Category Archives: How To

How Danny removed the sticky residue from his Grundig G6

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Danny Garris (KJ4FH), for the following guest post which originally appeared on his blog, Up In This Brain:

How I cleaned the sticky coating off of my Grundig G6 radio with guidance from KJ4FH

A few weeks ago, I reached out to Danny Garris, KJ4FH, for help on getting the sticky coating off of my Eton E5 radio. I noticed on eBay that he was selling Eton radios with the gunk cleaned off and I was wondering how he did it.

Where does the sticky gunk come from? Well, for some reason the “geniuses” up at Eton/Grundig put a rubberized, chemical coating on a series of radios they released. They looked great new but over time, them coating seems to get adhesive-like properties, almost like it is melting off. It apparently has something to do with humidity and over time it makes everything stick to the radios – dust, dirt, you name it. It’s terribly annoying and just plain nasty. Shame on Eton/Grundig for doing this because a whole generation of good radios are impacted.

This leads me back to Danny and the instructions I have posted below in my Dropbox with his permission.

Click here for Danny’s instructions: 100%Perfected Way To BEST Clean The Sticky Coating Off The Eton E1XM / E1 / E10 /E100 Series Radios

I used rubbing alcohol at first on my Eton E5 based on some back and forth emails I had with Danny and it did remove a ton of the gunk but I also ended up with places in the finish where the paint was removed, as he warned. Still, my concern was getting rid of the gunk more than appearances since my Eton E5 is a radio I use almost daily that I have no intention of selling. In fact, I am keeping an eye on eBay for a spare unit to purchase just in case because the E5(also Grundig G5) is an amazing radio.

Not long after getting his full instructions with oven cleaner as a new ingredient to try, I noticed a Grundig G6 for sale on eBay for just $19.99 as a buy it now price. I briefly had a G6 years ago and I have always missed it but good units are typically somewhat expensive and rare. This G6 was advertised as working perfectly but completely sticky. The seller posted pictures showing it was one of the stickiest and nastiest radios I had ever seen. But, armed with Danny’s method for cleaning the radios, I grabbed it, knowing I probably would not get another chance at a G6 for such a cheap price.

Below are before and after pictures. The before pictures are from the eBay auction and the radio did in fact arrive that nasty but it does work perfectly! In fact, it is a fantastic performer for the size. I love the tuning knob and the tuning method alone makes it much easier and more fun to use than my Tecsun radios and my recently purchased Eton Traveller III. The G6 is a worthy companion for my Eton E5 and I am very pleased with this purchase.

The after pictures are from the hour of work I did cleaning the radio last night. So far I have cleaned the radio with oven cleaner only. I took about 45 minutes using the Q-tip method and then about 15 minutes “polishing” with a clean white cloth dipped in oven cleaner as I went. I still have some additional detail cleaning to do but the results so far are like night and day.

I owe Danny a big thank you as you can see in the images below and, keep in mind, I still have a bit more work to do so this radio is going to look even better shortly!

Here is the front as shown in the auction. Gross! According to the description, the seller bought it at an estate sale.

What a difference some over cleaner makes! I need to blow out the speaker with compressed air to get the Q-tip remnants out and do some minor detail work but the front is almost in new condition now.

As shown in the auction listing, yuk!

I may do a little work with rubbing alcohol or WD-40 to get the shine back on this side but wow – what a difference!

I wonder if this radio was laying in the grass or something. It was nasty to even pick up and touch!

After oven cleaner, it’s like new again. I need to do a little more detail work but that’s it!

This picture in the auction made me wonder if I was biting off a bit more than I could chew!

I still have a bit of work to do on the back but WOW! What a difference!

What a difference, indeed! Thanks for sharing your experience and results, Danny!

I love my little Grundig G6 and, for some reason, the coating has yet to become properly sticky. I know it’s only a matter of time, though, so I’ll keep this procedure in mind.

This has actually been a fairly popular topic on the SWLing Post, no doubt because so many SWLs have radios with tacky coatings. Click here to read previous posts with cleaning techniques.

If you’re interested in the now discontinued Grundig G6, check eBay for listings. Perhaps you too can find a “sticky” radio special!

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Playing music with computer-emitted interference

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SWLing Post reader, Chris Smolinski, writes:

Here’s my Mac Book Pro (2010 model) playing Mary Had A Little Lamb over the radio, by modulating the RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) produced by it and other computers. As picked up on a Sony 7600G receiver. I found the best reception was on the long wave band, although I could continue to hear it well above the AM (medium wave) band, past 1700 kHz. The signal was pretty much everywhere, no matter where I tuned, in 1 kHz steps.

Picking up radio emissions from computers is one method that can be used to spy on them.

I used the source code available here: https://github.com/fulldecent/system-bus-radio

If you want to see some radio related software I’ve written, please visit http://www.blackcatsystems.com

Click here to view on YouTube.

