Alex shares details about the latest Belka portable and upgrades

After posting information about the new Belka upgrades yesterday, Belka designer, Aleksandr Buevskiy, reached out to me and shared the following details and clarification about the latest design: 

I would like to share some more details/photos about Belka so that there is clear understanding of what features the new version has.

First, regarding its name. Now there’s no “DX”, “DSP” or something else. Belka is just named “Belka”. As simple as that 🙂

Second, frequency range was extended with the same parameters and performance. It’s now 0,1-31 MHz.

In previous versions there were 32 memory cells, we’ve now added a few more – 36 is exact number now to be precise.

One more thing about memory cells is that now there is a possibility to listen to memory cells before loading. See attached how it looks like (I’ve added video illustrating memory cells listening just because there were questions).

I also attach several photos of new version and add block diagram. You’ll find attached also PCB photo of new version:

Cheers,
Alex
EU1ME

Thank you for sharing all of this detail, Alex. I believe your new Belka will be a hit! I’m sure readers reach out with their reviews and we will share them here on the SWLing Post!

Click here to check out the new Belka.

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Ham & HiFi offers readers discounts on the original CHA-RXL mag loop antenna

I received the following message/announcement below from Ethan at Ham & HiFi regarding some inventory they have of the original Chameleon CHA RXL loop antenna. This antenna is the one Dan Robinson originally reviewed and Josh at Ham Radio Crash Course demonstrated in a video.

Note that they’re offering this deal as an exclusive to SWLing Post readers and also volunteered to give back a modest percentage of the sales to the SWLing Post coffee fund. They would obviously like to move this inventory, hence the discounts, etc.

This antenna would benefit from a BCI filter especially if you live near a broadcast station; something like this one (you would need adapters for SMAs). As Ethan notes this loop has been replaced by the CHA RXL-Pro at Chameleon (click here to read Dan’s review of the new loop).

Many thanks to Ethan for sharing the following announcement/promotion:

Here’s a great chance to pick up a Chameleon RXL LOOP antenna at an unbeatable price! This broad-banded receiving antenna is perfect for shortwave listening and other applications as it covers 137.5KHz through 30.0MHz. The only difference between this antenna and Chameleon’s new RXL PRO is the preamp design, otherwise its construction is identical.

Ham & HiFi is making these RXL LOOP antennas available to SWLing.com subscribers for $320 + shipping. The new RXL PRO retails for $525, so this is a great chance to save some money! Again, this price is only available to SWLing Post subscribers, so please be sure to reference this promotion.

Place your order by contacting Ethan at 866-988-0073 or email at [email protected].

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DLARC: The Internet Archive is seeking Amateur Radio content

Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post readers who share the following announcement and request from the amazing Internet Archive:


Internet Archive Seeks Donations of Materials to Build a Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications

Internet Archive has begun gathering content for the Digital Library of Amateur Radio and Communications (DLARC), which will be a massive online library of materials and collections related to amateur radio and early digital communications. The DLARC is funded by a significant grant from the Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), a private foundation, to create a digital library that documents, preserves, and provides open access to the history of this community.

The library will be a free online resource that combines archived digitized print materials, born-digital content, websites, oral histories, personal collections, and other related records and publications. The goals of the DLARC are to document the history of amateur radio and to provide freely available educational resources for researchers, students, and the general public. This innovative project includes:

    • A program to digitize print materials, such as newsletters, journals, books, pamphlets, physical ephemera, and other records from both institutions, groups, and individuals.
    • A digital archiving program to archive, curate, and provide access to “born-digital” materials, such as digital photos, websites, videos, and podcasts.
    • A personal archiving campaign to ensure the preservation and future access of both print and digital archives of notable individuals and stakeholders in the amateur radio community.
    • Conducting oral history interviews with key members of the community.
    • Preservation of all physical and print collections donated to the Internet Archive.

The DLARC project is looking for partners and contributors with troves of ham radio, amateur radio, and early digital communications related books, magazines, documents, catalogs, manuals, videos, software, personal archives, and other historical records collections, no matter how big or small. In addition to physical material to digitize, we are looking for podcasts, newsletters, video channels, and other digital content that can enrich the DLARC collections. Internet Archive will work directly with groups, publishers, clubs, individuals, and others to ensure the archiving and perpetual access of contributed collections, their physical preservation, their digitization, and their online availability and promotion for use in research, education, and historical documentation. All collections in this digital library will be universally accessible to any user and there will be a customized access and discovery portal with special features for research and educational uses.

We are extremely grateful to ARDC for funding this project and are very excited to work with this community to explore a multi-format digital library that documents and ensures access to the history of a specific, noteworthy community. Anyone with material to contribute to the DLARC library, questions about the project, or interest in similar digital library building projects for other professional communities, please contact:

Kay Savetz, K6KJN
Program Manager, Special Collections
[email protected]
Twitter: @KaySavetz

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Belka DX updated to now cover mediumwave and longwave

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Garr, who writes:

I have some interesting news for all of those Belka DX fans, Alex the guy behind this magnificent receiver has just announced the introduction of a new model. Ok so it is still called the Belka DX but it has now got a total frequency coverage of 100KHz to 31MHz so those that have put off buying because of lack of Long wave and Medium wave have now had their prayers answered. There has been no fanfare announcement about this but they have just updated their website with the new added frequency range. I am just waiting for the first review to appear before committing my hard earned cash.
Regards
Dave Gurr

Click here to check it out.

Excellent news. I’m sure this will make the Belka DX even more popular than it already is. I have to assume a ferrite bar hasn’t been added (there isn’t much room for one in the Belka series) so you would need to pair a proper MW/LM antenna antenna in order to fully take advantage of the new bands.   

Thank you for the tip, Dave!

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Photos from the 2022 Hamilton Ontario Hamfest

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike (VE3MKX), who shares photos taken during the Hamilton, Ontario hamfest which took place on October 1, 2022. 

Readers: This is a large gallery of 40 photos courtesy of Mike (VE3MKX). If you would like to view the entire image gallery click on the link to see more. 

Continue reading

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Nick explores the Skanti R8001 and compares with Yaesu FT-DX101MP & WJ-8711

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nick Booras, who writes:

Hi Thomas

I just picked up a new to me radio that [is] very rare in the US.

I loved it so much I did a comparison to an 8711 and a FTDX101MP. The Skanti presented very well.

Video

Click here to view on YouTube.

Excellent Nick! Thank you so much for sharing this and for demonstrating some weak signal work. You were certainly pitting the Skanti against some benchmark performers!  

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Classic GE shortwave portable featured in this 1986 battery commercial

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Robert Yowell, who writes:

Tom – someone posted this week a rarely seen 1986 commercial for Eveready Batteries featuring the GE World Monitor radio (and Gold medal Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton!)

Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/pyv5FXFpxR8

Click here to view on YouTube.

Thank you so much for sharing this, Robert. I have a special affinity for my GE 7-2990A as it used to belong to my dear friend, Michael Pool (The Professor). It’s quite a workhorse of a radio with excellent mediumwave chops and it packs some amazing audio fidelity. Of course, with the right batteries, it’ll keep you on the air for weeks or months at a time! 🙂

Any other GE 7-2990A owners out there?

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