Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares his A-23 (version 2) 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 v2 (PDF)
Thank you for sharing your excellent guide, Alan!
This dedicated page will always have the latest version of Alan’s guide available for download.
By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM
About 10 days ago, the Better Half and I visited my wife’s sister in Sodus, NY, a small town in the western part of the state near the shores of Lake Ontario.
First consideration when packing was – never mind the underwear and the toothpaste – what radios shall I take? I decided to go light . . . just a CCrane Skywave SSB and a Uniden BC125AT analog-only scanner.
In the predawn hours on a handful of mornings, I decided to see what I could hear on medium wave with the diminutive Skywave SSB. The Skywave is an “ultralight” radio – under 20 cubic inches in volume. Because the Skywave’s plastic case is so small, the ferrite antenna within it is very small . . . less than 3 inches long. It is by no means a huge antenna for grabbing signals.
It was Gary DeBock who pioneered ultralight DXing with tiny generally inexpensive radios. As a ham radio operator, he had worked 144 countries using a Heathkit 1-2 watt kit transmitter he had built. In the process, he learned a great deal about propagation.
In 2007, he decided to see what he could do with a cheap pocket radio, a Sony Walkman SRS 59. At 1 am on an autumn night from his home in Washington state, he put propagation and operating skill to work and heard three distant medium-wave stations: a couple from Japan and one from Korea. He posted his results on the internet in November, 2007, and he got a lot skeptical feedback: How could you possibly do this?
His response (in essence): Try it for yourself.
Some people did try for themselves; some with great success. One DXer from Canada logged 300 stations in 30 days. Interest in MW DXing with pocket-sized consumer radios took off, and ultralight DXing was born.
So, in the predawn hours in Sodus, NY, I decided to give ultralight DXing a try . . . barefoot . . . that means with no external antennas or signal boosters . . . just me kicked back in a recliner, the CCrane Skywave SSB, and a pair of headphones. Simple.
Before we proceed, you need to understand that my DXing style might charitably be described as “lazy.” Instead of laboriously turning the tuning knob, I use the seek function on the CCrane Skywave. I simply press and hold for a moment the up or down arrow and wait for the Skywave to stop at the next signal it detects. Then, if I feel that the signal might be enhanced by re-orienting the antenna with respect to the signal, I wiggle the Skywave around in my hand and listen for an improvement in what I am hearing through the headphones.
The results: I logged (among others) Atlanta, Georgia (493 miles) and Charlotte, North Carolina (588 miles) on the CCrane Skywave SSB with its tiny internal antenna. Also received: Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Baltimore, and Toronto and a bunch of unknowns.
One afternoon, I decided to see what distant stations Skywave might receive during the daylight hours. I was kicked back in the recliner with headphones on, doing my usual, waving the Skywave around in the air to optimize the reception. My sister-in-law started laughing. She said I looked like a demented band leader, conducting a silent orchestra! I tried to assure her that my mental status was OK and that I was trying to optimize the signal. I’m not sure it worked.
But one thing is certain: barefoot ultralight MW DXing is fun. All you need is a tiny radio, a bit of darkness, a pair of headphones, and a willingness to be surprised.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Pascoe, who writes:
Hi, Thomas.
I rarely see photos of micro radio collections, so I thought some of your subscribers may be interested in seeing my little collection.
These are all late 50s to 60s radios made in Japan and hand soldered. Just over 50% of them are still working ( Deoxit is my best friend) l live in Adelaide Australia and recently retired doing the customary downsizing thing. Now I live in a small townhouse and have what must be one of the smallest radio shacks, 1m x 1/2 metre!
With a 50 ft long wire running front to back above my roof. I’m not an overly experienced SWL, and I have a question. I have 3 SW radio’s with 5 antenna attachment points. Is there a recommended antenna splitter that goes 1 into 5 without any interference ? I currently manually connect/disconnect my antenna’s.
Thanks Mark Pascoe.
These are simply amazing, Mark! I don’t believe anyone has ever shared photos of their micro radio collection before, so we’re most appreciative. There are some amazing designs in this collection!
Hi all of the SWLing Post community Fastradioburst23 here again letting you know of our second Imaginary Lounge this coming Sunday 30th April 2023 at 2200 UTC on 9395 kHz via WRMI.
The transmission will be coming live again from the Skybird Supper Club in Paris and there will be free complimentary cocktail for every participant this time (There will be a code given out and an email address to apply for a token that you can use at a cocktail lounge of your choice) . Expect the finest lounge and exotica classics for your listening pleasure yet again. Raise your Collins glass please.
