Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Classical Music on Radio Tumbril, April 21 – 26

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(Source: Radio Tumbril)

Classical Music on shortwave – broadcast Sunday afternoon in Europe & USA

Encore – Classical Music this weekend Is being broadcast as usual on WBCQ at 00:00 – 01:00 UTC Monday 22nd April.
Channel 292 is off air at the moment for servicing so the normal 15:00 UTC Sunday 21st April transmission will not happen this week.

The show will start with a Boccherini quintet, then some ballet music from Swan Lake.
There will also be some French wind band music, an organ work from Bach and some interesting works for the human voice.

As usual reception reports and requests for pieces to pay in future programmes will be very welcome.

Broadcast times are:
15:00 – 16:00 UTC Sunday, and repeated 19:00 – 20:00 UTC Friday on 6070 kHz (Channel 292 Germany).
00:00 – 01:00 UTC Monday on 7490 kHz (WBCQ – Maine).

(Channel 292 is off air for ten days from Monday 16th April.)

Brice Avery – Encore – Radio Tumbril – www.tumbril.co.uk

The ALT-512: A new QRP transceiver

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There’s a new QRP transceiver on the market: the twelve band ALT-512 by Aerial-51.

At first glance, you’ll see a similarity between the ALT-512 and the LnR Precision LD-11/Aerial-51 SKY-SDR. The LD-11 and SKY-SDR, are very similar, save the LD-11 is marketed to North America (via LnR) and the SKY-SDR to Europe. The SKY-SDR had several iterative upgrades, most importantly the dual-threaded software used in the firmware, which cut CPU latency in half. Both the LD-11, SKY-SDR and now the ALT-512 are made in Europe.

Click here to read my review of the LnR Precision LD-11.

ALT-512 Waterfall display (Photo: DJ0IP)

According to Aerial-51, the new ALT-512 is built on the LD-11/SKY-SDR platform, has the same chassis design but has many improvements over the SKY-SDR:

  • 4m Band
  • 2.4 in. Color Display
  • Improved receiver pre-amplifier
  • 2 transistors in the transmitter PA (was 1)
  • Waterfall in addition to the Pan-Adapter Bandscope
  • 4 additional front-panel buttons
  • User friendly front-panel adjustment of often used parameters (formerly embedded within the software menu)
  • FULL TS-2000 command set implementation
  • Built-in Sound Card; Digi Modes run using only one USB-2 cable connected to the PC. No additional hardware required.

If the ALT-512 performs as well as or better than its predecessor, it’ll certainly be a great little QRP radio.

Pricing has not yet been posted, but Aerial-51 plans to make this transceiver available in the next few weeks.

Click here to check out the ALT-512 on the Aerial-51 website.

Classical Music on Radio Tumbril this week

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(Source: Radio Tumbril)

Classical Music broadcast on Sunday afternoon in Europe & USA

Encore this week will start with a beautifully lyrical Piano piece by Sibelius, then we’ll have a movement from Elgar’s Cello Concerto in an historic recording by Jaqueline du Pré.
There will also be a song from Gluck, two string quartet pieces by Janacek, some of Mahler’s 5th, Copeland’s clarinet concerto, a little Bach organ music and some Albinoni.

Broadcast times are 15:00 – 16:00 UTC Sunday on 6070 kHz (Channel 292 Germany) and 00:00 – 01:00 UTC Monday on 7490 kHz (WBCQ – Maine).

(There would normally be a repeat on Friday 19th on on 6070 kHz but 292 will be off air for ten days from Monday 16th April for adjustments)

Brice Avery – Encore – Radio Tumbril

www.tumbril.co.uk

Encore: Classical music over shortwave

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Many thanks to Brice Avery who writes:

Hi Thomas,
Thanks for all the quality work at the SWLing Post.

I have recently started a weekly programme on SW playing Classical Western Music.
There is hardly any now and there used to be a lot more.

The show is called Encore and goes out on 6070 kHz from Channel 292 at 15:00 UTC on Sundays with a repeat on Friday at 19:00 UTC.

WBCQ broadcast Encore in US between 00:00 and 01:00 UTC Monday (Early Sunday evening in the US).

We are now at Programme 6 and the feedback is excellent.

[…]Please visit the website for more information (If you click on the valve LOGO you get the ‘story’ page).

www.tumbril.co.uk

Thank you for sharing this, Brice. I’ll certainly tune into your new show as I’m a massive fan of music over shortwave and, as you say, there are few outlets these days for classical music.  Good luck with the new show!

Hear My Voice: Radio’s role in Hitler’s annexation of the Sudetenland

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In January, when I first heard about David Vaughan’s book Hear My Voice, I knew then and there I would have to read it. So I picked up a copy on Amazon with the intention of doing so…well, soon.

However, I’ve got quite a number of books in my to-be-read stack at the moment, so Hear My Voice lay in wait on my bookshelf until this past Sunday, when I decided to read the first chapter––just to get a taste of it.

Although I had a very busy day in store––working on a home renovation and making several trips into town––nevertheless I struggled to pull it from the stack, and having rapidly consumed the first chapters, had a hard time putting the book down. By the day’s end, I found I had read the entire book.

While those who know me know I’m a bit of a WWII history buff, I only knew that Hitler’s seizure of the Czech Sudetenland was but a hint of what was to come. The history I’d read previously had provided a bit of insight into this crucial lead-up to the war, but not as Vaughan’s book does: in what feels like a first hand account, through the eyes of an interpreter and broadcaster. I was hooked.

Hear My Voice clearly indicates how transformative the medium of radio was in this era, and how deliberate and insidious Nazi propaganda became in the Sudetenland years before Czechoslovakia ever took notice.

All in all, it’s a great read. I think you’ll find Hear My Voice as intriguing as I did.

You can purchase Hear My Voice via:

Read our previous post which includes a Radio Prague audio interview with the author.

RHC journalist Rosario Lafita Fernández passes away

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Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors who shared the following sad news from Radio Havana Cuba. I’m sure many of you have heard Rosario Lafita on the air and perhaps even corresponded with her as she also confirmed listener reports:

Dear listener:

With great regret, we inform you that journalist Rosario Lafita Fernández, died on the morning of April 4th last.

She was considered as an exemplary worker of Radio Havana Cuba for almost 40 years, the last 10 in charge of

the International Correspondence Department.

Her legacy, as an integral professional, will remain forever in our minds and hearts.

From this moment, we’ll continue the communicative work she directed with love and deep conviction that the most

important thing, for each member of this Department, is to maintain the personalized attention to each one of you.

Fraternally,

Department of International Correspondence

Radio Havana Cuba

Radio Tamazuj introduces English news via shortwave

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jochen, who shares this announcement via Radio Tamazuj:

Radio Tamazuj launches English news bulletin

The independent broadcaster Radio Tamazuj has launched its English news bulletin today to help expand its listenership in South Sudan and Sudan.

Broadcasting daily in colloquial Arabic and Juba Arabic from 6:30-7:30 a.m. [3:30 – 4:30 UTC] and 5:30-6:30 p.m., [2:30 – 3:30 UTC] Radio Tamazuj focuses on providing listeners with uncensored news and programmes.

Morning frequencies are 7315 on the 41 meter band and 11650 on the 25 meter band. Evening frequencies are 15150 on the 19 meter band and 15400 on the 19 meter band.

Enjoy listening to our English news every Tuesday and Friday on shortwave frequency. Also, enjoy listening to us on our social media handles on Facebook Live @tamazuj and on Twitter @RadioTamazuj from 18: 00 hrs every Tuesday and Friday.

Listen to today’s English news:

Many thanks for the tip, Jochen! Click here to read this news item on Radio Tamazuj.