Tag Archives: Shortwave Radio

Radio Waves: Georgia LPFM Wants More Power, Radio Bulgaria QSL #8, Preserving Radio Mogadishu, Shortwave HQ Updates, and Joining the CIDX

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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 Dennis Dura, David Iurescia, and Michael Smith for the following tips:

Georgia LPFM Asks FCC to Raise Power Due to Atmospheric Conditions (Radio World)

Valdosta operator says “suspicious phenomenon” is preventing LPFM from reaching potential

[…]WFAG(LP) operates on 89.7 FM with 100 watts of ERP in Valdosta. “Supra 89.7” is licensed to the nonprofit Valdosta Alliance.

In a letter addressed to Chairman Brendan Carr, the alliance’s general manager, Paula Greer, said that the “serious, suspicious phenomenon of apparent ‘ducting’” or “illegal broadcasting” has been preventing the community project from maximizing its potential. [Continue reading…]

QSL Card No. 8: First Bulgarian radio manufacturing factory (Radio Bulgaria)

Throughout 2026, Radio Bulgaria is confirming listeners’ reception reports with a new series of 12 QSL cards. Each card highlights a significant moment from the history of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and Radio Bulgaria, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. At the beginning of each month, we present the story behind the image featured on the latest card.

The eighth QSL card for 2026 is dedicated to Svetozar Prenerov’s first Bulgarian radio manufacturing factory.

In 1925, Svetozar Prenerov, an engineer who had just completed his education in France, received an invitation to take part in the Philips project to manufacture radio sets in the Netherlands. However, the young engineer turned down this tempting offer, deciding instead to manufacture radio sets in his homeland. Thus, in 1925, the ‘Elektron’ craft workshop began operations under the leadership of Svetozar and his brother Veselin, producing ‘Universal’ linear radio sets. [Read more at Radio Bulgaria…]

Safeguarding memory before it disappears – Preserving the Radio Mogadishu archive (UNESCO)

Click here to watch on YouTube.

ShortwaveHQ Database Updates

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael (KM7FMJ), who notes that his ShortwaveHQ directory has recently received a number of updates. Most notably, the site’s search now draws from the full EIBI A-26 schedule, with more than 4,800 entries covering 309 stations. Check it out here!

Join the CIDX

If you aren’t already a member of the Canadian International DX Club (CIDX), one of the many excellent international shortwave radio clubs, here’s a good example of what you’re missing. The August 2026 issue of the CIDX Messenger runs an impressive 73 pages and includes a feature asking, “Do People Still Listen to the Radio?“, a look at why young Africans continue to listen to radio, Canadian Radio News, and much more. The CIDX also hosts monthly Zoom meetings, with the next scheduled for August 16. All of this is available to members for a very modest membership cost. If you’re not a member, consider joining and supporting one of the organizations that continues to keep the international DX community connected. Click here to check out the CIDX!

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A swimming pool, RFI and a lightning strike: My SWLing Story

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by Troy Riedel

New readers will not recognize my name.

Longtime readers may not recognize my name, but chances are you may remember my story.

I once contributed posts to this Blog … until … ‘the swimming pool’. During COVID, my wife decided she wanted an in-ground swimming pool. The construction started in May 2020 and was completed in May 2022 (note: my pool contractor is now out of business; he ruined another company’s business as a ‘partner’, has many lawsuits filed against him, and I know he’s served time in jail under work release – all subsequent to our project).

No exaggeration.

If you’re interested in reading the entire story of my problem, I’ll refer you to my last two posts here:

For those who don’t have time to catch up, here’s an overview:

Late in the pool construction after the bonding was installed and the concrete deck was poured, I turned on my collection of portable shortwave radios, and I experienced the worst, most horrendous EMI/RFI imaginable. Nothing – and I mean nothing – on the shortwaves was intelligible. 100% uninterrupted static.

The SWLing Post Nation was great. I must have had three dozen? … four dozen? … people comment and offer advice (both on and off the Blog). And I received very detailed opinions, suggestions, and analyses via my personal email. Unfortunately, nothing mitigated my problem. My actions:

  • I hired an independent electrician at an hourly rate to check the pool & the entire house – he could not find the problem.
  • I called the power company (Dominion). To Dominion’s credit, they dispatched an expert and a ladder truck, but they confirmed the source was not from the main power line nor from their transformers.

So approximately 5-years ago, I was forced to abandon the SWLing hobby. Early on, I’d turn on my radios every two months to see if my issue abated. After a while, I checked quarterly. Then semi-annually. In the last year or two, I’ve turned on my radios every winter to check and every time, I still had the horrendous and almost incomprehensible EMI/RFI issue rendering my SW radios as paperweights.

Fast forward to recent history.

In late June 2026, my house suffered a direct lightning strike. The bolt struck the metal chimney cap. My wife & I were sitting in the room with the fireplace and the entire room glowed! There was no fire, but I had a hole in the siding. One of my six security cameras was blown off the side of the house. Flames literally shot out of one electrical outlet on the opposite side of my house. In total, I suffered over $13,900 in damage (thank you, Allstate Insurance).

The pool suffered two damaged items: an outdoor ground fault outlet and the pool light were both fried (the light and the connected transformer for the light both connect to the ground fault circuit outlet).

One of the SWLing Nation friends that I made five years ago is Ken English. Every so often he’ll send me a text message, and we’ll have a friendly chat. Last Saturday Night, he reached out and we text chatted. During the chat I mentioned the lightning strike. He replied, ‘Did it [the lightning strike] change your interference problem?’

Hmm, great question. Did it? How could it? But wait, maybe somehow it did!

