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.
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.
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!
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?
Apollo 11 (Photo: NASA)
Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
An intracellular antenna that’s compatible with 3D biological systems and can operate wirelessly inside a living cell.
A new study could allow scientists to create cyborgs at a cellular scale, thanks to MIT Media Lab for designing a miniature antenna that can operate wirelessly inside a living cell. This could have applications in medical diagnostics, treatment, and other scientific processes because of the antenna’s potential for real-time monitoring and directing cellular activity.
Scientists named this technology Cell Rover. It represents the first demonstration of an antenna that can operate inside a cell and is compatible with 3D biological systems.
Deblina Sarkar, assistant professor and AT&T Career Development Chair at the MIT Media Lab and head of the Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek Lab, said, “Typical bioelectronic interfaces are millimeters or even centimeters in size and are not only highly invasive but also fail to provide the resolution needed to interact with single cells wirelessly — especially considering that changes to even one cell can affect a whole organism.”
The size of the newly developed antenna is much smaller than a cell. The antenna represented less than .05 percent of the cell volume in research with oocyte cells. It converts electromagnetic waves into acoustic waves, whose wavelengths are five orders of magnitude smaller, representing the velocity of sound divided by the wave frequency — than those of the electromagnetic waves. [Continue reading…]
This episode was written and produced by Jack Higgins.
We’ve all heard the iconic recordings from the Apollo missions. But how exactly does NASA manage to run live audio between Earth and the moon? And how might we chat with astronauts on Mars and beyond? Featuring Astronaut Peggy Whitson, NASA Audio Engineer Alexandria Perryman, and Astrophysicist Paul Sutter.
Click here to listen on the 20,000 Hertz webite.
Australia’s communications regulator ACMA has asked radio amateurs to comment on their proposed amateur class licence and considerations for higher power 1 kW operation
The ACMA say:
Following the extensive 2021 public consultation and associated response to submissions, we have released a consultation paper on the proposed amateur class licence and supporting operational arrangements, along with considerations for higher power operation. This is the next step in our review of regulatory arrangements for the operation of non-assigned amateur stations.
The draft class licence for amateur radio has been amended to incorporate changes suggested by representative bodies, amateur radio clubs and individual amateurs during the 2021 consultation.
The consultation paper, proposed class licence and details about how to make a submission are available on the ACMA website
https://www.acma.gov.au/consultations/2022-09/proposed-amateur-class-licensing-arrangements-and-higher-power-operation-consultation-312022
Submissions close COB, Tuesday 29 November 2022.
Questions about the consultation
If you have an important question about this consultation, please send it directly to [email protected]. Please note, we may use the Amateur radio update e-bulletin to answer frequently asked questions.
Subscribe to the ACMA Amateur Radio newsletter at
https://www.acma.gov.au/subscribe-our-newsletters
In the late 1950s television networks ruled the airwaves from 7 to 11 PM, but outside of that timeslot television was live, local and unpredictable.
Jim Hanlon, W8KGI, worked as a summer relief engineer at Cincinnati’s WCPO-TV from 1956 to 1958. At that time WCPO-TV did not have any video recording technology, so all local TV was live TV and provided a refreshing dose of live programming, equipment failures and production creativity that been lost in today’s pasteurized, homogenized TV ecosystem.
Join Jim as he recalls what it like producing live TV programming in the early days of television broadcasting.
Click here to view on YouTube.
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Hi SWLing post people worldwide, this weekend WRLD takes to the air in the imaginary station series. The transmission will be on air on 9395 kHz from 2200 utc on Sunday 2nd October 2022 via the services of WRMI. Expect some wonderful tunes from all around this magical globe of ours. Fastradioburst23.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor (and rare radio aficionado), Dan Robinson, who shares a link to this eBay listing.
Dan notes:
“The SS-1R is almost as rare as the SS-IBS which was the SWBC version of the receiver.”
Thanks for sharing this, Dan. Seems the seller is also accepting offers (asking price is $999.99 US). Any serious buyers should read the seller notes. The unit looks incredibly clean cosmetically, but would likely need a good electrical going-over and possible alignment.
Even if, like me, it’s not in your budget to purchase a rare radio, I think we can all appreciate the photos:
Thanks again for sharing, Dan!
(Source: The Guardian via Mark Hirst)
Corporation to end production of radio output in 10 languages, including Chinese, Hindi and Arabic, as it blames licence fee freeze
The BBC has announced deep cuts to its World Service output that will result in the loss of hundreds of jobs, saying it has been forced to act by the government’s ongoing licence fee freeze.
In a move that could weaken the UK’s soft power around the world, the corporation will stop producing radio output in 10 languages, including Chinese, Hindi, and Arabic.
BBC Persian will end its audio broadcasts aimed at Iran, with the announcement coming at a time when widespread protests are taking place in the country.
There will also be a change in focus of the World Service’s English-language radio output, with more time dedicated to live news and sports programming at the expense of standalone programmes.
About 382 jobs will be lost as a result of the proposals, which the BBC said was required to make £28.5m of annual savings. The broadcaster blamed years of below-inflation licence fee freezes imposed by the government, in addition to the rapidly increasing cost of producing programmes because of the state of the economy.
Philippa Childs of the broadcasting union Bectu said she recognised the BBC needed to adapt to the digital era but that the government’s licence fee freeze has “potential ramifications for the BBC’s reputation globally”.
The World Service was traditionally funded directly by the government and was seen as a soft power tool that provided British news and information to hundreds of millions of people around the globe. This money largely dried up as part of George Osborne’s austerity measures in 2010, when the bill for World Service operations was loaded on to domestic licence fee payers.
Since then the BBC has had to go cap-in-hand to the government to seek extra funding to support specific World Service projects, with ministers providing around £400m in additional cash since 2016. However, there are doubts about how long these deals will continue. Earlier this year the BBC had to ask ministers for an emergency £4m to keep its operations in Ukraine and Russia on air. [Continue reading at The Guardian…]