Category Archives: News

BBC celebrates 90 years of radio with a global simulcast, you can contribute

(Source: BBC)

The BBC today announced plans for an unprecedented global simulcast across its radio networks – including every UK station (local, network and national) and many World Service outlets – curated by Damon Albarn to mark 90 years of radio.

The simultaneous broadcast, called Radio Reunited, will take place on November 14 at 17:33 GMT – 90 years since the first broadcast from the British Broadcasting Company in 1922 – to a potential global audience of 120 million people across every inhabited continent.

The three-minute transmission will be based on recorded messages from listeners around the world on the theme of the future. Each of an estimated 60 BBC radio stations will choose one message and many of them will then be mixed together and set to a musical score specially composed by the Blur frontman.

It will form the centrepiece of the on-air celebrations to mark 90 years of BBC Radio, which will also feature a wide range of special programming across BBC stations, full details of which will be announced nearer the time.

[…]Damon Albarn said: “I love the idea of stations across Britain and the World Service coming together, with all of our different lives and circumstances, even if it’s only for a few minutes. It’s a powerful idea.”

Radio Reunited is one of the key broadcasts to mark the anniversary. Two of the other major programming projects launched today to celebrate 90 years of BBC radio are:

– The Listeners’ Archive – on October 11 the BBC begins a major initiative to recover the lost gems of the broadcasting archive by calling an ‘amnesty’ on recorded media. Listeners are asked to scour their lofts, garages and cupboards for tapes, cassettes and other recordings of BBC radio programmes from 1936 to 2000, and hand them in at BBC Centres around the UK on ‘Amnesty Day’. BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5live, BBC Local Radio in England and the BBC Nations are all involved. Central to the project will be a series of shows on Radio 2 and 6 Music around the 90th anniversary, where clips of the recovered content – and possibly whole programmes – will be played, and introduced by the person who originally recorded them. [Continue reading…]

The BBC has full details of how you can participate. I would hope that there are some readers of the SWLing Post who may have recordings to share for The Listener’s Archive. I believe I have some old recordings of the BBC WS on New Year’s Eve 1999–if I can only find them!

Hurricane Isaac: Hear eyewitness weather reports on shortwave

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At time of this posting, I’m listening to the Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) on 14,325 kHz. HWN net control is receiving weather reports as Hurricane Isaac hits Louisiana with 80 mph winds–dumping torrential rain on the area and causing widespread flooding.

Although Isaac is “only” a Category One hurricane, I suspect damage will exceed similar storms from the past, as the flood waters are rapidly rising, already forcing some people into attics and onto rooftops.

Tuning In

If you have a shortwave radio, even a portable, that can tune in SSB (or Single-Side Band), you can listen to or participate in the Hurricane Watch Net.

In a previous post–almost exactly one year ago when Hurricane Irene was threatening islands and States in the Gulf of Mexico–I described how to listen to the HWN.

Below, is a short audio clip of the Hurricane Watch Net this morning, which includes a few reports and a check-in from the National Hurricane Center’s own ham radio station:

(If you find this kind of thing exciting, or you’re into weather tracking and would like to become more involved in disaster communications, consider becoming a ham radio operator.)

Review of the 2012 Pirate Radio Annual

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Pirate radio is perhaps one of the most dynamic aspects of the diverse landscape of SWLing. In direct contrast with major broadcasters, many of whom are now thinning out their offerings, pirate radio just seems to adapt and grow.

I started listening to shortwave pirates in earnest only a few years ago. I had listened to pirates in the past, but had never followed the pirate scene, nor understood how to reliably find pirates on the shortwave radio dial. I now know, by the number of emails I receive from SWLing Post readers, that there are many others who feel as I did then.

Pirate radio broadcasters do not follow a regular broadcasting schedule, often operate at very low power, and are not necessarily always on the same frequency or even mode. It’s no wonder they’re hard to find.

I wish, in those early days of exploring the pirate bands, I had known about the Pirate Radio Annual, produced by pirate radio guru Andrew Yoder.

Not only is this book, which explores the pirate radio scene in North America, well written and insightful, it is chock-full of information. It’s a bit like the programming section of the former Passport to Worldband Radio, only focused on pirates. The book also comes with an accompanying audio CD. Yoder, by the way, has been covering the pirate scene for decades; he’s also the former publisher of hobbyist magazine Hobby Broadcasting.

