Please Share: Introducing the “I listen” project

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM

To paraphrase a line from John Fitzgerald Kennedy: “Ask not what your station can do for you, ask what you can do for your station.”

Think of this as a reverse QSL program . . . but I get ahead of myself.

I was perusing the news a while back, reading about the closure of radio stations in the U.S. and how e-vehicle manufacturers did not want to include AM (MW) radios in their vehicles . . . and . . . I snapped.

“The reason they are closing,” I snarled, “is that they think no one is listening . . . but WE listen!”

So I offer, for your consideration, a modest proposal . . . the “I listen” project.

Let’s do this!

All I ask is that each and every one of you who reads this is that you send a postcard or a letter to your favorite station – AM, FM, or shortwave – that says in BOLD letters at the top I LISTEN! Further down on the postcard or letter, you should explain what you listen to, and what you enjoy.

So here would be a sample from me:

From: Jock Elliott, Upstate New York

To:       Talk 1300 AM & 98.7 FM WGD, 11 Dennis Terrace
Schenectady, New York 12303

I listen!

To Talk 1300

To the Jack Catham show because I really like the calm way he presents the issues and interacts with callers.

That’s it. Of course, if you want to send more than one postcard or letter, great!

The point is to let the station know without a doubt that you listen. Why a postcard or letter? Because it is a physical piece of mail that is hard to ignore. By contrast, an email or a text is much easier bypass or ignore.

So make sure that your favorite station or two knows that you listen, and let me know here.

I’ll end by paraphrasing Arlo Guthrie: “Can you imagine fifty people a day, I said fifty people a day, sending “I listen” postcards to their favorite stations? And friends, they may think it’s a movement!”

And bear in mind, this is not the time to be asking for goodies in return.

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Martin builds a simple ferrite rod to inductively couple radios to his external mediumwave antenna

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Martin Tobisch, who shares the following guest post and videos from his home in Malta:


New AM Signal Coupler

Many AM medium wave listeners are looking for solutions to improve the reception performance of their radios.

After many attempts, which I don’t want to entertain anyone with, a coupler was created that feeds the external antenna directly into the ferrite antenna. I use my 66 foot long wire antenna on 50 ohm RG-58 cable, but other antennas will have similar success.

The clips available on YouTube speak for themselves:

https://youtu.be/FIylJk3F9Xk?si=Kp7SowdUXI5i5QAV

https://youtu.be/RHAla9jPoi8?si=VoG3w274k08Ul8Q4

 

Experiments with smaller ferrites and antenna rods met with no success. It is important that the coupler still works even at a distance from the ferrite antenna and without precise alignment.

With tube radios it easily bridges the distance from the housing to the ferrite rod Antenna
The finished coupler consists of 6 NiZn ferrite cores, which are connected with glue to form a rod. 8 turns of wire are wound over this and soldered to an RG-58 cable. Some electrical isolation tape and ready. So far I’ve just put it in a box. Of course there are finer solutions and it should be protected against shock. Ferrite cores are notoriously brittle.

Here is a link to the ferrites used (purchased at AliExpress).

Advantages: Advantages to what? Nothing comparable exists.

So there are advantages to feeding via an antenna socket. The signal coupler is also good for radios without an antenna socket. But in case of using an antenna socket, common mode wave interference picked up in the house goes unlimited into the radio. Due to the magnetic coupling to the ferrite antenna, common mode waves are completely suppressed. They do not create a magnetic field in the coupler.

No changes are necessary in the radio

The biggest advantage is, that you can listen to distant stations loud and clear, which previously only produced a quiet scratching noise.

I very much welcome reports of experiences.

[email protected]

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CCrane’s new C. Crane CC Skywave 2 . . . and the OODA loop

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM

A software glitch at a power station, a tree branch rubbing against a transformer, a geophysical incident, a weather event, even a civil society misadventure . . . It doesn’t take much for things to rapidly go to blazes. So what do you need when Really Bad Things happen?

Back in the 1970s, Colonel John Boyd, an air warfare strategist, came up with the idea of the OODA loop. Originally designed for air combat, the OODA stands for: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. In other words, see what’s going on, understand how it relates to your situation, figure out what to do, then do it.  OODA . . . got it?

So when really bad stuff happens, once you get clear of immediate physical danger (if any), you (or me or anyone involved) need to do your OODA loop: see what’s going on, understand how it relates to your situation, figure out what to do, then do it.

And to execute your OODA loop, you need information, right?

Soooo, when the lights are out, the internet is down, and maybe cell phones aren’t working, you need an emergency radio to find out what’s going on. Rob, W4ZNG, endured three weeks without electricity on the Mississippi gulf coast as a result of Katrina. In Rob’s case, during Katrina, all of the local broadcasters were wiped out. There was a local low-power FM broadcaster who got permission to increase power to 1,000 watts and was broadcasting where to get food and water. There was a New Orleans AM station that was on the air, but all of its coverage was “New Orleans-centric.” After a few days, some local FM broadcaster, working together, cobbled together a station that they put on the air and began broadcasting news. Rob also began DXing AM stations at night to get additional news. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say radio was Rob’s lifeline to what was going on.

So, at the most basic level, an emergency radio needs to receive AM and FM stations. If you live in the U.S. or Canada, you also want NOAA weather radio channels, and, if things are really horrible, the ability to receiver shortwave radio might be useful.

Recently I had a look at an excellent candidate for an emergency radio.  CCrane has brought out a new and improved version of their super-versatile pocket-sized Skywave radio, and they sent me one for review without charge.

The new radio, the CC Skywave 2, covers FM from 87.5-108.0 MHz, AM from 520-1710 kHz, National Weather Radio Channels 1-7, air band from 118-137 MHz, and shortwave from 2300 to 26100 kHz. Small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, the Skywave 2 measures 3 inches high, 4.75 inches wide, and 1.1 inches deep and weighs about five and one-half ounces before you insert 2 AA batteries. (It can also be run off an optional CCrane power adaptor that can charge optional NiMH batteries. The manual warns: DO NOT USE LITHIUM BATTERIES).

According to CCrane, improvements to the Skywave 2 include a new micro-USB connector for external power and battery charging, a better speaker with slightly more amplification, circuit noise reduction, long feet for better stability, and a socket for plugging in an optional wire antenna adaptor available from CCrane.

I found the Skywave 2 really easy to operate. At the simplest level, select a band, then press one of the up or down buttons, and the Skywave 2 will scan to the next strong station. There is also an ATS (automatic tuning system) that programs all receivable AM, FM, or shortwave stations to memory buttons. Just select the band you want (AM, FM, or shortwave), press the ATS button, and the ATS system will scan the entire band and automatically set all available stations in sequence 1-10. If there are more than 10 stations are available, then the remaining stations will be stored on the next memory page and so forth. Each band has its own set of memories.

Everything is clearly labeled, and a gold label above a button indicates that if you press and hold that button, the function labeled in gold will be activated. If you want to directly enter a frequency (once you have selected the band you want), you must press the FREQ button first, then punch in the numbers. Otherwise, pressing any of the number buttons will activate the memory assigned to that number. To store a station in memory, press and hold any number button for two seconds.

Although I have no equipment for formally measuring things like ultimate receiver sensitivity, I found the performance on all bands to be typical of what I have come to expect of CCrane radios: excellent.

Full points to CCrane for writing a superb manual. In fact, I’ve found that the manuals for all the CCrane radios I have owned or tested have been well-written. I don’t know who is writing those manuals, but a big thumbs-up for clear manuals that are easy to use. The Skywave 2 manual even includes a section on “Hidden Settings” . . . ya gotta love it! Well done.

One other thing deserves mention: the Skywave 2 comes with CC Buds Earphones. I found they fit my ears comfortably and sound great . . . waaay better than the cheap-o earbuds I bought at a big box store.

The bottom line is: the Skywave 2 is a pint-sized powerhouse, and I can easily recommend it for anyone who needs an emergency radio, a travel radio (it has an alarm you can set), a weather radio with alert, or an ultralight MW DXing radio, or who simply wants to have a lot of fun with radio in a small, easy-to-handle package (An aside, listening to air band is pretty entertaining).

I found the performance to be excellent (for the radio’s size) on all bands, comparable to the CCrane Skywave SSB 2 that I own. In addition, with the new model (and the optional adapter), you can now plug in an external long-wire antenna for longer-range reception. That’s just great and could prove really useful.

