The facility 40km northwest of Brasilia originally cost $15 Million USD to build and will turn 50 years old on March 11, 2024. It’s home to several SW, AM and FM transmitters , including Radio Nacional de Amazonias on 6180 and 11780khz. The stations owner, Empresa Brasil de Comunicação , a government owned agency plans to recognize the facility’s Gold anniversary.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and WWLG author, John Figliozzi, who shares the following review:
By John A. Figliozzi
To my knowledge, this is the first radio to combine AM Shortwave with Internet Radio. This makes it the first true “full service” radio incorporating ALL of radio’s major platforms. Many radio listeners question why this hasn’t been done sooner, so this very good first effort is most welcome.
The initial presentation of the radio to the new owner is impressive. The stylish box in which it arrives is worthy of a respected instrument of high quality. The radio has the solid substantial feel of a device with excellent build quality. Its sizing – that of a paperback book along the lines of some previous well-respected AM/FM/SW receivers like the Grundig YB-400 – gives it the perfect form factor for a radio that can be enjoyed both in the home and as a portable.
There is so much to like here. Over and above its unique combining of Internet radio and shortwave, there’s a “permanent” battery that offers many hours of use before it needs recharging, ATS tuning, the ability to save frequencies and stations in several preference lists, several ways of searching for Internet radio stations, an easy way to add Internet stations not already listed by the manufacturer, and others.
But the LC90 really shines with its fantastic audio on FM and Internet radio. There’s a woofer, a tweeter and a low frequency diaphragm inside the speaker cavity that occupies the left half the case – and nothing else. The radio’s excellent build quality and its developers’ efforts to produce a world class audio section in a portable radio really pays off.
But no radio is perfect, and this one obviously is a work in progress. So, being critical – which is what a review and analysis like this does — should not imply disapproval on any level. On the contrary, the LC90 is already a well-formed radio worthy of consideration by any purchaser.
The screen that is the center of the LC90 provides much information depending on the platform being used. But in some cases, useful information is missing and in other cases the information provided seems unnecessary or of questionable utility.
In AM (MW), FM and SW, it is not readily apparent what all the symbols mean or why they are there. The time, signal strength and SNR (signal to noise ratio), bandwidth, meter band, heart (for including a frequency in “favorites”) and the “Freq. vs. Addr.” indicators are all helpful and understandable. But what is meant by “Memo” isn’t entirely clear. Is it holding just my preferences? Or the number of stations found by ATS? Or something else?
So, too, with the Internet Radio screen. What do the three dots, the speaker icon and the return icon mean? The ability to tune stations in sequence as they appear across the bottom of the screen depending on mode is both unique and helpful. But the use of a timer to tick off how long one might listen to a particular station seems of dubious value.
Some suggestions for better use of the screen in some circumstances are detailed below.
Initial setup matching the radio to home internet service proceeded flawlessly. The time clock is in 24-hour mode and showed correct time and date in my time zone. Some purchasers had previously noted that the clock showed a time one hour earlier than the actual time. I surmise that this is because the clock remains in standard time year-round. There is no facility to reset the clock, compensate for seasonal time changes or set the clock manually. This is an oversight that should be addressed.
This is a sophisticated, multi-faceted radio. As impressive as it already may be, it should be perceived as a work in progress in need of the improvements it will get eventually through firmware updates and design modifications. It would be helpful if those updates could come directly and seamlessly through the Internet, something that apparently can’t be done currently.
The LC90 comes with a rather short, almost cryptically worded pamphlet. This can serve as an ok quick start-up guide. But after using the radio, it’s obvious that there’s need for a comprehensive operation manual with copious directions for the user, along the lines that Eton provided for the E1. A radio of this quality and at this price point demands such consideration.
In short, becoming fully familiar with and comfortable using all the features of the LC90 requires a prodigious learning curve, one that is not intuitively discerned. I have to say that even after using it almost constantly for a few weeks, I feel I am still missing things.
