(Source: Southgate ARC)
There are a number of vintage radio and amateur radio related eBooks available for free download on the Gutenberg site
Among them is the 1922 edition of The Radio Amateur’s Handbook by A. Frederick Collins.
Jarno de Haan @PA3DMI tweeted this link that will display the books available:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=radioA. Frederick Collins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Frederick_Collins
The Sangean HDR-14 AM/FM HD radio
For the past week, I’ve been away from home spending time with my mother at the hospital while she recovers from a surgery. I’ve got a number of reviews and evaluations in the pipeline, but thankfully no shortwave or HF radios on the table this week (although the ELAD FDM-S3 and CommRadio CTX-10 are just around the corner). Listening to shortwave (or even mediumwave) in a hospital room can be an exercise in futility–there are just too many devices emitting noise and the buildings are built like bunkers with incredibly thick walls to attenuate signals.
I’ve had the little Sangean HDR-14 with me, however, and have been very pleased with its ability to snag FM stations both analog and digital. I’ve also had fun discovering a surprisingly diverse FM landscape in this metro area. I haven’t snagged an AM HD station yet, but my hope is one evening I might DX one (fingers crossed and not holding my breath).
The Sangean HDR-14 (left) and CC Skywave SSB (right)
At the end of most days, I’ve been able to catch a little shortwave action with my CC Skywave SSB (pre-production) portable at the guest house where I’m staying. The evenings have been surprisingly peaceful here with only the occasional popup thunderstorm to insert a little QRN in my listening sessions.
Last night, while listening to jazz on FM, I finished reading All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (affiliate link).
We’ve mentioned this book before and I know of at least dozen SWLing Post contributors and friends who’ve personally recommended it to me.
It is a superb novel and will, no doubt, tug at the heart strings of any radio enthusiast or WWII history buff. Highly recommended!
Indeed, last night I couldn’t fall asleep until I finished the book around 12:30 AM!
And mom? She’s recovering quite well and we hope will be discharged from the hospital soon.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, James Hukill (K7NEO), who writes:
So I just about wrapping up reading a new book that has morse code mentioned as a part of the plot in darn near 80% of the book. Well and not in a cheese demeaning way.
[Stephenson] is one of my favorite authors and popular enough to not be obscure to most folks.
Anyways, thanks for all your hard work.
My pleasure, and thank you for the book recommendation, James! I read through the synopsis and–being a sci-fi and dystopia fan–it does sound like a fascinating read indeed! Putting this on my wishlist.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gregg Freeby, who writes:
As a regular reader of the SWLing Post I wanted to share with you a book I came across recently that your readers might be interested in reading. Shortwave radio provides the backdrop of this Pulitzer Prize winning story that takes place during WWII. You can search Wikipedia or other websites for a summary. While the story isn’t specifically about radios, Nazi radio propaganda as well as clandestine numbers stations run by the French resistance and Nazi attempts to locate and destroy them very much figure into the plot. I found it a very compelling read and thought perhaps you and your readers might too.
Many thanks, Greg. I actually purchased this book a few months ago on the recommendation of a friend who owns a local book store. It’s in my “read me” stack now, and though I haven’t gotten to it, I very much look forward to reading it soon.
Check out All The Light We Cannot See on Amazon (affiliate link).
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, who notes that Universal Radio is now taking pre-orders for the 8th edition of the Worldwide Listening Guide by John Figliozzi.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jarno (PA3DMI), who reminds us that the American Radio History site is chock-full of radio nostalgia:
To keep you and your readers busy 🙂
http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Radio_News_Master_Page_Guide.htm
Many thanks, Jarno!
Check out the main index for even more radio periodicals.
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader and author, Colin McKeeman, who shares the following announcement:
As a mature aviation historian and keen HF monitor since the mid-1960’s, as you will note from my blog this has prompted me to produce this detailed record of the [Birdlip Aeronautical HF Communications Complex, U.K.] stations activities.
[…]The activities of this station are currently handled by ‘Shanwick’ (Shannon and Prestwick) for air traffic on the North Atlantic.
I attach a summary of its content which may help to clarify the scope and nature of this publication.
Click here to download the full press release (PDF).
Fascinating, Colin! I think you’ll find a number of our community members love reading about the history of HF stations. Thank you for sharing your press release!