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From the Isle of Music and Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, April 2-8

1. New A17 Schedule for From the Isle of Music including the addition of SpaceLine

From the Isle of Music, Week of April 2-8, 2017
Our A17 Season begins April 2 with a new schedule, and our first episode will be a re-broadcast of our special about Grupo de Experimentación Sonora del ICAIC, a supergroup from the 1970s whose many important members influenced the future course of Jazz, Nueva Trova, Fusion, Concert and cinematic music in Cuba. With special guest Pablo Menéndez, a member of GESI (In English) and some seldom-heard selections by the group.
Four opportunities to listen via shortwave:
1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in all directions with 100Kw, Sunday 1500-1600 UTC on SpaceLine, 9400 KHz, from Kostinbrod, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK)
2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0000-0100 UTC on WBCQ, 7490 KHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EDT in the US)
3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UTC and Saturday 1200-1300 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 KHz from Rohrbach, Germany.

2. Although not listed on the WBCQ website, Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, a top secret music and variety program with just a bit of weird in it now and then, airs Thursday nights on WBCQ 7490 Khz at 2300-2330 UTC. Uncle Bill says next week’s contents are secret but fun.

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Tecsun S-8800 – The Birdie Problem

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[UPDATE: This issue has now been solved. Click here to read our full review.]

Recently, Tecsun announced and released onto the market the new S-8800 receiver. Thomas Witherspoon has indicated that sensitivity, selectivity and audio fidelity are very good for this new unit.

BUT…..in his post on February 12, 2017, entitled Tecsun S-8800 Update, Thomas discovered that his new S-8800 has a serious fault, one that could potentially drive radio enthusiasts mad! In tuning around the dial, he found the radio has many “birdies”. In the same post, he notes that Bertrand Stehle F6GYY also found birdies on 4 spots in the mediumwave band and 63 frequencies across the entire shortwave spectrum. Not good!

In reading the comments that followed Thomas’ post, I noted that a few writers seemed a little confused about what a birdie is and how it differs from radio frequency interference. Hopefully, the following explanation will shed some light.

The term “birdie” is, I guess, derived from the type of sounds that are emitted from a receiver having this problem. It can take on a variety of forms, like a squealing or whistling sound, or perhaps a warbling sound, or a hash noise, or indeed, even a silent carrier. In a particular radio, a birdie could appear on one or many frequencies across longwave, shortwave, mediumwave or into the VHF spectrum. And it will usually be permanently there on the same frequencies every time.

Occasionally, you will find birdies smack bang on the very frequencies where you might want to do some listening. But, unfortunately you can’t really do anything to get rid of these nuisances because the design faults are in the the receiver itself. You can test to see if what you are listening to is a birdie by simply disconnecting the antenna. If the squealing/whistling/warbling/hash/silent carrier is still there without any antenna, then it’s a birdie – an internally generated carrier by the receiver’s own circuitry.

Click here to continue reading the full story.

Rob Wagner, VK3BVW, is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. He also blogs at the Mount Evelyn DX Report.

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From the Isle of Music & Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, week of March 26-April 1

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From the Isle of Music, Week of March 26- April 1, 2017
This week, in honor of the International Rueda de Casino Multi Flash Mob day that takes place April 1, our special guest Juanito Gómez, a leading figure in the Rueda de Casino dance movement in Cuba, will discuss the development of the Rueda de Casino phenomenon (in Spanish), and we also will have some excellent Cuban dance music that is popular with casineros.
Three opportunities to listen via shortwave:
1. For the Americas and parts of Western Europe:
WBCQ, 7490 KHz, Tuesdays 0000-0100 UTC (Mondays 8pm-9pm EDT in the Americas)
2. For Europe and beyond,
Channel 292, 6070 KHz, Fridays 1100-1200 UTC (1200-1300 CET) and Saturdays 1200-1300 UTC (1300-1400 CET)

Episode 5 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, a musical variety program that features genres from A-Z, will air on WBCQ the Planet, 7490 KHz, Thursday, March 30 from 2300-2330 UTC (7:00pm-7:30pm EDT in the Americas). Brought to you by Tilford Productions, which also brings you From the Isle of Music.
(We aren’t showing on the WBCQ website yet, but we’ll be on.)
Check us out, and let us know what you think! Reception has been quite good in parts of Western Europe of late.
Episode 5 is our belated “welcome” to Spring and the related time change.

