Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mehdi, who writes
Hey Thomas. I have seen some of your posts on identifying radios in movies. I just wanted to tell you that there are at least 2 HF tarnsceivers shown in the trailer of the upcoming film “Love and Monsters” : Kenwood TS-520S, Kenwood TS-130S
Great catches, Mehdi! No doubt, if they’re in the trailer, there may be more in the movies.
Thanks for sharing!
Here’s the full trailer:
From the Isle of Music, October 11-17:
This week we enjoy some of Manuel Valera’s New Cuban Express albums including some of his latest big band release.
The broadcasts take place:
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 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 Saturday 1200-1300 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 kHz from Rohrbach, Germany.
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 11, 13 and 17:
Episode 186 presents music from some of the best instrumental country guitar pickers in the United States.
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.
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
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Aaron Kuhn, who notes that author Matt Zullo will give a free online presentation about his novel, The US Navy’s On-The-Roof Gang, Volume One tomorrow (Thursday October 8, 2020, at 16:00 UTC).
Click here to register for this free event.
Description:
THE US NAVY’S ON-THE-ROOF GANG: VOLUME I – PRELUDE TO WAR is an historical novel based on the unknown true-life story of the “On-The-Roof Gang,” the U.S. Navy’s fledgling radio intelligence organization in the years leading up to World War II. It is based on the real life of Harry Kidder, a U.S. Navy radioman who first discovered and deciphered Japanese katakana telegraphic code while stationed in the Philippines in the 1920s, discovering that he was listening to Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) radio communications. Kidder strongly believed in the future of radio intelligence and a chance meeting with Lieutenant Laurance Safford led to the birth of the Navy’s Radio Intelligence community. Kidder taught others the nascent art of intercepting IJN communications on the roof of the Main Navy Building in Washington, DC. From 1928 to 1941, 176 Sailors and Marines attended this training and were then stationed as radio intercept operators around the Pacific. These men would become known as the On-The-Roof Gang and were charged with keeping track of the IJN as they prepared for war with the United States. The circumstances of America’s entry into World War II hinged on success or failure of the On-The-Roof Gang, and Harry Kidder knew this. On-the-Roof Gang: Prelude to War concludes with the “date which will live in infamy,” December 7, 1941
Matt Zullo is a retired U.S. Navy Master Chief Petty Officer who has more than 35 years’ experience in Radio Intelligence, now more commonly known as Communications Intelligence. He holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University, where he researched and wrote his master’s thesis on the On-the-Roof Gang. He has published numerous articles on the On-the-Roof Gang in the Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association’s Cryptolog magazine and on social media platforms. As one of only a few quantifiable experts on the subject, Matt has spoken at the 2009, 2011, and 2013 Cryptologic History Symposiums, as well as at several Navy events around the world. He recently (Nov 2019) attended the induction of Harry Kidder into NSA’s Cryptologic Hall of Honor and spoke about Harry Kidder at a subsequent event for the sailors of Cryptologic Warfare Group Six. Matt continues his research into the On-the-Roof Gang as he writes and edits his two-volume history about the group.
Photo via Unsplash
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Steve Allen (KZ4TN), who shares the following guest post:
by Steve Allen, KZ4TN
I first noticed the RFI in late November 2019 as a steady buzz at around S9. It was present over most of the high frequency spectrum. I waited until the second week of December to see if you would end on its own, no such luck. I put an HF rig in my truck and started driving around the area to see if I could find a potential source. About a quarter mile from my home is a 161 KVA substation operated jointly by the Tennessee Valley Authority and my local electrical utility. When I parked in the driveway outside of the gated substation the sound of the interference was very strong and blanked the HF spectrum. I called the phone number on the gate and after an explanation of why I was calling I was connected to a fellow radio operator. I explained the situation and he said he would bring the issue to someone’s attention and get back to me.
A week went by and I didn’t hear back from the TVA. I called the person I spoke with previously and he said that the individuals that he spoke with questioned the validity of my findings. He was very helpful but said he didn’t have much clout with the TVA, RFI investigations were not his area of responsibility. I told him I would be happy to meet with someone from the TVA and show them what I had found. I also said I would contact my local electric utility and see if they had an RFI detector so we could eliminate their equipment. My initial contact at the TVA said he would keep trying to get someone to take this issue on and work with me to investigate. I said I would call him back next week.
I then called the local utility company and talked to someone there who was familiar with these kinds of issues. The local utility company owns the output side of the equipment at the substation. He told me he was going to perform an infrared (heat) inspection of their equipment at the substation mid January as part of their annual maintenance and will also check the low voltage utility lines near the substation. I told him that I didn’t notice this RFI until after they had a power outage nearby. He said he would try and get over earlier and check the power lines that run along the streets and look into the power outage history for this area.
All during this time I kept a daily log of the RFI including time of day, frequency effected and S unit level. I also logged the weather conditions. To eliminate the electronics in my house as a possible source I connected my transceiver to a 12 VDC battery and shut off the mains circuit breaker, the RFI did not change at all. I also visited the ARRL webpage that provide information on RFI including recordings of known RFI:
http://www.arrl.org/radio-frequency-interference-rfi
The ARRL is the best source I have found in finding and fixing RFI.
By December 27th, no word back from anyone. I assumed that they were off for Christmas but decided to write a letter to the TVA as a follow up to what had happened so far. In early January I received and email from one of the TVA engineers who said he would contact a field engineer who would contact me. The next day I received an email from the field engineer who said he was going to be in the area on another job but would meet me at the substation.
So, of course as soon as I am making headway with finding the problem the RFI diminished to the point of not being a problem. By this time here in Northeast Tennessee the winter temps are in the 40s and the humidity is lower. For whatever reason, the RFI ended. I met with the field engineer and we agreed that if there is no RFI there is nothing to search for.
Fast forward to August, 2020. In June and July I had been operating digital, mostly FT8. I usually had the volume control at zero and as it was summer I was doing no shortwave listening. One day I decided to tune around the bands and found that the RFI was back as strong as it was during December at S4-S9 from 2-30 MHz. I emailed the principal engineer I had previously been in contact with at the TVA and he told me he would contact another field engineer and that he would come to my house with an RFI locator and start a thorough investigation. The next day I received an email from the field engineer and we scheduled a time for him come over.
Upon his arrival he connected his RFI locator to my vertical antenna and tuned across the spectrum. The locator immediately displayed the signal. He captured an electronic image and said that he could now drive around the area and try and find a match. A hour and a half later he called and said he was unsuccessful and wanted to come back and make sure the signal was still present. Sure enough, it still displayed on his locator and he was puzzled why he could not find a similar signal while driving the area. He said he would send a copy of the recording to the TVA engineer and get back to me.
A few days later I heard back from him and he wanted to come over again and make another recording. I believe after discussing this issue with his supervisor he was going to use a different method of searching the area. After a couple of hours I received a phone call from the field engineer telling me that he thought he had found the source of interference. Using a parabolic antenna he had found two different utility poles that appeared to have defective lightening arrestors on them. Both are within a quarter mile of my QTH. These poles are the responsibility of the local electrical utility not the TVA. He said he would contact them and follow up with me in a few days.
In a couple of days the interference was very low to nonexistent. Shortly thereafter the engineer contacted me saying the local utility company had completed the repairs and wanted to know if the interference was still present. I said I hadn’t hear it in a couple of days and I would get back to him if it returned. A couple of weeks later I received an email from the field engineer detailing the incident, what he had done to locate the interference, and what was done to repair it. In his email he stated the service was provided at no cost by the TVA Right of Way and Elizabethton Electric Department through TVA’s Comprehensive Services Program (CSP). I am so appreciative of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The airwaves are now free of manmade interference and I am looking forward to another winter of operating and listening to shortwave radio. Here in the 21st century there are so many electronic devices that are capable of causing RFI. I am very thankful that my station is RFI free (for the time being).
Steve Allen, KZ4TN
Elizabethton, TN
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Steve. Only recently, we posted Emilio’s article about tracing interference to poorly made switching power supplies. Thank you for sharing how you approached your local utility company, in your case, to resolve your RFI!
