Category Archives: Travel

Review: the Waka Waka Power+ portable solar charger

In my role as director of our 501(c)(3) charity, ETOW, I’m always on the lookout for technologies that could improve the lives of those living at or below the poverty line in remote and sometimes politically-charged regions of the world that are usually off-grid. At ETOW, we prefer simple, rugged technologies that require no learning curve, that can be easily maintained, and that offer exceptional benefit to our users. Self-powered radios, of course, are ETOW’s mainstay, but we’ve also provided digital recording and playback devices, solar and hand-cranked power generation, and, of course, lighting.

When I first learned about the Waka Waka Power+, I had ETOW in mind. I reached out to Waka Waka and they sent a sample for me to evaluate.

The flip cover has detents which allow you to angle the solar panel for optimum solar tracking.

The flip cover, which acts as a stand, offers detents which allow the user to angle the solar panel for optimum solar tracking.

The Waka Waka Power+ is a small, lightweight portable power supply built on a 2200 mAh LiPo battery pack. A built-in solar panel occupies one full side of the device, which charges the battery when placed in sunlight. On the other side of the device–behind a flip cover–is a large round power button and two protected Cree LED lights.

After charging my Tecsun PL-380, the Power+ still had about 50% of its battery available.

On top side of the Power+ is a row of four green LEDs that indicate the battery level.

The body seems to be made of a very durable plastic designed to operate in temperatures up to 80 °C (175 °F). It has a smooth surface and gasketed USB ports. The LEDs are protected behind clear lenses.

Flashlight

Let’s face it: operation of this flashlight is dead simple. No learning curve here, which suits ETOW’s use brilliantly. And brilliance, indeed, is what the device provides.

Press the large power button once to check the battery status; press twice, and the LED lamps are activated at their brightest setting–about 70 lumens, which lasts about 10 hours on full charge.

Each consecutive press decreases the LED brightness for a total of four brightness settings. The lowest LED setting (about 5 lumens) is perfect for reading, and should increase the light’s longevity to approximately 150 hours with a full charge.

Emergency? If you press and hold the power button for two seconds, the Power+ will flash “SOS” in Morse Code.

The Power+ also has a hole in the tilt base that allows you to perch it on top of pretty much any bottle and become a table lamp.

I used a bottle of single-malt, but any bottle will do!

You can also loop a string through the central hole and hang the Power+ from the ceiling–or the roof of your car or tent–for an overhead lamp. Fantastic design for useability!

Charging

The Power+ has two USB ports:

a micro USB for charging the Power+ from any other USB charger (cell phone charger, USB port on PC, etc.)
plus a full size USB port to charge other devices on the go (your smart phone, or–for our purposes–a shortwave radio)

If you plug your Power+ into a typical smart phone charger or a USB port on your computer, it will charge the battery in about four hours.

If you’re on the go, or simply want to go green, you can charge the Waka Waka Power+ internal battery with the solar panel directly facing the sun. It takes about two days of sunny skies to fully charge the Power+. But you can use it even if not fully charged.

Most of the time I’ve used solar power to charge, I started with a battery at 50%–it took perhaps five to six hours of sunlight to bring the battery to full capacity.

Summary

The Waka Waka Power+ is the first solar-powered portable charging device that has actually impressed me. I’ve tested numerous flashlights and portable battery packs over the years; many have been effective as smart phone chargers, but were heavy or unstable (one, for example, literally melted down on my bed while charging–no kidding).

Clearly, I like the Waka Waka Power+. I’m especially impressed because this seems to be Waka Waka’s first product iteration. The Power+ is small, lightweight, tough (though not waterproof) and delivers what it promises.

Negatives? Well, the only one I can think of at this point is that it takes almost two days of sunlight (at least, where I live in North America) to fully charge the Power+ via the sun. It could take longer if you live in an area with less sunlight hours. To be honest, however, I’m still fairly impressed that a PV panel as small as the one on the Power+ charges this quickly.

I’ve charged my Moto X (2nd gen) smart phone several times during my travels; it even came to my rescue when I left my phone’s mobile charger at home and had nearly depleted my battery while using the phone’s GPS to find my way in unfamiliar territory.

