Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Palmer, who writes:
Hi Thomas,
Just noticed that Retekess has introduced a new AM/FW/SW/Airband! receiver and it’s on sale at a special introductory price ($29.99) till the end of Dec 2019.
Interesting that this one has the commercial aviation band (118-138MHz).
Thanks for the tip, John!
Post Readers: Please share your review of this new portable if you grab one!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Pete (WB9FLW), who notes that Ashhar Farhan (VU2ESE) has recently announced the availability of the uBITX v 6.0–as Pete notes, “just in time for the Holidays!“
Pete shared the following message from Farhan:
Here is what [the uBITx v 6.0] looks like :
And of course, you can buy it on hfsignals.com. The shipping will happen from Tuesday onwards. We have a limited supply of the first 200 boards. The rest is for after Christmas.
The most important thing about this revision is that the Radio circuitry is almost unchanged. We have incorporated the connectors on the PCBs. So, this kit needs none of the confusing soldering. You snap in the TFT Raduino onto the main board, plug the power and antenna from the back, snap on headphones, plug in the mic (supplied with the kit) and off you go!
It is offered in two kits now : The basic kit (150 USD) is without the box (like old times) but with a microphone and two acrylic templates for the front and back panels.
The Full kit (199 USD) has the box with speaker, mounting hardware etc. Both are described on the website.
Now, about the TFT display:
For those who are using the 16×2 display and you would like to upgrade, you will have to do three things:
Add a heatsink to the 7805 of the raduino
Buy [here] and hook it up as per [this article].
Grab the new Arduino sketch from https://github.com/afarhan/ubitxv6
Background:
I have been hacking away at adding a TFT display for the Arduino for sometime. Finally, I managed to do this with a really inexpensive 2.8 inch TFT display that uses a controller called the ILI9341. The display update is slow but, clever guy that I am, the display very usable. it uses the same pins that earlier connected to the 16×2 LCD display. This display is available everywhere for a few dollars.
Many thanks, Pete, for sharing this announcement. The price was simply too attractive to me, so I just purchased the full kit for $199 US. (Thanks for being the good enabler you are, Pete!)
Update – 30 May 2020: Many thanks to Armin Sander who notes that the uBITX V6 full kit price has increased to $209 US.
I’ll post an update when I receive the transceiver and assemble it. I do hope this is a workable little radio–it would be pretty amazing for newcomers to the hobby to be able to get on the HF bands for a mere $200 US. I also love the fact that this is all based on open-source, hackable technologies.
DRM broadcast (left) as seen via a KiwiSDR spectrum display.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Bird, who shares the following news via Cambridge Consultants:
Digital launched, ever so long ago, with TV and radio. So what’s the big story? It’s that the last piece of the digital jigsaw is finally in place: a system called Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), designed to deliver FM-radio-like quality using the medium wave and short wave bands.
We’re familiar with AM on medium wave and accustomed to the horrible buzz, splat, fade away and back again. But it does have a great advantage in that it will reach for hundreds of miles from a single transmitter. That’s a lot easier than FM or DAB, which both need transmitters every 30 or 40 miles. No fewer than 443 DAB transmitter sites are needed to cover the UK alone.
So take a modern digital scheme, apply some clever (and low cost) computing power, and you can get good sound for hundreds of miles. You get to choose radio stations by name instead of kilohertz, and you can even receive text and pictures. Emergency warning and information features are also built into DRM.
Great technology. But will it fly? Is it available for everyone?
The new news is that India, through its national broadcaster All India Radio, has invested in and rolled out a national DRM service, live today. Just 35 transmitters cover that large country. New cars in India have DRM radios in them now. Other countries like South Africa, Malaysia and Brazil are likely to follow India’s lead.
But something’s missing. The radios that can receive DRM are still prohibitively expensive, especially for those markets that would benefit most. So vast swathes of the world remain unconnected to the services that DRM can provide. Where’s the cheap portable that you can pick up from a supermarket to listen to the news or sport?
Cambridge Consultants has just held its annual Innovation Day, where we throw open our doors to industry leaders and reveal future technology. One of our highlights was the prototype of a DRM design that will cost ten dollars or less to produce, addressing that vital need for information by the 60-ish per cent of our global population that doesn’t have internet or TV. It’s low power, so can run from solar or wind-up.
This design will be ready in 2020, available for any radio manufacturer to licence and incorporate into its own products. We’re doing our bit to make affordable radios for every corner of the globe!
Click here to read this post at the Cambridge Consultants website.
Michael also shares this piece from Radio World regarding this project.
I must admit: there have been so many proposed low-cost DRM receiver designs that never came to fruition, it’s easy to be skeptical. I assume the $10/9 Euro design will be for the receiver chip only–not the full portable radio, of course. They plan to bring this to fruition in 2020, so we’ll soon know if they succeed.
(Source: DXtreme)
DXtreme Software™ has released a new version of its popular logging program for radio monitoring enthusiasts – DXtreme Monitor Log 12 – which lets listeners and DXers log the stations they’ve heard using features that enhance their monitoring experiences.
User’s Choice of Country Formats
When starting Monitor Log 12 the first time as a new user – or when creating a new secondary database – users can select the country format they want to use: NASWA Countries or ARRL Entities. Country information is fully editable when changes occur.
Finding Broadcast Stations to Monitor
The Schedule Checker lets users import schedules from Aoki, EiBi, and FCC AM web sites and display schedule data according to the filter criteria they specify. A list box lets users switch between schedule types. And users can filter schedule information by band, frequency, station, country, time of day, language, and more.
When the What’s On Now? function is activated, the schedule refreshes automatically at the top of each hour for Aoki and EiBi schedules.
For each schedule item, Schedule Checker queries the Monitor Log 12 database to let users know – through user-defined, foreground and background display colors – whether they need to monitor a station for a brand-new or verified country. Schedule Checker also displays bearing and distance, runs optional Afreet Ham CAP propagation predictions, draws optional Afreet DX Atlas azimuth plots, tunes supported radios to schedule frequencies when users double-click schedule items, and starts log entries for scheduled stations monitored.
Finding Amateur Radio Stations to Monitor
Monitor Log 12 integrates with optional Afreet Band Master to let users see, on its graphical interface, where hams are operating. Monitor Log 12 supplies Band Master with an Entity Needed List based on the user’s Monitor Log database, making it possible for Band Master to indicate the stations whose entities (countries) users need to monitor.
Finding Utility Stations to Monitor
A Links menu provides convenient access to user-specified blogs and web sites that can inform users as to where utility and other stations may be operating.
Logging Stations
Monitor Log 12 lets users log all kinds of stations – radio, television, broadcast, Amateur Radio, utility, military, and more! And it lets users log stations across the radio spectrum – from long wave, to medium wave, to short wave, and beyond. Users can also select the display of kHz or MHz frequencies.
The Last Log Entries Grid on the Monitor Log window shows up to 5000 of the most recent log entries added. Its records can be sorted, and double-clicking records displays detailed data on the Monitor Log window. Users can resize the grid columns and scroll horizontally to columns that do not appear initially. Users can also display a larger, resizable Last Log Entries window. A Properties window lets users change the order of columns, the number of log entries to display, and the font and color attributes of grids and other program components, such as: Content Tabs for describing the content monitored, Script Editor for creating and editing scripts, Direct Tune interface for tuning radios, and Comments for typing ad hoc comments.
Reporting Reception
Users can create customized paper and e-mail reception reports for sending to stations plus club report entries for reporting catches to clubs and magazines.
When users add or display a log entry, Monitor Log 12 prepares a post announcing their DX catch and displays it on the Social Media Post tab. From there, users can drag the post to their favorite social media web sites to share their catch with others.
Using the Script Editor window, users can create and edit scripts that format reception reports, eReports, and social media posts to their liking. The software prompts users to select the script they want to use. Dozens of scripts come with Monitor Log 12.
Users can also print SWL and Address labels on industry-standard label stock, and send eQSL requests to hams automatically via the popular https://www.eqsl.cc site.
Imaging
Improv Imaging lets users associate ad hoc images with log entries using Capture,Scan, and Clipboard functions. Captures of stations received on digital applications, waterfall displays, facsimile and Amateur TV pictures are popular. The Improv Imaging tab and Application let users view images anytime, and an Improv Image Explorer lets them peruse their entire collection and display associated log entries. A QSL Imaging facility functions the same as Improv Imaging for associating QSLs.
Other Features
Rig Control – Retrieves the frequency and mode from supported radios and permits tuning from the Schedule Checker and Direct Tune interface. Rig control is provided through integration with Afreet Omni-Rig and SDR applications like HDSDR, SDR Console, and SDRuno.
Audio Archiving – Lets users maintain an audio archive of stations heard.
Reporting and Searching – Produces Performance, Stations, and Log Entry reports that track the performance and progress of the user’s monitoring station in its entirety. The software lets users tailor the appearance of reports plus FTP them to user-provided Web space for remote access and sharing. Reports can integrate with Afreet DX Atlas to create pin maps. Searches allow access to all monitoring data in a variety of formats.
ADIF Import – Lets users import ADIF-formatted log entries into their database.
eQSL.cc Inbox Update – Updates user’s database with eQSL.cc Inbox verifications.
Documentation – Context-sensitive Procedural Help, Field Help, and Microhelp are accessible per window to provide instructions quickly. A web-based Information Center is accessible from the Help menu for late-breaking assistance, and Installation Instructions and a Getting Started Guide are delivered in PDF format with the software.
Operating Systems, Pricing, Contact Information DXtreme Monitor Log 12 runs in 32- and 64-bit versions of Microsoft® Windows® 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista®, and XP. It retails for $94.99 USD worldwide for electronic distribution.
Pricing for CD versions and upgrading users is available on our Web site. All prices include product support by Internet e-mail. For more information, visit https://www.dxtreme.com or contact Bob Raymond at [email protected].
SWLing Post readers should note that DXtreme was one of our first company supporters. Their ad revenue helps bring the SWLing Post to you daily. Thanks, DXtreme!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Thomas Ally, who writes:
The new World Radio TV Handbook is on Amazon.
Click here to view on Amazon (affiliate link).
Or the WRTH shop: http://www.wrth.com/_shop/
Thanks for the heads-up, Thomas. Also, I see that both Universal Radio and the Book Depository has posted the new addition on their websites.
I can’t wait to check out WRTH 2020!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor from China, Mei Tao, who writes:
I would like to share the latest news about Tecsun’s New Products: the PL-990 and H-501.
These day I found that several Chinese BCLers who received the PL990 or H501 one after another–they posted many a detailed pictures of these two radios. Lots of my friends asked me when they could buy these two radios on the market.
Then I asked the Tecsun’s boss, Mr Liang.
He replied that they had begun to supply the PL-990 and H-501, but there were only a quantity of 300 in the first batch. These radios were first supplied to the subscribers who pre-ordered PL-990 or H-501 in October. Therefore other customers would have to wait for the second or the third batch. As for the foreign BCLers, I believe the wait time will be longer.
In addition, there is a bit of bad news: Mr Liang told me that PL-990 and H-501 were the last products he led the team to design, and they were his last masterpieces. In other words, the PL-990 and H-501 may be Tecsun’s last high-end portable and desktop radios. What a pity!
Thank you for sharing this, Mei Tao. Yes, that would be a pity indeed if the PL-990 and H-501 end up being the last high-end portables from Tecsun. I suppose it’s not surprising, though, as I’m sure some of the demand for shortwave radios is on the decline at the same time so many inexpensive DSP-based portables are saturating the market.
Two years ago I heard from a reliable source that Tecsun might be pulling the plug on their high-end portables, so I was quite surprised when I saw the PL-990 and H-501 announcements earlier this year. I suppose these models could be a “last hurrah” and certainly a way to mark the PRC’s 70th anniversary (as we’ve seen on some of the radios’ promotional material).
Regardless, I’m looking forward to reviewing both of these radios. Frankly, I’m quite happy a few hundred production models are in the hands of enthusiasts in China. Hopefully early adopters have given critical feedback to Tecsun so that when the first major production run is exported, the units will have been well-vetted and solid performers.
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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Schuster, who writes:
The Sangean SR-32 from the 2020 catalog.
Attached image [above] is extracted from a PDF of the 2020 catalog, it shows the
upcoming Sangean DT-140 and SR-32.Wondering if the SR-32 (from the almost-defunct “slide rule” series) uses DSP-as-analog tuning like its larger sibling with speaker.
Thanks for the tip, Mike! Yes, I’d be willing to bet that the SR-32 is DSP-based. I might have to check these out further.
It’s also nice to see that they also feature both the ATS-909x and ATS-405 shortwave portables in the 2020 catalog!
