Category Archives: Radios

Carlos Explores the Sony ICR-N20: A Unique Radio Nikkei Experience from Brazil

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following guest post:

SONY ICR-N20 Quick Review

by Carlos Latuff

In the last century, several Japanese electronics manufacturers such as Sony, National-Panasonic, Hitachi, and Sanyo produced radio receivers aimed at the Japanese public and which had a peculiar characteristic: they came with crystal lock, preset frequencies from Radio Nikkei, which in the past was known by the acronym NSB (Nihon Shortwave Broadcasting) or “Radio Tampa”. For more information about this station, check out this post.

One of these models is the Sony ICR-N20, which, based on the date of the instruction manual I found on the Internet, must have been produced in the late 1990s. The device measures 150 mm × 75 mm × 36 mm and weighs 400 grams (with batteries). It has a 6.6 cm speaker (8 ohms) and a headphone output.

This device is analog and operates on the following frequencies:

Shortwave:

NSB1 3.925 MHz, 6.055 MHz, 9.595 MHz
NSB2 3.945 MHz, 6.115 MHz, 9.760 MHz
MW: 530 kHz ? 1.605 kHz

Currently, Radio Nikkei only broadcasts on two frequencies: 6.055 and 6.115 MHz.

It has a 7-segment telescopic antenna. No input for an external antenna.

It works on electrical power (DC 4.5 V) or 3 AA batteries.

As it’s primarily intended for the Japanese market, the buttons and dial panel are written in Japanese.

I have no complaints about the selectivity and sensitivity of the Sony ICR-N20 when it comes to medium waves. At night, in Porto Alegre (in the extreme south of Brazil), it was possible to receive (indoor) stations from Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina, but due to its proximity to these countries, this is not such a difficult task. It’s not a receiver for the most ardent DX fan, but it does a good job of being a radio for regular, everyday listening.

In the case of shortwave, I was able to receive the signal from Radio Nikkei 1 and 2 close to the Guaiba waterfront. The signal from active frequencies is weak, but audible. With favorable propagation, the reception is sometimes surprising. Following the instructions in the instruction manual, I used a long wire antenna for better reception.

In my region, the most favorable propagation window is between 08:45 and 09:15 (UTC), and yesterday, for example, February 7, 2025, the signal reached well until 10:00 (UTC). On other frequencies, it is even possible to hear other stations, such as China Radio International, and even amateur radio interference. Remember that this is not a radio receiver with all shortwave frequency bands, but only those in which Nikkei Radio 1 and 2 operate.

Here are some of the listenings made with this receiver.

Radio Nikkei 1: February 7, 2025

Radio Nikkei 1: February 4, 2025

Listening Session Video

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What’s in the Box? Bob Colegrove Investigates the Forgotten Extras of Your Radio

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What’s in the Box?

Itemized by Bob Colegrove

Not one to throw anything away, I tend to save ‘the box it came in’ for many new purchases. The other day I decided to organize all my radio boxes. Besides the radios themselves, they usually contain a selection of “goodies,” which can include, cases, power adapters, USB cables, batteries, earbuds, antennas, manuals, and so forth.

I generally do not use much that is included in the box. Over time, however, some of the paraphernalia has gotten scattered around, and my recent effort was intended to corral and sort the accessories. My experience is itemized below.

Cases

The cases are invariably the largest accessories in the box. These are sometimes firm, faux-leather enclosures with a zipper around the edges. I prefer the soft, pliable pouches which seem to function more easily and take up less space.

The Sony ICF-2010 and -2001D did not include cases. To give the radio some protection during travel and storage, I fabricated a ‘sock’ out of an old bath towel and some hot glue. The so-covered radio was then inserted into a travel bag along with earphones and anything else I needed. This worked very well over the years; so well that I extended the concept for some of my smaller radios, which came with cases.

Homemade socks for a PL-880 and ICF-2010 could even be color-coordinated with the rest of your gear.

Power Adapters and Batteries

The following is not intended as the definitive treatise on power adapters and batteries. Enough guidance has been provided by others. The takeaway here is that, if you ever refer to the radio’s manual, this is the occasion to do so. Ensure you know how your radio was designed and the proper way to power it.

