Tag Archives: Radios in Movies

Dean spots a radio in Pulp Fiction and shares a little shortwave by train

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dean Bonanno, who writes:

Hi Thomas –

I was re-watching one of my all time favorite movies yesterday, Pulp Fiction, and noticed a radio in a scene for a second or two [see image above]. It went by so fast I thought it might have been a Trans Oceanic 7000 at first but upon looking backing and stopping film, it is an Arvin Radio. I was wondering if anyone knew model/year.

I also included a video clip of Radio Tumbril Encore from aboard Amtrak’s Capitol Limited for exactly a week ago. I did some DXing while crossing the country by train. The video is near Pennsylvania/Maryland border (near you perhaps) on WRMI 15770 in 1300utc hour (enlarge video you can red it on PL 880 screen). I have another video while pulling into Cumberland, MD. Continue reading →

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Fukkatsu no hi: Emilio believes this post-apocalyptic Japanese film has a message

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Emilio, who writes:

Hi Thomas

I hope you are healthy. A few weeks ago, I got COVID-19; fortunately, I got the vaccine a few weeks ago, so my symptoms were minimal. Today only a little cough remains.

In my isolation, I listened to a lot shortwave radio and watch many old movies, including this one:

Fukkatsu no Hi–literally Day of Resurrection, also known as “Virus”–is a 1980 post-apocalyptic science fiction film about an advanced virus wiping out all life on Earth except 863 people in Antarctica. “

Below I’ll share a scene from the film–some mixed emotions about this scene as Japanese actors react.

So this is why need teach to young and kids the basic radio communication, and perhaps handle of armament. Ha ha! 😀

Wow! This is great–thank you for sharing this, Emilio! I do hope you’re feeling better. I’m glad shortwave radio and post-apocalyptic Japanese films have given you refuge as your recuperate! I’ve gotten a number of messages recently from SWLing Post contributors out there who recently contracted a variant of Covid-19.

Readers, take some practical measures to avoid getting and spreading the virus, and stay healthy out there! We don’t want to lose any more of our radio community to this nasty bug.

Be well and happy DX!

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Santiago spots a Soviet-era portable in “The Queen’s Gambit”

Radio Cameos in Japanese Cinema

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jon, who writes:

Good day,

I regularly visit the SWLing Post and very much appreciate the breadth of content you provide on the shortwave hobby. In between the receiver reviews and stories on broadcaster activities, I much enjoy the pieces showing the radio gear that folks notice in television/films. Over the course of the COVID19 pandemic, I have been watching a lot of films from Japan, and in the process have spotted quite a few interesting receivers here and there. Below are some photos and details on some of these unsung stars of Japanese cinema. I think that JRC enthusiast Dan Robinson will agree with me that it’s the ensemble cast of JRCs in Virus that steal the show! 🙂

1. Masahiro Shinoda’s 1961 Epitaph to My Love opened with a very nice shot of a Sony TR-812 multi-band portable in a scene where a news broadcast is being heard in a bar setting.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/sony_tr_812_tr812.html

2. A Sony AFM-152J is shown in a contemporary home setting in Hiroshi Teshigahara’s 1966 film The Face of Another.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/sony_fmam_automatic_tuning_radio_esaki_diode_afm_152j.html

3. Kihachi Okamoto’s 1978 sci-fi film Blue Christmas featured a brief shot of a Sony ICF-7600 – the first of a legendary line of Sony portables that would carry “7600” in their designation.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/sony_icf_7600.html

4. There were several radio appearances in Kinji Fukasaku’s 1980 Virus – a film that took disaster movies to a new level by depicting both a global pandemic and a nuclear holocaust.

A range of JRC gear was captured in a scene that was set in a Japanese Antarctic base. Identifiable rigs include the NRD-10 and the NRD-71.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/jrc_nrd_10nrd1.html
https://www.rigpix.com/jrc/jrc_nrd71.htm

In another scene from the Antarctic base, a Trio (Kenwood) TS-820S is shown powered up.

https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/trio_kenwo_ts_820s_ts820s.html

5. Lastly, we have an unidentified tube receiver from Masahiro Shinoda’s Childhood Days – an interesting 1990 film about a school aged boy in World War II era Japan who, because of the bombing threat, is sent from his Tokyo home to live in a rural village.

Thank you for sharing this, Jon! It’s wonderful to include radio sightings from Japanese cinema in our ever-growing collection of radios in movies!

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Dan spots a number of radios in the Netflix series “Sweet Tooth”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Van Hoy (VR2HF), who notes that he spotted a number of radios including the Kenwood TS-930S in the new Netflix series, Sweet Tooth (see above). He writes:

[Also] seen in the last minutes of the final episode of season one: An AWA (Amalgamated Wireless Australasia) Teleradio Model 110H HF SSB transceiver.

Interesting history about AWA:

[Also spotted] test equipment plus all kinds of other gadgets in the zoo sanctuary.

Very cool–thank you for sharing this, Dan! That Teleradio Model 110 looks like a fascinating set! I’ve never seen one before.

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Antenna array on NBC television show “Debris”

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

Hi Thomas,
I recently watched an episode of a science-fiction tv series on NBC called “Debris”. There was a brief scene of an antenna array and the following dialogue:

“What is this place?”
“It was used to transmit news reports to the Allied Nations during World War Two.”
“Voice of America?“
“Yes, yes. And also shortwave radio communication with spies…”
Can anyone identify this location and the veracity of the information?

Thanks for sharing this, Bruce! I’m certain some of our savvy readers can positively ID this transmitting site. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a military site rather than the VOA.

Please comment!

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Adi discovers a portable receiver on the set of “La Chinoise”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adi, who writes:

I was reading something in the paper where Jean-Luc Godard’s La Chinoise (1967) was mentioned. So I googled for it and found just a trailer, when this set was popped for few frames: