Tag Archives: EWTN

Radio Waves: Automated Overnight Shortwave DXing, $17M Aroostook Superstation on the Market, Blessing EWTN, Radio Bulgaria QSL No. 11, and FM Deserves Protection Too

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

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 Dennis Dura and David Iurescia for the following tips:

NightDX: Automated Overnight Shortwave DX Listening with an Airspy HF+ (rtl-sdr.com)

Thank you to Marco Zennaro for writing in and sharing NightDX, a free terminal app for macOS, Windows and Linux that lets an Airspy HF+ do your overnight shortwave listening for you. The menu interface is deliberately styled like early-90s DOS software.

NightDX pulls the EiBi, AOKI and HFCC broadcast schedules, plus live solar flux and Kp from NOAA. A propagation model then predicts what should reach your location and calibrates itself against what your own radio hears. The HF+ sweeps all the bands in about 10 seconds to see which carriers are really there, and overnight NightDX records the best stations, putting ones you’ve never logged first.

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$17M Aroostook shortwave superstation is on the market – The County (The County)

A famed Aroostook broadcaster is selling one of the world’s most powerful shortwave radio stations.

Monticello’s WBCQ The Planet, an international AM/FM shortwave radio broadcast station and free speech platform, constructed the $17 million Monticello Maine Superstation for the World’s Last Chance Church in 2019.

“We are selling [or leasing] the assets of what we call the superstation facilities, one of the most powerful radio stations in the world,” said Allan Weiner, who co-owns and operates WBCQ with his wife, Angela Weiner. “The facility that we built for them is surplus to our needs. We’re trying to get the Voice of America, the government or the military to take it over or other private shortwave broadcasters in the country.”

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The Final Blessing of EWTN’s Shortwave Station WEWN – Radio World (Radio World)

As we reported, EWTN Global Catholic Network‘s shortwave radio station WEWN shut down its operations on Oct. 31 after 34 years.

The Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word shared photos with Radio World of the friars’ annual visit to the WEWN transmitter site atop Vandiver Mountain on Aug. 13 this year.

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QSL No. 11: 1970 – Construction begins of BNR’s “new” building (Bnrnews)

In 2026, Radio Bulgaria is confirming radio listeners’ reception reports with a new series of 12 QSL cards. Each card features an image highlighting a particular historical event connected with the history of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and its Radio Bulgaria programme, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary. At the beginning of each month, a special feature takes you behind the scenes of these images, revealing some interesting facts about them.The eleventh QSL card for 2026 is dedicated to the “new” building of the Bulgarian National Radio.In the late 1960s, a decision was taken to construct a new building to provide more office and technical space for the multi-channel national broadcaster and its numerous employees. The foundation stone of the new home of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) was laid on 17 August 1970.

The turning of the first sod for BNR’s new building, 17 August 1970

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Opinion: Hey Congress, FM Deserves Protection Too – Radio World (Radio World)

If Congress can act before the end of the year, it may yet require that AM stations can be heard in new automobiles in the United States. The House gave its assent in September.

Passage of the legislation would be great. It will restore to AM radio some value and provide a potential boost to listenership.

But what about FM? I’ve been giving this question some thought, and asking around.

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Radio Waves: EWTN to End Shortwave Service, Silver Lake FM Pirate KBLT, and NBC 100 Years Ago

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Original NBC Chimes. Photo taken at the NCRTV museum

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

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 David Iurescia, Dan Van Hoy, and Tracy Wood for the following tips:

EWTN Global Catholic Television Network: Catholic News, TV, Radio | EWTN (EWTN Global Catholic Television Network)

IRONDALE, Ala. — EWTN Global Catholic Network announced today the end of its shortwave radio service, WEWN, after 34 years of operation. The decision, approved by EWTN’s Board of Governors, will take effect Oct. 31, 2026.

Launched on Dec. 28, 1992, WEWN was EWTN’s first radio service, offering Catholic programming to national and international listeners in geographic regions where access to other forms of media was often limited. It also served as a catalyst for EWTN’s expansion into international television operations beginning in 1995. Since then, EWTN’s 11 global television channels and numerous regional channels have reached audiences in more than 160 countries and territories. EWTN Radio has grown to become an extensive network with over 600 AM/FM stations worldwide as well as satellite and digital platforms.

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’40 Watts From Nowhere’: How a Feisty Pirate Radio Station Stormed the Airwaves in 1990s Silver Lake With Help From the Red Hot Chili Peppers and More (Variety)

The 1990s were a very different time — especially in Silver Lake, California — once a fertile neighborhood of artists and musicians and now a pricey hot spot. Three decades ago, the indie music scene was flourishing with homegrown acts like Beck and Rilo Kiley, based around clubs like Spaceland and the Garage.

And for more than two heady years, music lovers within a mile or two of the Sunset Junction area could groove to the wildly eclectic sounds of KBLT, a pirate radio station that operated from 1995 to 1998.

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When NBC Radio Began 100 Years Ago – Radio World (Radio World)

The first broadcast of the National Broadcasting Company was heard on Nov. 15, 1926. Author John Schneider tells how it came about.

In the early years of the 20th century, the infant technology of radio was envisioned as a method of point-to-point communications. The transmission of one-to-many (i.e., broadcasting) was not yet envisioned.

Worldwide, the British Marconi Company dominated the technology through its control of key patents. Its subsidiary, American Marconi, operated key relay stations in the U.S. and controlled most land and sea radio communications.

After World War I, the U.S. Navy and federal government worried that wireless communication was in the hands of a foreign-owned company. As a solution, the government essentially forced American Marconi to sell its U.S. assets and patents to General Electric.

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Oxford Shortwave Log: dxing in the tropical rainforest of Pará, Brazil – part 1

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Hi there, I was fortunate enough recently for my work to take me to a very remote area of tropical rainforest in Pará, Northern Brazil and of course, I travelled with a shortwave radio. In fact I take a portable with me everywhere – even to work – just in case. During this trip I was using a Tecsun PL-680, for very specific reasons:

It can handle a longwire very well without overloading (I actually only used a 5 metre wire)
An excellent synchronous detection circuit and audio bandwidth filtering options
Excellent sensitivity, as demonstrating by the many DX reception videos on YouTube
If it got lost or damaged it would be a pain of course, but not difficult to replace

Although effectively travelling on business, I was hoping to find the time for a DXing session because I felt it would be really interesting to find out what could be heard on shortwave (and medium wave for that matter) out in the jungle, in the middle of nowhere! The environment was challenging – around 37/38 degrees C during the day and still 33 degrees C at 2 am, all day and night, every day and night! Furthermore, as you might imagine for a tropical location, the place was crawling with bugs lol, including mosquitos and thus a number of vaccinations were necessary, prior to the trip. Several days after arriving, I eventually managed to find the time for a DXing session in the jungle (with another the following week in Barcarena, on the coast).

So, what can you hear in the jungle? Part 1 of my group of reception videos follow below – I hope you enjoy them.

Tropical rainforest DX in Pará, Brazil: Radio Romania International 7335 kHz

Tropical rainforest SW in Pará, Brazil: Radio Nacional Brazilia 6180 kHz

Tropical rainforest DX in Pará, Brazil: WHRI 7385 kHz, Cypress Creek, Georgia, USA

Tropical rainforest DX in Pará, Brazil: Radio Mediterranee 9575 kHz, Nador, Morocco

Tropical rainforest DX in Pará, Brazil: EWTN (WEWN) 11520 kHz Vandiver, Alabama, USA

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.