CBC’s Nightfall: “A Short Wave Goodbye”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Zack Schindler, who writes:

In the early 1980’s CBC Radio 1 had a radio play show called Nightfall. Most episodes dealt with the supernatural. I used to listen to this from CBE (1550 khz) in Windsor Ontario. One episode that aired in 1981 was called Shortwave Goodbye and the story was about a “ham radio enthusiast who receives messages from the future. When he gets rich gambling, will he be able to rid himself of his shrewish wife before she and her lover can kill him first? “

Here’s the audio recording from the Internet Archive:

You can also listen to this recording on YouTube.

Many thanks, Zack, for sharing a link to this program! Although I’ve listened to loads of OTR programs, I somehow missed Nightfall.

For more information about Nightfall, check out this page from Awake At Midnight  and this page on WikiPedia.

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ABC celebrates 80 years of international broadcasting

Geraldine Doogue (Photo by Peter Marks)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Peter Marks, who was recently invited to attend an ABC celebration. Peter wrote up a summary of the event on his blog:

80 years of international broadcasting by the ABC was celebrated this week at the headquarters in Ultimo, Sydney.

David Hua, ABC Head, International Strategy introduced the event.

Geraldine Doogue was the MC for the evening. She described the International division as “Taking Australian culture beyond its shores”. Doogue described ABC International as the very best of the ABC and said that the people who work in it have a sense of pride in Australia and work out how to present it to the world.

Ita Buttrose, ABC chair, said “The birth of Australia’s international broadcasting service came at a time of global upheaval, uncertainty and disruption. Australia seemed far removed from the epicentre of conflict in Europe, but the technology of cable and wireless brought the war in to living rooms across the country.”

As Ms Buttrose noted in her recent speech at the Lowy Institute, radio technology also gave Australia the opportunity to speak directly, for the first time, to its near neighbours, countering the propaganda and fake news of the day.

Click here to continue reading the full article on Peter’s blog.

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Voice of Nigeria would like your reception reports

Photo source: 5N7Q

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Harald Kuhl (DL1AX), who shares the following note posted on the 5N7Q DXpedition page:

UPDATE from Bodo, DF8DX.

5N7Q is QRT for now. Rene DL2JRM and Bodo DF8DX enjoyed this activity very much. We logged more than 20,000 QSOs in 9 days of operation. We were active from 10m to 160m in CW, SSB, RTTY and FT8.

While many friends appreciated getting some new band points, operating in FT8 and on the 60m band were first time ever activity.

Our QTH was in the broadcasting station of Voice Of Nigeria in Abuja. We were very grateful for this opportunity to use the broadcasting antennas that have 20dB gain into Europe, NA and SA. Asia was workable with our vertical dipoles or via long path. Unfortunately the giant rotatable antenna cannot be rotated at the moment but we hope that it is doable at the next activity. For low-bands we had some dipoles hanging from the 80m tall link tower. Our signal was good but we clearly had some RX trouble as the noise was very high. Complete log is uploaded to Clublog and Lotw as well. Please use OQRS to receive your paper QSL card via bureau or direct. There are still a lot of mails asking about QSOs that cant be found in the log. Please QRX, I will check all of them carefully but it takes some time. Our QSLs may be requested for free via bureau and Lotw is already uploaded, no waiting, no donation required for this service.

This activity would not have been possible without the effort and help by the staff from Voice Of Nigeria. All credit go to them. Please help us to help them. You may support future activities from here by keeping this wonderful transmitting station on air. Their current broadcasting schedule is: 0600-1100UTC on 7255kHz in AM (beaming to West Africa and SA) 1500-2100UTC on 11770kHz in AM (beaming to West Africa and NA) 1500-2100UTC on 15120kHz in DRM (beaming to EU). Please tune in and listen to Voice Of Nigeria.

Please send your listener reports to:

Head Of Engineering Engr. Jerimoth Canice Voice Of Nigeria Headquarter Oda Cres, Wuse 2 Abuja Nigeria [email protected]. Your listener reports are highly appreciated and help to keep transmitting from here.

Many thanks for sharing this, Harald! Readers, if you’ve logged VoN recently, please send them a reception report!