I’ve also used the Power+ to charge my Tecsun PL-380, PL-310ET, and PL-880 shortwave radios. In each case, I effectively charged the radio’s battery from roughly 25% to 100%.

The Power+ easily fits in my Spec-Ops Brand Op-Order Pouch and even my Maxpedition EDC Pocket Organizer. It’s an ideal size to carry pretty much anywhere, and especially useful for one bag travel.

I also think the Waka Waka could be quite useful in some of the countries where ETOW works. They could have especial relevance in regions where mobile phone networks are in place–increasingly prevalent in rural Africa–but our ETOW partners (teachers and community supporters) have no means of powering the phones or else can’t afford to power them. I’ll certainly order a few and test them in the field.

The icing on the cake–? When you purchase a Power+, Waka Waka will donate a Power+ for humanitarian use (not yet to ETOW, but to other worthy organizations) through their network. It’s a “get one, give one” deal–and believe me, this helps out.

At $79 US, this is a bargain for a cool little charger/flashlight that actually delivers as advertised.

The Waka Waka Power+ can be purchased

directly from Waka Waka
or from Amazon.com.

Bob’s review of the C.Crane CC Skywave

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SWLing Post reader, Bob C., recently shared his review of the C.Crane CC Skywave portable radio:

Well, I just received my new CC Skywave radio and it’s terrific! I own a lot of portable radios (including several Tecsun DSP sets), and the Skywave is a new favorite and will likely become my standard radio for travel.

Good fit and finish, great ergonomics, and easy to use. I was pleased to find that, despite what’s written in the ads and on the back of the radio, you can set the radio to receive FM down to 76 MHz by selecting the a 9 kHz MW spacing.

Great for international travel. The following is my brief review (by band):

Mediumwave

The Skywave is far better than any of the Tecsuns and is almost as good as the C Crane 2E (my best MW receiver). At my location (40 miles N of Chicago), the distant groundwave fringe includes WLW, WJR, and KTRS (St. Louis) – in descending order of reception potential. Most radios can get a whisper of WLW (though not discernible), while the other two are rare. The C Crane 2E gets WLW and WJR well enough that you can listen; KTRS is detectable. The Skywave gets WLW and WJR and you can tell that KTRS is there. That indicates that the Skywave is among the best. And there are no birdies nor whistles on the band. Nice.

FM

Just as sensitive and about 99% as selective as any of the Tecsun DSPs. The shorter antenna doesn’t seem to hamper reception at all. And, with no soft muting and a more logical tuning setup, it’s a pleasure to work with. Lastly, the stereo reception threshold on the C Crane DSP chip is significantly lower than that on any of the Tecsun rigs, so most signals decode stereo and simply sound better. Where I live, I have tons of signals that are 0.2 MHz apart (i.e. 101.9 Chicago, 102.1 Milwaukee, 102.3 Waukegan – and local) – the Skywave has no trouble separating these and providing a usable signal for all three.

Shortwave

Seems to do just fine. I have not had any overload issues with my unit and can pull in all as many SW signals and most of my other small portables. The lack of SSB is an inconvenience, I suppose, but I guess you can’t have it all!

NOAA/Weather radio

This band is great to have and is perfectly functional. I will say that this isn’t my most sensitive WB radio, but it’s not deaf by any definition. It’s just a little less sensitive to distant fringe WB stations than some of my other sets. But it does dependably pull in anything within 60 miles, so we’re only talking about ability to pull in distant fringe signals (which can be fun).

Air

I’ve played around with this a little and it definitely works better than expected. O’Hare tower is about 25 miles away and I get it clearly, along with aircraft that are (from what I can tell) basically anywhere within about 60 miles. The ability to scan is very helpful; however, catching a signal when someone is broadcasting is tricky. A little online research into local ATC frequencies goes a long way toward having fun on this band. The Skywave seems to work the Air Band better than the G6 and G3, my only other radios with this band.