Just a few examples of aspects that go unexplained include:
The cleverness behind the LC90 is not intuitively apparent. If I hit the wrong keys in combination or hard press instead of soft press a key, I get a result I don’t understand and for which there is no explanation in the exceedingly short manual provided now. In some cases, I put myself in a corner I can’t get out of, so I must reset by shutting down and restarting the radio to get back to base.
Following are my observations on the performance of the LC90 by platform:
The LC90 has a very good FM section that is quite sensitive. Using the ATS feature, (automatic tuning) it found 37 stations in Sarasota FL, for example.
For its size – and even considering many larger radios — the LC90 has an excellent audio response on FM. However, although it has activated stereo capability, it does not appear to actually provide stereo through its ear/headphone jack. This is because the same output is used to provide audio to the speakers and the ear/headphone jack. This feels like an oversight that should be rectified. The radio does “recognize” a stereo plug and audio does play into both ears. It’s just not stereo audio.
As currently configured this LC90 does not offer RDBS (RDS in Europe) on FM. This should be incorporated into a radio of this quality being offered at this price point.
Even so, in this user’s opinion it earns a 4.5 on scale of 5 on FM. But if it had stereo and RBDS, it would easily earn a 5.
A question arises: Were HD Radio (in North America) and DAB+ (in Europe and Australia – if these are targeted markets for the LC90) considered for incorporation into this radio by its developers? If not, why not; and, if so, why was a decision taken not to include them?
Performance of the LC90 on shortwave is very good, especially since it clearly is not intended as a hobbyist’s DX machine. As such in my opinion, it doesn’t require the SSB capability that some have said they wish it has.
Rather, this radio is intended for the content-focused listener. I view the AM (MW), FM and SW platforms as back-up alternatives for and secondary to the primary focus — Internet Radio. Nonetheless, the LC-90’s performance is above average on both FM and SW which should be assuring to anyone considering its purchase.
The LC90 is quite sensitive on SW for a small portable using just its built-in expandable and rotatable 9 stage rod antenna. But it does especially well when a common clothesline reel external antenna is extended and plugged into the receptacle provided for that purpose on the radio’s right-hand side. (Similar improvement is noted for AM (MW) and FM, as well.)
Complaints about placement of this receptacle close to the tuning knob is of no concern when an external antenna of the type described above using a 3.5mm plug connector is used. Any more sophisticated an external antenna would likely overload this radio considering that “birdies” – false signals internally generated by the radio itself — can be detected throughout the SW spectrum even when just using its built-in rod antenna. This flaw should be addressed in any future modification or upgrade.
The audio enhancements made on this radio through unique use of speakers and their orientation are not as apparent here as they are when listening to FM and Internet Radio.
On AM signals generally — both SW and AM (MW) – a listener can detect artifacts in the audio. Audible random “clicks” often can be heard – usually when receiving weaker stations – which sounds as if the radio’s audio section is clipping. Adjusting the bandwidth appears to offer only minimal help with this.
Indeed, the audio produced by SW and AM (MW) sounds somewhat mechanical except on very strong stations. It seems to lack body or depth on SW and AM. Some of this undoubtedly is due to the quality of AM audio to begin with. But the latter does sound more natural on other receivers. The 7 bandwidths provided (1, 1.8, 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 6 kHz) do help to somewhat shape the audio, but it appears that there could be better choices for what this radio is trying to achieve.
Nonetheless on SW, the LC90 rates a comparative 3.75 on a scale of 5 for sensitivity off its built-in antenna. That rises to a 4.0 when the external antenna described above is connected.
An unrelated anomaly was noted from using the radio on SW: The LC90 (or at least this test unit) apparently cannot be tuned directly to frequencies in the 25 MHz (11m) band. The radio will only accept 4 integers here, so it reverts to 120m instead of 11m. Instead, one must press the tuning knob to change the display to 11m and then tune manually via the knob to the desired frequency.
All Internet-capable radios up to now have avoided including AM – both MW and SW – into their designs due to noise and interference issues generated by the radio’s internal control signal and screen, and the difficulty involved in shielding both.
While acknowledging the considerable effort put forward by the LC90’s developers to ameliorate this problem, the radio does not fully overcome these challenges to producing “clean” AM audio.
The developers themselves seem to recognize this problem. While they have incorporated an internal ferrite MW antenna in the radio’s design, its utility is overwhelmed by internal interference. Rotating the radio to emphasize or null certain signals yields no apparent difference. Consequently, the developer suggests that the listener extend the internal rod antenna for “best results”.
The AM (MW) section is unfortunately the weakest aspect of this radio. Daytime reception is very poor – rated comparatively a 1.5 on a scale of 5. The LC90 receives and saves through ATS only very local stations and misses several of them.
Reception does improve after dark, largely due to skywave propagation. But it is only comparatively fair – 2.5 on a scale of 5.
Using the external clothesline antenna described above improves daytime reception to a 2.0, but those purchasing this radio should expect only marginal pedestrian – even comparatively substandard — results with AM (MW).
In sum, the audio improvements the LC90’s developers have successfully worked to provide elsewhere in the LC90 are almost undetectable here unless one is listening to an exceptionally strong AM (MW) station.
To this observer, this is the core of the LC90.
There are three equally important tasks that an Internet radio must achieve to serve as a quality example for the genre:
Let me begin by pointing out that it is readily apparent that the developers put lots of work into this aspect of the LC90.
The stations that do play successfully sound very good with excellent stability. But compared to other internet radios I own and have experienced, there are just too many stations that lack that stability (characterized by frequent audio breaks or “hiccups”) or don’t load at all.
Here are some specific observations from use over several weeks:
Simply put, the user interface needs work. While the LC90 offers several flexible tuning assists, there seem to be too many that overlap and others missing. The effort does not seem to be centrally focused enough. For example, listings within each category appear randomly, and many unexplainably with what looks like the same links that are indistinguishable and scattered throughout a given category.
Indeed, there are many individual listings that are repeated within the same and different lists which are found via the Tag, Menu, News. Music, Language buttons on the radio. Why? Is it to provide different codecs or levels of streaming quality? There is no indication as to the way each might differ one from another, if at all.
As mentioned earlier, there is much going on here that cannot be intuitively discerned by the user/listener — and it must be! Comparing it to other Internet radios such as the Pure Elan Connect, which uses the constantly updated Frontier Silicon station and podcast database, the LC90’s Internet radio operation is confusing and the logic behind it is difficult to perceive.
Some stations appear in Chinese and Cyrillic script, and others just as dots across a line. This is unhelpful to listeners outside these cultures. Also, there appear to be features within the LC90’s architecture that are “hidden”. For example, through an inadvertent combination of key presses I found myself briefly in a listing that appeared designed solely for the Chinese market until I reset the radio by turning the radio off and then on again.
The developers appear to have created their own stations database rather than use one of the others already in use on other Internet radios. Since it is apparently an entirely new approach, it’s impossible to determine if it is continuously updated, systematically modified or updated periodically according to some schedule. This observer did not see any activity or change that would indicate that anything was updated over the weeks he was using the LC90.
Many domestic BBC links (Radio 3,4,5,6, e.g.) just don’t work. When ostensibly “loading” them after selecting them, the percentage just stays at zero. Given the importance of the BBC internationally, this is concerning and should be corrected with all deliberate speed.
In fact, this observer experienced an inordinate number of links that didn’t seem to work at all. Some links also play initially, but then just “hang” or stop working or “hiccup” periodically (RTE, RTHK, e.g).
When comparing the LC90’s admittedly many offerings with those on Internet radios using the Frontier Silicon database, many stations appear to be missing. However, the LC90’s developers have included in the radio’s architecture a very accessible means for the radio’s users to add stations that are not already in the radio’s database. Whether these are just added only to the user’s radio or added globally to the LC-90 database is unknown.
In short, the way these lists — and the way the user tunes them in — work now appear to detract from rather than enhance the performance and user’s overall experience with the LC90. This situation leads this observer to the perception that the developer’s concept(s) behind station lists and tuning is unfocused and disorganized. This situation cannot be allowed to continue. As stated, this user interface needs reconsideration and refinement in the opinion of this observer to make its use more intuitive for the user.
