Tag Archives: NASWA

Registration for the 2024 “Winter SWL Fest” is now available!

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, who shares the following announcement:

David Goren (left) and Richard Cuff (right) during the Shindig live broadcast at the Winter SWL Fest.

Registration for the 2024 “Winter SWL Fest” is now available!

The Fest will be May 10th & 11th, 2024.

The Fest will be a combination in-person and Zoom event, and will be held at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania – just north of Philadelphia. We have a block of rooms set aside for the Fest at a special rate; this block will only be available until April 18th, 2024. After that date our special rate may no longer be available, and the hotel itself may sell out.

In-person registration is limited to 65 participants, so register early if you don’t want to get shut out; there is no limit to the number of Zoom participants.

Start your process at the Winter SWL Fest website: http://www.swlfest.com

You can find out more information there, and access the group reservation link for the hotel and also register for either the in-person or the Zoom event.

We apologize if you’re seeing this announcement in multiple places; we wanted to get the news out there as quickly as possible since we have tight deadlines this year.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Richard Cuff and John Figliozzi, co-Festmeisters

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Archive of NASWA FRENDX Journals on World Radio History website

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Gavaras, who writes:

Hi Thomas,

I hope you are having a great summer.

In the event you are not aware, there is a large collection of NASWA magazines available online from 1971-2008 including an issue from 1962.: https://worldradiohistory.com/NASWA_Frendx.htm

I see that there are also many issues from SPEEDX from 1971-1995: https://worldradiohistory.com/Speedx.htm

Best regards,

Tom

Many thanks for the tip, Tom!  The World Radio History website is such a treasure trove of radio history and nostalgia! 

I opened and read a few 1970s era NASWA journals this morning and am so happy to see quite a few names of SWLs/DXers who are still active radio enthusiasts!

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Wave Farm’s Short Waves / Long Distance Open Call 2022

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(Source: Wave Farm via David Goren)

Short Waves / Long Distance Open Call 2022

Wave Farm, Montez Press Radio, and The North American Shortwave Association are pleased to announce “Short Waves / Long Distance,” an open call for works exploring the sonics of the shortwave radio spectrum (2-30 mHz), and the experience of long distance listening. The call is in conjunction with the 35th Anniversary of the Winter Shortwave Listener’s Fest and Wave Farm’s 25th Anniversary, both of which will be celebrated in 2022.

Selected works will be:

Submission Deadline: January 31, 2022

Submission Guidelines and Instructions:

  • Submissions are welcomed from all genres.
  • Both pre-existing and newly created works are eligible. Please note: Works submitted to the 2017 Open Call are ineligible, regardless of their selection status.
  • Works should not exceed ten minutes in duration.

Shortwave Listening Resources:

 

Click Here to Access the Online Submission Form

Jury and Notification Schedule:

  • A jury comprised of representatives from The Shortwave Shindig, Montez Press Radio, and Wave Farm will review submissions.
  • Selections will be announced in late February 2022

About The Shortwave Shindig
The Shortwave Shindig is a live immersion into the wavering, noisy sounds of the shortwave radio spectrum. Live performances, presentations and extended, multi-layered audio mixes combine real time and archival shortwave sounds, taking the listener on a guided tour through the atmospheric neighborhoods where shortwave stations cluster. Reels of archival audio and a bank of receivers are on hand for tuning-in to the distant, elusive sounds of the shortwave bands. http://www.shortwaveology.net/shortwave-shindig/

About the Winter SWL Fest
The Winter Shortwave Listener’s Fest (March 4th-5th 2022) is a conference of radio hobbyists of all stripes who listen to frequencies from “DC to daylight.” Every year scores of hobbyists descend on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburbs for a weekend of camaraderie and talking radio. The Fest is sponsored by NASWA, the North American Shortwave Association, but it covers much more than just shortwave. Additional topics include Medium wave (AM), VHF scanning, satellite TV, and pirate broadcasting. http://www.swlfest.com/

About Montez Press Radio
Montez Press Radio is an experimental broadcasting and performance platform. Founded in 2018 with the goal of fostering greater experimentation and conversation between artists, writers, and thinkers through the medium of radio, MPR allows different corners of the art world to interact with each other in person and on air—a place where media finally meets flesh. We’re drawn to art that exists in the unexpected, the authenticity of sharing without a script, the sounds of ideas in the making, conversation that forgets there’s an audience. We also like books. All in-studio broadcasts are free and open to the public. Stop by when we’re live at 46 Canal Street #2 in NYC or look at the upcoming schedule to see if we’re off-site and broadcasting near you. https://radio.montezpress.com

About Wave Farm
Wave Farm is a non-profit arts organization driven by experimentation with broadcast media and the airwaves. A pioneer of the Transmission Arts genre, Wave Farm provides access to transmission technologies and supports artists and organizations that engage with media and the electromagnetic spectrum as an art form. Wave Farm’s Residency Program provides artists working within the Transmission Arts genre opportunities to research and create new works. Wave Farm’s Archives document and contextualize this work, including the Wave Farm Radio Art Archive, which is a project of an annual fellowship program. The Transmission Art Installation park features long-term projects installed on Wave Farm’s 29-acres in Acra, NY. These projects amplify the environment revealing what is otherwise unheard or unseen. Wave Farm’s WGXC-FM is a full-power, non-commercial, listener-supported station in New York’s Upper Hudson Valley operating out of dedicated studios in Acra and Hudson, NY; as well as pop-up temporary studio locations throughout the listening area and beyond. WGXC transmits 3,300 watts to more than 78,000 potential listeners on 90.7-FM and unlimited international listeners at wavefarm.org/listen. Hands-on access and par­ticipation distinguish WGXC as a public platform for information, experimenta­tion, and engagement. https://wavefarm.org

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Should web-based SDR loggings be included and shared in regular logging columns?

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Operating a KiwiSDR in Iceland from my vacation spot in Québec (circa 2018).

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, who writes:

Radyo Pilipinas is one of those English language stations that are not very likely to make to my Pennsylvania location, even under excellent conditions, simply because propagation of their frequencies wouldn’t reach eastern North America when they’re on the air.

Web tunable SDRs change all that…I caught them today from 0315 to their 0330 signoff on 15640 and 17620, in English, with a chatty travelogue program.

I was listening via an Indonesian Kiwi SDR located in Jakarta.

I’m left wondering — is there interest in reporting logs like this? We wouldn’t normally include them in the regular Loggings column in the NASWA Journal, because I’m not tuning my radio, I’m in front of a computer screen tuning half a world away.

FWIW, Radyo PIlipinas broadcasts in English daily from 0200 to 0330 on 15640, 17700 (announced but not heard) and 17620 kHz.

73 – Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA (virtually in Jakarta, Indonesia…)

Wow–what a great question, Rich.

I suspect some DXers have very strong feelings about WebSDR loggings, both for and against.

In terms of loggings columns with various radio clubs and organizations, I suppose it’s up to the governing body to decide. As you say, I suspect it will come down to whether or not remote radio operation counts. With a KiwiSDR, for example, you’re controlling a remote receiver–one that is physically located in a known geographic spot–and the audio is being piped over the Internet. I know it wouldn’t be in the spirit of the thing if you submitted logs implying you’d logged Radyo Pilipinas from your home receiver and antenna. If, however, you disclose that you were using a remote RX station in Jakarta, the logging would be accurate. Whether or not it’s allowed is a separate issue.

Anyone care to share their constructive comments? What do you think about WebSDR loggings? Please comment.

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Open Call for Sound Works: Short Waves / Long Distance

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(Source: Wave Farm via David Goren)shortwave-long-distance

Open Call for Sound Works:

SHORT WAVES / LONG DISTANCE

Wave Farm and The North American Shortwave Association are pleased to announce “Short Waves / Long Distance,” an open call for works exploring the sonics of the shortwave radio spectrum (2-30 mHz), and the experience of long-distance listening. The call is in conjunction with the 30th Anniversary of the Winter Shortwave Listener’s Fest and Wave Farm’s 20th Anniversary, both of which will be celebrated in 2017.

Selected works will be:

Submission Deadline: January 31, 2017

Submission Guidelines and Instructions:
• Submissions are welcomed from all genres.
• Both pre-existing and newly created works are eligible.
• Works should not exceed ten minutes in duration.
• Shortwave Listening Resources:
Shortwave Receivers Online: KiwiSDR, Global Tuners, WebSDR
Frequency Guides and Schedules: Short-Wave.info, ShortwaveSchedule.com
Receiver Reviews and Listening Tips: SWLing.com, DXing.com
Shortwave History: On the Short Waves, The Shortwave Radio Audio Archive
• Artists seeking additional ways to record shortwave sounds are encouraged to contact David Goren for guidance at [email protected].

