Tag Archives: Radios in Movies

Bruce discovers a bit of Morse Code in “Picnic At Hanging Rock”

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(Image source: IMDB)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bruce Fisher, who writes:

I recorded this short piece of the soundtrack from the 3rd episode of the Picnic at Hanging Rock mini series– it’s being used as a part of the music to an eerie scene, and there is no telegraph or radio related visual corresponding to it. It certainly sounds like Morse Code to me, but I haven’t decoded it. Anyone?

(If you can’t see the embedded player above, click here to listen.)

Many thanks, Bruce! You certainly have sharp ears and are correct in assuming this is Morse Code. The spacing and cadence are a little awkward and jittery, however. I did a decode myself, but I’m curious what others might have heard.

Post readers: Please comment with what you heard in this code!

Ulis spots a brilliant radio illustration in Archer

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ulis, who shares the screenshot above–from the FX series Archer–via Twitter and notes:

I agree!  Kudos to the Archer team! That’s a brilliant and intricate illustration for an animated series. Thank you for sharing, Ulis!

I’ll add this post to our growing archive of radios in film.

Balazs spots radios in several movies and Netflix series

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Balazs, who has spotted a number of radios recently on Netflix. Balazs notes:

The Snow Walker (2003): Barry Pepper tries to fix a radio:

Maze Runner – The Death Cure (2018): as scanners:

The Rain – new Danish post-apocalyptic series from the Netflix: field comm found:

Many thanks for sharing these, Balazs!

Post readers: Do you recognize these radios? One looks a lot like an Icom marine radio. Please comment!

Transceiver discovered on Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Balázs Kovács, who writes:

[Found this radio on] Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 05 Episode 03 (on a spaceship in the future):

Great catch, Balázs! Can anyone name this modern ham radio transceiver? Please comment!

I’ll add this post to our growing archive of radios in film.

Radios spotted in “V” Sci-Fi Series

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Last week, I picked up the first season DVDs for the TV science fiction series “V” at our local library. I somehow missed this series when it was first produced in 2009–however, I do remember clearly the original 1984 series.

In the second half of the first season, a small group of resistance fighters created a makeshift basement headquarters for their operations. In many of the scenes, the camera would pan over a table with a compter (or laptop) and two radios. Both rigs appear to be transceivers or transmitters. Can anyone ID these sets?  Please comment!

I’ll add this post to our growing archive of radios in film.

Review of “A Quiet Place” in The Economist

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kevin Turinsky, who writes:

Just spotted a curious radio stack in an upcoming movie reviewed by The Economist:

Take a look:

“A Quiet Place” is high-concept horror at its best

John Krasinski transforms a B-movie conceit into a smart, nerve-shredding film

IN MOST cinemas, films are preceded by a polite request that patrons switch off their mobile phones. Wherever “A Quiet Place” is shown, that request should be upgraded to a legal requirement and transgressors should be frogmarched from the building. There is so little dialogue in this nerve-shredding post-apocalyptic survival chiller that it almost counts as a silent movie, and yet sound has rarely been more crucial to a story. The ingenious high-concept is that bloodthirsty, presumably alien, monsters have butchered most of humanity, but these near-indestructible crab-creatures are sightless so track their quarry using their super-sensitive ears. Silence, therefore, is more than golden. If somebody drops a cup or sneezes, they might well be punished with a foot-long claw through the belly, so any viewer who breaks the spell by letting their phone ring deserves a similar, if not so extreme, punishment.[…]

Click here to read the full review at The Economist online.

Thanks for the tip, Kevin! That screen shot at the top of the post contains so many radio sets–including a lovely Zenith Transoceanic!

William first reported this film a couple weeks ago here on the Post. I watched the trailer and it does seem to be rather suspenseful. Perhaps a new take on the zombie genre. I imagine there are no small number of radios to be spotted in A Quiet Place…

Thanks again, Kevin!

Have any readers watched the film yet? Please comment!

“The Shape of Water” features a benchmark Cold War receiver

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Hawkins, who writes:

The Academy Award for Best Picture of 2018 goes to Guillermo de Toro’s “The Shape of Water.”

This celebrated shortwave radio appears several times in the move as a prop for the Cold War-era control room of Richard Strickland (played by Michael Shannon).

Oh what a celebrated shortwave radio indeed! How could it be a Cold War without this benchmark boat anchor?!? Thanks for this fantastic addition to to our growing archive of radios in film, Dan!

Post readers: Anyone recognize or–better yet–own this amazing machine? Please comment!