In my collection of portable radios there are several combinations of power adapters and batteries.

Some radios came with power adapters and others didn’t.
Some radios came with batteries and others didn’t.
Some just came with USB charging cords.
Some were intended for both chargeable and nonchargeable batteries. Others were intended only for alkaline, nonchargeable batteries, in which case the power adapter disconnects the battery from the circuit and is only used to power the radio.

An adapter might be used to power the radio, recharge batteries, or both. It’s hard to believe in these days of switching power adapters that an adapter could ever be used to listen to AM radio, but that was the case with the Sony ICF-2010/2001D and Grundig Satellit 800. These radios came with a more costly transformer adapter which produced very little discernable noise. Manufactured in pre-rechargeable alkaline days; however, the adapter did not provide a battery charge function. Over the years, I have mostly used these radios in-house. They tend to be D-battery-hungry, and so they are usually powered via the adapters.

When Sony got around to producing the ICF-SW7600GR, they took a different approach. They simply figured it was a small, portable radio, and would mainly be used with batteries. So, there is a power port for an optional 6-volt adapter, but no included adapter.

The OEM batteries aren’t always the best, so I have an extra supply of rechargeable NiMH and lithium batteries which I cycle through my radios, and the originals are simply included in the rotation. The NiMH batteries that came with the Tecsun PL-600, -660, and -680 only had 1000 ma capacity and tended to self-discharge quickly after a year or two of use. However, they got you started.

I have always wondered about using NiMH batteries in radios intended only for alkaline batteries – mainly older ones. There is a 20-percent reduction in voltage. How does this affect the performance of the radio? I suppose this can only be answered on a case-by-case basis. As an example, I have used NiMH batteries in the Sony ICF-SW7600GR from the very beginning with no apparent degradation. However, on the XHDATA D-219 and D-220, the difference is quite noticeable. For some radios, the battery type is switchable, and one must be careful not to connect a power adapter to recharge alkaline batteries.

Earbuds

If you’re serious about radio, you have a good set of earbuds or headphones. I would venture to say the supplied earbuds for each of my radios are still in the box in their original wrapping. I don’t get along well with earbuds. They are hard to install in what apparently are my constricted ear canals and are always falling out. Several years ago I purchased a set of quality over-the-ear headphones. Not the most convenient for travel perhaps, but great for reproducing sound and mitigating outside noise. Grundig went so far as to include a set of over-the-ear headphones with the Satellit 800.

Antennas

Most new portables come with 20- to 25-ft long wire external antennas having 3.5-mm plugs for connection to the external antenna jack. Sometimes a plastic ‘clothespin’ is attached to the remote end of the wire for mounting. For convenience, some of these wires are contained in a tape-measure-style spool. These antennas are quite useful for the non-tinker and traveler, as they provide a means to extend the range, particularly on shortwave.

The C. Crane wire terminal antenna adapter, included with the Skywave SSB 2, is a boon to anyone without a soldering iron or otherwise not inclined to use one. Other manufacturers take note. A #2 Phillips screwdriver, and knife to strip the wire insulation are all you need for extensive antenna experimentation.

Source: C. Crane Skywave SSB 2 Instruction Manual, p. 30.

Sony packed not one, but two 3.5-mm external antenna plugs with each ICF-2010/2001D. The concept was the same as the C. Crane wire terminal antenna adapter. These had wire pigtails ending in screw terminals for an antenna and ground wire of your choice.

External antenna adapter (1 of 2) packed with the Sony ICF-2010 and -2001D

A caution here. The RF amplifier for LW, MW, and SW on the 2010 is an unprotected FET (Q303), which is notorious for failing due to electrostatic discharge from an external antenna. Early on, your author was twice bitten by this snake. There may be other radios that suffer from this vulnerability.

Straps

The strap is arguably the least useful accessory included with any portable radio. The Sony ICF-2010/2001D came with a very attractive blue over-the-shoulder web strap, which has become something of an “item” among collectors. Mine have been bound up in their original wrapping and stored away for 40-plus years, and might yield the cost of a new portable radio should I ever decide to auction them on the Internet. I have never used them on either of my 2010s simply because I can envision the priceless radio dangling pendulously at the end of the strap waiting to meet disaster through contact with an immovable door jam.