Very encouraging! Readers note that you don’t always have to live with persistent RFI. If you know the source isn’t coming from within your home, sometimes it’s simply a matter of getting your local utilities company to investigate.
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, James Copeland, who writes:
Hi Thomas,
I’ve got something that may be of interest to you and your readers:
The legendary Deke Duncan of Radio 77 will soon have his own regularly scheduled program on WLHA, an Internet radio station based in the U.S. As many of your readers know, Duncan gained fame after being featured in a BBC program in 1974 for broadcasting from a shed in his backyard to an audience of one – his wife – via a speaker in the living room.
Now, 46 years later, Duncan will appear on his first regularly-scheduled American program from 10 a.m. to noon U.S. Central time. (3 – 5 p.m. UTC).
At this point, it may be obvious that WLHA is not your average automated Internet radio station. It used to be the campus carrier-current station at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was recently resurrected by Alumni via online streaming. Today it broadcasts 24/7 via the Internet and features DJ’s from the station’s past as well as newcomers from all over the country (and now the world) like Duncan who obviously did not attend UW. In addition to some pre-recorded shows, the station hosts a popular “Friday Night Live” call-in show from its Madison studios.
WLHA Program Director Kevin “Casey the K” Peckham decided Duncan’s personality would be a great addition to WLHA’s “Music and Malarkey” format. Duncan, who is still living in the UK, gladly accepted the offer and added, ” My wife, Pamela is thrilled to bits that her husband has finally fulfilled his dream to be on American radio.”
Duncan will be interviewed this Sunday the 11th at 7 a.m. during the Lee Harris show, which precedes his inaugural program on the station. The interview will also be repeated from 7 – 10 p.m. on Sunday night. We’re very excited to announce this new addition to our air staff and hope many of you will have a chance to tune in.
You can listen to WLHA on Live365, through our app for iOS and Android, Radio Garden, Amazon Alexa or directly through the website at lakeshore64.com.
James Copeland
WLHA News Director
Thank you for sharing, James! I’m certain a number of our readers will be happy to hear that Deke is on the air again!
I mentioned in a previous post that one of the “hidden features” of the PL-990 series is the ability to calibrate the radio so that the frequency display is correct when say, you zero-beat an AM broadcaster/carrier in SSB mode.
For normal AM broadcast listening, you’d never notice the frequency discrepancy on the display. When I used the PL-990 in ECSS mode, though, my frequency display is a few Hertz off pretty consistently across the spectrum.
Our friend Gilles Letourneau (at the Official SWL Channel) recently told me that after a couple hours of tinkering with his PL-990 last weekend, he was able to calibrate it but was so deep into the process, he wasn’t able to document exactly how he achieved it. Of course, now that it’s accurate, he doesn’t want to inadvertently harm the calibration. I don’t blame him.
Big news is he’s confirmed that it’s possible.
I’m curious if any PL-990 or PL-990x owners have successfully calibrated their receiver. If so, please consider sharing your procedure with us!
Gilles comments…
“Tune a strong signal in AM .. like WWV then use LSB USB modes to fine tune the receiver as close to zero beat as possible. Then simply press and hold the USB key until display light flashes two times … you will be all set and calibration will work !”
Yesterday, I took the new Icom IC-705 to the field for another Parks On the Air (POTA) activation. My goal at this particular activation was to make a couple of posts for QRPer.com: first, to test the new mAT-705 ATU on loan from Vibroplex, and secondly, make a short video about full break-in CW operation.
I also wanted to do a little shortwave listening after completing the activation. I had no idea what propagation would be like, but thought I’d tune around below the 20 meter band where the antenna was currently resonant.
I deployed the CHA Emcomm III Portable random wire antenna which, I must say, is a superb shortwave listening antenna for the field. 
Since you can’t see the antenna in the first photo below, I marked up the second one. 
The blue line represents the 73′ radiator, and the green line the counterpoise:
Here’s the short video I made around the 22 meter band:
I had planned to make a few audio recordings via the built-in digital recorder but I left my MicroSD card at home. No worries, though, as I plan to make some recordings for readers to compare in the coming days if time allows.
If you have any questions about the IC-705, feel free to ask in comments.