Category Archives: Contests

Contest Reminder: Your “dream radio”

Think back to your first days in radio…What was your “dream” receiver? And why?

Or–if you’re new to shortwave radio–what is your “dream” receiver currently, and why?

Many of us had a radio they dreamed of in their youth, or when they first began to hanker after the radio experience. What was yours? For newer hobbyists, what is yours? And just what made–or makes–this radio so special? Did you ever obtain one? And if so, did it live up to your expectations?

Share your experiences with the Post for a chance to win a prize from Universal Radio!

The winners of this contest will be chosen at random, using a randomizer application; an independent non-entrant will make these selections.

Thanks to Universal Radio and Fred Osterman’s generosity, there will be two winners of this simple contest–a US winner and an international winner.

The US prize will be a copy of Shortwave Receivers Past and Present by none other than Fred Osterman. I reviewed this book a couple years ago: it is an invaluable reference tool and also a fun “dream” book. With sincere apologies to my international friends, this prize must be limited to the US simply because shipping this weighty volume internationally would cost more than the book itself.

The international winner may select between the following (less weighty!) books, also very good references: Joe Carr’s Loop Antenna Book or Buying A Used Shortwave Receiver: A Market Guide To Modern Shortwave Radios.

Entering the contest is easy. Simply go to our entry form (below or click here) and fill in the required fields. Be descriptive! This will make the contest fun. Let us know in detail why that radio was (or is) so significant to you.

Your entry will be recorded, and the winners chosen at random on Sunday October 16, 2016. We’ll publish the responses once the contest concludes, sharing only the name you provide.

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North American SW DX Contest

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Cooper, who shares the following announcement:

To all North American SW DX contest survey respondents and other interested North American SW DXers. The proposed SW DX Contest is a go, and will be conducted in early January 2017.

I am in the process of drafting the contest rules/ guidelines/prizes together so I can get final approval, and send the information out to you. I will be the primary point of contact for the contest. As it stands right now the NASWA will be a sponsor for the contest according to Richard D’Angelo.

Thanks to everyone who completed surveys and gave me some great ideas. More information will be forthcoming in November. I will get the Contest info posted online at several websites, and by mail to those who sent letters to me.

At any rate; mark your calendars now for a proposed start date of 7 January, 2017. Those of you who might be interested but did not submit a survey are invited to participate fully.

You can contact me at [email protected] or John Cooper, 734 Sally Ann drive, Lebanon, PA 17046.

Many thanks, John, for making this contest a reality! We look forward to posting your updates.

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SWLing Post Reader Contest: remembering your “dream radio”

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The Sony ICF-2010 was my dream portable in the 1980s.

Fred Osterman, President of Universal Radio, recently expressed his interest in supporting another SWLing Post Reader Contest. Of course, I eagerly agreed, and we quickly came up with a theme:

Think back to your first days in radio…What was your “dream” receiver? And why?

Or–if you’re new to shortwave radio–what is your “dream” receiver currently, and why?

ShortwaveReceiversPastAndPresent The winners of this contest will be chosen at random, using a randomizer application; an independent non-entrant will make these selections.

Thanks to Universal’s generosity, there will be two winners–a US winner and an international winner.

Your entry will be recorded, and the winners chosen at random on Sunday October 16, 2016. We’ll publish the responses once the contest concludes, sharing only the name you provide.

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13 Colonies Special Event

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13 Colonies operating event runs from 1300Z July 1 – 0400Z July 7

Once again, the 13 Colonies Special Event will take place between 1300z, July 1st and 0400z July 7th. The certificate is printed on heavy card stock. Stations working one state or, as many as all 15, will be eligible for the certificate. A “Clean Sweep” indicator will be affixed, for those lucky enough to “Q” all 15.

A special endorsement will be attached for stations contacting their sister operation, WM3PEN, in Philadelphia, PA, where independence was declared. New since 2015, the 13 Colonies have added a second sister event station GB13COL will operate from Durham, England. The 13 Colonies certificate will have a Liberty Bell added for a contact with WM3PEN. They will also offer a special QSL card printed just for this event.

There should be at least two stations from each on the 13 colonies on the air, as well as Super contest stations, multi-operator Club stations and OM and XYL teams. The thirteen orginal U.S. colonies are CT-DE- GA-MA-MD-NC-NH-NJ-NY-PA-RI-SC-VA. Special events stations mentioned are: K2A (NY), K2B (VA), K2C (RI), K2D (CT), K2E (DE), K2F (MD), K2G (GA), K2H (MA), K2I (NJ), K2J (NC), K2K (NH), K2L (SC), and K2M (PA).

All HF bands will be in play, including the WARC bands, with the exception of 60 meters. 2 meters and 6 meter simplex are encouraged. All modes of operation should be represented – SSB, CW, RTTY, Digital, and the Satellites. The mode of operation is up to the individual colony state station. For more details on the stations, suggested frequencies, QSL info and on how to obtain the special certificate, see: http://www.13colonies.info

Thanks to the Southgate Amateur radio News for this information

This is one of my favorite events each year – and it also represents some of the best of the traditions of amateur operation. I have always found the operators to be kind and helpful and patient, and they really seem to enjoy the event. Why not give it a go this year?!

Robert Gulley, AK3Q, is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Robert also blogs at All Things Radio.

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WTWW Christmas Shortwave Radio Picture Contest

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Yes, though I'm not entering the contest, I am getting into the spirit of the season!

Though I’m not entering the WTWW contest, I *am* getting into the spirit of things!

(Source: WTWW via David Korchin, K2WNW)

It’s Christmas music on International Shortwave Radio Station WTWW. We want the shortwave radio to take the place of the electric train under the Christmas Tree! We are asking for pictures of your shortwave radios – the most festive picture wins! Include yourself, friends and family, include the Christmas tree, or deck your radio with boughs of Holly and all things Christmas!

Send your pictures to [email protected] for the chance to win the Grand Prize – a TW 2010 Antenna complete with the quadra stand and custom carry bag! During the week we are starting on 5085 kHz at 7pm CST until 11pm CST. On the weekends we are starting at 1pm CST on 9930 kHz until 7pm when we change to 5085 kHz and it will go until late into the night.

Blow the dust off of those classic radios and get them out of the closet or attic and Tune In for Bing Crosby, Montovani, Dean Martin, Burl Ives, Mannheim Steamroller and many more. There is nothing like the sound of Christmas music coming out of the speaker of a classic shortwave radio.

We will even accept creative pictures of not so classic radios and newer radios including SDR’s that look festive and capture the spirit of Christmas. We also love and welcome videos with WTWW playing in the background. If you think your radio can make Santa smile, then send us your picture – you could be our big winner! Other prizes will be announced as we go along.

[email protected]

or

WTWW
P.O. Box 102
Lebanon, TN 37088

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Shack Photo Contest: We have a winner!

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Vimal’s favorite radios are the Tecsun PL-390 and the Eton E100. (Photo: Vimal)

Please join me in congratulating SWLing Post reader, Vimal, for winning our October Shack Photo contest!

Vimal notes:

“I love these radios (see photo above). The Tecsun PL-390 stereo DSP radio with selectable band width- is able to pull in a slew of shortwave stations in quite clearly (of course a lot depended upon time of day and atmospheric conditions.) I can routinely receive signals from Asia, Australia, South America and Europe which is exciting!

And another one is my small Eton E100 Radio- The highlights of this one is that the stereo through headphones sounds great. Its Informative LCD display includes the frequency and the time while the radio is on (some other radios require a keypress to display the clock). It also features a nice amber backlight for the LCD display. Not to forget the sturdy whip antenna.”

Congratulations, Vimal–and many thanks to everyone who shared their photos.

Vimal’s entry was chosen at random from the 62 SWLs and ham radio operators who shared their shack/listening post photos. What an amazing number of entries!

I plan to take the many photos and notes we received from readers and turn them into an online photo galley. I’ll post this as soon as I’ve curated and formatted entries.

If you didn’t win this contest, fear not! We’re already plotting another simple & fun contest before the end of the year.

Reader Challenge

Note, too, that we are still collecting entries for the latest reader challenge: Emergency radio and a chance to win a prepper radio package!

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Final day: Share a photo of your shack or listening post for a chance to win a Grundig G2

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John’s shack features the CommRadio CR-1a, RFSpace SDR-IQ, Winradio G33DDC Excalibur Pro, and the Grundig Satellite 750.

Today is the deadline for our latest contest!

In exchange for sharing a photo of your favorite listening post or your radio shack with the SWLing Post community, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a Grundig G2 portable radio/recorder and player! The choice will be made by random selection, so everyone has an equal chance of winning.

Click here to read a full description of the contest and how you can participate!

Many thanks to our friends at Universal Radio for sponsoring this contest!

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