So, overall, this radio has been a very pleasant surprise. No disappointments whatsoever. Kudos to C Crane Company for doing such a fine job with yet another radio.

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on the CC Skywave, Bob! Like you, I really love this little radio for travel and gave it a favorable review several months ago.

That’s an excellent tip about widening the FM frequency range down to 76 MHz by selecting 9 kHz steps on mediumwave. Brilliant!

Readers should be aware that some Skywave owners have noted a vulnerability to overloading and imaging in urban markets or where blowtorch stations are nearby. If your listening post fits this description, you may want to hold off until C.Crane has addressed the issue.

The CC Skywave can be purchased directly from C. Crane. It is also available at Universal Radio and Amazon.com.

Jim’s shortwave listening post is a Navy ship

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USNS Sgt William R Button (Photo: NavySite.de)

SWLing Post contributor, Jim Clary (ND9M/VQ9JC) contacted me in June to obtain details about the BBC’s Midwinter broadcast to the British Antarctic Survey Team. Jim has been working on board the USNS Sgt William R Button since mid-June. While on board Jim has no web access, but he can send and receive emails and some files. I kept Jim informed about the time and frequencies of the BAS broadcast.

Jim had hoped to make a recording of the Midwinter broadcast at sea, but timing and some technical problems got in the way and he missed the bulk of the 30 minute program.

That’s okay, though, because Jim is an avid SWL and ham radio operator. During time off, he has logged a number of stations, so I asked if he would consider making a recording for us. I mean, SWLing from a Navy ship?! How cool is that?!

Within a week, Jim sent me a recording of the Voice of Korea. Here are some of his notes:

I’d heard [the Voice of Korea] many times before when Stateside (and they were Radio Pyongyang at the time), but their signals were always weak and had major polar flutter. Out here, the signal was in-my-face loud, so even though the station is not much of a rare DX catch, I wanted to get them on tape.[…]

[M]y location is the east southern Atlantic Ocean, not far from St. Helena.

[…]My ship is named USNS Sgt William R Button. The ship has been active since the mid 80s and was a “motor vessel” (M/V) until we became a Navy asset in 2009.

[…]My receiver that I’m currently using is my QRP rig, a Yaesu FT-817ND. I changed over to a Navy antenna that I’m feeding with about 70 feet of 75-ohm RG-6 cable. There’s obviously some signal loss from both the length and impedance mismatch of the coax, but at these freqs it’s fairly negligible.

The antenna itself is an AS-2815/SSR-1 that’s mounted above the wheelhouse (bridge) of the ship. I can’t really describe the make up of the antenna simply because I don’t see why it works so well but it really does a good job. If I’d figured out where its feed point is a couple weeks ago, I would’ve had no problem logging the BBC’s Antarctic service!

.Click here to download Jim’s recording of the Voice of Korea or simply listen via the embedded player below. This broadcast was recorded on July 1, 2015 at 1900 UTC on 11910 kHz:

Many thanks, Jim! We look forward to any other recordings you wish to share!

The new Sangean ATS-405 shortwave portable

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[UPDATE: Click here for a full review of the Sangean ATS-405]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Aaron Hyde, who reports that Sangean has a new travel radio on the market: the Sangean ATS-405.

Aaron writes:

“While looking around the internet today, I came across a new DSP shortwave radio called the Sangean ATS 405. The 405 looks a lot like its 404 predecessor except that it includes 3 bandwidths, 148 memories, a squelch control and comes along with some other interesting features.”

The ATS-405 came as very much a (welcome) surprise to me as Sangean hasn’t introduced a new shortwave radio in years. This radio is obviously based on a DSP chip and has three selectable bandwidths–I hope its AGC circuit is well suited for weak DX. I am a little disappointed the ATS-405 doesn’t have a tuning wheel. Still, I hope this will be a winner.

