Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Icom IC-705 price and availability

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Note: We will update this post as pricing information is confirmed by retailers.

Many thanks to several SWLing Post readers who have been carefully tracking the price of the Icom IC-705 transceiver which is expected to start shipping around the second quarter of 2020.

Pricing in Japan: 124,800 yen

Paul Evans notes that the price in Japan, according to this Icom Japan press release [PDF], is 124,800 yen + tax. That’s roughly $1150-1200 USD.

Pricing in UK: £1200.

In addition, ML&S have recently posted updated details from Icom UK and have noted that they “anticipate a price of around £1200 (£1000.00 excluding VAT).” To put that in perspective, the IC-7300 is currently being offered for the same price and it’s been on the market a while now.

This could mean that after the IC-705 has been on the market for a while, discounts could place it well below that of the IC-7300. Of course, if history is an indicator, early adopters will likely pay the top price.

Pricing in US: [TBD]

No confirmation yet from US retailers, but at this point, I would bet we could see pricing around $999 USD. That would be a competitive starting point. Of course, once we have confirmation from retailers we’ll update this with actual figures.

Other regional pricing

We will update this post with pricing and availability once we confirm details. Please comment with any tips!

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TX Factor Episode 25

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric (WD8RIF), who notes that the 25th episode of TX Factor was recently released. Here’s the show summary:

A post-election special – well, not really! Just a look at some more new and innovative AR products from this year’s Hamfest, including a potted history of the ever-popular and much revered range of transceivers and kits from Electraft with co-founder Eric Swartz WA6HHQ. There’s our free-to-enter draw with some excellent prizes from ML&S and RSGB to be won.

In this modern era of connectivity, we take the ever-present Internet for granted; it’s always there and continues to deliver our data from A to B without issue. But what would happen if that vital link failed? We visit Southampton and Portsmouth on the UK’s south coast to see how two city councils, assisted by a group of dedicated amateurs, plan to maintain their communications infrastructure via radio links alone, should the Internet go down.

Click here to view on YouTube or on the TX Factor website.

Now Unblocked: Watching the new Radio Australia documentary

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Yesterday, we posted a note about the new documentary, “Australia Calling: 80 Years of International Broadcasting.” At the time, I mentioned that the video was geo-blocked–meaning, you could not watch the video outside Australia without using a VPN.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Peter Marks, who shares this great news:

I’ve corresponded with the iview team and they have un-geoblocked the video. It can be watched here:

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/australia-calling-80-years-of-international-broadcasting/video/NC1940H001S00

I tested it over a VPN to Singapore and it played for me.

Thanks so much, Peter! I’ve loaded the video with no problems here in North America.

Click here to watch “Australia Calling.”

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Radio Deal: New Retekess TR608 AM/FM/SW/AIR intro price of $29.99 US shipped

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Palmer, who writes:

Hi Thomas,

Just noticed that Retekess has introduced a new AM/FW/SW/Airband! receiver and it’s on sale at a special introductory price ($29.99) till the end of Dec 2019.

Interesting that this one has the commercial aviation band (118-138MHz).

Click here to view on eBay.

Thanks for the tip, John!

Post Readers: Please share your review of this new portable if you grab one!

Australia Calling: ABC documentary looking at the impact of Radio Australia

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Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors who contacted me about a new documentary focused on the impact of Radio Australia. Peter Marks writes:

The celebration of 80 years of international broadcasting from Australia continues. The ABC has published “Australia Calling: A look at 80 years of Radio Australia and ABC international broadcasting” today:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-16/abc-celebrating-80-years-of-international-broadcasting/11783252

And tonight there’s a documentary being shown on TV.

There’s even a story about the making of that documentary here:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/about/backstory/news-coverage/2019-12-16/making-australia-calling-documentary/11795134

Thank you, Peter! I just started watching the documentary via ABC’s iView. Note that the program is geo-blocked and not available outside of Australia (unless, like me, you have a good VPN). [No longer geo-blocked! See update.]

Here’s a link to the documentary on iView:

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/australia-calling-80-years-of-international-broadcasting

Peter also shared a number of related stories–some of which we’ve published in the past:

Alan Roe’s updated B19 season guide to music on shortwave

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who notes:

I attach a copy of my “Music Programmes on Shortwave” PDF file for the current B-19 broadcast season which I hope you will find of interest, and for you to upload to your SWLing Post webpage if you wish.

Alan, thanks so much for keeping this excellent music guide updated each broadcast season and for sharing it here with the Post community! Being a fan of music over shortwave, I always keep a printed version of your guide at my listening post!

Click here to download a PDF copy of Alan Roe’s Music on Shortwave B-19.

Restoration of a USN version of the ARC-5 command set receiver

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(Source: Southgate ARC)

Gregory Charvat N8ZRY writes on Hackaday about an un-modified-since-WW2 surplus CBY-46104 receiver with dynamotor.

He writes:

I’ve been told all my life about old-timey Army/Navy surplus stores where you could buy buckets of FT-243 crystals, radio gear, gas masks, and even a Jeep boxed-up in a big wooden crate. Sadly this is no longer the case.

Today surplus stores only have contemporary Chinese-made boots, camping gear, and flashlights. They are bitterly disappointing except for one surplus store that I found while on vacation in the Adirondacks: Patriot of Lake George.

Read the full story at
https://hackaday.com/2019/12/12/wwii-aircraft-radio-roars-to-life-what-it-takes-to-restore-a-piece-of-history/

Video

Video description: Repair and restoration of a USN version of an ARC-5 command set receiver. This model covers 1.5-3 Mc, runs off its original dynamotor, with no internal circuit modifications. This radio is original with the exception of a small number of caps that tested bad which were re-stuffed. Build date is Feb. 42, who knows where and what this radio may have been involved in?

I’ve always wanted a functioning ARC-5 command set to accompany my BC-348-Q receiver. This article has inspired me.

Post readers: Anyone own a functioning ARC-5 (or any variants)? Please comment!