The same goes for smaller radios which almost always include an obligatory wrist strap. Perhaps these should not be classified as accessories, as they are permanently attached to the radio. I avoid using them for the same reason as sited for the 2010s. Besides, they just get in the way. These straps are usually anchored inside the case, but I can’t bear to cut them off; so, I have just lived with them. In the few cases where I have opened the case, I have omitted reinstalling them. Instead of having a strap, how about a collapsible “lunchbox” handle? I can even envision one of these being developed into a dual-purpose handle/antenna.

Manuals

Don’t forget the manual. We’ve gotten away from manuals. People don’t use them, and they are a manufacturing expense. Besides, you can find your answer on the Internet.

As a retired technical writer, however, I have a strong respect for a well-crafted technical manual. Besides actually using them, I unconsciously evaluate them. Unfortunately, most are written as an afterthought – an attempt to forestall customer enquiries. “Read the manual.” The problem is compounded by radios intended for a worldwide market, wherein the manuals are authored by writers who labor under the handicap of having English, French, Spanish, German, etc. as a second language.

There are also situations where the printing is too small or the fanfolds too inconvenient. My standard practice is to download an electronic copy of each manual, print it out in 8 ½” × 11” format, and put it in a comb or 3-ring binder. This is easier on aging eyes, and more suitable for adding my own notes.

…and so forth

Besides the common accessories described above, some unique items have been included over the years. For example, Tecsun has packaged very nice 20-inch by 30-inch charts with some models. One side contains a world map showing amateur call areas. The other side is an enlargement of the radio with each button or control function described.

Going back a few years, Sony included a slick publication called the Wave Handbook with some of their radios. These had convenient station vs. time charts for world band radio. The charts were like those published in frequency vs. time format in Passport to Worldband Radio. The booklets were published in several editions over the years, but obviously, these were time sensitive and became outdated rather quickly. Still, they could pique the interest of folks new to SWLing.

Packaging

Finally, there is the box the radio came in and any accompanying wrapping. The packrat DNA in me usually demands that I keep all this. It can speed up the sale or otherwise increase the value of the radio, if you ever decide to sell it.

Which radio accessories do you use?

Would you like an option to buy the radio without any accessories?

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A Timeless Receiver: Going Old School with the Lowe HF-150

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dale (W4OP), who shares the following guest post:

Going Old School: The Lowe HF-150

by Dale (W4OP)

Lowe Electronics of Great Britain introduced their first shortwave receiver, designed by Jon Thorpe, in 1987: the model HF-125. The HF-125 was a 30 kHz to 30 MHz compact receiver with three filter bandwidths and AM/SSB/CW detection. As with all of the Lowe receivers, the HF-125 combined excellent build quality with no-nonsense operation. Options included a whip amplifier, keypad for direct frequency entry, and an AM synchronous detector. The diminutive receiver was an instant hit and was manufactured until 1989, when it was replaced by the HF-225. While slightly larger (9” x 10” x 4”), the HF-225 included the built-in whip amplifier, but AM sync was still an option. The HF-225 had a long run from 1989 to 1997. The front panels of the HF-125 and HF-225 were very similar and easy to operate.

There was also a “professional” version of the HF-225 called the HF-235. It was considerably longer than the HF-225 with rack handles, a front-facing speaker, keypad, and, I believe, a built-in 110/220 VAC power supply.

In 1991, Lowe, under the design of Thorpe, introduced the remarkable HF-150, the subject of this paper. Gone were the painted and bent metal enclosures, replaced by a beautiful anodized, extruded aluminum cabinet almost 1/8” thick. The HF-150 was also smaller (7.3” x 3” x 6.3”) and lighter. While the keypad was still an option, the HF-150 now contained built-in batteries and a built-in charger.* When the HF-150 came out, rechargeable batteries were NiCad, and typical capacity was 1000mAh. The HF-150 typically draws 250mA, so the NiCads in the HF-150 might give you 4 hours of run time. Today, we have NiMH batteries that have a higher energy density than NiCad cells, and I routinely see 2800mAh. That means around 10–11 hours of run time on a single charge.