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Sangean DT-140 & SR-32: New Sangean AM/FM radios


Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Schuster, who writes:

The Sangean SR-32 from the 2020 catalog.

Attached image [above] is extracted from a PDF of the 2020 catalog, it shows the
upcoming Sangean DT-140 and SR-32.

Wondering if the SR-32 (from the almost-defunct “slide rule” series) uses DSP-as-analog tuning like its larger sibling with speaker.

Thanks for the tip, Mike!  Yes, I’d be willing to bet that the SR-32 is DSP-based. I might have to check these out further.

It’s also nice to see that they also feature both the ATS-909x and ATS-405 shortwave portables in the 2020 catalog!

Click here to download the Sangean 2020 catalog (PDF).

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Encore – Classical Music on Shortwave Friday Saturday Sunday

This coming weekend Encore – Classical Music on Radio Tumbril will broadcasting on a third frequency again.
WWCR in Tennessee are transmitting the show at 01:00 UTC Sunday 1st December (Saturday evening 30th November local in US) on 6115 kHz.
Encore – Classical Music this weekend is – of course – being broadcast as usual by Channel 292 (Europe) on 6070 kHz at 15:00 UTC Sunday 1st December.
And by WBCQ on 7490 kHz at 01:00 UTC Monday 2nd December.
There is a repeat on 6070 kHz on Friday 6th December at 19:00 UTC.
Do let us know how well you can pick up Encore at your location by emailing to [email protected]. We try to reply to all emails and will send eQSL cards for full reports.
This week’s programme starts with the Much Ado about Nothing suite by Erich Korngold – with a madrigal by Bonnie Miksch performed by the excellent choral ensemble Siglo di Oro sandwiched in between. After that we have two versions of a movement from Arcadiana by Thomas Ades – one instrumental and the other choral – for comparison. Some electronic music from 1980s to follow then a couple of pieces by Rameau and finally a Beethoven piano sonata.
Both Channel 292 and WBCQ as well as WWCR can be pulled live off the internet if the reception is poor in your location. Easy to find their sites with a google search.
Thank you for spreading the word about Encore – Classical Music on Shortwave. And thank you to everyone for letting us know how well the signal is received where you live.
Brice Avery – Encore – Radio Tumbril.
Regular Broadcast times are:
15:00 – 16:00 UTC Sunday, and repeated 19:00 – 20:00 UTC Friday on 6070 kHz Channel 292 (Germany).
01:00 – 02:00 UTC Sunday on 6115 kHz WWCR (Tennessee).
01:00 – 02:00 UTC Monday on 7490 kHz WBCQ – (Maine).
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Radio Deal: Eton Elite Executive for $100 shipped

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Walrus, who notes that the Eton Elite Executive is currently $100 shipped and with free returns via Amazon.com.

Click here to check out this deal at Amazon (affiliate link supports the SWLing Post).

Check out all of our holiday sales tips by bookmarking the tag  Black Friday Radios 2019

Do you have a deal tip?  Please share them via email, or simply leave a comment!

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Thanksgiving: A great time for family, friends, food, and pirate radio!

Here in the States, we’re celebrating Thanksgiving today. It’s my favorite holiday because it’s all about giving thanks and spending time with friends. family, and eating some amazing food.

Another great thing about Thanksgiving is it also equates to a long extended weekend for many who have full-time careers. That includes, of course, shortwave radio pirates! Anytime there’s a holiday, pirates are more likely to hit the air.

Hang around the pirate radio watering holes (including 6,800 – 6,990 kHz) and you just might log a few new stations! Do you live outside North America? Try using a KiwiSDR in the US or Canada to hunt pirates. It’s believed that the majority of pirate radio stations are located in the Northeast, so you should choose a KiwiSDR location with that in mind. If you’re new to pirate radio listening, check out our tutorial.

Thank you…

Speaking of giving thanks, thank you dear readers for making the SWLing Post such a welcoming community to radio enthusiasts of all stripes. The SWLing Post is a true labor of love, and it’s an honor to serve it up to you!

I’d especially like to thank our Patrons, Producers, Executive Producers and Coffee Fund contributors. Your financial support helps keep this a dynamic radio space over the long haul!

You all make this a terrific place for everything radio!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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