The LC90’s display for Internet radio is attractive but supplies only stream loading percentages and the station name. There is no means of knowing the actual quality of the audio signal other than by ear. The timer provided counting how long the station has been playing is not really of any practical use when listening to an Internet radio station.
A better use of the LC90’s screen would be to include visuals like station logos and station-provided metadata, neither of which are present now.
An anomaly that came to light through use: The “Podcast” button only seems to provide stations like other buttons, not podcast lists. This observer could find no way to access or listen to podcasts. Again, this needs to be corrected.
In the opinion of this observer, the Internet section of the LC90 earns an overall 3.5 on a scale of 5 with the proviso that the radio’s audio performance with the highest quality Internet streams earns a clear 5.
The LC-90’s Bluetooth feature works well. Audio volume is jointly controlled by the source and the radio. Its set-up and operation appear seamless.
Not tested. Since most SIM cards are tied to phones here, I anticipate that Internet access for the LC90 Export Version will remain with WiFi for the vast majority or, when and where WiFi is unavailable, by linking one’s phone to the radio using Bluetooth.
Neither was the timer or sleep function tested, but it can be assumed that both work as they should.
Other reviewers have expressed a desire for an air band, SSB capability and a fold out strip on the rear of the radio’s case so that it might be angled when used.
Frankly, I don’t see the need for any of these with the LC90 or any future enhancement or modification of it. Anyone wishing to angle the receiver can find an inexpensive tilt stand on which to place it. But, in that regard, I would suggest that the developer recreate the rod antenna so that it clears the perimeter of the case and allows it a full 360-degree rotation.
Otherwise, my preference would be that any such effort and the resources necessary to pursue them be concentrated on the more important matters I highlight for improvement in this analysis.
Hi all SWLing Post Community, FastRadioBurst 23 from Imaginary Stations crew letting you know about our shows this week. We present WSTL via Shortwave Gold on Sunday 3rd March 2024 at 1000/1400 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then at 2100 UTC on 3975 kHz. If you love whistling you’ll love WSTL.
On Thursday 7th March via WRMI we have DJ Frederick going through his record collection and pulling out some eclectic tunes from all genres. Tune in at 0300 UTC on 9395 kHz and see what gets pulled out and played!
For more information on the shows please email [email protected] and check out our old shows here.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Tilford, who notes:
The last broadcast of From the Isle of Music from WBCQ The Planet will be March 3 from 2200-2300 UTC on 7490 kHz.
He mentions that there simply hasn’t been the support from listeners in North America to continue broadcasting via WBCQ, thus listeners may need to use a WebSDR in order to listen to the regular broadcasts from Europe. Bill also notes:
The last episode will be a killer Cuban dance party – I am going out with a bang, not a whimper.
We look forward to tuning in! Thank you, Bill, for your dedicated music services over shortwave!
by Paul Walker, Program Director Of KSKO 89.5 McGrath, Alaska
I moved up to McGrath for 2 reasons, the job and DX’ing! Some people move here because they’re outdoorsy types.. hunting, fishing or etc but not me. I knew from previous experience in Galena, Alaska that DXing here would be amazing so after a 3 year absence
I have done AM DX, but am mainly doing SW DX now and while I’ve used a few radios over the years, this is my current radio, the long silver rectangular TEF6686. It’s coupled with a 15 foot Wellbrook loop, DXEngineering Preamp and an EmTech ZM2
I quickly discovered Radio Nacional de Amazonias service broadcasting from near Brasilia to the Amazon region of Brazil. They use 100,000 Watts on 6180khz and 11780khz. 6180 is listed on Short-wave.info as beaming at 344 degrees and 11780 is listed as 0 degrees, which could be interpreted as 360/1 deg, straight up or Non Directional.. neither of which appears to be true according to a map I’ve seen in a few places
(from Timm Breyel’s blog, https://shortwavedxer.blogspot.com)
It would appear the 6180khz service is beamed at about 355 degrees and the 11780khz service is beamed at about 345 degrees.
Anyways, I quickly came to like this station because, even though it’s all in Portuguese, a language I neither speak nor really understand.. it’s quite lively and entertaining. Wether it’s a futbol match, with the announcer holding the “GOOOOAAAAALLLLL” scream for 10-20 seconds, a radio play/drama (Yes, really!) or an interactive show with listener comments and music, it’s a FUN listen and you get the sense that the audience likes the station!
