AM sync lessens noise in this The Voice of Greece broadcast

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Sometimes, the Voice of Greece plays very little Greek music; October 10th was one of those occasions. Nonetheless, I recorded that evening’s broadcast.

Using AM sync for sideband noise

In the first hour of the 10/10 VOG broadcast, you’ll hear a pulsating noise from an unknown origin (possibly a jammer?). The noise was centered about 20 kHz above VOG.

Fortunately, most of the noise was in the upper side band of the VOG signal, so I was able to mitigate it by using an AM sync lock on the lower side band. Without AM sync, this VOG broadcast––and its music mix––was almost inaudible.

If you have a synchronous detector on your receiver and tune in a station with interference, always try turning on sync lock and locking it on either the upper or lower sideband. If most of the noise resides in one of the sidebands, the lock can help tremendously. I often use this method while listening to AM pirate radio stations in noisy conditions.

A confession…

I have no idea what she’s talking about–it could be something absolutely mundane–but I love this radio host’s voice as she speaks and Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb begins. (Start listening around 26:00)

Click here to download more than two hours of the Voice of Greece, recorded on October 10, 2013, starting around 03:15 UTC on 9,420 kHz, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Most of the noise disappears around 00:21:

Data shows pirate radio activity nearly doubles during shutdown

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SWLing Post reader, Chris Smolinski of the HF Underground, has shared data he has collected from listener-submitted pirate radio logs prior to and following the US government shutdown. The results are intriguing.

Chris writes:

“I have some concrete data for you here:
http://www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,13187.0.html

As you can see by the graph, activity is almost double.”

Many thanks for collecting, analyzing, and sharing this data, Chris!

Readers, if you’re into shortwave pirate radio, the HF Underground is my favorite place to view live pirate radio logs. Check them out! You can create an account to submit your own pirate logs.

Purple Power: Another solution for sticky radios

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Many thanks to Mike Nikolich (N9OVQ), who writes with another solution for sticky radios:

After the display on my Eton E-1 receiver died, the good folks at Universal Radio swapped my broken but lightly used radio for a factory reconditioned unit. Fred Osterman warned me that the plastic case was sticky and somewhat gross and he wasn’t kidding, but I was still grateful that he had a replacement radio.

After searching around the Internet (including your blog) and trying various cleaners and solutions that didn’t remove the dirt and grime from the radio (such as rubbing alcohol, Gunk and dishwasher detergent), I went to my local O’Reilly Auto Parts store and asked if they had a recommendation. Their solution was a product called Purple Power ($4.49) and a microfiber shammy mitt ($4.50). In less time than it took me to watch an episode of “Dr. Phil,” my Eton cleaned up beautifully, with no damage to the unit — it looks and feels brand new. The plastic retained that nice tacky feel without all of the stickiness that attracts gunk like dust, hair and other crud.

Purple Power is made by Aiken Chemical. You’ll want to have a clean bucket of water to remove the gunk that Purple Power removes from the plastic — it really was disgusting but I won’t hesitate to give the radio a Purple Power bath the next time it starts getting gross. And, no, I’m not affiliated with Purple Power, Eton or anyone else, including the microfiber shammy!

Click this link to find Purple Power retailers.

Radio Exterior de España to close Costa Rica shortwave relay station

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Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Martin Delfin, for this news from REE and for his translation:

Hi Thomas– This was just posted today on the Radio Exterior website:

http://www.rtve.es/radio/20131014/loteria-navidad-radio-exterior/764480.shtml

This is [my] English translation:

From October 28, Radio Exterior de España will permanently conclude its shortwave transmissions from its relay station in Cariari, Costa Rica. At the same time, from that date, broadcasts from its transmitters in Noblejas, Spain will be considerably expanded.

These changes will affect those listeners in Central America, North America and the northern part of South America’s Southern Cone who tune us.

In the coming days, we will post and announce our new frequencies and times in which you can hear Radio Exterior de España on our webpage and programs.

73s Marty Delfín, Madrid, Spain

Thanks to US shutdown, pirate radio activity reaches an all-time high

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As frustrated as many are over the US government shutdown, it nonetheless offers one unique benefit to the shortwave radio community, and to pirate radio in particular––no FCC enforcement.

As we mentioned earlier, the FCC’s enforcement arm was shut down along with all other FCC activities that weren’t directly connected with “the protection of life or property.”

The result? Pirates––lots of pirates––on the air! The Jolly Roger flaps in the breeze…

Pirate radio activity since the shutdown has truly been at a record high, with pirates taking to the airwaves throughout the week, and especially on the weekends.

Case in point: this past weekend, the North American “pirate radio grounds” of 6,920-6,970 kHz were packed with pirate radio stations. There were even crowded band conditions; at one point I tweeted that there were no less than three pirates broadcasting simultaneously in just a small chunk of bandwidth on AM. Indeed, there may even have been a fourth that I couldn’t quite detect…An unusual occurrence, to say the least. And with pirate radio’s favorite holiday, Halloween (think War of the Worlds), fast approaching, there’s likely to be more such unusual activity.

In the meantime, check out a few of our recent pirate radio recordings.

Buy a hi-tech sailboat, complete with shortwave radio

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The Nomadness

With all of the recent posts on maritime radio, I can’t help but jump slightly off-topic for a moment…

I just learned that SWLing Post reader, Steven Roberts, is selling his completely geeked-out sailboat: a 1987 Amazon 44 called the Nomadness. ( Steven knows “geeked-out” is a compliment!)

Steven has put a lot of time and engineering love into the Nomadness and has documented how he’s customized her on his popular blog, Nomadness.com. She’s a beauty.

You can read about the sale of the Nomadness on the boating blog Three Sheets Northwest. If you live in the Pacific NW, you might check her out.

The rise and decline of AM radio in Pittsburgh

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A portrait of Frank Conrad in 1921; holding a microphone in his hand (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Many thanks to Jeff Brady who shared this article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. While this article focuses on Pittsburgh’s AM radio scene, it’s certainly reflective of a common theme throughout the US and in other countries.

(Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

By Adrian McCoy and Maria Sciullo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Radio, as we know it, may have begun on a bet.

Frank Conrad, assistant chief engineer for Westinghouse in the early 20th century, wanted to see whether a new watch was keeping correct time. In 1912, he made a $5 wager with colleague Thomas Perkins. But how to verify his claim?

Tinkering with materials in his Wilkinsburg garage, Conrad created a small receiver capable of picking up time signals from the U.S. Naval Observatory in Arlington, Va.

He won his bet and went on to design bigger and better radios for Westinghouse. In turn, Westinghouse became a key player in turning the hobby of a few radio enthusiasts into an industry that changed the world.

Pittsburgh’s radio history is the history of modern radio.

For AM radio — and the radio industry in general — the hits just keep coming. Rapid technological changes, government legislation, aging demographics and a shifting media landscape have combined to erode AM’s once massive audience. Better clarity through FM, HD and satellite, and more diverse programming have resulted in AM leaning heavily on two formats: talk and sports.

Still, it all started here.” [Continue reading…]

For more information about Frank Conrad, check out this biography on Wikipedia. Read the full Gazette-Times article The Rise and Decline of AM Radio by clicking here.