The ATS-405 owner’s manual (download here) lists the following features:

Full shortwave 14 meter bands
Five tuning methods-direct frequency access, auto scan, manual tuning, memory recall and rotary tuning
ATS (Auto Tuning System)-auto scan and preset stations
Shortwave meter band selection
148 station presets
2 alarm timers by buzzer and radio
Real time clock
Adjustable sleep timer
Tone control (Music/Normal/News)
1 kHz fine tuning
Squelch function adjusts the receiving threshold and eliminate weak transmissions
Easy to read LCD display with backlight
Eco-friendly recharging function with LED indicator
Stereo/mono switch

I will plan to purchase an ATS-405 in the near future and review it in due time. Please comment with your impressions if you’ve purchased one!

The Sangean ATS-405 is available from the following sellers from $89.00 to 95.00 US:

Many thanks agin, Aaron, for the tip!

SWLing Post DXpedition at PARI is all systems go!

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Some of you may recall a post I published last year regarding a shortwave and medium wave DXpedition at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI), a 200-acre radio astronomy observatory and former NASA tracking station located deep in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Since this is the first event of its kind, we’ve been working closely with PARI staff to put the DXpedition together. And come together, it has.

I’m pleased to announce that we’ve now received the official go-ahead: we’re clear to launch the (first-ever!) 2015 SWLing Post DXpedition, which will take place Friday, October 9, through Sunday, October 11. Come join us!

PARI will soon post the official registration form on their website; of course, I’ll post an update when this form is ready.

Meanwhile, those of you who may be interested in attending, keep reading…and do join our dedicated email discussion group (more info below).

A few DXpedition details…

As I mentioned last year, PARI has agreed to handle all of the event’s arrangements, and will even provide a limited number of basic shared dormitory rooms to the first registrants who request them. An event fee will pay for facilities and PARI staff (see below); modest profits, should there be any, will benefit PARI’s worthy science education mission.

We are fortunate to be sharing the beautiful PARI campus with with a larger party of amateur astronomers, aka, a “star party,” taking place the same weekend; the DXpedition will benefit from this in terms of expanded facilities access. An additional benefit is that we can share our passion for radio with members of the star party, while learning a little about astronomy from their members. And for those of us who enjoy both, all the better.

Costs

The costs associated with the event are as follows:

Registration fee: $100

Lodging: On campus, the fee is $50 per night, per person, in a shared dormitory room; or $20 per night, per tent or travel trailer (no hook ups, though electricity is available). Want to come along, but not interested in roughing it? You’ll find numerous comfortable hotels and inns within a 30-40 minute drive of PARI’s mountain campus.

Meals: Catered meals will be provided for a modest charge to be determined (PARI is working with local food services to arrange our meals currently). Of course, you can always bring your own food and prepare it on-site, as well. The campus has a lunchroom with a microwave.

The PARI campus and accommodation

PARI was formerly a NASA tracking station, and following that, a Department of Defense monitoring facility. Because of the remote nature of the campus, basic on-site dormitories were built; scientists use these throughout the year as they conduct their research, and the shared rooms are available upon request.

Typical PARI dorm room (click to enlarge)

The dormitories are conveniently located in the heart of the 200-acre campus, and sleep about four to each room. These are simple facilities, and no private rooms are offered. Bathrooms (with showers) are shared, and separate buildings house men and women; thus the dormitories may not be the best option if you plan to bring a spouse, a large family, or young children.

Of course, if you enjoy camping and/or star-gazing, you can pitch a tent (just $20/night), or park your travel trailer on campus (also just $20/night). Note that this is not a travel park, thus hook-ups for travel trailers are not supplied, although power is available.

For those who prefer not to camp or stay in a shared room, the nearby mountain town of Brevard, NC (approximately 35 minutes from PARI by car) is a charming small town offering numerous hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, and other comfortable private accommodations. PARI often recommends the Hampton Inn in Brevard, NC. Hotels.com and AirBnB offer alternatives.

Receivers, antennas, and other radio equipment

DXpedition participants should bring their own receivers, antennas, and accessories. If you wish to bring an SDR or tabletop receiver, there are quite a few places on campus where you’ll have access to power. At least one main listening post will be set up under cover, as well, for our participants.

