Shortwave Shindig rebroadcast via WRMI tonight!

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Jess Puglisi of WGXC (Wave Farm) and David Goren at the 2017 Shortwave Shindig live broadcast.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, for sharing the following details:

Repeat shortwave airing of the Shortwave Shindig on WRMI — Saturday 3/11 0300 UTC, same time as last week; same frequencies (9395 aimed north, 6855 aimed west).

Thanks to David Goren and Jeff White for arranging this!! Will update as on-demand / streaming availability is determined.

David Goren (left) and Richard Cuff (right) during the Shindig live broadcast.

Note that for those of us in North America, the Shindig rebroadcast will take place at 22:00 EST tonight (0300 UTC Saturday) on 9,395 kHz aimed north and 6,855 kHz aimed west from WRMI.

I plan to record the broadcast tonight as propagation was so poor last week, very few listeners could enjoy it.

pantronX Titus II quick update

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who notes:

I just received a status update on the pantronX Titus II portable SDR from Mike, their chief engineer.

Mike said the self-contained SDR portable will include “SoapySDR as the interface to make it much easier to roll your own SDR app.” Here’s some info about SoapySDR:

https://github.com/pothosware/SoapySDR/wiki

Mike also said, “To be 100% truthful, our biggest push right now is for the international MW & SW broadcasters. They want to go DRM digital is the worst way!”

You might want to share this news with SWLing Post readers.

Thank you for the update, Ed! Click here to view the pantronX website.

Radio Slovakia International asks, “Why is shortwave radio still alive?”

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Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post readers who shared a link to this article via Radio Slovakia International:

Why is shortwave radio still alive?

If you use the internet to listen to streaming audio and podcasts, you could be forgiven for assuming there’s no need for shortwave radio any more. It seems many broadcasters appear to agree, with stations dropping their shortwave services year after year.

But not so fast. Shortwave’s not dead, say its proponents. Rather, it’s in a state of transformation. Not only does it still provide a vital service for the many millions of individuals worldwide who don’t have access to the internet, but this medium also has a certain ‘magic’ which, we discovered, is very hard for its fans to explain.

In this entertaining, full-length feature, Gavin Shoebridge asked shortwave listeners from across the globe to explain why they still use the service, why they don’t ‘go digital’, and where they think shortwave will be in the coming years.

Audio Player

Click here to download the MP3 audio.

Click here to read and listen via Radio Slovakia International.

RadioShack files for bankruptcy

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who shares the following news from Reuters:

RadioShack chain operator files for bankruptcy protection

(Reuters) – U.S. electronics chain RadioShack Corp filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday for the second time in a little over two years, faced with a challenging retail environment and an unsatisfying partnership with wireless provider Sprint Corp.

The Chapter 11 filing comes after RadioShack, owned by General Wireless Operations Inc, tried to revitalize its business by co-branding stores with the wireless carrier in an effort to compete against their largest rivals.

General Wireless, an affiliate of hedge fund Standard General LP that acquired the RadioShack brand in 2015, filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization and listed assets and liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million in the U.S. bankruptcy court for the Delaware district.

RadioShack will close approximately 200 stores and will evaluate options on the remaining 1,300, the company said in a statement.[…]

Click here to read full article.

Daytime DX: Gary compares Terk Advantage with homebrew FSL Loop

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gary DeBock, who shares the following:

Daytime DX Shootout– a new-design 4.7 inch FSL antenna ($62 construction cost) goes up against the Terk Advantage AM commercial loop ($58 on eBay) in the daytime DX reception of 650-CISL (10 kW at 160 miles, in Vancouver, B.C.).

The first 20 seconds are on the Terk Advantage, and the final 24 seconds are on the new 4.7 inch FSL (using 27 of the commonly available 62mm Russian surplus ferrite bars).

Signal strength is roughly equal, but the FSL’s lower noise advantage gives it the edge.

Audio Player

Click here to download MP3.

Thank you for sharing this comparison, Gary. You’re right: the FSL provides lower noise and a more stable signal to boot. Still, I’m impressed the Terk was able to compete! In terms of commercially-produced loops, the Terk Advantage is certainly a good one.

Grace Digital Mondo+ Kickstarter

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Ally, who writes:

I remember that article you wrote about Wi-fi radios and just saw this Kickstarter on Facebook that may interest you:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1209003580/mondo

[T]hey are saying it is supposed to ship out sometime next month. [S]ome of the things it has –over the old Mondo–is Bluetooth 4.1 and Chromecast built in.

Thank you, Tom! Here’s the product description from Kickstarter:

The home audio market is evolving, and Grace Digital is leading the way. We combined the latest Wi-Fi audio streaming technologies from Google, added Bluetooth audio streaming, and over 30,000 AM/FM/HD radio stations from around the corner to across the globe. The Grace Mondo+ can even be controlled by the Google Assistant on devices like Google Home, the front panel controls, free smartphone apps, or the included remote control. We wrapped the technology in a beautifully crafted cabinet, and drive the audio with custom made speaker drivers and high performance class D digital amplification, ensuring the best possible listening experience in a perfectly compact design. We hope you love the Mondo+ as much as we do!

This is an “all or nothing” campaign, meaning it’ll have to be fully funded for the production run to become reality.

As a Kickstarter supporter, the pricing is in line with the Grace Digital Mondo (we reviewed last year).

I am still quite happy with my Como Audio Solo, so will not plan to back the Mondo+ at this time. If I was interested, I would splurge for the $174 Early Bird package which includes a Lithium Ion battery pack. Shipping could be as early as April 2017.

Check out full details and a video on Kickstarter.

Thanks, Tom, for the tip! I would certainly welcome a review of the Mondo+ from any Kickstarter backers!

Could NHK Japan purchase Santa Maria di Galeria site?

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(Source: CatholicCulture.org via London Shortwave)

As Vatican Radio ends short-wave broadcasts, others expand

As Vatican Radio closes an era by ending its short-wave transmissions, other broadcasters are stepping up their involvement in the short-wave field, notes Sandro Magister of L’Espresso.

Msgr. Dario Vigano, the prefect of the Vatican’s new Secretariat for Communications, has cut off short-wave broadcasts—long the heart of the Vatican Radio operation—in a move to cut costs and move toward emphasis on communicating through the internet. But Magister observes that short-wave transmissions retain their “unique ability to arrive as a free and true voice even in the most geographically and politically inhospitable places of the world.”

The Italian Vatican-watcher reports that other broadcasters are expanding their short-wave offerings. BBC has invested £85 million (almost $105 million) in a drive to expand its short-wave capacity. And Japan’s NHK network has inquired about purchasing the broadcasting station at Santa Maria di Galeria, just outside Rome, that Vatican Radio will no longer use.

Read this article at CatholicCulture.org.