Category Archives: News

Radio World: HFCC Is About More Than Shortwave Now

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(Source: Radio World)

The High Frequency Coordination Conference is expanding its scope.

[…]According to a summary of the conference, membership voted to expand the scope of the HFCC.

“There are some compelling reasons for doing this,” stated Chairman Oldrich Cip. “TV and radio organizations for home listeners and their unions are busy discussing the future of distribution of the media content and the use of new — mainly digital — technologies. We would like to become a forum for such debate in international broadcasting.”

In other words: We ain’t just shortwave no more.

Read the Full article at Radio World online.

RCI’s “The Maple Leaf Mailbag” mentions the SWLing Post

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You can’t imagine how honored we are that Ian Jones of Radio Canada International’s “The Maple Leaf Mailbag” (and the Rock’n Roadshow) mentioned our site on the MLMB!

Here at the SWLing Post we blog about an innovative technology that serves up a wide and wild varieties of voices, sounds, opinions and music–all streaming wirelessly, all over the world, all of the time, at the speed of light–you only have to listen.

Yes, Ian, you’re right. Shortwave is far from dead.

I’ve been a Radio Canada International listener since my earliest listening years. Their programming is truly top-notch. The Link gives a perspective on life in Canada, typically from the unique perspective of immigrants. The MLMB is a quirky, fun, creative, highly interactive, interview-and-music program, that is (to say the least) unpredictable. Ian and his crew put their hearts into the show, and this comes through in every episode.

Welcome, Maple Leaf Mailbag listeners!  And thanks, again, Ian!

 

UNESCO Proclaims World Radio Day – February 13

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UNESCO’s Executive Board approved item 13 of its provisional agenda “Proclamation of a World Radio Day” to be celebrated each February 13th.

The Executive’s decision is as follows:

  • Recommends to the [UNESCO] General Conference that it proclaim a World Radio Day and that this Day be celebrated on 13 February, the day the United Nations established the concept of United Nations Radio;
  • Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, professional associations and broadcasting unions, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to duly celebrate the World Radio Day, in the way that each considers most adequate;
  • Requests the Director-General, subject to the final resolution of the General Conference, to bring this resolution to the attention of the Secretary-General of the United Nations so that World Radio Day may be endorsed by the General Assembly.

Read UNESCO’s full World Radio Day proclamation here (PDF).

Heathkit is back in business

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Great news for kit builders! Legendary company Heathkit has started manufacturing kits again. Though their first line-up of products do not include radios, they are planning to cater to the amateur radio community as soon as next year.

I would like to believe that the popularity of the Maker community has given Heathkit the ability to re-enter the growing kit building market (it has certainly given Radio Shack reason to continue carrying components).

Here is an announcement from Heathkit’s website:

Thank you for your overwhelming response to our announcement that Heathkit is back into the Do-it-Yourself kits business. We received many great suggestions for kits you would like to build.

We will be releasing Garage Parking Assistant kit (GPA-100) in late September and soon after the Wireless Swimming Pool Monitor kit will be available.

Based on your input, we are looking at developing amateur radio kits. Our goal is to have kits available by the end of year.

Please keep your suggestions coming so that we can continue to bring you interesting, unique Heathkit products.

Now is the time to let Heathkit know you that you want shortwave and amateur radio kits!

You can contact Heathkit at the following address:

Heathkit
2024 Hawthorne Avenue
St. Joseph, MI. 49085
(269) 925-6000 : Phone
(800) 253-0570 : Toll-free
(269) 925-2898 : Fax
[email protected]

Listen to asteroid echos November 8th-9th

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The massive Green Bank Telescope will be listening for CW tuned to put the asteroid's echo at a constant 2380 MHz (Photo Source: NRAO / AUI / NSF)

The excellent Southgate ARC has posted information on receiving signals that the Arecibo Observatory, the Deep Space Network Goldstone facility, the Green Bank Telescope and the Very Long Baseline Array will be bouncing off of the near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55.

The asteroid will be making a 0.85 lunar distance flyby of Earth on November 8.

While the listening frequencies are well above the HF (shortwave) spectrum, many of you may have wide-band receivers or ham radio equipment that could tune in the signals. So, apologies for this slightly off-topic post. The amateur radio astronomer in me couldn’t help but promote this rather cool and unique opportunity.

From Southgate ARC:

Because YU55 will be so close to Earth, its radar echo will be detectable with even small antennas (~1 m^2). YU55’s echo will be a slowly drifting signal with a bandwidth of ~1 Hz within a few kHz of 2380 MHz or 8560 MHz.

[…]On November 8, 2011, 19:15 – 19:30 UTC, Arecibo will be transmitting a continuous wave tuned to put the asteroid’s echo at a constant 2380.000000 MHz at the Green Bank Telescope. Observers elsewhere on Earth will see the echo within 2 kHz of 2380 MHz, Doppler-shifted by the Earth’s rotation. It will be slowly drifting in frequency and have a bandwidth of ~0.6 Hz.

On November 9, 2011, 01:30 – 02:00 UTC, the Goldstone Deep Space Network facility will be be transmitting a continuous wave tuned to put the asteroid’s echo a constant 8560.000000 MHz at a second antenna at the Goldstone site. Other observers may see the echo shifted by as much as 6 kHz, and it will have a bandwidth of ~2 Hz.

Read the full article on the Southgate ARC website.