Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

WRMI Open House & Party on December 1, 2017

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(Source: WRMI via Facebook)

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

December 1, 2017 will mark the 4th anniversary of WRMI’s broadcasts from the Okeechobee, Florida transmission site. We broadcast from a site in Hialeah, Florida for 20 years prior to that.

To celebrate our 4th anniversary in Okeechobee, we cordially invite you to join us for an Open House/Christmas/Anniversary Party on Friday, December 1 from 10:30 am till 6:00 pm. Stop in anytime for a tour of the plant, where you can see our 14 transmitters (most of them 100,000 watts each) and 23 antennas beaming religious, political and cultural programs in many languages 200 hours a day, seven days a week to virtually all parts of the world. WRMI is the largest shortwave radio station in the Western Hemisphere. You can meet members of our staff and clients who broadcast programs on the station. And there will be plenty of food and drink, so please arrive hungry!

WRMI is very pleased to have been part of the Okeechobee community for four years now, and we look forward to being here for many years to come. Our address is below, and your GPS should be able to find it with no problem. We’re located 15 miles north of the city of Okeechobee via Highway 441, and then seven miles west on NW 240th Street. You can’t miss the 68 antenna towers on the south side of the road. If you get lost or have any questions, feel free to call or e-mail us. I hope to see you on December 1st.

Jeff White, General Manager

WRMI Radio Miami International, 10400 NW 240th Street, Okeechobee, Florida 34972 USA
Tel +1-305-559-9764 Fax +1-863-467-0185 E-mail: [email protected]

Queridos amigos y colegas:

El 1 de diciembre de 2017 será el cuarto aniversario de las transmisiones de WRMI desde el sitio de transmisión de Okeechobee, Florida. Anteriormente, transmitimos desde un sitio en Hialeah, Florida durante 20 años.

Para celebrar nuestro 4to. Aniversario en Okeechobee, lo invitamos cordialmente a que se una a nosotros para una Fiesta de Casa Abierta / Navidad / Aniversario el viernes 1 de diciembre de 10:30 a.m. a 6:00 p.m. Puede visitar en cualquier momento para un recorrido por la planta, donde se pueden ver nuestros 14 transmisores (la mayoría de ellos 100.000 vatios cada uno) y 23 antenas radiando programas religiosos, políticos y culturales en varios idiomas 200 horas al día, siete días a la semana para prácticamente todas partes del mundo. WRMI es la emisora de onda corta mas grande del Hemisferio Occidental. También puede conocer a miembros de nuestro personal y clientes que transmiten programas en la estación. Y habrá mucha comida y bebida, así que ¡por favor llegue con hambre!

WRMI está muy contento de haber sido parte de la comunidad de Okeechobee durante cuatro años, y esperamos estar aquí por muchos años más. Nuestra dirección está arriba, y su GPS debería poder encontrarla sin problema. Estamos ubicados a 15 millas al norte de la ciudad de Okeechobee a través de la autopista 441, y luego a siete millas al oeste en la calle 240 del noroeste. No se pueden perder las 68 torres de antena en el lado sur de la carretera. Si se pierde o tiene alguna pregunta, no dude en llamarnos o enviarnos un correo electrónico.

Espero verle el 1 de diciembre.

Jeff White, Gerente General, WRMI Radio Miami International

The end of the Grundig Satellit 750?

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Many thanks to Dave Zantow (N9EWO) and a number of other SWLing Post contributors who’ve noted that Universal Radio is listing the Grundig Satellit 750 as “Not Currently Available.” Universal offers the following explanation on their product page:

UPDATE: 11/21/17
Eton-Grundig has informed us the Satellit 750 is currently not available.
They cannot provide an availability date. We are not taking orders at this time.

I’ve also noted that the ‘750 is no longer on the Eton website.  It does appear Amazon.com still has inventory, but no doubt they will eventually deplete their stock. The ‘750 is sold at a number of other retailers–simply search the model number in your favorite search engine and you’ll likely find retailers with remaining stock.

