Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes:
Thomas,
I’ve been deep down the k-drama rabbit hole for months now and I’m trying to familiarise myself with the Korean language at the same time.
I’ve just started a new series called ‘Taxi Driver’ and this radio cassette player popped up in the first episode. It shouts ‘shortwave receiver’ to me, but what I think is the manufacturer logo is blacked out in the top left corner.
I’m wondering if anyone recognises the model; it has a late seventies Panasonic or Sony vibe to me.
Mark
Readers: please comment if you can identify this radio for Mark!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes:
Thomas,
I recently picked up a couple of DVD boxsets of Hawaii Five Oh from my local charity shop.
These old shows are always an interesting watch, giving insights into fashions, cars, cultural norms and story lines from the time.
I spotted these radios, sometimes used for exposition or just props in various episodes.
Mark
Thank you for sharing, Mark! I bet readers can recognize all of these fine vintage radios! The top photo might be the trickiest in terms of narrowing down the exact model.
I haven’t watched Hawaii Five Oh in decades. It would be fun to rewatch a few episodes–I loved that show in my youth!
Photo by Parker Coffman on Unsplash
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst who shares the following video from Practical Engineering on YouTube:
Click here to view on YouTube.
As I’ve mentioned in past articles, I believe taking some precautions against EMPs is important. While I feel that an intentional nuclear EMP is unlikely, our local star can cause even more damage to an even larger portion of our planet if it decides to cause a solar storm like the Carrington Event.
For an in-depth look at practical ways you can protect your gear from EMPs (and dispel a few myths), check out our interview with Dave (NM0S) in this EMP primer.
(Source: The Guardian via Mark Hirst)
Corporation to end production of radio output in 10 languages, including Chinese, Hindi and Arabic, as it blames licence fee freeze
The BBC has announced deep cuts to its World Service output that will result in the loss of hundreds of jobs, saying it has been forced to act by the government’s ongoing licence fee freeze.
In a move that could weaken the UK’s soft power around the world, the corporation will stop producing radio output in 10 languages, including Chinese, Hindi, and Arabic.
BBC Persian will end its audio broadcasts aimed at Iran, with the announcement coming at a time when widespread protests are taking place in the country.
There will also be a change in focus of the World Service’s English-language radio output, with more time dedicated to live news and sports programming at the expense of standalone programmes.
About 382 jobs will be lost as a result of the proposals, which the BBC said was required to make £28.5m of annual savings. The broadcaster blamed years of below-inflation licence fee freezes imposed by the government, in addition to the rapidly increasing cost of producing programmes because of the state of the economy.
Philippa Childs of the broadcasting union Bectu said she recognised the BBC needed to adapt to the digital era but that the government’s licence fee freeze has “potential ramifications for the BBC’s reputation globally”.
The World Service was traditionally funded directly by the government and was seen as a soft power tool that provided British news and information to hundreds of millions of people around the globe. This money largely dried up as part of George Osborne’s austerity measures in 2010, when the bill for World Service operations was loaded on to domestic licence fee payers.
Since then the BBC has had to go cap-in-hand to the government to seek extra funding to support specific World Service projects, with ministers providing around £400m in additional cash since 2016. However, there are doubts about how long these deals will continue. Earlier this year the BBC had to ask ministers for an emergency £4m to keep its operations in Ukraine and Russia on air. [Continue reading at The Guardian…]
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes:
Thomas,
I spotted this radio from an episode of the Rockford Files in a story about Russian spies.
According to IMDB, the episode, “A Material Difference” aired in February 1979.
https://www.rigpix.com/atlas/210x.htm
Mark
Thanks so much for sharing this, Mark. You’ve got sharp eyes!
I remember watching The Rockford Files as a kid. I think it’s time to re-watch some of those episodes. Thanks again, Mark!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who shares the following guest post:
by Mark Hirst
IntroductionA recent guest post on this blog by Jock Elliott asked the question, ‘Why Listen to Shortwave?’
The comment I left at the time was my interest in how nations view themselves, and how they project that view to the world. This might be in the form of cultural exports like music, or teaching us about famous people or revered institutions in their country.
When I first started listening to shortwave in the early eighties, I never got into the habit of asking for QSL cards, being quite thrilled enough to receive programme guides in envelopes stamped with the postmark of other countries.
At the time, the primary stations for me included Radio Netherlands, Radio Sweden, Swiss Radio International, and the Voice of America. While most might send a small leaflet about their country with a frequency schedule, the information pack I received from the Voice of America stands head and shoulders above the others.
I thought readers might be interested in a brief description of this pack and with it a glimpse back into the world of 1983.
Please note that as you read the following sections, you can click on the images to view a larger version.
The package arrived in a manila envelope, with the logo and address of the VOA printed in the top left corner. In the top right corner is the logo of US Mail, with a declaration that postage and fees where paid for by the US Information Agency.
Package contents included:
This guide begins by outlining the mission of the VOA, emphasising its aim to be an authoritative and reliable source of news. Continue reading