In the HF-150, the whip preamp is built in, not an option. The whip and its preamp are equivalent to the short active antennas we often see in use today. This is a great feature and results in very good sensitivity from a very short antenna. A three-position slide switch on the rear panel allows for running from the active whip, a conventional antenna like a dipole, or a random wire. The slide switch also allows for introducing a -20dB attenuator to prevent overload. This was a condition often seen in Europe back in the day when there were so many high-power shortwave stations.

Also on the rear panel is a socket for the optional keypad, a socket for an external speaker, and a socket for a recorder output. The two battery boxes house a total of 8 AA batteries.

The front panel could not be simpler or more elegant in its design. There are only 2 knobs—AF Gain and Main Tuning—and three momentary push buttons. The use of these three buttons is the magic in this receiver.

The leftmost push button controls 60 memories. The main tuning knob cycles through the memories at about 25 memories per knob revolution.

While in the memory mode, the center and right-hand push buttons allow for recalling the current memory or storing the current frequency, respectively.

The rightmost push button changes the tuning speed to 100 kHz/step and allows for very fast QSYing through the entire receiver range. The frequency display in fast mode shows only the MHz and 100 kHz positions.

Press Fast again, and the display reverts back to displaying the 1 kHz least significant digit. The normal tuning rate depends upon the mode. In SSB, the steps are 8 Hz (1.6 kHz/revolution). Normal AM and AM Narrow are 60 Hz (12 kHz per revolution). There are four AM sync modes:

Double sideband sync 8Hz steps 1.6KHz/rev 7KHz filter
HiFi AM sync 8Hz steps 1.6KHz/rev 7KHz filter
AM Lower sideband sync 8Hz and .8KHz/rev 2.5KHz filter
AM Upper sideband sync 8Hz and .8KHz/rev 2.5KHz filter

Normal AM uses a 7 kHz filter, and there is also a narrow AM using the 2.5 kHz filter.

Recovered audio is the best I have ever heard on any receiver. I don’t make that claim lightly. It is just so smooth and wonderful to listen to—even using the internal 3” speaker.

Distortion is under 1% in all modes.

The synchronous detectors lock and stay locked. If you tune fast in sync mode, the receiver reverts to regular AM mode at a faster tuning rate and then relocks in sync once tuning is suspended.

In any mode, variable-rate tuning is used. Fast tuning of the main tuning knob will result in a tuning speed of 8x the normal rate in SSB and 6x the normal rate in AM/AM Narrow.

AM sensitivity is 1 µV from 500 kHz to 30 MHz and 0.3 µV if the whip amp is enabled.

SSB sensitivity is better than 0.5 µV from 500 kHz to 30 MHz and under 0.2 µV with the whip amplifier enabled. I have verified these numbers in my lab.

Dynamic range (reciprocal mixing) and 3rd order intermod are also respectable.

The receiver is simply luxurious to use. I know that is not a technical term, but it describes the receiver very well. The previously described aluminum extruded cabinet can likely be driven over without damage. Encoder tuning combined with the heavy tuning knob is velvet smooth. Black button-head cap screws add to a professional look.

When the 8 batteries are fitted, the receiver weighs in at just over 3 pounds and stays put while tuning or pressing buttons.

Third parties are making the optional keypad, and they may be found on eBay or the Lowe IO group. The same goes for the PL-259-fitted telescoping whip.

Lowe also offered an SP-150 matching speaker and S-meter (audio-derived, I believe) and a very nice preselector (PR-150). Both bring premium prices today.

As the receiver was produced, the LCD did not have backlighting, making it difficult to use, say, bedside at night. As you can see from the first photo, I have backlit mine and those of a number of friends. It is not difficult, but also not for the faint of heart, as it involves delicately removing the silver film on the rear of the LCD display. The Lowe IO group describes a couple of methods for accomplishing backlighting.

There are no surface-mounted parts, and as the main board is uncrowded, repair is easy. There is a long service document that is so in-depth that you could build your own HF-150—assuming you could get the firmware into the microprocessor. I wish other pieces of gear I own were half this detailed.

Jon Thorpe designed one other receiver for Lowe, the HF-250. It is a thing of beauty, also with its 3D black anodized front panel. More filters and features and quite rare today. After designing the HF-250, Jon was hired by AOR, and the well-known AOR7030 was the result.

After Jon left, Lowe did not produce any other receivers I am aware of, but they did privately badge the Palstar R-30 under the Lowe HF-350 model.

I trust the numbers I have provided are reasonably accurate, and if not, Lowe documents will provide better information anyway.

*Note: Users must be very careful not to run the HF-150 from its AC supply while the receiver is fitted with alkaline batteries. The result will be corrosion of the two battery boxes.

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Jeff’s short review of the Tecsun PL-880

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Jeff McMahon, who notes that he’s recently published a short review of the Tecsun PL-880 on his blog, The Herculodge.

Jeff has discovered something that portable radio enthusiasts have known for more than a decade: the PL-880 sports some of the best audio fidelity in a modern portable radio!

His review prompted me to search for my original review of the PL-880. It turns out I published it in December 2013. Has it really been over 11 years since the PL-880 was introduced? It’s hard to believe—but I’ll admit it still holds its own. I’ll never let mine go.

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Carlos Explores Japan’s Radio Nikkei: A Unique Shortwave Listening Experience from Brazil

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Carlos Latuff, who shares the following guest post:

Exploring Radio Radio Nikkei

by Carlos Latuff

It’s been a while since I listened to Nikkei Radio, a Japanese commercial broadcaster that operates on shortwave for a domestic audience. If I remember well, the signal was very weak and, since I don’t speak Japanese, I didn’t know what the content of its broadcasts was about. But today, with the possibility of recording the audio, transcribing it and translating it, it has become more interesting to follow its programs on shortwave here in Brazil, more specifically in Porto Alegre (distance between Nikkei’s transmitter in Chiba, Japan, and Porto Alegre, Brazil: 18779 km).

Nikkei Radio 1 was founded in 1954 and Nikkei 2 in 1963, and at the time it was called Nihon Shortwave Broadcasting Co., better known by the acronym “NSB”. Some Japanese electronics manufacturers have in the past released receivers dedicated to receiving the signal from these stations (see below).

Today, the Japanese company Audiocomm has radio models whose packaging states that this receiver is compatible with Nikkei Radio; note the image alluding to horse racing (see below).

I haven’t been able to acquire any of these devices (yet), since they were basically produced for the Japanese public. But any receiver with shortwave bands can tune into Radio Nikkei. I use my good old XHDATA D-808 with a long wire antenna. In Porto Alegre, the best propagation is between 08:45 AM and 06:15 AM (UTC). In the late afternoon, the signal also arrives, but with a fair amount of static.

Both Radio Nikkei 1 and Radio Nikkei 2 operate on the following frequencies:

Radio Nikkei 1:

3.925 MHz (in case of emergency)
6.055 MHz
9.595 MHz (in case of emergency)

Radio Nikkei 2:

3.945 MHz (in case of emergency)
6.115 MHz
9.76 MHz: (in case of emergency)

On the station’s website https://www.radionikkei.jp/ you can find details of its programming, as well as broadcast times, including a table (in Japanese) with this information, which can be translated with the help of Google Lens.

Radio Nikkei also broadcasts its programming via streaming, however the platform used (radiko) is inaccessible to me here in Brazil (see message below).

Nikkei Radio is majority-owned by the business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Tokyo Stock Exchange, which means the station focuses mainly on the financial market. However, much of its programming, especially on weekends, is dedicated to horse racing, a popular sport in Japan. In addition to news, talk shows and music, the radio station also broadcasts evangelical preaching (!). One of these religious programs is called “True Salvation” and is sponsored by The Japan Gospel Mission, a Christian Protestant organization.

This heterogeneous mix of business, horses and Jesus Christ makes Nikkei Radio an interesting station to tune into, to say the least.

The radio listening sessions published here were made in the central Porto Alegre, Brazil, between January 15th and 19th, 2025.

(Domo arigato gozai masu Mr. Tagawa Shigeru for helping me with translation).

Click here to view on YouTube.

