Rep. Salmon introduces bill to defund Voice of America

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Rep. Matt Salmon (AZ-05)

Rep. Matt Salmon (AZ-05)

(Source:  sonorannews.com via Dan Robinson)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rep. Matt Salmon (AZ-05) announced the eighth Shrink our Spending Initiative bill focused on highlighting and cutting wasteful, taxpayer-funded programs. Upon introduction of his latest bill to eliminate federal funding for Voice of America, Salmon released the following statement:

“My eighth SOS bill is aimed at cutting yet another duplicative, federal program and saving you 212 million dollars by doing so. While originally commissioned to provide a ‘clear and effective presentation’ of U.S. policy, Voice of America (VOA) has veered from its original mission and become a government-funded news outlet. The United States already funds organizations that disseminate unfiltered news to regions of the world that lack a free press.

“Technology has also rendered Cold War relics, such as VOA, obsolete. The rise of the Internet and social media, especially in closed countries have connected the world in ways we could have never imagined, and with their success, and other U.S. taxpayer-funded broadcasting programs, it makes fiscal sense to eliminate this superfluous, federally-funded entity.”[…]

Click here to read the full article.

Click here if you would like to contact Rep. Matt Salmon.

Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel returning to air July 27, 2015

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QSL received by Christoph Ratzer

QSLs received by Christoph Ratzer

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Cristoph Ratzer, who shares this exciting news via the DXLD; Manuel Méndez notes:

ANTARCTICA, 15476, LRA36, Rado Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, Base Esperanza. After months of [silence], LRA 36 will return to the air the 27th of July.
This is the mail I received from the station with this news:

“Estimado Manuel buen día, en este momento estamos en un periodo de receso hasta el día 27 de julio que comenzaremos la transmisión normal como la veníamos llevando.
Atte: Sergio LUCERO „

Thanks for passing this along, Christoph! My goal this year is to verify Base Esperanza on 15,476 kHz!

RadioNacionalArcángelSanGabrielI’ve been fascinated with this station ever since listening to Christian’s recording last year.

Check out Christoph’s QSL cards from LRA 36:
Ratzer-Arcangel-QSL-2 Ratzer-Arcangel-QSL-3

Ratzer-Arcangel-QSL-1

SDRplay RSP: I bit the bullet!

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SDR-PLay-RSPThere’s a danger in doing radio reviews: sometimes, you get attached to the radio.

This was the case with the SDRplay RSP. SDRplay sent this radio to me on an extended loan and I’m grateful for the many months they’ve let me keep this in my shack and test drive it with various SDR applications.

My RSP review has been published in The Spectrum Monitor and now here on the SWLing Post. There was no need for me to keep it in the shack any longer, but as I reached for the return box, I simply couldn’t let the RSP go.  Instead, I reached for my wallet, contacted SDRplay and paid for it.

I have no buyer’s remorse. The RSP is an amazing little SDR and so very affordable. At $149 US, it costs less than two of the latest portables I’ve purchased. As my review states, it packs maximum performance for its price class.

The RSP will become one of my travel SDRs since it’ll fit so easily in my radio go-bag. This will take a little pressure off of my Elad FDM-S2, which I like using in the shack and on extended vacations.

I can pack the SDRplay RSP with confidence when I’m doing one-bag, international travel, knowing that if it were to get lost or stolen, I’m only out $149. Plus, to a potential thief, the RSP box simply doesn’t look expensive.

When I have a little time, I plan to pair the SDRplay RSP with my Raspberry Pi. Of course, I’ll report on my progress.

Have any readers combined the Raspberry Pi and the RSP? If so, please comment!

New firmware and software for the CommRadio CR-1a

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CommRadio-SpectrumDisplayMany thanks to SWLing Post reader, Grzegorz Jasionek, who notes that CommRadio has just released a firmware update for the CommRadio CR-1a that includes a new Graphic User Interface (GUI) with a 3D spectrum display.

The CommRadio Dropbox site has an 18 minute video showing how to operate the GUI and the various features; CommRadio recommends you watch the video prior to using the GUI for the first time.

Click here to view Dropbox folder with CommRadio newsletter, video, update instructions and files.

Euro Radio: a new shortwave radio broadcaster out of Europe?

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EuroRadioSWLing Post reader, Neil Gates, comments:

“Euro Radio is Europe’s brand new commercial shortwave station which will begin broadcasting on August 1st 2015.

Visit our Facebook page for updates. facebook.com/euroradio6205“

Many thanks, Neil.  I have checked the Euro Radio Facebook page and it appears they will broadcast on 6205 kHz AM, starting August 1st, 2015. I haven’t seen a schedule at this point, nor noted their transmitter location.

UPDATE: SWLing Post reader, Jarno, writes:

Looks like Euro Radio 6205 is a pirate and not an official station

Found some info – http://members7.boardhost.com/PirateRadio/msg/1434464301.html

Greek 2kw transmitter but no location yet….

 

Thanks, Jarno!

Keith’s review of the Sangean ATS-405

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Sangean-ATS-405SWLing Post reader, Mike, writes:

Keith Perron’s review of the new Sangean ATS-405 appeared in the last show of Media Network Plus. There is an archive of the show on the PCJ website for you to listen:

http://www.pcjmedia.com/medianetworkplus

The review’s at the beginning of the episode and Keith had multiple complaints about performance, build quality and the radio’s overall engineering. I don’t remember him having anything positive to say about it. Sad because I had hoped this new Sangean would be better.

Thanks for the link, Mike. For what it’s worth Jay Allen was actually mostly impressed with the ATS-405.

I’ll receive an ATS-405 later this week; and I’m very interested to see how it compares to other portables like the Tecsun PL-310ET, CC Skywave, and Tecsun PL-660. I’ll certainly report on what I find.

Here’s the audio from the Media Network Plus review:

Audio Player