So it does appear the Grundig Satellit 750 may be discontinued. If so, it’s certainly had a long product life.

Radio Deal: Tecsun PL-310ET $40.00 shipped via Amazon.com

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Larry W, who writes with the following tip:

Thomas, this isn’t a deep discount, but the Tecsun PL-310ET price has fallen to $40 even on Amazon. It usually floats around $42-43. Price includes shipping. You might wish to post because this is a lot of “bang-for-buck” when it comes to performance. I own two of them. One stays in the glove compartment of my truck, the other in my travel bag (I’m a professional road warrior). They’ve 20 in stock right now. Price can change anytime.

Click here to view on Amazon.com (affiliate link).

Mark spots a number of radios in “Designated Survivor”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who adds the following to our growing archive of radios in film.

Mark writes:

Quite a haul this time!

In episode 20 of ‘Designated Survivor‘, FBI Agent Hannah Wells tries to get a message out before being recaptured….

Click to enlarge.

Many thanks, Mark! Another good one!

Are those Kenwood transceivers in the background? I certainly see a Kenwood external speaker and (perhaps a Nye Viking–?) tuner.

Please comment if you can identify this radio gear!

SWLing on the coast with the Elecraft KX2 and PK Loop

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Since I purchased the Elecraft KX2 last year, I find I do almost as much SWLing with it as I do ham radio activity. The KX2 is actually a brilliant shortwave broadcast receiver–check out these audio samples. It’s incredibly sensitive, selective and outperforms all of my portables. It’s also a joy to operate, once you learn your way around the controls.

I’ve been at the South Carolina coast all week on an active family vacation. What little time I’ve had to play radio, I’ve used the KX2/PK Loop combo.

The KX2 pairs well with the PK Loop (C-LOOP-HDSW6-18) antenna and both can easily fit in one small pack. The combo limits me to the shortwave bands, but that’s okay since I always carry an Ultralight DX receiver like the Tecsun PL-310ET, Sony SRF-39FP or CC Skywave should I decide to hit the mediumwaves.

I can set up the KX2 and PK Loop on a small table or foot stool with room to spare. I typically use a pair of headphones with the KX2 since its built-in speaker leaves much to be desired (but is better than the KX3’s internal speaker, in my opinion). With headphones, you can also take advantage of the “delay” audio effect which makes broadcasts sound much wider that the 5 kHz maximum bandwidth.

Another favorite travel receiver is the CommRadio CR-1a. Like the KX2, it’s compact, has a built-in battery and (unlike the KX2) can even be charged from a standard USB source.

I still manage to take the KX2 on travels more often than the CR-1a simply because I always have the option to put on my ham radio hat and do field/portable operation should I choose.

But CommRadio is cooking up a new radio: I’m watching the new CommRadio CTX-10 with interest since it might also serve both of these radio purposes!

The CommRadio CTX-10 QRP transceiver

I will review the CTX-10 when it’s on the market.

On a side note: since I own both the KX2 and KX3, I’m planning to purchase the KXPA100 100 watt amplifier for the shack next year. At $749 for the ATU-less kit version, it’s a hefty sum–indeed–enough to purchase another 100 watt transceiver like the Icom IC-7200.  But in the end, I’m so please with both radios I think it’s worth the investment.  Thankfully, the KXPA100 was not included in the Elecraft Black Friday sale. I did not need that temptation.

Post readers: Any others take a compact general coverage transceiver on travels? What model do you prefer?  Please comment!

BBC World Service: “Click” Broadcast Times (October 2017 – March 2018)

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares his latest shortwave radio schedule for the BBC World Service technology program, Click.

Click on the image below to view the schedule, or simply click here to view the schedule as a PDF.

Richard notes:

As with previous versions of the chart, a “bullet” indicates a broadcast on line or by one or more different radio platforms to or in the indicated geographical region, including local AM and FM radio, DAB radio, satellite radio, and, for some regions, shortwave radio. There are currently two times “Click” is broadcast on shortwave.