Video Short: Tuning In Radio Nikkei 1

Part of Radio Nikkei 1 program “Health Network”, in Japanese. Topic: Winter diet and health. Listened in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

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LC90 Firmware 4.7: New Features, Fixes, and ChatGPT Integration!

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Many thanks to Chenzhi with Choyong radio who shares the following update:

Hello Thomas,

I hope everything is going well with you.

I’m writing to you today as I want to let you know that the LC90 has just released its 4.7 firmware version. Based on user feedback so far, there haven’t been any unexpected bugs. You can upgrade it now: you’ll need to insert a TF card no larger than 32GB and use OTA to complete the upgrade. The 4.7 firmware includes many new features. What might interest you most is the addition of Podcasts and ChatGPT. I’ll briefly go over the new features in this upgrade—it might make this email a bit lengthy, but I hope you’ll enjoy the updated LC90. Once again, thank you for your support for Choyong.

The following are the details of the upgrade:

1. RDS Functionality Added

Integrated the ability to receive RDS signals, LC90 can now display PS (Program Service), RT (Radio Text), PI (Program Identifier), and PTY (Program Type) information. All of this information will be displayed on the screen at same time.

2. SSB Bug Fix

The bug in the SSB mode has been fixed. Now, both USB and LSB tones can be played normally, and the “pop” sound when adjusting the frequency in SSB mode has been eliminated.

3. Podcast Feature

The Podcast feature has been integrated. Currently, Choyong’s Aggregator includes over 10 million podcast episodes, categorized into 18 genres including news, music, sports, and more (additional genres may be added in the future). All podcasts will be updated automatically every day. Excellent programs from Spotify and Apple Podcasts can be found on the LC90, and you can also use voice search to find your favorite podcasts.

4. ChatGPT Integration

LC90 now includes ChatGPT’s speech-to-text engine, along with optimized search result matching algorithms that greatly enhance the accuracy of voice search. This feature can be used to search for radio stations and podcasts. ChatGPT has even more powerful capabilities, and while I cannot yet fully predict how these features will help LC90, if you have any ideas, please let me know. I will adding them in the next update.

5. Indian Radio Decoding Function

Due to the advanced encryption protocols used by Indian radio stations, the previous version LC90 can’t play some stations due to compatibility issues. This issue has now been resolved, and all Indian radio stations can be played normally.

6. Subscription Function for Radios and Podcasts via Choyong Website

In version 4.7, you can directly search for radio stations and podcasts on the Choyong website and push them to your devices. The interface is user-friendly, and Choyong’s Aggregator now includes over 50,000 radio stations and 10 million podcasts, all of which can be easily searched and Subscribed.

7. Account Management and Synchronization

Version 4.7 allows devices to be linked to your email account. Once linked, you can remotely push programs to the device and sync your saved content to all of your Choyong devices. In 2025, Choyong will launch a series of new products, including Car internet radios, Trackers, Desktop radios, Hi-Fi internet radios, and Portable outdoor internet radios (with excellent sound quality, but no support for regular radio functions). All these devices can be managed with the same account.

Thank you, Chenzhi, for sharing details about this update which includes features we’ve never seen baked into a shortwave radio!

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Don Moore’s Photo Album: Albania – Part Two

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Don Moore–noted author, traveler, and DXer–for the latest installment of his Photo Album guest post series:

Façade of the National Museum of Albania on Skanderbeg Square

Don Moore’s Photo Album: Albania – Part Two

Bunkers and Bugs

Click here to read Part One: Finding Radio Tirana

More of Don’s traveling DX stories can be found in his book Tales of a Vagabond DXer. Don visited Albania in March 2024.

Albania has a lot to offer foreign visitors. The country has coastal beaches, beautiful mountains and historical sites hundreds and thousands of years old. Tirana is a fascinating city filled with good restaurants and friendly people. It’s inexpensive. The central city is easy to get around on foot. I’m already planning my next visit.

But the number one reason to visit Albania is to see the sites related to the Communist era and the Enver Hoxha dictatorship. I don’t think there is anywhere else where you can get such close insight into what real life was like inside a brutal police state. Indeed, after visiting Tirana, I can’t imagine how anyone could praise dictatorships or say that their own country would be better off under a dictatorship. In Tirana three sites in particular stand out in this regard. And each of them has some interesting displays involving the use of radio.