The chief difference between the Skywave 2 and the Skywave SSB 2 is that the Skywave SSB 2 receives single sideband signals, making it possible for the listener to hear amateur radio and utility signals (like transoceanic flight control) that operate in upper or lower sideband mode. In addition, the SSB 2 includes (as well as the radio, carry case, and ear buds) a shortwave antenna and the CC wire terminal antenna adapter. In addition, the SSB 2 also has some software capabilities not available on the Skywave 2. For example, on the SSB 2, the Automatic Tuning System can also be used on the AIR band, and once AIR band frequencies have been stored, the SSB 2 can scan them. You can find my review of the Skywave SSB 2 here: https://swling.com/blog/2022/11/checking-out-the-new-c-crane-cc-skywave-ssb-2/

To conclude: I sincerely hope you never have to “do” your OODA loop, particularly not when things are going to blazes, but if you do, the CCrane Skywave 2 just might be helpful in getting the information you need. And, in the meantime, it is a very enjoyable radio to use, and I can recommend it without reservation.

Click here to check out the C. Crane CC Skywave 2 at C. Crane.

For more of my musings regarding the CCrane Skywave radios, please consult:

 

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You’d have to be a Moranian to not love Polka

Hi SWLing Post Community, FastRadioBurst 23 bringing you news of this Sunday 24th September 2023 broadcasts. At 2000 hrs UTC on 3975 & 6160 kHz we have a link up with the hardest to catch radio station on the shortwaves, Radio Morania. Some very interesting content is promised.

While at 2200 hrs UTC on 9395 kHz  via WRMI the Imaginary Stations crew bring you the Imaginary Stations Polka Party. Expect lots of polka classics, all recorded live in front of an all singing and dancing audience in Poland. Poland, Maine that is. It will be one exciting polka party!

For more information on the shows please email [email protected] and check out our old shows here.

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Radio Romania International’s English Language Service Schedule for 2023-2024

RRI’s Tiganesti-based shortwave transmitter centre (Photo source: Radio Romania International)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gérard Koopal, who shares the following announcement and schedule via Radio Romania International’s English Language Service:


Dear friends,

Please find below the programme schedule for 2023-2024.

You are invited to discover our new slots:
Working in Romania – a segment devoted to the increasingly numerous foreign nationals working in Romania;
Romania – the Eastern Flank – a show devoted to foreign military deployed to Romania;
Music from A to Z, featuring all music genres as well as interviews with famous artists.

Feel free to distribute this list to members of your clubs or to other listeners.
Please also note we are working on ways to send out digital QSLs in 2023.

We wish you good reception conditions!
73s

Click here to download the schedule [PDF].

The English Service
Radio Romania International
60-64 G-ral Berthelot Street, district 1, Bucharest
PO Box 111, postcode 010165, fax 00.40.21.319.05.62
E-mail: [email protected].

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Radio Waves (DRM Edition): Gospell DRM Pocket Radio & Indonesia chooses DRM standard

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 Mangosman, Benn Kobb, and Mark Fahey for the following tips:


CML Micro release the world’s lowest-cost Digital Radio Mondiale Broadcast Receiver module (CML Micro)

IBC Amsterdam 2023 – 16th September 2023 – DRM Consortium Showcase Event

Watch video here

CML Microcircuits (CML Micro) has announced at the IBC 2023 DRM Showcase Event, the full release of the world’s lowest-cost, lowest power, and smallest sized Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) broadcast receiver module (DRM1000). DRM is the world’s leading digital radio broadcast standard able to provide rich, high quality digital content over vast areas using medium-wave (MW) and short-wave (SW). In addition to high-capacity local broadcasting at Very High Frequencies (VHF).

The DRM1000 is a complete ‘antenna to speaker’ module, containing all hardware, software, IP and patent licenses required for a radio equipment manufacturer to easily realize a dual mode (digital and analogue) DRM capable receiver.

The module offers a 60% cost reduction and 80% power reduction over existing DRM technologies in the market. The device can run effectively from solar or wind-up rechargeable batteries: in addition to small primary cells. Low power operation directly improves accessibility to vital educational and public digital radio services across many emerging nations and opens the great features of DRM to many millions of potential listeners around the world.

