Bell Media Closures and Shortwave Impact?

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood, who writes:

Thomas

You might have seen the news that Bell Media (Canada) is shutting down six major market AM stations and selling off some others.

This has a shortwave angle… One station shuttered is “Funny 1060” CKMX in Calgary. This station has the 100-watt shortwave relay CFVP on 6030 kHz.

A check of a Montana–based KiwiSDR indeed shows CFVP is carrying CKMX’s loop ID announcing the immediate end of programming on CKMX.

Who will step in to buy CKMX and save CFVP?

Great question, Tracy. This station has been on the air since 1922, originally as CFCN. These days, it has a pretty unique format and it would be a shame for it to disappear entirely. There are also so very few low-power shortwave relays left in Canada. 

We will follow this story. Readers, we welcome any news tips about the future of CKMX and CFVP.

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Saturday: WGXC Rebroadcast of live performance from Radio Preservation Task Force

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Goren, who wites:

Wave Farm is airing/streaming a rebroadcast of a live performance from the Radio Preservation Task Force…which was really great…Anna Friz and Jeff Kolar performing on radios and other devices using clips from Rick Prelinger’s archive of what he calls “useful radio” aka utility radio. He gave the keynote at the RPTF and the next day Anna and Jeff performed this response and RP spoke again afterwards.

https://wavefarm.org/radio/wgxc/schedule/hsed8h


Jun 17, 2023: 3pm – 4pm

WGXC 90.7-FM: Radio for Open Ears

90.7-FM in NY’s Upper Hudson Valley and wgxc.org/listen everywhere
http://www.wgxc.org/

Standing Wave Radio

wavefarm.org/listen and 1620-AM at Wave Farm
https://audio.wavefarm.org/transmissionarts.mp3

Produced by Wave Farm Radio Artist Fellows and Artistic Director Tom Roe.

Welcome to “The Radio Art Hour,” a show where art is not just on the radio, but is the radio. “The Radio Art Hour” draws from the Wave Farm Broadcast Radio Art Archive, an online resource that aims to identify, coalesce, and celebrate historical and contemporary international radio artworks made by artists around the world, created specifically for terrestrial AM/FM broadcast, whether it be via commercial, public, community, or independent transmission. Come on a journey with us as radio artists explore broadcast radio space through poetic resuscitations and playful celebrations/subversions of the complex relationship between senders and receivers in this hour of radio about radio as an art form. “The Radio Art Hour” features introductions from Philip Grant and Tom Roe, and from Wave Farm Radio Art Fellows Karen Werner, Jess Speer, Andy Stuhll, José Alejandro Rivera, Tyler Maxin, and Iru Ekpunobi. The Conet Project‘s recordings of numbers radio stations serve as interstitial sounds. Go to wavefarm.org for more information about “The Radio Art Hour” and Wave Farm’s Radio Art Archive.

In addition, here’s Jef Kolar’s tweet announcing the show:

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Ham & HiFi offers readers a discount on the original CHA-RXL mag loop antenna

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I received the following message/announcement below from Ethan at Ham & HiFi regarding some inventory they have of the original Chameleon CHA RXL loop antenna. This antenna is the one Dan Robinson originally reviewed and Josh at Ham Radio Crash Course demonstrated in a video.

Note that they’re offering this deal as an exclusive to SWLing Post readers and also volunteered to give back a modest percentage of the sales to the SWLing Post coffee fund. They would obviously like to move this inventory, hence the discounts, etc.

This antenna would benefit from a BCI filter especially if you live near a broadcast station; something like this one (you would need adapters for SMAs). As Ethan notes this loop has been replaced by the CHA RXL-Pro at Chameleon (click here to read Dan’s review of the new loop).

Many thanks to Ethan for sharing the following announcement/promotion:

Here’s a great chance to pick up a Chameleon RXL LOOP antenna at an unbeatable price! This broad-banded receiving antenna is perfect for shortwave listening and other applications as it covers 137.5KHz through 30.0MHz. The only difference between this antenna and Chameleon’s new RXL PRO is the preamp design, otherwise its construction is identical.

Ham & HiFi is making these RXL LOOP antennas available to SWLing.com subscribers for $300 + shipping ($20 less than the last time we had a sale). The new RXL PRO retails for $525, so this is a great chance to save some money! Again, this price is only available to SWLing Post subscribers, so please be sure to reference this promotion.

Place your order by contacting Ethan at 866-988-0073 or email at [email protected].

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Please return to the library this week

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Fastradioburst23 here to let you know about the return of the Shortwave Music Library this Sunday 11th June 2023 via WRMI at 2200 hrs UTC on 9395 kHz. DJ Frederick looks through his record collection and pulls out some interesting tunes on a chilled tip. Put those slippers on, switch the shortwave radio to AM mode, put your feet up and relax, it’s Shortwave Music Library time!

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Alan Roe’s A23 season guide to music on shortwave (version 3.0)

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares his A-23 (version 3.0) season guide to music on shortwave. Alan provides this amazing resource as a free PDF download:

Click here to download Music on Shortwave A-23 v3 (PDF)

As always, thank you for sharing your excellent guide, Alan!

This dedicated page will always have the latest version of Alan’s guide available for download.

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Radio Waves: Hamvention Attendance Record, WWII Codebook, TuneIn for AM Stations, and 101 Years of Chicago Radio

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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 Dennis Dura, Ron Chester, and Ulis Fleming for the following tips:

Hamvention 2023 breaks attendance record (WHIO)

XENIA — A new attendance record was set at Hamvention this year.

This year 33,861 people flooded to the Greene County Fairground and Expo Center for the world’s biggest amateur radio show, according to a spokesperson for Hamvention.

The number surpassed the previous record by more than 1,300 people. It’s also more than 2,000 greater than last year’s attendance.

This year’s Hamvention ran May 19-21 and brought in people from across the globe.

“Things went very smoothly due to the dedication and hard work of close to 700 volunteers,” Jim Storms, Hamvention General Manager, said.

Hamvention 2024 is scheduled for May 17-19. [Watch report on WHIO…]

Man’s WW2 codebook unearths St Erth’s ‘best-kept secret’ (BBC)

A retired schoolteacher is shedding light on an “ultra secret” World War Two listening station in Cornwall.

Mike Griffiths unearthed the secret existence of the MI6 outstation in St Erth when his late father, Harry Griffiths, left him his code book.

He has revealed the role his father and others played in providing intelligence for code-breakers at Bletchley Park.

Mr Griffiths said he “couldn’t be prouder” of what his father achieved. Continue reading →

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Frans checks out the MRA-QRP 20W QRP Passive Loop Antenna

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who writes:

Dear Thomas,

In the following video, I show a little loop antenna that I bought online from AliExpress:

On arrival one of the parts, the semi-transparant box with variable capacitor for antenna tuning turned out to be broken due to the bigger box having been thrown around in transit.

The seller promptly provided me with the necessary part (plus extra) for repairs.

Yesterday I repaired it and today I assembled the antenna and tested it a bit in the afternoon and early evening as soon as reception started to get well enough.

It’s a fun antenna, affordable too.

The video shows how effective the variable capacitor is.

Best regards,

Frans

Thank you, Frans. That is certainly a very affordable passive loop option. If you’re an urban QRPer, all the better. I should also mention, you have one of the nicest radio operating positions out there!

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