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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Tilford, who shares the following update:
From the Isle of Music & Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot January Schedule
From the Isle of Music:
January’s program will feature retro Cuban music from the 1950s and 1960s and will air as follows:
(NEW) Friday, January 10:
3955 kHz at 2200 UTC
Saturday, January 11:
(NEW) 3955 at 1800 UTC simulcasted with 9670 using beam E-F (repeat of January 10 episode).
Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot:
January’s program will feature mainly Kurdish music and will air as follows:
(NEW) Friday, January 17:
3955 kHz at 2200 UTC
Saturday, January 18:
(NEW) 3955 at 1800 UTC simulcasted with 9670 using beam E-F (repeat of January 17 episode).
In addition to regular radio listening, both shows honor reception reports using websdrs provided that the report covers the entire program and specifies which remote sdr was used. All QSLs are eQSLs, and we will probably send an acknowledgment only for partial reports.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Giuseppe Morlè, who shares the following guest post:
Dear Thomas and Friends of SWLing Post,
I am Giuseppe Morlè from Formia, a town in central Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
I have built a new “Multiloop” antenna using a 40 cm diameter milk crate. The crate is very sturdy and shockproof, making it an excellent base for this project.
Construction Details
I wound three different loops on the crate:
1. A single shortwave coil
2. Two shortwave coils
3. Twelve medium-wave coils
The design includes a single coil placed between the two shortwave coils, which picks up the signal by induction and transfers it to the receiver via an RG58 cable.
The heart of this system is a 2,100 pF variable capacitor with sockets connected to the rotors. Inside the crate, I added another 18 cm diameter loop positioned just below the two main coils.
The ends of this small loop are attached with crocodile clips to the external ends of the rotor. This small loop allows me to exploit induction and, by turning the capacitor, access all decametric bands from 160 to 10 meters.
Tuning Ranges
The variable capacitor enables tuning as follows:
In the lower ranges, it covers 80 to 20 meters.
When reversed, it tunes all higher ranges from 10 to 20 meters.
This works because the small loop and capacitor couple inductively with the primary turns. By increasing capacity with cables on the rotors, the antenna can even tune up to 160 meters.
The medium-wave turns cover frequencies from 300 kHz to 1,900 kHz. Essentially, this Loop Milk Crate antenna can access a wide range from 300 kHz to 30 MHz.
Testing and Comparisons
I tested the antenna using the Tecsun PL-660 and the Tecsun S-8800 receivers. I also compared the Loop Milk Crate with my “Ferritona” antenna and found surprising results!
Some of the videos were filmed in my shack because it was too cold to work on the balcony. Other videos were shot outside, either on my balcony or on the beach in Formia.
Videos
Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoy my “crazy” constructions. Always remember, I’m not a technician—just a passionate listener who loves building with recycled materials.
Wishing everyone a year full of happiness and satisfaction!
Hi to all SWLing Post community! FastRadioBurst 23 here letting you know what audio treats the Imaginary Stations crew have in store for you next week.
On Saturday 4th January 2025 at 1200 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and also on Sunday 5th January 2025 at 1000/1400 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and at 2100 UTC on 3975 kHz via Shortwave Gold we have the debut of WARM. If it’s cold where you are, you will already know the benefits of the show. We’re talking records to warm the cockles of your heart, blazing tunes and even a couple of simmering cover versions to turn up the heat on the shortwave dial.
If all goes well we will also have The Baltimore Boilermenand Boilerwomen Pipe Band in the studio bringing you a rendition of “Feeling hot, hot, hot” and some central heating tips (all subject to availability of course). It’ll be a fun hour, so wrap yourself up in your favourite blanket, put on some fluffy slippers, make yourself a hot chocolate and enjoy the show.
On Wednesday January 8th 2025 at 0300 UTC via WRMIwe have another episode of the wonderful Radio Ace. Tune in for an hour of something very radio related.
For more information on all our shows, please send to [email protected] and check out our old shows at our Mixcloud page here.
Hey Thomas my friend, wish you, your family and the SWLing Post community a happy 2025.
Full news bulletin of KBS World Radio (in Spanish), with focus on the tragic plane crash in South Korea that killed 179 passengers. Listened in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
Decoding weather bulletin broadcasted in the PACTOR/FEC system by the Brazilian Navy radio station in Rio de Janeiro. Received today at Parque Marinha in Porto Alegre, 12710 kHz (USB), 21h45 UTC.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes:
Hi Thomas
Back in the 1970’s, I used to enjoy hunting for “utility” radio stations outside the regular SWBC bands. When I came across a copy of the Utility DXer’s Handbook from 1971 recently on eBay, I couldn’t resist purchasing it. I have since made a page on archive.org for it to help preserve this unique piece of radio history. Anyone interested can follow this link and take a look at the world of utility radio as it was over 50 years ago.
Also, I have included links to some of the recordings and QSL’s from these stations that I have set up on the Internet Archive.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Tilford, who shares the following update:
