Category Archives: New Products

Updated release: “At The Tone: A Little History of NIST Radio Stations WWV & WWVH”

Almost five years ago, I wrote about a unique collection of archived recordings called At The Tone: A Little History of NIST Radio Stations WWV & WWVH.

Producer Myke Dodge Weiskopf recently released a new and expanded edition of At The Tone which is now available for purchase and download.

Myke describes the update:

“The new edition significantly expands on the previous CD reissue from 2009. It incorporates a bunch of tapes sourced from the original announcer tracks made by Jane Barbe herself for WWVH, as well as a handful of vintage broadcast recordings previously left out of the set. I’ve also taken the opportunity to clean up and remaster the set overall, so it’s a much more cohesive listening experience as a body of work.”

Click here to purchase the new digital edition of At The Tone.

Please comment!

Myke is also giving away a free download of At The Tone to a lucky SWLing Post reader!

Simply comment on this post, noting the first time you heard WWV: note both the year and the model of receiver used.

For example, I would comment: “The year was 1976 and the receiver was an RCA Model 6K3 console radio.”

Myke will pick a winner from the comments next Wednesday (November 25th). If the winner has already purchased the expanded edition of At The Tone, Myke will reimburse the purchase. Good luck!

Tecsun S-8800 launch possibly first quarter 2016

1 Reply

After learning about the new Tecsun S-8800, yesterday, I contacted Anna at Anon-Co and asked for any information regarding specs and availability. Anna replied:

“Regarding the S-8800, there is no information available of when this will be actually launched. I think that the absolute earliest could be some time in January, but I expect that it will be after Chinese New Year. To be honest, it is very difficult to say at this moment. There isn’t much information available about it yet.

Supposedly it is pretty much the same [chassis design] as the existing BCL-3000, but it will be a PLL radio with DSP IC. It should have SSB features, but other details (like SYNC) I’m not aware of at this moment. I’m hoping to hear more about this soon.

Anna will contact me as soon as she has more info about the S-8800 features and availability.

Andi provides detailed info and photos of the new Degen DE1103 DSP

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Regarding the new DSP version of the Degen DE1103, SWLing Post contributor, Andi_84, writes:

I’ve opened [my Degen DE1103] and checked the semiconductors inside.

It’s definitely based on a Silicon Labs chip (Si4735-D60).

1) Display PCB
Valence Tech AP651 “LCD AND KEYBOARD CONTROLLER”: http://www.valencetech.com/products.php?prodID=ap651&type=ics
Datasheet: http://www.valencetech.com/doc/AP651/DS_AP651-Rev0.1.02.pdf

2) Main PCB

a) Silicon Labs Si4735-D60 “AM/FM/SW/LW Radio Receiver IC”: http://www.silabs.com/products/audio/fm-am-receiver/Pages/si473435.aspx
-> Chip is even capable of RDS, but it’s unfortunately not implemented in the DE1103
And, FM range covers down to 64MHz, while the DE1103 goes only down to 76MHz
Datasheet: https://www.silabs.com/Support%20Documents/TechnicalDocs/Si4730-31-34-35-D60.pdf

b) ST Micro STM8L152C6T6 “Ultra-low-power 8-bit MCU with 32 Kbytes Flash, 16 MHz CPU, integrated EEPROM”
Datasheet: http://www.st.com/st-web-ui/static/active/en/resource/technical/document/datasheet/CD00240181.pdf

c) China Hua Jing Electronics CD1622CB “110mw X 2 Dual-channel audio power amplifier”
-> Looks like a “chinese version” of the Sony CXA1622M
Datasheet: http://www.datasheet.hk/view_download.php?id=1039877&file=0024%5Ccd1622cb_203207.pdf

d) LM358 “Low-Power, Dual-Operational Amplifiers”
Datasheet: http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm158-n.pdf

Photos

The following photos are courtesy of Andi_84. Please click the image to enlarge.

External and unboxing

Internal and circuit board

Many thanks, Andi! These photos are excellent and certainly give us more insight into the new Degen DE1103 design.

I’m very curious how this new DE1103 compares with other DSP portables on the market.

The Tecsun S-8800: A new receiver in the works

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SWLing Post contributor, OWL, writes:

It seems that Tecsun has a new large portable in line.

Someone posted a photo of a new Tecsun product catalogue which shows a new model S8800.

The Tecsun BCL-3000 for comparison.

Apparently it uses the housing of BCL3000 [see above] and is multiple conversion (so a PL880 inside?), DSP based with separate LSB/USB and 10Hz minimum tuning step, and comes with a remote control (for direct frequency input?). Two 18650 batteries are used.

Photo source: http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/ via OWL. Click to enlarge.

Photo source: http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/ via OWL. Click to enlarge.

[Here’s a] link to the post in Tecsun’s web forum:

http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/0002.asp?open=730351

Many thanks for sharing this find, OWL! This is a very curious development from Tecsun.

I can imagine why Tecsun is re-using the BCL-3000 (a.k.a. Grundig S350DL) body–not only is it roomy inside, but it’s proven to be a popular large portable form factor over the years. Of course, since this is an existing chassis design, design/development costs will be minimal. If Tecsun is including a remote, I’m sure OWL is correct: it’ll aid with direct frequency entry. The S-8800 will be the first portable shortwave radio with remote control I’ve seen in many years.

If audio is anything like its predecessors, I would expect rich fidelity from the built-in speaker. In terms of performance, though? This is a completely different receiver than the single-conversion BCL-3000, so only time will tell.

WRTH 2016 coming soon

Not all Degen DE1103 eBay listings are the new DSP vesion

1 Reply

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Eric Weatherall, who writes:

I’ve been interested by news of the updated DSP version of the Degen DE1103.

I just saw an eBay auction for a used DE1103 which listed “DSP” in the title. But I looked at a photo of the product and it showed the labeling of the original product. If you look at the bottom left of the unit, the older radios have two lines of product description printed in black, and the newer radios have one line.

Based on photos I found online, here is the old product’s description (which applies to both the Degen and Kaito versions)

“PLL FM STEREO/SW MW LW DUAL CONVERSION SYNTHESIZED WORLD RECEIVER”

And here is the new product’s description.

“FM STEREO/SW MW LW DIGITAL WORLD RECEIVER”

I thought this would be useful for anyone wishing to buy the new DSP version of this radio where a photo of the actual unit is shown.

Eric has a good point–many times on eBay, sellers simply copy descriptions from previous or existing listings. You my find a used DE1103 listed as a unit with DSP. It’s best to confirm the version with the seller before purchasing. To my knowledge, only the 2015 version of the Degen DE1103 has DSP.

Tudor confirms: a new version of the Degen DE1103

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After publishing our previous post about a potentially redesigned Degen DE1103 with DSP, SWLing Post reader, Tudor, comments:

Yes, the DE1103 looks like it’s been redesigned. You can see it dissected here:
http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/0002.asp?open=724665

Photo source: http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/ via Tudor. Click to enlarge.

And, if I’m not mistaken, the SiLabs DSP chip can be seen in this picture:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5417175/2015102316185240911.jpg

Photo source: http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/ via Tudor. Click to enlarge.

Wow–thanks so much for confirming this, Tudor! This is obviously a redesigned Degen DE1103. I also noticed “NEW-DE1103-MAIN-1.2” silk-screened on the board:

Photo source: http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/ via Tudor. Click to enlarge.

The Hong Kong-based eBay vendor Bigbargainonline is selling the new Degen DE1103 for $79.00 US shipped. I’ve purchased from them several times before and was pleased with the experience.

There are other vendors selling the new Degen DE1103 as well (click here to search eBay) but make sure you’re purchasing the 2015 version of the Degen DE1103 since you can still find the cosmetically-identical legacy DE1103 new in box.

Tudor, thanks again for sharing a link to the discussion on tecsun.com.cn–while I can’t read Chinese (and the Google translation leaves something to be desired!) the photos certainly tell the story.