The 2012 Pirate Radio Annual is divided into several sections:

An intro to the guide which–among many other things–explains important terminology, such as the difference between a pirate and a jammer
How to QSL pirates
Pirate station classification
A feature article comparing three different AM shortwave pirate transmitters
Other articles with interviews and events/media that have had an impact on the pirate scene (including the controversial “Pirate War” of 2012)
Profiles of pirate radio stations heard in 2011, with an additional section on international pirates heard in North America
An index for the included audio CD

I especially like the extensive station profiles of pirates who were active in 2011. Not only can I get more info about the more elusive stations that don’t offer many clues to their raison d’etre–such as Radio Strange Outpost–but it also makes for a handy resource to glean QSL contact info. In fact, I learned a lot about the personalities, broadcast histories and habits of many pirates we’ve featured here (like Undercover Radio, Captain Morgan Shortwave, Wolverine Radio, and North Woods Radio, to name a few). Yoder is able to provide details about these station that your average listener just wouldn’t know, including the types of transmitters used, output power, and historical perspectives.

The accompanying audio CD features clips from 78 stations, and includes audio from the transmitter comparison in the book.

For about $20.00 US (with shipping), the 2012 Pirate Radio Annual is unquestionably a great buy for those interested in pirate radio.

You can purchase the 2012 Pirate Radio Annual from:

National Radio Day 2012

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Click to enlarge. (Source: NPR)

Today in the US, it’s National Radio Day–a day to acknowledge the significance of radio technology and the way it has shaped our past, shapes our present, and continues to shape our future.

National Public Radio and its member stations typically celebrate with some fanfare. I especially love their vintage-inspired graphic this year, featuring Guglielmo Marconi.

In fairness, we should also acknowledge Nikola Tesla, whose 17 patents may have helped Marconi win his Nobel Prize as the father of radio.

Update: REE’s Cariari de Pococi transmitter

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Yesterday, I posted that REE’s Cariari de Pococi transmitter has been causing significant spurious transmissions.

This morning, I received the following message from REE:

We are very thanked for your feedback about the reception in SW. We are certainly going to investigate […] and will send your report to the transmitter site.

They also indicated that it could be caused by a multiple harmonic, possibly local to my receiver. Since this problem has been documented by others, including Glenn Hauser, I know it’s a transmitter problem on their end.

Regardless, I’m very pleased they’re taking this seriously.

REE’s Cariari de Pococi transmitter malfunctioning

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For several weeks, I have noticed that Radio Exterior de España’s Cariari de Pococi transmitter has been sending spurs up the band during broadcasts on 17.850 MHz.

I’m certainly not the only one who has noticed, either. Glenn Hauser has mentioned his frustration with this continuous band pollution on several episodes of GH’s World of Radio broadcasts. It seems that contacting REE is not improving the situation.

The spurs are actually travelling up as far as the 17 meter amateur radio band. Today, while on 18.118 MHz, I could hear the tell-tale signs–pops and crack sounds with a faint voice signature. I recorded what it sounds like in AM on 18.118 MHz–click here to listen.

When I turned on the spectrum display of my WinRadio Excalibur, I could see as well as hear that it was emanating from an REE sports broadcast on 17,850.

Below are some screen shots of what the spur looks like on a spectrum display. If you compare the two images it’s easy to see. (Note that spurs appear as flashes on the spectrum and are not constant, like noise level or other “clean” AM carriers.)

If a domestic AM broadcaster in the US was causing this type of harmful interference, a correction would be enforceable, and most likely, the station would be taken off the air until the problem was solved. The transmitter is harming other broadcasters and the amateur radio spectrum. It’s an embarrassment for REE, too–their signal is quite strong into North America and I would otherwise love listening to them. While their transmitter is malfunctioning, however, their fidelity is compromised with distorted, “splattering” audio.

If you have noticed this, please consider sending a message to REE’s main email address: [email protected]

Perhaps if they receive enough complaints, they will take action.

The Degen DE1129 features 10 kHz steps on medium wave

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I just received confirmation from a representative at TecsunRadio.com that the Degen DE1129 will offer selectable 10kHz steps for the medium wave (AM) band in North/South America (ITU Region 2).

My contact had to verify this fact by actually trying out a radio and making the selection manually (see photo), as the written radio specifications were unclear.

Upon learning that its predecessor, the Degen DE1128, did not have 10 kHz stepping, it lost an audience in the Americas. I feared that the DE1129 would have the same limitations, but fortunately (for Degen) it is not. Of course, here in North and South America, we have the Grundig G2 Reporter–which is sold and supported here in the US as a DE1128 alternative. But this newest member of the Degen line is a welcome addition.