Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Radio Waves: Virtual Winter SWL Fest March 4-5, 2022, SDRplay Updates, Contact with Ukraine Radio Ops, and Hams in Poland Provide WinLink Options

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David Goren (left) and Richard Cuff (right) during the Shindig live broadcast at the Winter SWL Fest.

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’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Winter SWL Fest: March 4-5, 2022, Online using the Zoom webinar platform

The Winter SWL Fest is a conference of radio hobbyists of all stripes, from DC to daylight. Historically, every year scores of hobbyists have descended on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburbs for a weekend of camaraderie. The Fest is sponsored by NASWA, the North American Shortwave Association, but it covers much more than just shortwave; mediumwave (AM), scanning, satellite TV, and pirate broadcasting are among the other topics that the Fest covers. Whether you’ve been to every Fest (all 34, starting with the first year at the fabled Pink & Purple Room of the Fiesta Motor Inn) or this year’s will be your first, you’re sure to find a welcome from your fellow hobbyists, even if it’s a “virtual” welcome!.

In 2022, the 35th Annual (!!) Winter SWL Fest will again be going virtual courtesy of the Covid-19 pandemic.  All activities will be conducted online via the Zoom webinar platform.

Registration will be $10 per computer screen to defray the Zoom hosting expenses.  If you already have a PayPal ID you can simply send $10 from your account to swlfest [at] naswa.net.  If you aren’t a PayPal member you may also register online via PayPal here.  Paper registrations will not be processed for 2022.

Your hosts, Richard Cuff and John Figliozzi, work throughout the year to ensure that attendees have a great time over the weekend, and by all accounts, they succeed stunningly. How else could this event have lasted for 35 years (egad) — even with a Pandemic — and draw people from around the world to southeastern Pennsylvania? Won’t you join us?

Click here to join the 2022 Winter SWL Fest!

SDRplay Updates on Hardware Shortages (RTL-SDR Blog)

As we all know many electronic components are currently in shortage, and this global shortage is affecting some SDR manufacturers like SDRplay. Recently on their blog SDRplay have provided some updates on their hardware shortage situation. They write:

As we have mentioned before,  due to the worldwide shortage of electronic components, we are suffering from production delays at both our manufacturing subcontractor operations here in the UK.  This means that many of our resellers have completely run out of RSP1A and RSPdx devices.

However we are pleased to say that this week, we have  been able to build some additional units.  This means that by the end of next week (February 25th), our resellers should have more stocks of RSP1A and RSPdx.   More RSPduos are promised for mid to late March.

It is highly likely that even after the latest production runs are delivered, some of our resellers will run out again in the weeks ahead.  Meanwhile we are working to do all we can to secure more critical components for our manufacturers. This includes tweaks to the designs so that they can accommodate alternative more readily available parts.

Many thanks to customers who have been left waiting to buy, and to our resellers for your patience as we navigate though this situation.

A list of our authorised resellers can be found here: https://www.sdrplay.com/distributors/

[Read this full post on the RTL-SDR Blog…]

Meet the Jersey man using his radio set to make contact with people in Ukraine (Southgate ARC)

A man in Jersey is using amateur radio equipment to make contact with people caught up in the fighting in Ukraine.

Paul Mahrer spoke to more than 1,700 Ukrainian radio operators last year, but says all communication has been lost since the country declared martial law. Continue reading →

Ukraine: BBC adds two shortwave broadcasts, NEXUS adds MW service

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino (@aborgnino), who notes:

On shortwave, the BBC is adding 2 shortwave broadcasts to Ukraine on 5875 kHz from 8/10 UTC and on 15735 kHz from 2/4 UTC.

On medium wave, NEXUS- of Milan in Italy on 1323 kHz and proposes broadcasting for Eastern countries from 7/11 p.m. CET

Thank you for sharing this, Andrea.

WRMI Resumes Broadcasts of Radio Ukraine International

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following news from WRMI:

WRMI Resumes Broadcasts of Radio Ukraine International

Due to the increased interest in the current situation in Ukraine, WRMI has resumed its relays of the daily English language broadcast of Radio Ukraine International, the official overseas service of Ukrainian Radio. RUI can be heard daily, except Friday, at 1200-1230 UTC on 5010 kHz.

Tuning in Ukrainian Radio and State Of Emergency Includes Amateur Radio Ban

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Kyiv, Ukraine (Photo by @lifeinkyiv)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares the following note he also posted to Glenn Hauser’s io group:

As we know, Radio Ukraine International, a.k.a. Ukrainian Radio, is no longer on SW except perhaps for a one-hour German-language relay from a low-power transmitter in Germany. It is also on satellite but that doesn’t help too many. But RUI can be easily accessed on the Web from a couple of URLs:
http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/schedule/play-live.html?channelID=4
and
http://www.ukr.radio/uk/schedule/play-live.html?channelID=4

During the continuous 24-hour streaming, a one-hour English segment is broadcast four times per day (all times UTC ):
21:00 – 22:00
23:00 – 24:00
02:00 – 03:00
13:00 – 14:00

It appears that the first new broadcast of the day is at 21:00 – 22:00 and is then repeated in the following slots.

