Category Archives: Travel

An EDC Bag for the Classic Sony ICF-SW100 Receiver

In a 2014 article, this site’s administrator Thomas Witherspoon introduced readers to the CIA’s Survival Kit which is housed in a superbly sturdy waistpack, the Maxpedition M-2. Thomas observed that the M-2 pouch is perfectly suited to holding the diminutive Sony ICF-SW100 receiver.

I was intrigued by that possibility, but only recently tried to combine the two after I resurrected another ICF-SW100 that fell silent to the chronic broken ribbon cable problem. Indeed, the radio is a perfect fit and the M-2 is impressively solid and well designed. I was not aware of the Maxpedition firm prior to learning of the M-2 bag, but I see in various forums they are a major player in well-made gear for the survivalist and outdoor enthusiast crowds. The M-2 is a very popular item, and one or more of the four available colors are sometimes out of stock at the manufacturer. Fortunately there are many sellers on Amazon and Ebay who have these waistpacks available.

What is EDC you may ask? It refers to “Every Day Carry”, the essentials that an individual deems necessary for their lifestyle or a particular activity. For me, an EDC bag is taken along on hikes or other outings to the countryside and typically contains a compact shortwave radio and related accessories. It’s always fun to stop for lunch or a break in a remote location and be able to search for interesting stations whenever the mood strikes.

This photo shows what I’m able to carry in the Maxpedition M-2 bag; a coffee mug is shown for size comparison. Contents of the “kit” include:

The Sony ICF-SW100 receiver
Zero Audio Carbo Tenore In-Ear Monitors & soft pouch
Sony AN-71 reel-up antenna
Panasonic RR-XS400 Digital Voice Recorder
Short 3.5mm male-to-male stereo audio patch cable
Two extra AA batteries for the Sony receiver
An extra AAA battery for the Panasonic Digital Voice Recorder

A few comments on the contents. The Zero Audio Carbo Tenore In-Ear Monitors (IEMs) provide excellent audio quality for their price. They are among a handful of IEMs regularly recommended by budget-minded audiophiles on the popular Head-fi.org site. I like these IEMs not only for the audio quality, but also their small size (in the cloth bag) which barely fits into the M-2’s main compartment along with the ICF-SW100. Larger earbuds or IEMs might not fit the M-2 without being mangled by the hefty YKK zippers. One caution: the similar Carbo Basso model by Zero Audio is deemed by many to be overly heavy on the bass frequencies. I find the Carbo Tenore to be more than sufficient for bass heavy genres like Electronica.

The Panasonic RR-XS400 digital voice recorder has been out of production a few years, but is a highly capable and compact recorder. It contains a hidden USB plug for charging and data transfer, has a fully featured and backlit LCD display, built-in stereo microphones, switchable LINE/MIC inputs, and other useful features. In excellent used condition the RR-XS400 is worth about $50 USD in 2017, despite some Amazon sellers trying to move them at the original $280 price.

The extra AAA battery for the recorder slips into the front pouch of the M-2 bag along with the Sony AN-71 antenna. The additional AA batteries for the radio, however, are held in the two “pen loops” on the left and right of the M-2. Despite these loops being open-bottomed tubes, the fit is tight enough to hold the batteries securely.

Like every portion of the Maxpedition M-2 bag, the belt loop is proportioned perfectly and sewn with precision. With the Sony ICF-SW100 EDC “kit” secured to my belt on a hike, I’m assured of quick access to a DXing opportunity, such as when hiking the Naches Loop Trail near beautiful Mt. Rainier:

Guy Atkins is a Sr. Graphic Designer for T-Mobile and lives near Seattle, Washington. He’s a regular contributor to the SWLing Post.

Spread the radio love

Guest Post: Shortwave Recordings from Mount Kilimanjaro

6 Replies

Mount Kilimanjaro (Photo: Chris Johnson)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris Johnson, for sharing the following guest post:

Shortwave Recordings from Kilimanjaro

by Chris Johnson

Last month, I took a trip of a lifetime to Tanzania Africa to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro: Africa’s highest point and the world’s highest free standing mountain. It is also known as the “Rooftop of Africa” its summit stands at 19,341 feet or 5895 meters.

With this high elevation I figured that I could pick up a multitude of shortwave signals that I would normally not receive at lower altitudes. So I packed my Sony ICF- SW7600G to capture recordings of various signals, some common, others not so common.