Here’s a short 3 clip montage of some excited futbol announcers on Radio Nacional de Amazonias 11780khz recorded from my Alaska QTH as they excitedly proclaim “GOAAAAALLLL”
That listener interactive show is what really drew me in, hosted by the man in the cowboy hat in the picture at the top of this page, Mauricio Rabelo. He seems to be well liked, somewhat of a long term legend in Brazil radio and good at what he does.
The Radio Nacional de Amazonias signal on 11780khz is always at least mildly listenable here in McGrath, alaska but as evidenced by the picture, it can be and is often quite good. There are many times where its as solid as a 50KW local broadcast AM signal from 20 miles away could be with zero noise, zero fading and the ability to widen my radios audio bandwith all the way from 3khz to 6khz or even sometimes 8khz bandwith!
Here’s a video of my reception using the older ATS25 radio
I soon discovered that the station had a WhatsApp number and listeners could send in messages that the station would sometimes play over the air so I thought to myself, “Why not? give it a try” and they were thrilled to have a listener so far away who also sent in a message.
I am many thousands of KM’s outside the target area of the SW signal but am directly in the main lobe and at a great location for a 2nd or 3rd hop, which is what makes the signal so consistent and so good for me.
I became a regular listener and semi regular contributor of WhatsApp voice messages to the show, “Eu de Cá Você Lá” that Mauricio Rabelo hosts most afternoons. He admitted once or twice, his English was very very poor and almost non existent so I took it upon myself to start using a few Portuguese words from time to time, and even using a few new ones now and then.. probably butchering the pronunciations but people started taking notice.
Mauricio himself would use a few basic english words “thank you my friend” and struggle to do it, but he’d try. Listeners especially took notice and would comment from time to time on my participation in the show, loving the fact I listen from so far away and have tried to learn their language.
This has gone on over the last 3 years or so and is still fun for me. I usually tell Mauricio and listeners in my messages about the weather here or any important/interesting news we have going on, in very brief detail. I’ve had listeners even invite me to visit Brazil! I make sure I begin each message with a greeting in Portuguese, “boa noite” (goodnight) and end each message with a “sign off” in Portuguese, “muito obrigado” (many thanks) so if nothing else gets said in Portuguese, there’s at least that.
I’ve been known to make dinner and go to the park with my gear on warm weather days and enjoy listening while eating dinner!
In a tv special on 100 years of radio in Brazil, Mauricio and another man are guests where they talk about radio and in one particular segment, they talk about the reach of Radio Nacional on Shortwave. In the video below, fast forward to 4 minutes and 10 seconds then watch/listen for a little bit…. you don’t have to understand Portuguese to understand the reference Mauricio makes about 30-40 seconds in
I kind’ve consider Radio Nacional de Amazonias to be “somewhat dx” despite the regularity and strength of the signal because I’m so far from their intended service area yet the signal visits me at a good level quite often. It’s a perfect set of circumstances that make that happen too, because If I was further west/southwest or further east/southeast the signal wouldn’t be as good.
I’ve searched high and low for clips of the station and found some good ones, but never any quite as good as mine.
By the way, the picture of the staff at the very top of the post was taken by them just for me and sent over WhatsApp after I sent along a picture and video of me working at KSKO 89.5. The man on the left in yellow is the co host of “”Eu de Cá Você Lá”, the woman in yellow is the female news reader, the man 3rd from the left is the producer and the man on the far right in the cowboy hat is Mauricio Rabelo. Search for Mauricio on Youtube and you’ll find some very interesting videos of him holding a parade when he was campaigning some years ago for a federal office
I like, despite the distance and language barrier, there’s been a bit of a connection between people. It’s the magic of radio waves that got me interested in working in the broadcasting business nearly 30 years ago and part of the reason why I’m still at it after 20 years
by Paul Walker, Program Director, KSKO 89.5 McGrath Alaska (not my radio, stock photo)
Some have asked, so I thought I’d share. Everyones DX’ing goals and rules are different and that’s what makes the hobby interesting……these are mine. If I logged everything, I’d have multi gigabytes of audio on a weekly basis that I’d never ever finish sorting through. Alaska seems to be a great place for direct long path, off the back or over the pole reception of alot of signals!
