Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares the following update:
Hi Thomas
Attached is an updated (version 2) list of Holiday Programming on Shortwave covering the period Saturday 16 December 2023 to Monday 1 January 2024.
Many thanks & 73
Alan Roe
Click here to download Holiday Programming on Shortwave 2023 V2 (PDF).
Thank you for sharing this update, Alan!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who writes:
Hi Thomas
I have been sent a listing with full descriptions of topics to be heard on the English service of Radio Romania International for most programmes for each day from 18 December to 2 January. This list was very kindly compiled and supplied by Vlad Paclu from RRI. [P]lease let Vlad and the team at RRI know that their efforts to provide such information over the holiday period was useful – their email address is [email protected]
Many thanks
Alan Roe
Click here to download the RRI Program Schedule (PDF).
Thank you for sharing this with us, Alan, and we’ll let Vlad and the team know how much we appreciate it! Sending my email now!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jerome van der Linden, who writes seeking a bit of help:
Hello Thomas,
From time to time I see you’ve tried to ID receivers used in movies etc. I have a slightly different request that I hope you may pass on…
I’m trying to restore an old AM/SW radio for a friend and only know that its brand is a Howard radio who built sets in the US and in Melbourne, Australia. But I don’t know its model number and the tubes (valves here) are not all identifiable.
The chassis has numbers printed on it adjacent to the tubes AZ3 (with a Y2GT tube in its socket); AL3; ABC1 plus a couple of others. The four front control knobs appear to be volume, AM/SW band selector, tuning job (which drives a set of gears connected to the dual gang variable capacitor tuner), and what I assume is the tone control. There does not appear to be a power switch. Apart from tubes, I’m keen to confirm what my physical inspection of the 16 or so capacitors, in fact, are supposed to be so that I can source replacements.
The radio also has a toggle switch on the back, which I think switches the input between radio and an external gramophone. The loud speaker appears to be of the type with 4 conductors, where two are probably powering an electro magnet for the speaker. (I have also emailed the Steven Johnson web site for information, as he seems to store a lot of schematics for download.)
Thanks in advance.
Jerome van der Linden
Readers: If you can help Jerome, please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post Contributor, Troy Riedel, who shares the following news via Spaceweather.com:
(UPDATED) STRONGEST FLARE OF THE CURRENT SOLAR CYCLE:
Sunspot 3514 erupted on Dec. 14th (1702 UT), producing a strong X2.8-class solar flare. This is the strongest flare of Solar Cycle 25 (so far) and the most powerful eruption the sun has produced since the great storms of Sept. 2017. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the extreme ultraviolet flash:
Radiation from the flare has caused a deep shortwave radio blackout over the Americas: blackout map. Ham radio operators may have noticed loss of signal at all frequencies below 30 MHz for more than 30 minutes after the flare.
This explosion probably launched a fast-moving coronal mass ejection (CME) Soon after the blast, the US Air Force is reported a Type II solar radio burst, which typically comes from the leading edge of a CME. Based on the drift rate of the radio burst, the CME’s velocity could exceed 2100 km/s (4.7 million mph).
Confirmation: Newly-arriving images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) show a lopsided halo CME:
Although this CME is not squarely aimed at Earth, it does appear to have an Earth-directed component. A glancing blow is likely on Dec. 17th. Solar flare alerts: SMS Text
Click here to stay up to date with all space weather events at Spaceweather.com.
Hi all SWLing Post Community, FastRadioBurst 23 here. This week, the Imaginary Stations crew bring you another Skybird Radio International episode featuring a celebration of International music. This show will be beamed to Europe by Shortwave Gold on Sunday 17th December 2023 at 1000/1400 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then on 3975 kHz at 2100 UTC.
Then on early Monday 18th December we have a WRMI edition of the show at 0300 UTC on 9395 kHz. Prepare to be transported to the far flung corners of the world on both shows.
For more information on the shows please email [email protected] and check out our old shows here.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Meara who shares the following article from the SolderSmoke Podcast:
Yesterday’s Washington Post had a good story about large solar storms. We are all aware of the Carrington Event (September 1859) but there were others. The Japanese painting above depicts an event of February 4, 1872.
From the Washington Post article:
Around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 4, 1872, the sky above Jacobabad suddenly brightened, as if a portal to heaven had opened. A passerby watched in amazement and terror, while a pet dog became motionless, then trembled. The godly glow morphed, from red to bright blue to deep violet, until morning.
Electric communication cables mysteriously glitched in the Mediterranean, around Lisbon and Gibraltar, London and India. Confused telegraph operators in Cairo reported issues in sending messages to Khartoum. One incoming message asked what was the big red glow on the horizon — a fire or a faraway explosion?
This of course reminded me of the event that I witnessed as a teenager in New York in 1972:
https://soldersmoke.blogspot.com/2009/09/carrington-flares-aurora-where-were-you.html
That post has resulted in a steady stream of comments, mostly from non-hams. Apparently people remember seeing the event, then search the web for clues as to what it was. Google brings them to that post on the SolderSmoke Daily News. The comments are usually along the lines of, “Wow! I saw it too!” Very cool.
Check out this article, the full SolderSmoke podcast, and much more on the SolderSmoke website!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who once again has published his excellent Holiday Broadcasts on Shortwave schedule.
Alan notes:
I have again been collating a list of programming on shortwave over the forthcoming holiday period, covering Saturday 16 December 2023 to Monday 1 January 2024.
The list includes seasonal and non-seasonal programming. Regular weekly music programming, where no special advance programme information has been provided, are not generally included in this list, but please refer to my Music on Shortwave list.
Many thanks and 73
Alan Roe
Click here to download Holiday Broadcasts on Shortwave Version 1 (PDF).
Thank you so much for sharing your guide, Alan. I look forward to it each season!