The House of Leaves

The House of Leaves … the name sounds peaceful and innocent. That was once true. Constructed in 1931, the two-story villa originally served as the first obstetrics clinic in Albania. Then when the Nazis moved in after the Italian surrender in 1943, it was chosen as headquarters for the Gestapo. That might have been a minor blip in the structure’s history, but the Gestapo had remade the building into just what Enver Hoxha’s new government needed: a headquarters for their secret police.

The dreaded Sigurimi would occupy the building for nearly five decades. But that was supposed to be a secret, so no one could say what the villa really was, even though everyone knew. So it became known as The House of Leaves from the vines that covered the outer walls. Even then, the name was mostly whispered among the closest friends. It wasn’t safe to pay much attention to the building.

After the Communist regime fell in 1991, The House of Leaves mostly sat unused. Then, in 2014 the Albanian Ministry of Culture announced it would be turned into a museum telling the story of Sigurimi and its operations. The Museum of Secret Surveillance opened in 2017 and three years later was awarded the European Museum of the Year award by the Council of Europe.

The museum has many rooms focusing on various aspects of Sigurimi’s work. My favorite was one filled with electronics used to monitor and record conversations by suspected malcontents.

The key to monitoring someone was placing a radio transmitter bug in the suspect’s home. The Sigurimi made their own bugs in a workshop in The House of Leaves. They were particularly proud of the tiniest ones, which could very easily be hidden.

The bugs were usually placed inside a small piece of wood that could be placed under a table or chair. The effective range was only about two hundred meters, so monitoring posts had to be in the same building or nearby. The Sigurimi would either recruit a neighbor or persuade a neighbor to host a Sigurimi agent to monitor the recordings. Rinia brand transistor radios made in Romania were the preferred receiver. They were inexpensive and could easily be modified to receive the desired frequency. And they were common enough that possession of one didn’t mark a person as a government agent. Agents usually listened in on headphones while also making a recording of the conversation.

In some cases, homemade amplifiers were used to boost the weak signals produced by the tiny bugs.

Recordings of conversations of interest were taken back to The House of Leaves for further investigation at monitoring posts such as this one.

The Bunkers

Enver Hoxha knew that tiny Albania could never support an army large enough to repel an outside invasion. His experience as a guerilla in World War II, on the other hand, had convinced him that an armed hostile populace could do the job. Albania was, after all, the only occupied country to retake its own capital without any outside help. So Hoxha based Albania’s national defense on making sure that invading the country would be so difficult and painful that no one would dare attempt it.

A key part of that policy was constructing concrete bunkers. Hoxha’s goal was to construct 750,000 of them – approximately one for every four Albanians at the time. Just how many were actually constructed is not known, but the number was in the hundreds of thousands. And they were built everywhere – in farms, in forests, in villages, and in cities.

Most were the three-meter-wide Qender Zjarri type, just large enough to give two or three combatants a concealed firing position. Depending on the location these were built individually or else in small clusters. Today, a fun activity while traveling by bus through Albania is seeing how many you can spot. Occasionally these bunkers are used for storage but there are so many that most are abandoned other than the occasional visit by local teenagers. Evidently, they’re the cool place for losing one’s virginity.

The second type of bunker was the eight-meter-wide Pike Zjarri, intended to serve as local command centers. Being larger, many of these have been put to other uses. And then there were the big bunkers, huge complexes of underground rooms and tunnels where officials would take refuge and continue to run Albania’s government. But today’s Albania is not concerned with repelling foreign invaders. Instead it welcomes them in the form of tourists. And so two of the biggest bunker complexes in Tirana have been turned into museums. And both of them contain some interesting radio memorabilia.

Enver’s Refuge

The biggest bunker was a vast underground complex built in the 1970s inside the base of a mountain on the eastern outskirts of Tirana. Construction was so secret that this bunker’s existence wasn’t even known publicly until the 1990s. This was where Enver Hoxha and other top officials would have gone in the event of an invasion or nuclear attack. It had over one hundred rooms on five levels with its own power and water systems. The entrance passed through a decontamination station where anyone entering could wash off the fallout if a nuclear bomb had already been dropped. (Or so they hoped.)

The inside is a labyrinth of hallways and small rooms used for everything from communication centers to support services. There is even a small auditorium where the Albanian legislature could meet. Enver Hoxha and the prime minister had small spartan private apartments. Other officials, guards, technicians, and servants slept in dormitories. Of course, the facility was never used. It’s believed that Enver Hoxha only visited three times – once when it was completed in 1978 and then two more times for drills.

One of many hallways in the Enver Hoxha’s refuge.

Enver Hoxha’s office in the big bunker. The desk has the same Chinese-made Red Lantern Model 269 receiver that I saw at the Radio Bar Tirana.

The Albanian military continued to use the facility for several years after the Communist government fell in 1991. After that it was locked up. Then in 2014 a pair of journalists came up with the idea of making it into a museum which was named Bunk Art. But it’s a history museum, not an art museum. Some rooms were left unchanged to show the structure’s original purpose. Others were filled with exhibits on Albanian history, the Italian invasion, the Communist period, and life under Communism. And those exhibits include a few interesting radio items.

According to the display, this was one of two portable transceivers in possession of Xhevdet Mustafa when he was killed by the Sigurimi on the beach south of Tirana in 1982. The display didn’t make clear who Mustafa was working for.

On several occasions in the early 1950s the CIA tried to insert small bands of Albanian agents into the country, mostly without success. This Russian-made transceiver was part of the gear that came with a small group of agents parachuted into Albania in 1953. The group were all killed or captured when they landed. With help coerced from the prisoners, the Sigurimi used this radio for several months to trick the CIA into continuing to air-drop supplies into the mountains.

This black-and-white Albanian-made TV was configured at the factory to only receive Albanian channels. However, clever Albanians figured out ways to use small electronic circuits (called kanoce) that overrode those limits. Albanians along the coast were able to receive TV from Italy while those in border areas could receive Yugoslav or Greek TV.

The Downtown Bunker

The original Bunk Art proved so popular with Albanians and foreign visitors that in 2016 it was renamed Bunk Art 1 and a second location, Bunk Art 2, was opened in the city center. This bunker had been built under the city streets near The House of Leaves and had been intended for use by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It consisted of a single level with several branching hallways lined with small rooms. Today, it’s a museum telling the story of the Ministry (of which the Sigurimi was just one part) until its dissolution in 1991.

This bunker was also configured for a long-term stay. The Minister of Internal Affairs had this private bedroom.

Some Chinese-made radio equipment used by the ministry.

The Broom Bug

On 12 December 1985, the streets of Tirana were crowded with people out to watch a large patriotic parade which just happened to pass by the Italian embassy. Two women and four men dressed in fashionable western clothes and chatting in Italian among themselves snaked their way through the crowd to the door of the embassy. The Albanian police monitoring the door didn’t try to stop them. Obviously, they were Italian tourists or embassy workers. Except they weren’t. The sisters and brothers of the Popa family had long been persecuted by the Albanian government as their parents had collaborated with the Italians during the war. And now the six children wanted political asylum.

The Italians were willing to resettle the family in Italy but the Albanian government refused to give them permission to leave. Instead Albania demanded that the siblings be turned over to its police, which the Italians refused to do. The family would live in the embassy for 4 ½ years until the Albanian government finally agreed to let them go. In the meantime the Albanians kept a strong police and military presence in the neighborhood surrounding the embassy.

The Sigurimi wanted to know what was going on inside so they recruited an Albanian maid who worked at the embassy to help them. She was given five bugs and instructions to hide them in the usual places like behind paintings and under tables. They knew the Italians would find these and that was fine. It would give the Italians false confidence that they had found all the bugs. The real bug was concealed in a special new broom that the maid brought in and left in a closet next to where the Popa siblings stayed. Each day she was given a freshly charged battery to swap with the depleted one inside the broom. The Italians never discovered the bug-in-a-broom. The Popa siblings were finally allowed to leave the embassy for Italy on 3 May 1990.