Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Tudor confirms: a new version of the Degen DE1103

After publishing our previous post about a potentially redesigned Degen DE1103 with DSP, SWLing Post reader, Tudor, comments:

Yes, the DE1103 looks like it’s been redesigned. You can see it dissected here:
http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/0002.asp?open=724665

Photo source: http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/ via Tudor. Click to enlarge.

And, if I’m not mistaken, the SiLabs DSP chip can be seen in this picture:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5417175/2015102316185240911.jpg

Photo source: http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/ via Tudor. Click to enlarge.

Wow–thanks so much for confirming this, Tudor! This is obviously a redesigned Degen DE1103. I also noticed “NEW-DE1103-MAIN-1.2” silk-screened on the board:

Photo source: http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/ via Tudor. Click to enlarge.

The Hong Kong-based eBay vendor Bigbargainonline is selling the new Degen DE1103 for $79.00 US shipped. I’ve purchased from them several times before and was pleased with the experience.

There are other vendors selling the new Degen DE1103 as well (click here to search eBay) but make sure you’re purchasing the 2015 version of the Degen DE1103 since you can still find the cosmetically-identical legacy DE1103 new in box.

Tudor, thanks again for sharing a link to the discussion on tecsun.com.cn–while I can’t read Chinese (and the Google translation leaves something to be desired!) the photos certainly tell the story.

A DSP version of the Degen DE1103?

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[Click here to read our update to this post.]

SWLing Post reader, Dan, recently sent me this link to the Degen DE1103 on AliBexxpress: http://m.aliexpress.com/item/32521065066.html

The vendor notes a “USA DSP chip” in this unit.

The Degen DE1103 has been around for many years; a testament to its popularity. I’m pretty sure it never had DSP receiver components, though.

I told Dan that this was most likely an error of the Aliexpress web marketing person.

Today, Dan sent me another link, this time to an eBay listing with the title:

“DEGEN DE1103 DSP FM/LW/SW/MW Stereo Dual Conversion Digital World Band Radio”

I took a close look at the photos and noticed that “DSP” is featured on one of the front panel stickers.

Could it be that the DE1103 has been re-designed with a DSP chip? Can anyone confirm?

Shack Photo Contest: We have a winner!

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Vimal’s favorite radios are the Tecsun PL-390 and the Eton E100. (Photo: Vimal)

Please join me in congratulating SWLing Post reader, Vimal, for winning our October Shack Photo contest!

Vimal notes:

“I love these radios (see photo above). The Tecsun PL-390 stereo DSP radio with selectable band width- is able to pull in a slew of shortwave stations in quite clearly (of course a lot depended upon time of day and atmospheric conditions.) I can routinely receive signals from Asia, Australia, South America and Europe which is exciting!

And another one is my small Eton E100 Radio- The highlights of this one is that the stereo through headphones sounds great. Its Informative LCD display includes the frequency and the time while the radio is on (some other radios require a keypress to display the clock). It also features a nice amber backlight for the LCD display. Not to forget the sturdy whip antenna.”

Congratulations, Vimal–and many thanks to everyone who shared their photos.

Vimal’s entry was chosen at random from the 62 SWLs and ham radio operators who shared their shack/listening post photos. What an amazing number of entries!

I plan to take the many photos and notes we received from readers and turn them into an online photo galley. I’ll post this as soon as I’ve curated and formatted entries.

If you didn’t win this contest, fear not! We’re already plotting another simple & fun contest before the end of the year.

Reader Challenge

Note, too, that we are still collecting entries for the latest reader challenge: Emergency radio and a chance to win a prepper radio package!

Avion DRM Receiver now shipping via Amazon India

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The Avion portable DRM receiver is now available on Amazon India (click here to view). It’s being sold for 14,999.00 INR (roughly $230 US).

At time of posting, The Avion DRM receiver only has one review by someone who has (obviously) never used the radio. They give one star then state: “price is very high. so i hate this product.”

While I dismiss reviews like this, I must believe that this price is, indeed, high for most Indian consumers; especially when compared with alternate forms of media consumption (smart phones, analog radio, FTA satellite TV, etc.). It would be high for me, too.

I hope, at least, that the Avion performs well. I have no plans to review the Avion DRM receiver at this point simply because it’s challenging for me to find and decode DRM here in North America with my SDRs hooked up to large external antennas. Don’t get me wrong–occasionally, I do get amazing copy–but it’s typically when conditions are favorable. Listeners in Europe, Asia, and Oceana would have better results, no doubt.

Has anyone seen an objective review of the Avion DRM receiver? Please comment.

Click here to view the new Avion DRM receiver on Amazon.in.

Hearing Ghadir: Iran’s Sepehr Phased Radar System

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In response to Andrea’s UVB-76 recording, SWLing Post contributor, Mehdi, comments:

Thomas, another signal which may sound mysterious:

Iran’s OTH Radar, named “Ghadir”; part of Iran’s Sepehr Phased Radar System.

They’d polluted the 10-meter band [in the past]; now they transmit on 26MHZ. (See spectrum in screen capture above.)

Sound: https://clyp.it/ldpxab2a

By the way, here’s my recording of UVB-76:
https://clyp.it/knvubeur

Many thanks for sharing those audio clips, Mehdi! Now I’ll know what Ghadir sounds like, should I hear it on the bands.

UVB-76: The Buzzer surfaces on 6,998 kHz

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Image: Andrea Borgnino

My buddy, Andrea Borgnino, recently heard UVB-76 (The Buzzer) on 6,998 kHz with his Elecraft K3 in Italy. Check out this short video:

New buzzer on 6998 khz received in Roma @sicral @dxcoffee @SWLingDotCom @LondonShortwave @priyom_org @Spy_Stations pic.twitter.com/nd5cBkDTEh

— Andrea Borgnino (@aborgnino) November 1, 2015

While the audio sounds identical to that of UVB-76’s on 4,625 kHz. I strongly suspect this is simply a pirate radio station relay–especially since it’s broadcasting just below the 40 meter ham radio band. Either way, it’s a great catch! Thanks for sharing, Andrea!

Halloween 2015: Chris charts pirate radio activity

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Many thanks to Chris Smolinski, from the HF Underground, who has crunched some numbers from North American pirate radio loggings on Halloween. The number of pirates (and his charts with times and frequencies) are most impressive and informative.

Chris posted the following on the HF Underground and has kindly allowed me to share them here as well. Chris notes: