Category Archives: AM

In the field with the Panasonic RF-2200

I’ve had the Panasonic RF-2200 for just one week, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this classic solid-state portable. Without a doubt I’ve been very pleased with the RF-2200, and I only have good things to say about the eBay seller, volodymyry123 from whom I bought it. Eventually I’ll take the time to calibrate the analog dial, which is about 100 kHz off-frequency. (I’m obviously in no rush, but if readers with these rigs have suggestions for doing so, feel free to comment.)

The RF-2200 is surely one of the largest, heaviest portables in my collection…still, it begs to be taken outdoors!

Last week, I drove with some friends to the highest point in eastern North America, Mount Mitchell State Park. As I left for our drive, picnic supplies and backpacks in tow, I took a glance at the RF-2200 in my office–and couldn’t resist taking it along.

During our mountain picnic, I turned the RF-2200 on; immediately I heard Radio Exterior de España‘s interval signal on 17,715 kHz. It was loud and clear, at times pegging S9 on the signal meter.

I also tuned to the medium wave band and was instantly amazed by all of the signals it drew in. I was able to hear one of my favorites, WAIZ, on 630 kHz–the signal was very stable and sounded local, although the transmitter was easily 60 miles away.

In general, medium wave performance on the RF-2200 has been nothing short of incredible. But this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Indeed, just prior to purchasing the RF-2200, I consulted my buddy, Jeff McMahon (the fellow behind The Herculodge); here’s what he says about the ‘2200:

“I borrowed my friends’ RF-2200 for a month in 2008 and I loved it. It picked up stations effortlessly and had a magisterial quality about it, especially the AM sound. It reminded me of why I fell in love with radios.”

But why is it that when I look at the RF-2200, I feel like I should be taking it to the field? Perhaps it’s the staunch, beefy look of the chassis, or the controls that could easily be worked even with winter gloves? Or perhaps it’s that woven carry strap?

Or perhaps the RF-2200 offers something I miss in the age of compact portables with digital displays: a radio with presence, one that lends itself to pure listening discovery. The RF-2200 demands your attention, and does so with a clear, deep voice…

Yep, the RF-2200 is a true field companion. But don’t take my word for it: find one, take it along, and see–or rather, hear–for yourself.

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Richard’s search to find the best SWLing spot on campus

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SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, has been seeking the perfect spot on the campus of the University of New Brunswick (UNB) to listen to shortwave. He recently shared the following:

Here’s a link to a brief video of my recording of last weekend’s VOA Radiogram “in the field” (a UNB parking lot):

Richard goes on to say that he’s found an even better location:

“That location on campus (green pin on attached image) turned out to not be noise-free on all bands. Found an even better location (red pin). Negligible power-line interference although still within Wi-Fi range of UNB’s system but no significant effects from that discovered yet. Got excellent reception of VOA’s Radiogram this past Saturday afternoon. Extremely clean waterfall in Fldigi. And virtually noise-free images [below]”

Richard’s decoded message. (Click to enlarge)

VOA Radiogram decoded image

Many thanks for sharing this with us, Richard!

Those of you who live or work in areas with significant radio noise should consider scouting out a listening spot like Richard has. Also, you might be inspired by LondonShortwave who takes his radios to public parks. Regardless, moving your receiver as far away from sources of radio interference as possible will always yield better listening results.

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Art Bell’s “Midnight In The Desert” to be broadcast on shortwave via WTWW and WBCQ

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Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Mike, who informs us that Art Bell is returning to the airwaves with a new radio show called Midnight in the Desert. Like Coast to Coast AM, (which Bell retired from several years ago) Midnight in the Desert will also focus on paranormal activity.

Mike also points out that Bell has also announced Midnight in the Desert will be broadcast on WTWW (5,085 kHz). WTWW will start airing the show July 20, 2015 from 9:00 pm – Midnight Pacific time.

Indeed, after looking at the list of radio stations rebroadcasting Midnight in the Desert, I noted that WBCQ, in Maine, will also carry the show on 7,490 and 9,330 kHz.

For more information and updates, check out Art Bell’s website.

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99% Invisible: “Voices on the Wire”

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Many of you know that I’m a huge fan of 99% Invisible–a podcast and radio show about “design, architecture & the 99% invisible activity that shapes our world.”

This past week, 99% Invisible’s episode, Voices on the Wire, featured Tony Schwartz, a recording pioneer, and Frank Conrad, a broadcasting pioneer. While not specifically about shortwave radio, you’ll hear how the ether weaved its way through both of their histories.

I should mention that Roman Mars, creator of 99% Invisible, is quite a fan of shortwave radio. Indeed, in the past, he’s featured our friend, David Goren, of Shortwaveology.net.

You can listen to Voices on the Wire and read the show notes on 99% Invisible’s website. Click here to download the episode as an MP3 file, or simply listen via the embedded SoundCloud player below:

Note that the Tony Swartz segment was originally produced by The Kitchen Sisters, Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson, from their series Lost and Found Sound; the segment on Frank Conrad was originally produced by Radio Diaries.

And, hey…if you happen to be chatting with Roman Mars anytime soon, ask him to do more shows on shortwave radio: a technology I consider to be the ultimate invisible medium!

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James’ vintage transistor radio collection

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In response to my recent post about the vintage Arvin 68R58 transistor radio, SWLing Post reader, James Patterson, has shared photos of his collection in New Zealand. James has captioned each photo below:

This portable Sanyo was bought at a “Second Hand” shop. It had badly corroded battery connections. I repaired it and it works fine now.

Very early National portable with twin speakers, broadcast [band] and [shortwave. Works very well.

