Sticky radios? John shares yet another solution.

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Eton-e1

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Figliozzi, who writes:

Sean at Universal Radio in Reynoldsburg, OH put me on to another terrific product that does the job fabulously and quite easily. It’s called MaxPro Ink/Adhesive Remover and is a citrus-based cleaner/solvent that won’t harm the radio’s plastic casing. You can get it on eBay for around $11 with free shipping:

Click here to view on eBay.

It took me a total of less than 3 hours to clean both my E1s. I used a lot of paper towels, working a section of the radio at a time, spraying the solvent onto the towels and then rubbing the surface free of the degraded and sticky rubberized coating. After removing the coating, I simply wiped down the radio with a wet paper towel to remove any residual solvent. They are now clean and smooth and look like new with all the white print intact. And my hands didn’t suffer any from contact with the solvent.

A reminder if you do this: It’s important to seek out citrus-based solvents and avoid petroleum based solvents. It was so easy with this product that I wished I had done this a long time ago and wasn’t so nervous about taking it on.

John Figliozzi
Halfmoon, NY

Thank you, John! I just noticed that a few of my rubber-coated receivers are starting to get tacky. I like the idea that this adhesive remover is gentle on the chassis. Click here to search eBay for MaxPro Ink/Adhesive Remover.

We’ve posted a number of solutions for sticky radios. Click here to view past posts.

200m longwire update: rarely heard Radio Tawantinsuyo 6173.9 kHz, Peru, recorded in Oxford, UK

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cusco

Hi there, I thought I would share my first reception of Radio Tawantinsuyo, from Cusco, Peru, recorded during the inaugural test of my 200 metre longwire antenna. Of course this  particular reception could be coincidence, but a very welcome catch in any case. Once again, the Sony ICF-2001D performs very well with this large antenna, but as on previous occasions, the rule is always to ‘choose your battles well’ targeting weak DX signals in uncrowded areas of the Tropical Band and elsewhere on shortwave. More details on the longwire antenna to follow in another post. Recorded at the ‘DX woods’ in Oxfordshire, UK on 31/07/16 at 00:27 hrs UTC. Thanks for watching.

Direct link to Oxford Shortwave Log reception video of Radio Tawantinsuyo

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

 

Latest Update regarding Radio Australia outage

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Radio-Australia-Banner

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Goren, who shares this latest update from ABC Reception advice:

Thank you for your email.

We are working towards restoring the services this coming Friday at 9am Sydney time.

Kind Regards,

ABC Reception Advice

A number of Post readers received this same message (thanks to you all for sharing).  I, for one, hope to hear my staple broadcaster back on the air Friday morning.  I’ll certainly be listening!

ABC Radio National interviews author of new Marconi biography

1 Reply
Guglielmo Marconi

Guglielmo Marconi

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Figliozzi, who shared a link the following radio program via the Shortwave Programs email list. John writes:

Here’s an interesting segment heard recently on ABC Radio National’s and Radio Australia’s “Late Night Live”:

Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World is a new biography of Guglielmo Marconi: Nobel Laureate , entrepreneur, inventor and Fascist.

Marconi, the inventor of wireless technology was constantly self inventing and reinventing his life story. One thing is certain , Marconi helped create our modern world of communications and media.

Click here to listen to the full interview on ABC Radio National’s website, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Click here to view Marconi: The Man Who Networked The World on Amazon.

New RTL-SDR dongles feature HF reception

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RTL-SDR-RTL2832U-e1471375714199

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Aaron Kuhn, who writes:

[T]he newest v3 RTL2832U USB receivers now have HF reception via Direct sampling over the SMA antenna connector directly out of the box with no hardware modding required.

I think this might make it the cheapest, out-of-the-box HF SDR possible at this point.

9:1 balun for longwire puts the whole thing under $50 still

Wow! Now you’re making me wish I would’ve waited a few more months before finally purchasing an RTL-SDR. I like the folks over at the RTL-SDR blog, so I purchased their model.

Amazingly,  the V3 RTL2832U only costs $24.95 on Amazon.com. What a value!  Anyone care to write a review of the HF performance? Please contact us.

Update on Radio Australia outage

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Australia

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Hawkins, who left the following comment in reply to our previous post about Radio Australia’s outage:

This message found on the ABC/Radio Australia website this morning…

The ABC is running a technical outage of the international shortwave service until Friday the 19th of August to test reception in the region.

Listening to shortwave requires a specialist shortwave radio. We direct our broadcasts at peak listening times in our target areas of the Pacific using multiple frequencies. We recommend that where possible, you use an outside antenna to improve reception. Shortwave signals may be subject to interference from other broadcasters’ signals, electronic devices such as computers, microwave ovens, TVs, car engines and fluorescent lights.

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/waystolisten

Thanks for passing this along, Dan. This is the longest technical outage I’ve ever noted from Radio Australia.

Radio Australia outage: Response from ABC Reception Advice

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ABC-LogoI just received the following message from ABC Reception Advice after inquiring about Radio Australia being off the air. I’m sure many of you also received the same message:

Thank you for your recent correspondence with regards to the Radio Australia Broadcasts on Shortwave Radio in the SW Pacific. We are currently working with our transmission provider on a number of shut downs over the past week and again over the next week to investigate a range of technical and commercial issues for the service.

In the meantime the services are still on air via our satellite services on Intelsat IS18 and IS20 as well as our FM network across the targeted markets in the SW Pacific (for detailed information please see http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/waystolisten and of course Radio Australia is online at  http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/listen

Kind Regards,
ABC Reception Advice

I can’t remember Radio Australia being off the air such a long time for maintenance.