Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
Hey Tom,
Check out this recording.
I heard it today on 16976 kHz USB, at 13h08 UTC, here in Tramandai coast, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Maybe your readers may have an idea what is this CW about?
Thank you for sharing this, Carlos!
Post readers: If you can ID this station, please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
Technology considered obsolete, the fax, or better, radiofax (transmitted by radio) continues to be used by several meteorological agencies around the world, which broadcast weather charts to vessels on the high seas. These two images were transmitted today by the Japan Meteorological Agency and received at 19h10 and 19h50 (UTC) in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
The first image is a photo from the Japanese satellite Himawari 8. Even with noise, due to the shortwave propagation, you can see clearly the “eye” of typhoon Surigae.
The second image is a typhoon alert, indicating on the map that Surigae has changed course and is now en route to the Pacific.
These two images were transmitted today by the Japan Meteorological Agency, on the frequency of 7795 kHz
Thank you for sharing this, Carlos. It’s amazing, the amount of information you can receive over the air even with modest equipment by today’s standards. With a modest portable radio and a little decoding software, anyone can grab images like this.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
Even with the latest communications technology available in the world today, radio remains indispensable.
Japan, a country known for its state-of-the-art technology, has a network of coastal radios to communicate with fishing vessels, transmitting in medium and shortwaves. In this audio I made, the Okinawa coastal station broadcasts weather reports and an alert for typhoon category 5 Surigae, which is currently heading south in Japan.
The signal was listened yesterday in Porto Alegre, Brazil, at 9 am (UTC).
You’ve a very good point, Carlos. Even though there are advanced satellite systems that help maritime traffic with weather, they still rely on real-time reports over the air when systems fail, and when cloud cover or stormy seas might interfere with sat comms.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
As a tribute to Sean Connery, who passed away today, let’s see if your readers may identify this radio set found in Goldfinger from 1964:
Please comment if you can ID this radio in Goldfinger!
Thank you for sharing this, Carlos. Sean Connery was a great man and, no doubt, *the* James Bond for many of us. Rest in Peace Mr. Connery.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares these screen shots from “Death Wish 2” (1982). Carlos is curious if anyone is familiar with or recognizes this brand of radio:
Do you think this radio a fabricated stage prop, or a real model? Please comment!
I’ll add this post to our ever growing archive of radios in film!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:
Hope this message will find you well.
I just monitored in Porto Alegre, Brazil, this signal on 9460 kHz. Searching on Internet I found that it’s the same frequency where the Russian MR-102 Baklan radar is operating. But it could be a weather fax. Do you have any clue?
Please, check attachment for the audio clip. Thank you in advance.
Thank you for sharing this, Carols. To my ear it does sound like some sort of slow-scan digital mode like weather fax, but I’ll leave it up to the SWLing Post community to help identify.
Post readers: please comment if you can ID this signal for Carlos.
UPDATE: Nils Schiffhauer found the answer. The signal is a weather fax transmission most liekly from Wellington, NZ.
Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of RadioBecause I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: 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 Jeb, Dennis Dura, and Dan Van Hoy for the following tips:
n their latest Share Of Ear study, Edison Research notes that over 55% of 13-24 year-olds listen to AM/FM radio daily.
However the study notes that these Gen Z listeners spend 50% less of their total share of time listening to AM/FM radio than the average 13+ population meaning they spend less time with radio than older generations. They also mostly listen to AM/FM in the car with 50% of their listening coming in vehicles. The study also notes that these 13-24 year-olds use a radio receiver 50% less than the average 13+ population, and they use their phones for listening 75% more than the average 13+ population with 58% more of their total share of time listening to streaming audio than the average 13+ population. Their share of YouTube listening, which is surveyed only for music and music videos, is 98% higher than the average 13+ population.
The study also notes that 89% of their listening to AM/FM is done through a traditional radio and only eleven percent coming from streaming of broadcast brands.[…]
Before the dawn of broadcasting, women were frequently hired as wireless operators, and so it was not a surprise that women’s voices were heard as announcers and program hosts in the early days of broadcast radio.
Sybil Herrold was perhaps the world’s first disc jockey; she played Victrola records on her husband Charles Herrold’s experimental station, which broadcast in San Jose from 1912 to 1917.
In Boston, Eunice Randall’s voice was heard on a variety of programs over AMRAD station 1XE (which became WGI in 1922). In New York City, WOR audiences regularly heard Jesse Koewing, who was identified on the air only as “J.E.K.” while Betty Lutz was the popular “hostess” heard on WEAF.
At WAHG (now WCBS), 16-year-old Nancy Clancy was billed as the country’s youngest announcer.[…]
Carlos Henrique Latuff de Sousa or simply “Carlos Latuff”, for friends, (born in Rio de Janeiro, November 30, 1968) is a famous Brazilian cartoonist and political activist. Latuff began his career as an illustrator in 1989 at a small advertising agency in downtown Rio de Janeiro. He became a cartoonist after publishing his first cartoon in a newsletter of the Stevadores Union in 1990 and continues to work for the trade union press to this day.
With the advent of the Internet, Latuff began his artistic activism, producing copyleft designs for the Zapatista movement. After a trip to the occupied territories of the West Bank in 1999, he became a sympathizer for the Palestinian cause in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and devoted much of his work to it. He became an anti-Zionist during this trip and today helps spread anti-Zionist ideals.
His page of Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/carloslatuff/) currently has more than 50 thousand followers, where of course, you can see his work as a cartoonist and also shows his passion on the radio.[…]
As the pandemic drags on, it’s time to return to a slower, older technology, one that frees you from the unending sameness served up by algorithms.
Quarantine has slowed everything down so much that it almost feels like we’re going back in time. The first few weeks were measured in sourdough starter, then in seeds sprouting from patches planted in backyards or squeezed into space on windowsills. Things are quieter now, but maybe too quiet.
Commutes used to be accompanied by music and podcasts piped in through earphones or car speakers. This casual sensory stimulation seems disposable, but it’s one of many small pleasures that have slipped away nearly—but not quite—unnoticed.
That’s why it’s time to return to a slower, older technology that can provide auditory companionship and match the new pace of your days: the radio.
Radios, more affordable and portable than TVs, used to be household staples and a more intimate part of people’s days—a companion in the bath or during a solitary drive or walk. Now they’re mostly found in go bags and as vehicle infotainment center afterthoughts.[…]
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