That is fascinating, Chris. While I was well aware that computers and mobile devices (of all stripes) produce RFI, I had no idea that it could be used for spying. I love how you’ve manipulated this interference to play a tune! What a creative hack!

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Tecsun PL-606: Tapping into the IF?

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SWLing Post reader, Lee, writes:

I just wondered if you have ever seen any information about how to tap the I.F of the Tecsun 606 by any chance? I want yo use it for DRM but cannot find any info .
Love the website !

I have not seen info on tapping into the IF of any of the recent Tecsun portables. Can someone help Lee? I would be very curious how to do this myself.

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Guest Post: Listening to 10 Meter Radio Beacons

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN) for the following guest post:

Listening in to 10 Meter Radio Beacons

Mario Filippi, N2HUN

(All photos courtesy of author–click to enlarge.)

Radio beacons can be found across the RF spectrum from the LF (low frequency) band all the way up to bands inhabited by satellite signals. If you are a ham, shortwave listener or a QRP (low power) buff then a great place to start is on the 10 meter band, which is included on most table-top shortwave radios and even some portables. Beacon signals come and go with band conditions, emanate from different parts of the globe and provide one with listening challenges and hours of fun. So let’s talk about 10m as it’s a good place to start.

A good indicator of band conditions on 10m is via the 10m beacon band which ranges from 28.1 to around 28.3 MHz. In general, most stateside beacons are found from 28.2 – 28.3 MHz while DX (ex-US) beacons are heard from 28.1 – 28.2 MHz. However, I’ve heard DX beacons as high up as 28.297 MHz. These stations provide hams and SWLs not only with code practice but with the adventure of hearing low power signals from around the globe. To get acquainted with what is on the air, check out the Ten-Ten International Net website which has one of best lists of beacons, along with a plethora of information on the band itself: http://www.ten-ten.org/index.php/resources/ten-meter-beacons . The Ten-Ten club has been around for many decades and is a good resource of information on 10 meters in general; one can even be issued a unique Ten-Ten ID number upon request. Then, when making 10m contacts you can exchange Ten-Ten numbers with fellow operators.

Let your fingers do the spinning of the VFO on 10m.

Many of these beacon stations have been logged over the years at this QTH simply because they dot the globe with their low powered one-way signals and are a challenge. Hearing a beacons’ very weak CW signal fading in and out with its’ short message, usually starting with a series of “Vs” followed by the call, then by info such as location, wattage, grid square is a timeless source of pleasure. There are literally hundreds of beacons to hear using your shortwave or ham radio, all coming in at different times of the day from places far and near. And there’s no need to be in the shack; check them out using a portable radio because when band conditions are favorable, you’re bound to hear them. And for those of you with RTL-SDR dongles, these miniscule radios are perfectly capable of receiving beacons and have the added feature of “looking” at that portion of the spectrum both via the 2-MHz wide spectrum display and accompanying waterfall image. These dongles are an inexpensive entry into HF/VHF/UHF listening and cover all modes. However they are not a plug ‘n play venture, you’ll need a computer, driver program, software to turn the dongle into an operating wideband receiver, patience learning the software, and a good antenna.

Typical “dongle” Software Defined Radio covering 24 – 1766 MHz.

Screenshot of 10m beacon activity in right-half of waterfall on 6/22/15; VA3KAH was heard on 28.168 MHz.

Most 10m beacons operate at low power, anywhere from 100mW to as high as 100W but generally operate in the 1 – 5W range using a variety of antennas, the vertical being the most popular. So in essence these beacons are not what you would classify as“big guns” and that’s the beauty of it all. They are an intriguing and challenging quarry to write into your logbook! While 10m tends to be more active during daylight hours and when sunspot numbers are good, this doesn’t mean that beacons will not be heard; a quick “sweep” of 21.1 – 28.3 MHz while you are in the shack or outside listening on a portable is always worth a check. Having a good pair of headphones will aid in hearing the weak ones.

My all-time favorite, the Yaesu “Frog 7” performs well for 10m beacon hunting.

To give readers some inspiration, below are some recent morning loggings using an AR-3000A and a 43 foot S9 vertical antenna. Band conditions were not the greatest, with most beacon stations fading in an out and propagation favoring Europe. Using a pair of headphones, logbook and pencil at the ready, it required sitting on some frequencies a few minutes as the beacon of interest faded in an out, until all the information was logged. Most beacons will begin their transmission with a series of “Vs” which helps to identify an active frequency. Some will send a long tone out first, allowing you to fine tune the station, while some start with a series of “dits” to get your attention. As you log these beacons you’ll see that each has its’ own agenda. For example, some only send their call sign. Others will send call sign, grid square, and power. Some even include a website or an address to send QSL information. If your code is rusty, no worries as most beacons send their call at least twice or thrice!

