Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Andrea Borgnino who, as a follow-up to his post yesterday, is sharing the following photos of the Radio Nacional de España (RNE) Casa de la Radio in Pozuelo, Madrid, Spain. Andrea also includes some excellent interior shots of the Radio Exterior de España studios. Click on the images below to enlarge:
Again, thanks so much for sharing these, Andrea!
Blinq.com has another “used” Sony ICF-SW7600GR in inventory.
As I mentioned once before when one of these surfaced on Blinq, this is a great deal for an excellent radio. This is a used unit, but if you receive it and are not pleased, you can return it to Blinq free of charge.
Actually, if you’re clever (!) you can save an additional 10% on this ‘7600GR…
If you’ve never visited Blinq.com, or if you open their website in a private/incognito window, Blinq will typically pop up a window offering 10% off for new shoppers as long as you subscribe to their newsletter. You then receive a coupon code via email you can use with the first order.
This article from Electronics Weekly just popped up in my news feed:
SDRplay of Wakefield, the 18-month-old software defined radio specialist, is now shipping its $149 software defined radio (SDR) receiver in quantities of 1,000 a month
Inspired by the SDR capabilities that even a simple 8-bit TV dongle can perform, SDRplay had the idea of partnering with Mirics to take their 12-bit wideband broadcast chipset and to re-purpose it for the hobbyist market.
At the moment, the hobbyist market for SDR radios tends to be dominated by radio amateurs and ‘short-wave listeners’ and SDRplay’s initial product, the ‘Radio Spectrum Processor’ (RSP) has been well received – winning Ham Radio Science’s RSP ‘Best Bang for the Buck’ rating.
Continue reading at Electronics Weely’s website…
I’m quite proud of the folks at SDRplay as their RSP is truly one of the best receiver values on the market right now.
After (apprehensively) agreeing to review the SDRplay RSP last year, I was simply blown away by this little $149 receiver’s performance. Click here to read the review. Later, I couldn’t bring myself to return the RSP on loan for the review–so I purchased it instead.
I’m glad I bit the bullet!
In fact, last year, at the SWLing Post DXpedition, my buddy, Mark Fahey–who traveled all the way from Australia–forgot to bring the appropriate power adapter for his WinRadio Excalibur, so I let him use mine. I had planned to run the WinRadio Excalibur and Elad FDM-S2 simultaneously on my PC so that I could record spectrum in two different parts of the band at the same time.
Fortunately, I brought the SDRplay RSP, so it took the Excalibur’s place and ran alongside the FDM-S2. It worked amazingly well!
(I should note here that I also believe the FDM-S2 is a great value–at $519 US, it holds its own against receivers that cost upwards of $1,000.)
Shortly after I published my RSP review, I invited SDRplay to become a sponsor of the SWLing Post. I’m happy they accepted. Sponsorship on the SWLing Post is only open to retailers and manufacturers who produce quality goods; those who are well-known in the industry and, often, ones with which I have direct experience. I think SDRplay is a great fit.
So, Kudos to Jon Hudson and his team at SDRplay! I’m very happy to hear how popular the RSP has become.
If you’re an RSP owner, or plan to be soon, make sure you check out the official SDRplay forum and the SDRplay Facebook group: both excellent resources backed by active SDR enthusiasts!
Many of us living in the eastern half of North America are bracing for a winter storm this weekend.
If predictions are correct, this storm could dump a lot of snow, sleet, and freezing rain in many areas.
Of concern to many is the potential for power loss across the region, should this storm have the expected impact. I, myself, live in a rural mountainous area and fully expect to lose power at some point this weekend. (Keep this in mind if you try contacting me.)
Often when a storm is pending, people rush to the stores to buy bread, milk, and eggs. What I concern myself with is stocking up on power!
And you can guess why. It’s a fact, and a fun one: some of the best shortwave/mediumwave listening conditions happen during a regional power outage. The local noise level simply dives as noisy electronics take a temporary vacation…leaving an opening for some great SWLing.
Here’s my pre-winter storm checklist:
No power? No problem! While the snow blows, I’ll feed the fire in the wood stove, brew a steaming pot of joe with my syphon coffeemaker, and cozy up to my warm radio…for a long afternoon of listening. Ahhh...
SWLing Post readers: How do you prepare for potential power outages?
Many thanks to SWling Post contributor, Ron, who writes:
http://www.anon-co.com/product/pl360
No, it’s not a GP5/SSB, but at less than half the cost it’s fine for general use.
Anna is first-rate to deal with, too.
Indeed she is, Ron! I’ve only has excellent experiences working with Anon-Co.
You can buy directly from Anon-Co’s website, or via eBay.
Andrea Borgnino–journalist and Internet Content Manager for RAI (RadioTelevisione Italiana)–posted a couple of photos of the Radio Exterior de España studios on Twitter this morning, so I thought I’d share them here on the SWLing Post:
Radio Exterior de España radio studios in Madrid @SWLingDotCom @LondonShortwave @rne @shortwaveology pic.twitter.com/8wBeAKr9WR
— Andrea Borgnino IW0HK (@aborgnino) January 21, 2016
Very cool, Andrea! I would love to visit the REE studios some day!
It’s so amazing to still hear REE’s booming signal on the shortwaves. They’re one of the only shortwave broadcasters I know of (other than the Voice of Greece) which was taken off the air, only to return later.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel (the Amateur Astronomer), who writes:
I’m rather – uh – call it OCD re: equipment cases (and bags/packs).
All of my […]astronomy equipment is well secured & cataloged in several dozen cases.
I [also] wanted to protect my shortwave radios. I like the neoprene cases that Tecsun ships with their radios as they have a bit of shock absorbing capacity. I went online at Amazon & eBay and I bought “neoprene” cases of various sizes made for GPS units, external hard drives, and tablets.
Upon receiving them I’ve found the 3.5-4″ GPS cases are perfect for the Grundig G6 and similar sized radios.
Belkin “Grip” tablet cases are perfect for the Grundig G3/G5. And the larger “iLuv Gaudi” case is prefect for the YB400 & Sony ICF-SW7600GR. The iLuv even has memory foam. I feel I could drop any radio in this iLuv case from a reasonable height and the contents would be perfectly fine.
Including shipping, I spent $6 for the most expensive case and as little as $3.95 for the least expensive.
The iLuv memory foam case, in silver, was only $4.99 and free shipping via Amazon Prime. Some of the cases have exterior zipped pockets perfect for ear buds and a USB cable. The neoprene has the capacity to stretch a bit, so all of them are a snug fit. Though there is an extra 1/2″ on the iLuv case, the memory foam quality ensures a nice, tight fit.
I’ve attached a few pictures to illustrate my finds.
BTW, I also noticed today that The Worldwide Listening Guide is priced at $21.62 on Amazon. That’s down from $24.95 and a good deal with Prime.
Thanks so much for sharing your research, Troy. I have just added the iLuv case to my Amazon cart. Like you, I have a Sony ICF-SW7600GR and it gets taken to the field a lot. The 7600GR comes with a nice custom case/cover, but it offers little in the way of protection–$4.99 is a reasonable cost to protect one of my favorite portables.
Like you, Troy, I have a serious addiction to quality bags and cases. I hope you know that you’re only enabling me! Ha!
Readers: Please share your radio case/bag recommendations as well!