Category Archives: Videos

Video: Dave’s “Sproutie” home-brew regenerative receiver in action!

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My good buddy, Dave Richards (AA7EE), has just posted videos of his home-brew regenerative receiver–nicknamed “The Sproutie.” [You may recall an earlier post about this very receiver.]

Below, you’ll find a video where Dave tunes in broadcasters with The Sproutie–she certainly has ears!

Dave, that’s a simple, beautiful little radio you’ve built there.  I love the HRO knob–form and function at its best.

Readers: be sure to check out Dave’s full post about the Sproutie along with another video. If you haven’t yet, bookmark Dave’s blog–it’s a good one!

Video: Tom reviews the Eton Traveller III

The Eton Traveler III

The Eton Traveler III

I just discovered that SWLing Post reader, Tom Stiles, has made a video review of the new Eton Traveller III:

Tom is a great fellow (usually posts as “Another Tom” in our comments!) and has an extensive collection of radio related videos on his YouTube channel. Thanks, Tom!

Video: How to fight radio noise in urban areas

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LondonLondon Shortwave, a regular contributor to the SWLing Post, lives in London, England and copes with serious amounts of radio noise (QRM) at his home. Unlike many urban radio listeners, the QRM didn’t chase him away from the hobby, rather he looked at it as a challenge. Besides taking his radio kit outdoors to escape the noise, he also has a noise mitigation set-up at his home which has been refined over the years.

London Shortwave shared this video demonstration earlier this year on his YouTube channel. Here’s his description:

In this video I demonstrate an improvement to indoor radio reception quality, which is possible to achieve in an urban environment.

I compare using a Tecsun PL-390 portable receiver to a radio set-up that combines Lowe HF-150’s sync detector, the Wellbrook active loop antenna and real-time noise reduction software.

I recently told London Shortwave that he’s a QRM-fighting Samurai; I believe he certainly deserves the title!

Any other QRM Samurai’s out there?

Living in a National Radio Quiet Zone

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The Green Bank Telescope: An impressive parabolic dish covering 2.3 acres, the GBT has the largest collecting area of any fully-steerable telescope in the world. (Photo: R. Creager, NRAO/AUI/NSF)

The Green Bank Telescope: An impressive parabolic dish covering 2.3 acres, the GBT has the largest collecting area of any fully-steerable telescope in the world. (Photo: R. Creager, NRAO/AUI/NSF)

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Paul, who shares this National Geographic video about Green Bank, West Virginia, USA–home of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO):

My wife and I took a camping trip to Green Bank in the late 1990s when the massive Green Bank Telescope was about 80% complete. The NRAO site is inspiring and you (of course) will find no better place on the east coast for RF quiet conditions.

The staff at the NRAO give daily tours throughout the year–click here to view the schedule and costs.

I’m overdue for another visit.

Video: The Battle of the Beams

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Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Jonathan Marks, who shares this video about Luftwaffe Navigation Beams via YouTube–fascinating WWII history:

Video description:

This episode documented how British Intelligence became aware of various German Luftwaffe Navigation Beams, such as Knickebein, X Gerat and Y Gerat, and the counter measures developed to combat them, in what became known as the Battle of the Beams.

It is largely based on the book Most Secret War written by R.V.Jones who features heavily in the series. This programme contains rare footage of The Blitz including the bombing of Coventry. Interviewees include Albert Speer and AVM Edward Addison.