Radio Waves: Love of AM Radio, AM Moves Forward in House, Radio Obsession Turns to Drone Defense, Starlink Radio Pollution and TWR Celebrates 50 Years in Roumoules

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Markku Koskinen, David Goren, Troy Riedel, and David Iurescia for the following tips:

No matter what happens in the future, I will always love AM radio (Global News)

It’s been a tough couple of years for anyone who loves AM radio.

Things began to wobble before the pandemic as new, younger media buyers — people who did not grow up with radio — started shuffling advertising dollars towards digital platforms away from traditional media. That hurt all terrestrial radio, but AM in particular because it tends to attract an older demo.

Things got worse when it became apparent that big foreign tech companies — Google, Facebook, and so on — sucked more ad dollars out of the Canadian ecosystem.

Next, manufacturers of electric vehicles claimed that they couldn’t offer AM radio in their dashboards because of the electromagnetic interference caused by EV motors. Depending on who you talk to, this claim may or may not be bogus. [Continue reading…]

AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act moves forward in House (Inside Radio)

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has advanced the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act with a 45-2 vote. The bill, which aims to preserve AM radio access in vehicles, saw lawmakers emphasize AM radio’s critical role during emergencies, with Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., and others highlighting its importance in the Emergency Alert System. The legislation would require automakers to include AM radio or face fines, with a phased compliance timeline. The Senate version has gained broad support but awaits a final vote. [Continue reading…]

Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone defense (MIT Technology Review)

Since Russia’s invasion, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov has become an influential, if sometimes controversial, force—sharing expert advice and intel on the ever-evolving technology that’s taken over the skies. His work may determine the future of Ukraine, and wars far beyond it.

Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov hates going to the front line. The risks terrify him. “I’m really not happy to do it at all,” he says. But to perform his particular self-appointed role in the Russia-Ukraine war, he believes it’s critical to exchange the relative safety of his suburban home north of the capital for places where the prospect of death is much more immediate. “From Kyiv,” he says, “nobody sees the real situation.”

So about once a month, he drives hundreds of kilometers east in a homemade mobile intelligence center: a black VW van in which stacks of radio hardware connect to an array of antennas on the roof that stand like porcupine quills when in use. Two small devices on the dash monitor for nearby drones. Over several days at a time, Flash studies the skies for Russian radio transmissions and tries to learn about the problems facing troops in the fields and in the trenches.

He is, at least in an unofficial capacity, a spy. But unlike other spies, Flash does not keep his work secret. In fact, he shares the results of these missions with more than 127,000 followers—including many soldiers and government officials—on several public social media channels. Earlier this year, for instance, he described how he had recorded five different Russian reconnaissance drones in a single night—one of which was flying directly above his van. [Continue reading…]

Radio pollution from SpaceX’s new Starlink satellites poses threat to astronomy, scientists say (Space.com)

Radio pollution from Starlink satellites could mar the hunt for mysterious signals from the early universe.

SpaceX’s new Starlink satellites produce 32 times more radio noise than their predecessors, causing concerns among astronomers about their interference with radio astronomy observations.

Radio astronomy uses supersensitive antennas to detect faint radio signals emitted by stars, black holes and other objects in the universe. Researchers working at the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) in the Netherlands, one of the world’s most sensitive radio observatories, have now found that SpaceX’s growing megaconstellation of internet-beaming satellites is blinding their instruments. During a series of observations conducted in July, the researchers found that Starlink satellites crisscrossing the sky above the array appear up to 10 million times brighter than some of the most precious targets of radio astronomy research.

Jessica Dempsey, the director of the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, which manages LOFAR, said the satellite radio pollution interferes with measurements of distant exoplanets and nascent black holes. It might also obscure the faint radiation coming from the Epoch of Reionization, one of the least-understood periods in the history of the universe, she added. [Continue reading…]

TWR Celebrates 50th Year Broadcasting from Roumoules, France (TWR)

TWR (Trans World Radio) is commemorating a significant milestone today: the 50th anniversary of broadcasts from the Roumoules radio station. These broadcasts have enabled the gospel message to reach countless listeners across borders and barriers.