Recent 10m Beacon Loggings de N2HUN

Date	Time (GMT)	Frequency	Call	QTH	Comments
2/14/16	1423	28.166	XE2O/B	Allende, Mexico	5W, EL05 (grid square), some QSB
2/14/16	1440	28.298	SK7GH	Jonkoping, Sweden	Very weak, heavy QSB, 5W
2/14/16	1447	28.223	KP3FT/B	Ponce, PR	Series of five “dits” precedes CW identification
2/14/16	1455	28.205	DL0IGI	Hohenpeissenberg, Germany	Long tone precedes CW identification, 48W
2/14/16	1500	28.173	IZ1EPM	Chivasso, Italy	Long tone before and after transmission, 20W
2/14/16	1530	28.242	IZ8DXB	Naples, Italy	Tone preceding transmission, JN70BU (grid square), 6W

My thanks go out to the Ten-Ten International Net (www.ten-ten.org ) for their excellent website covering the 10 meter band and to all those ham operators worldwide who took the time and energy to construct radio beacons for all of us to enjoy. Now, go forth and check out those beacons; don’t assume the band is dead, check out the beacon section of the band which will give you an indication of propagation conditions. Ten meters is very capricious and can open up at any time of the day, even late at night. And don’t forget to QSL the beacon operator! Good luck hunting down beacons and 73’s!

Thank you so much for this, Mario! Check out Mario’s other excellent guest posts by clicking here.

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A simple homebrew high pass filter

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Many thanks to Jon Hudson, of SDRplay, who posted the image above along with the following note on Facebook:

David, WA7JHZ has designed and assembled this neat 2.6 MHz high-pass filter (HPF) for use with SDRs. He says that this simple input band-pass filter (BPF) might be of interest to anyone suffering from strong AM broadcast stations that are causing overloads…..David suffers from three nearby AM radio broadcast stations that overload the front ends of several of his receivers, including the SDRplay RSP and this is an ideal, low cost solution. He built this circuit from junk parts and commented that Amidon T44-2 iron powder cores would have made a better design, but that he decided to keep costs down with this design.

This design is simple enough for almost anyone to build and could help your receiver’s front end from overloading. Many thanks to David for the design/schematic and to Jon for sharing!

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Auction Score: a Sony ICF-SW55

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Regular SWLing Post readers know that I’m a sucker for classic solid-state portables and vintage tube radios.

What many of you may not know, however, is that I’m not a fan of auction-style bidding for radios. Those who are familiar with it will recognize the story: it begins on an optimistic note, when I find something I’m enthusiastic about. Then the bidding war begins, and invariably, the price quickly ratchets upwards to far beyond my comfort zone. It’s only then I find I’ve wasted my time on the entire process, and my hopes are dashed. So it’s not a purchasing method I relish.

Therefore, despite all of the radio gear I’ve purchased over the years, I’ve only bid for a radio in an online auction perhaps three or four times.

But a couple of weeks ago, my buddy David Korchin (K2WNW)––who has a knack for finding deals on radios, and often alerts me to them––mentioned that he was bidding on a Sony ICF-SW55.

Photo of the ICF-SW55 from auction listing.

David wasn’t bidding on the popular online auction eBay––rather, he’d found this deal on ShopGoodwill.com.

A note about ShopGoodwill.com

In case you haven’t heard, ShopGoodwill.com is Goodwill Industries International’s online auction site. Goodwill employees select exceptional donations, items they feel are worth more than typical Goodwill retail prices, and post them there for online auction.

I believe it was SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi, who first introduced me to ShopGoodwill.

The cool thing about ShopGoodwill is that it’s not as popular as, for example, eBay. Thus a bidder has a better chance of finding a good deal, with the added benefit that less enthusiasts will be hiking up the price with rapid bidding.

There are issues with ShopGoodwill.com, though, some of which are very off-putting:

Items are often poorly described, thus:
- searching through the collection can be rather difficult
- you often can’t trust these condition descriptions, as they’re written by someone who is clearly not an expert
- Photos are sometimes of low quality, low resolution, and rarely offer enough detail for an informed decision
Buyer beware: nearly all items are sold “as-is,” and are untested
No returns on most items
No real seller feedback: if you’re frustrated with a Goodwill shop, you have no real recourse other than complaint

So, in summary: unless otherwise specified in the listing, you must assume that any item offered for auction on this site doesn’t function and may be in poor cosmetic condition as well. After all, these are donated items.

With that said, even though the risk is higher than on eBay–where sellers are rewarded with positive feedback and endeavor to fully describe merchandise––some good deals are occasionally to be found on ShopGoodwill!

Now back to my story…

The Sony ICF-SW55 listing that David found on ShopGoodwill.com kept a steady bid of $28 until the day before the auction’s end, when it increased to $48 US.

