Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen (K8RAT), who shares Tamitha Skov’s latest space weather forecast video:
Mindaugas Macijauskas’ stunning radio poster
Radio enthusiast, Mindaugas Macijauskas, has recently shared a graphics project he’s been working on for quite a few months. Mindaugas writes (on Facebook):
Few months ago I’ve started my little spare time project – “Longwave, mediumwave & shortwave bands” poster. So, I’m happy to announce that poster & wallpaper are ready to download!
Available for free in multiple sizes & formats at: https://macijauskas.org/shortwave/
This is initial, 1st edition so some errors might occur. In that case – please PM me.
Currently it’s a bit simpler version, than I’ve initially intended to create. But for this one decided to use “less is more” philosophy.
Had some issues with PDF making, so not all sizes currently are available. I’ll try to fix this within a week or so. On the other hand – tried to print 30×40 cm (12X16 inch) jpeg file at photo lab – and this went exceptionally well.
If you like my my work – you can support it via PayPal. Link is in website.
Very well done, Mindaugas! This is a gorgeous poster and is now the wallpaper on one of my PC monitors.
Click here to download the poster and support Mindaugas’ project.
Radio Romania International’s 2019 Person of the Year
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who writes:
I’m sending you the following Radio Romania International article about the designation of the Personality of the year 2019.
The chosen one was Greta Thunberg.
(Source: Radio Romania International)
Dear friends, Radio Romania International continued its traditional poling of listeners on short wave, the Internet and Social Media, asking you which person you think left their imprint on the world in a positive way in 2019. The political leaders proposed for the title of ‘Personality of the Year 2019’ included Pope Francis, Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis, the Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelensky, the Chinese president Xi Jinping, the Romanian Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, the prime-ministers of India and Pakistan, Narendra Mody and Imran Khan respectively, the former Italian deputy prime-minister Matteo Salvini, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the Italian senator Liliana Segre, a Holocaust survivor.
The athletes nominated included the former world no. 1 Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, the Canadian tennis player of Romanian descent Bianca Andreescu and the former great Romanian footballer Gheorghe Hagi. The former president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi, the entrepreneur Elon Musk and the Romanian-born German singer Peter Maffay were also nominated by our listeners.
Based on the proposals made by a majority of respondents to our poll, the personality of the year 2019 has been designated the young Swedish environmental activist on climate change, Greta Thunberg. Our listener Ralf Urbanczyk, from Germany, wrote about her: “No other person has polarized attention this year as Greta Thunberg has. Everybody has talked about her: regular people, scientists and researchers, the media. She’s been present in people’s lives more than any other person. I appreciate the fact that she can mobilize people and trigger discussions.”
The uBITX V6, winter weather and power outages
Yesterday, a weather front moved through the area that dropped temperatures from an unseasonably high of 50F to 25F in the space of a couple of hours. Fronts like this always equate to high winds here at our altitude. This time, it packed a little snow as well.
Last night, around 22:00 local, our power went out due to a fallen tree further down the road.
Here at SWLing Post HQ, we don’t panic about power outages. As I’ve mentioned before, our refrigerator, freezer and some of our home lighting is solar-powered and off-grid–we also rely on passive solar heating and a good wood stove to keep us warm and cozy.
Without fail, I always use power outages as an excuse to play radio on battery power.
This morning, the uBITX V6 transceiver was already hooked up to a LiFePo battery on my desktop, so I simply turned it on and started tuning around the 40 meter band, where I had recently logged a few POTA contacts. Problem was, the band was absolutely dead, save a couple weak stations. After thinking about it a few seconds (keep in mind this was pre-coffee) I put on my boots and coat, walked outside and confirmed my suspicions: the antenna feedline had become detached from my external ATU box.
The winds were strong enough last night, that the ladder line pulled itself out of the banana connector jacks on the side of the ATU box. This happens quite often during periods of high winds and is a bit annoying. Of course, I could secure the feedline in such a way that it would easily survive high winds without disconnecting, but frankly this is an intentional design choice. You see, when a black bear walks into my feedline, it easily disconnects before the bear gets tangled, up, frustrated and yanks my antenna out of the tree!
Trust me on this: bears and antennas don’t mix. I speak from experience.
After re-connecting the antenna, I fired up my portable alcohol stove (the one you might have seen in this post), boiled water, and made a fresh cup of coffee to take back to the shack.
I turned on the uBITX once again and found that the 40 meter band was chock-full of strong signals.
It’s time to go chase a few more parks today and plot my next POTA activation.
Frankly, I’m in no hurry for the power to be restored. It’s a wonderful excuse to play radio.
Readers: Anyone else enjoy radio time when the grid goes down? Please comment!
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WRTH 2020: A look inside
I received my review copy of the 2020 World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH) shortly after returning from holiday travels last week. I always look forward to receiving this excellent staple radio reference guide–and this is their 74th edition! The WRTH has never disappointed, so my expectations are always quite high.
