announced to look practically identical to the E1 model and to use the same cabinet, but with various additions and improvements: RDS, FM-HD reception, Air Band, etc. A frequency resolution of 10 Hz in the shortwave bands, a PBT (Pass-Band Tuning) facility, a large LCD display with the possibility of changing its background color were also provided.

It is therefore obvious that its release was highly anticipated, and the resulting expectation gave rise to numerous pre-orders of the radio in the United States, where the main distributor was (and still is) the well-known Universal Radio company owned by Fred Osterman [1].

Unfortunately, the initial boom in sales of the ETON Elite Satellit was followed by many return requests due to the poor performances of the radio and the numerous defects encountered by users, also reported in a lot of videos and negative reviews on the Internet [2].

Fred Osterman himself, disappointed by the performance of a radio that he should have sold as an excellent portable, began to test the individual devices in his own laboratory and to return to ETON all the units that did not meet the declared specs (basically the vast majority of those received for sale) [3]. All this caused great confusion at ETON, which was forced to somehow remedy its errors (mainly due both to a very approximate alignment of the circuits and to an almost non-existent final quality control).

Unfortunately, despite the precautions adopted “hastily” by ETON, most of the “overhauled” devices that were returned to Universal Radio continued not to comply with the specifications, so that Fred Osterman, who is a good technician and a very honest dealer, decided to cancel most of the orders received and to sell the very few radios found to be in good working order within the United States only, (see again note [3]). I myself placed an order from Universal Radio for an ETON Elite Satellit on August 8, 2022 (Order ID: #8992932, retail price $599.99 plus shipping and import customs duties), but Fred was forced to “drastically cut” the orders received and to cancel mine too, due to the impossibility of satisfying the many customers on this side of the pond. However, my desire to have an example of the ETON Elite Satellit in my hands, in order to be able to see, test and judge the new radio it was really great, and great was also the wish to realize if the many negative impressions circulating on the web were or were not justified and true.

So I decided to look for other ways to buy the “latest cry” of ETON. The opportunity presented itself to me, almost unexpectedly, by visiting the American site of Amazon [4].

The purchase and the arrival of the radio; my first impressions 

I therefore ordered an ETON Elite Satellit portable radio on the Amazon.com website on January 17, 2023 at the price of $698.16 (including shipping and customs duties). I report in Figure 1 the screenshot concerning my order #113-3575479-2262609 which, as it appears, was delivered to me on January 23, 2023, after only five days; this demonstrates the truthfulness of my statements.

Figure 1: A Screenshot of my Amazon.com order dated January 17, 2023.

The shipment was delivered to me by UPS courier in the usual Amazon packaging in a plastic bag (Figure 2).

Figure 2: The UPS label and the Amazon plastic bag.

Inside the envelope was a cardboard box containing the radio, in understandably less than perfect conditions (Figure 3).

Figure 3: The cardboard box of the ETON Elite Satellit.

Figure 4: The contents of the radio box.

Once the package was opened, the contents of the box looked like in Figure 4: two shock-absorbing spacers held the device in position (inserted in a plastic bag) and its AC power supply (into a white box, and obviously with a 117V input voltage). There was also the “User Guide” in a paper version and a “mini-guide” to listening to short waves; completely absent was the CD that used to be enclosed in the box of the previous E1 version of the radio.

Continuing with the operations, I came across a sort of brown plastic cover intended for the protection of three sides of the radio (front, top and back) which can be held in position by some magnets and is provided with two circular holes in correspondence with the tuning knobs and volume of the radio (Figure 5).

Figure 5: The ETON Elite Satellit radio and its “case” (?)

I omit to make comments on this “protection”; I only say that in my opinion it is useless (and ugly too) and I believe that the gentlemen of ETON could have wasted their energies otherwise; but maybe someone likes it too…

Figures 6 and 7 show the front and back of the portable radio as soon as it has been removed from the protective plastic bag. Note the almost identical appearance of the cases of the Elite Satellit and of the previous E1 model.

Continue reading →

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