Many thanks to the excellent Herculodge blog for making me aware of this cool–nearly retro–Tecsun 2P3 AM Radio Receiver Kit on Amazon.
Should be a fun, inexpensive and relatively simple through-hole kit. I am curious how well the instructions are written in English. Has anyone assembled the Tecsun 2P3?
Update: Bob points out that the Tecsun 2P3 is also available on eBay. (for $26.99 US shipped)
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Richard Cuff, for pointing out a brilliant series of articles called Vintage Radio by WSHU Chief Engineer, Paul Litwinovich.
Here are links to each article written thus far in the Vintage Radio series. If you would like to start at the beginning of the series, go to the bottom of the list first, then work your way up:
Paul Litwinovich is a shortwave listener, amateur radio operator and holds a commercial FCC license as well; here’s his bio, taken from the WSHU website:
“Paul caught the radio bug as a child. By age 12, he had taught himself the basics of vacuum tube theory. He began repairing old, discarded radio sets, the kind that we now call vintage sets. He loved listening, too, to local programs, DJs who picked their own music, talk shows designed to inform, not shock the listener. But his favorite listening was to short wave radio, with its magic of music and programming from all around the world.
Hobby led to career. Paul was a design engineer and engineering manager in the broadcast industry for 14 years before coming to WSHU in 1990. He holds an FCC commercial radio license, and an extra class Amateur radio license. And, oh yes, he’s still restoring and collecting vintage radio sets, for more than 45 years now, and counting.”
I’ve been in touch with Paul who tells me that an upcoming article will focus on one of my favorite WWII era receivers, the BC-348.
I can’t wait to read it!
Many thanks to David Goren for sharing this article from Open Culture:
A comparison between the invention of radio and that of the Internet need not be a strained or superfical exercise. Parallels abound. The communication tool that first drew the world together with news, drama, and music took shape in a small but crowded field of amateur enthusiasts, engineers and physicists, military strategists, and competing corporate interests. In 1920, the technology emerged fully into the consumer sector with the first commercial broadcast by Westinghouse’s KDKA station in Pittsburgh on November 2, Election Day. By 1924, the U.S. had 600 commercial stations around the country, and in 1927, the model spread across the Atlantic when the British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC) succeeded the British Broadcasting Company, formerly an extension of the Post Office.
Unlike the Wild West frontier of U.S. radio, since its 1922 inception the BBC operated under a centralized command structure that, paradoxically, fostered some very egalitarian attitudes to broadcasting—in certain respects. In others, however, the BBC, led by “conscientious founder” Lord John Reith, took on the task of providing its listeners with “elevating and educative” material, particularly avant garde music like the work of Arnold Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School. The BBC, writes David Stubbs in Fear of Music, “were prepared to be quite bold in their broadcasting policy, making a point of including ‘futurist’ or ‘art music,’ as they termed it.” As you might imagine, “listeners proved a little recalcitrant in the face of this highbrow policy.”
Neil Goldstein has created a simple Tecsun PL-880 hidden features chart based on our growing list of PL-880 hidden features. Check out the chart on Neil’s blog, Fofio!
Remember our recent posts about Dave Richard’s homebrew regenerative receiver?
If so, you can imagine the laugh I had yesterday when I viewed this latest creation by the infamous Jeff Murray (K1NSS):
“Short Wave & Prosper”–? I have to agree! And I’m completely in tune with Jeff’s sense of humor. If you are, too, be sure to bookmark Dashtoons for more radio fun and whimsy. (Better yet, get Jeff to design your own QSL card!)
As for Dave, follow his blog for the latest on his many homebrew activities (that continue even when his pets are interfering).
Major thanks to Dave for the brilliant write-up about Ears to Our World’s HumanaLight kit. [Want one? Get yours now at Universal Radio, and support ETOW’s mission.]
Many thanks to Dave (N9EWO) for compiling news on the newly introduced SDR TRX-305 SSB 5 Watt Transceiver modular kit, AOR AR-DV1 Digital Voice Receiver, Yaesu FT-991, Icom IC-7850 flagship transceiver, and much more.
This morning, I was very happy to tune to Saturday Night Country on Radio Australia (9,580 kHz). RA’s signal was booming into Taos, New Mexico, where my travels have taken me this Saturday morning.
It was a welcome relief to hear RA; the shortwave bands have been in terrible shape the past three days or so. The ionosphere has been so disturbed that the only broadcasters I’ve been able to hear have been Radio Havana Cuba and a few domestic religious broadcasters.
I hope to take the CommRadio CR-1 out later today and perhaps test a couple of outdoor antennas…Stay tuned!
