Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Ron Chester, Benn Kobb, Chuck Rippel, Pietschman, Dennis Dura, and Dave Zantow for the following tips:

“Market Makers” Want to Expand Their Use of Shortwave (Radio World)

The FCC seeks comments on a proposal to use HF spectrum for financial data

The FCC is taking public comment on a proposal to revise the rules governing the frequencies above 2 MHz and below 25 MHz.

The Shortwave Modernization Coalition thinks the 2-25 MHz band is underused and wants to use it for the long-distance transmission of time-sensitive data from fixed stations. The users would be companies working with certain kinds of financial transactions; the proposal would prohibit voice transmission and mobile operations.

The firms in the coalition are “market makers and liquidity providers” for exchange-traded financial instruments.

This high-frequency trading industry has in fact been using shortwave links for several years to send trading data between U.S. and foreign exchanges, but it has done so under experimental authorizations. [Continue reading…]

QTC: I Have a Message for You (Archive.org)

Many thanks to Bill Pietschman who notes that the book “QTC: I Have a Message for You” has now been published on Archive.org for all to read and download free of charge. Bill writes:

I knew Ray Redwood, and besides being a Professional radio operator, he was indeed a Ham’s Ham. You will find here not just the story of radio, but a detailed analysis of the Titanic, from a radioman’s point of view. Part documentary, part autobiography, and part technical, it’s a great read. I’m so glad that his work has been preserved here. Future radio historians will, I am certain, find it to be a valuable record of the Ship Radio Officers Era, and Ray’s insights at the dawning of the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System as we have today which utilizes satellite technology.

Click here to check out QTC: I Have a Message for You on Archive.org.

The Golden Years of Shortwave Listening (YouTube)

There was a time, some 50 years ago when cell phones didn’t exist and computers were only owned by large corporations, that people learned of the world around them by listening to shortwave radio. This is a journey back to that time to hear the sounds and see the correspondence from shortwave stations from all over the world. Sit back, listen and enjoy!