Category Archives: Videos

The Icom IC-705: Giuseppe’s pairs his new radio with his homebrew crossloop antenna

Vertical Freedom: New documentary highlights the lives of tower climbers

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jerome van der Linden, who shares a link to the following article in Radio World announcing the new feature-length documentary Vertical Freedom:

Spotlight on Broadcast Tower Climbers in New Documentary (Radio World)

“Vertical Freedom” takes viewers to new heights

NATE, in collaboration with Storybuilt Media, has created a feature-length documentary titled “Vertical Freedom,” which highlights the professional and personal lives of six communications infrastructure workers in the United States.

Throughout the film, these cellular and broadcast tower climbers share what compels and excites them about their line of work. Plus, how to overcome every-day danger in order to connect us all.

Ky Nguyen is just one of the climbers featured in the film. He has worked with RIO Steel and Tower out of Alvarado, Texas for the last 10 years.

After the Great Recession, Nguyen wanted to move away from his job in construction and — while he is skilled at his craft now — he was initially hired onto the tower communication service’s team with zero experience.

“I started as a climber and then just kept working my way up,” he said. “Then I became foreman and began project managing. I’m one of those types of guys where, if you want it done a certain way, you have to be with them, showing them, leading by example – so I’m climbing every day.” [Continue reading at Radio World…]

Trailer

Click here to view the trailer on YouTube.

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Radio Atlantico del Sur documentary on YouTube

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Barraclough, who writes:

Hello Thomas,

There was a 45 minute documentary on Radio Atlantico del Sur broadcast Monday evening on Forces TV in the UK. It is also on Facebook. The station manager Neill French Blake is interviewed as well as three members of their staff and an Argentinian soldier who listened to it whilst in the Falklands.

It’s now on YouTube:

I posted a link to the June 10, 1982 recording Tom Gavaras posted to Shortwave Radio Audio Archive on several forums/messageboards when publicising the programme.

Chris Greenway, who is interviewed in the programme, has a detailed blog on the station as well as other similar ones: https://radioatlanticodelsur.blogspot.com/2018/10/moonshine-story-of-psychological-warfare.html

Mike

Thank you for the tip, Mike, and for sharing Tom’s recording widely.

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FT Video: “Ukraine’s battle of the airwaves”

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Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors who share a link to the following video via the Financial Times.

Description:

A look at three aspects of wartime radio in Ukraine: the interception of communications between Russian soldiers, how broadcasters are using radio to combat censorship online, and the mysterious silence of a radio transmitter known as ‘The Russian Lady’

Click here to view on YouTube or click here to view on the Financial Times website.

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WU2D and “Dream” SW Receivers of the 1960s and 70s

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Meara, who shares this most recent post from his excellent SolderSmoke Podcast blog:

Mike WU2D Looks at the “Dream” SW Receivers of the 1960s and 70s (Video)

Wow, I really liked Mike’s walk down memory lane. I saw several of my own dream receivers:

S-38E. Indeed, this little monster did add some danger to your life. AKA “The Widow Maker,” I gave one to my cousin’s husband so he could listen to what the commies on Radio Moscow were saying. He later told me that the receiver had given him a shock. I now have TWO S-38Es in my shack (two more than I really need). I have installed isolation transformers in both of them, so they have lost the one element (danger!) that made them attractive.

HA-600A. I got this one for Christmas in 1972. The A model is MUCH better than the plain vanilla HA-600. I recently got another HA-600A and found serious deficiencies in the Product Detector. Has anyone else noticed these problems? BACKGROUND INFO AND A PLEA FOR MORE INFO HERE: https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/search?q=HA-600A+Product+Detector

HQ-100. Got one in the Dominican Republic. Fixed it up, repairing damages caused by radio life in the tropics. Disabled the goofy audio amplifier circuitry. I now wonder if this receiver might benefit from the insertion of a 455 kc ceramic filter.

NC190. Wow “Cosmic Blue” Perhaps this was an early influence that led to “Juliano Blue?”

HQ-180. “18 tubes and almost as many knobs!” FB!

HRO-500. Love the dial.

Transoceanic. Never had one, but built a BFO for the Transoceanic that W8NSA took with him to SE Asia during the war.

R-390A. I don’t have a crane for the workbench.

Thanks Mike — that was a lot of fun.

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Video Presentation: WLW Radio -100 Years – Behind The Scenes by Dave Snyder

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A view of the iconic WLW tower taken from the neighboring VOA Bethany site and museum.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Snyder, who shares this presentation outlining the history of WLW for the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting YouTube channel.

Video description:

Behind the scenes pictures from the efforts of Powel Crosley, Jr. creating the famous WLW Radio Station, including the largest USA AM broadcast transmitter at 500,000 watts.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Most excellent! Thank you for sharing this, David.

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TX Factor Episode 28

Episode 28

It’s been over a year since our last episode was released so we’re trying to make up for lost time by releasing show number 28 almost eight years after our first show back in February of 2014. Where have the years gone?!

In this show, Bob and Mike get to grips with constructing a digital voice modem using an MMDVM module kit and Raspberry Pi Zero, and Bob reviews the long-awaited ID-52 5W hand-held transceiver from Icom. As always there’s a chance to win a bundle of books from the RSGB in our free-to-enter draw. See here for terms and conditions and full details of how to enter. Don’t forget we also provide a podcast of the GB2RS news every week. Details of how to download or subscribe are here.