Category Archives: Schedules

Shortwave.am: a new online frequency guide

A few SWLing Post readers have recently recommended that I check out a new shortwave radio schedule site: shortwave.am.

Shortwave.am has a unique layout that lists broadcast schedules along with a map that displays broadcast footprints (both short and long path).

Fortunately, I was able to get in touch with the site developer, Stephen Cooper, who frequently comments on the SWLing Post.

Stephen kindly answered a couple of questions I posed.

My first question was why, with the number of shortwave schedule sites on the Internet, he felt motivated to create a new site. Evidently, inspiration came from Stephen’s Android app, Shortwave Radio Schedules. He responds:

I first created the [Shortwave Radio Schedules] app to give me searchable listings on my phone which I found interfered much less with my radio than on my PC so I could turn my PC off and look at frequencies and schedules on a phone/tablet.

Since then I have just added extra features that I find useful, such as the ability to save logs including the station name, time, SINPO, a comment and a recording of the audio. I’ve used the app to then share my logs to Facebook groups, DXLD Yahoo Group etc. including the audio recordings made on the app.

The maps option I added because I had been using AOKI listings with the beam direction to try and work out favourable beam directions of broadcasts for me in the UK even if they were not targeted to Europe. I realised that it would be much easier to visualise this on a map and started looking at the Google Maps API to work out this would be possible on the app.

Once I added to the app I had noticed screenshots of the maps being posted on groups such as the Rally DX 2012 Facebook group’s and a few people who didn’t have Android asking if there was a web version. I looked into it and it wasn’t too hard to create shortwave.am after converting the Java code to PHP:and Javascript then the site was complete.”

When I asked Stephen what made his site differ from others, he responded:

“[I]t uses data from a combination of Eibi and AOKI to display the listings with maps showing the beam direction. It can also show estimate long paths of each broadcast and uses AJAX web technologies to show search results and maps without having to reload the page for each search or change of parameters.

[…]If you choose a station or language or both and click “Save” (next to the “Set Defaults” part of the site) it will set these as the default that will open each time you go to the site.

Also if you click on a transmitter it now shows all broadcasts coming from that transmitter.

[…]I am going to add some more of the features from the [Shortwave Radio Schedules] app such as the ability to add logging reports, view others reception reports from each station and the options to add recordings of a station and listen to others recordings.”

I think shortwave.am is fantastic, and I’m glad Stephen has put the time behind developing it in his spare time.

Stephen is eager to hear your comments, as he wishes to further develop the shortwave.am. Either post them here, or email Stephen directly.

Spread the radio love

Updates to the Shortwave Broadcast Schedules smart phone app

3 Replies

A smartphone app that I find quite useful is Shortwave Broadcast Schedules by Chris Smolinski at Black Cat Systems.

Chris has just announced an update which adds features like the ability to enable schedule reminders as well as keep track of your favorite broadcasts.

I’ve been using this app for a year and have noticed frequent schedule updates–indeed, A14 schedules were ready at the beginning of the season.

It’s an ideal app to use for one bag travel–indeed, you don’t even need an Internet connection to browse the listings. Admittedly, the typical smartphone screen is fairly small to display such a large amount of broadcast data, but Back Cat’s interface is designed with this in mind. I find the app easy to use and very useful while I’m on the go.

I have only used the iOS version on my iPhone. Black Cat also offers an iPad version which, I believe, would be ideal. I have not tested the Android version of the app.

Shortwave Broadcast Schedules is available on the iPhone/iPad ($2.99) and Android ($0.99) devices.

Click here to check out our comprehensive, frequently updated list of radio apps.

Spread the radio love

HFCC has prepared A14 schedule

2014 WRTH: A look inside

5 Replies

I received my copy of the 2014 World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH) directly from the publisher a few days ago, just prior to a 24 hour power outage.

