Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood, who writes:
Photos of former VOA Delano. All the towers are gone now… How sad.
Note that the smoke is from all of those California fires.
Three photos of the VOA Delano site
2 Replies
Category Archives: Radio History
Radio Waves: Switzerland to End Analog Radio, AM For Every Vehicle Act, AM v Safety, and Electromechanical Radio Transmitters
Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio
Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Paul and Dennis Dura for the following tips:
Switzerland to end 2024 with an analog FM broadcast-killing bang (The Register)
Time to upgrade that receiver if you’re one of the few Swiss that still don’t have one able to receive DAB+ signals
Swiss radio listeners will soon have to toss out their old sets, as the country plans to end analog FM broadcasting on December 31, 2024, in favor of a total conversion to digital.
The move has been a long time coming in Switzerland, which has largely already transitioned to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB+, an evolution of standard DAB that was designed to address early issues). More than 99 percent of the country have access to a DAB+-compatible receiver and fewer than 10 percent of radio signals in the country still being broadcasted in analog FM, according to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. [Continue reading…]
AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act to Receive Minor Technical Update (Radio World)
There will be no substantive changes to the legislation
A bill in the House of Representatives that would mandate AM capability in new vehicles is about to be revised, according to a person familiar with the developments.
New information indicates that one of the original co-sponsors of the bill, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), plans to introduce an amendment to the bill (H.R. 8449). Changes would only include minor technical updates.
The planned amendment to the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act comes on the heels of last week’s last-minute cancellation of a planned vote by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which could have advanced the legislation to the full House for a vote. [Continue reading…]
Would AM Mandate Force Carmakers to Scrap Safety Features?
Opponents play up the possibility that carmakers would have to choose
If Congress requires AM radio in new cars, vehicle manufacturers might have to drop safety features instead.
That’s the message from opponents of the proposed law in Congress. A guest commentary published by Automotive News restates the key points that opponents have been making since the legislation was introduced; but their blunt emphasis on a possible tradeoff with important safety features seems notable.
“To accommodate analog AM radio as a primary design requirement, certain carmakers may need to scrap advanced safety features, with engineers having to prioritize outdated technology over current or future safety innovations,” they wrote. [Continue reading…]
Did you know that 100 years ago there were electromechanical radio transmitters?
Many thanks to Paul who shared a link to this Mastodon thread discussing the technology behind the SAQ/Grimeton broadcast station: https://mastodon.social/@tubetime/110970146022678448
Here’s is a video (we’ve posted in the past) that gives even more detail about the design and operation:
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“Music On The Move” explores portable audio technology developments over the decades
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes:
Last night on my bedside radio I heard on BBC World’s ‘The Forum’ a wonderful 49-minute piece about portable audio. Much of it covers the earliest portable electron tube radios and transistor radios, and their influences on society in different countries. Mediumwave, Shortwave and FM radios and stations are discussed, as well as evolving technologies. The societal impact of the Compact Cassette and digital audio players and recorders is also discussed. Probably all SWLing Post readers will find this worth listening to!
Cheers,
-Ed
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct5n09
The Forum: Music On The Move
Released On: 22 Jun 2024
Many of us remember the first portable music device we owned: a transistor radio, a boombox, a Walkman or perhaps an iPod. We might even recall the songs we played on it. But we might be less aware of how profoundly audio technology developments from the 1950s to 2000s changed the ways in which we consume music and other audio outside of the home or concert venue. Transistor radios allowed outdoor sounds and noises to mix and compete with those coming over the airwaves, creating new auditory experiences; the cassette player gave the listener a cheap way of making and re-making their own playlists; and the advent of digital music players encouraged us to ‘own’ music recordings without possessing a physical copy of the audio.
Iszi Lawrence discusses the history of portable music with Dr. Annie Jamieson, Curator of Sound Technologies at Bradford’s National Science and Media Museum; American drummer and writer Damon Krukowski; Dr. Jahnavi Phalkey, science historian and Founding Director of Science Gallery Bengaluru, India; Karin Bijsterveld, Professor of Science, Technology and Modern Culture at Maastricht University; and World Service listeners.
“What connects the Finnish YLE station and Prague?”
Professionals at the station often had a background as radio amateurs or radio electricians. Photo from YLE’s archive.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adid, who writes:
Hi Thomas, a post on Reddit with a picture of radio stuff lead me to Google for its source.
It led me to this page https://yle.fi/a/3-11502533
My Finnish is not as good as Google’s, but even with its poor “auto” translation, the story can be fairly understood and bring to life the 1968 Soviet’s invasion to Prague from the YLE side.
That article was written in a book by an YLE broadcasting engineer for 40 years. A few pages of his book can be viewed here with more nice pictures.
As a child I do recall that event in the local news coverage and it was also immortalized few months later, in the Israeli music scene with an amazing song, very popular till today.
I’m sure many of SWL’ers can share some of their memories of that Soviet’s invasion to Prague in 1968.