This PYE Caddy was actually made here in New Zealand. I believe the design was from the UK though. It still works very well.

The PYE Caddy without the plastic cover.

Very popular in their day, the RED National Panasonic pocket AM Transistor 6. Works well.

Very early AIWA pocket Transistor 6. Still works well.

The “Murphy 8” Transistor radio. Broadcast band only. Wooden case in fab condition. Works very well.

This is the rear view of the “Murphy Transistor 8.” I gave it a new battery holder.

This is a “Murphy Transistor 7+” Im not sure what the “+” means because it does have only 7 transistors. Very good performer for its age. Wooden case is identical to the previous Murphy 8.

This is the rear view of the “Murphy Transistor 7 plus.” All very original, and works fine.

This National Panasonic DR 28 is not part of my early AM Transistor radio collection. It is, however, part of my shortwave radio collection.

Many thanks, James, for sharing photos from your collection! You certainly have some gems in there. I was not at all familiar with the New Zealand-made PYE Caddy, in fact. I’m curious if other radios were made in New Zealand in the past.

I bet you and I might agree that the Panasonic DR-28 (a.k.a. RF-2800 in North America) hardly feels “vintage,” but at 37 years old it certainly qualifies by most standards–hard to believe. The RF-2800 pops up on eBay quite often and has certainly held its value well. (Click here to search.)

Seeing the DR-28/RF-2800, in fact, is making me lust even more after the venerable Panasonic RF-2200! Alas…so many radios!

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Hamvention find: the Arvin 68R58 AM transistor radio

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Though I believe I spent more money at the Dayton Hamvention this year than I have in all previous years, I only purchased one radio: the Arvin 68R58 eight-transistor.

I spent a whopping $5 on the little Arvin in the Hamvention fleamarket. To be fair, the seller sold it for this modest price because he was not sure if the radio worked. But when I unsnapped the back leather cover, peered inside, and found the works remarkably clean, I suspected it might…

No original power supply was included, of course, and I was a bit concerned when I saw the somewhat out-of-character plastic battery holder. In the filtered fleamarket light, it appeared to me as if it required proprietary batteries–the holder appeared too small for C cells, and too large for AAs. There was no indication of the type of batteries it used, but since the spec read “6 volts,” I knew I could build a small AA battery holder, if need be.

So, at $5 (I bargained him down from $10, based on the doubt of operation) it was a very low risk purchase, and a potentially a fun project.

Back at home, I popped open the battery holder and looked inside…And I discovered the Arvin did, indeed, take four C cells. Simple enough! After inserting fresh batteries, I turned on the radio via the tone pot, and instantly heard beautiful, rich audio.

What I thought would be a project radio ended up being fully functional, and was, moreover, in tip-top shape.

So far, I’ve been very impressed with the Arvin’s AM sensitivity and audio fidelity. No doubt the generous ferrite rod antenna is doing the trick on medium wave.

Last night, as I tuned through the AM broadcast band, I was able to null out unwanted stations and noise amazingly well. There is something to be said of transistor radios from this era–let’s just say, they’re classics.

The Arvin has a simple set of controls: tone, tuning, and volume. There are no filter selections, of course, but I can tell that it’s quite wide; perhaps 8 or 9 kHz.

All in all, I’m very pleased with my little purchase, and the Arvin has become my new (vintage) bedside radio. Last night, I tuned in one of my favorite AM stations on 740 kHz, CFZM in Toronto, Canada. CFZM (a.k.a. “Zoomer Radio”) is not only a benchmark, but a right of passage for any worthy AM radio in my household. The Arvin passed the Zoomer test with colors flying.

And, yes, it even soothed me to sleep.

Now I only need to properly clean and restore the Arvin’s leather chassis and perhaps build a 6V-regulated linear power supply.

Next time you pass by a 1960s/70s vintage transistor, grab it! I’m certainly happy I did.

Now, I think I’ll turn on the Arvin, sip some dark beans, and put up my feet in the Pawley’s Island hammock…Cheers! Summer’s on the way.

Want one of your own? A quick search reveals that the Arvin 68R58 can be found on eBay for quite reasonable prices. Click here to search eBay for an Arvin.

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Listening to an AM broadcast station on the BC-348Q

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I listen to my BC-348Q most days; in fact, it’s my preferred way of receiving my morning dose of Radio Australia on 9,580 kHz. And although you won’t find any medium-wave DXers endorsing this beefy antique rig, the BC-348, with its warm tone, has turned out to be a great shortwave receiver for casual listening.

When the armed forces commissioned the Signal Corps BC348 during WWII, the last thing they wanted was to have on-duty personnel listening to AM broadcast bands during, say, bombing sorties––so they purposefully omitted the medium-wave band. The band selections in the BC-348 are as follows:

200-500 KC.
1.5-3.5 MC.
3.5-6.0 MC.
6.0-9.5 MC.
9.5-13.5 MC.
13.5-18.0 MC.

But here in the comfort of my radio digs three-quarters of a century after WWII, I recently discovered that this classic “hot war” receiver does, indeed, pick up one of my local AM broadcast stations: WTZQ, and on 1,600 kHz. WTZQ has become one of my favorite stations; it’s one of the few in this region that’s still actually independently owned. The station’s playlist spans the decades, including, as they say, “everything from Glenn Miller to Steve Miller.” And, since they’re on “1.6 MC” they make the cut on the ‘348’s second-band selection. How cool is that?

WTZQ’s station is a good thirty miles from here as the crow flies, so reception usually includes a little static on the wire antenna I’ve connected to the BC-348. Still, you might enjoy this short audio clip of WTZQ via the BC-348Q: