Category Archives: New Products

The Spectrum Monitor: a new radio magazine finds a home in the digital world

The SpectrumMonitorI’m happy to announce that there is a new radio magazine on the horizon: The Spectrum Monitor (TSM).

The Spectrum Monitor, an e-magazine, will cover  amateur radio, longwave and shortwave listening, public service scanning, AM/FM/TV broadcasting, satellites, WiFi radio, vintage radio and more.

I have agreed to be the shortwave radio columnist for The Spectrum Monitor.

Why? TSM is picking up where Monitoring Times (MT) left off, and is being edited and published by MT‘s former managing editor, Ken Reitz (KS4ZR). Reitz has done a fantastic job of retaining the majority of MT‘s excellent writers and columnists. When he asked if I would be interested in taking over the shortwave radio column, his integrity and that of Monitoring Times helped me make a confident decision.

Best yet, I will have free reign to write about in-depth topics that I choose. Like Monitoring Times before it, The Spectrum Monitor will allow their columnists true editorial freedom.

The Spectrum Monitor Press Release

Ken Reitz published the following press release today at noon; if you enjoy the topics here, I encourage you to check out The Spectrum Monitor.

TheSpectrumMonitorPRESS RELEASE

10-23-13
For Immediate Release
Contact: Ken Reitz
e-mail: ks4zr1 [at] gmail.com
Phone: 540-967-2469

NEW RADIO MAGAZINE TO LAUNCH

A new electronic publication, The Spectrum Monitor, will follow the final issue of Monitoring Times, a paper and electronic publication covering amateur, shortwave and scanner-related topics, which ceases publication after a thirty-three year run following the retirement of its publisher, Bob Grove.

Managing editor, Ken Reitz KS4ZR, made the announcement in the November issue of Monitoring Times. “As the accolades poured in, all readers, regardless of how long they had been subscribers, expressed sadness and dismay at the closure of the magazine. I came to believe that there might be enough interest to warrant continuing the publication in some other form. I took it upon myself to explore the possibility of a follow-on magazine, not connected with Monitoring Times or Grove Enterprises, it’s publisher.”

The Spectrum Monitor will debut with the January 2014 issue, on December 15, 2013, and will carry virtually all of the current Monitoring Times columnists and feature writers. Reitz noted, “These are the experts in all facets of radio who have helped make MT the best, full-spectrum magazine available and we are all excited about continuing our work for the new publication.”

The Spectrum Monitor will be available only as an electronic publication in PDF format which may be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad™, Kindle Fire™ or any other device capable of opening a PDF file. Details on how to become a charter subscriber may be found at www.thespectrummonitor.com.

Now available: DXtreme Reception Log version 8.0

DXtreme Reception Log schedule checker.

Screenshot of the DXtreme Reception Log schedule checker (click to enlarge)

I just received this press release from SWLing Post sponsor, Bob Raymond (NE1I), at DXtreme software.

Bob has announced the availability of the latest version of his logging software for radio and TV monitoring enthusiasts: DXtreme Reception Log — Advanced Edition, Version 8.0.

Click here to download the full press release (PDF) or here to visit DXtreme Reception Log’s web page.

And many thanks to DXtreme for supporting the SWLing Post!

All India Radio publishes a tender for 800 DRM receivers

drmlogoThe DRM Consortium has posted an All India Radio (AIR) tender for 800 DRM AM/FM/Shortwave receivers.

AIR is seeking a DRM receiver with a feature set that would include:

  • DRM decoding on both shortwave and medium wave (AM broadcast) bands
  • 1 kHz tuning increments on DRM bands (with DRM auto lock)
  • Stereo speakers and headphone jack
  • Four line mono/color digital display
  • Built-in stereo recording of DRM broadcasts–including a scheduling feature
  • Upgradable firmware
  • Built-in rechargeable battery pack with 6 hour playback time

There are more specs/features, of course–click here or here to download a scanned copy of the actual AIR tender.

Grundig G3 discontinued, Tecsun PL-880 on the way

The Grundig G3 shortwave radio.

The Grundig G3 shortwave radio.

Not really a surprise, but I’ve confirmed that the Grundig G3 has been discontinued. They are still available, for the moment, from Universal Radio and online sources like Amazon.com. I would not advise buying from Amazon as I’ve received numerous complaints that they’ve shipped faulty units. Universal Radio, on the other hand, is testing each an every G3 leaving their shop.

With the exit of the G3, this leaves Grundig with the following selection of shortwave portables:

TecsunPL-880Box

Tecsun PL-880

Tecsun, meanwhile, is adding to their extensive line of shortwave portables. Indeed, this morning, W4ASZ comments:

“I found this link courtesy of the manly men at Herculodge :

http://tecsunradio.com/2013/09/14/new-arrival-tecsun-pl880-fm-radio-dsp-stereo-speaker-coming-soon/9030

Looking pretty good !”

I agree and I do feel cautiously optimistic about the Tecsun PL-880. Could it be my new travel radio? Though I still happily travel with the Grundig G3, Sony ICF-SW7600GR and Tecsun PL-380, a guy can’t have too many radios to choose from!

I’ll plan to review the PL-880 once it’s available. I’m particularly interested in seeing how it stacks up against the venerable Tecsun PL-660.

Stay tuned!

Redsun RP-3100 ready for pre-order

Redsun-RP3100Radio Flynn writes:

I found some information about the release date of the Redsun RP-3100 and posted it on Herculodge – lets hope it is real:
http://herculodge.typepad.com/herculodge/2013/09/not-to-fan-the-flames-of-redsun-rp-3100-lust-.html

The Redsun RP-3100 has been rumored for ages.  Glad to see it’s coming to fruition!

HackRF: open source SDR on Kickstarter

HackRF prototype (Source: ossmann.blogspot.com)

HackRF prototype (Source: ossmann.blogspot.com)

Michael Ossmann is making a business out of developing and producing open-source hardware.

His latest creation is called HackRF, and in less than a day, it has been fully backed on Kickstarter raising over $290,000 US with 25 days left to go in the campaign (at time of posting). Backers can contribute to this campaign with some confidence as Ossmann has successfully delivered products from Kickstarter in the past.

What makes HackRF unique is the fact that the stand alone unit can operate between 30 MHz and 6 GHz; a frequency range substantially wider than any SDR currently on the market. Indeed, when combined with the Ham It Up converter, the HackRF will also cover HF bands and lower.

Additionally, HackRF is a fully open-source transceiver; applications are limited only to a developer’s imagination. You could potentially use HackRF for ham radio, radio astronomy, scanning, shortwave radio listening, remote control applications, wide band monitoring, and commercial/industrial applications. If you use two HackRFs in tandem, they’ll even work in full-duplex applications.

Though the project is fully-backed, you can still support HackRF in the Kickstarter phase and save a bit on the eventual retail cost of the unit. Production units are expected to ship early 2014. Check out the HackRF Kickstarter video below:


Additional information:

The new Tecsun PL-880 sounds promising

The Tecsun PL-880 (Photo: bbs.tecsun.com.cn/)

The Tecsun PL-880 (Photo: bbs.tecsun.com.cn/)

Last night, I discovered news of the new Tecsun PL-880 on Jeff’s excellent blog, the Herculodge.

Out of all of the current shortwave radio manufacturers, Tecsun seems to be one of the only companies making new models for the radio hobbyist–models with important features like SSB, bandwidth control, fine tuning steps, capable AGC, etc.

According to a comment Owl left on this post, it sounds like the PL-880 could be a performer:

Two photos of Tecsun’s new model PL880 appeared yesterday. It uses an analog+DSP architecture similar to ATS909X but has made some significant improvements (4 AM bandwidth + 5 SSB bandwidth) and better audio compared to previous Tecsun portables.

http://herculodge.typepad.com/herculodge/2013/08/new-tecsun-pl-880-on-its-way.html

I will plan on reviewing the PL-880, once it hits the market. If it’s no larger than my Sony ICF-SW7600GR, it might make for a great travel radio.

TecsunPL-880Box

(Photo source: bbs.tecsun.com.cn)