“Theatre Organ from the Ozarks” on WTWW shortwave

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bob Heil (K9EID), who writes:

You may be interested to know about the Saturday evening Theatre Organ shows on the 100KW of WTWW:

Bob Heil at a Sacramento Wurlitzer Console

“Theatre Organ from the Ozarks” each Saturday at 8PM CST (0200 UTC Sunday) on WTWW shortwave  5.085 MHz.

Many readers might not know that Bob Heil is a man of many talents. Not only is he the founder of Heil Sound, and a host on HamNation, but Bob is an incredibly talented organist.

We look forward to hearing you on WTWW, Bob!

Icom IC-7200 back in production

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who writes:

Just FYI. Yes, the Icom IC-7200 is “Back in Production”

” The Icom IC-7200 HF DSP Transceiver is back in production once again (at least for now). Unknown if any part / design changes had to be made to make this possible ? Let’s hope they are using better quality Chinese fans ?? We TRIED 2 brand new samples near the end of the last run and it’s internal “Dual Mini Chinese Fans” BOTH squealed like a pig.[…]”

See my news page for the latest info on this (among other latest happenings including a bit more on the Sangean 909X saga).

http://webpages.charter.net/n9ewo2/news.html

Thank you, Dave, for the tip!

I believe the Icom IC-7200 has one of the best general coverage receivers on the market under $1000. I pointed this out in my General Coverage Transceiver review from 2014. I should hope that ham radio clubs might take note about the re-introduction of the IC-7200 and consider purchasing it over the less expensive IC-718 for Field Day or club station use. I’m no fan of the IC-718 as it’s a miserable performer in RF-rich environments like Field Day and radio contests.

With switch from AM to FM, some Polynesians now in the dark

(Source: Southgate ARC)

Some inhabitants of French controlled Polynesia are unhappy at the switch over from Medium Wave AM to VHF FM broadcasting

Radio New Zealand reports Radio Polynesie Premiere switched to an all FM service at the beginning of December, leaving pockets of inhabitants in valleys and on remote atolls without any local radio service.

The broadcaster added five FM transmitters to its network of 48 to improve its reach but in an area the size of Europe, the signal fails to reach all communities.

Concern has been expressed that vital weather warnings are no longer heard.

The mayor of Makatea in the Tuamotus Julien Mai said there is a risk to public safety because people have always been advised to have an emergency kit that includes a radio when severe weather strikes.

Source:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/321809/loss-of-am-radio-irks-french-polynesia

Fred Lundgren: “What happened to AM radio”

We all read articles about the utility and the demise of AM (mediumwave) broadcasting. In this short article via the Huffington Post, Fred Lundgren (Founder and CEO of KCAA) discusses “What Happened To AM Radio (that’s NOT a question)”:

On Christmas Eve morning, the electricity went off at our house and panic quickly spread among our younger guests.

First, the TV sets went dark. Then, the desktop computers began to die as UPS back up batteries failed. For a while, we were reassured by the sound of familiar alarms, but then suddenly, total silence. Could this be the end times? Is this the onslaught of the apocalypse?

Smart phones were quickly deployed and guests began calling each other from room to room. The panic began to subside when several millennials volunteered communal usage of their wireless data plans. The kingdom would be saved…crisis abated.

[…]As the younger generation huddled around the smart phones with data plans, I began to think of the outage as an opportunity to listen to AM Radio, so I went to my office and dusted off my old RCA SuperRadio III.

I couldn’t remember the last time I replaced the batteries but to my surprise, it came to life with its signature popcorn sound when I pushed its big silver button. “IT’S ALIVE” WOW…the AM band was extraordinarily quiet and responsive.

[…]I scanned across the dial from 610 AM to 1590 AM. All the stations were as clear as a bell. Then, I decided to press my luck. I tuned to KTSA 550 AM in San Antonio and then I moved the dial slightly to the right and heard KLVI 560 AM in Beaumont, Texas. Every station was booming in loud and clear.

I felt like a child with a new toy. I dialed up and down the band, experiencing the clear booming sound of AM Radio without any noise or interference. It was a feast for the senses. It was beautiful.

After a few minutes, one of my daughters walked in and asked about the source of my entertainment. I pointed to my SuperRadio and said joyfully, “listen”. She looked at the big black box and asked “How can you listen with the internet and electricity off?” I responded, “It’s my portable SuperRadio III.” Before I could explain further, she shrugged her shoulders, closed the door and went back upstairs, convinced that her Dad was conducting some sort of high tech experiment.

In a manner of speaking, her assumption was correct. I was listening to AM Radio in a big city without the interference of computers, wireless modems and an overloaded electrical grid. For the first time in my recent memory, the “Senior Radio Band” sounded beautiful. Sadly, my experiment ended with preordained results when the electric power was restored.[…]

Click here to read Lundgren’s full article on The Huffington Post.

Radio Wall Clocks: Mario’s eBay find

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN), who writes:

Hi Thomas,

These have been popping up on eBay, reasonable price, with face markings just like an old shortwave radio dial.

Click here to view Zenith wall clock.

Pretty nice gift for the SWL who has everything!

Click here to view Sparton wall clock.

Have a good day and weekend!

Thank you, Mario! Those are nice clocks and, as you say, rather affordable at $26.49 shipped! I like the fact they also include 24 hour markings.

Your message lead me down a path to search eBay for other radio wall clocks. There are hundreds out there! I found that searching with the term “ham radio wall clock” seemed to work best.

Greek mediumwave station on-track to resume operation

Many thanks to our friends at The Greek Radio who share this news:

The medium wave broadcasting center of the Greek Radio in Pachi Megara is likely to go live again after three and a half years, since the procedures for the necessary maintenance and repairs have recently been initiated, with a high possibility that one of the two transmitters will operate again soon. It is worth noting that the broadcasting center, which used to host two powerful mediumwave transmitters (the ones of multilingual “Filia” and of EPA Sport) had been subject to looting by burglars, few days after the ERT closure by the Samaras government, which left the premises unattended. Since then, it has not operated again.

Repairs and maintenance

As revealed by official announcements, ERT is launching a tender for the maintenance of the building and electricity poles with a budget of EUR 18,703, while in December they proceeded with a maintenance of the broadcast center and a cleaning of the 100 KW mediumwave transmitter. In November, a dummy load was installed by a team of the ERT subdivision of structural and electromechanical projects and they checked the generator Nautel, which ensures the continuation of the broadcast in case of power outage. They also installed a new grounding network in the main building of the transmitters.

Alongside, there were other smaller operations required for the safe operation of the facilities, such as the placement of fire extinguishers by a private firm, the restoration of the water supply, the maintenance of fence lighting. In October there was also a visit by a private security company, in response to a tender, whereas data were collected for the water insulation and the lighting of the buildings where the transmitters are placed.

Continue reading at The Greek Radio website…

BITX40 Goes Digital

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Pete (WB9FLW), who notes that Ashhar Farhan (VU2ESE) has upgraded the BITX40 Transceiver with a Arduino Nano/Si5351 VFO:

http://www.hfsigs.com/

The BITX40 is an affordable, fully assembled QRP transceiver  we’ve mentioned on the SWLing Post before–click here to read more.

Thanks for the tip, Pete!