Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Former RCI Sackville transmitter site’s “slow transformation”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who writes:

[Here’s] an interesting article about former RCI transmitter site (Sackville):

Former RCI transmitter site – slow transformation
By Marc Montgomery

The former RCI transmitter site near Sackville New Brunswick, sold to a First Nations group, is now in the process of being absorbed into native reserve land and some as yet undetermined use.

During the Second World War as Canada was working towards creating a shortwave service, an ideal site for the transmission of radio signals was found in New Brunswick. Located on the Tantramar marshes, it was ideal ground for propagation of signals from the complex array of antenna wires and towers.

The service was ended over six decades later as a result of severe budget cuts in 2012. The site was later purchased by Mi’kmaq First Nations in 2017 and plans are slowly taking shape to transform the 90 acre site into reserve land. That process involves consultations with neighbouring municipalities, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the New Brunswick provincial government and other indigenous communities. It’s expected to take two years, during which time the Mi’kmaq will decide the use for the land, whether cultural or economic or a combination.[…]

Click here to read the full article and view photos at RCI.

Cap spots an Icom and Yaesu in Netflix Sci-Fi film IO

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Cap Tux, who spotted two ham radio rigs in IO. Cap notes:

ICOM IC-740, Yaesu FT-901DM and Shortwave make an appearance in Netflix Sci-Fi film IO:
Mentions “transmitting on frequency 9043kHz and listening on frequency 9560kHz daily, that’s the 31m band”.

https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80134721

Thanks for sharing, Cap! I’ll add this post to our ever growing archive of radios in film!

Balázs spots a wide variety of radios in film

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Balázs Kovács, who shares the following radio sightings and notes:

The Priest’s rig from the last episode of “The Walking Dead“

A Yaesu in “Jurassic World – Fallen Kingdom“

Some emergency/weather radios in the “The Darkest Minds“

The Last Ship S05E01
After a cyber attack a backup comm solution for the US Navy.

Night of the Living Dead (1968/1990)
In the original a radio broadcast was the first information source, in the remake only a small one was used at the end.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
In a remote shack.

+1: The “Álmodozások kora” (Age of Illusions (US) / The Age of Daydreaming (Int)) was the first (Hungarian) feature film of the director István Szabó (winner of an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1981 (Mephisto), English language films: Meeting Venus (1991), Sunshine (1999), Taking Sides (2001), the Oscar nominated Being Julia (2004) and The Door (2012)) in 1965 about a group of young electrical engineers. Two scenes from it about the radios, unfortunately I found the hungarian speaking version only online, but I think maybe it can be still interesting: https://ok.ru/video/228250552961

33:58-35: A custom rig receiving 4 european stations (Paris, London, Rome, Prague) on different speakers at the same time

1:05:43-1:07:20: “How radio works” animation

(and there was a short scene also where they talk about the The Pioneer Railway and how they learned the morse code there)

I found another (splited) version of the movie now with english subtitles, the new links and timings:

https://ok.ru/video/904027376280
33:58-35:28: A custom rig receiving 4 European stations (Paris, London, Rome, Prague) on different speakers at the same time

https://ok.ru/video/904028097176
20:00-21:39 “How radio works” animation

The same actor (András Bálint) 13 years later have a short ham radio scene (new year greetings in english) in another movie (BUÉK, 1978). I checked the callsign from the wall (HA5FA) and probably it was already a real one, belongs to Jen? Matzon, active member of the radio amateur community (DXCC Honor Roll, etc.) now a Silent Key.

Wow! Many thanks for sharing all of these radio spots, Balazs! Funny thing is I remember so well those shots from Night of the Living Dead even though I likely watched it 40 years ago! I guess I never forget a Zenith!

Of course, I’ll add this post to our ever growing archive of radios in film!

VORW Radio Int. Changes & Schedule for Early 2019

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Hello SWLing Post readers – I would like to provide an updated broadcast schedule for my radio program. A few changes have been made including resumption of broadcasts to Europe via Channel 292.

VORW Radio International is a light-entertainment program which consists of listener requested music of all genres and eras, as well as miscellaneous commentary on various topics.

