Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares two note-worthy links regarding the new Tecsun H-501.
The first link is to a set of internal shots of the H-501 found on Radioafiction.com. Click here to view.
Image Source: Radioaficion.com
The second link, Dan shares as a warning.
Evidently there’s an inventory of the H-501s on NewEgg.com where they’re being sold for $584.49 US each:As Dan points out, that’s insane pricing--! Not only that, but I’m willing to bet this isn’t the final export version that will be the most up-to-date and will certainly be less expensive. I’ll be waiting for Anon-Co to offer these.
I’ve purchased computer parts from Newegg before–they’re a good retailer, but I suspect this inventory is actually being offered by a third party. As a precaution, I’m not even linking to Newegg as I don’t want to inadvertently suggest purchasing one at this price.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, JMMHam, who comments:
The new DX version of BELKA -DSP is now available in the Mobimax Store. The new Belka-DX receiver is about 5 euros more expensive but great. I bought it here: https://www.mobimax.bg/en/BELKA-DX-shortwave-receiver
We’ll have to see how it stacks up against the original Belka DSP which I consider to be one of the best portable HF receivers out there at the moment.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Hemphill (WD9EQD), who shares the following announcement from Les Rayburn (N1LF):
DX Test This Saturday Night/Sunday Morning– WNJC 1360, Washington Township, NJ
WNJC 1360 DX TEST– SATURDAY OCTOBER 17 INTO SUNDAY MORNING OCTOBER 18
“04:00 UTC-Midnight Eastern- WNJC will conduct the DX audio test using Morse
Code and sweep tones continuing on our nighttime pattern.
At 0500 UTC- 1 AM Eastern I will be switching to our daytime pattern at 5kw
using 4 towers directional to SSE with the DX audio test concluding at 0600
UTC. From 0600 – 1000 UTC I will be leaving the transmitter in daytime mode
but be playing a mix of 80s – 2010 pop, rock, dance, country and whatever
else I grew up listening to and feel like playing.
Listen for the sweepers between songs of movie & tv show clips along with
our voice-over guy.”
WNJC has tested previously and been heard as far away as the West Coast of
the United States and Canada. Their test signals have also been received in
the UK, Norway, and Spain. Listen for their signal if you get the chance.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adrian Korol, who shares the following announcement from RAE’s German language service:
I’m sending you the info about the special German program that airs this Sunday. Includes 3 micros related to the 100 years of radio in Argentina (yours on “The radios that live in danger”, Arnaldo’s “Radio and the Malvinas War” and mine, on the 100 years of the radio) and music (tango)
[…]The program will air this Sunday, 10/18/2020, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. UTC on 7500 kHz
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Matt Blaze, who shares the following comparison of the new Tecsun PL-990x and the benchmark Icom IC-R9500 communications receiver.
Matt’s excellent comparison is in audio form. I highly recommend listening with headphones or, at least, an audio device with separate left/right channels as his comparison takes advantage of this.
I love not only how he set up this comparison with both radios sharing an identical antenna, but his evaluation also explores how well the PL-990 handles a proper external antenna via its external antenna jack.
Click below to listen to Matt’s piece, or right click here to download the audio:
Thanks for sharing this, Matt. You’ve inspired me to do similar narrated audio comparisons!
In my previous post, I mentioned how much I enjoy the built-in digital audio recorder in the new Icom IC-705. While I wouldn’t buy a QRP transceiver specifically for built-in audio recording–there are less expensive options out there–it is an incredibly useful feature in my world.
Their house is like so many others in that it is inundated with RFI (radio frequency interference). I find that the NCPL antenna does a fine job mitigating most of that noise on the mediumwave band when I position it so that the bulk of the interference is nulled.
Monday morning, I tuned the IC-705 to my favorite local AM station: WAIZ on 630 kHz.
Weekday mornings, Dave and his “Wacky Wake-Up Crew” always put me in the right mood. They’re incredibly goofy/corny and 100% original.
It’s extraordinarily rare these days to find a local radio station, with local talent, creating a local daily radio show. Almost all of their ads are local, too.
I made the following off-air recording for myself, but decided to upload it for others to enjoy. I’m not sure what the receiver audio EQ or bandwidth filter was set to when I recorded this. It’s not a demo of receiver performance, just a little radio fun.
I’ve been using the Icom IC-705 pretty heavily since I took delivery of it a couple weeks ago.
The more time I spend with this radio, the more I like it.
Serious functionality and features
I originally stated that I’d probably sell the IC-705 after my review/evaluation period because it simply doesn’t have the design characteristics I like in a field QRP radio.
I tend to prefer simple field radios with a basic high-contrast LCD or analog display, and a protective cover over the display. I’m not personally the biggest fan of pressure sensitive touch screens in field applications.
I wrote a field report on QRPer.com noting the fact that the IC-705 is a superb SSB transceiver. It truly is. I included a video showing the IC-705 as I worked a few stations on the 40 meter band, and another video demonstrating SSB memory keying (politely overlook the fact I had the rig set to LSB on 20 meters in that video–!).
Listening in
When I finish a park activation, I often spend a little time on the broadcast bands tuning around and enjoying the low-RFI setting.
At Lake Norman, I decided to make a short video highlighting the wide receiving range of the IC-705. The video only highlights a few bands–the IC-705 can actually receive from 0.030–199.999 MHz and 400.000–470.000 MHz.
The EFT-MTR end-fed antenna I had connected to the IC-705 that day was not ideal for reception above 15 MHz, but as you’ll see, it was adequate for a little radio fun. I was using the Emtech ZM-2 external antenna tuner that day because my mAT-705’s battery died. I highly recommend the ZM-2 for shortwave listeners and QRPers alike because it makes it so easy to tweak wire antennas for optimal matching and reception. In the video, however, I left the tuner in the last matched configuration. This isn’t exactly a pro video, but I hope you’ll enjoy it anyway:
The Icom IC-705: A keeper
This transceiver is so versatile, I don’t think I can let go of it. I really appreciate the IC-705’s frequency versatility and excellent performance. With this compact rig, I can do some proper SWL DXing and possibly even FM and MW DXing.
As simple as it is, the built-in digital recorder clinches the deal.
The IC-705 is a pricey piece of kit at $1300 US, but I suspect Icom will lower the price or start offering rebates once the supply/demand curves normalize. At present, retailers are struggling to keep up with customer demand and most purchases are on back-order.
Blind Audio Test results
I’ve just closed the surveys for our IC-705 blind audio tests. The response was overwhelming and the results? Well, you’ll soon find out. I hope to present all of the findings in a post within the next few days.
As Dan points out, that’s insane pricing--! Not only that, but I’m willing to bet this isn’t the final export version that will be the most up-to-date and will certainly be less expensive. I’ll be waiting for Anon-Co to offer these.
