Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent NHK World broadcast.
Carlos’ goal is to vividly illustrate the broadcaster’s message in his own unique artistic style and is not a reflection of his own beliefs or those of the SWLing Post. His objective is for his artwork to add historical context and put a visual with the news, reporting, and broadcast content:
Carlos notes:
Listening in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, on shortwave frequency of 12095 kHz, US-based Cold War-era evangelical radio station FEBC, broadcasting from The Philippines to Hmong mountain tribes.
Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio
Because 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’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Richard, Michael Bird, for the following tips:
LA MIRADA, CA – Two students attending Southern California Bible College were given the vision to establish the Far East Broadcasting Company, which they incorporated in 1945.
Their initial broadcasting location was in Shanghai in the midst of the Chinese people whom the Lord had laid upon their hearts. The effort was short-lived, however, when China closed its doors to all missionary work in 1948.
Some people would have considered that to be the death of the vision. Not Bob Bowman, John Broger, or their supportive pastor, William Roberts. The vision remained the same, FEBC would have to find a different location.
On June 4, 1948, FEBC regenerated from station KZAS in Manila. By 1949, FEBC was equipped to air broadcasts from the Philippines, across the South China Sea, and into parts of China.
Now celebrating its 72nd year of continuous operations, Far East Broadcasting Company has expanded multiplied times and broadened its ministry to include AM, FM, shortwave, satellite, internet, and other digital technologies.[…]
As theaters across the world have closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, they’ve scrambled to find ways get work to the public.
Some have made archival video of productions available, some have created Zoom plays and some have returned to an old art form — radio drama — but with a digital twist.
In the 1930s, with many people out of work, families huddled around radio receivers to listen to audio plays, like Orson Welles’ famous broadcast, War of the Worlds.
“Orson Welles began his career as a theater actor and director,” says Adam Greenfield, artistic director for New York’s Playwrights Horizons. “And I think he’s able to really utilize the full potential of what audio can do.”
Taking cues from Welles’ success, Greenfield commissioned a new series of audio plays for podcast called Soundstage. He planned to release them this summer, when the theater was dark, but because of the pandemic he hustled them online.
The first podcast released was Prime: A Practical Breviary by songwriter and performer Heather Christian. It’s based on the 6:00 a.m. rite, or breviary, of solo contemplation for nuns and monks.[…]
It is hard to be remembered in the electronics business. Edison gets a lot of credit, as does Westinghouse and Tesla. In the radio era, many people know Marconi and de Forest (although fewer remember them every year), but less know about Armstrong or Maxwell. In the solid-state age, we tend to remember people like Shockley (even though there were others) and maybe Esaki.
If you knew most or all of those names without looking them up, you are up on your electronics history. But do you know the name Rufus Turner?
W3LF
Turner was born on Christmas Day, 1907 in Houston, Texas. At the age of 15, he became fascinated by crystal diodes and published his first article about radio when he was 17. Rufus Turner was–among other things–the first black licensed radio operator (W3LF). He was building and operating radios in Washington D.C., where he was attending Armstrong Tech.
Turner became a licensed professional engineer in California and Massachusetts. You may have even used something that Turner worked on. In the 1940’s, working with Sylvania, he helped to develop the 1N34A germanium diode (you can still buy these if you look around for them).[…]
Register now for Free Foundation Online Training course (Southgate ARC)
The next free amateur radio Foundation Online training course run by volunteers from Essex Ham starts on Sunday, June 21
The Coronavirus outbreak and the RSGB’s introduction of online exams that can be taken at home has led to a surge in demand for free online amateur radio training courses such as that run by Essex Ham.
To cope with the high-demand from people wanting to get their amateur radio licence, the Essex Ham Team have been running an additional online training course each month. The next course starts on June 21.
It was my privilege to work at KGEI as a broadcast engineer and antenna rigger with FEBC from 1981-85. After that we went off to serve FEBC in Davao City in the Philippines. Never had any problems with the 50KW GE transmitter except one night when a driver tube failed. Nice to have a transmitter you could walk into! It was back on the air in about 45 min with a new tube. Mario Barahona was the main announcer most nights faithfully bring the Good News from the Voice of Friendship in Spanish.
I also painted the building tan with a dark brown trim while I was there. As I recall, I painted the KGEI name in dark brown too. The biggest project for me was helping install the TCI 16 folded dipole slewable array with reflecting screen stretched between two 365 ft tall towers. I was the only antenna rigger on the project.
The 250KW transmitter was primarily used for Russian broadcasts over the North Pole using the TCI antenna. The ERP was somewhere between 15-20 million watts depending on how the antenna was slewed. We were often heard loud and clear in a variety of home devices in nearby Foster City. I called the 250KW transmitter the worlds biggest Heathkit. It was ably maintained by an amazing radio engineer named Loch Gordon. Jack Brooks, WA6DBT, was the station manager. Hiley Rainer was the jack of all trades do it all engineer. It was one of the most enjoyable periods of my life.
Wow, Dan…I had no idea! Thank you for sharing those wonderful memories. I can’t imagine singlehandedly installing the antennas you did! I need to call you next time I have an antenna hanging party!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood, who notes:
New construction – a 250 kw FEBC medium wave outlet coming southwest of Seoul. BTW, FEBC currently leases at least one hour of VOA-Korean on FEBC 1188 khz Seoul.
Communist North Korea is about to get hit with a massive new radio signal carrying the message of Christ’s love like never before.
“It’s an AM station, 250,000 watts, which will clearly cover North Korea,” said Ed Cannon, president of Far East Broadcasting Company, also known as FEBC.
For over 75 years, FEBC has been using radio signals to send the message of Jesus Christ around the world.
Cannon says this new “super station” will be erected close to the border of North and South Korea.
“We’ve secured a location on the western coast of South Korea just a few miles south of the Demilitarized Zone,” Cannon told CBN News. “It’s a perfect location because the signal goes across the ocean for a few miles and then goes right into North Korea.”
FEBC’s president says the radio signal will launch in a few months and will carry gospel programs produced from neighboring South Korea.
“The strategy of our organization is to use indigenous people in their native language to produce programming,” Cannon said. “We have a large segment of South Korean people broadcasting and we also have a number of escapees, refugees from North Korea, who’ve come to our organization.”
Cannon claims the signal will be “unblockable” by North Korea’s regime and will “reach far past the northern boundary of North Korea covering the entire country with the message of Jesus Christ.”
According to its website, FEBC’s broadcasts can be heard in 107 languages and 49 countries from 149 stations and transmitters.
“Our goal in North Korea is the same as it is in all of our other countries: to share the gospel through radio so that people will be inspired to follow Jesus Christ as their Savior,” Cannon told CBN News in an earlier interview.
North Korea is the most dangerous country in the world for Christians. Cannon says anyone caught listening to FEBC programs faces severe consequences.
“The {North Korean} refugees themselves say ‘pray for courage, pray for perseverance’ because the Christians are reaching out in ways to gather together in the Name of Christ, to pray together, to listen to the radio together, and they are willing to endure severe persecution,” Cannon told CBN News.
Each year, Open Doors USA releases their World Watch List, a ranking of the 50 countries where Christians face the most persecution.
North Korea has taken the top spot for 18 years in a row.
“If Christians are discovered, not only are they deported to labor camps as political criminals or even killed on the spot, their families will share their fate as well,” Open Doors asserted on their website. “Christians do not even have the slightest space in society, on the contrary, they are publicly warned against.”
