Radio Waves: Russia Shuts Down DW, History of WGY, W2AN/1BCG On The Air, and Summits On The Air

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

German anger as Russia shuts international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (BBC News)

Germany and the EU have condemned Russia’s decision to shut down the Moscow bureau of international public broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).

All DW’s staff have lost their press accreditations and the channel is barred from broadcasting in Russia.

Germany’s culture minister said the move was “not acceptable in any way”.

Russia argued it was retaliating after German regulators decided a new Russian state-run TV channel, RT DE, did not have a suitable licence to operate.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova appeared to offer an olive branch to the German government on Friday, saying that if Germany moved to “normalise the situation”, then Russia would too.

RT has channels in English, French and Spanish and launched its German-language satellite channel in December 2021, using a licence from Serbia, outside the European Union. [Continue reading…]

Exhibit showcases history of radio station WGY (WAMC)

The City of Schenectady, home of General Electric, was once a nursery for broadcasting. One of the nation’s first commercial radio stations began broadcasting 100 years ago. A new exhibit at the Museum of Innovation and Science is celebrating the history of WGY.

WGY was created by GE in 1922 and still operates today under different ownership as a news/talk station. The station’s history is currently on display at miSci in a photo exhibit called WGY: Radio’s Laboratory Celebrates Its Centennial.

Chris Hunter, the museum’s Vice President of Collections and Exhibitions, took me on a tour of the exhibit located in a new gallery inside the museum.

“So, it was about 10th commercial station licensed in 1922. And because it was formed by GE’s publicity department, and not so much the engineers that formed a lot of the other early radio stations, they really placed a premium on entertainment and, kind of, the development of broadcasting.” [Continue reading…]

W2AN/1BCG On-The-Air Again for two-Way QSO’s (AWA)

After a successful AWA on-air sending of the historic 1921 Trans-Atlantic message in December of last year, using the AWA replica of the 1921 transmitter, plans are now in place to do it again only this time to offer two-way QSO’s with all stations wishing to participate.

The QSO party begins on Saturday evening, February 26, at 6:00 p.m. EST, or 23:00 GMT. AWA operators at the museum site in Bloomfield, NY will begin calling CQ on 1.821 MHz, CW, and will listen on or about that frequency for callers. We will work as many folks as we hear in order received and continue to do so until all amateur stations on the planet are in the log or propagation goes away, which ever happens first!

No QSL’s are required for you to receive a nice full sized color certificate confirming your QSO with W2AN/1BCG. Simply send your QSO information via email to [email protected] and the personalized certificate will be sent to the sending email address.

Inside the Summit-Obsessed World of Ham Radio (Outside Magazine)

n a gray Friday afternoon last spring, Steve Galchutt sat high atop Chief Mountain, an 11,700-foot peak along Colorado’s Front Range. An epic panorama of pristine alpine landscape stretched in almost every direction, with Pikes Peak standing off to the south and Mount Evan towering just to the west.

It was an arresting view, and the perfect backdrop for a summit selfie. But instead of reaching for his smartphone, Galchutt was absorbed by another device: a portable transceiver. Sitting on a small patch of rock and snow, his head bent down and cocked to one side, he listened as it sent out a steady stream of staticky beeps: dah-dah-di-dah dah di-di-di-dit. “This is Scotty in Philadelphia,” Galchutt said, translating the Morse code. Then, tapping at two silver paddles attached to the side of the radio, he sent his own message, first with some details about his location, then his call sign, WG0AT.

At this point, a prying hiker could have been forgiven for wondering what, exactly, Galchutt was doing. But his answer—an enthusiastic “amateur radio, of course!”—would likely only have further compounded their confusion. After all, the popular image of an amateur-radio enthusiast is an aging, armchair-bound recluse, not some crampon-clad adventurer. And their natural habitat is usually a basement, or “ham shack,” not a windswept peak in the middle of the Rockies. [Continue reading…]

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Pavel fixes a stereo lock in the Eton E1

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Pavel Kraus, who shares the following guest post:

Eton E1 – fault in stereo reception

I recently became the owner of an Eton E1 receiver, which I obtained on eBay from the USA.

