Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Special Broadcast: LRA36, Radio Nacional – Arcángel San Gabriel, Antarctica

2014 QSL received by Christoph Ratzer

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adrian Korol, who shares the following announcement:

LRA Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Argentina Antártida

Special issue

This Saturday, September 21, LRA 36 will make a special transmission from the Esperanza Base, Antarctica Argentina. From 10 to 1115 Argentine time (13 to 1415 UTC) by 15476 kHz 19 meter band.

Receipt reports should be sent to [email protected] and, if correct, will be verified with a special electronic QSL.

The arrival of spring is a very good reason, as well as the proximity of the 40 years of the station that will be celebrated on October 20. The special broadcast will be in charge of the announcers of LRA36: Sabrina Alanis, Beatriz Costilla and Karina Muñoz while the technical operation is by José Calpanchay.

We appreciate spreading this message. You can also send your greetings, comments and suggestions to be read during the program.

Thank you!

Thank you for sharing this, Adrian.

LRA36 is one of my favorite stations to DX. Although it’s incredibly difficult to hear their 10 kw signal in North America, I always try and have sometimes been rewarded. This broadcast will take place while I’m attending the W4DXCC conference, but I will still attempt to listen even if remotely through my home SDR. I think I’ll put the amazing AirSpy HF+ Discovery on the job!

Readers: Please let me know if you’re able to snag this broadcast and please consider making a recording for the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

David reviews and compares the MLA-30 magnetic loop antenna

11 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Day (N1DAY), who has completed a thorough review of the MLA-30 loop antenna. In this review, he compares the MLA to the Wellbrook ALA1530-LF and a 30 foot square ground loop antenna.

In short, he finds that the MLA-30 performs fairly well on the AM broadcast/mediumwave band, but can’t compete with the Wellbrook otherwise–especially in terms of noise floor. David also noted that “the MLA-30 had a very serious issue with IMD and in some cases, stations that were clearly heard with both the Wellbrook and the ground loop were totally obliterated by IMD when switching to the MLA-30.”.

Click here to read David’s full review on his blog, Ham Signal.

Click here to view the MLA-30 on eBay.

Jim’s PL-880 loses audio on FM band

9 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jim Krause, who writes seeking an explanation about a problem he’s experiencing with his Tecsun PL-880:

Tescum PL-880 Problem: The speaker will not output any sound when in the FM band.

The speaker outputs sound fine when in all other bands (AM, SW, etc.). When switched into the FM band, the tuner still works and outputs sound through the headphone jack- just not through the speaker, which just emits soft ticking sounds. The tuner itself and all other features seem to work fine- it just won’t output sound through the speaker when in FM mode.

FYI It was working fine until I had it plugged into a solar USB charger while listening to FM.

I hope someone here might be able to shed some light on the problem you’re experiencing. I do know that my buddy, Vlado, could address this issue but perhaps it’s not one that will require a technician.

I’m guessing this might be futile, but try doing a full reset of the PL-880. This is typically the first step in troubleshooting a Tecsun radio:

Simply use a paper clip to press and hold the recessed reset button above.

Readers: If you have suggestions or advice for Jim, please comment!

John reviews the MLA-30 mag loop antenna

8 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul, who notes that John’s Tech Blog recently posted a review/preview of the $47 MLA-30 loop antenna.

Click here to read.

Click here to view the MLA-30 on eBay.

WWV and WWVH special announcement marking centennial

A photo tour of the 2019 Shelby Hamfest

3 Replies

My Labor Day weekend was free of travel this year, so I was able to make another pilgrimage to the Shelby (North Carolina) hamfest with my good buddy, Vlado (N3CZ).

The Shelby Hamfest–referred to, locally, as “The Grand-Daddy of them All”–has long been regarded as one of the largest outdoor hamfests in the southeast US. This is the fourth year I’ve made a concerted effort to publish a photo tour of the event.

Weather was ideal for the hamfest–clear skies, sunshine and a dry weekend. No doubt, this was one of the reasons I believe the hamfest was well attended.

Shelby Photo Gallery

Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge or comment on the photos:

Note that if you’re viewing this post via our email newsletter, the embedded gallery (above) might not be viewable. Click here to view via web browser.