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From the Isle of Music & Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, Week of March 20-25

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From the Isle of Music, Week of March 20 -25, 2017
This week, our special guest Oriente López, the Musical Director of Afrocuba during much of the 1980s and now with his own excellent projects, will discuss both Afrocuba, one of Cuba’s most interesting Fusion/Cuban Jazz ensembles, especially during the 1980s, and his own current projects, which are also fascinating. We will, of course, listen to some wonderful music from these ensembles.
Three opportunities to listen via shortwave:
1. For the Americas and parts of Western Europe:
WBCQ, 7490 KHz, Tuesdays 0000-0100 UTC (Mondays 8pm-9pm EDT in the Americas)
2. For Europe and beyond,
Channel 292, 6070 KHz, Fridays 1100-1200 UTC (1200-1300 CET) and Saturdays 1200-1300 UTC (1300-1400 CET)

Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, March 23, 2017
Episode 4 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, a musical variety program that features genres from A-Z, will air on WBCQ the Planet, 7490 KHz, Thursday, March 16 from 2300-2330 UTC (7:00pm-7:30pm EDT in the Americas). Brought to you by Tilford Productions, which also brings you From the Isle of Music.
Uncle Bill doesn’t like us to say too much, because part of the idea is to surprise you with things, but Episode 4 is especially recommended for fans of music from the Balkans and for members of the Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts (MARE)
We aren’t showing on the WBCQ website yet (apparently it likes surprises even more than Uncle Bill), but we’ll be on the air. Check us out, and let us know what you think!

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From the Isle of Music & Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, Week of March 13-18

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From the Isle of Music, Week of March 13-18, 2017
This week, in the first of two parts, special guest Pablo Menéndez, leader of the current supergroup Mezcla and member of the past supergroup Grupo de Experimentación Sonora del ICAIC, converses with us in English! about these groups (and, of course, we will have a lot of music). In Part 1, we discuss GESI, a group whose many important members profoundly influenced several genres of modern Cuban music from Nueva Trova to Cuban Jazz.
Three opportunities to listen via shortwave:
1. For the Americas and parts of Western Europe:
WBCQ, 7490 KHz, Tuesdays 0000-0100 UTC (Mondays 8pm-9pm EDT in the Americas)
2. For Europe and beyond,
Channel 292, 6070 KHz, Fridays 1100-1200 UTC (1200-1300 CET) and Saturdays 1200-1300 UTC (1300-1400 CET)

Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, Week of March 13-18, 2017
Episode 3 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, a musical variety program that features genres from A-Z, will air:
WBCQ the Planet, 7490 KHz, Thursday, March 16 from 2300-2330 UTC (7:00pm-7:30pm EDT in the Americas).
Brought to you by Tilford Productions, which also brings you From the Isle of Music. (We aren’t showing on the WBCQ website yet, but we’ll be on.) Check us out, and let us know what you think! Episode 3 will have some St. Patrick’s Day music for people who are doing the “Irish for a day” thing and a few other bits of fun.

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Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, Episode 2 on WBCQ 7490

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Uncle Bill sez……….

Episode 2 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, a musical variety program that features genres from A-Z,will air on WBCQ the Planet, 7490 KHz, Friday, March 10 from 0000-0030 UTC (Thursday March 9, 7:00-7:30pm EST in the Americas). Brought to you by Tilford Productions, which also brings you From the Isle of Music. (We aren’t showing on the WBCQ website yet, but we’ll be on the air.)
Check us out, and let us know what you think!
Episode 2 will acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the first commercially-released Jazz record (and the first copyright lawsuit regarding a commercially released Jazz record), there will also be some Cambodian style rock and other odds and ends.

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From the Isle of Music, week of March 6-11

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This week, some concert music selections from the vast repertoire of composer and pianist José María Vitier and a tribute to the late, great trombonist and bandleader extraordinaire and exceptional producer Juan Pablo Torres.
WBCQ, 7490 KHz, Tuesdays 0100-0200 UTC (8pm-9pm EST Mondays in the Americas)
Channel 292, 6070 KHz, Fridays 1100-1200 UTC (1200-1300 CET) and Saturdays 1200-1300 UTC (1300-1400 CET)
See the From the Isle of Music Facebook page for more information.

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