Category Archives: Guest Posts

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following guest post:

Sources of SWL Information “Pre-Internet”

by Dan Greenall

When I first discovered the world of shortwave listening, many years before the internet, access to hobby related information was mostly available through over-the-air DX programs, monthly DX club bulletins, as well as a number of books and electronics magazines. I joined a few clubs including the Midwest DX Club, SPEEDX, and the Ontario DX Association, and eagerly awaited each issue of Electronics Illustrated and Popular Electronics (early 1970’s) on the news stand. Later, in the 1980’s, Popular Communications and Monitoring Times came along, though these were not always easy to find here in Canada.

Ironically, nearly all issues of these magazines can be read today, over 30, 40 and even 50 years later, thanks to David Gleason’s not-for-profit, free online library

https://www.worldradiohistory.com/index.htm

You can also find the semi-annual (and eventually annual) Communications World (1971-81) which contained the popular White’s Radio Log.

As well, five issues of the Communications Handbook can be found; 1963, 1966, 1967, 1974 and 1977. It only came out once a year but was still a favourite of mine, so much so, that I still have my copies from 1971 and 1972.

I have scanned parts of these and put them on the Internet Archive. You can find them here:

Communications Handbook 1971: https://archive.org/details/page-09

Communications Handbook 1972: https://archive.org/details/page-20

Here are links that will lead to some of the other magazines:

As a bonus, all of the issues of the monthly SPEEDX bulletin (1971-95) have been made available here

https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Speedx.htm

And finally, a good read is Shortwave Voices of the World by the late Dr. Richard E. Wood written in 1969. I still have my copy of it, but you can find it online here

https://archive.org/details/shortwave-voices-of-the-world-richard-wood-ed-1-pr-1-1969

WDX SWL registration program

My link to the 1971 Communications Handbook contains pages regarding the old WDX SWL registration program. I have found my old certificate from December 1971:

Wonder how many others still have theirs, or even the WPE ones from the 1960’s?

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No birds do sing

Here comes the Sun (again)

It’s a mystery

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Hi FastRadioBurst 23 from the Imaginary Stations crew here letting you know about the Imaginary Stations Spring mystery challenge. We are inviting all our listeners to guess the theme of the show below on Mixcloud.

Please send your suggestions to [email protected] and the person who comes closest will be sent an individual QSL and a prize.

For more information on the shows please email [email protected] and check out our old shows here.

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Kostas improves the contrast on his FRG-7 digital display

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kostas (SV3ORA), for sharing the following guest post which originally appeared on his radio website:

FRG-7 digital display contrast improvement

by Kostas (SV3ORA)

The FRG-7 digital by Marcel Jacobs PA8MA, is a very well thought modification KIT for the Yaesu FRG-7 receiver. It really adds to it one of the things it misses (and it misses a lot) to become a more “serious” receiver in the modern era, the digital frequency readout and S-meter. If you are like me and enjoy classic radio gear, but you do not want to compromise much the every-day usability, I recommend you this KIT. I have to say here that, the first thing you would want to do if you use the receiver for SSB, is to perform my SSB-related mods as well.

When I installed this KIT on my FRG-7 The first thing I did not like about it, was the very bright display which blasts your eyes with light especially at night on a low-lit shack. Not only that, but your eye will condinuously focus on the bright display and you loose the magic of the rest of the radio controls and displays. I wanted the digital display to be one of the parts of the radio and not the major thing that my eyes will look all the time. Marcel was smart enough to include 2 brightness levels in software. The low brightness setting does not actually change the backlight of the display, it just changes the graphics in more dim colors. As a result in either setting, the backlight color is very bright and this decreases contrast a lot. The background of the numbers in the display has a blue-ish color and not true black. Not only that, but the edges of the display, are visible too. I have solved all of these problems with a simple modification to the KIT.

The picture above, shows the display after my modification. The picture is taken on a dim-lit shack using my phone, with no further image processing. What you see in this picture, is exactly what it looks in reality, after my modification. Notice how the background of the display, remains pure black and the numbers and graphics of the display do not blind you anymore and are of the same brightness as the rest of the original backlit graphics of the radio. This allows your eye to wander around to the rest of the nice radio backlit things, without focusing all the time on a bright display. This is very relaxing to the eye and the brain as you scan for stations. You actually only look at the digital display when you want more accuracy. Compare this nice display contrast with the one presented on Marcel’s manual and you will notice the difference.

The modification is really simple and it does not need a schematic. It is just a 22k potentiometer, connected as a variable resistor like shown in the picture. I just cut the second cable (from the left), of the ribbon and then soldered the variable resistor there. That’s it. Depended on the light conditions in which you operate the receiver and on your personal preference, you can set the brighness from full to very dim. In the software setting, set the brightness to maximum. Then use this variable resistor to decrease it to your desired level.

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Raddy RE40 Emergency Radio

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By Robert Gulley (Guest Post)

The Raddy RE40 is another portable shortwave radio offering from Radioddity, but with a twist – it is intended to be an emergency radio first, and a listening-for-pleasure radio second. In this review I will cover the emergency options incorporated into the unit, as well as discuss operability and its overall functionality as a radio.

As always when I do a radio review, I will point out what I believe are the radio’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as where this might fit in your radio arsenal. The usual disclaimer applies for any product I review – I tell it like it is, good or bad. While the radio was provided to me without cost by Radioddity, that does not affect my opinions one iota. With that out of the way, let’s get into the meat and potatoes of the rig!

As we have come to expect from other Raddy portables, this has a lot of features packed into a relatively small package. I say “relatively small” because it is thicker than many vertical portables, and heavier. This is a solid bit of kit, and the size and weight are the first clue that this radio is not just intended to sit on a coffee table. It is definitely designed to work outdoors, as well as finding a place in the car or boat for when you need to check on the weather, or be out in it.

