Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ray Robinson, who writes:
Hi, Thomas. I have recently been re-watching the Australian soap serial ‘The Sullivans’, which ran on Channel 9 from 1976-1983. I used to watch it on ITV in England, and also for awhile on the Tempo cable & satellite channel here in the States in the late 80’s. It is set in Melbourne during the second World War and after, and begins in September 1939. In the episodes covering the early part of 1940, much is made of one of the character’s abilities to listen to Nazi German broadcasts via shortwave, in both English and German (and they play clips of actual audio in the episodes). My question is, how realistic is this?
Were German broadcasts at that time able to be heard with good quality in Australia? Does anyone have a transmission schedule from that era? I know that German broadcasts were well heard throughout Europe and in North America, but I don’t have any details of broadcasts targeting Australia. Might they have been relayed via some Axis transmitter in the Far East? If any of your SWLing Post readers can shed any light on this, I’d be very grateful. Thank you.
Ray Robinson
Great question, Ray. This is certainly an inquiry for radio enthusiasts and WWII buffs in Australia and New Zealand. I’m sure there are accounts out there that could verify how easily and frequently Axis broadcasts could be heard in Australia and NZ. My guess would be that propaganda would have certainly targeted Australia and New Zealand during WWII.
Please comment if you can provide some insight and/or evidence for Ray!
My friend, Maristella Feustle, recently shared this classic RCA “Radio Tours” map of North America. RCA printed this in 1934–during the Great Depression–when most people could not afford to travel. Their map encouraged families to use their radios to travel the world over the air and experience local culture & music.
As Maristella pointed out, the detail on this map is pretty darn amazing.
Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio
Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
WL2XUP is an FCC Part 5 Experimental station operated by Lin Holcomb, NI4Y, in Georgia. It’s licensed to operate with up to 400 W effective radiated power (ERP) between 40.660 MHz to 40.700 MHz.
John Desmond, EI7GL, reports that as of mid-July, WL2XUP was intermittently transmitting on Weak-Signal Propagation Reporter (WSPR) on 40.662 MHz (1500 Hz) for 2 minutes out of every 10, with an output power of 20 W ERP into an omnidirectional antenna. For FT8 check-ins and tests, an ERP of 100 W may be used. The band is affected by several propagation modes, including tropospheric ducting, sporadic E, transequatorial propagation (TEP), and F2 propagation. As Desmond notes, the 40 MHz band will open a lot earlier than 50 MHz and could be a useful resource for stations monitoring the transatlantic path.
A 2019 Petition for Rulemaking (RM-11843) asked the FCC to create a new 8-meter amateur radio allocation on a secondary basis. The Petition suggests the new band could be centered on an industrial-scientific-medical (ISM) segment somewhere between 40.51 and 40.70 MHz. The spectrum between 40 and 41 MHz is currently allocated to the federal government and, as such, within the purview of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).
ARRL member Michelle Bradley, KU3N, of Maryland, filed the petition on behalf of REC Networks, which she founded and described in the Petition as “a leading advocate for a citizen’s access to spectrum,” including amateur radio spectrum.[…]
Inside a little shed in southwest Indianapolis, Kyle Long found something almost “too amazing to be true.”
It was some time in the early 2000s. Like he often did during his teenage and 20-something years, Long was trolling a garage sale for old music. He mainly worked as a club DJ back then, and he loved to pepper his sets with songs miles away from the top 40. If they had a connection to Indiana musical history, even better.
What he held his hands that day definitely did. It was a reel-to-reel tape. “61 jazz fest” was scrawled in the cover’s top-left corner, and Long noticed names like “Duke Ellington” written on the packaging.
He kept the tape at home for years before finally getting it digitized. That’s when he discovered he owned what is perhaps the last known recording of a star-studded – and ultimately doomed – Evansville music festival.
Thanks to a brash promoter, unlikely sponsors, and fallout from the actions of drunk teenagers 1,000 miles away, Evansville hosted what became known as the Indiana Jazz Festival in 1960 and ’61. Stars such as Ellington, Benny Goodman, the Staples Singers, Dave Brubeck and the future Lando Calrissian himself, Billy Dee Williams, whipped Roberts Stadium into a froth on hot summer weekends that attracted local residents and college kids from around the country.
CBS recorded snippets of the 1960 show. And in ’61, promoter Hal Lobree claimed the U.S. State Department planned to film the festival and turn it into a documentary called “Americana Indiana” that would be broadcast on the government-owned Voice of America.
Lobree dreamed it would become our version of the Newport Jazz Festival: the legendary yearly concert that, like its folk-singing cousin, still generates mountains of tourist cash for the small Rhode Island city.
Poland’s National Broadcasting Council has suspended the extension of the licence of the independent TVN24 television channel, which is owned and financed by an American company.
Negotiations are also underway in parliament on a new bill that would limit the ability of media to operate in Poland if they have large foreign investment.
If the bill goes through, TVN would fall into that bracket since it’s part of the American Discovery franchise.
Press Club Polska, an independent association of journalists, said the decision is an attempt to strangle media.
“In our opinion, the move to not extend TVN’s licence seems to be an attempt to put pressure on independent media,” explained Wojciech Tumidalski. “When it comes to this “lex TVN” bill, as they call it, it is unacceptable to pass a law against a single economic entity that plays an important role in the media market and is simply an independent medium that challenges the government.”[…]
On July 16 JARL opened the special commemorative station ‘JA1 TOKYO‘ in Nishitokyo City, Tokyo, to commemorate the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games being held from July 23
After the opening ceremony of “JA1TOKYO”, an operator in charge was assigned to each band for active operation.
In the evening, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives Hirohiko Izumida 7K1KJK, who is an amateur radio operator and a member of JARL, attended the venue and operated the station in the 7 MHz band.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Colegrove, who recently shared this excellent article and has kindly allowed me to share it here in the the Post. Bob prefaced it by saying, “Being a retired technical writer, I started the attached article some time ago for my own amusement, but it quickly got out of hand.”
“Got out of hand” in a very good way, Bob!
An excerpt from Bob’s article.
I love how this piece takes us through receiver history and explains, in detail, the mechanics and innovations. It’s also a very accessible piece that both the beginner and seasoned radio enthusiast can appreciate.
But don’t take my word for it, download it and enjoy!
Thank you again, Bob. This is a most enjoyable and informative read! This was obviously a labor of love. Thanks for sharing it with our radio community!
Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio
Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Paul, David Goren, Pete Polanyk, Ulis Fleming, Troy Riedel, Tracy Wood, Dan Robinson, and Kris Partridge for the following tips:
This episode was written and produced by Olivia Rosenman.
Since World War I, countries around the world have been broadcasting mysterious numerical messages via shortwave radio. Though concrete evidence is hard to come by, the general consensus is that these coded messages are meant for undercover agents operating abroad. And one particular Russian station may have an even more sinister purpose. Featuring computer engineer Andrus Aaslaid, historian Maris Goldmanis, and documentary photographer Lewis Bush.
A public SDR network triangulates the island as the source of mystery signals
By Stephen Cass
As anti-government protests spilled onto the streets in Cuba on July 11, something strange was happening on the airwaves. Amateur radio operators in the United States found that suddenly parts of the popular 40-meter band were being swamped with grating signals. Florida operators reported the signals were loudest there, enough to make communication with hams in Cuba impossible. Other operators in South America, Africa, and Europe also reported hearing the signal, and triangulation software that anyone with a web browser can try placed the source of the signals as emanating from Cuba.
Cuba has a long history of interfering with broadcast signals, with several commercial radio stations in Florida allowed to operate at higher than normal power levels to combat jamming. But these new mystery signals appeared to be intentionally targeting amateur radio transmissions. A few hours after the protest broke out on the 11th, ham Alex Valladares (W7HU) says he was speaking with a Cuban operator on 7.130 megahertz in the 40-meter band, when their conversation was suddenly overwhelmed with interference. “We moved to 7170, and they jam the frequency there,” he says. Valladares gave up for the night, but the following morning, he says, “I realize that they didn’t turn off those jammers. [Then] we went to [7]140 the next day and they put jamming in there.”[…]
Houlton School, where Rugby Radio Station once stood, is set take its first influx of pupils in September
Plans for a new school at the historic former home of Rugby Radio Station are being fine-tuned and remain on track for a September start.
Houlton School, which will be named after the town in America that received the first transatlantic voice broadcast from Rugby Radio Station in 1927, will take its first influx of 180 Year 7 pupils this autumn.
The school, which forms part of the 6,200-home urban extension in Houlton, east of Rugby town centre, will take a new year group of 180 pupils every 12 months.
Michael McCulley, the school’s Principal Designate, said: “Whilst building a fantastic £39m new school during three lockdowns has had its challenges, we are also acutely aware that we have had a completely blank page from which to develop our exciting curriculum and pastoral programme.
“This freedom has been important as we have needed to evolve to the changing needs of our first group of students.[…]
Ham Radio Outlet to open store in Florida (Amateur Radio Newsline)
Ham Radio Outlet, the nationwide amateur radio retailer in the US, has announced that its ongoing expansion plans will include a store in the state of Florida. The new store will join 12 already open in such states as California in the West, where the company is based, to Delaware in the East, Arizona and Texas in the South, New Hampshire in the North. The company’s announcement on social media set off a wave of speculation about the new location, especially on Instagram where the company wrote, “We’re not telling yet! We’re open to suggestions.” The closest Ham Radio Outlet to Florida is in Atlanta, Georgia. The company, which calls itself the world’s largest supplier of amateur radio equipment, is also known for shipping internationally.
Every Sunday, an operator with Pune Police’s wireless wing sends a Morse Code message to the office of the Director General of Police, Maharashtra.
IN THE era of satellite communication, which involves transmitting signals into space and back, and internet based systems transferring gigabytes of data in a flash, police have kept alive the age-old system of Morse Code – a primitive method of sending messages in the form of dots and dashes.
Every Sunday, an operator with Pune Police’s wireless wing sends a Morse Code message to the office of the Director General of Police, Maharashtra. While this is their way of paying tributes to one of the earliest modes of telecommunication, it is primarily a way of maintaining a robust stand-by mode of message delivery in case all other means of communication fail.
Pune City police have recently started a series of tweets featuring the communication systems used by the police and their evolution till date. On Sunday, Pune Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta tweeted, “As an ode to the beginning of wireless communications, the Commissioner’s Office still uses Morse Code to transmit Messages every Sunday.”[…]
ANTIQUES ROADSHOW saw a World War II spy radio which was disguised as a toolbox fetch a huge valuation when it travelled to Kenilworth Castle.
Antiques Roadshow’s expert Mark Smith marvelled at the ingenuity of a spy radio which was used in World War Two in a recent episode. The item, from the outside, was made to look like a toolbox but when opened, displayed a detailed radio which could be “powered by any source”. So how much was it worth? Mark put a £10,000 to £15,000 price tag on it.[…]
Former WNYC director Seymour N. Siegel suggested that WNYC once received fan mail from Einstein. As I continue to look far and wide for evidence of this alleged bit of praise, I can’t help but wonder, what broadcast prompted the great man to write? Alas, so far, the document has eluded me. But, we do know that the father of the theory of relativity was a subscriber to both the WNYC and WQXR program guides. And we have no less than Erwin Panofsky, the noted German-American art historian and friend of Einstein’s, to thank for that.
It all began when the distinguished gang at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey decided to chip in and build the Nobel laureate a “high-fidelity” radio for his 70th birthday. The 1949 gift included subscriptions to the WNYC, WQXR, and WABF program guides.[…]
Radio Exterior de España’s “Amigos de la Onda Corta” latest show marks the history of the 50 years of the Noblejas Broadcast Center.
Program Summary (loose translation)
Noblejas is the voice of Spain in the world, the only shortwave site that Radio Exterior de España currently has to broadcast the country’s events.
The RNE Shortwave Broadcast Center No. 2 was inaugurated on July 21, 1971. It is the largest space in dimensions that the Spanish Radio Television Corporation currently has. For half a century, Noblejas has been the voice of Spain to the world, the only transmission site that Radio Exterior de España currently has after the closure of the centers in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1982, Arganda del Rey (Madrid) in 1985 and Cariari de Pococí (Costa Rica) in 2013. It occupies 144 hectares (355 acres) and has a main building with three floors offering 8,000 square meters of useful area, housing four transmitters with which the REE signal is transmitted to all of the Americas, West Africa, the South Atlantic, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean. The antenna field consists of 27 directional curtain arrays that encompass some three kilometers in length. The Noblejas transmission center has been operating for 50 years. It was only absent for two months (from October to December 2014) when the government wanted to halt REE shortwave broadcasts (ed. – RTVE budget cuts.) Fortunately, the broadcasts returned, and listeners still can enjoy eight hours of daily broadcasting on that band.
(The “Amigos” program notes the station still has available four 100 kilowatt units capable of 6-26 Mhz. REE broadcasts in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Russian, English and Sefardí.)
Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio
Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Tom Daly, David Iurescia, Dave Porter, and the Southgate ARC for the following tips:
If you were a major-league baseball fan in the 1910s, you were living at a time before commercial radio had come along. With no way to listen to the play-by-play at home (and no expectation that such a thing was even possible), you had to find other options when you wanted to know how your favorite team was doing. The best way, of course, was to go to the ballpark and watch the game in person, but not everyone could get the time off from work; there was no 40-hour workweek yet and putting in 50 or more hours a week was common in some jobs. And even if you had an understanding boss, there were still expenses to consider: By modern standards, tickets seemed cheap (even World’s Series seats ranged from 50 cents to $3), but keep in mind that the average worker’s salary was much less than what people earn today. For example, in 1915, the annual salary for teachers in most cities was less than $600,[1] and many other jobs paid no more than $700 a year.[2] Thus, attending a ballgame was reserved for special occasions.
Some fans who could not attend in person would go downtown and gather in front of the offices of the local newspaper, where they eagerly awaited the latest scores. The bigger cities often had a group of newspaper offices in close proximity to each other; in Boston and other large cities, this area was sometimes referred to as Newspaper Row. It became a place for fans to socialize, as everyone stood on the street in front of their favorite publication, hoping for good news about the game. When the newspaper received the latest scores from a telegrapher at the ballpark, a newsboy would write the information on a bulletin board, updating it every inning.[3] Some newspapers also had someone with a megaphone calling out the updates as they were received. In either case, the fans would cheer whenever the news was good, or express their disappointment when it wasn’t.[…]
Voice of America Bangla language service FM and shortwave radio transmissions officially end on July 17, 2021, after 63 years of serving Bangladesh and the Bangla-speaking Indian states of West Bengal, Tripure and Assam. Simultaneously, the service’s television and social media content will expand considerably, as these are platforms more heavily used by VOA Bangla’s 16 million weekly audience members.
“When VOA Bangla launched in January 1958, Bangladesh was known as ‘East Pakistan’ and it was a territory under martial law with no television or private radio,” said John Lippman, Acting VOA Programming Director. “VOA’s shortwave radio transmissions from outside the borders were a lifeline to the Bangla-speaking population for independent news and information.”
While the service’s shortwave radio audience is now less than one percent, VOA Bangla social media audiences have grown significantly in recent years. Engagement actions on the Twitter account have risen 54% over the previous year, while video views on Instagram are up 274% in the same period.
“Dozens of domestic television and radio stations compete for Bangla-speaking audiences, as well as an increasing number of digital sources,” Lippman noted. “As the demand for TV and online access to news in Bangladesh expands, VOA’s Bangla service program offerings need to be on the platforms its audience already is most active.”
“VOA Bangla radio broadcasts brought world events to its audiences since the days when radio was the primary news medium,” Acting VOA Bangla Service Chief Satarupa Barua told staff this month. “It was a staple in our upbringing, a household name. We will build on that reputation, increasing our presence on media that is now far more heavily used than short wave and medium wave radio.”
During the final days of its radio broadcasts, the service will broadcast retrospective programming, looking back at the changes in the country since 1958. “Because of our service’s history in Bangladesh, working at VOA has been the ‘dream job’ for many of us. With the coming changes, it will continue to be,” Barua added.
This change in radio programming will not affect broadcasts of “Lifeline”, a 30-minute daily radio program in the Rohingya language, spoken by Muslim refugees in Bangladesh who fled ethnic violence in Myanmar. Produced by the Bangla service, the program launched in July 2019.
Among its multiple accolades, Hertfordshire is home to one of the most important facilities in British broadcasting history – and it’s nearly 100 years old.
The Brookmans Park Transmitting station in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, was originally built by the BBC as the first of a network of regional dual transmitter stations, replacing the city-based ones from before.
The station has played a crucial part in the history of broadcasting in Britain. It was the first purpose-built twin transmitter station in the world that was capable of broadcasting two radio programmes simultaneously when it was completed in 1929.
The transmitter also played a role in the early development of television broadcasting.
This particular station was the first in the BBC’s adventurous scheme to bring existing radio reception to the whole of Britain.[…]
Ireland’s IRTS News report that meetings of the National Shortwave Club on Sunday evenings at 2000 on the Zoom platform will continue over the Summer months and they continue to attract around half of the membership of almost 120 most weeks.
A decision has been made to suspend the weekly Wednesday revision classes until it looks like an examination will be held within a reasonable time. Hopes are high that following next Thursdays Government announcement, an exam date will be published as soon as possible thereafter.
Interest in the new on-line classes which will begin in the autumn is already high and anyone interested is invited to reserve their place via email to ‘training at SWL.ie’
