Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following news from WRMI:
WRMI Resumes Broadcasts of Radio Ukraine InternationalDue to the increased interest in the current situation in Ukraine, WRMI has resumed its relays of the daily English language broadcast of Radio Ukraine International, the official overseas service of Ukrainian Radio. RUI can be heard daily, except Friday, at 1200-1230 UTC on 5010 kHz.
WBCQ’S new Radio Angela Service on 4790 kHz, which has been propagation testing during February, will begin its regular broadcast schedule on March 1 world date (February 28 US date)
using the nightly hours of 10pm Eastern US time to Midnight Eastern US time (currently 0300-0500 UTC, the UTC will change with daylight savings time). That two hour block will feature music and radio theater programs from around the world, several of which are appearing for the very first time anywhere. The full schedule will be published on the WBCQ website and various other places in cyberspace within a few days. The March schedule will have a few repeat slots as a second wave of new programs prepares for April rollouts.
On February 28 world date from 0300-0500 UTC (US time and date February 27, 10pm-Midnight EST), a two hour special program, A Taste of Radio Angela, will be presented featuring clips from various programs that will be part of the service.
This special 2-hour broadcast block on 4790 kHz is sponsored by Angela and Allan Weiner and curated by “Uncle Bill” Tilford, who also hosts three of the programs. Propagation testing during February has demonstrated that reception is mostly favorable in Eastern and Central North America from 7PM Eastern US onwards, and although the signal is aimed southwest from the transmitter in Monticello, Maine, it also lands very well in parts of Europe, especially parts of Ireland, Portugal, Germany and Italy but also in several other countries to a lesser extent.
Airtime will be available for purchase outside of the 10pm-Midnight program block with priority given to music (especially but not exclusively new music) and other entertainment or cultural programs that align with Radio Angela’s mission to become a stellar entertainment and cultural institution on shortwave. Inquiries about airtime should be directed to wbcq@wbcq.com
Watch the March NASWA Journal, Spectrum Monitor and British DX Communication magazines (and of course this space) and listen to Glenn Hauser’s World of Radio for more coverage of Radio Angela.
From the Isle of Music, February 28-March 5, 2022:
This week will be our final regular episode on Channel 292, which will give us a Farewell to Europe marathon on March 8. (More about that next week.)
We will feature the epic third album by Los Van Van.
The broadcasts take place:
1. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 UTC on WBCQ, 7490 kHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EST in the US).
If you don’t have a shortwave or are out of range, you can listen to a live stream from the WBCQ website here: http://splatterbox.us/wbcq1
2 & 3. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UTC and 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, February 27-March 5, 2022:
Episode 257 is our last regular episode on Channel 292. It will feature music from Greece. (Channel 292 will have a Farewell to Europe marathon for the program on March 8, more about that next week.)
The transmissions take place:
1.Sunday 2300-0000 (6:00PM -7:00PM EST) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 kHz from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
If you don’t have a shortwave or are out of range, you can listen to a live stream from the WBCQ website here: http://splatterbox.us/wbcq1
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
Kyiv, Ukraine (Photo by @lifeinkyiv)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares the following note he also posted to Glenn Hauser’s io group:
As we know, Radio Ukraine International, a.k.a. Ukrainian Radio, is no longer on SW except perhaps for a one-hour German-language relay from a low-power transmitter in Germany. It is also on satellite but that doesn’t help too many. But RUI can be easily accessed on the Web from a couple of URLs:
http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/schedule/play-live.html?channelID=4
and
http://www.ukr.radio/uk/schedule/play-live.html?channelID=4
During the continuous 24-hour streaming, a one-hour English segment is broadcast four times per day (all times UTC ):
21:00 – 22:00
23:00 – 24:00
02:00 – 03:00
13:00 – 14:00
It appears that the first new broadcast of the day is at 21:00 – 22:00 and is then repeated in the following slots.
At other times, there are segments in Ukrainian, Russian, German, and Romanian.
Please let me know if I got anything wrong here.
UPDATE (24 Feb 2022): WRMI has resumed broadcasts of Radio Ukraine International. Click here for details.
Ukraine has declared a state of emergency in all of Ukraine except for eastern Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts starting on Feb. 24.
The parliament approved the decree introduced by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 23, as the threat of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine continues to grow.
Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts already have a special legal status because of Russia’s ongoing occupation since 2014.
Restrictions introduced by the state of emergency are due to last 30 days and will vary depending on the region.
The state of emergency allows the authorities to temporarily limit the public’s constitutional rights.