Once again, the WRTH lived up to my expectations.
WRTH’s team of noted DXers from around the world curate frequencies and broadcaster information by region; while I’m not sure how they orchestrate all of this, the end result is truly a symphony of radio information. In addition to broadcaster listings, WRTH’s radio reviews, feature articles, and annual HF report make for excellent reading.
But the WRTH isn’t just a frequency guide: the publication always devotes the first sixty or so pages to articles relating to various aspects of the radio hobby. Following, I offer a quick overview of these.
The first article always features a WRTH contributor: this year, they feature Luis Cavalho who is their contributor for Portugal, the Azores and Madeira. His path to becoming a WRTH contributor began in his childhood snagging mediumwave DX with an array of portable radios. His love of radio lead him to the world of shortwave radio, WRTH and eventually his own radio website to serve Portuguese listeners.
WRTH Reviews
The second set of articles is always my favorite: WRTH receiver reviews.
This year, WRTH begins with an in-depth review of the excellent ELAD FDM-DUOr tabletop SDR receiver. Next they build on their 2019 review of the SDRplay RSPduo by exploring its unique diversity reception capabilities. They also review the AirSpy HF+ Discovery and were so impressed they awarded it the 2020 Best Value SDR.
This year, WRTH also reviewed two portable radios by Pure: the Pure Elan E3 DAB, DAB+, FM receiver and the Pure Elan IR5 WifI radio.
The final two reviews are of affordable products that offer incredible value for the radio listener: the venerable Tecsun PL-310ET ultralight radio and the Tecsun AN-200 MW Loop Antenna. I enjoyed reading a fresh review of each of these products as I’ve personally used both for nearly a decade.
WRTH Features
The first feature article, written by none other than Dave Porter, focuses on the development of HF broadcast antennas. His article serves as an excellent primer on the topic, covering Rhombic Antennas, Corner Quadrant Antennas, Log-Periodic Arrays and ALLISS /Rigid Curtain Arrays. A must-read for those who want to know more about the “business side” of a broadcast signal!
Hans Johnson’s feature, Sea Breeze and Wind from Japan, explores the story behind the broadcasts to Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea. Truly, an inspiring story of a determined and mission-dedicated broadcasters.
The following feature article was written by WRTH contributor and chief editor of the New Zealand DX Times, Stu Forsyth, who outlines the history of broadcasting from New Caledonia in the Pacific.
The next feature article focuses on the “finer points” of mediumwave propagation. I thought this was an informative and and timely article as so many shortwave DXers (including yours truly) spend time on the mediumwave bands especially during winter and times of rough HF propagation. A must-read!
Ashraf Chaaban, president of the Association des Radio Amateurs Tunisiens, takes WRTH readers with him on a visit to the Sidi Manson Transmitter Site in Tunisia in the final feature article. Having an affinity for broadcast sites, I sincerely enjoyed the focus on Sidi Manson which fell silent on shortwave in 2014.
Next, WRTH spotlight the annual Digital Update which summarizes the dynamic state of digital broadcasting. I’ve found this feature to be incredibly informative as we see how digital broadcasting is penetrating both domestic and international services.
The final article–a tradition–is the WRTH HF propagation report/forecast by Ulf-Peter Hoppe. Always an informative read especially as we work our way out of a log-term solar slump.
The 74th is another fantastic edition of the World Radio TV Handbook. As I say every year, I’ve never been disappointed with WRTH. Their publishing standards are such that the quality of their reviews, their writing, and (most importantly) their broadcast listings are simply unparalleled.
For DXers who collect QSL cards, you’ll find that broadcaster contact information in WRTH is often more up-to-date than a broadcaster’s own website. When readers contact me asking for QSL information from an obscure broadcaster, the first place I search is the current WRTH. Remember: their information is based on volunteer contributors who specialize in specific regions of the world–the most knowledgeable regional DXers keep this publication accurate.
Purchase your copy of WRTH 2020 directly from WRTH’s publishers, or from a distributor like Universal Radio (US) , Amazon.com (US), or the Book Depository (international).
Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map Fundraiser
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jack Jones, who shares the following:
Do you want to be part of pirate radio history? David Goren, creator of the Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map, ( https://map.pirateradiomap.com/ ) is headed for an upgrade/expansion in 2020 with many exciting new features… To that end there’s a fundraiser afoot!
The Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map is the first phase of a multimedia documentary project which launched in 2017 with the help of funding from the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC). An interactive online sound map containing archival recordings of the pirate stations is paired with a four part historical essay tracing the development of Brooklyn pirate radio through interviews, and sound recordings.
The map was initially funded by the Brooklyn Arts Council. David is seeking additional funding to continue his research, add new features to the map, and expand the map to the other pirate radio neighborhoods of Queens, the Bronx and suburban New Jersey.
Thanks so much for sharing this fund raiser for the Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map, Jack!