In offering the DRM1000, CML Micro wish to enable their customers to design a complete DRM /AM /FM broadcast receiver solution, which is attractive, highly featured and accessible for all. The module allows these innovative receivers to be manufactured locally in emerging nations in addition to traditional technology manufacturing locations.

In addition to announcing the availability of the DRM1000; CML Micro is also proud to announce that the device has been adopted by Gospell Digital Technology Ltd for two new DRM portable radio families to be shown for the first time at the IBC 2023 DRM Showcase Event.

Haochun Liu, Head of Research and Development at Gospell, said: “At Gospell, we’ve always held a steadfast belief in the pivotal role that the accessibility and ubiquity of DRM radios play in enabling people to access high-quality information. This unwavering commitment has driven us over the years to design and manufacture user friendly DRM receivers, constantly pushing the boundaries to make them more accessible and attainable for all. The introduction of the DRM1000 module, with its impressive low-power consumption, cost-effectiveness, and high performance, has been a game-changer. We are truly honored to collaborate with CML Micro in launching two groundbreaking DRM receivers based on the DRM1000 module, namely the GR-220 and GR-221. We’re confident that our combined efforts will not only deliver unparalleled value to people but also pave the way for the next chapter in DRM technology.”

One third of the world’s population remains without an internet connection. Many millions of people will benefit from widespread DRM adoption. Increasing access to DRM enhances public services in remote areas, or where an internet connection is very expensive. This includes a disaster and early warning service that can be used in the event of interruption to communications caused by natural disasters.

CML Micro’s VP of Global Marketing, Matthew Phillips, said: “The benefits of DRM are already being enjoyed by listeners in the Indian market with 70% of the population covered by DRM broadcast services and 6 million new cars already fitted with DRM capable receivers. We believe the market for DRM capable receivers is set for significant growth over the coming years. The DRM1000 provides an ideal platform to serve this emerging market with low cost, battery-powered portable receivers sold in millions of units.”

DRM in the medium-wave or short-wave band delivers FM-like quality to listeners spread over many thousands of square miles, from a single transmitter. This makes DRM the optimum digital radio solution for emerging nations. DRM uses existing long-, medium-, short-wave and very-high frequency (LW, MW, SW and VHF) radio frequency bands, operating seamlessly alongside current analogue services. [Continue reading…]

Gospell announces the latest DRM pocket radios (YouTube)

Click here to view on YouTube.

Mangosman adds:

A little background on the CML chip from a discussion forum:

https://groups.io/g/DRMNA/message/8528

Fourier analysis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourier_analysis This can transform a serial data stream into a parallel data stream using a different frequency carrier for each path. For example a 16 level quadrature Amplitude modulated data stream at around 99.4 kbit/s is carried on 213 carriers in a channel 95 kHz wide using a transmission frequency between 47 – 230 MHz.

DRM chosen by Indonesia as digital radio broadcasting standard for MW, FM, and VHF Band-III (Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union)

The Digital Radio Mondiale™ (DRM) Consortium has welcomed the decision by Indonesian authorities to adopt the globally recognised, open, and ITU-endorsed DRM Digital Radio Standard for national implementation in a country with a population exceeding a quarter of a billion.

The announcement was made during the DRM IBC Showcase event in Amsterdam. DRM is the only digital radio standard capable of meeting all coverage requirements for national and local public radio stations, as well as commercial and community broadcasters. Moving forward, DRM-based digital radio services will be available in the medium wave (MW) and FM bands, and also in VHF band-III, across all 18,000 of Indonesia’s islands.

Some 275 million Indonesians will soon benefit from a transformative radio experience featuring enhanced audio quality and, importantly, an additional layer of disaster protection via DRM’s Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF). The introduction of modern digital radio services is set to invigorate the entire radio ecosystem and broadcast industry, thereby stimulating both Indonesian and global receiver manufacturing.

The DRM Consortium is keen to continue its close collaboration with Indonesian broadcasters, stakeholder groups, governmental agencies, as well as the receiver, automotive, and mobile phone industries in Indonesia. This concerted effort aims to ensure the successful nationwide roll-out of DRM digital radio services, for the benefit of the entire Indonesian populace.


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