Each night I unpacked my radio and extended the reel-wire antenna and scanned the bands. I came across an assortment of stations that I normally do not hear back home in the USA, but some were quite familiar such as the BBC, Radio Romania, and DW which had Africa as their target. In some cases their broadcast was targeted for Asia.

Below is a map of our trek along the Lemosho route and the camps where we stayed are listed with the recordings and the elevation (in meters) of each camp. The higher we climbed, the signals received were sometimes stronger but the surrounding mountains also limited the reception of others. I did find that the bands were congested with signals from stations that spoke Arabic, Swahili and Chinese, not surprising considering my location. For the purpose of this blog I only included the English speaking stations except for a few.

Unfortunately, the critical weight in our day packs was closely monitored and we could carry only the essentials on our climb from Barafu to the summit so I could not record at the summit of Uhuru Peak. Additionally, our time up there was limited to 15 minutes due to the lack of oxygen at that altitude. Below are selected recordings at each of the camps on the Lemosho route. Enjoy.

Click to enlarge

Chris: thank you so much for taking the time to write up this guest post and share your excellent recordings and photos. Amazing!

Post readers: I don’t know about you, but I’m inspired and ready to pack my bags and do some shortwave travel!

Click here to check out other posts by Chris.

Spread the radio love

Video: Ivan’s Airborne TV DX catches

5 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan Cholakov (NO2CW), who writes:

A while back I shared a short story about FM reception from commercial jetliners. I do that regularly on my flights but I also gave “Airborne TV DX” a try.

My equipment is as follows:

Windows laptop

Hauppauge USB dongle receiver WinTV-HVR-955Q

3-inch stick antenna

The receiver comes with its own WinTV software for tuning, scanning, watching and recording TV programs. It is one of the few USB dongle size receivers for North America’s ATSC digital TV standard. A have posted a video of my reception recordings from a roundtrip flight Miami to St Louis.

The video is located here:

Click here to view on YouTube.

My notes regarding this activity:

Reception from commercial airplanes is possible as far as 400 miles with the simple unobtrusive “stick” antenna.

Channel scanning is pretty slow and it is possible that by the time you detect a signal, save it, and tune to it you are 50 miles away from the point where you detected it.

Many times signals are detected but no video can be shown due to weak signal. Users in Europe may have a different experience as the availability of DVB-T USB dongles and software is much wider.

TV DX can make a coast to coast flight a much more interesting experience!

No doubt, Ivan! Thanks so much for sharing.

Ivan is quiet adept at logging and recording FM and TV DX while in the air and at sea. Click here to view his previous posts.

Spread the radio love

The Eton Satellit: a poignant recording of ABC Northern Territories & further DX…

Free job and accommodation for couple willing to live on this island

5 Replies

The red flag marks Maatsuyker Island.

When I first saw this item on Popular Mechanics, I spent a bit of time fantasizing about an interference-free half year DXpedition:

This Tasmanian Island Will Give Any Couple Willing to Move There a House and Job

Depending on how strong your relationship is, this will either sound like a romantic six-month getaway or the plot of The Shining. According to The Telegraph, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service is looking for couples to apply to be caretakers of Maatsuyker Island, a 460-acre island located six miles off the southern coast of Tasmania, for periods from March to September or September to March for the next two years.

For “safety reasons,” they are actually encouraging couples to apply together if they “can demonstrate they have spent time together in a remote setting,” according to the application.

So whats’ the catch? If selected, the only time you could leave the island during your six month stay would be a helicopter evacuation in case of an emergency. Otherwise you’ll be completely cut off from the mainland. Did I mention there’s no internet or TV?

But if you’re okay living on a “sometimes wet and often windswept island” with minimal contact from anyone else, this might be the job for you.[…]

Click here to continue reading the full article at Popular Mechanics.

Aerial view of the southern coast of Tasmania. In the background South East Cape, in the foreground the Maatsuyker Islands (Needle Rocks are on the right; just to the left of them is Maatsuyker Island; De Witt is the larger island on the left). Artificial view generated from satellite data. (Source: Wikipedia)

Remember Tristan Da Cunha?

This article reminds me of our first Reader Challenge: One year, one radio, one (very) remote island where we imagined spending a year on the most remote populated island on earth: Tristan Da Cunha.

The responses for this challenge were amazing and diverse. But Tristan’s population is about 300 people–we’re talking about a Tasmanian island with no population other than you and your spouse!