Feel free to bring any type of receiver you like. A few potential participants have noted that they plan to bring a portable receiver only, and that’s absolutely fine–this is your DXpedition, your chance to sit back and listen to your radio without distraction, so any radio you choose to bring is the right one.

Of course, a few SDRs, tabletops, and portable receivers will be available for participants to try out, so if you can’t bring your own receiver, please let me know in advance; I’ll try to reserve a time slot for you to use one of the available rigs.

SWLing Post DXpedition email group

We have created an email discussion group for the DXpedition. If you are seriously considering joining the DXpedition, click here to become a member of the group as this is the place where we’ll organize and make further plans.

Since this is the first time the SWLing Post and PARI have sponsored a DXpedition, we’re certainly trail-blazing here. My sincere hope is that this event will lead to future DXpeditions…not to mention, real friendships among our readers and fellow SWLers.

Looking forward to the DXpedition–we’ll see you at PARI in October!

In the field with the Panasonic RF-2200

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I’ve had the Panasonic RF-2200 for just one week, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this classic solid-state portable. Without a doubt I’ve been very pleased with the RF-2200, and I only have good things to say about the eBay seller, volodymyry123 from whom I bought it. Eventually I’ll take the time to calibrate the analog dial, which is about 100 kHz off-frequency. (I’m obviously in no rush, but if readers with these rigs have suggestions for doing so, feel free to comment.)

The RF-2200 is surely one of the largest, heaviest portables in my collection…still, it begs to be taken outdoors!

Last week, I drove with some friends to the highest point in eastern North America, Mount Mitchell State Park. As I left for our drive, picnic supplies and backpacks in tow, I took a glance at the RF-2200 in my office–and couldn’t resist taking it along.

During our mountain picnic, I turned the RF-2200 on; immediately I heard Radio Exterior de España‘s interval signal on 17,715 kHz. It was loud and clear, at times pegging S9 on the signal meter.

I also tuned to the medium wave band and was instantly amazed by all of the signals it drew in. I was able to hear one of my favorites, WAIZ, on 630 kHz–the signal was very stable and sounded local, although the transmitter was easily 60 miles away.

In general, medium wave performance on the RF-2200 has been nothing short of incredible. But this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Indeed, just prior to purchasing the RF-2200, I consulted my buddy, Jeff McMahon (the fellow behind The Herculodge); here’s what he says about the ‘2200:

“I borrowed my friends’ RF-2200 for a month in 2008 and I loved it. It picked up stations effortlessly and had a magisterial quality about it, especially the AM sound. It reminded me of why I fell in love with radios.”

But why is it that when I look at the RF-2200, I feel like I should be taking it to the field? Perhaps it’s the staunch, beefy look of the chassis, or the controls that could easily be worked even with winter gloves? Or perhaps it’s that woven carry strap?

Or perhaps the RF-2200 offers something I miss in the age of compact portables with digital displays: a radio with presence, one that lends itself to pure listening discovery. The RF-2200 demands your attention, and does so with a clear, deep voice…

Yep, the RF-2200 is a true field companion. But don’t take my word for it: find one, take it along, and see–or rather, hear–for yourself.

Tecsun PL-380: Murray’s new travel radio

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SWLing Post reader, Murray, recently took the Tecsun PL-380 with him on a trip to view the solar eclipse and then to Morocco for an extended excursion. He writes:

We flew out of Billund Denmark for the [solar] eclipse flight. A couple of days after the eclipse we flew to Cassablanca Morocco, where we were to join our 2 week excursion.

Here is a shot of the radio [above] at our camp in the dunes south of Erfoud in south central Morocco. In total we spent 2 1/2 weeks in Morocco and the desert was the nicest Radio quiet location I have been in. No interference what so ever! And lots of stations. It was great. The battery consumption of the PL-380 was very good. Nice unit.

Many thanks for sharing your thoughts on the PL-380, Murray! It must have been bliss listening to the shortwaves in such an RFI-free area.

Like you, I think the PL-380 is a brilliant travel radio and one I often recommend (click here for my travel radio review). I also travel with the Tecsun PL-310ET and the new CCrane CC Skywave--all great compact portables.