SWLing Post contributor, James Patterson, has recently restored a Sony ICF-5800H. James sent me a few photos and I decided to post them here.
I absolutely love the design of Japanese analog radios from this era. They have signal meters, large backlit dials, carry straps, and proper large controls–buttons, switches and knobs–that can even be operated when wearing gloves in the winter.
Great receiver you have there, James!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, who writes:
http://www.countycomm.com/gp5ssb.html
Buy a GP5 from CountyComm this week and get the 17 buck custom carry case for free.
Thanks, for sharing this, Ron. I actually have this GP5 case–it houses the GP5/SSB in my Spec Ops Brand THE pack. It’s a custom, quality case that’s actually made here in the US.
If you’ve been thinking about buying a CountyComm GP5/SSB, it might be time to pull the trigger!
Radio producer and SWLing Post friend, Raoul van Hall, writes:
Hello fellow shortwave and music fans. I am very excited to be broadcasting via PCJ International, a one-hour music special on November 28th. It’s called “Rockin’ with Raoul,” and it will feature some very rare rock tracks that you have probably never heard before. If you ever listened to The Rockpile on Global 24, and liked it, you will love this special program.
Plus we have special QSL cards for all these PCJ specials.
Thanks to Keith Perron and to everyone committed to keeping shortwave fun.
Many thanks for the heads-up, Raoul!
Rockin’ with Raoul will broadcast on 11580 khz on November 28, 2015 at 09:00 UTC.
Please note that, Keith Perron posted the following on PCJ’s Facebook page:
I will be canceling the remainder of the PCJ Special Broadcasts after next weeks program. There is just not a sufficient audience to continue with the rest.
Last week and this week it was the same people. So it’s not justified to keep it going for fewer than 20 people.
Apologies to those who did tune in.
In other worlds, Rockin’ with Raoul, will be the last show in this broadcast series, so make sure you tune in! Contact PCJ with your reception reports.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN), for the following guest post:
-Mario Filippi (N2HUN)
Attached is a wonderful website containing archived Radio Shack catalogs and sales flyers going back to 1939, surely of interest to SWLs, hams, and other electronics hobbyists. Most of us have fond memories growing up and visiting our local Radio Shack when it was the place to go for ham, shortwave, and scanner radios. My hometown Radio Shack was located on North Avenue in New Rochelle, NY and I purchased an electric guitar (could not afford a Fender) from them in the late 60’s which had three pickups and included a case for $29.95!
You see, back then Radio Shack had a much more diversified line of products, including musical instruments, power tools and even scientific stuff like microscopes and slide rules. These archived catalogs are a treasure trove of information not only from a historical perspective, but for anyone who is interested or who is contemplating purchasing vintage equipment such as shortwave radios, because you can look up the original sales info in the RS catalog which contains the original price, photo, description, and accessories available at that time.
For example, last year I purchased a “tech special” Realistic TRC-450 AM/SSB CB radio on Ebay that needed LED repair, so I looked up the original sales ad and got the price, photo (this helps to see original condition), and product description. Below is a picture of my restored Realistic which originally sold in 1980 for $269.95!
The classic Realistic TRC-450 AM/SSB CB radio. (Photo: Mario Filippi)
Nowadays most people don’t realize how expensive electronics were a few decades ago. A comparable new AM/SSB CB radio sells for about half that price nowadays!
Lastly, as one progresses chronologically through the catalogs, you can see technology (and even fashion) trends – the large 8 track tape decks of the 60’s and 70’s progressed to smaller cassette players of the 80’s and 90’s, then DVD/CD players made their entrance, ultimately giving way to higher tech forms of entertainment such as satellite radio and Internet-based entertainment. Well I hope you enjoy this totally entertaining and informative website and I thank the individual who took the time and effort to preserve for perpetuity these priceless annual time capsules for everyone to enjoy.
Mario, many thanks for this trip down memory lane!
