Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who shares a link to this eBay Buy It Now auction for a new in sealed box Yaesu FRG-100.
Yaesu FRG-100
Dave notes, “The seller does not disclose the serial number so no way of telling if this is a later B version or not.”
In addition, of course, this is an untested radio in a sealed box and being sold as-is. Still, it’s not every day you find a receiver like this that has never been opened before. Thank you for the tip, Dave!
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!
The biggest change for CB radios in the U.S. since the late 1970s is coming and it looks to be a good thing for improved voice quality and cutting through frustrating background noise common at the peak of day.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently approved FM to join alongside AM and single-sideband (SSB) modes on CBs. It’s a big change to old technology that offers some clear advantages.
On the plus side, FM will provide users with improved audio quality and greater ability to circumvent background signal noise typical on CB’s long-standing AM side. The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at U.C. Berkeley reports that FM will provide an “improved signal to noise ratio (about 25dB) with regards to man-made interference” over AM. That kind of reduction in background noise could prove popular with truckers who remain among the top users of CBs in the U.S.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who notes that Grahn Spezialantennen is currently closed due to the fact that Mr. Grahn is undergoing extended medical treatment.
Dan received this message from Christine Grahn who did not indicate if/when the business might re-open. We certainly wish him all of the best in recovery.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes:
In recent years, a number of records have been set for QSL cards from former shortwave stations around the world. The latest example shows that there is still strong collector demand for one of the rarest stations on the air from Africa, Comoros Islands.
In this eBay auction, a classic photo QSL from the station at Moroni went for $158. That’s in the high end for QSL auctions — there have been higher, for example for QSLs from the former AFAN station at McMurdo, Antarctica, and for some other African and Asian cards.
This card shows the 90 meter band shortwave frequency for the station, 3,331 kHz which as veteran DX’ers who are still around recall could be heard with great difficulty from 0300 UTC when the station signed on for morning programming. The other frequency of 7,260 kHz was also heard, though the 90 meter frequency was the easiest for U.S. DX’ers.
– Dan Robinson
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing your insight, Dan. What a fascinating find!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares one more example of his radio log art, this time for a Voice of Korea broadcast in Spanish.
Here’s Carlos’ clip of the Voice of Korea which accompanies the log art at the top of this post:
Carlos has been posting his shortwave logs on his Twitter feed–definitely check them out!
Many thanks, Carlos!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron who shares the following news via the Southgate ARC:
63 years after the introduction of Class D 27 MHz AM CB Radio the FCC has agreed to permit FM to be used
From FCC Memorandum Opinion and Order on Reconsideration WT Docket No. 10-119, issued July 15, 2021:
What the Memorandum Opinion and Order on Reconsideration Would Do:
• Grant Cobra’s Petition requesting that the Commission allow FM as an optional modulation scheme for all existing 40 CB Radio Service channels (with AM remaining mandatory).
• Grant Motorola’s Petition requesting that the Commission allow automatic or periodic location and data transmissions in the GMRS and FRS. The Commission’s rules currently permit the transmission of location information and brief text messages initiated by a manual action and automatic responses of location information.
• Grant Medtronic’s Petition requesting the correction of typographical errors and rule changes in the Part 95 Personal Radio Services Rules Report and Order that inadvertently altered the substance of the Medical Device Radiocommunications Service (MedRadio) rules
The FCC say:
After considering this additional information, we conclude that allowing manufacturers to add FM as an optional modulation scheme will not substantially change the fundamental nature of the CB Radio Service and will improve the user experience, as described by Cobra and President. How people use the service will not materially change or be expanded. Further, Cobra states that AM is a “well established” operating mode that is unlikely to disappear, even if we permit operations in FM mode.
Continuing to mandate AM capability while permitting dual modulation will provide benefits to CB radio users who will have an additional modulation option, while maintaining the basic character of the service.
The addition of FM as a permitted mode will not result in additional interference because users who hear unintelligible audio on a particular channel can simply select another channel or switch modes.
Read FCC Memorandum Opinion and Order on Reconsideration WT Docket No. 10-119
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-374114A1.pdf
Many of our modern receivers, transceivers, and SDRs allow us to perform firmware updates in order to upgrade product functionality and even fix known bugs. I try to keep the latest firmware on all of my radios.
With that said, always go to the original manufacturer or authorized retailer’s website to download firmware files, drivers, and firmware installation tools.
The internet is chock-full of deceptive sites offering “firmware files” for a wide variety of products that are nothing more than viruses and malware.
Never follow a firmware file link from a radio discussion forum, for example, unless that link can be verified as authentic and supported by the manufacturer or product designer/developer. It’s too easy for someone to pose as a discussion member and drop a link to a malicious bit of code!
I was contacted by two different SWLing Post readers recently who found links to malware posing as firmware files for radios in discussion groups. Obviously, I’m not going to share those links, so I simply ask that you double check the authenticity of the site before downloading.
That is all! Have a wonderful weekend and good DX!
-Thomas