Category Archives: Nostalgia

This Panasonic RF-2200 will help you weather a storm

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(Photo: vency1 on flickr)

While looking through a number of photos Flickr user vency1 posted, I noticed an interesting story behind his trusty Panasonic RF-2200. He describes his radio thus:

“A very good performing receiver. I’ve had great listening adventures with this on AM and shortwave. This once served as an RDF (radio direction finder) on a speedboat to find our way home in heavy rainstorm in the middle of the sea with zero visibility. A station located in the hometown was tuned in and we steered the boat in the direction of the strongest signal. The RF gain was set so that the slightest signal fluctuation would show on the meter. At home, the sound on FM is very good when connected to a high-fidelity speaker system.”

What better user review of a radio could one give?  I mean, it guided him home during a storm at sea? Brilliant! Too bad they no longer make the RF-2200. Fortunately they do show up on eBay regularly–click here to search.

A question for my buddy, Jeff, over at the Herculodge: Does a radio get more manly than this?

Readers, check out more of Vency1’s radio photos on Flickr.

Interview with Joseph Mark Costello III of WRNO

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wrnologoYesterday, I posted off air recordings of WRNO Worldwide from 1983. Jonathan Marks then sent me a link to an interview he recorded in 1991 when WRNO founder, Joseph Costello, visited Radio Netherlands Worldwide in Hilversum.

Click here to visit the Media Network Vintage Vault and listen online.

Many thanks, Jonathan for sharing!

 

More 1968 recordings on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive

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IMG_0135I’ve now added a total of five recordings by David Firth, circa 1968, to the SW Radio Audio Archive. Click below for direct links:

Note that you can subscribe to the SW Radio Audio Archive as a podcast via iTunes or by using the following RSS feed: http://shortwavearchive.com/archive?format=rss

Eight new recordings in the Media Network Vintage Vault

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RNW headquarters in Hilversum, Netherlands (photo coutesty: RNW)

RNW’s former headquarters in Hilversum, Netherlands (photo: RNW)

Jonthan Marks has just informed me that he’s added new studio recordings  to the Media Network Vintage Vault.

They include:

Jonathan comments, “I think you might like the Radio New Zealand stuff. Sounds like it was recorded yesterday.”

The New Zealand Bellbird (Anthornis melanura) provides the interval signal for RNZI (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The New Zealand Bellbird (Anthornis melanura) provides the interval signal for RNZI (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Indeed it does!

To top it off, I’m still amazed RNZI is still on the air and pumping out an amazing signal into North America. Click here for a recording made only one week ago.

Having never heard a New Zealand Bellbird live, I was most impressed to hear how RNZI (in the 1950s!) modified the Bellbird’s call for the distinctive RNZI interval signal. Don’t want to give it away, though, listen for yourself.

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Voice of America, circa 1968

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Willis Conover, The Voice of America (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Many thanks to David Firth, who is kindly sharing shortwave radio recordings he made on reel-to-reel recording equipment in the late 1960s.

Firth is uncovering and digitizing these off air recordings as time allows and, thanks to his generosity, we will be posting these recordings on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

The following is a recording of the Voice of America, which Firth recorded in 1968.

This seven minute recording will surely bring back memories with clips from VOA Jazz Hour (Willis Conover), the VOA Breakfast Show, and VOA Special English.

[Confession: the first time I heard this recording, the Willis Conover clip gave me chill bumps.]

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Check out more recordings on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, also check out David Firth’s channel on YouTube.

Want to know more about Willis Conover? Check out David Goren’s podcast for Jazz At Lincoln Center.

Radio New Zealand’s Peter Fry will take you on a musical journey

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Peter Fry, host of Saturday Night on Radio New Zealand

Peter Fry, host of Saturday Night on Radio New Zealand

If you’ve ever had the distinct pleasure of tuning to Radio New Zealand International when their musical request show, Saturday Night, is on the air, chances are that you’ve become, like I have, addicted to this show.

The show’s inimitable host, Peter Fry, has one of the best radio presences in the business. His warm personality and penchant for playing absolutely anything back-to-back will captivate you. You’ll hear songs and genres (including comedy skits) spanning the decades, and Fry offers his excellent commentary between sets.

What amazes me, too, (when I stop to think about it) is the relatively robust audio fidelity from RNZI’s shortwave signal here in eastern North America, especially considering that this broadcast originates in Rangitaiki, on the north island of New Zealand, and is powered by only 50 kilowatts, a modest signal by international broadcasting standards.  RNZI’s signal crosses the Pacific at the speed of light–and at 6 watts per mile, by my calculations–delivers my Saturday Night as clearly as if it originated…well, locally.

The RNZI signal travels a full 8,249 miles (13,276 kilometers) to reach my home.

The RNZI signal travels a full 8,249 miles (13,276 kilometers) to reach my radio.

Yes, shortwave radio is magic.  And so is Peter Fry’s show:  Enjoy.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

This broadcast was recorded on February 8, 2014 on 9,765 kHz, starting at 07:59 UTC.