Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike, who shares the following video from David Casler featurin the CHA RXL amplified loop antenna:
Click here to view on YouTube.
Thank you for the tip, Mike!
I just checked out the loop at Chameleon and discovered that they’re currently offering a sale on the “two sections” version of the CHA-RXL. Click here to check it out.
Also, if you live in Switzerland or Europe, Lutz Electronics is now a distributor of Chameleon products.
Halloween is typically the most active day of the year for shortwave pirates. This year, Halloween falls on Sunday, October 31st which essentially opens up a Friday through Sunday Halloween Piratefest. Expect pirates to emerge like The Great Pumpkin!
Here are two things you’ll want to do this Halloween weekend:
Follow real-time pirate radio spots and loggings on the HF Underground discussion forum. Chris Smolinski at HFU typically posts post-Halloween pirate stats on the SWLing Post as well–always a fascinating overview.
You might also venture over to Andrew Yoder’s pirate radio blog, the Hobby Broadcasting blog. Although he doesn’t log frequently, he usually makes time on Halloween (no pressure, Andy! Ha ha!)
Photo by Bill Patalon
Listen for pirate radio stations today and throughout the weekend! Turn on your radio anytime today, but especially around twilight and tune between 6,920 – 6,980 kHz. Pirates broadcast on both AM and SSB; you’re bound to hear a few. If you’re brand new to pirate radio listening, you might read my pirate radio primer by clicking here. I will be listening until late in the evening.
Happy Halloween to all!
My good friend, Jeff Murray (K1NSS) of Dashtoons fame, posted this on his Facebook page and it gave me a chuckle:
Notes on our new CK722 Data Sheet, where else but www.dashtoons.com
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fred Waterer, who writes:
This is going to meander a bit from shortwave, but I’ll give you a heads up in case it’s of interest.
October 31 is a Sunday this year and lines up with Michael Godin’s Treasure Island Oldies show
But…
This year there is a cool bonus!
Michael’s Annual Halloween Spooktacular, features four hours of great spooky and Halloween themed tunes. As usual, the show runs from 9pm EDT to 1am EDT (6pm PDT, 0100 UTC)
However if you tune in earlier at 6pm EDT (3pm PDT 2200 UTC) he will present Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre with their notorious 1938 edition of War of the Worlds. This will be followed by Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, a musical version narrated by Sir Richard Burton and vocals by The Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward.
You can listen online via Michael’s website Treasure Island Oldies Radio Show, The Home Of Lost Treasures or some of the affiliates that carry him. My go to station in this regard is WTND.org, operated by former WBCQ broadcasters Tom and Darryl who had the Tom and Darryl Show.
It’s just not Halloween for me until I hear Orson Welles’ famous radio play.
Fred Waterer
PS Treasure Island Oldies is one of the longest running internet radio shows ever; broadcasting since 1997.
Thank you for the ip, Fred! And, yes, War of the Worlds is a must!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for the following guest post and review:
Dan Robinson
As owners of the latest Tecsun receivers should know by now, the PL-990x, H-501x and the new PL-368 (also sold by CountyComm as the GP7/SSB) provide the user with the ability to re-calibrate.
I wrote about this in my past reviews of these receivers. With the PL-368, the addition of re-calibration combines with a new keypad to make this receiver even more attractive as a prepper type radio.
Recently, an exchange with Gilles Letorneau who runs the OfficialSWLChannel on You Tube and viewing one of his videos brought to my attention a variation in the method I had been using.
Since the 990x, 501x and more recently the 368 came out, I had been following this method:
Receive a clear and audible strong station in shortwave, then switch to USB and LSB. If adjustment is needed, hold down USB or LSB until a double display flash. Hit the STEP button once and then quickly again to move the display down arrow so it’s above the far right digit. Then fine tune for zero beat. Hold LSB or USB in for a couple of seconds until the LCD blinks again.
At one point, Tecsun engineers had cautioned against using re-calibration and apparently had de-activated it in the PL-330 and PL-368, worrying that using the feature might result in unwanted complications for some users. But it was later restored.
My exchanges with Gilles alerted me to the fact that the additional step of first holding down USB or LSB for a double display flash, depending on which is being re-calibrated, is not actually necessary.
I owe Gilles a beer on my next visit to Montreal.
Of course, switching to SSB does not automatically place the receiver in fine tune mode, which is still necessary, so after entering USB or LSB you still have to move the fine tuning cursor to the right with two presses of the STEP button. But it’s not necessary to long press USB or LSB first to achieve a first double flash
As I stated in my reviews, re-calibration doesn’t mean the receiver is then permanently zeroed up and down the shortwave bands. You will have to repeat the process from, say 25 meters, to 19 meters, to 49 meters, etc.
Revisiting the re-calibration issue on the Tecsun PL-368, and now on a sample of the CountyComm GP7/SSB has underscored a couple of other issues on these handy walkie-talkie style receivers. I will have more on this in an upcoming review of the CountyComm version of the PL-368.
From the Isle of Music, October 31-November 6:
This week, our guest is percussionist, composer and bandleader Degnis Bofill with new music by his group Golpes Libres.
1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100Kw, Sunday 1500-1600 UTC on SpaceLine, 9400 KHz, from Sofia, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK)
2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0000-0100 UTC on WBCQ, 7490 kHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EDT in the US).
3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UTC and (NEW) Saturday 1300-1400 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 kHz from Rohrbach, Germany.
If you don’t have a shortwave radio or are out of range, you can listen live to uplinks from various websdrs in Europe.
Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/fromtheisleofmusic/
Our V-Kontakte page is https://vk.com/fromtheisleofmusic
Our Patreon page is https://www.patreon.com/tilford
Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, October 31-November 6:
Episode 241 feature’s Uncle Bill’s musical perspective on Halloween.
The transmissions take place:
1.Sunday 2200-2300 (6:00PM -7:00PM EDT) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 kHz from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
2. Tuesday 2000-2100 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 kHz from Rohrbach, Germany for Europe.
3. Saturday 0800-0900 UTC on Channel 292, 9670 kHz from Rohrbach, Germany for Europe with a directional booster aimed eastward.
Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/UncleBillsMeltingPot/
Our V-Kontakte page is https://vk.com/fromtheisleofmusic
Our Patreon page is https://www.patreon.com/tilford