In 1960, TWR began airing from a 100-kilowatt shortwave transmitter in Monte Carlo. At that time, audio tapes had to be physically delivered to transmitter sites. On occasion, they even had to be smuggled across national borders to Monte Carlo for transmission back into the originating countries. This is considered TWR’s first transmitting site under the name Trans World Radio.

Through radio waves beamed from Monte Carlo, Christ’s message reached behind the Iron Curtain to eager listeners. Specific areas reached from Monte Carlo were Spain/Portugal, the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Middle East/North Africa, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe.

On July 14, 1974, Radio Monte Carlo established new transmitters in Roumoules, France, actualizing the vision of its technical director, Lucien Allavena. This new site, now managed by Monaco Media Diffusion, set the stage for future advancements.

In 1987, TWR started airing medium- and long-wave broadcasts from Roumoules, extending previous coverage by over 1.5 million square miles.

Through TWR’s partnership with Radio Monte Carlo, millions of people have been able to access biblical teaching. Radio Monte Carlo overcame any attempts at signal interference, ensuring the broadcast remained uninterrupted. [Continue reading…]

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Bob talks ergonomics and radio buttons…

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XHDATA D-808 on a 5” × 9” neoprene pad.

Ergonomics and Radio Buttons

By Bob Colegrove

Am I being too picky? Are the buttons on some newer portable radios hard to press? I’ve read many reviews and watched as many videos, but haven’t encountered many complaints about this. Perhaps it’s an age-related affliction.

The most succinct description of the problem was expressed in the review of the Tecsun PL-660 way back in the 2012 edition of the WRTH. In referring to the buttons, “All are in our view rather too small for comfort and have breakout forces which are out of all proportion to their size; the combination of this with excessively long travel and weak tactile feedback does not give much pleasure to the user.” The problem has only gotten worse with some newer portable radios.

I see two problems here. First, too much pressure is required; what the WRTH called “breakout force.” Designers may say, “that’s so you won’t accidentally turn the radio on and run down the battery.” Well, I reply, “isn’t that what the ubiquitous lock button is for? They all have one.”

If you’ve ever taken one of these radios apart, you’ve likely seen a pliable membrane between the buttons and the switches or traces on the PC board. This provides some spring action necessary to return the buttons to the upright position. Couldn’t this be thinner or more elastic?

Second, some radios have flat buttons that don’t protrude very far above the case. By the time the fleshy part of your finger bottoms out on the surface of the case, still more pressure and button travel is required to activate the function. Couldn’t the buttons be slightly higher?

The result, if you operate the radio on a desk or table and apply the requisite walnut-cracking pressure on a button, the radio might well rocket off its foundation.

Pads for Portables

A partial solution without violating the integrity of the radio is a stable foundation. In today’s euphemistic world the term counterpoise is use when referring to what we used to simply call an electrical ground. It seems some sort of mechanical counterpoise would be useful to better anchor a portable radio for operation.

Neoprene is a synthetic rubber developed by a DuPont scientist in 1930. It is tougher than natural rubber and relatively impervious to solvents. This stuff is virtually skidproof. There are perhaps other materials suitable for this application, which is simply to get the radio to stand its ground while you operate it. After some thought and experimentation, I bought a 1/16”-thick neoprene pad. A 12” × 12” pad is more than enough. Mine came from https://amzn.to/3XsmQDe [Note Affiliate link supports the SWLing Post]. I cut this into three smaller pads as follows:

7” × 12” for a Sony ICF-2010, which has nice easy-touch buttons and really doesn’t need a pad except to anchor the radio in place.

5” × 9” for a Tecsun PL-990 and many other similar size radios.

3” × 5”, the scrap piece can be used for a C.Crane Skywave, which already has nice raised buttons; a Tecsun PL-330, which needs a pad most of all; and an XHDATA D-220, which doesn’t even have buttons.

A Tecsun PL-330 lying flat covers a 3” × 5” pad. But that’s OK.