It’s likely that this listing would have seen more active bidding if the description were better––it didn’t even provide the model number, and was listed as “Sony Worldband Portable Receiver.” Moreover, the feature photo for the listing was of the radio’s case, not the radio itself (see below), yet another reason the listing got so little attention. But David, being the deal hound he is, found it!

The feature photo.

I encouraged David to really go for it, saying that this could be an excellent opportunity to snag one of these classic portables for a good price. And if it didn’t work, there would be a good chance Vlado could fix it for a fair price.

The morning the auction concluded, David messaged me that he’d decided to pull out of the bidding. He found something else he wanted to snag, so he encouraged me to take the baton and bid on the ICF-SW55, myself.

I read the vague description…then took a deep breath, and decided to go for it!

Again, I’m not adept at bidding, but at least I have a method that has worked for me in the past. My simple rules:

Only bid once.
Wait until the last few seconds, then offer my highest comfortable bid.

Final bidding, blow-by-blow

Here’s how the final moments of the auction played out:

I waited until one minute before auction end. I decided I would go as high as $120––a little rich for my modest budget, considering this could amount to a parts radio, but it was late in the day and I admit I wasn’t thinking clearly.

Then, at thirty seconds before auction’s end, the ShopGoodwill.com site simply stopped responding––!

No, it wasn’t my dubious Internet connection this time––their site was having problems loading.

I finally got the auction screen to pop back up ten seconds before auction’s end. I quickly attempted to place my bid: the web page churned…and churned…and churned.

Finally, up popped the review screen at literally the last breath of a second. I clicked “confirm/submit” (thank you, LastPass, for filling in my password immediately) and just managed to record the bid!

I’m certain that my bid was received within the last second. I had the countdown clock running on my Android phone so I’d know when the auction’s end was coming up. Unlike eBay, there is no dynamic counter on ShopGoodwill: you must refresh the page to see the time remaining. The Android countdown was set to end three seconds before the actual end of auction. When I confirmed the bid, it read “-3 seconds.”

The Goodwill site was having so many problems, that it took it two full minutes before I could get the auction screen to refresh after it accepted my bid––it was still stuck on the screen that confirmed my bid was recorded and that I was––for the moment, anyhow––the highest bidder.

When the page finally loaded, I saw that I had, by the skin of my teeth, snagged the SW55, and for a mere $53.

That is one of the lowest prices I’ve ever seen one of these units go for in an online auction, even when listed as a “parts-only” radio. Needless to say, I was exhilarated! My heart pounded.

I’m certain that the problem with the Goodwill site helped me win the auction. There were multiple bidders, and I think mine just happened to trigger a bid, leaving the competition no way to outbid me in the last 1/10 of a second. This wasn’t bidding skill. And it surely wasn’t a fat wallet. Frankly, I was just lucky.

I was thrilled to have won the radio at such a relatively low price, but the relief afterward reminded me why I don’t like auctions like this. I definitely prefer a more straightforward, less exciting (and less anxiety-producing), approach to making purchases.

Good news comes in small packages

Goodwill can be relatively slow to ship. It took about two weeks, but on Monday, I received the package from Goodwill in California. The rig, save a little dust, looked fine. But…how would it function?

I put in some freshly-charged Enloop AA batteries and turned it on.

Much to my surprise, the rig turned on…I rapidly tested all the functions. Again, I couldn’t believe my luck: it functions perfectly!

The only feature in need attention is the DX/Normal/Local switch, which makes the rig sound a bit scratchy when I change positions––an easy fix, however, with the aid of a little DeOxit.

This auction had a happy ending: I got a radio I’ve always wanted for a price I could swing, I didn’t need my friend Vlado to come to my rescue (though I’ve no doubt he would have), and best of all, I find I absolutely love the ICF-SW55.

Stay tuned…A review of the classic SW55 is in the works, and will be here on the SWLing Post in the coming weeks!

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Gary discovers a way to lock narrow filters on the Tecsun PL-880

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Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Gary (WN9U) who writes:

Just an FYI comment about the narrow filters NOT staying on while tuning. I read about the similar problem that you encountered during the initial testing of the PL-880.

While tuning CW stations with the 500 Hz filter turned on (fast or fine tuning), the filter would always revert back to the 3.0 wider setting. It had never done this before. I tried several resets with no cure.

After further testing I found the fix: I had turned on the Hidden Menu Noise Reduction (switch 6) and did not realize it was on.

After turning off the Noise Reduction, I was able to tune with the narrow filters set at any band width. Evidently, the filter opens up to 3.0 when tuning with the Noise Reduction turned on & reset does not turn off this function.

Thanks so much for the tip, Gary! I’ll add this to our (still) growing list of PL-880 hidden features and tips. Seems there’s always something to discover on the Tecsun PL-880.

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