Since the Tristan Da Cunha radio challenge, technology has changed quite a bit. I wonder what gear we’d choose in 2017?

Post readers: Would anyone else jump at the opportunity to live cut off from humanity for six months? What radio gear would you take?

Spread the radio love

Video: Ivan surveys Cuban TV from a cruise ship

2 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan Cholakov, who shares the following:

[W]hile on a cruise ship 30 miles off the coast of Cuba (January 2017) I pointed a small active antenna towards the island and scanned for old fashioned analog TV.

The results show analog TV is alive and well in Cuba! Multiple programs on multiple channels.

From what I understand Cuba has selected the Chinese digital TV standard but using their own channel spacing so I am not aware of any receivers that can pick up Cuba’s digital TV transmissions.

I posted the YouTube video of my channel scan here:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Spread the radio love

St. Helena is “ready to welcome the world”

7 Replies

If you’ve been a shortwave listener for very long, you may remember the annual Radio St. Helena Day: one weekend a year when this small island broadcaster hit the shortwaves and accepted reports from across the globe. I never had the fortune of receiving their modest signal, but I surely tried!

Since I’m fan of remotely inhabited parts of the world, St. Helena is on my bucket list of places to visit–and it looks like visiting the island may become much easier:

(Source: BBC Travel)

For more than 500 years, the only way to reach the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena was by sea. Travelling to the South Atlantic island by sailboat, after a nine-day voyage from Namibia, my family and I made landfall the way every person before us has: the way Napoleon Bonaparte did when he was sent into exile in 1815; the way modern-day Saints (as the local population is known) do when they venture home from work in the UK; and the way the occasional, intrepid visitor has always done. But we were one of the last travellers to do so.

In April, the first commercial plane landed at the island’s new airport, and the last working Royal Mail Ship, the St Helena, was slated for decommissioning.

A dwindling population and defiant island geology – which, as Charles Darwin put it, “rises abruptly like a huge black castle from the ocean” – were long-time barriers to the development of an airport. But fears that the island could become nothing more than a remote old age home as younger Saints look elsewhere for employment finally forced the issue. Planned weekly flights will replace the monthly ship visits, and tourism is projected to take off.

Now, for the first time, visitors won’t risk being doused in the Atlantic swell when they reach for the ropes at the sea-washed Jamestown landing, trying to time their first step onto solid ground.

Continue reading on the BBC Travel website…

I do understand that the new airport may be a challenging place to land an aircraft. The following is noted on Wikipedia:

Due to the short runway and the long distance to South Africa, a Boeing 737-700 flying to Johannesburg is not able to use its full seat and cargo capacity. Only flights to and from Namibian and Angolan destinations would allow using a Boeing 737-700 near its full load capacity. The other planned destination, London, requires a fuel stop in Gambia, at almost the same distance as Johannesburg.

If Wideawake Airfield on Ascension Island were open for commercial non-military flights, it could be listed as an alternate aerodrome; this would mean that the load capacity of an inbound Boeing 737-700 could be increased as fewer fuel reserves would be required.

The distance from key destinations, the length of runway available, and the type of aircraft available in the region dictate that air services to St Helena must operate to the requirements of extended twin engine operations (ETOPS) which implies the provision of an instrument approach system based on an off-set instrument landing system localiser (ILS LLZ).

Such is also required by the terrain of the airport which, in commercial passenger air transport terms, is safety-critical due to its steep approaches, high elevation (1,000 ft or 300 m above sea level) and rocky outcrops. Without an instrument approach the provision of a viable air service is considered impossible.

There were doubts concerning local weather conditions and, in particular about the amount of turbulence on the approaches from fallwinds resulting from the elevated location and the surrounding bluffs. Therefore, it was recommended that a charter aircraft should perform approaches to and departures from the intended runway. By April 2016 such flights had taken place, and they weren’t 100% positive[…]

There are so many reasons air service will help this isolated community–especially for medical evacuations–but I suspect this will be a challenging airport for any pilot. St. Helena is one of the most remotely inhabited island on earth–due to aircraft fuel limits and the inability to land at alternate locations, aircraft will be forced to land in occasional adverse weather conditions.

While I’d love to to take a cruise to St. Helena, air service will likely make my future visit much more accessible!

Post readers: Please comment if you’ve visited or live(d) on St. Helena! Please share your experiences! Has anyone had luck receiving Radio St. Helena Day broadcasts in the past?

Spread the radio love