Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who writes:
Hi Thomas!
Yesterday was dark and rainy and as I switched on my old Siemens REL 445 E311 b1b there was an interesting snippet of program on BBC4 with a meditation that nicely fitted the afternoon’s atmosphere:
Best regards,
Frans
Wonderful–thank you for sharing that with us, Frans! A warm sound emanating from your Siemens receiver on such a rainy day. Beautiful.
The Junglinster RTL longwave transmitter (via Wikimedia Commons)
Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
On 234 kHz, the new year rang in with static, not bells or fireworks. As had been announced in October, French broadcaster RTL switched off its longwave broadcasts on January 1, 2023.
Long-time RTL presenter Georges Lang marked the occasion with a bittersweet tweet: “Voilà, c’est fini… Goodbye good old Long Waves, you did a good job for a so long time. You belong now to the history of Radio-Luxembourg and RTL.”
Groupe M6, which owns the station, noted that maintaining longwave broadcasts from the Beidweiler, Luxembourg, transmission site consumed about 6,000 megawatt-hours of electricity each year, roughly equal to the average annual energy consumption of 3,000 French people. [Continue reading…]
SWLing Post contributor, Ed, shares this story and notes:
Some SWLing Post readers might be interested to learn that one of the few spies ever caught in the U.S. using shortwave numbers station transmissions to receive instructions is Ana Belén Montes, who was just released from prison after serving 20 years of her 25-year sentence.
One of the highest-ranking US officials ever proven to have spied for Cuba has been released from prison early after spending more than two decades behind bars.
Ana Belén Montes pleaded guilty in 2002 to conspiracy to commit espionage after she was accused of using her leading position as a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) official to leak information, including the identities of some US spies, to Havana. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison at the age of 45. Continue reading
Canadian Reginald Aubrey Fessenden in his lab believed circa 1906 (Source: Radio Canada International)
Now an annual Christmas tradition, Brian Justin (WA1ZMS) will put his longwave experimental station WI2XLQ on the air to commemorate the anniversary of Reginald Fessenden’s first audio transmission.
As in years past, he will be conducting the Fessenden transmission on Christmas Eve, as well as New Year’s Eve. The plan is to start each day around 1800z and run for 24 hours.
Listener reports may be sent to Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, at his QRZ.com address.
If you would like more information about Brian Justin and WI2XLQ, check out our interview with him in 2013.
Additionally, SWLing Post reader, George Stein has a very personal connection with radio pioneer, Reginald Fessenden: click here to read his story.
SAQ antenna tower #1 with its tuning coil. (Photo source: The Alexander association)
(Source: The Alexander association)
Update: This broadcast has been cancelled due to several of the SAQ staff contracting Covid-19. Click here for more information. Many thanks to Grant for the tip.
On Christmas Eve morning, Saturday December 24th 2022, SAQ Grimeton is scheduled* to be on the air, to send out the traditional Christmas message to the whole world, using the 200kW Alexanderson alternator from 1924, on 17.2 kHz CW.
Program and transmission schedule:
08:00 CET (07:00 UTC: The transmitter hall at World Heritage Grimeton is opened for visitors.
Transmission & YouTube Live stream:
08:25 CET (07:25 UTC): Live stream on YouTube begins.
08:30 CET (07:30 UTC): Startup and tuning of the Alexanderson Alternator SAQ.
09:00 CET (08:00 UTC): Transmission of a message from SAQ.
Test transmissions
We are planning to carry our some test transmissions on December 23rd, approximately between 13:00 CET (12:00 UTC) and 16:00 CET (15:00 UTC). SAQ will be on the air shorter periods of time during this interval, when we will be carrying out some tests and measurements. Your comments are welcome to info@alexander.n.se.
Live Video from World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station
The event can be seen live on our YouTube Channel or by following the link below.
QSL Reports to SAQ
QSL reports to SAQ are most welcome and appreciated!
For guaranteed E-QSL from us, please report using our ONLINE QSL FORM.
We can not guarantee that reports by Email / mail / bureau will be confirmed.
The online form will be open from December 24th, 2022 until January 13th, 2023.
Amateur Radio Station SK6SAQ
The Amateur Radio Station with the call “SK6SAQ” will be QRV on the following frequencies:
– 3.535 kHz CW
– 7.035 kHz CW
– 14.035 KHz CW
– 3.755 kHz SSB
– 7.140 kHz SSB
QSL-reports to SK6SAQ (NOT SAQ) are kindly received via:
– Email to info@alexander.n.se
– or via: SM bureau
– or direct by postal mail (link to address here)Two stations will be on the air most of the time.
Visiting World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station
Visitors are most welcome to World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station on Christmas morning, Dec 24th. The doors to the transmitter hall will open at 08:00 CET. The entrance is free of charge and we will offer free coffee with Christmas buns and ginger snaps.
Support us to keep SAQ in running condition!
We welcome you as a member of the Alexander Grimeton Friendship Association, to support our non-profit activities in preserving, documenting and bringing to life the unique Alexanderson alternator from 1924.
As a member You get a 10% discount on World Heritage Grimeton’s entry, shop and activities, and free admission to Alexander’s evening displays and to the Alexanderson Day, upon presentation of your membership card. Four times per year, you will receive our online magazine “Alternatorn”, exclusively available only to our members.
NEW!: As member you will gain access to our online library with many unique, historical documents, related to the Alexanderson alternator.
Alexander members also have free admission to the Radio Museum in Gothenburg.
Membership costs SEK 125 / year (approx. EUR 12.-).
(Source: The Guardian via Mark Fahey)
The BBC is preparing to shut down its traditional television and radio broadcasts as it becomes an online-only service over the next decade, according to the director general, Tim Davie.
“Imagine a world that is internet-only, where broadcast TV and radio are being switched off and choice is infinite,” he said. “A switch-off of broadcast will and should happen over time, and we should be active in planning for it.”
Davie said the BBC was committed to live broadcasting but Britons should prepare for the closure of many standalone channels and radio stations by the 2030s: “Over time this will mean fewer linear broadcast services and a more tailored joined-up online offer.”
The future will involve “bringing the BBC together in a single offer”, possibly in the form of one app combining everything from television programmes to local news coverage and educational material. This could ultimately see the end of distinct brands such as BBC One or BBC Radio 4, although the programmes they currently air could continue online. [Continue reading at The Guardian…]
Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.
A special thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, for these news tips! Enjoy:
Citizens for Informed Land Use is against a proposal before the Planning Board to reclassify the former Nokia site for redevelopment.
HOLMDEL, NJ — Citizens for Informed Land Use, Preserve Holmdel and others are rallying to preserve the Bell Labs Horn Antenna, which they say is threatened if the 43-acre site it stands on is reclassified for residential development.
The property at 791 Holmdel Road is home to the Bell Labs Horn Antenna, once used by Bell Labs scientists Dr. Robert Wilson, who still lives in the township, and Dr. Arno Penzias, to study microwave radiation from beyond the Milky Way, the organization says.
The site is also described by the group “as the highest point in Monmouth County, providing remarkable views of Raritan Bay and Manhattan.”
The scientists’ “research confirmed evidence of the Big Bang Theory as the origin of the universe and earned both men a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978,” the land use group said in a news release.
But on Nov. 22, the Township Committee approved a resolution directing the Planning Board to study whether the former Nokia site in the Crawford Hill section of Holmdel – the site of the Horn Antenna – should be reclassified as an “area in need of redevelopment.” [Continue reading…]
In Tuckerton, NJ, a massive cement monolith sits out of place, and upon closer inspection, out of time. You see, this gigantic block was once the base of the tallest structure in North America and the second tallest in the world after the Eiffel Tower. Built in 1912, the Tuckerton tower stood at 825 feet and was the first and most potent transatlantic broadcasting tower ever, but here’s the twist, although it was on US soil, it was entirely built by and belonged to Germany.
The Warsaw Radio Mast (Polish: Maszt radiowy w Konstantynowie) was a radio mast located near G?bin, Poland, and the world’s tallest structure at 646.38 metres (2,120.7 ft) from 1974 until its collapse on 8 August 1991.
Designed by Jan Polak, and one of the last radio masts built under Communist rule, the mast was conceived for height and ability to broadcast the “propaganda of the successes” to remote areas such as Antarctica. It was the third tallest structure ever built, being surpassed as the tallest by the Burj Khalifa tower in the United Arab Emirates in 2009 and Merdeka 118 tower in Malaysia in 2022. Designed by Jan Polak, its construction started in July 1970, was completed on 18 May 1974, and its transmitter entered regular service on 22 July of that year. The opening of the mast was met with extensive celebration and news coverage by the Polish Film Chronicle.
BBC World Service – Bush House
The Antique Wireless Association/Museum recently posted another excellent presentation on YouTube; this time taking a look at the history of British Broadcasting. Here’s the description followed by the video:
Radio broadcasting in the UK followed a much different path than it did in the US, and there’s more to the story than the BBC. Tim Barrett tells the whole story in this history of British Broadcasting.
Click here to watch on YouTube.
If you enjoyed this presentation, consider becoming a member of the Antique Wireless Association at: https://www.antiquewireless.org/homepage/membership/