There are a couple of alternatives:

You can leave a large pad uncut to accommodate various sizes of radios; or
You can cut bits of neoprene and apply them as feet to the bottom rear corners of the radio and bottom of the stand. There might be some difficulty getting them to stay in place or allowing the stand to fully collapse. Some portables already have rubber feet.

It’s probably apparent that neoprene will adhere best to a smooth surface such as glass or Formica. However, I have tested it on a cloth-covered, memory foam chair cushion, and it works just fine. Pressing down the material will make it adhere to a surface even more. I would estimate that a lateral force of at least 10 or 15 pounds is required to make a small radio break loose from three or four points of contact with the material.

Besides holding the radio in place while you operate it, much like a large table radio, neoprene offers the radio some cosmetic protection against abrasion from rough surfaces. However, the material is so sticky it will pick up every bit of dust or dirt. This can somewhat compromise its adherence requiring an occasional rinse in water.

Admittedly, the neoprene pad isn’t going to be very useful while you’re sitting in a beach chair using the radio in the handheld posture. However, in the shack, a suitable pad has a purpose.

XHDATA D-220 sans buttons on a 3” × 5” pad.

Caps for Buttons

In the case of buttons which are too low, some additional help is desired. On the Tecsun PL-330, I glued plastic caps on top of the STEP and ETM buttons, which raises them about 1/16” and helps considerably. I am still looking for some transparent material to use as caps on the numbered buttons.

STEP and ETM buttons with caps on a Tecsun PL-330.

Further validated suggestions are solicited.

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Icom booth appears in Japanese “Ladybaby” music video

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fred Waterer, who writes:

I just rediscovered this 9 year old video. It may be old news to you, I’m not sure.

An Icom display photobombs this Japanese music video, which up to that point I found, well, amusing on a number of levels.

LADYBABY Nippon manju Music Clip

Warning, you can’t “unsee” this video! 🙂 What a hoot! Thanks for sharing, Fred.

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Famous Collins Transceiver in Apocalypse Now

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by Dan Robinson

We have seen so many great receivers and other equipment appear in movies, it’s surprising that this one may have slipped by our Radios in Movies radar.

In Apocalypse Now, the classic 1979 epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is briefed in a hotel room in Saigon about Colonel Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando), the renegade Special Forces officer who is accused of murder and presumed insane. The scene includes Harrison Ford (by the time the movie came he had become a big star with Star Wars) who tells Sheen that Kurtz is to be “terminated”.

But as we’re reminded in a post on the Collins Collectors Facebook page, a famous radio is sitting on a file cabinet in this scene — identified in the collector group as a KWM-2A.

It’s another reminder of how many great examples of amateur radio and other equipment have played roles in great movies!

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Reports on Hack of HT Radios/ICOM Responds

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by Dan Robinson

The explosions/detonations of HT radios targeting the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon continue to make headlines, with latest reports digging into the origins of the units and containing reaction from ICOM. This story is one of those rare occasions when the radio manufacturing industry is thrust into the spotlight.

Reuters reported that:

“The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers may have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that’s not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say.”

The Reuters report also noted:

“For Icom, one problem is that it stopped making the IC-V82 model in question a decade ago, around the time it started introducing holographic stickers as a protection against counterfeit products, the company said. The company has long warned about imitation products, especially of its older models. In fact, more than 7% of firms in Japan reported business losses from counterfeit products in 2020, according to the latest available report by the Japan Patent Office, with around a third of cases linked to China. Icom has urged that customers only use its official distributor network to ensure they are buying genuine products.”

This earlier Reuters report was published in The Jerusalem Post.

Other reports were by Kyodo (see: https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/09/9d7c5ea04e62-exploding-walkie-talkies-in-lebanon-may-be-product-of-japanese-firm.html, Bloomberg (appearing on the TIME website (https://time.com/7022598/lebanon-walkie-talkies-explosion-japan-icom/) and BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz04m913m49o).

Another report, which quotes Ray Novak, ICOM U.S. representative, appeared in The Washington Post. It said ICOM was “[investigating the allegations, but early signs pointed to the walkie-talkies being counterfeit]”. ICOM had issued three statements on its website as of mid-September 20th.

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