Now shipping: Shortwave Receivers Past & Present

My buddy, Dave (N9EWO), writes:

Yes, it has finally hit the store shelves. Universal Radio received shipment of the (long awaited) updated publication this morning.

“Shortwave Receivers Past & Present, Communications Receivers , 1942-2013” 4th edition

It can be ordered today, see here for more information :

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/books/0004.html

Many thanks for sharing, Dave. Shortwave Receivers Past & Present is the reference guide to used shortwave receivers. To me, it’s like a dream book–a place to browse the many radios I wish I could call my own! I plan to order soon.

Geoff Hanley and the Radio Security Service

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Geoff Hanley (Photo source: Express and Star)

Many thanks to my friend, Phillip, for sharing this brilliant article from the Express and Star:

Researchers discover Wolverhampton man’s secret past

He was a happily married insurance agent with a secret that he took to the grave.

Geoff Hanley was known to be a keen radio ham but nobody realised exactly what he was doing once he donned a pair of special issue headphones in his garden shed.

He would leave his family night after night to operate from the ‘radio shack’ that was specially blacked out for fear of air raids and in which he kept a sten gun, Lee Enfield 303 rifle and hand grenades.

When the siren sounded he ensured his wife, two children and dog were safe in the shelter he had dug in the garden of their Wolverhampton home but he would not join them. He stayed above ground at his post in the shed continuing to secretly monitor German military radio signals.

The operation was so hush-hush that even he may not have been entirely sure how the information he gathered was being used. But he was certain of two things – it was important and he could not speak about it to anybody outside those he worked with.

Continue reading…

WRMI begins relay of Radio Ukraine International

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(Source: WRMI via Keith Perron)

NEWS RELEASE

September 23, 2014

WRMI to begin Relay of Radio Ukraine International

Shortwave station WRMI in Okeechobee, Florida will begin a daily relay transmission of the English-language program of Radio Ukraine International on Thursday, September 25, 2014 on the frequency of 11580 kHz from 2330-0000 UTC. This transmission will be directed primarily to eastern North America, although it will likely be audible in Europe as well.

“We are pleased to be able to provide this service to shortwave listeners at a time when much of the world’s focus is on the situation in the Ukraine,” said Jeff White, WRMI General Manager. The broadcasts will continue at least through the end of 2014.

Listener reports and comments are welcome at info@wrmi.net.

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Argentina Exterior

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Rosario y el Parana, Argentina

For your listening pleasure: the English language service of Radio Argentina Exterior–recorded on September 20, 2014 at 01:56 UTC on 11,711 kHz.

RAE is one of the more casual broadcasters on the air; I enjoy listening to their music selection and commentary as they’re not quite as formatted as other international stations. This recording begins with RAE’s interval signal–one of my favorites.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Bloomberg: Russia Plans Break From Global Web

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(Source: Bloomberg)

Russia plans next week to discuss contingency measures to cut the country off from the global Internet in what the Kremlin called a necessary step to shield the nation from the U.S.-controlled worldwide Web.

Russia’s state security council will examine ways to ensure domestic users can be redirected to servers inside the country rather than relying on the U.S.-managed Internet domain-names system, the Moscow-based Coordination Center for .RU domain said by e-mail today.

“We need to defend ourselves from the U.S. and Europe,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said by phone today. “This is not about isolating ourselves, it’s about getting ready for possible cut-offs as countries that regulate the Web may act unpredictably.”

[…]Russia last month banned anonymous access to the Internet in public spaces and expanded the regulation of media to the blogosphere, requiring those with at least 3,000 daily readers to register their real names and contact information. In February the authorities had passed a law allowing them to close webpages without a court decision if material is deemed “extremist.”

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who used to criticize Putin and reveal corruption among his inner circle, was the first victim of that law when his blog on LiveJournal.com was shut in March. Recent legislation requires Internet companies to store Russian users’ information on servers in the country, similar to Chinese regulations.

Click here to read the full article on Bloomberg…

I expect this will only lower Russia on the Press Freedoms Index, where they are currently number 148 out of a possible 180.

This post is being tagged: Why Shortwave Radio?

Hearing echoes on China Radio International

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Bill Meara, producer of the popular SolderSmoke Podcast, recently recorded audio echoes on a couple of his home brew regenerative receivers. Bill posted the following video, of his regen receiver tuned to China Radio International:

After Bill measured the echo delay at .133 seconds, he believes one possibility is that they originate from a propagation opening much like Lyle recorded on a 10 meter band opening last year (click here to listen to the audio and read the post).

A few days later, Bill recorded a similar echo effect while tuned to Brother Stair (Overcomer Ministries) on a different regenerative receiver. Click here to read the post and view the video.

The fact that Bill measured a .133 second delay (the amount of time it would take for a signal to circle the globe), makes me believe he’s hearing an echo similar to Lyle. But I must admit, I’m a bit amazed that a faint AM echo could penetrate blowtorch signals like CRI and Brother Stair’s relay generate State side.

Readers: What’s going on here? Is Bill catching rare propagation openings–or perhaps ducting in the Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere–or is there another explanation?