RRI’s Tiganesti-based shortwave transmitter centre (Photo source: Radio Romania International)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia, who shares this announcement by Radio Romania International which contains their 2018 Summer Broadcast schedule effective March 25, 2018:
RRI broadcast frequencies valid as of March 25 to October 27, 2018
GatesAir FLEXIVA 3DX AM transmitter (Source: GatesAir)
(Source: Radio World via Bill Patalon)
GatesAir is suspending the sale of new AM transmitters.
When a prominent radio engineer passed along word to Radio World that he’d sought a quote from the manufacturer on a new transmitter but was told the company had discontinued the model and was assessing its AM line, we sought to learn more.
Chief Product Officer Rich Redmond replied: “Recent changes in the long-term availability of critical components from our suppliers, including several last-time buy notices, have caused us to take proactive steps to ensure we can meet our continued support obligation of our AM products,” he said.
“To safeguard our ability to offer an ample supply of spare components — and to secure the ongoing field support of our AM transmitters — GatesAir has taken the responsible step of suspending new AM transmitter sales, and will instead focus on supporting existing customers’ transmitters with our available components.”[…]
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Adams (W9LBB), who left the following comment on our Tecsun PL-880 review:
Just a note re. kudos to Anon-co re. customer support.
I got a PL880 late last year, and LOVED it; so much so that I ordered a second one, the “special edition” version, both radios from Anon-co.
While waiting for the second radio to be delivered, my first one developed a bug; the AM broadcast band was dead at turn-on. Sometimes switching to FM and back to AM made it work… not good.
The second radio arrived, and it worked on short wave for about 5 minutes, and went dead. Turning it off and waiting a while brought it back… but it would die in 5 – 10 minutes again.
I wrote Anon-co about the problems, and Anna addressed the problems. After the usual fixes (reset, pulling the battery for a half hour and reinserting to reboot the processor) failed, she had me send both radios back for factory service. Anon-co covered the cost of the FedEx to get them back to Hong Kong.
A half hour ago I got a note from Anna.
The newest radio is confirmed dead; they’re replacing it.
The older radio (sent for repairs under warranty) seems to have developed a bug that the technicians have never seen before. They say that diagnosis and repair could be very difficult… therefore they are replacing THAT radio too!
I’m a happy camper with that solution… and I can’t praise Anon-co and Anna too highly! FIRST RATE customer service!!!
Thanks for sharing this feedback, Tom. I’ve had the same experience with Anon-Co over the many years I’ve done business with them. Anna is an amazing customer-focused agent and they stand by their products each and every time.
There are so few companies who retail shortwave radios these days it’s nice to know that Tecsun’s primary distributor in Hong Kong is one of the best in the business! We can buy from Anon-Co with confidence.
After the initial flurry of reports, interest, and purchases of the XHDATA D-808 portable receiver by radio enthusiasts, the door on USA shipments seems to have slammed shut.
This fine DSP-based portable went live in early December 2017 for USA purchasers when it was offered by AliExpress for $69.98 with shipping. Later, the RadiWow site started selling the radio for nearly the same price including USA shipping.
Now in mid-March 2018, the D-808 is nowhere to be found on AliExpress:
Sure, the RadiWow firm still ships the D-808 to the USA, but for a ridiculous “we don’t really want your business anyway” price. (A company that has a product page with “LOGO” in the corner is certainly not paying attention…perhaps they meant to enter “USD $20” as the cost? :^)
My hope is that XHDATA is working on an exclusive USA distributorship, such as Kaito Electronics Inc. has in this country for Kaito radios, or perhaps the D-808 will eventually be found only on Amazon USA. Maybe the highly regarded EBay seller Anon-Co (Anna) is at work behind the scene to offer this model exclusively.
What’s going on here? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Guy Atkins is a Sr. Graphic Designer for T-Mobile and lives near Seattle, Washington. He’s a regular contributor to the SWLing Post.
From the Isle of Music, March 18-April 7
Here is a quick synopsis of our programs for the next three weeks:
I. March 18-24: No interviews, rather a Cuban concert hall program of modern concert and experimental music
II. March 25-31: Ruly Herrera Sr. leader of Los Dan, one of Cuba’s most prominent Rock/Pop groups, is our special guest. We also listen to some current Cuban Rock.
III. April 1-7: Changüi and Folkloric Music. Our special guest is Changüi group Son del Guaso. We will listen to some of their music plus some other folkloric Cuban music.
Four opportunities to listen on shortwave:
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 Ireland, the UK, 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. UTC stays the same after the time change.
Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, Sunday, March 18, March 25, April 1
I. March 18: Episode 54 of Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, Psychedelic Brasil, takes a look at some of our favorite psychedelic groups in Brasil during the 1970s.
II. March 25: Episode 55, Serbian Kolo Party, is, well, lots of great Serbian Kolos. Dance if you can.
III. April 1: Episode 56, Silly Music for a Very Silly Day, is music to make you laugh on April Fools’ Day.
Sundays 2200-2230 UTC (6:00PM -6:30PM Eastern US) on
WBCQ The Planet 7490 KHz shortwave from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
Note the UTC time change for A18, same local US time.
In recent weeks the signal has had a nice bounce to Spain, Italy and Switzerland as well as Iceland, Ireland and parts of the UK. Also audible in Brasil, Paraguay and points North.
Check out this brilliant episode of the Radio Survivor podcast which features our Shortwaveologist friend, David Goren along with John Anderson of Brooklyn College:
(Source: Radio Survivor)
There are more unlicensed pirate radio stations in New York City than licensed stations. The borough of Brooklyn is a particular hotspot. Producer and journalist David Goren has been researching and recording these stations so that their ephemeral nature isn’t lost to history. To help preserve this legacy and make it accessible to a wider audience he’s constructing an interactive map of Brooklyn pirates, due to be released later this year.
David joins us on this episode along with Prof. John Anderson of Brooklyn College, who has been tracking and researching unlicensed radio for two decades. We discuss the unique qualities of Brooklyn pirates, and how they fulfill the needs of communities that are underserved by other media, why it’s important to preserve their legacies, and why the expansion of low-power FM failed to provide sufficient opportunities in cities like New York.
https://soundcloud.com/radio-survivor/133-preserving-brooklyn-pirate-radio
Click here to listen on SoundCloud.
Also, check out the Brooklyn Pirate Radio Sound Map funding page!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Neil Goldstein, who shares the following guest post which originally appeared on his blog, Fofio:
by Neil Goldstein
L-R: Select-A-Tenna, Tivdio V-115, Sony ICF-5500W
After promising this series a year and a half ago, I finally have started digging through the collection, and will start posting about once a week. The radios, and accessories may not have anything in common (as seen in this post), but were all acquired because they were in some way interesting, or sentimental to me. Here’s the first three:
Select-A-Tenna
One of the original air-core tunable AM antennas. You just put this near the radio and peak it for reception. I was watching for one of these in good shape, and not overpriced, and they have been in and out of production over the years. This one is from a later production run as can be seen by the extended AM range (1700). Jay Allen reviewed the S.A.T by comparing the the TERK Air Core antenna not long ago here: https://radiojayallen.com/select-a-tenna-vs-terk-am-advantage/ The TERK reviewed well, and looks more modern, but I wanted the classic cheesy art-deco looking S.A.T.
Tivdio V-115
I won’t post a long, boring review here. Many have already reviewed this radio. All I can say is that if you like small, decent-sounding transistor radios, you will not be disappointed. If you are expecting top-shelf performance, and perfect ergonomics, then you you may not be happy, but for around $19 you really should be happy with this little gem. A great little radio at a great price and the most impressive thing here is the sound. The radio has a small passive radiator like the Meloson M8, and M7, and really surprises me. It can also be used as an amplified speaker, and has a micro SD slot for using it as a standalone MP3 player. Grab one!
Sony ICF-5500W
Most transistor radio collectors know this radio. It’s a classic for sure, but I have to give a little background on why I wanted one. When I was about 12 years old, I had a few analog SW portables, but nothing with direct frequency readout. Panasonic had introduced it’s series of direct-readout radios, the RF-2200, 2800, and 4800, and Sony was competing with the ICF-5900W. Dad acknowledged the quality and technology of these radios, and told me that if I saved most of the money by working for him, he may help me get one. The 2800, and 4800 were way out of reach, but one Sunday in the local paper, a department store in Kingston (Britt’s, which was Newberry’s answer to Macy’s) had the 2200 advertised for $138.88. I had been flip-flopping between the Sony and the Panasonic for weeks, but that was the clincher.
The radio is still in use. My sister in law has it. I had given it to my late brother Paul at some point and she still uses it as her main radio.
Why this Sony though? I still want a 5900W. When I saw this one come up at an auction, I recognized the shape it was in. The ICF-5500W was the companion radio to the 5900W. AM/FM and VHF Hi (with a basic, but functional squelch control). The 5500 and 5900 are a monument to Sony design at the time. The pop-up antenna (which still works flawlessly), The separate Bass, Treble, and Loudness controls, The overall quality of sound and function, all of this is an example of what Sony was producing at the time. I think their modern small electronics are a shadow of what they were capable of years ago. This thing still sounds great and performs well next to my modern DSP radios. I still would love to get a pristine 5900W but they usually fetch premium dollars. Maybe someday.
Bravo Sony, but where did you go?
More to come!!
Thanks for sharing, Neil! I, too, have the Tivdio V-115 and the Sony ICF-5900W.
The ‘5900W is a gem of a solid state receiver. It has brilliant AM broadcast band reception and rich audio. I need to open my ‘5900W and clean all of the contacts since some of the sliders are scratchy. It’ll make for a nice rainy day project!
We look forward to your next installment! Post Readers: be sure to check out Neil’s blog, Fofio!