I turned on my radios and guess what? The interference is gone! And I now know the source of this five-year problem that knocked me off the shortwaves. The pool light!

The pool light is underwater. The power cord to the light runs underground for 80-feet where it connects to the transformer, which is on the ‘outdoor power panel’ that runs the pool electronics and equipment. I had a professional replace the light and transformer which required snaking 80’ of power cord out and replacing it with a new 80’ power line.

I’m not an electrician. I can’t explain the dynamics behind it. But a direct lightning strike that caused over $13,900 of damage has me back on the shortwaves!

Thank you, lightning. And thank you, Ken, because without your Saturday Night text, I would not have discovered that my 5-year problem was mitigated until – probably – some cold, cloudy December night.

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of ZP-30 & NHK (August 3, 2026)

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report.

Carlos notes:

Earthquake/dangerous hot weather in Japan, heavy rain in China – NHK (Japan) ZP-30 (Paraguay)+radiofax

Click here to view on YouTube.

Typhoon Dolphin, radiofax from Japan Meteorological Agency, Aug 3, 19h10 UTC

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of BBC and CRI (July 29, 2026)

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report.

Carlos notes:

Wildfires, via Radio Nacional Argentina, BBC and China Radio International

Click here to view on YouTube.

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of Multiple Stations (July 21-28, 2026)

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report.

Carlos notes:

There’s no better place than AM and FM stations to get local news. I am a die-hard shortwave fan, but it’s on medium wave and frequency modulation that I stay informed about what is happening in my region. So, I decided to follow some news reports from radio stations based in Rio Grande do Sul as the state faces the onset of the El Niño phenomenon in 2026—an event experts had predicted.

The stations I listened to were:

  • Rádio Bandeirantes, Porto Alegre (94.9 FM)
  • Rádio Gaúcha, Porto Alegre (93.7 FM)
  • Rádio Independente, Lajeado (91.7 FM)
  • Tua Rádio, Caxias do Sul (560 AM)
  • Rádio Pampa, Porto Alegre (97.5 FM)

These events unfolded just as the population of Rio Grande do Sul was still trying to recover from the trauma of the massive 2024 flood, which devastated numerous municipalities and inundated parts of the state capital, Porto Alegre, where I live.

Downtown Porto Alegre, May 2024.

Naturally, this topic took up significant airtime on these stations. In the case of Rádio Independente in Lajeado—a municipality in a region hit by the recent high waters and severely battered by the 2024 flood—coverage was minute-by-minute. This highlights the fundamental role of radio—something I always like to emphasize—as it relays alerts, provides updates on river levels and flooded areas, and interviews authorities. I had visited Lajeado on June 12, 2024, to document the aftermath of the climate catastrophe that ravaged parts of the city, and I returned two years later, on July 23, 2026, to assess the damage from this latest flood. It’s a personal matter for me, as I was an eyewitness to this tragedy.

Lajeado, June 2024

Lajeado, July 2026

Today, July 28, 2026, the broadcaster Tua Rádio reported on the damage caused by a storm that struck the municipality of Caxias do Sul, detailing the various public services disrupted by the loss of electricity, telephone lines, and the Internet. The presenter even took the time to explain the Beaufort scale, which was used to classify the storm winds that hit the area.

She also advised listeners: “Keep an ear on the radio.”

Once again, we arrive at a conclusion that all of us radio enthusiasts know by heart: everything fails… except the battery-powered radio! Power goes out, phone lines go down, and the Internet cuts out, but people can always rely on their battery-powered radios—something people in Spain, Portugal, and Chile also know well, having faced widespread blackouts in 2025.

The radio monitoring was conducted in Porto Alegre using two receivers: the Xhdata D808 and the Ecopower EP-F23B (the latter equipped with a flashlight and a solar panel).

That’s why I must insist: climate change is already knocking at our door. We need to prepare for the times ahead. And even though we are living through all the modern marvels of the 21st century—with AI and everything else—at the end of the day, what will save us is a battery-powered radio and a pack of candles.

Here’s the illustrated radio listening report.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of RFI & RNE (July 26, 2026)

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report.

Carlos notes:

(Translated from the French)
“In France, as of 7 a.m., 42,000 hectares have been consumed in the Gironde region in the southwest, with a total of 250,000 people evacuated. The fire is located 15 kilometers away. So far, 240 houses have been destroyed—178 in the commune of Le Porge alone, where the blaze began. Additionally, five firefighters have been injured. A massive force is currently mobilized, including 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 military personnel, and 1,200 police officers and gendarmes; yet, they acknowledge their inability to control the fire’s immediate, erratic behavior.”

(Translated from the Spanish)
“Spain remains focused on the fires. The Ávila fire, with 50,000 hectares affected, is now the largest in Spain’s history. Added to those in Madrid and Toledo, a total of 77,000 hectares have been devastated across the three fires.”

“President Pedro Sánchez is set to visit Extremadura.
Earlier this Sunday, he visited Navaluenga, in Ávila—an area affected by the Castellón fire—
where he once again emphasized the need for a state pact to the climate emergency:
‘It is no longer just a matter of economic loss, but also of emotional distress
for many local residents who see their surroundings reduced to ash by these fires.
We must translate that obligation into a major state pact
to address the climate emergency’.”

Click here to view on YouTube.

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of Radio 10 (July 18, 2026)

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There’s something curious about listening to this tiny Sony SRF-SR84 receiver: when I hold it close to this metal fence, the medium wave reception improves significantly.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report.

Carlos notes:

Trump threatens Canada with tariffs over wildfire smoke, Radio 10, Argentina, 710 kHz AM

Click here to view on YouTube.