The receiver is great, everything worked, error-free display. The only problem was that even FM and strong local stations did not play stereo even though stereo reception was set in the menu. The stereo text on the display flashed several times when the stations were not tuned in precisely, but after the stereo tuned, the text went out. I know that stereo reception is not the most important thing for this receiver, but it bothered me that there was a defect at all.

The Sanyo 3335 stereo decoder is used in this radio. The stereo reception switching threshold can be set with a 10kohm potentiometer which is connected to terminal 4 of the integrated circuit:

I disassembled the radio by loosening the screws on the back of the radio. The receiver is divided into two parts. I removed the XM module and disconnected the part of the radio with the display from the flat wires on the second printed circuit board of the radio.

I then removed the screws on the circuit board located at the back of the radio.

I removed the printed circuit board and found a matching resistor trimmer on the other side of the circuit.

Then I connected these two points with a wire (when running on batteries) so that I could turn on the receiver:

After tuning in to a strong local transmitter, I carefully turned the trimmer until the stereo sign lit up and listening to the headphones made sure the sound matched the stereo. I repeated this at several local stations.

The receiver now plays stereo perfectly and the settings do not affect other parameters of the receiver. After assembling the radio, I was able to enjoy quality stereo reception.

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Radio Northern Europe International Show #26 Announcement

Radio Northern Europe International Show #26 Announcement!

Hei alle sammen,

RNEI #26 will be our two year anniversary .. it’s crazy to think that it’s already been two years since the first episode of RNEI back in February 2020!
I’ve put together a packed show full of lesser known music and artists and worked extra hard to make this show a good one and we’ve now got a new weekly slot on 15770KHz WRMI for our European listeners!
Some of the goodies you’ll hear in RNEI 26 are:

Some little known artists like Svea S, LAOISE and Vök
TATYANA wanting to lock us down
Little known Samí artist Inna Marja Amindsen brings us a fantastic joik
Our Song of the Month chosen by Karl from Scandipop.co.uk
Our most edited dance mix ever complete with MFSK 64 data!
On WRMI 5850, 7780 & some 15770 broadcasts or our On-Demand shows you’ll also hear:
- Mamma’s Mest Metal (there are some fantastic choices this show!)
- Stephen’s Feature on the Swedish-Samí artist Sofia Jannok
- Daz’s EasyDRF Playlist (Decoder here – WRMI only)
On Channel 292 & some 15770 broadcasts you’ll also hear :
- You will hear a fantastic episode of This is an Express Music Show (There are some production delays so the 292 version might be just RNEI 26 repeated or a shorter 30 minute broadcast)
- You’ll also have a chance to receive Daz’s EasyDRF Playlist (Decoder here) just before TIAEMS starts

RNEI Winter 2022 Target Map (v2)

ND = non directional. The colour of AZ matches the map prediction.
For our schedule on other frequencies please see rnei.org/listen.

We’ve recently added 15770KHz as a testing main frequency for our European listeners and we are really looking forward to hearing your feedback about this change!

Note: 15770KHz at this time has interference on the lower side band.
For radios we recommend using USB mode or tuning between 15772 – 15774KHz to eliminate the noise. For SDRs we recommend using a notch filter or dragging the lower side of the filter in.

If you miss the show or are unable to hear it you can always catch up on demand and, if you prefer to only hear our music, we have Spotify Playlists of each show which are usually published shortly after the first broadcast of the show on WRMI!

We really hope you enjoy this show and look forward to receiving your feedback and reception reports,
Til vi møtes igjen,
Roseanna

Click here to read full announcement and additional details at RNEI.org.

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Carlos buys a vintage Wahda transistor radio

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:

Hey Thomas, check this radio set I just bought.

Portable, MW only, working with 4 AA batteries. It’s working perfectly.

This piece was made in Japan, I don’t know the year, but the curious thing is the Arabic name on it.

Maybe a model directed to Middle East markets?

Who knows, your readers may come with some information about this model.

All the best,

Carlos Latuff

What a cool little transistor radio! Thanks for sharing the photos, Carlos.

Post Readers: Please comment if you’re familiar with this particular radio model–or the Wahda brand–and have any insight to share with Carlos.

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Guest Post: “Tinkering with History”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Colegrove, who shares the following guest post:

Tinkering with History

By Bob Colegrove

One of the attractive aspects of radio as a hobby is that it has so many specialties to channel our time. Just for the sake of classification, I would group these into two categories, listening and tinkering. I think the meaning of each category is fairly intuitive. Probably few of us approach our interest in radio in the same way. Most of us have dabbled in more than one listening or tinkering specialty. Perhaps we have been drawn to one particular area of interest, or we may have bounced around from one to another over a period of time. I know the latter has been my case.

Tinkering might start with a simple curiosity about what makes the radio play, or hum, or buzz, and progress to an obsessive, compulsive disorder in making it play, hum or buzz better. Unfortunately, over the past 30 years or so, the use of proprietary integrated circuits, as well as robotically-installed, surface-mounted components have greatly short-circuited what the average radio tinker can do. For example, I have noticed a lot more interest in antennas over that period, and I think the reason is simple. The antenna is one remaining area where a committed tinker can still cobble up a length of wire and supporting structure and draw some satisfaction. But the complexity and lack of adequate documentation have largely kept newer radio cabinets intact and soldering irons cold. Bill Halligan knew you were going to tinker with his radios, so he told you how they were put together. The fun began when you took your radio out of warranty. If you did get in over your head, there was usually somebody’s cousin not far away who could help you out. The following is a sample of how one resolute tinker managed to overcome the problem of locked-down radios in the modern age. Continue reading →

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Radio Waves: BBC License Fee Frozen, Battling RFI, Warning to RTL-SDR Users in Ukraine, and WRD Special Broadcast

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Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

BBC’s funding system under fire (Marketplace)

In the United Kingdom, you need a license to drive a car, fly a plane, practice medicine and watch TV.

The “TV license” is what Brits call their system for funding their world-famous broadcaster, the BBC. Currently, it costs the equivalent of $216 a year and is compulsory. Anyone in the U.K. caught watching or recording programs broadcast on any television channel or livestreamed on an online platform without a license is likely to be prosecuted.

The BBC — the Beeb, as it’s known — derives around $5 billion a year from this source. That’s 75% of the total revenue it needs to run a vast media empire, comprising 10 national TV channels and 10 national and 40 local radio stations as well as its World Service broadcasts and a global news website.

Full disclosure: The Beeb is a content partner for Marketplace.

But the license fee is under attack. The government just announced that it’s freezing the fee at the current level for two years and not increasing it in line with inflation — a decision that could cost the corporation nearly $400 million. The government has also hinted that it would like to eventually scrap the license fee altogether. [Continue reading at Marketplace…]

RF Interference (Nuts and Volts)

It’s everywhere! It’s everywhere! Fortunately, you can take a bite out of RFI.

RF interference — is it interference to you? Is it interference by you? Possibly both! What does this interference consist of? And how can you tell what type is present? A topic that starts off with so many questions is bound to cover a lot of ground, so let’s get started. Continue reading →

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WBCQ 4790 kHz Testing Update

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That’s not a typo, in addition to its flagship frequency 7490 kHz, WBCQ will be running staggered propagation tests of 4790 kHz during February for a new entertainment program
block sponsored by Angela and Allan Weiner and curated by Uncle Bill Tilford. When the
regular schedule begins in March, it will be 2 hours per night of music and other entertainment from around the world. Several new programs under development will participate when the regular schedule begins.
The February tests will use archival episodes of From the Isle of Music, Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot,
Marion’s Attic, Behavior Night, Rock Wave, Tom Call Theater, a Bluegrass State of Mind and Jetzt Geht’s Los!, a wonderful program from Germany of Weimar-era jazz. In March these programs will be joined by several new ones from around the world.
The first week’s tests will run from February 1-5 from 6-8pm EST (2300-0100 UTC). Each following week will run an hour later to determine optimum transmission times. An eQSL will
be available for reception reports sent to [email protected]
For February 6-12, tests will run from 7-9pm EST (0000-0200 EST)