Thursday 1000 UTC – 5950 kHz – To Mexico
Thursday 1000 UTC – 6070 kHz, 7440 kHz – To Western & Central Europe (New)
Thursday 2000 UTC – 7780 kHz – To Eastern North America
Thursday 2100 UTC – 7780 kHz – To North America and Europe (New)
Thursday 2300 UTC – 9955 kHz – To South America
Friday 0000 UTC – 7730 kHz – To Western North America
Friday 0100 UTC – 5850 kHz, 7780 kHz, 9395 kHz – To Europe and North America
Friday 0400 UTC – 7730 kHz – To Western North America
Friday 2200 UTC – 9955 kHz – To South America
Saturday 2300 UTC – 9395 kHz to North America
Sunday 0100 UTC – 4840 kHz – To North America
Sunday 2200 UTC – 7570 kHz – To North America

If you have the opportunity to hear my show on any of these frequencies, please send in a reception report and let me know how conditions are in your area! You can write to me at [email protected]

Happy Listening!

Ukrainian E17z number station training session covered failure scenario

Critical reviews of the $37 HanRongDa HRD-737 shortwave radio

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Glen and James Fields who shared their experience after publishing a post about the HannRongDa HRD-737 portable radio.

Glen writes:

I received one Saturday I had ordered from Aliexpress. In one word, avoid. The performance is really terrible everywhere except the FM broadcast band. Reception there is OK, but it is prone to overload more than my other radios. Aircraft reception is terrible. Only very strong shortwave signals are present. Same with AM broadcast. VHF performance is abysmal. To illustrate, my closest NOAA transmitter is so strong it trips the “close signals” quick scan in my Whistler TRX-1. On the HanRongDa, the NOAA signal is present, but it’s weak. All my other weather band receivers can get signals on all 7 frequencies. The HanRongDa hears only the very close one. This is easily the worst receiver I’ve ever gotten. Perhaps it’s defective. Eager to hear experiences from anyone else.

James Fields writes:

Received mine yesterday. Have only tested in my office which is a challenging, RFI-rich environment, so trying to withhold final judgement. However so far my experience matches Glen’s. Can only pick up the strongest shortwave signals. MW AM so far terrible. FM broadcast passable but not at all remarkable, and most stations have a LOT of hiss in the background. Have yet to pick up AIR band transmission on frequency that I can get on every other receiver I have. Nothing on CB yet. Cannot receive any NOAA frequencies, including two that I get solidly on other radios. Interestingly I can receive local police dispatch frequency pretty well.

Construction is pretty cheap.

Positives? I got mine for $37 shipped from a reseller on Ali Express . If I had paid over $40 I would feel worse about the value. And it really is a shirt-pocket portable. Super small and light.

At this time I cannot recommend this for anyone, for any purpose.

Thank you for sharing! I think I’ll pass on the HanRongDa HRD-737!

VOA Museum 75th Anniversary Events & Activities

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(Source: WVXU via Michael Bird)

Voice Of America Museum Sets 75th Anniversary Events

The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting will celebrate the 75th anniversary of West Chester Township’s Bethany Station with yearlong programs highlighted by a presentation by VOA White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman on March 6.

Events include a talk by Rod Serling biographer Nicholas Parisi; a program on sound effects from the golden age of radio; a “Hamvention” by the West Chester Amateur Radio Association; and a free four-part series of programs called “The Voice of Truth in America: Celebrating 75 Years of the VOA Bethany Station” with the MidPointe Library System.[…]

The anniversary events include:

Feb. 17: “The Imagination of Rod Serling: A Conversation with Nick Parisi,” by the author of Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Imagination published last year.

March 6: “Covering the White House and the World” by Steve Herman, VOA White House Bureau Chief.

April 6: “History of the VOA-Bethany Station and the VOA Museum Today” presentation by museum director Jack Dominic at MidPointe Library West Chester Township.

April 9: “Theater of the Mind: Sound Effects During Radio’s Golden Age” with Mike Martini, president of the museum’s Media Heritage Collection.

May 16-19: “Hamvention Nights at the VOA Museum” with the West Chester Amateur Radio Association.

June 5: “There’s a Radio in My Cell Phone!,” a children’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) event at MidPointe Library Liberty Township.

July 11: “Stealth Antennas for Amateurs Living in HOAs.”

Aug. 25: Big Band music at MidPointe Library West Chester Township.

Sept. 21: The fourth annual VOA Museum “75 Years of Rockin’ the Radio” fundraiser.

Oct. 18-20: “Jamboree on the Air” with West Chester Amateur Radio Association and area scouting organizations at the museum.

[…]The museum is open Saturdays and Sundays 1-4 p.m. at 8070 Tylersville Road. General admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children. Museum events are listed at the VOA Museum website.