FTIOM & UBMP, May 5-11


From the Isle of Music, May 5-11, 2019:

Part 2 of 2 Parts:
We finish our discussion of “Las Oscuras Leyendas de Chano Pozo” with its author, Ricardo Oropesa, while listening to some important recordings by Chano. Our other special guest is singer/bandleader Wil Campa, who will share some of his Timba and Salsa Cubana with us.
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 Sofia, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK) Station website: www.spaceline.bg
2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0000-0100 UTC (New UTC) on WBCQ, 7490 KHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EST in the US).
Station website: www.wbcq.com
3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UTC and Saturday 1200-1300 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 KHz from Rohrbach, Germany.
Station website: www.channel292.de

Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, May 5 and 7, 2019:
Episode 110 features advanced Latin Jazz from the United States
The transmissions take place:
1.Sundays 2200-2230 UTC (6:00PM -6:30PM Eastern US) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 KHz from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
2. Tuesdays 2000-2030 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 KHz from Rohrbach, Germany for Europe.

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Radio Deal: Eton Executive Satellite $96.68 shipped

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gregg Freeby, who writes:

I just noticed the Eton Executive Satellite is now priced under $100 on Amazon. I’m sure it will change again soon but this is the lowest I’ve seen it at $96.68 at the time of this writing. Not too many sub $100 radios out there with the features this radio has. I also noticed that this radio is “sold out” on the Eton website – they actually point you to Amazon, so it may be reaching it’s end of life from a retail standpoint.

Wow–Gregg this is the best price I’ve ever seen on the Executive Satellite.  If you’ve been considering one, this would be the time to pull the trigger. I have the non-executive version, but I’m still tempted to snag one of these. It is an excellent performer and the audio from the internal speaker is better than most other portables its size.

Click here to view on Amazon.com (using this affiliate link supports the SWLing Post).

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CRI Japan alters QSL policy to improve response time

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Roseanna, who shares the following note from her new blog regarding a change in CRI Japan’s QSL policy.

Roseanna notes:

You probably are unaware but CRI Japan has had a major change up in their QSL card policies. CRI Japan issue QSL cards for broadcasts in English which is why I’m mentioning this!

The new policies now state that a postal reception report will be answered by a postal QSL card and an email reception report will be answered by an e-QSL.[…]

Click here to check out Roseanna’s new blog The Girl With The Radio.

Thanks for the tip, Roseanna! I believe this makes sense. CRI seem to have a backlog of paper QSL cards to post so by restricting paper cards to those who submit listener reports by snail mail, it will cut down on the processing time. Those seeking a quick confirmation can simply submit their reception reports by email and thus receive an eQSL in short order.  Thanks again for the tip!

 

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Radio: A new song by the German rock band Rammstein

Many thanks to several SWLing Post readers who shared a link to this most recent single by the German rock band, Rammstein. The music site, Louder, posted an English translation of the lyrics:

(Source: Louder)

German alt-metallers Rammstein released their new single Radio late last week, and the internet has been abuzz with interpretations of the song, its lyrics and, of course, its accompanying video ever since.

Set throughout various eras of German history, the video (and song) examine East Germany’s relationship with Western culture – specifically the banning of the consumption of music, art and culture from the West by the German Democratic Republic.[…]

Rammstein Radio lyrics
[Presenter]

“Attention, attention here is Berlin Königs Wusterhausen and the German shortwave transmitter. We’re broadcasting dance music…”

[Verse 1]

We weren’t allowed to be part of it.
Nothing to see, talk or hear
But every night for an hour or two.
I’ve vanished from this world
A little happy every night
My ear very close to the world receiver

[Refrain]

Radio, my radio
I let myself be sucked into the ether
My ears become eyes
Radio, my radio
That’s how I hear what I don’t see
Silence secretly faraway woe

[Verse 2]

We weren’t allowed to be part of it.
Nothing to see, talk or disturb
Every song was forbidden
So dangerous foreign notes
But every night a little happy
My ear very close to the world receiver

[Refrain]

Radio, my radio
I let myself be sucked into the ether
My ears become eyes
Radio, my radio (my radio)
That’s how I hear what I don’t see
Silence secretly faraway woe

[Bridge]

Every night I secretly rose
On the back of music
Put your ears on your wings
Sing softly into one’s hands
Every night and fly again
I just walked away with the music
Float so through bright rooms
No borders, no fences.

[Interlude]

Radio, radio
Radio, radio

[Refrain]

Radio, my radio (my radio)
I let myself be sucked into the ether
My ears become eyes
Radio, my radio (my radio)
That’s how I hear what I don’t see
Silence secretly faraway woe

Credit for translation goes to Reddit user thebourbonkid88.

Click here to view the music video of Radio but be warnedyou may consider this video NSFW (Not Safe For Work) as it contains brief nudity. As noted in the Southgate ARC, “The video revolves around the role and power of radio during the world wars, censorship and persecution of those who listened to foreign stations during this period.” If you’re easily offended by nudity and “adult situations” you should skip watching it. An alternative would be to listen to the audio via a service like Spotify.

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FT4 digital mode now available in WSJT-X release candidate 5

Joe Taylor presenting FT4 at the Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club

(Source: Southgate ARC)

The new amateur radio digital mode FT4 is now available for download as part of WSJT-X Release Candidate 5

You can download wsjtx-2.1.0-rc5-win64.exe (or for other O/S) from near the bottom of the page at
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html

FT4 Protocol document
http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/FT4_Protocol.pdf

See the WSJT Group at
https://groups.io/g/WSJTX/

For more information about FT4, check out this previous post.

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The New Jersey Antique Radio Club YouTube channel needs your help

NJARC Members (Source: NJARC)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, who recently shared this video where “Radio Wild” asks his viewers to subscribe to the New Jersey Antique Radio Club (NJARC) YouTube channel.

Evidently, the NJARC has been posting live video feeds of their meetings and events for quite some time, but recently YouTube changed their policy and now requires a minimum of 1,000 subscribers for live feeds. At time of posting, my subscription brought their number to 700–they need at least 300 more.

If you’d like to support the NJARC (and learn a thing or two about radio restoration–!), consider subscribing to their channel.

Click here to visit the NJARC YouTube channel and subscribe.

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RFI: “The power of radio during British-mandated Palestine”

Radio engineer Moshe Rubin transmits the special broadcast during the opening of the Palestine Broadcasting Service, Ramallah, March 30, 1936. Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, via RFI

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who writes:

There is an interesting article/podcast by R France Int
entitled “The power of radio during British-mandated Palestine”.

“On 30 March 1936, the British High Commissioner of Palestine, Arthur
Wauchope, inaugurated the Palestinian Broadcasting Service, the PBS. It
was the second broadcaster to be established in the Middle East, after
Radio Cairo in 1934, and featured programmes in Arabic, Hebrew and English.

It covered the region of Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, as well
as parts of Egypt. The new transmitter was in Ramallah and the
broadcasting offices were in Jerusalem.”

Full article and pictures at:

http://en.rfi.fr/middle-east/20190329-power-radio-during-british-mandated-palestine

Fascinating! Thank you for sharing this with us, Alan!

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