M.I.T. Radio Society: Public lectures covering all aspects of radio

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jennifer Waits, who notes that The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radio Society (W1MX) and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) are presenting a series of radio-related lectures covering a wide array of topics, “from the design of modern wireless communications systems and 5G, to software defined radio and satellite communications, to shortwave radio propagation, space weather, Radio Astronomy and more.”

The public lectures are announced here: http://student.mit.edu/iap/ns313.html 

All lectures are streamed live and archived on YouTube.

Jennifer notes that one of the most recent lectures focuses on shortwave radio and propagation:

Click here to watch on YouTube.

Click here to view the entire lecture playlist.

Thanks for the tip, Jennifer!

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Tivdio V-115/Audiomax  SRW-710S: Keith approves of everything save battery performance

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Keith Stephens, who writes:

Regarding the Audiomax  SRW-710S  radio.

I was very pleasantly surprised at more than one aspect of this radio.  First, it sounds like something with a much larger speaker.  It has the base capability of at least a 6″ speaker.  My favorite FM music station comes from a mountaintop repeater over 70 miles away.  The 710S is one of two radios I have tried through the years that brings it in clear and clean.  The other is a much bigger more expensive radio.  And of course, the voice quality of the local AM talk shows is excellent.  I lost my instruction booklet (as usual) but I do want to record the FM station for times when I am out of range.

It is a pity that I have to tell of a bad shortcoming on this wonderful radio.  Alas, I couldn’t believe it the first time it died at the end of three hours.  I thought I had a bad battery, but a fully charged new battery only lasts 3 hours!  I would pay twice the price for the same radio if it had a better battery life.  Please let me know if there is a better battery or the same radio with a larger battery.

Thanks for your mini review, Keith! Admittedly, I’ve never tested the battery performance of this set because I typically use it for short (1 hour) recording sessions.

Click here to read other reviews of the Audiomax  SRW-710S/Tivdio V-115.

Retailers:

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Silicon Chip: Building a AM/FM DAB+ tuner

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

[The January 2019 issue of the Australian Silicon Chip magazine] commences a series of construction articles on building your own DAB+/AM/FM receiver. Australia was the first country to start permanent high powered DAB+ broadcasting which was in Aug 2009.

It is now extensively used in Europe but in the UK there are only 4 program streams in DAB+ the rest are in DAB which uses a less efficient audio compression and poorer error correction for noise and reflected signals.

Click here to check out a preview of this article at Silicon Chip Online.

Thanks for the tip! Readers, please note that Silicon Chip requires a subscription or you must purchase the issue in order to read the full article.

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Dave notes the Icom IC-735 makes an appearance in “Pole To Pole With Michael Palin”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who writes:

Now you just just had to talk about the Icom IC-735.

In the final episode from the 1992 BBC 8 part series “Pole To Pole with Michael Palin” (Bitter End), you will see a couple of IC-735’s used.

They are located about 7:04 and 28:08 (minutes) in the video:

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2iszgj

Click here to view the video in a separate window.

Thanks for sharing this, Dave. I absolutely loved this travel series and watched it many years ago.  I’m also a big fan of Michael Palin. I think it’s time to re-watch it especially knowing the IC-735 makes a cameo!

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FTIOM & UBMP, January 20-26

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From the Isle of Music, January 20-26:
This week, we feature the music of Ramon Valle, winner of the Instrumental Music category in Cubadisco 2018 as well as a nominee in the Jazz Soloist and Jazz Ensemble categories. All this with three different albums, and we will taste a little of each.
The broadcasts take place:
1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100Kw, Sunday 1500-1600 UTC on SpaceLine, 9400 KHz, from Kostinbrod, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK)
2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 UTC (New UTC) on WBCQ, 7490 KHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EST in the US).
3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UTC and Saturday 1200-1300 UTC (New CETs) on Channel 292, 6070 KHz from Rohrbach, Germany.

Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, January 20 and 22:
Episode 96 features vocalese (sometimes called Scat) from around the world, from Bebop to Roma to Cuban to Carnatic.
1.Sunday 2300-2330 UTC (6:00PM -6:30PM Eastern US) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 KHz from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
2. Tuesday 2000-2030 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 KHz from Rohrbach, Germany for Europe. If current propagation conditions hold, the broadcast should reach Iceland AND Western Russia due to a long skip.
Also recommended:
Marion’s Attic, a unique program produced and hosted by Marion Webster featuring early 20th Century records, Edison cylinders etc played on the original equipment, comes on immediately before UBMP on Sundays from 2200-2300 UTC on WBCQ 7490 Khz.

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Free radio e-books for download

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(Source: Southgate ARC)

There are a number of vintage radio and amateur radio related eBooks available for free download on the Gutenberg site

Among them is the 1922 edition of The Radio Amateur’s Handbook by A. Frederick Collins.

Jarno de Haan @PA3DMI tweeted this link that will display the books available:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=radio

A. Frederick Collins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Frederick_Collins

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Jeff is displeased with Sangean buttons

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jeff McMahon, who writes:

After my wife complained about our Sangean radio button problems, I made this post:

Our Sangean radios are good performers for FM reception and speaker sound. They are reasonably priced. For user-friendly radios to use throughout the house, the kind that my wife and daughters enjoy using, Sangean is the best bet.

However, for me a general use Sangean is not my first choice. Because I am an FM reception fanatic, I prefer more of a high-performance radio, the kind that has an SW port, so I can connect a wire antenna to the radio, which usually results in improved FM reception. That’s why I have a Grundig G4000A next to my bedside table. But for the rest of my family, it’s a Sangean affair.

However, I should point out a consistent flaw, one that my wife complained about this morning: Three of four of our Sangeans have button problems.[…]

Read the full article at The Herculodge.

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