Book Recommendation: War Diaries – A Radio Amateur

Earlier this week, I learned that my friend Volodymyr (US7IGN) published his book War Diaries: A Radio Amateur in Kyiv on Amazon.com and I immediately purchased and read it.

If you’d like to know what it’s been like for a radio listener and ham radio operator living day-to-day in Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, I highly recommend reading War Diaries.

Volodymyr (or Wlod) is a regular here on the SWLing Post and simply amazing fellow. We share a love of playing radio outdoors and were even recently featured on BBC Radio 4.  Sadly, due to the nature of living in a war zone, Wlod cannot escape urban RFI/QRM by making journeys into the forest. These days, that would be a very dangerous activity.

Instead, Wlod makes the most out of the blackouts caused by Russian missile attacks: he enjoys the radio quiet conditions to listen to and DX stations across the globe from his small apartment on vintage radios that he’s repaired.

In fact, here’s a most recent longwave scan Wlod shared during a blackout with his vintage Radiotehnika Riga-104:

Since Russia’s invasion began, Wlod’s wife and children have taken refuge in Poland.  Radio has been his constant companion and even a source of valuable intel.

In Wlod’s book, you’ll learn what’s it’s been like living in a world with constant air-raid sirens, artillery attacks, and blackouts.  You’ll also learn how incredibly resourceful and resilient he and his fellow Ukrainians are in the face of the Putin war machine.

I highly recommend grabbing a copy of War Diaries. It’s available on Amazon.com as an eBook for $5.99 and even as a hard or soft cover print book.

Obviously, any revenue from the sales of this book are supporting Wlod and his family.

Click here to purchase on Amazon.com.

Note: All Amazon links on the SWLing Post are auto-converted to affiliate links.

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Carlos’ Shortwave Art and recording of the Voice of Korea (November 17, 2022)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent Voice of Korea broadcast.


Carlos notes:

News excerpt from Voice of Korea, broadcasting from Kujang, North Korea, 12015 kHz.
North Korea raising the tone yet more against provocations by the US, South Korea and Japan.

Click here to view on YouTube.

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You’re invited to a garage sale

Hi SWLing post community and bargain hunters everywhere, Fastradioburst23 here letting you know of The Shortwave Garage Sale this weekend from the Imaginary Stations crew.

On Sunday 20th November 2022 from 2300 utc on 9395 kHz we will be opening the up and over door to reveal the first part of our Garage and Psyche special. Tune in and make sure the inspection pit is securely covered over as it will be an evening of music and dancing on shortwave.

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Video: Dan Unboxes a New-In-Box Watkins Johnson WJ 8711A

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following video:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Dan, I’m not sure how you find these things, but wow! I know you had a lot of fun unboxing this NIB WJ 8711A! How amazing it is to turn on a radio like this that’s been in the original box for two decades!  I hope you have a lot of fun with it on the air. Thank you for sharing!

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Frank reports on the Deshibo RD1860BT portable shortwave receiver

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frank, in Germany, who shares the following guest post and review of the Deshibo RD1860BT:


Deshibo RD1860BT report

Hello Thomas,

Today I would like to report on a new portable world receiver. Unfortunately, new devices have not been found on the shelves of electronics retailers for a long time, but now in the depths of the world wide web. And that’s how I came across the Deshibo RD1860BT.

Deshibo is certainly known to many from their GA450 loop antenna. But Deshibo has also produced several radios, including the RD1780L, which is probably a little better known. New to the segment is the RD1860BT, which initially seemed like an old friend to me. An Eton Elite Executive? Yes, there are external similarities, but also differences.

Many months ago I had an Eton Elite Executive for a short time. I had heard of its excellent reception properties, which I can confirm, but the design is reminiscent of older receivers from the 80s, is relatively heavy, operation is sometimes a bit cumbersome, the protective cover does not protect properly. I find the device to be portable overall difficult. We didn’t become friends, so I sold it on to a Swede, who in turn became a friend.

I still missed the Eton. RDS on VHF is not found in any Tecsun , nor are there memory banks that can be written on.

Then I discovered the RD1860BT and couldn’t resist. First of all: the Deshibo is only labeled in Chinese for important function keys. But the friendly dealer on eBay provided me with an English manual before I bought it. That was the deciding factor, because I was sure that after a little use , the Deshibo could be operated blindly.

However, some questions have arisen in the user manual. Some things didn’t seem quite right, others were completely missing from the description. That’s why I decided to write my own manual on a journey of discovery of the new Deshibo. And so that it might also help others who might be interested in radio, I wrote it in English and attach it here.

Click here to download Frank’s version of the RD1860BT manual (PDF).

The Eton’s somewhat unsorted manual was very helpful, but I also added my own drawings. For example, I added an English-labeled keyboard as a back cover, so that the keys can be assigned without a long search.

Here you can already find the first differences to the Eton: the keyboard layout is a bit more orderly. Also, the Deshibo doesn’t have a metallic speaker grille (which frankly I don’t like about the Eton). The display, not the writing, is backlit in orange on the Deshibo . Most importantly, the Deshibo is a lot lighter than the Eton ( around 500g if I researched correctly). And that means: the structure of the Deshibo must be different. Continue reading

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Luciano spots an Icom IC-705 in Westworld

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Luciano M. (LU7EME), who writes:

I think I have seen an Icom IC-705 transceiver in Episode 6, Season 4, of the
TV series “Westworld.”

The microphone is not quite the original, as the one shown in the episode has too many buttons and backlight…. The transceiver can be seen at the time 5:25.

I take this opportunity to congratulate you for your page. I have been a shortwave radio enthusiast since my childhood, and although I have recently become a licensed ham radio operator. I still enjoy listening to the broadcasts from all over the world.

Your posts, recommendations and news are most welcome.

73,
luciano.

Thank you so much for the kind comments, Luciano. Also, you’ve got very sharp eyes to have spotted this IC-705! Well done and thank you for sharing!

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Practical Engineering: How Would a Nuclear EMP Affect the Power Grid?

Photo by Parker Coffman on Unsplash

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst who shares the following video from Practical Engineering on YouTube:

Click here to view on YouTube.

As I’ve mentioned in past articles, I believe taking some precautions against EMPs is important. While I feel that an intentional nuclear EMP is unlikely, our local star can cause even more damage to an even larger portion of our planet if it decides to cause a solar storm like the Carrington Event.

For an in-depth look at practical ways you can protect your gear from EMPs (and dispel a few myths), check out our interview with Dave (NM0S) in this EMP primer.

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