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Many of us who are also amateur radio operators, got their start in the hobby through simply listening to shortwave radio, or perhaps, to stations in the AM or FM broadcast bands. I suppose it is then inevitable that these two hobbies are bound to connect with each other from time to time. Here are a few examples of this that relate to my experiences.
In 1972, while doing a random band scan on shortwave, I came across a point-to-point radio station from Managua, Nicaragua that was transmitting a repeating test message (recording attached below):
The station was operated by the Tropical Radio Telegraph Company and I sent off a reception report in hopes of receiving a QSL from them. As luck would have it, the Plant Engineer, Guenter G. Zaenker, responded with a friendly letter including some details about their transmitter power and antennas used.
A couple of years later, when I got my amateur radio licence (VE3HLC), my SWL activities took a back seat to ham radio for a while. In 1978, I received a QSL for a contact with station YN1Z in Managua who turned out to be none other than Guenther G. Zaenker.
I worked Guenter for a final time as TG9XGV in Guatemala City, Guatemala. How is that for completing a hat trick!
Shortly after receiving my amateur radio ticket in 1974, I made a contact with station PJ9BN, Jack Van Sciver on the island of Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles.
It turns out he worked at Trans World Radio, a broadcaster I had listened to regularly on the SWBC bands and it was quite exciting to discover this connection. Attached is a link to a recording I made of this station that same year as they were concluding a segment of their popular DX Special program:
It seems that Jack is still going strong as I recently found this link to his current amateur callsign NA3F: https://www.qrz.com/db/NA3F
A final note, I had made a 2-way contact through the Oscar 6 amateur radio satellite (uplink on 2 metres, downlink on 10 metres) in 1976 with W.G. “George” Roach in Ottawa, Ontario.
Some 11 years later, I was able to pick up station CFMO FM on 93.9 MHz, over 300 miles away, through some great ducting conditions. When I received a QSL from the station, it was signed by W.G. Roach who was the chief engineer at CFMO FM.
It certainly is a small world! I wonder how many others out there have experiences similar to mine?
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Giuseppe Morlè, who writes:
Dear Thomas and Friends of the SWLing Post,
I am Giuseppe Morlè, IZ0GZW, writing to you from Formia, in central Italy, on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Do you remember the DICA 2 antenna? It was a small, shortened antenna with three ferrite cores inside, capable of tuning across all shortwave bands. Unfortunately, it no longer exists in its original form.
I have completely reworked the windings to enable the ferrites to also function for medium wave (MW) reception. Now, the antenna features:
• 35 turns for medium waves,
• 4 turns for shortwaves, and
• the same variable capacitor of over 1000 pF remains in use.
For medium waves, the antenna works wonderfully by induction. You simply place the ferrite core near the tube and turn the variable capacitor to achieve perfect tuning across the entire MW range.
I was genuinely amazed by its performance on shortwaves. Despite its small size, the antenna provides excellent gain, especially when a ground cable is connected to the variable capacitor’s casing.
I conducted several tests on my balcony. Initially, I thought the random ground wire simply improved the rotor’s tuning capability, but I discovered the antenna works equally well even when placed on a metal surface.
During a recent outing to Monte Orlando Park in Gaeta, I observed how the ground cable significantly enhanced both the signal strength and audio modulation. You can see this in my latest video, where I received Australian operators Greg and Grant on 20 meters with excellent signals.
The antenna’s two windings are separated and connected to the stator and rotor of the variable capacitor. On one end of the shortwave winding (the 4 turns), I’ve added a crocodile clip that can be attached or detached to switch between shortwave and medium wave operation. All of this functionality is achieved with a single variable capacitor.
I will soon share videos demonstrating all of these details and performances.
Thank you, Thomas, for your incredible activations—I follow them regularly on your channel, and they are a constant source of inspiration for me.
Greetings to you and all the Friends of SWLing Post!
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
– Arthur C. Clarke
Shame on us: we take it for granted that someone can speak into a microphone miles away (perhaps thousands of miles), we can hear them, reply to them, share information and maybe even get someone some help.
It’s astonishing, but we accept it as commonplace. (Let me remind you: every time you fire up your mobile phone – smartphone or otherwise – you’re using a radio). And yet it has the potential for greatness.