I have a schedule site (Eibispace.de) that gives me the frequency, schedule, broadcaster, transmitter location, language and target area of the signal. I then quickly work out in my mind where I am in relation to that.
Like something beaming from Oman or the UAE to the Middle East, I may be off center from the main lobe, but it’s a long path trip for that signal. Something from Botswana to Northern/Western African, I am in near the direct center main lobe of the long path of that, as I recall looking up at one point. Or I could be getting something off the back from Galbeni or Santa Maria de Galleria.
I quickly work that out in my head and ten figure out if that’s actual DX. Then i quickly evaluate the signal.. quality over quantity. I know what many signals are capable of here at some point or another.. and If I’m getting a noisy, fadey signal where I know anything from alot better is possible to common, I won’t log it or record audio.
I do regularly log some poor to fair signals because they are rare here and usually low power. (Tarma 4775khz, Brazil 15190khz, et al)
I also take into account what others have logged and how well. I go after the lesser heard or those not heard as well by others. I live in a very unique location for DX and I want to use my time wisely by learning about what I hear, what I hear and going after whatever my personal definition is of the most worthy signals to log.
I typically do not log anything of which I am in the target area or spill over area of. Like Radio Romania International, China Radio international.. because thats just easy pickin’s for me…. with a few exceptions
This is not to say anyone who logs only target area or easy stuff is doing it wrong. We just go after different things and do things differently.
If I logged everything I heard, I’d have multi gigabytes of audio on a weekly basis that I’d never ever finish sorting through and as Thomas Witherspoon knows, I’m behind with processing my audio all the time as it is!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares this review of the new Stampfl Stressless receiver:
by Dan Robinson
Stampfl based in Switzerland is well known as a manufacturer of excellent antennas, morse keys, and other equipment for amateur radio operators and SWLs. Now, Stampfl is offering what it calls the “Stressless” HF receiver. Housed in a beautiful heavy metal cabinet, one would think that there would be more to this than there is actually is — it’s a very basic receiver made, as the name implies, for those who want a minimum of stress in their HF listening.
Note: All photos have been sourced from Stampfl.
It is intended as an assembly kit, with some minimal soldering required. Heinz Stampfl notes that the VFO and RX board are fully assembled and tested. Total construction time is estimated a 1-2 hours. Star of the show on the Stressless is the large color display which enables changing of colors, tuning step, VFO A/B, attenuation, and memories. The single bandwidth has been well chosen — I had no problems listening to Voz Missionaria in Brazil on 9,665 khz though any stations requiring separation will be a challenge for this receiver since there is no SSB and that one bandwidth. The receiver tunes from 100 kHz to 30 MHz.
One would hope that firmware might be upgradeable, but Stampfl states that this is not possible, which is a bit of a puzzle. The receiver runs on 11-15V DC — the only other thing on the back of the cabinet is the BNC antenna input.
I’ll have more thoughts on the “Stressless” after I complete additional testing. So far, it has appeal as a very simple receiver with high sensitivity and a beautiful front interface. It might be a good choice for beginning SWLs, as many of them as there are out there, but the price/feature ratio is a bit of steep climb against the background of Tecsun portables with multi-bandwidth and SSB capabilities, not to mention the recently released Choyong LC90 which combines good SW, AM, and FM with Internet radio.
The “Stressless” — for those who can afford the price — would be good as an easy-to-use main listening receiver for stations not requiring much DXing skill or tools to separate. These days with the SW bands populated by fewer stations, this receiver might be fun to have around and it is certainly a good way to teach the radio hobby to newcomers.
The “Stressless” I am testing arrived well-packed in a clam-shell style inner box — it was already assembled by Stampfl for which I am grateful. The company also makes the X One Active Dipole antenna, which I am also testing at the moment and will have more on at a later date.
Click here to check out and order the Stampfl Stressless.