Category Archives: News

NPR: WWII ‘Canteen Girl’ Kept Troops Company From Afar

(Photo source: NPR)

Long before the Internet and satellite phone, Phyllis Jeanne Creore Westerman brought soldiers home at Christmas via shortwave radio:

(Source: National Public Radio)

American service members have long spent holidays in dangerous places, far from family. These days, home is a video chat or Skype call away. But during World War II, packages, letters and radio programs bridged the lonely gaps. For 15 minutes every week, “Canteen Girl” Phyllis Jeanne Creore spoke and sang to the troops and their loved ones on NBC radio.

Her Christmas shows were morale boosters. America must “use more sentiment and less tinsel, and that’s the way it should be,” she told her listeners during one wartime Christmas broadcast. Now 96, Phyllis Jeanne Creore Westerman sits in her apartment on New York’s Fifth Avenue, remembering those seasonal broadcasts she recorded 70 years ago.

[…]She did a bit of radio work, found singing jobs with various bands at hotels like the Biltmore, and volunteered at the Stage Door Canteen. That’s where she got the idea for a regular radio show — to reach more troops — across the U.S., and in Europe by short wave.

Read the full article and listen to Susan Stamberg’s interview on NPR.org.

The Mighty KBC repeating digital tests this weekend

The new Degen DE1129A sports RDS, but is there really a version with keypad?

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Thanks to a tip from the Herculodge, I discovered the DE1129A: a version of the recently reviewed Degen DE1129 with RDS. RDS is a very useful feature–especially for instant FM station ID on the go.

The DE1129A is available from Anon, a trusted Degen distributor from Hong Kong, on eBay. I have purchased from them before and have been very pleased with their service. Click here to view their listings.

If you’ve been sitting on the fence about purchasing the DE1129, perhaps RDS will sway you toward purchasing this portable radio with integrated digital recording and playback.

Frankly, I was unimpressed by the DE1129. Though the radio has very good FM reception and an impressive little speaker with bass response, I believe the majority of shortwave and medium wave radio listeners would be upset with its overall performance. I can’t imagine that Degen’s updates would bring dramatically improved performance on the shortwave and mediumwave bands. If nothing else, the lack of a number pad to directly input frequencies, would put me off. Cruising through the shortwave bands at slow 5kHz steps with noted muting between frequencies make band-scanning a chore on the DE1129.

According to TecsunRadio.com, this image was altered by Degen to show what the DE1129 would look like with a number pad. It’s obvious that the image has been altered by Photoshop or another graphics application.

DE1129 Number Keypad?

Speaking of a number pad…earlier this year, TecsunRadio.com told me that there would soon be a version of the DE1129 with a number keypad. They published a prototype image (see right). When I first saw this image, I could instantly see that it had been Photoshopped; obvious use of cloning tools and the fact that the number pad characters are not in alignment with the buttons really stand out. Still, for a prototype image, it gives you a good sense of what the final product will look like.

Within weeks, I started noticing the keypad version of the DE1129 appearing in search results on eBay and had assumed it was in production.

This eBay seller shows a version of the DE1129 with number pad, but the image is the Photoshopped image (see above) released from Degen earlier this year.

This morning, I opened an eBay listing of the DE1129 keypad version (see image on right) from pbuying.usa. Their listing clearly shows the same Photoshopped image from above. I then noticed that neither the product description nor any other image they feature indicates a number pad on the DE1129. I wrote a message to them this morning asking for clarification and will update this post with their response.

UPDATE: pbuying.usa confirmed that his radio does not have a number pad and was apologetic and thankful that it was pointed out. The image has been removed.

I mention this as a note of caution: On eBay, you should always confirm any discrepencies before purchasing. Though you could rightfully return the radio and get a refund, return shipping to Hong Kong/China (which you would pay for) could be in excess of $20-25 US.

By the way, though the addition of a number keypad on the DE1129 would make this radio at least 50% more usable, it would not sway me to recommend it because receiver performance is so mediocre. Check out my other review notes here.

I’m very curious if any SWLing Post readers have actually received a keypad version of the DE1129–please comment!

Senator Segal’s motion receives unanimous vote: special committee enquiry into RCI cuts

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An excellent development in Canada: Senator Hugh Segal’s motion for a special committee enquiry into the CBC decision to slash the Radio Canada International budget by 80 per cent has received a unanimous vote in the Senate. Committee hearings will begin as early as February.

Below is the full press release I received from Senator Segal:

(Source: Office of Senator Segal)

Senator Hugh Segal has issued this statement on the unanimous vote in the Senate to have a special committee enquiry into the CBC decision to slash the RCI budget by 80 per cent.

“I am delighted that, in a non partisan way, the Senate voted to have the RCI matter go to a full review of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications. My motion was amended by Senator Champagne to go to a full committee hearing rather than a one day appearance before bar of the Senate.

That a ten percent cut to the CBC budget produced an 80 percent slash and burn of Radio Canada International reflects an internal CBC management decision which needs to be better understood. CBC management may well believe that if they let people go and dismantle transmitters, the problem will go away.

The importance of Canada’s voice to the rest of the world is not a detail of no consequence. The chance to call witnesses, pursue how other enlightened countries have expanded their short wave capacity, among other facts, will be a constructive step ahead in strengthening Canada’s international voice.”

Committee hearings on this matter may start as early as February2013.

BBG (Voice of America) ranks in bottom five places to work

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This just out: the Broadcasting Board of Governers has been ranked in the bottom five places to work in the 2012 edition of The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government by The Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte. Specifically, the BBG consists of the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia, Radio and TV Marti, the Middle East Broadcasting Network and the International Broadcasting Bureau (see org chart here). [Kim Elliott points out, however, that the survey only covers the VOA and the IBB.]

BBG’s leadership lacking

Upon closer examination of the rankings and score composite, you can see BBG employees scored their agency worst in categories of Effective Leadership. Indeed, the BBG ranked in the bottom five of the 290 mid-sized federal agencies in the survey in all of the effective leadership sub-categories of the survery. Here a breakdown:

Empowerment (rank: 290 of 290)
Fairness (289 of 290)
Senior Leaders (288 of 290)
Supervisors (290 of 290)

No plan for the future

Another area where the agency received a low score was in the category of Strategic Management: BBG employees rankings came in at 289 of 290, with only the Office of Chief Information Officer (HUD) ranking lower.

This, no doubt, shows that BBG employees feel there is no direction nor goals for the organization’s future.

I know quite a few employees in the Voice of America and the IBB. When I talk with these friends, I hear true passion for their jobs. They love what they do, whether it’s reporting or electronics engineering. When you read the results of this survey, it’s clear that these competent employees simply lack faith in their governing board and their management. The results suggest that they feel there is no plan for their future, and have concerns about their job security–especially with rumors of agency functions being merged and with jobs (like those at Radio Liberty) being cut without warning. They also feel there is no chance for performance-based rewards and/or advancement.

A sad state of affairs, indeed, for the worthy and still highly relevant role of radio in international diplomacy.

Read the full report of the BBG (Voice of America) in The Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.

NASB: Special DRM broadcasts for Wavescan

Universal Radio features Grundig S450DXL deal and new catalog

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Universal Radio has started a special deal-of-the-week on their home page. They’re featuring the Grundig S450DLX as their first deal.

At $88.77 US and including the book, “Discover DXing,” this is an excellent gift idea (indeed, we featured this radio in our 2011 gift guide).

I also just received the following news from Universal Radio:

[We’re] pleased to report that our new 2012 print catalog should arrive tomorrow night.

It is our largest print catalog ever, at 132 pages.
We have also (for the first time) made it available as a download (by-chapter) at:

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog.html

Universal Radio’s catalogs are the only catalogs I keep archives of. They’re great for referencing current production radios and accessories, and later can serve as a resource when researching used prices (another excellent tool is their sold/used item index).