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Regular Broadcast times of Encore are: 10:00 – 11:00 UTC Saturday 6070 kHz Channel 292 to Europe – Now Simulcast on 7440 kHz Repeated: 01:00 – 02:00 UTC Sunday 5850 kHz, Simulcast on 5010 kHz WRMIto the US, Canada and Central America. 16:00 – 17:00 UTC Sunday 7440 kHzChannel 292 to Europe
21:00 – 22:00 UTC Sunday 3955 kHz Channel 292 to Europe 02:00 – 03:00 UTC Monday 9455 kHz WRMIto the US and Canada
13:00 – 14:00 UTC Tuesday 15770 kHz WRMI to Europe, east coast of US and Iceland.
13:00 – 14:00 UTC Thursday 15770 kHz WRMI to Europe, east coast of US and Iceland.
20:00 – 21:00 UTC Thursday 15770 kHz WRMI to Europe, east coast of US and Iceland.
19:00 – 20:00 UTC Friday 6070 kHz Channel 292 to Europe – Now Simulcast on 3955 kHz
Our email is [email protected]. Informal reception reports as well as those requesting eQSL welcome.
The website is www.tumbril.co.uk where we show transmission times and frequencies, the playlist for the most recent programme, more information about Radio Tumbril, and the email link.
This week the programme starts with a piano piece by Liszt and is followed by a song from the Elizabethan poet Thomas Campion. After that – some of a string Quartet by Danish composer Carl Nielsen, and a lullaby from Brahms.
The first movement of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd symphony and some of Copland’s Appalachian Spring next. The programme finishes with a bit of harp music and the Bartok Quartet playing Mozart.
The playlist and the previous one are now on the website – www.tumbril.co.uk
Channel 292 can be pulled live off the internet if the reception is poor in your location. Easy to find their site with a google search.
A very good site for online SDR receivers all over the world is: http://kiwisdr.com/public/ Click the ‘Map’ button in the top left of the screen.
In the meantime – thank you for spreading the word about Encore – Classical Music on Shortwave on Radio Tumbril.
Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio
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’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Richard, Michael Bird, for the following tips:
LA MIRADA, CA – Two students attending Southern California Bible College were given the vision to establish the Far East Broadcasting Company, which they incorporated in 1945.
Their initial broadcasting location was in Shanghai in the midst of the Chinese people whom the Lord had laid upon their hearts. The effort was short-lived, however, when China closed its doors to all missionary work in 1948.
Some people would have considered that to be the death of the vision. Not Bob Bowman, John Broger, or their supportive pastor, William Roberts. The vision remained the same, FEBC would have to find a different location.
On June 4, 1948, FEBC regenerated from station KZAS in Manila. By 1949, FEBC was equipped to air broadcasts from the Philippines, across the South China Sea, and into parts of China.
Now celebrating its 72nd year of continuous operations, Far East Broadcasting Company has expanded multiplied times and broadened its ministry to include AM, FM, shortwave, satellite, internet, and other digital technologies.[…]
As theaters across the world have closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, they’ve scrambled to find ways get work to the public.
Some have made archival video of productions available, some have created Zoom plays and some have returned to an old art form — radio drama — but with a digital twist.
In the 1930s, with many people out of work, families huddled around radio receivers to listen to audio plays, like Orson Welles’ famous broadcast, War of the Worlds.
“Orson Welles began his career as a theater actor and director,” says Adam Greenfield, artistic director for New York’s Playwrights Horizons. “And I think he’s able to really utilize the full potential of what audio can do.”
Taking cues from Welles’ success, Greenfield commissioned a new series of audio plays for podcast called Soundstage. He planned to release them this summer, when the theater was dark, but because of the pandemic he hustled them online.
The first podcast released was Prime: A Practical Breviary by songwriter and performer Heather Christian. It’s based on the 6:00 a.m. rite, or breviary, of solo contemplation for nuns and monks.[…]
It is hard to be remembered in the electronics business. Edison gets a lot of credit, as does Westinghouse and Tesla. In the radio era, many people know Marconi and de Forest (although fewer remember them every year), but less know about Armstrong or Maxwell. In the solid-state age, we tend to remember people like Shockley (even though there were others) and maybe Esaki.
If you knew most or all of those names without looking them up, you are up on your electronics history. But do you know the name Rufus Turner?
W3LF
Turner was born on Christmas Day, 1907 in Houston, Texas. At the age of 15, he became fascinated by crystal diodes and published his first article about radio when he was 17. Rufus Turner was–among other things–the first black licensed radio operator (W3LF). He was building and operating radios in Washington D.C., where he was attending Armstrong Tech.
Turner became a licensed professional engineer in California and Massachusetts. You may have even used something that Turner worked on. In the 1940’s, working with Sylvania, he helped to develop the 1N34A germanium diode (you can still buy these if you look around for them).[…]
Register now for Free Foundation Online Training course (Southgate ARC)
The next free amateur radio Foundation Online training course run by volunteers from Essex Ham starts on Sunday, June 21
The Coronavirus outbreak and the RSGB’s introduction of online exams that can be taken at home has led to a surge in demand for free online amateur radio training courses such as that run by Essex Ham.
To cope with the high-demand from people wanting to get their amateur radio licence, the Essex Ham Team have been running an additional online training course each month. The next course starts on June 21.
Andy would like to couple a similar antenna to a crystal receiver
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andy, who asks the following question in response to a previous post about building a Milk Crate AM Broadcast Loop Antenna:
All references to tuned loop antennas talk about no real connection to the AM radio, but merely inductive coupling.
However, I made a very elementary crystal radio which has no ferrite core or antenna.
I want this loop to be my primary (only) antenna, so I need to feed it directly to my tuning circuit. So I don’t know if I should take a wire from any particular part of the loop, with another wire to ground… and if these 2 wires should be in parallel or series with the tuning elements of the loop antenna.
Thanks!
Good question, Andy! Hopefully someone in the SWLing Post community can comment with some guidance!
After publishing a couple of posts about the Xiegu G90 QRP transceiver, I’ve gotten a number of inquiries from readers asking about the G90’s ability to receive AM broadcasts. Although I’ll address this in detail in my upcoming TSM review, I thought I’d also share a few notes with you.
One of the main reasons I decided to review the Xiegu G90 is I found so little information out there about how well the general coverage receiver worked for HF broadcast listening. The G90 has a frequency range of 0.5-30 MHz (SSB, CW, and AM), but I couldn’t find a specification showing the maximum width of the AM filter. I had seen a few display photos with the AM filter width indicated as 5.4 kHz–that’s not terribly wide, but workable.
Only moments after opening the box and putting the G90 on the air, I tuned to the Voice of Greece (9,420 kHz) and learned how to change the bandwidth. I was very pleased to find that in AM mode, the indicated filter width is actually half the actual width. This means, the G90’s AM filter can actually be widened to 10.8 kHz–brilliant!
In addition, the bandwidth adjustment is variable, meaning you’re not locked into pre-determined, stepped bandwidths as with so many other transceivers.
In this short video, I widen the AM filter while tuned to the Voice of Greece:
Here’s another video of the G90 tuned to Radio Exterior de España on 9,690 kHz. Although the REE transmitter is located across the Atlantic Ocean in Spain, they sound like a local here in North Carolina:
Overall, I’ve been very pleased with the G90 on the HF bands.
Of course, there’s no synchronous detector (although users have requested this in a future firmware version) and there’s no notch filter as of yet. While I expect Xiegu may consider adding a notch filter, I doubt they’ll ever add a sync detector as this rig is primarily aimed at QRP ham radio operation. Of course, I could be wrong.
I also haven’t found a way to completely disable the transmitter or set the power level to zero watts. It’s quite possible I simply haven’t discovered the appropriate setting for this yet. Disabling the transmitter adds an extra level of protection when I use receive-only amplified mag loop antennas, for example. Also, some G90 owners may purchase the rig for listening purposes only and would rather not accidentally key the transmitter or engage the ATU.
Retailers
I purchased my Xiegu G90 from MFJ Enterprises because I wanted to support a US retailer. There are a number of other G90 distributors across the globe. Here’s a short selection:
eBay(at time of posting, the least expensive option including shipping)
I’m sure there are many other G90 retailers across the globe. Before placing an order, I would suggest you double-check availability as some retailers are on back-order.
Post Readers: Have you used the Xiegu G90 on the broadcast bands? Please comment with your thoughts!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frank (ON6UU), who writes:
As so many, I enjoy reading your posts on the SWLing Post, very clear and understandable written with eye for details. I just did a “read-again” of the QCX+ article and thought that maybe you also would be interested in another European kit, namely the DB4020 by Javier Solans of QRP HAMRADIO KITS in Spain.
The DB4020 is a 2 band kit enabling you to do 40 and 20 meters, SSB and CW. The SSB part of the kit can be obtained for 150€ (169$), Print is a beautiful doubled sided silkscreen with enough space to mount all parts without problems. Some SMD parts are factory installed by Javier, all other parts are normal parts that can be soldered by anyone who knows how to hold a soldering iron. The CW part is an additional module which needs to be plugged into the main board. There will also be a CW filter available soon.
I’m building the kit at the moment and enjoy every minute of it. I’m not related or don’t have any benefit in sending you this mail, only want to draw some attention to a great kit and super friendly owner who goes the extra mile to have happy customers.
Have a great day
Thank you for the tip, Frank–and I’m glad you enjoy the SWLing Post! EA3GCY’s kit does look very nice indeed. We would love to see your photos once the kit is complete! It looks like a kit I’d certainly love building!
The annual transmission on Alexanderson Day with the Alexanderson Alternator on VLF 17.2 kHz with the call sign SAQ will take place Sunday, July 5th, 2020.
Two transmissions are scheduled as follows:
Startup and tuning at 10:30 (08:30 UTC) with a transmission of a message at 11:00 (09:00 UTC).
Startup and tuning at 13:30 (11:30 UTC) with a transmission of a message at 14:00 (12:00 UTC)
Watch both transmission events live on our YouTube Channel.
QSL-reports to SAQ (please no E-mails) are kindly received via:
Reception report form
or via: SM bureau
or direct by postal mail to:
Alexander Association
Radiostationen
Grimeton 72
SE-432 98 GRIMETON
S W E D E N
The Amateur Radio Station with the call “SK6SAQ” will be QRV on the following frequencies:
Due to the Corona pandemic, there will be no visitors to the radio station and there will be no visitor activities. Instead you can watch both transmission events live on our YouTube Channel. The association will try to carry out the two broadcasts to the world from the old Alexanderson alternator SAQ with minimal staffing in place.
World Heritage Grimeton Radio station and The Alexander Association
For further details, se grimeton.org or alexander.n.se