As you state, these catalogs are actually an excellent reference source when trying to determine pricing and features of RS radios found on the used market.
I think they’re also so much fun to flip through as they’re chock-full of nostalgic value. When I was a kid, I could care less about toy store catalogs–the RadioShack catalog was my toy store!
Indeed, when I open the online catalog copies at Radio Shack Catalogs, I can almost smell the ink on the pages! Am I the only one?
Sign from the original WWV tranmitter site in Maryland, currently posted outside of the Fort Collins, Colorado transmitter building. (Photo: Thomas Witherspoon)
Commenting on our post about Myke’s new release of At The Tone, SWLing Post contributor Richard Langley writes:
I must have first heard WWV shortly after putting together the Knight-Kit Span Master I received for Christmas 1963. I still have my log books from my high school days, which include an entry for Radio Habana on 29 December 1963 for which I subsequently received a QSL card. But I guess I didn’t log all my receptions. The first entry for WWV is dated 3 June 1966 in the last year of WWV’s operation from Greenbelt, Maryland (on government land that subsequently became the site of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center).
I have a QSL card for the reception of the 5 MHz signal featuring a drawing (in pink) of the Jefferson Memorial [see above].
The next entry is dated 1 December 1966, the first day of WWV’s operation from Fort Collins, Colorado.
I have one of the special QSL cards issued for confirmation of first-day reception for my report on the 20 and 25 MHz signals [see above].
I’m sure I heard WWVH early on too but my first log entry is dated 29 March 1967. I never did QSL them.
Richard: Thanks so much for sharing these special QSL cards. Wow! I had never seen the first day card from WWV Fort Collins before–what a treasure you have there!
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Paul Walker, who writes:
I think you and your readers might enjoy these videos.
I’ve upgraded from a Tecsun PL880 and Sangean ATS909X to a JRC NRD535D. I live in Camden, Arkansas which is in southern Arkansas, 75 minutes east of Texas and 75 minutes north of Shreveport, Louisiana
When DX’ing on shortwave, I often record a short video with my iPhone 6plus held up close to the radio so you can see the frequency and signal level meter.
I record videos anywhere between 20 seconds and 5 minutes depending on what I feel like at he moment and what I will be using the video for. Sometimes I record a shorter video to post on Facebook then record longer audio via an MP3 recorder in my phone to use in a reception report.
Sometimes I record long 3-5 minute videos and send those to the station instead.
I don’t record everything I hear but what I feel is a worthwhile catch or is interesting. My videos can be seen here:
Thanks for sharing a link to your videos, Paul! You’ve got some good catches in your library. That JRC NRD535D is a great receiver, too–noise floor seems quite low!
On Thursday I attended an event at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI)–location of the 2015 SWLing Post DXPedition.
During a break, I had a couple of free hours, so I reached in my messenger bag and pulled out the Sony ICF-SW100: a radio that has quickly surpassed all others as my favorite EDC (everyday carry) radio. It has so many useful features in such a small package!
Radio astronomy observatories are ideal locations for impromptu shortwave radio listening as there is little to no radio interference/noise present.
PARI’s “Building 1” and the 26 West (left) and 26 East (right) radio telescopes.
While the weather on Thursday was gorgeous, HF band conditions were…well…miserable. There was very little to hear other than China Radio International, Radio Havana Cuba and a few other blow torch broadcasters.
Still, time signal station WWV was on my mind since I had just purchased Myke’s new edition of At The Tone and have been reading your excellent comments with early memories of listening to WWV and WWVH.
I tuned to 15 MHz and, of course, there was reliable WWV in Fort Collins, Colorado on frequency. Though WWV’s signal was relatively strong (despite the conditions) I turned on the SW100’s sync detector because fading (QSB) was pronounced at times.
Here’s a short video of the ICF-SW100 on a picnic table in the middle of the PARI campus. That’s PARI’s 26 (meter) West telescope in the background: