Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Richard shares recordings of The Buzzer

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Lacroix,

I was intrigued by your post, “The ghostly radio station that no one claims to run (BBC Future)”. I attempted to listening to the station on 4625 kHz from my home location here in Toronto, Ontario Canada but unfortunately could not receive the signal. WebSDR to the rescue. I managed to locate a couple of KiwiSDRs in Russia which yielded great reception of “The Buzzer”.

I figured that some readers may be interested in knowing what the buzzer sounds like. I have therefore included 2 recordings of the broadcast; the first in AM and the second in USB mode with a 3.2 kHz wide filter setting. I am also sharing a screen shot of the waterfall which clearly depicts the signal [see at top of post].

Recordings

The Buzzer recorded July 18, 2020 at 01:07 UTC  on 4625 kHz in AM mode:

The Buzzer recorded July 18, 2020 at 08:26 UTC  on 4625 kHz in upper sideband mode:

Thank you for sharing this, Richard!

Like you, I have difficult receiving The Buzzer from North America (especially in summer conditions with QRN). That’s where KiwiSDRs really come to the rescue. Thanks again for sharing your recordings.

Free issues: RASA QTC Winter and July/August 2020 magazines

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Evans, who notes that The Radio Amateur Society of Australia Inc. has made two issues of their QTC Magazine available to view free online.

Click here to view the free issues of QTC magazine.

Thank you for the tip, Paul!

Can you help Carlos identify this 1982 polytone broadcast?

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:

I have a tape with a recording I made in 1982 while listening to shortwave.

I’m not really sure if I caught some kind of polytone numbers station. Could you or your readers be able to identify it?

Post readers: If you can help Carlos identify this transmission, please comment!

The lab599 Discovery TX-500 QRP transceiver price and anticipated delivery via HRO

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This evening, I discovered that HRO now has the long-awaited lab599 TX-500 transceiver available for purchase on their website.

I had actually placed an order for the radio, but I’ve asked to cancel it because I should have a loaner available for review.

Without a doubt, the TX-500 is one of the most anticipated QRP transceivers this year. Field operators have always wished for a rugged, weather-resistant portable radio and the TX-500 looks like it will fit the bill! Based on some of the videos we’ve seen, it should perform as well.

Click here to check out the TX-500 on the HRO website ($789.95 US at time of posting).

Update: HRO informs me that the lead time, or anticipated delivery is still weeks away.

New Icom IC-705 videos and few answers to your questions

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I’ve been getting a number of inquiries from readers lately about the new, yet-to-be-released, Icom IC-705 QRP portable transceiver. Here are a few quick answers to frequent reader questions:

  • “Will you review the IC-705?” Yes, I certainly will. If the loaner unit from Icom has a long lead time, I’ll plan to purchase one from the first production run and may sell it after the review. (Only since I already have *way* too many QRP transceivers!)
  • “When will the IC-705 start shipping to customers?” That’s a tough one to answer and, of course, I have no affiliation with the manufacturer so really can’t comment. As we’ve mentioned before, IC-705 production like other products this year has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact on supply chains. I do know that Icom hopes to start shipping the IC-705 within the next few months. Availability may vary based on where you live since Icom has regional market headquarters.
  • “Does the IC-705 have an internal ATU?” No, it does not. However, Icom recently announced that they will produce an antenna tuner for the IC-705 with the model number AH-705. There are no details available at time of posting, but we must assume this is an external ATU.
  • “Will it ship with a battery pack, or do we have to buy it separately?” The IC-705 will include a  BP-272 Battery pack, HM-243 Speaker-microphone and OPC-2421 DC power cable.
  • “With a color touch screen display, won’t the IC-705 current drain be too much for operating on a battery?” Since I’m primarily a field operator, this was one of my first questions as well. Turns out, Icom has employ some agressive techniques to make that display as efficient as possible. Check out the promising numbers from their recently-published specifications page:
  • “Will the IC-705 double as a portable shortwave radio broadcast receiver?” The short answer is yes, but we have yet to actually put this general coverage transceiver to the test. What we do know is that the AM bandwidth can be widened to 6 kHz according to the specifications sheet. We also know that its receiver range is 0.030–199.999 and 400.000–470.000. The IC-705 will cover the entire AM broadcast (mediumwave) band and the entire HF/shortwave spectrum with no gaps. How sensitive the IC-705 will be outside the ham radio bands remains to be seen.
  • “Will the IC-705 include the 4 meter band?” I’ve gotten this question from a number of our UK readers. The answer is no. There were conflicting reports early on, but Icom UK posted this message on May 29, 2020 noting: “We regret to inform you that contrary to our earlier messages, the 70MHz (4 Metre) band will not be included in our much anticipated IC-705 QRP SDR transceiver.“

Icom IC-705 Videos

A number of YouTube channels have been posting videos of pre-production IC-705 units in operation. Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors who’ve shared links to these.

Bob McCreadie (G0FGX) of TX Films via Icom UK

Ham Radio Concepts

Amateur Logic: IC-705 Minimum Current Tweaks

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LRA36: Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel test broadcasts July 18 and July 25, 2020

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Ulis (K3LU) and Harald (DL1AX) who note that Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel (LRA36) will broadcast tests again Saturday July 18th and July 25th, 2020, from 1700 to 2000 UTC on 15476 kHz USB.

Check out Harald’s LRA36 QSL card above!

The book that took David down the path of SWLing and ham radio

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David (G4EDR), who writes:

I enjoyed reading about the vintage shortwave radio book memories from Bob W6ACU and it prompted me dig out the book which got me started in SWLing back in 1970. It was in a series of illustrated teach yourself books and the title was ‘Radio’ written by David Gibson G3JDG [see cover above].

I borrowed it from the school library and renewed the loan so many times the librarian suggested I should buy my own copy so that someone else could have the chance to borrow it! I still have my own copy of the book bought with my saved pocket money for the sum of 15 shillings. That was before the UK changed to decimal currency (15 shillings is 75p in decimal).

The book covered basic radio theory and several construction projects including a crystal set and an atu which I made and I also learned all about amateur radio and QSL cards.

That was the start of my life long obsession with radio. How things have changed over 50 years! Thank you for allowing me to rekindle those happy early days of this fantastic hobby of ours.

73, David – G4EDR.

Thank you, David, for sharing your memories with us. It’s amazing, isn’t it, the impact one book or one radio can have on one’s life!