I saw that greatness demonstrated by ham radio in the response to the devastation brought to Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee by Hurricane Helene. Torrential rains and high winds wiped out infrastructure – roads, bridges, dwellings, businesses, power lines, cell towers – isolating people and putting them in peril . . . and cutting off the affected areas off so thoroughly that people not far away had no idea how desperate conditions were. It was bad . . . really bad.
The morning after Helene ripped a hole in civilization in Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina, Dan Mark K2DMG dropped his callsign on the Mount Mitchell repeater (which is fortuitously located on the highest peak in the Eastern United States, giving it enormous reach) and asked if anyone needed help . . . and that began a saga that will likely be studied as an example of radio emergency response for years to come. For hours and then days, Dan – who had never before been a net control – passed health and welfare messages, summoned help for people, and much, much more. Others listened to Dan’s radio traffic and used it to direct help to those who needed it and to find roads that were open.
In the heart of the affected area, Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL (SWLing Post’s Maximum Leader) also used ham radio to summon help for others and provide community communications.
But these few words do very poor service to what really happened. So I would heartily suggest, recommend, even implore you to listen to the following videos and podcast.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael (BD4AAQ), who shares the following guest post:
Tidbits of SEANET (South East Asia Amateur Radio Network)
by Michael (BD4AAQ)
On 3rd October 2024, the 48th SEANET Convention was finally convened in Negombo, Sri Lanka. The SEANET convention, a gathering of a group of amateur radio operators, was last held in Johor Bahru Malaysia, in 2019, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. The Sri Lanka conference was attended by only 25 people. Nevertheless, it was hailed as a triumph, as it was the first ever meeting of amateur radio operators for SEANET following the end of the pandemic and upon extensive discussions on WhatsApp groups.
SEANET in Sri Lanka
Tharanga, 4S6TMP, and other organisers, did a great job hosting the convention. Despite its modest size, the convention featured all the typical elements: presentations, discussions, dinners, a bonfire, a special event station (4S7SEA), and more. Above all, the organisers surprised the attendees with the first day cover of the event arranged by the Sri Lanka Post Service. The first day cover, with postage stamps containing photos of SEANET participants, was ready the same morning when the photos were taken! Lightning speed!
First Day Cover featuring SEANET 2024
The low attendance of the convention was partially attributed to the altered schedule. It was originally scheduled for 19 – 22 September but had to be changed at short notice to 3 – 6 October due to Sri Lanka’s presidential election on 23 September. The altered timetable prevented many of the Seanetters who had signed up from attending as scheduled.
Highest Attendance in History
SEANET has seen much higher attendance amid excellent solar conditions. The 18th SEANET convention, held in Kuching, Malaysia in 1990, was attended by as many as 320 people! The 38th Convention took place in 2010 in Shanghai, China, with over 100 attendees.
SEANET Convention in Shanghai
The Origin of SEANET
SEANET, the South East Asia Amateur Radio Network, was established in 1964 and is operated on 20 metres (14.320 MHz plus or minus QRM). The objective of the net is to promote international understanding and fellowship among hams and to relay emergency, medical, urgent or priority traffic. The on-the-air meeting, which has taken place at 1200 UTC daily without fail during periods of good solar conditions, has strengthened unity and co-operation among hams around the world, especially those within the region. The net also provides hams with a facility for testing their equipment and propagation conditions on the 20 metres band. Over time, members then agreed to have yearly gatherings for eyeball encounters and exchanges, which is how SEANET conventions came to be.
[Regarding the] value of the SEANET as an Emergency communications network…
There have been many a private Yacht in the Indian Ocean that had been helped via the SEANET and Amateur Radio. Once there was this small Tri-maran which had exhausted all its fuel, food and water and were drifting helpless. Radio Hams and SEANET alerted rescue services and succeeded in getting an Ocean liner to divert and drop off fuel, food and water.
There have been other impressive achievements to the credit of SEANET. There was the case of a young mother in Sri Lanka whose baby of a few days had a serious condition which could only be treated by a special drug not available locally. SEANET members looked in the likely places in Australia and Singapore but failed. They then contacted their friends in the U
.S.A. and succeeded in getting the drug flown out from California the baby was saved. There was also the case of the frantic father who could not be near at hand when his wife was delivery their first baby in a Singapore hospital, over a thousand miles away from his jungle location. He kept in touch via Ham radio and SEANET. The wife, in hospital, had friends from SEANET visit every day.
On another occasion, when disaster struck Darwin, Australia recently, wiping off all communications facilities, a member of the SEANET group living in Darwin set up his station and was one of the first to contact the National Authorities with news and requests. Another SEANET member in Sri Lanka was able to obtain details of the whereabouts and health etc. of his countrymen living in Darwin and so reassure their near and dear in Sri Lanka.
There was once also the team of Himalayan climbers who attacked Mt. Everest from a new direction and when success was first conveyed via Amateur Radio and SEANET.
My Involvement
In the early 2000s, I started to take note of SEANET. I occasionally heard other shortwave networks and net controls, but SEANET was one that was loud and clear and was almost always there at 14320 MHz at or shortly after 12:00 Zulu. Ah, the good old days! Net controls took turns and worked from countries including Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Australia. Among the net controls were Gary (VK8GW), Ben (VK6XC), Barry (VK6ADI), Kim (VK6UO), Roy (DU9/G4UNL) and Ray (HS0ZDZ).
In Shanghai, I would check in to the net soon after I got back from work. John (BD4AAV) would also join the net from time to time. In Taiwan, Tim (BV2A) was a frequenter of SEANET. He was very happy when he first learned that John and I were from mainland China. One day he recommended that we QRY to a different frequency and there we three chatted like old friends for a very long time. Next we exchanged QSL cards. Tim was the first person to be issued a ham radio license since the KMT government moved from the mainland to Taiwan. He passed away in 2006.
QSL card from Tim, with the enclosed note stating that due to propagation issues he was unable to work Shanghai stations via SEANET at 14320 MHz lately
Dr KN Singh
If we talk about SEANET, there is one person we must also talk about. Dr Singh, a Malaysian Indian. SEANET conventions have developed and now have survived the pandemic in large part thanks to his efforts. He has many roles: doctor, hospital owner, philanthropist, Sikh, and last but not least, ham radio operator (9M2KN). He himself has hosted a number of SEANET conventions in Malaysia and has dedicated to the development of SEANET and ham radio in general. Although SEANET is a loose organisation with no permanent secretariat and each host country decides for itself how to organise a convention, Dr Singh’s charisma, leadership and coordination capabilities have been essential and have greatly encouraged and inspired the organisers. We should meet regularly before we grow too old to move and we should bring in new, younger members to the big family, he said, the ham spirit and the camaraderie must be nurtured.
From left to right: Ramesh VU2LU, Dr Singh 9M2KN, Jaliya 4S7JL, Tharanga 4S6TMP and Aruna SWL at SEANET 2024
Hans from Germany
Hans (DF5UG) is a veteran Seanetter with very extensive ham radio experiences. He has been to many countries and operated under probably the most callsigns. He was an EC member of IARU. He enjoys setting up antennas and amateur stations on the spot wherever he goes.
Hans, third from left, at the 38th SEANET Convention in Shanghai, with Michael BD4AAQ, second from right, and other attendees
The Legendary Fred
Fred (K3ZO) was a legend. He was an enthusiastic amateur radio operator and actively participated in amateur radio contests. Fred was well-known and widely respected around the globe. He had worked many stations in China as well. Earlier in his career, he was a US Information Officer. In 1974, he was kidnapped by a guerrilla group in Córdoba, Argentina and critically shot. As he was an amateur radio operator and owned a large amount of radio equipment, he was suspected of being a CIA agent. Upon a behind-the-scenes offensive in Washington and with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger categorically denying spy speculations, he was released. He later stated in a message: “Amateur Radio is a wonderful hobby but it can be dangerous because people misinterpret what it is. I myself was kidnapped and shot in Argentina, but fortunately I have lived to tell about it.”
Fred also attended the 38th SEANET Convention in China. He became a Silent Key in 2023.
