Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
We have put together a packed show for March for all the wonderful RNEI listeners ?
We’ve got lots of extras including:
• Folk listening on-demand ? and on WRMI ? will get to hear a pretty piece of music from the game Unravel TWO along with a Feature from our new guest presenter, Stephen who also presents 16 Gwendoline Street on 9510KHz, 12:30UTC Sundays!
• Listeners tuned to Channel 292 or Radio Onda ? will get to hear another instalment of This is an Express Music Show featuring fantastic music and some MFSK 64 data!
• For those listening on shortwave ?: HamDRM data at the end of the show (292 & Onda) / hour(WRMI) & Comb Stereo encoding allowing a stereo version of the show to be heard over shortwave with a simple plugin, no special equipment needed! (https://rnei.org/stereo)
• For everyone: Some MFSK 64 data and fantastic show presented by me with music like: • A haunting song from iris ?. • Some cute Finnish ?? music. • An Icelandic ?? bop. • A massive Sea Shanty ?. • Some pretty video game ? music.
Coverage Predictions
This is the last of the Winter times, Our summer schedule will be announced soon ?
Can’t tune into a radio or just want the music without the extras? We also have Spotify Playlists of all of our broadcasts available here: RNEI Spotify Profle with the latest show being added a few days after broadcasting!
Wishing you all the best for this month and look forward to hearing from you again,
Roseanna
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David, who shares the following random photos he recently inherited and scanned. These were taken at an Antique Wireless Association meeting (AWA) from 2000. Click on images to enlarge:
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson who notes that there currently a Squires Sanders SS-1R on eBay. He notes:
Ultra rare amateur receiver. The only thing rarer is a SS-IBS, the SW bands version.
This is certainly a “fixer upper” in that it will need a re-stringing and likely at least a recapping. The chassis is super clean, though, and the internals look great.
Cap’n Ric is pleased to announce the artists featured in the upcoming Ladies of Texas Music
Tribute:
Jeanie C. Riley
Jamie Lin Wilson
Sunny Sweeney
Lisa Loeb
Norah Jones
Lydia Mendoza
Marcia Ball
Lucinda Williams
St. Vincent
Barbara Lynn
“Sippie” Wallace
“Big Mama” Thornton
Bessie Tucker
Janis Joplin
Lacey Sturm.
Cap’n wagers you haven’t heard of many of these female artists, and also wagers that you’ll enjoy their music.
The tribute program will air several times:
March 7 – 0200 UTC 5950 kHz via WRMI
March 20 – 0900 UTC 6070 kHz and 1800 UTC 3955 kHz via Channel 292 in Germany
March 28 – 0200 UTC 6160 kHz via WBCQ.
Third Mate Susan designed a special limited edition eQSL to be sent to listeners who submit correct reception reports to [email protected].
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fastradioburst23, who shares the KDUB broadcast flyer above. Note that the broadcast will air on March 7 and 14, 2021 at 12:00 UTC on 9670 kHz.
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 David Iurescia, William Lee, and Radio Ado for the following tips:
Saturday, March 27 at 2:00 p.m. via Zoom – Learn the true and inspiring story of centenarian Agnes Joan Negra. During World War II, using her shortwave radio from her home in Nutley, NJ, Agnes listened to Radio Berlin each night and notated the names of U.S. Prisoners of War as they were announced. Agnes then went on to send personal letters to each family to inform them that their loved ones were still alive. Author, Nutley native, and Son of Agnes, Ronald along with his wife Valerie, will discuss the creation of this book and this inspiring story of his mother. You must register in advance at nutleypubliclibrary.org/waves-of-hope to attend. When registering you will receive a confirmation and one day before the event you will receive an email with log-in instructions through Zoom.[…]
“People have learnt that they can listen to radio in new ways and they will be listening to more, not less, when the pandemic is over,” according to HT&E chief executive Ciaran Davis.
Speaking to radioinfo this week, Davis explained that the company had “a very tough second quarter” in 2020, but the rest of the year turned out better than expected.
“There was a huge improvement in quarters 3 and 4, compared with that horrible quarter 2 where radio revenue was back 46%,” said Davis.