At other times, there are segments in Ukrainian, Russian, German, and Romanian.
Please let me know if I got anything wrong here.

UPDATE (24 Feb 2022): WRMI has resumed broadcasts of Radio Ukraine International. Click here for details.

Ban on amateur radio in Ukraine (The Kyiv Independent)

Ukraine has declared a state of emergency in all of Ukraine except for eastern Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts starting on Feb. 24.

The parliament approved the decree introduced by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 23, as the threat of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine continues to grow.

Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts already have a special legal status because of Russia’s ongoing occupation since 2014.

Restrictions introduced by the state of emergency are due to last 30 days and will vary depending on the region.

The state of emergency allows the authorities to temporarily limit the public’s constitutional rights.

The decree green-lights the following measures:

    • increased public order protection and security;
    • checks of identification documents of civilians and frisking if necessary;
    • ban on protests;
    • temporary or permanent evacuation of people from dangerous areas and providing them with accomodation;
    • ban on relocation of conscripts and reservists without notice;
    • ban on producing and spreading information that may “destabilize the situation”;
    • ban on amateur radio transmitting devices.

Other measures that may be implemented “if necessary” include:

    • a curfew;
    • a special regime of entry and exit;
    • ban on mass events;
    • “special rules” for spreading information online.

Radio Waves: RTUK Demands License, Finding MH370 via Signal Disturbances, Massive Collection of Antique Radios, and Free Tech License Class

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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’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Turkey demands Deutsche Welle, VOA and Euronews apply for a licence (Broadband TV News)

Turkish media regulator RTÜK has given three international broadcasters 72 hours to apply for a licence or have their online content blocked.

Voice of America (VOA), Deutsche Welle (DW) and Euronews are including video on their websites and are seen as among the few independent news sources still available in Turkey.

RTÜK published a statement on its website Monday, signalling the start of the 72 hour period.

If the procedure for applying for a licence is underway, a broadcaster can continue on-air for another three months, providing the anticipated licence fee is paid to the regulator in advance. [Continue reading…]

Finding MH370: New breakthrough could finally solve missing flight mystery (60 Minutes Australia via YouTube)

Is the biggest aviation mystery of all time, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, about to be solved? Yes, if you believe the man you’re about to meet. Richard Godfrey is no crackpot; he’s a respected British aerospace engineer and physicist who says he’s found the doomed airliner. If he’s right, he’ll provide desperately needed answers for the families of the 239 passengers and crew who were aboard the Boeing triple-seven when it vanished eight years ago. But knowing where it is isn’t the end of the story – Richard also has to convince authorities to resume the search that’s already cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Retired electrical engineer, 85, has £15,000 collection of 200 antique radios that he has been building up for 50 years – including one of the oldest sets in the UK (The Daily Mail)

A grandfather-of-five has revealed his impressive antique radio and test instrument collection worth up to £15,000.

Richard Allan, a retired electrical engineer, has spent the last fifty years collecting antique transistor, valve and crystal sets and has now shown off his impressive collection of more than 200 pieces.

The 85-year-old from Norfolk, first fell in love with radios because of his father, Alexander William, who built his own transmitter and spoke to people all over the world through the airwaves.

In fact, Richard’s first – and favourite radio within his collection – is the one his father, a HAM, or amateur radio lover, played non-stop during World War II after purchasing in 1938.

Another notable piece within his collection is an E52b German military radio, captured in a vehicle at Foxhill, Bath, which was where his father worked in the Admiralty. [Continue reading…]

Free online amateur radio Technician license class (Southgate ARC)

The Montgomery Amateur Radio Club in Maryland is offering a free online Zoom amateur radio Technician license class on seven Saturdays from March 19, 2022 through April 30, 2022 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM with an outdoor free test session on Sunday, May 1, 2022 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM.

More information about this Zoom class is at
https://www.marcclub.org/mweb/education/classes/technician.html

This is a great opportunity for you to get your amateur radio license. To learn more about amateur radio, also known as ham radio, go to http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio

To register for this free class, send an email to [email protected] .

Also, please distribute this announcement to anyone who expresses an interest in getting their ham license and to any newly licensed hams.

Thank you,

David Bern, W2LNX
MARC education committee

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International Radio Club’s Reprints collection of 900+ articles

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nick Hall-Patch, who shares the following announcement:

The International Radio Club’s Reprints collection of 900+ articles about antennas, radio propagation, receivers, accessories, plus items of general interest to MW DXers, continues to grow.   We’ve published an update to the index, at https://www.ircaonline.org/editor_upload/File/reprints/irca-reprint-index.pdf  ,  so that everyone can get access to these latest additions.

We’re also pleased to start offering reprints that did not initially appear in IRCA’s DX Monitor, but are not easily found elsewhere.  For example, we’ve obtained permission from the family of the late prolific author, Dallas Lankford, to organize and republish his out of print articles. 

(if you’ve used the index before, you may need to refresh the browser page to see the latest update, dated December 2021)

Click here to check out the IRCA Index (PDF).