The decree green-lights the following measures:
Other measures that may be implemented “if necessary” include:
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!
Turkish media regulator RTÜK has given three international broadcasters 72 hours to apply for a licence or have their online content blocked.
Voice of America (VOA), Deutsche Welle (DW) and Euronews are including video on their websites and are seen as among the few independent news sources still available in Turkey.
RTÜK published a statement on its website Monday, signalling the start of the 72 hour period.
If the procedure for applying for a licence is underway, a broadcaster can continue on-air for another three months, providing the anticipated licence fee is paid to the regulator in advance. [Continue reading…]
Is the biggest aviation mystery of all time, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, about to be solved? Yes, if you believe the man you’re about to meet. Richard Godfrey is no crackpot; he’s a respected British aerospace engineer and physicist who says he’s found the doomed airliner. If he’s right, he’ll provide desperately needed answers for the families of the 239 passengers and crew who were aboard the Boeing triple-seven when it vanished eight years ago. But knowing where it is isn’t the end of the story – Richard also has to convince authorities to resume the search that’s already cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Click here to view on YouTube.
A grandfather-of-five has revealed his impressive antique radio and test instrument collection worth up to £15,000.
Richard Allan, a retired electrical engineer, has spent the last fifty years collecting antique transistor, valve and crystal sets and has now shown off his impressive collection of more than 200 pieces.
The 85-year-old from Norfolk, first fell in love with radios because of his father, Alexander William, who built his own transmitter and spoke to people all over the world through the airwaves.
In fact, Richard’s first – and favourite radio within his collection – is the one his father, a HAM, or amateur radio lover, played non-stop during World War II after purchasing in 1938.
Another notable piece within his collection is an E52b German military radio, captured in a vehicle at Foxhill, Bath, which was where his father worked in the Admiralty. [Continue reading…]
The Montgomery Amateur Radio Club in Maryland is offering a free online Zoom amateur radio Technician license class on seven Saturdays from March 19, 2022 through April 30, 2022 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM with an outdoor free test session on Sunday, May 1, 2022 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM.
More information about this Zoom class is at
https://www.marcclub.org/mweb/education/classes/technician.html
This is a great opportunity for you to get your amateur radio license. To learn more about amateur radio, also known as ham radio, go to http://www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio
To register for this free class, send an email to education@marcclub.org .
Also, please distribute this announcement to anyone who expresses an interest in getting their ham license and to any newly licensed hams.
Thank you,
David Bern, W2LNX
MARC education committee
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Image Source: Cross Country Wireless
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Joshuah, who writes:
Dear Thomas,
I recently dedicated some funding to rebuilding my shortwave listening station.
I had paid attention to new amplifiers and became aware of some review data by an engineer at SDRPlay comparing amplifier performance that suggests the Cross Country Wireless amplifier, at a cost of only 80 dollars, had become a competitive design offering performance comparable to amplifiers costing 10 times that much.
I was hooked by the specific demonstrations showing that the LAA++ offered IMD characteristics more similar to a Wellbrook, with gain more similar to other high amplification designs. I had to have one.
I set up my station with the following components:
I obtained a weatherproof enclosure and some pex tubing and specialty cable glands and built an antenna housing. Inside the enclosure I mounted the amplifier, adding a large gauge copper wire for the antenna element, and used an affordable tri-shield RG11 with specialty connectors as the feedline for the antenna.
The antenna measures approximately a 2 meter diameter, and is mounted about 5 feet off the ground at the base of the antenna. It is located outside of a remote shed at the edge of my property, and the ethernet (alternatively, wireless repeating parabolic dish with router) mirrors the USB data back to the PC in my basement which serves as the shortwave receiving server host.
I have been overwhelmed both with the amount of new noise and new signal that this antenna picks up.
In shortwave, the other night, I was picking up stations around the world.
Tonight, I was able to very clearly make out CHLO. I am located in EM38, over 700 miles from the transmitter, which only operates at 250 watts during the night time.
I was also able to pick up some international NOAA NAVTEX alerts on 518kHz about a right whale slow zone in the Atlantic off the shore of New Jersey.
I would highly recommend this antenna amplifier.
Yours sincerely,
Joshuah
Thank you so much, Joshuah, for allowing me to post your note here in the SWLing Post. I’m so glad you found such an affordable way to cobble together an effective antenna system to not only mitigate interference, but also afford you DX-worthy reception.
I’ve only heard good comments about Cross Country Wireless as well.
Again, thank you for sharing your impressions and details about your setup!
Click here to check out the Cross Country Wireless amplifier.