Fred, middle, in Shanghai
SEANET 2025 in India
Worth special mentioning are Turid and Mimis who are 82 and 91 years old now. The couple is originally from Yugoslavia (Serbia) (Turid was the Yugoslavian Ambassador to Germany in the 1970’s). They have now settled with their daughter in Australia. They attended many SEANET events and are great contributors to SEANET. Just a few days ago, they wrote to Dr. Singh asking when and where the next convention will be held.
Gladly, Ramesh (VU2LU) has taken the next slot for SEANET. We expect it to be a big event like what we have had in old times. The dedicated website for SEANET events is https://seanetasia.net. So, stay tuned for more information for the next SEANET Convention. 73!
No matter where you live in the world, everyone should have a battery-powered or self-powered (hand-crank) portable radio in their home.
Recently, the pace of articles here on the SWLing Post has slowed down. That’s because I live in Swannanoa, North Carolina—a town that was particularly hard-hit by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Helene, which brought unprecedented rainfall and caused widespread destruction.
In short, our rural mountain community was completely cut off for several days. Our bridge washed out, and a critical section of road crumbled daily.
At one point, two families had to be helicopter-evacuated for medical reasons, and less than a week after the storm, the Sheriff’s department came door-to-door recommending evacuation.
Our amazing community pulled together: we cleared our road of hundreds of downed trees and made sure everyone had food, water, and supplies. We took care of each other.
Now, things have improved dramatically. After two and a half weeks without power, we’ve been reconnected to the grid. The Kentucky Department of Transportation repaired our road, making it accessible to regular vehicles again. On Tuesday, an arborist crew finally made it up the mountain to remove fallen trees from houses.
Although things are starting to feel more normal at home, the impact on Swannanoa, Asheville, and surrounding areas has been profound. Entire neighborhoods are gone, numerous businesses have closed, and several grocery stores were severely damaged.
The Communications Void
The National Guard helped us for a full day at our home. Thank you 5th Battalion 113 Field Artillery!
It’s often said that modern communications infrastructure fails us after a disaster.
I can confirm, first hand, that this is true.
The mobile phone network went offline during the storm, leaving us without service for days. Even now, three weeks after the storm, mobile phone service remains unreliable. Calls drop every few minutes.
Mobile data services at home are still down at time of posting (October 18, 2024). Internet services like cable, fiber, and DSL are mostly still out across the county. Only those with satellite internet have a connection—I’m fortunate to be one of them. Our cell tower still only supports basic voice calls and text messaging, without data or media attachments.
Radio to the Rescue
As many of you know, I’m not just a radio listener, but also a licensed amateur radio operator, and both of these hobbies became essential post-Helene.
As highlighted in an article by WIRED, amateur radio proved to be our lifeline for communication when everything else failed.
Using the local repeater (N2GE on Mount Mitchell), I was able to pass wellness checks, coordinate helicopter evacuations, and arrange supply drops for our community. I handed out a few handy talkies to unlicensed neighbors so we could stay in touch.
My wife and daughter, who are also hams, helped tremendously. While I was out with a chainsaw, clearing driveways, they acted as net control operators on our community’s simplex frequency (147.555 MHz), passing critical messages.
For that first week especially, amateur radio truly was our community’s connection to the outside world.
AM/FM Radio: A Lifesaver
Fortunately, our local TV station remained online after the storm, but few people could access it. Many people rely on cable or internet to watch TV, and in areas like ours, the digital transition over a decade ago left many without the ability to pick up over-the-air signals.
In contrast, FM and AM radio became the most reliable sources of information. Here in Buncombe County, public information and news were broadcast on 99.9 MHz (FM) and 570 kHz (AM). Both stations stayed online throughout the disaster, and the information they provided reached a vast audience. Check out this feature from CBS Evening News:
In Henderson County, the local AM station WTZQ stepped up as well. They did incredible work serving their communities post-Helene, as highlighted in a report by Queen City News:
Information Lifeline
As a presenter in the above story pointed out, everyone should have a battery-powered (or self-powered) AM/FM/Weather radio in their home.
After a disaster, you’ll rely on that radio for essential updates like where to find clean water, how to apply for FEMA assistance, what businesses are open, and when services will be restored.
Even three weeks after the storm, much of the Asheville area is still without water, so radios remain vital for getting updates.
Here at SWLing Post HQ, I shared my extra portable radios with neighbors who needed them. I used my CC Skywave SSB 2 in the kitchen window to tune into local news on 99.9 MHz and 570 kHz. I also relied on my XHDATA D-109 and CC Radio 3—they became our constant companions for information.
Many of you here on the SWLing Post are already radio enthusiasts, so no doubt I’m preaching to the choir. But let this serve as a reminder to stock up on alkaline batteries and check your radios regularily to make sure they’re fully functional. Keep spares on hand so you can lend them to neighbors if needed—they’ll never forget your generosity.
And don’t assume your area is safe from natural disasters. Western North Carolina was considered one of the safest regions in the country for weather, yet we were hit by one of the most devastating storms in state history.
Stay prepared. Don’t become complacent.
Thank You!
Over the past few weeks, many of you have reached out with kind words and support, and I can’t thank you enough!
As of this morning, I have 310 messages in my inbox.
I’ve been too busy to reply to emails and comments—though I’ve read each one—but I truly appreciate your patience as I try to catch up. My days have been consumed by helping neighbors and getting our own life back in order. It’s been exhausting but incredibly rewarding, and we still have months of work ahead of us.
Thank you also to the contributors who have kept the SWLing Post running during my absence, and a special shout-out to my friend Vince (VE6LK), who has taken on a huge role in keeping QRPer.com updated.
Thank you so much for your support and understanding—and, again, keep those radios ready. You never know when they’ll become your primary source of information!
The morning after Hurricane Helene pummeled the eastern seaboard of the US, Thomas Witherspoon inspected the damage to his western North Carolina home. The night before, he listened to the wind whip down trees and snap power lines along the two-mile access road connecting his family to their few neighbors in Buncombe County.
Like the tens of thousands of other North Carolina residents, the power to Witherspoon’s neighborhood was completely out. It was impossible to communicate with the house down the road, let alone anyone several miles away. Unable to send text messages or make phone calls, radio became the one form of communication left in rural North Carolina. After fixing what he could on his own property, Witherspoon, a lifelong amateur radio enthusiast, began distributing handheld radios to his neighbors.
“Amateur radio is one of those things you get into because of your love of radio communications and the technical aspects of it or the community and the challenges that you can overcome,” Witherspoon says. “It’s a lot of fun, but underlying all of that is this prime directive with amateur radio that it’s always there as emergency communications when all else fails.” [Continue reading…]
Asheville, North Carolina — As Florida grapples with the destruction from Hurricane Milton, the people of western North Carolina know that reality all too well. Helene roared through the mountains, leaving more than a million people in the disaster zone without water, power and spotty cell service.
But what they did have was the radio.
For days, WWNC host Mark Starling and producer Tank Spencer were a lifeline, serving as a proxy dispatch service to help coordinate wellness checks and connect the stranded with nearby resources.
“We didn’t have any connection to the outside world except our radio stations, and we were the only two here. So we kind of had a mission of like, OK, well, we’ve got to walk these people through the storm,” Starling said.
The Asheville AM radio station was inundated with phone calls, which meant dealing with the widest range of emotions imaginable. One caller was a man on the second floor of his house with his wife and grandchild, Starling said.
“Our entire basement’s flooded. Our first floor’s flooded up to about four feet and we’re upstairs. We’re safe, but my Ram truck is underwater,” the caller said.
Starling told the man to keep the station’s number handy and hoped everything would be OK.
But as Starling tearfully recalls, “Everything wasn’t fine.”
The caller, his wife and their 7-year-old grandson were all swept away, among the at least 120 people killed by Helene in North Carolina. [Continue reading…]
Shortly after receiving my amateur radio ticket in 1974, I made a contact with station PJ9BN, Jack Van Sciver on the island of Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles.
It turns out he worked at Trans World Radio, a broadcaster I had listened to regularly on the SWBC bands and it was quite exciting to discover this connection. Attached is a link to a recording I made of this station that same year as they were concluding a segment of their popular DX Special program:
Some 11 years later, I was able to pick up station CFMO FM on 93.9 MHz, over 300 miles away, through some great ducting conditions. When I received a QSL from the station, it was signed by W.G. Roach who was the chief engineer at CFMO FM.