Click Here to Access the Online Submission Form

Jury and Notification Schedule:
• A jury comprised of The Shortwave Shindig’s David Goren, and Wave Farm’s Galen Joseph-Hunter and Jess Puglisi will review submissions.
• Selections will be announced in February 2017.

About Ràdio WEB MACBA
Ràdio Web MACBA is a radiophonic project from the Museum of Contemporary Art of Barcelona that explores the possibilities of the internet and radio as spaces of research, creation, synthesis and exhibition. Their shows are available on demand, and as a podcast subscription, and depart from contemporary thinking, philosophy, contemporary art, sound art and everything in between. The INTERRUPTIONS series features a theme-based musical selection and a related essay, which aims to explore the potentiality of two very different modes of engagement, text and sound, and the relationship and bridges that can be built between them. http://rwm.macba.cat/

About The Shortwave Shindig
The Shortwave Shindig is a live immersion into the wavering, noisy sounds of the shortwave radio spectrum. Live performances, presentations and extended, multi-layered audio mixes combine real time and archival shortwave sounds, taking the listener on a guided tour through the atmospheric neighborhoods where shortwave stations cluster. Reels of archival audio and a bank of receivers and are on hand for tuning-in to the distant, elusive sounds of the shortwave bands. http://www.shortwaveology.net/shortwave-shindig/

About the Winter SWL Fest
The Winter Shortwave Listener’s Fest (March 2nd-4th 2017) is a conference of radio hobbyists of all stripes who listen to frequencies from “DC to daylight.” Every year scores of hobbyists descend on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburbs for a weekend of camaraderie and talking radio. The Fest is sponsored by NASWA, the North American Shortwave Association, but it covers much more than just shortwave. Additional topics include Medium wave (AM), VHF scanning, satellite TV, and pirate broadcasting. http://www.swlfest.com/

About Wave Farm
Wave Farm is a non-profit arts organization driven by experimentation with broadcast media and the airwaves. Wave Farm programs—Transmission Arts, WGXC-FM, and Media Arts Grants—provide access to transmission technologies and support artists and organizations that engage with media as an art form. Wave Farm’s WGXC 90.7-FM is a creative community radio station. Hands-on access and participation activate WGXC as a public platform for information, experimentation, and engagement. Over 100 volunteer programmers produce shows, and WGXC commits over 60 hours a week to transmission art and experimental sound. https://wavefarm.org/

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The Worldwide Listening Guide: the content DXer’s handbook

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WWLG-7th-EditionI’m very pleased to have just received the 7th edition of John Figliozzi’s Worldwide Listening Guide (WWLG), the latest, most updated version of the excellent guide I’ve often reviewed.

As I’ve said, you may want a copy of the WWLG in your shack, especially alongside your computer or Wi-Fi radio.

SWLing Post readers know that I’m a huge fan of the Word Radio TV Handbook (WRTH); it’s my go-to guide for radio frequencies and schedules. Well, Figliozzi’s Worldwide Listening Guide is my go-to for programming and content, not only helpful on the shortwaves, but also handy when tracking online content.

WWLG: The Content DXers Guide

Like many SWLs, I’m something of a “Content DXer:” I love chasing obscure programming––news, documentaries, music, and variety shows, anything the broadcasting world has to offer.  For this, I often turn to Wi-Fi radio.  Wi-Fi radio offers the discerning listener the ability to track down fascinating regional content from every corner of the globe––content never actually intended for an international audience.

But the fact is, there’s so much content out there, it’s hard to know where to start. This is where the WWLG comes in: Figliozzi exhaustively curates more than 4,000 programs (!), indexing their airing times, stations, days of broadcast, program types, frequencies, and web addresses. Additionally, he sorts the programs by genre:  arts, culture, history, music, sports, and more. And Figliozzi also includes a well-thought-out directory of at least forty genres.   In short, this directory has helped me not just locate, but identify, programming I would never have known about otherwise.

Frankly, I’m not sure how Figliozzi manages to curate such a vast assortment of programming.  But I’m happy that he does, and especially, that he offers it for the SWL’s benefit––!

Thus the WWLG  has become a permanent reference book in my shack, alongside my trusty WRTH. There’s a surprising amount of information packed into this slim, spiral-bound book…enough to keep even a seasoned DXer contented for years.

The 7th edition of Worldwide Listening Guide can be purchased here:

With a retail price under $25, I feel like the WWLG is an excellent bargain.

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