Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Marty, who shares this article by Mark Durenberger in Radio World:

Inside the U.S. effort in a battle of the airwaves during the Pacific campaign of World War II

We can’t fully appreciate the importance of news from home to those who served in World War II. In the Pacific campaigns, G.I.s, sailors and Marines fought bloody island-hopping battles; as each island was cleared, garrison troops and hospitals moved in and carried on their own war against mosquitoes, isolation and boredom. The island fighters were fortunate if dated mail caught up with them before they moved on to the next target. Timely personal-level communications were pretty much absent.

Radio programming from America was available but only on shortwave. And shortwave radios were not generally available. The fortunate few had been issued “Buddy Kits” that included a radio, a small PA system and a record player for discs sent by mail. But for most there was no way to receive short-lived information such as news and sports. They were left with enemy radio propaganda such as Japan’s “Orphan Ann/Annie” (aka one of several Tokyo Roses) and the “Zero Hour” program.

No wonder that the idea of having a local island radio station doing “live from home” was so fiercely supported. Enlightened commanders saw the idea as a terrific morale-builder. The only problem was how to pull it off.

A solution, not uniquely, came from within the ranks. It started with the work of some bored but talented soldiers in the Panama Canal Zone who in 1940 built a couple of 50 W transmitters and put them on the air without authorization, labeling them “PCAN” and “PCAC.”[…]

Click here to continue reading the full article at Radio World.

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John works with FCC to track down WX radar interference

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Photo source: John (AE5X)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Harper (AE5X), who notes that he recently worked with an FCC crew to find the source of noise that was affecting a weather radar site. In the process, John got to check out, first hand, RF Hawk and some of the equipment the FCC uses to locate interference (including pirate radio stations).

Click here to read John’s full post.

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Commercial circuit simulator, Micro-Cap 12, now a free download

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Grayhat, who writes:

Maybe it’s old news for you, I just discovered it and thought you may
be interested, the commercial circuit simulator “Micro-Cap 12” which
was sold at around $4,500 for each license is now *free*, I found the
information here along with some further details:

https://hackaday.com/2020/01/08/commercial-circuit-simulator-goes-free/

The decision of releasing it as freeware seems to be related to the
fact that the company selling it (Spectrum Software) closed (not sure
for the reasons); anyhow, since the site or the download link may
disappear in some time, I think it would be a good idea to pick a copy
of the software, the full CD image including the program, libraries and
everything else can be downloaded from this page

http://www.spectrum-soft.com/download/download.shtm

Thank you for the tip! I agree with you about grabbing a full install of the application while you can!

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SDRplay RSPdx update

Fan of the 1 Radio News app? They could use your support.

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, who shares the following GoFundMe campaign by Steven Clift to help with the continued development of the 1 Radio News application. Here’s the summary from Steven’s GoFundMe page:

1 Radio News needs a total rebuild to work great on Android 9 and 10.

I’ve kept this world radio news hobby alive with just enough revenue to cover developer costs since 2013!

Unfortunately, Google and Android change what is required to keep what once worked great functioning well.

Without your help, 1 Radio News will be no more.

With your support, I will pass 100% of your donation to developers to make this happen. We need to raise $1000 by the end of January.

EVERY donor, at any amount, will get a free pass for a new 1 Radio News Pro in-app subscription for the life of the app.

The new Pro will be launched with a simple $1/month subscription to cover the cost of feature improvement and updating the radio streams and curated collection of the best hourly and daily news. If you don’t want to chip in now, you’ll be able to help us on a monthly or yearly basis later.

1 Radio News Pro is Dead! Long live the 1 Radio News!

The current 1 Radio News Pro “as is” will sunset at a date to be determined in 2020. If you’d rather get a refund for the current 1 Radio News Pro and not participate in our effort to keep this app alive, just get in touch via the app and I’ll give you your money back even if you used the app for half a decade.

Click here to donate via GoFundMe.

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RadioInfo: “Fires hit ABC Radio’s Batemans Bay transmitter”

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Photo by Benjamin Lizardo

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Bird, who shares the following story from RadioInfo.com.au:

In an example of radio industry cooperation during adversity, commercial network Grant Broadcasters is working with the ABC on the South Coast of NSW to keep transmissions on air during the fires in that area.

As fires raged through the area last week, the ABC’s Mt Wandera transmission site at Bateman’s Bay was disabled by flames (see pictures below) and is expected to take some time to repair.

The ABC, through its transmission provider Broadcast Australia (recently renamed BAI Communications) asked if it could share Grant Broadcasters’ nearby transmission mast and infrastructure, and has now combined its transmissions onto the Grant Broadcasters antenna.

Local radio services, including ABC South Coast, are now back on air, but operating at reduced power. The ABC’s television transmitter on the site is also off air.

BAI has also established additional temporary low power facilities at Batemans Hill for ABC Local Radio (operating on 101.9 MHz) and ABC television (operating on Channel 41). As this facility operates from a lower altitude and at lower power than those at Mt Wandera, its coverage will be largely limited within the town of Batemans Bay.

On the South Coast, the Grant Broadcasters stations 2EC and Power FM had “no issues with transmission coverage” and have so far remained on full power. Diesel generators have 4-5 days capacity and are being refuelled continuously.

[…]Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has commended media and transmission providers for their efforts to keep services operating:

“I commend the network operators’ efforts in responding, which has included deploying temporary facilities to restore communications services for impacted communities, particularly those that are isolated. Many of the outages are due to power supplies being cut off, and in some cases are the direct impact of fire on network infrastructure. The current fire situations across Australia have made access difficult and unsafe at some sites to assess and restore services…

“In many cases, a portable transistor radio with a spare set of batteries is a vital way to receive emergency information, in the event there is a loss of mains power or mobile coverage.

“The ABC and other local radio stations are doing an excellent job transmitting vital emergency information to Australian communities. Telstra and Optus are offering targeted relief packages in affected regions in NSW and Victoria, including free use of payphones, call diversions from affected lines and other financial assistance.”[…]