SWLing Post reader, Eleanor White, writes:
[I] have a short article I put together for those interested in disaster preparedness, to give non-techies the basics of tuning an SSB signal.s
Here’s the link:
Many thanks for sharing your article, Eleanor!
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Jarno, who shares a link to AmericanRadioHistory.com where you’ll find hundreds of issues of popular radio magazines from the 20th century. All of the issues are downloadable PDFs, thus can be viewed on any computer, smart phone, or tablet PC.
I find it amazing that many, if not all, of the magazines are even searchable. I could (and probably will) spend hours looking through and downloading these issues; I’ve been reading through the 1930s-era Short Wave Radio magazine this morning, and enjoying it thoroughly.
Many thanks for the tip, Jarno!
Dear Editor—
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no shortwave. Uncle DX Dash! says, “If you see it on the SWLing Post, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a shortwave?
Virginia E. Layer
330 Independence Ave., S.W.
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a digital age. They do not believe what can’t be heard or seen on their smart phone. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by Google. They seek credit cards, not QSL cards.
Yes, Virginia, there is a shortwave. It exists as certainly as sound and circuits and tubes exist, and you know that these abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no shortwave! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no heterodynes, no band openings, no propagation to make tolerable this existence. It would be a world without London Calling.
Not believe in shortwave! You might as well not believe in the ionosphere. You might get your papa to hire men to listen to all of the wi-fi radios of the world, but even if you did not hear shortwave, what would that prove? The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see ground waves dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can casually conceive or imagine all the wonders there are heard and unheard in the listening world. For that, you must wear headphones.
No shortwave! Thank goodness! It lives, and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, shortwave will continue to make glad the hearts of listeners.
Happy Holidays from your friends at Dashtoons and the SWLing Post!
With apologies to The New York Sun. Our tongue-in-cheek editorial borrows from the timeless classic, “Is There a Santa Claus?” printed in the September 21, 1897, issue of The New York Sun. Click here to read the original.
McMurdo Station, Antarctica. (Source: USAP.gov)
Regarding our post about Christmas carols in Antarctica, Nathaniel Frissel (KC4/W2NAF) at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica writes:
Hi, everyone! Merry Christmas!
We had a wonderful time singing over the radio from Antarctica this year on 7995 kHz. We heard carols not only from McMurdo Station, but many of the other bases and remote field camps as well. This includes South Pole Station (American), Mario Zuchelli Station (Italian), Siple Dome Station (Italian), Grounding Station (American), Diamond Hills Field Camp (We think!) (American), and Science Event I-196 (American).
I have already received SWL reports from a number of listeners, and am very happy to report that a number of operators reported that they heard Hark the Herald Angels
Sing come through the static for about 30 seconds. This transmission originated from South Pole Station. So far, these reports have come from the Netherlands, Germany, and Australia. A few US stations believe they heard the transmission as well. Many reported using the University of Twente Web SDR.
Here are some recordings you can listen to:
Hark the Herald Angels Sing transmitted from South Pole Station recorded on 7995 kHz USB with U of Twente Web SDR (Netherlands):
http://youtu.be/KY7Qhhd6C3w
Hark the Herald Angels Sing transmitted from South Pole Station recorded on 7995 kHz USB from MacOps (McMurdo):
http://youtu.be/0q4gFNWdBK0
We Wish You a Merry Christmas transmitted from McMurdo Station (Recorded live in McMurdo): http://youtu.be/TAaWGlwq4B0Your e-mail reports made everyone very happy down here. We are all very excited to receive Christmas greetings from around the world!
Merry Christmas, and VY 73 from the Ice,
Nathaniel, KC4/W2NAF——————————————–
McMurdo Station – Deck the Halls
Mario Zuchelli (Italian Base) – Italian Christmas Carol
McMurdo Station – Let It Snow
Siple Dome – Anges We Have Heard On High (in Italian)
McMurdo Station – Little Drummer Boy
South Pole Station – Jingle Bells
Grounding Station – Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Diamond Hills Field Camp – Silent Night (with Ukelele Accompaniment)
Mario Zuchelli Station – Adeste Fideles
South Pole Station – Joy to the World
Siple Dome – Silent Night (in Italian)
McMurdo Station – 12 McMurdo Days of Christmas
Science Event I-196 -Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
Siple Dome – Adeste Fideles
McMurdo Station – We Wish You a Merry Christmas
South Pole Station – Hark the Herald Angels Sing (Reported heard by SWL Stations)
Nathaniel, I’m so happy to hear your signal was heard around the world. I listened, but never heard your carols break through the static; in truth, conditions were less than favorable here. I did make a spectrum recording, and will go back through it again.
Here’s wishing you and all of your colleagues and family a very Merry Christmas!
Below you’ll find a short video of my 1945 Scott Marine Radio Model SLR-M playing Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra’s jazz-infused version of “March of the Toys” from Victor Herbert’s holiday classic “Babes in Toyland.”
It’s a little holiday time-travel I cooked up for you on this great vintage rig. I’m actually playing the song via an SStran Model AMT3000 AM transmitter I built from a kit (more on that in a future post). The transmitter has been set to 1410 kHz, to which the SLR-M is tuned.
Though the microphone on my Flip Video camera makes the sound in this little recording tinny (you’ll have to trust me that, live, it’s remarkably warm and rich), it does feel a bit like radio time-travel to hear a 1940s-era song played on a 1940s era-radio. This is just how WWII servicemen might have heard this music.
For your holiday enjoyment: “March of the Toys” by Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra:
It’s always fun to receive Christmas and New Year’s greetings from two of my favorite shortwave stations: Alcaravan Radio and Radio Romania International.
Dave Zantow (N9EWO) has just posted his review:
CountyComm GP5/SSB Pocket Portable (with SSB) Review Now Posted
Now posted up on my web page. It’s mid way down. Note : I also totally updated my Tecsun PL-360 review as well (the first top review on this same page).
Dave’s reviews are always top-notch, so you should read this one if considering the GP5/SSB. If you haven’t already, you can click here to read our recent review of the CountyComm GP5/SSB as well.