With about 30 people losing their jobs at the height of the pandemic, “regular communication and honesty was important in getting the staff through the worst of the pandemic.” It was “a very unsettling time” but the company “kept people involved and focused on the positive,” which kept the company performing well despite the tough economic conditions.
After early pay cuts, salaries have now returned to normal. “The revenue book was empty, so we had to take the decision to cut pay, but radio listenership and advertising has come back strongly and more quickly than we thought it would then… we were looking at some troubling numbers if the pandemic had of kept going.”
Luckily, the worst fears were not realised. HT&E revenue was 22% down on the previous year, but could have been a lot worse. The outlook seems positive for 2021.
“I think there was a perception that radio would suffer the same fate as out of home because people were not listening in the car during lockdowns, but it didn’t.
“We in the industry knew that our content is engaging enough, strong enough, local and live enough to be resilient. The emotional bond between listeners and their favourite stations and personalities meant that they easily switched to new platforms when they were at home. It took some convincing for the ad market to understand that this had happened, but they understood in the end.
“This is an exciting time. I think people have learnt that they can listen to radio in new ways and they will be listening to more not less when the pandemic is over.”[…]
RTÉ is to cease transmission of its radio services on the Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) network on 31 March.
However, its digital radio services, RTÉ Gold, RTÉ 2XM, RTÉ Radio 1 Extra, RTÉ Pulse, and RTÉjr Radio, will remain available on other platforms.
In a statement, the broadcaster said the move to cease DAB transmission was driven by three main factors – the fact that DAB was the least utilised platform in Ireland; that RTÉ is the only Irish broadcaster on the DAB system, and cost avoidance.
A public information campaign will be held to show customers how they can continue to access the digital stations.
In 2019, RTÉ had announced that its digital radio services would cease transmission as part of cost cutting measures.
However, although the DAB service will stop in March, the stations will now still be available on other platforms.
The broadcaster said this is due to the value audiences still derive from them.
The latest JNLR report, Radio in a Digital World, compiled by Ipsos/ MRBI, found that while 8% of the population in Ireland (330,000 people) are accessing radio stations via digital means, the smallest number in this cohort opt for DAB.
According to the report, just under 5% of adults in Ireland listen to radio via a mobile device, 2% listen on a PC, around 1.5% listen on a smart speaker, 0.6% listen on a TV set and 0.5% DAB. 77% of adults in Ireland listen to radio on FM.
For details on how to continue to listen to RTÉ digital radio services visit www.rte.ie/keeplistening
In 2007, the Voice of America ceased operations at the Delano Relay site in Central California. The site is destined to be bulldozed along with several relics of Collins Radio Company’s Broadcast Communications Division. The Collins Collectors Association, with assistance from the Antique Wireless Association, hatched a plan to retrieve one of the Collins 821A-1 250 KW Shortwave Transmitters from the site and place it on display for all to see. This presentation gives some history of VoA and the Delano site and follows the disassembly and relocation of Delano Relay DL-8.
Dennis Kidder, W6DQ, is a retired Aerospace Engineer, having spent nearly 45 years in System Engineering. His career spanned many fields – from building and operating large scale sound systems, computer systems used to publish newspapers and control communications satellites, 4 years as the Chief Telecom Engineer during the construction of the New Hong Kong International Airport, and finally, air defense radar systems and networked radio communications systems used by the military. First licensed as WN6NIA then WA6NIA over 50 years ago, Dennis was granted the callsign of one of his High School Elmers, Chek Titcomb (SK), W6DQ. Amateur Radio has been a nearly life-long passion.
Lots of fond memories listening to Radio Tirana, Albania going back to the late 1950’s. Their broadcasts back then were loaded with anti-West propaganda and more. Their interval signal is a classic to SWL people. Always remember the female announcer on the station. Her sign-off phrase was “and goodnight dear listeners.” This came after much in the way of negative propaganda. When she would say her sign off you got the idea she was tucking you into bed for the night. It had that quality and sincerity to it. Love to know who this person was or if she is still alive. Give you an idea how much SWL I did since around 1953 to present day.
Thank you for your comment, Richard! If you can identify this announcer with Radio Tirana, please comment with details!