As many SWLing Post readers know, I always look forward to receiving this staple radio reference guide each year. While other reference guides have dropped out of the scene, WRTH has remained strong, somehow resistant to the economy’s negative influence upon radio–and the publication’s quality has been wonderfully consistent. It’s no wonder that WRTH has a loyal readership–not only among hobbyists, but also among commercial broadcasters, thus giving it a much broader reader base.

WRTH’s team of noted DXers from around the world curate frequencies and broadcaster information by region; while I’m not sure how they orchestrate all of this, the end result is truly a symphony of radio information. In addition to broadcaster listings, WRTH’s radio reviews, feature articles, and annual HF report make for excellent reading.

But the WRTH isn’t just a frequency guide: the publication always devotes the first fifty or so pages to articles relating to the hobby. Following, I offer a quick overview of these.

The first article always features a WRTH contributor (indeed, it’s this very network of contributors that make WRTH and its listings such a success): this year, writer Max van Arnhem tells us how he got interested in the hobby and what being a contributor means to him.

The second set of articles is always my favorite: WRTH receiver reviews. And the review in this issue is no exception. This year, WRTH reviewed the CommRadio CR-1 (which won their Best New Receiver award, and, I was pleased to see, received many of the same good marks I gave it). They also review the FunCube Dongle Pro+ (above), the new AOR AR6000, the WinRadio Excalibur Ultra (spoiler: the reviewers say it’s the best they’ve ever tested!), the AOR AR8200D handheld receiver, and the YouKits FG-01 Mk II Antenna Analyzer. As I’ve come to expect from this publication, these are all great comprehensive reviews.

The following article is “The History of Shortwave Broadcasting in a Nutshell,” written by noted radio historian and author, Jerry Berg. In just a few pages, Berg takes you through the remarkable history of shortwave radio broadcasting.

Following this, noted DXer and WRTH contributor, Victor Goonetilleke, offers a fascinating article focusing on broadcasting on his home island country of Sri Lanka. It’s a enlightening overview of some of the changes that have occurred within the Sri Lankan broadcasting scene (DXers and SWLers will likely recognize many of the stations Goonetilleke mentions).

WRTH always highlights a radio broadcaster as well, and this year, it’s the Voice of Vietnam. Despite my many years of hearing VoV on the air, I did not realize how deeply involved they were during the Vietnam War (which took place when I was a kid). The station today prides itself on responding to QSL requests and listener comments.

The final sections of articles are dedicated to the WRTH digital update–this year’s subject is “Digital Future“–and their HF propagation report/forecast.

In summary, this is another great edition of the World Radio TV Handbook. As I’ve said many times, though I use online frequency databases fairly regularly, there is just no replacement for a good printed frequency guide. For DXers who collect QSL cards, you’ll find that broadcaster contact information in WRTH is often more up-to-date than a broadcaster’s own website.

Not only does WRTH contain more in-depth information on broadcasters and schedules, but it makes for quick reference, and doesn’t require a computer or Internet connection–much like, well, your shortwave radio.

Purchase your copy of WRTH 2014 directly from WRTH’s publishers, or from a distributor like Universal Radio (US) or Radio HF (Canada). Happy reading–and listening–in 2014!

Spread the radio love

The sixth edition of The Worldwide Listening Guide

4 Replies

wwlg-2013-cover-web I’m very pleased to have just received the 6th edition of John Figliozzi’s Worldwide Listening Guide (WWLG). This is the latest updated version of the guide I reviewed last year.

As I said then, you may want a copy of the WWLG in your shack–and, may I suggest, next to your computer or wi-fi radio.

SWLing Post readers know that I’m a huge fan of the Word Radio TV Handbook (WRTH)–it’s my go-to guide for radio frequencies–and Figliozzi’s Worldwide Listening Guide is my helpful companion for programming and for content.

Figliozzi exhaustively curates more than 4,000 programs, indexing their airing times, stations, days of broadcast, program types, frequencies, and web addresses. He also sorts the programs by genre: from arts, culture, and history; to music, sports, and more. In fact, he has a well-thought-out directory of at least forty genres–this directory has helped me locate programming about which I would otherwise have never known. Want to find jazz and blues programming, or shows focusing on sports? This book’s got you covered. Frankly, I’m not sure how Figliozzi manages to curate such a vast assortment of programming, but I’m happy he does, and that he offers it for our benefit!

Figliozzi even dedicates a section of his book to “The Big Six” English language broadcasters–namely, NPR, BBC, CBC, ABC, RTE and RNZ. These networks are widely regarded as the best in the business, with audience numbers to back this claim. The WWLG dedicates several pages to describing the structure and programming diversity of each, with listening tips and more.

I’ve always liked the WWLG, and it has become a permanent reference book in my shack, alongside my trusty WRTH. There is a surprising amount of information packed into this slim, spiral-bound book…enough to keep even a seasoned DXer contented for years.

The 6th edition of Worldwide Listening Guide can be purchased here:

Spread the radio love

Alex updates shortwave frequency charts for Winter season

Radio Slovakia International wishes to resume shortwave service

3 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Dominik, who points us to the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters’ latest newsletter, which mentions Radio Slovakia International’s intentions to, once again, broadcast on shortwave from Slovakia.

“The NASB organized the B13 Conference in cooperation with Radio and Television Slovakia (RTVS) and its international service, Radio Slovakia International (RSI). RSI stopped broadcasting on shortwave from Slovakia at the end of 2010, but NASB member WRMI in Miami has continued to relay the station’s English and Spanish broadcasts to the Americas since January of 2011. And RSI would like to resume shortwave broadcasts from Slovakia in the near future if funding can be restored.”

The NASB newsletter summarizes the full B13 HFCC Conference. The following is an excerpt from the NASB Newsletter newsletter, featuring Maria Mikusova, Chief of Radio Slovakia International:

[…]Tuesday morning, August 27, the HFCC Conference began with some words of welcome from Maria Mikusova, Chief of Radio Slovakia International. “As the General Director of Radio and Television Slovakia pointed out yesterday,” she said, “the fact that this conference is taking place in Bratislava is a great inspiration and impulse for us. It broadens the horizons of us — journalists and professionals from the foreign broadcast of Radio Slovakia International, on behalf of whom I’d like to welcome you to Bratislava as well.”

Mrs. Mikusova noted that RSI has received feedback from listeners in 130 countries. “The core of this feedback,” she said, “comes from broadcasting our programs via short waves. We left shortwave broadcasting only recently, at the beginning of the year 2011, and not fully.” She noted that RSI remains on shortwave via WRMI in the Americas.

Mrs. Mikusova said that RSI is busy developing a new website. “In regards to the variety of languages we broadcast in, you can listen to RSI in six languages, which is the same number as Radio Prague, our Czech colleagues and closest partners, broadcast in. This says a lot about the power of tradition and our efforts and ability to preserve this kind of a broadcast at a time of such a vast choice of communication channels opening on the internet and social networks.”

Mikusova said that RSI still receives good listener feedback from areas such as Russia, and the station still sends QSL cards to listeners. “We consider this to be a very important form of communicating with our listeners, although we know that QSLs are traditionally a shortwave communication.”

“Let me wish all the best to this coordination meeting,” she continued. “Your conference allows us to get to know better your work, and makes us feel that we are still part of the world network of shortwavers. For us, this conference is a firsthand, live encounter with the shortwave network and its significance for broadcasting. But at the same time it unveils what strategies of radio broadcasting and shortwave transmission are out there in the modern world. After all, the outlook and future strategy of Radio and Television of Slovakia is to bring RSI back to shortwave broadcasting. Although this issue has not been resolved yet, it shows just how important the HFCC Conference in Bratislava is, and why we, RSI, are so very interested in it.”

Dominik also pointed to the HFCC schedule where RSI already has a slate of broadcasts listed from the RSI Rimavska Sobota transmitter site: