Large archive of CW off-air recordings from Italy

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, LUIGI Ciampoli (IZ4KBW), who writes:

Some time ago with a friend of mine I created a very big archive of CW QSO recordings available for everybody who want to listen to CW traffic. The idea was born by the need to give to newcomer HAMS material to train on real CW traffic on the bands (with QSB, QRN, QRM, etc.).

So we started to record our ragchewing, ordering files with date/calls of participants/frequencies/keys used and WPM speed of QTC. At the beginning it was not a serious matter, but nowadays the archive counts thousands of records with local and international radio friends…hours and hours of “swinging morse code.” Some of these QSOs are made with ex professional RT involved on radio ham bands spending time talking about the past golden era and having QSO with OMs on the radio.

We released this large archive of recordings in a Google drive folder that can be shared. The archive is located at the following link : https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XaF3Mvwa6WvgOCzZjp0NwzgnYdNHsW2Q

de IZ4KBW/op Luigi

Sample recording made on November 21, 2021. I8QFK, IZ8VKW, IU1MRY (Using a Paddle on 7036 kHz):

Thank you for sharing this, Luigi! What a wonderful idea. I think I will approach you about adding a few of these to the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive as well as there are very few ham radio CW recordings.

Click here to check out IZ4KBW’s CW QSO off-air recording archive.

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Radio Waves: Cassette’s Role in Creation of Internet, AU2JCB Special Event, Joel Hallas (W1ZR) SK, and Shortwave Chatter

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!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Datta (VU2DSI), Kim Elliott, Ron, and the Southgate ARC for the following tips:


How the Cassette Tape Helped Create the Internet (WNYC Studios)

In 1983, Simon Goodwin had a strange thought. Would it be possible to broadcast computer software over the radio? If so, could listeners record it off the air and onto a cassette tape? This experiment, and dozens of others in the early 80s, created a series of cassette fueled, analog internets. Our friend Simon Adler at Radiolab reports.

This is a segment from our November 26th, 2021 program, How Cassette Tapes Changed the World. [Read and listen to this piece at WNYC Studios…]

AU2JCB operation 19 NOV to 14 DEC 2021 (Datta, VU2DSI)

AU2JCB is a special event callsign to commemorate the birth date (30 NOV) & to pay homage & tell about the great INDIAN scientist Aacharya JAGADISH CHANDRA BOSE who is recognized as the “Father of Wireless Communication” by the scientific community of our world.
VU2DSI- Datta Deogaonkar will operate with this AU2JCB special event call sign. Continue reading

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DX Central’s MW Frequency Challenge: Week 1 results & Week 2 announcement

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Loyd Van Horn at DX Central who shares the following announcement:

Week 1 of the DX Central MW Frequency Challenge is in the books and with nearly 75 entries on a short week, it was a great success! You can read a full recap of the results at the blog post link, below including the announcement of the overall winner and leaders in various categories. Feel free to publish as much or as little of that as you would like, with credit of course.

https://www.dxcentralonline.com/post/week-2-of-the-mw-frequency-challenge-1430-khz

For Week 2, we turn our attention to 1430 kHz. The official Google Forms link to submit loggings can be found at https://forms.gle/f7ZEVFLJuXEnVPAm9.

Loggings must be for receptions between 0500 UTC on Sunday, November 28, 2021 and the closing announcement during our next livestream, on Saturday, December 4, 2021. Loggings must be for stations on 1430 kHz only and must be received using a DXers own equipment. WebSDR loggings are welcome for reference purposes but will not be counted towards the challenge competition. Full rules can be found at the above blog post.

73 and best of DX! Good luck to you all!

Loyd – W4LVH
Mandeville, LA

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Video: Jonathan Marks and Andy Sennitt on Amsterdam Radio Day in 2011

RNW headquarters in Hilversum, Netherlands (photo courtesy: Former RNW)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Barraclough, who shares the following:

[Here’s a video] link to Jonathan Marks and Andy Sennitt talking about Media Network at the Amsterdam Radio Day in 2011, a meeting I attended.

Those annual events were mostly panels about offshore radio:

Thank you so much for sharing this, Mike!  I was not attend this gathering, so it’s wonderful to do a little time travel!

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Video: W2AEW reviews the CountyComm GP-7/SSB

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Grant, who writes:

Hi Thomas,

In case it hasn’t crossed your path yet, Alan put out a nice review of the GP-7 yesterday. He has a gift for explaining things…

Click here to view on YouTube.

He does indeed!  Thank you for sharing this, Grant!

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Carlos’ Shortwave Art and Recording of Radio Amhara “From the Battlefield”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares another example of his radio log art, this time for Radio Amhara.

Carlos notes:

Radio Amhara, 6090 kHz, broadcasting in Amharic language from Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

Interview about the current civil war in Ethiopia.

Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is mentioned.

The conflict in the region turned one year old.

Signal listened in countryside Anapolis, Goias, Brazil, November 25, 2021, 04h10 (UTC).

Thank you Mr. Abel Work for the translation of what is said in this audio clip:

“I just listened to the audio clip and 95% of it is just noise and from the couple of sentences that I got, they are talking about that the TPLF has created a lot of people displaced from their home and they need all Ethiopians to help these people with everything including food and shelter”.

Click here to listen on YouTube.

Carlos posts many of his shortwave logs on his Twitter feed–definitely check them out!

Many thanks, Carlos!

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A selection of Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2021 Radio Deals

While I’m not exactly in the market for anything other than a few radio accessories, I have been checking out some Black Friday Deals online. I must admit that there seems to be even more deals this year than there were last year.

A few retailers worth checking out (in alphabetical order):

Airspy

As we mentioned in a previous post, AirSpy is once again offering huge discounts via their international distributors. This is a great time to snag the HF+ Discovery.

C.Crane

C.Crane has a small selection of items on deep discount for Black Friday including two of their popular SoftSpeaker pillow speakers and an LED flashlight. Click here to check out their deals.

Elecraft

US manufacturer, Elecraft, has included a number of products in their Black Friday sale. Note that some items may have a 6-8 week lead time. I’m a massive fan of their KX2 and KX3 transceivers–they currently have shack-in-a-box KX2/KX3 packages in their promotion. Click here to check out their sale.

GigaParts

GigaParts always has an impressive number of items in their Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. They have the super popular Yaesu FT-891–which is a great general coverage transceiver for broadcast band listening–for $629.95. I also noticed they have the Icom IC-R6 wideband handheld receiver in stock for $185.95. Click here to check out all of their deals.

Ham Radio Outlet

HRO has a number of radio items in their Black Friday sale. In particular, they have the SDRplay RSP1A wideband SDR for $99.95. They also have the Yaesu FT-891 for $629.95. They’ve many more deals, so check out their homepage for details.

Ham Test Online

Ham Test Online is offering a sale on their online license self-paced programs. Everyone in my family used this system for at least one license level and it worked brilliantly. From their newsletter:

Take advantage of our Black Friday Cyber Weekend Sale from Black Friday through Cyber Monday (November 26-29). If you’ve been wanting to get your license or upgrade, do it now and save $10 on each of our courses and $35 on the FCC fee:

Technician — $19.95 (33% off the $29.95 list price).

General — $24.95 (29% off the $34.95 list price).

Extra — $29.95 (25% off the $39.95 list price).

Renewal — $14.95 (50% off the $29.95 list price).

Click here to check it out at Ham Test Online.

Main Trading Company (MTC)

Two readers note that MTC is having a year sale which includes a Tecsun PL-880 for $169 and a number of radios and accessories.

Click here to check out their home page.

Radioddity

Radioddity’s Black Friday sale includes 15% off site-wide. They’re one of the biggest Xiegu retailers, so if you’ve been considering a G90, X5105, or the new X6100 for example, this would be a great time to purchase. Click here to check out their deals (use the discount code BFCM).

Any others–?

Please comment with any special deals you’ve found and I’ll add them to this post!

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