Best regards, adi
Video: ‘Afternoon Plus’ documentary on the BBC World Service (1982)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gary (W4EEY), who shares a link the following archived documentary on the BBC World Service from 1982:
WWII Radio History: D-Day broadcasting and communications
Maj. Gen. Ralph Royce (second from right), 9th Air Force deputy commander, with engineers on the Normandy beachhead one day after D-Day. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who writes:
With the imminent approach, Thursday, June 6, 2024, of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, followed by operation Overlord.
Being both a radio amateur and in the broadcast industry , I have done a little research and find the two items, below, relating to D-Day and post-D-Day communications and broadcasters.
One, from the BBC Archives for a UK ‘view-point’
and Two, from RadioWorld for the US angle
But remember it was nearly a year away to VE-Day, so more research to be done on the effort of broadcasters to “bring the story home”
Also, one amateur radio related note: A SES (Special Event Station) with the callsign GB8ODD: https://g5fz.co.uk/up-coming-special-event-stations-by-the-lswc/
Being a WWII history buff, I really appreciate the links. Thanks, Kris!
The Giant Antennas of Shanghai Coast Radio Station (XSG)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael (BD4AAQ) who shares the following guest post:
Shanghai Coast Radio Station (XSG):
Those Giant Antennas!
The 17th of May is the World Telecommunication Day. It is also the open day of Shanghai Coast Radio Station. On this day, a group of amateur radio operators were invited to visit the transmission facility, a huge antenna farm, of the radio station, located on Chongming Island of Shanghai, the third largest island in China.
Google Satellite Photo
The transmission site of Shanghai Coast Radio Station is as shown below in the map of Chongming Island. Other sites of the station include a central control/receive station in Zhangjiang, a receive station on Hengsha Island and some VHF base stations in a number of other locations. All these locations in Shanghai, linked via cable and microwave connection, form Shanghai Coast Radio Station, also known by its callsign as XSG.
(Google map of transmitter location for Shanghai Coast Radio Station. Note the antenna farm on the left.)
Presentation by Station Officials
Fifteen or so local hams were cordially invited to have a tour of the station. The radio enthusiasts were greeted by station representatives, including Mr Wan, Mr Wang, Mr Zhou and Mr Niu (BH4BFS), who also gave them an overview of the coast radio station’s history and development.
Antenna Farm
Mr Wang then showed the visitors around the antenna farm. Many of us, myself included, saw and were deeply impressed with these huge antennas for the first time! Indeed, many professional radio facilities and operators of similar coast radio stations work quietly around the globe and around the clock to provide for distress, navigational, business and personal communications needs of ships!
[Click on images to enlarge.]
The antennas cover a wide range of frequencies, from MF, HF, to VHF and UHF. Many of them are, however, shortwave (HF) antennas.
Transmitter Room
(I placed a Tecsun PL-330 radio near the transmitter at 12380.1 kHz (weather fax). The signal strength, in dbu, is 96. Given the margin of error of the receiver’s display, that’s probably as high as it could go.)
Shanghai Coast Radio Station (XSG) operates on a wide range of frequencies. Its HF frequencies include 4207.5, 4209.5, 4215.5, 4369, 6312, 6326, 6501, 8414.5, 8425.5, 8770, 8806, 12577, 12637.5, 13176, 13188, 16804.5, 16898.5 and 17407 kHz. Of particular note is that they have kept a CW frequency of 8665 kHz for general broadcast of information on a 24 hour basis.
The station’s VHF phone service covers 25 nautical miles of the coast. Its MF NAVTEX covers 250 nautical miles of the coast. And its HF phone and weather fax and HF NAVTEX extend to 1,000 nautical miles.
History and Current Status
Founded in 1905, Shanghai Coast Radio Station has been around 119 years. The XSG callsign has since remained in use.
China has in place DSC watch and NAVTEX broadcast in coast stations (including XSG) in accordance with GMDSS requirements. Among services provided by XSG are Radio Telephony (RT), Narrow Band Direct Printing (NBDP), “Voice of the East China Sea Coast” (voice broadcast on 161.600 MHz and 8806 kHz) and marine radio weather fax. The station is without a doubt one of the largest coast radio stations in the Asia Pacific region and plays an essential role in the region’s marine safety and communications.
QSL Cards
Shanghai Coast Radio Station issues QSL cards in Chinese and English, traditionally in paper form and nowadays electronically.
(This is an electronic QSL card issued to a Shanghai listener, who received their signal over the radio. Examples of QSL cards in English can be found online.)
Show Room
[Click on images to enlarge.]
Ham Station
Mr Niu of Shanghai Coast Radio Station, one of the tour’s organisers, is a ham himself with callsign BH4BFS. According to him, there are intentions to start a ham radio station within the establishment, possibly incorporating the letters XSG. However, there is much work to be done to make it happen. An amateur radio station with overlapping callsigns with a professional one would be really charming.