Boat Anchors at Voice of Aladdin ARC Columbus Hamfest

A guest post by Eric McFadden, WD8RIF

I had the pleasure of attending the annual Voice of Aladdin Amateur Radio Club’s Columbus Hamfest this past weekend, on Saturday, August 4, 2018. The Columbus Hamfest is a smaller, local or regional hamfest but every year when I attend I’m pleasantly surprised by the presence of a really nice variety of fine used gear available at the event. This year was no exception.

I made snaps of some of the fine old “boat anchors” and some of the not-so-old stuff available at the hamfest. (And I must apologize for the flaring evident in some of the photos. It seems the lens in my MotoE4 smartphone is prone to flaring in direct sunlight—somehow, up this point I had not managed to discover this.)

Realistic DX-160

Central Electronics “Multiphase Exciter Model 20-A” transmitter

Yaesu FT-101EX transceiver and accessories

Collins R-388/URR receiver

Drake R8 receiver

Johnson Viking Ranger transmitter

A selection of MFJ single-band QRP (low power) CW-only transceivers and a vintage Heathkit SWR bridge

At the event, I hadn’t noticed how many of the vintage receivers were made by Hallicrafters.

Hallicrafters “Sky Buddy”

Hallicrafters HT-32A transmitter

Hallicrafters SX-101 receiver

Hallicrafters SX-111 receiver

Hallicrafters SX-99 receiver

Heathkit DX-100 (bottom) and Hallicrafters HT-37 transmitters

And while not a radio, this is certainly vintage and is very pretty—and it was for sale.

1966 Chevrolet pickup-truck (it was for sale)

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Vanuatu asks Australia to restore shortwave to the Pacific

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(Source: Asia Pacific Report via Mike Hansgen)

Shortwave radio saves lives and foreign aid dollars, says McGarry

Vanuatu has appealed to Australia to restore shortwave radio services to the Pacific region, after they were switched off by the ABC in 2017, reports Radio Australia.

Prime Minister Charlot Salwai said other forms of communication usually failed during natural disasters.

He added his voice on the final day for submissions to an Australian government review of broadcasting to the region, Linda Mottram reported yesterday on a segment of the PMprogramme.[…]

Click here to read the full story.

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FTIOM & UBMP, August 12-18

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From the Isle of Music, August 12-18, 2018:
Part 2 of 2 parts. Our special guest this week and next is Yasek Manzano, one of the young lions in both Jazz and Electronic Music in Cuba today.
Four options to listen to the transmission:
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 0000-0100 UTC on WBCQ, 7490 KHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EST in the US). This has been audible in parts of NW, Central and Southern Europe with an excellent skip to Italy recently.
3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UTC and Saturday 1200-1300 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 KHz from Rohrbach, Germany.

Also recommended:
1. Jetzt Geht’s Los! (Here We Go!), an excellent program of early German Jazz produced by Radio Ohne Nahmen, comes on right before FTIOM on Tuesdays from 1800-1900 UTC on Channel 292.

Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, Sun, August 12 & Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Episode 75 features Ska from several different countries in Eastern Europe.
The broadcasts 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. If current propagation conditions hold, the broadcast should reach from Iceland to Western Russia, Scandinavia down to North Africa and the Middle East, AND a long bounce to parts of New Zealand.

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 2100-2200 UTC on WBCQ 7490 Khz.

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Video: Tamitha Skov forecasts “A Bright and Bumpy Ride”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen (K8RAT), for sharing the latest forecast from Tamitha Skov:

Click here to view on YouTube.

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Swedish national societies make magazines available

Delivered: The Panasonic RF-B65

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It turns out, I didn’t need to worry about the delivery time of the Panasonic RF-B65 I ordered on eBay Thursday evening. It was shipped from Washington state and arrived here yesterday (Saturday) via USPS 2 Day Priority Mail. I’m quite impressed with the delivery speed!

I haven’t had time to put the RF-B65 through the paces, but so far all appears to be in order. The unit is very clean, the battery compartment looks like new and the antenna straight and fully intact. This listing did not include a case, box or manual, but I’m fine with that.

I’ve only had the RF-B65 on the air for a few minutes to verify that everything works properly–so far, so good. This afternoon, I’ll start a “burn in” session to see if the radio will play for multiple hours on a set of fresh batteries. I’ve found in the past that if there are any capacitor issues, older portables like this could power down prematurely.

I’m hoping all will check out with the RF-B65 because I look forward to taking it on travels this week!

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Jason gives a favorable review of the Sangean DT-120

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Sangean DT-120

In reply to Olivier’s post about the Sony SRF-M95, SWling Post contributor, Jason, notes:

Another amazing AM ultra light performer, the Sangean DT-120 or DT-180

I have the DT-120 in my pocket and it has got many hours of use. Travelling in outback Australia in April/May I was very impressed with it’s performance on AM.

Camped at the Devils Marbels 412km north of Alice Springs, I could receive it’s 783 kHz AM signal OK, weak obviously but definitely listenable. Of course the signal from Radio National at Tennant Creek on 684 AM was stronger, since it’s only 100km to the north of Devils Marbles.

Very happy with the little Sangean. It’s by far and away the pocket radio with the best DX reception I’ve ever owned, but the Tecsun R-209 and the Sangean SR-35 are probably the two best AM DX pocket radios with a speaker.

One day I will pick up a Sangean DT-250, but it’s probably not much better than the Sangean DT-210 I already have, which is another good choice with a speaker.

Thanks for sharing your comments, Jason! And, wow, I’d love to make that camping pilgrimage to the Devil’s Marbles–sounds remote and fantastic!

If you like ultralight radios like the Sangean DT-120, check out our endurance test of the Sangean DT-160CL and Sony SRF-39FP.