Specifications

- Frequency Range: FM: 87-108MHz, AM: 520-1710KHz, SW: 5.7-17.9MHz, WB: 162.400-162.550MHz
- Bluetooth: Version 5.0
- Card Type: MP3/WAV/FLAC/APE
- White Noise: 7 different natural sounds
- Max. Capacity of Micro SD Card: 256GB (not included)
- Size: 81x52x132mm / 3.2x2x5.2in
- Weight: Approximately 350g / 0.77lb
- Operating Voltage: 2.7V-4.2V
- LED Light: 1W/120LM
- Max. Power: About 5W
- Speaker: 4? 5W
- LED Flashlight: 1W/120LM
- Battery Capacity: 4000mAh / 3.7V (non-replaceable)
- Operating Temperature Range: -10? to 60??14°F to 140°F?

What’s in the box?

- 1 x RE40 Radio
- 1 x Type-C Cable
- 1 x Wrist1 x User Manual

Power Options

This radio can be powered by an internal battery charged by a USB-C port, solar powered to charge the battery, or by a hand crank. Here is the manual description of the emergency power options:

A. Solar Charging

Put the solar panel directly towards sunlight. When the green charging indicator lights on, it indicates that the solar panels charging the internal battery.
The charging efficiency depends on the solar exposure: the stronger the sunlight, the better the charging effect.

B. Hand Crank Charging

Turn the hand crank clockwise or anti-clockwise and the green charging indicator will light up to indicate that it is
Speaker has no sound: Hand crank at 130-150 rpm for 1 minute, the flashlight can be used for more than 30+ minutes or play the radio (medium volume) for 3

NOTES:

The hand crank can be turned for 3-5 minutes before using the product to activate the internal battery.
The hand crank is normally used in emergency situations when the power is out.

The radio has a compass built into the volume control knob on top, a flashlight, analog tuning dial, and switches for moving between playback modes (Radio, Bluetooth, and media) and desired operations (SOS, Standard battery or solar/crank charging modes, and USB charging). As an aside, the SOS feature is LOUD!

Almost the whole back of the radio is devoted to the solar cell. This is much larger than other solar cells on portable radios that I own, and presumably will recharge the internal battery faster. There is a rubber flap over the headphone, USB and memory card jacks/slots.

The unit has another interesting feature: you can charge your phone or other USB device from the standard USB slot under the flap. To use this feature the mode switch on the back of the radio has to be in the right-hand position under the charging symbol. When set to charge another device all other functions are disabled, so if you turn your radio on and can’t get anything to work, you might just have pushed the button over to the right accidentally, or intentionally the last time you used the radio.

Radio Performance

I’ll not spend a lot of time here, not because the radio performance is poor, but because as I have already noted, that is not the primary focus of this radio. There are plenty of portable radios by Radioddity and others which have better performance. However, I found the FM reception to be exceptional for a radio in this class, and AM radio reception to be reasonably acceptable for a radio with a lot going on inside. I did not test the AM radio reception with one of my loop enhancement units, mainly because I am not looking to use this as a regular radio receiver. This is going in my car for emergency/safety issues, and to grab when I am having a picnic lunch or the like.

Shortwave reception is on par with other radios of this size, and a pleasant feature is a sturdy telescoping antenna. Unlike several other small Raddy radios which have very fragile antennas, this one is much more solid.

Weather band reception is decent, but not quite as good as other radios I have tested. I can pick up one very strong signal, and a usable/readable second signal, but some other radios I have give me 4 or 5 stations. Of course, as long as you can get one strong signal, it is likely that is the one most important to you in your immediate location. With at least a second station you have the chance to pick up information should the one nearest you experience difficulties.

Sound and White Noise

As for the sound quality, it has a nice large speaker and delivers good sound, and I have found this typical of most all of the Raddy radios I have tested. In addition to the typical sleep timer radio option, this radio features a “white noise” option which allows the user to select between 7 different white noise options for those who prefer to go to sleep that way.

Compass and Flashlight

Pros

Feature-Packed in a small footprint
Loud SOS
Sturdy Antenna
Large Solar Charging Cell
Ability to charge phone
Multiple ways to power radio/flashlight
Strong FM, acceptable AM and Shortwave (no SSB)
Price ($49.99 from Radioddity, $44.99 plus 10% off coupon from Amazon at time of writing. There is also a bundle offer from Amazon which includes an SP4 4W Portable Solar Panel for $59 plus 10% off coupon) [Note that these are affiliate links that support the SWLing Post at no cost to you.]
18-month(!) warranty

Cons

Weather band not as impressive as some other radios, but hardly a deal-breaker
Analog tuning dial very sensitive (if you have shaky hands this is probably not for you, except perhaps for the emergency functions)
Multi-colored striped analog dial is sometimes hard to read (then again, I need my reading glasses for a lot of things!)

Wrap-up

This little radio packs a lot of punch for the money, adding features similar emergency radios do not have. If you are like me, emergency radios are a necessity given our unstable weather and power grids, and I like knowing I can use solar power to recharge a radio, or crank it when the sun is not available. Some folks expect more power from a hand-crank generator than these small radios produce, but my main goal is to be able to quickly check weather conditions, use the flashlight, or make use of the SOS function if needed. These do not require massive amount of time spent cranking the generator, and to me that is a plus.

I would recommend one for each car or boat, or to take with you on outdoor trips just in case of an emergency. Of course, you could always listen to the ballgame on your front porch, too!

Cheers, Robert K4PKM

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