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 and Harry Dence for the following tips:
The Baader-Meinhof effect is the common name for what scientists call frequency illusion. Suppose you are watching Star Trek’s Christopher Pike explain how he makes pasta mama, and you’ve never heard of it before. Immediately after that, you’ll hear about pasta mama repeatedly. You’ll see it on menus. Someone at work will talk about having it at Hugo’s. Here’s the thing. Pasta mama was there all along (and, by the way, delicious). You just started noticing it. We sometimes wonder if that’s the deal with Morse code. Once you know it, it seems to show up everywhere.
One of the strangest places we’ve ever heard of Morse code appearing is the infamous case of Tojo’s teeth. If you don’t remember, General Hideki Tojo was one of the main “bad guys” in the Pacific part of World War II. In particular, he is thought to have approved the attack on Pearl Harbor, which started the American involvement in the war globally. Turns out, Tojo would be inextricably tied to Morse code, but he probably didn’t realize it. [Continue reading at Hackaday…]
A ‘radio’ that lets you listen in to broadcasts from cities around the world…but there’s a catch.
Have you ever felt the options for Morse code communication were too limited? Well, look no further than [marsPRE]’s open source WristMorse communicator that can connect over WiFi, can act as a Bluetooth keyboard or just be used as a Morse Code trainer.
[marsPRE] uses the M5StickC Plus as the base device and attaches a custom “hat” consisting of a 2.5 mm plug for a radio connection and two capacitive touch paddles that act as the Morse Code keyer. The add-on is housed in what looks like a custom 3D print and hangs off of the end of the M5StickC Plus, connecting the hat through an eight 0.1 inch pin header. [Continue reading at Hackaday…]
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Harry Dence, who writes:
Do you watch BritBox? Hope so!
Today they released Season 2, Episode 8 of the Sister Boniface mysteries, called “Dead Air.”
Set in England of the Radio Caroline era, the episode concerns a pirate radio station called Radio Catherine, a bit of humor along with the mystery, and an homage to Radio Caroline in its ending. Also a sight gag that will please Spinal Tap fans and reference to the GPO controlling the airwaves.
Thank you for the tip, Harry!
Note: this is a petition managed by WeAreBroadcasters in opposition to a proposed tax:
Encourage Congress to support local radio!
Legislation that would force local radio stations to pay new fees simply for playing music has been introduced in Congress. The American Music Fairness Act (AMFA) would put stations out of business and impact their ability to provide the news, traffic, weather, emergency information and entertainment you rely on every day. The Local Radio Freedom Act opposes new performance fees on local radio stations and recognizes radio’s vital role in every community. Please take action today and encourage your members of Congress to oppose the AMFA and cosponsor the Local Radio Freedom Act. Your voice matters!
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by 13dka
When I reviewed the updated Belka (gen3, 2022) for its MW/LW performance in October last year, I just wanted to know if it’s any good with just the whip antenna and used the XHDATA D-808 as a reference radio because it’s a Jay Allen 2.5-star average performer on MW and my expectations were not high for MW reception on a short whip. To my surprise that average bar turned out way too low for the Belka!
That was sure asking for a comparison with the most sensitive MW radio I have and gave me hope to use the Belka for ultra-portable MW DXing on the move. The omnidirectional whip doesn’t allow me to null out unwanted co-channel interference though, therefore I wanted to find a reasonably sized loopstick antenna to pair with the Belka. Continue reading
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Colegrove, who shares the following:
by Bob Colegrove
You simply cannot have enough radios – a principle I learned a long time ago. The difficulty occurs when it comes to storing them and yet having them at the ready when necessity calls. Turns out several of my portables fall within a dimensional range that they can be conveniently stored in a rack on the table.
I would like to say I made a project out of this choosing a fine hard wood for construction, carefully routing each divider into a finely milled slot, tastefully finishing the whole thing off with appropriate stain and varnish, and perhaps lining each slot with felt of finest virgin wool. However, never having been one to let form triumph over function, instead, I found a couple empty cracker boxes of the right dimensions, made a few cuts with a hobby knife, and applied some hot glue. Whalla!
Wait a minute. Is that an unused slot at the end? Hmm!
I love it, Bob!
I mean, you know those cracker boxes just wanted to become a custom radio rack–! I say save the fine wood working to build the shelf upon which you’ll place your bespoke cracker box radio rack.
Thank you!