Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Zanotti (HB9ASQ), who has, at my request, shared a video recording of a presentation he gave to the Fairlawn ARC last year.
This is part two. If you missed part one, you can view it by clicking here. Thank you, Bob! Enjoy:
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Zanotti (HB9ASQ), who has, at my request, shared a video recording of a presentation he gave to the Fairlawn ARC last year.
This is part one. Part two will soon be released and we’ll post it on the SWLing Post as well! Thank you, Bob! Enjoy:
Over at the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, we receive some truly amazing recordings from our devoted contributors.
How many of you remember Ian McFarland’s Shortwave Listener’s Digest on Radio Canada International? It was certainly one of my favorite DX and SWL shows!
Our good friend Tom Laskowski recently sent in the following recordings of the Shortwave Listener’s Digest recorded (in part) on July 26, 1982 starting around 21:30 UTC on 15,325 kHz.
Tom notes:
Here are two more back to back episodes from my collection of recordings of Shortwave Listener’s Digest from Radio Canada International, this time from July 26 and August 02, 1982.
This program’s highlights are: ANARC 1982 Convention promo, Larry Magne’s test of the Sony ICF-6500W, a look at underseas intercontinental cables with Walter Foster of Teleglobe Canada, Glenn Hauser’s DX tips.
The second program highlights are: coverage of the 1982 ANARC convention with guest co-host Bab Zanotti of Swiss Radio Intl., interview with David Meisel about the solar cycle, a rundown of the awards given out at ANARC 82.
This recording is chock-full of shortwave nostalgia. How many of you remember some of the folks featured and mentioned in this show?
Use the embedded player below to listen to the full recording or click here to listen at the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.
Note that there have been some other amazing recordings posted on the archive recently. Here’s a small sampling:
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Readers old enough to remember listening to SBC/Swiss Radio International will, no doubt, remember Bob Thomann. I just received the following note from Bob Zanotti:
Dear Friends and Broadcasting Colleagues,
[O]ur old friend and colleague, Bob Thomann HB9GX, passed away peacefully on Saturday afternoon 3 August local time. He would have been 91 in September.
Image via Radio World
[…]Bob Thomann was the founder of the Swiss Shortwave Merry-Go-Round on
SBC/Swiss Radio International back in the 50’s. He and I were teamed up in 1970, when I joined SRI. We co-presented the technical mailbag show,
which became know as “The Two Bobs” for 24 years between 1970 and the show’s ending in June 1994. Bob never missed a show, even when we had to do a telephone hookup when he was hospitalized back in the 80’s.the Schwarzenburg transmitter site, often mentioned by the Two Bobs (via Jonathan Marks)
This is the end of “The Two Bobs” Era and an era in shortwave broadcasting in general. But I’m happy to say that the show lives on at www.switzerlandinsound.com, where it has its own section. All that survived from the “Merry-Go-Round” is there, including new material we produced especially for the website. And this will remain as a memorial to Bob Thomann and his contribution to shortwave broadcasting as long as I’m still around.
Mid-1960s photo showing Bob with Heidi Schweizer and Pamela — SBC’s DX Trio at the time. (Image courtesy of Richard Langley)
Bob Thomann was my friend, colleague and fellow ham operator for many years. I will always fondly remember those golden days we shared together. Long live those memories.
73,
Bob Zanotti
Click here to listen to archived episodes of The Two Bobs at Switzerland in Sound.
Bob, we’re so sorry for the loss of your dear friend and colleague. His memory certainly lives on.
The host of Switzerland in Sound, Bob Zanotti.
For any of you who listened to Swiss Radio International (SRI) on shortwave radio, you’ll no doubt know the name of long-time radio presenter Bob Zanotti. For me, his deep, rich voice was synonymous with SRI.
What you may not know is that Zanotti hosts his own website called Switzerland In Sound. It is chock-full of up-to-date Swiss information, news (Tina Turner became Swiss?), interviews, thoughts, musings and a wealth of vintage recordings from SRI.
If you were a fan of The Swiss Shortwave Merry-Go-Round, you’ll be pleased to discover the many recordings he has of The Two Bobs (Bob Zanotti and Bob Thomann).
Bob also manages a Facebook page for Switzerland in Sound. If you’re on Facebook, I encourage you to join his group.
Check out Switzerland In Sound:
http://www.switzerlandinsound.com
(Source: Switzerland in Sound via RNW Media Network)
Bob Thomann and Bob Zanotti, better known as The Two Bobs formerly of Swiss Radio International, have been friends with Jeff White for decades. Jeff started out as a shortwave listener, and then got into HF broadcasting himself, originally with a project called Radio Earth, and then later as the owner and operator of WRMI (Radio Miami International) based in Miami, Florida. He has also served as president of the US-based National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB).
In August 2010 Jeff White was in Switzerland for a meeting of the High Frequency Coordinating Committee (HFCC), which he organized, and he took the opportunity to pay a visit to Bob Zanotti in the Emmental. Bob Thomann joined them for a one-hour chat about the HFCC and the future of HF broadcasting.
You can find the interview in The Two Bobs menu on www.switzerlandinsound.com. This special programme will also air on PCJ Radio and some of the partner stations.
Thanks to RNW Media Network and PCJ Media for bringing this to my attention.
PCJ Media, by the way, has a long line-up of amazing radio-related shows to hear. It’s become quite the collection of new programs and nostalgia as well. Check out their website for more info.
