Tag Archives: shortwave

The Bonito Boni whip: proving to be excellent portable antenna for DXing

Hi there, if you’re a subscriber to the Oxford Shortwave Log YouTube channel, you will be aware that I have been using a Wellbrook ALA1530 H field antenna, for 15 months or so, with (at times) excellent results. A while back I was on the lookout for a second antenna, however at more than £250, I couldn’t justify purchasing a second Wellbrook. Ultimately I splashed out on the Bonito Boni whip E-field wideband active antenna (20 kHz to 300 MHz) and with a very compact form-factor suitable for DXpeditions/portable operation in general, the Boni whip definitely ticked all the boxes. Furthermore, with reasonable second and third order intercept points of +55 and +32.5 dBm respectively, the Boni whip, on paper at least, looked like a pretty good buy at around £100.

Initial testing at home confirmed, perhaps not surprisingly that the Boni whip could not match the SNR provided by the Wellbrook ALA1530 in a noisy, urban environment. However, less predictably, the Boni whip has proven to be a truly excellent antenna away from the ubiquitous blanket of ‘electrosmog’ at my QTH. Furthermore, it really is so compact, I simply leave it in the car in a small flight case, with a portable and connectors etc. for ad-hoc listening sessions. Since returning from my most recent trip to Brazil, I have had a chance to review my most recent catches with the Boni whip, some of which are realy pleasing and most definitely underline the excellent performance of this diminutive antenna. In particular, signals from Radio RB2 on 11935 kHz and Radio Aparecida on 11855 kHz, both low power Brazilian stations, are testament to how sensitive the Boni whip is in an electrically quiet environment. Check out also the quality of longwave signals from Poland and the Czech Republic – simply amazing for such a physically short antenna. Finally, there’s a personal first from Lusaka, Zambia, Voice of Hope Africa on 13680 kHz. All the more rewarding that this was actually copied in my work office!

I hope you found this article interesting. There are embedded reception videos below and text links for all, which will take you directly to the relevant video on the Oxford Shortwave Log YouTube channel. Thank you for reading/watching/listening and I wish you all excellent DX!

Click here to watch on YouTube

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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Italian Broadcasting Corporation’s A17 schedule

ABC News: Portrait of a devoted shortwave radio listener

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(Source: ABC News)

Saying goodbye to Radio Australia on the shortwave after 37 years

Kevin De Reus has lived in the same 24-kilometre-radius his whole life.

Born and raised in Iowa in the US, Kevin now calls his grandfather’s farm — just 12 kilometres from where he grew up in central Des Moines — home.

He is married, has five children and has worked at the same company for 20 years.

And while he admits he has not travelled much in his 52 years, it hasn’t stopped Kevin from listening to the news from Australia since 1980 — with the help of a shortwave radio.

Listening from the other side of the world

Even half a world away, he says the broadcast was one of the clearest of the stations he listened to.

“Radio Australia always held a special place in my heart just because it was in the South Pacific and I didn’t know much about that area — and the signal was always good from that part of the world,” he says.
“Most recently, over the last two to three years as I was listening in the morning hours here on 9.580, the signal was so good. It really was about the only English broadcaster at that time of the day that had news and information.

“Most mornings I would get up and turn on the shortwave radio at 7:00am (local time) and listen to the news from Australia and then I would drive to work.

“So many of the stations just aren’t on the air anymore. BBC doesn’t broadcast to North America anymore. I can’t even hardly hear the Voice of America in English anymore to tell you the truth. So Australia had the strongest signal.

“That’s why it was hard for me to hear [Radio Australia] was going to go off the air.”[…]

Click here to continue reading the full article on ABC News.

I believe Kevin De Reus did a fine job explaining the appeal of being a shortwave radio listener.

Though I gather a lot of international news these days with a WiFi radio (especially since Radio Australia left the shortwaves), I still prefer listening to shortwave.

It’s just how I’m wired.

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More info about KIMF

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KIMF transmitter site (Source: James Planck via Facebook)

KIMF transmitter building (Source: James Planck via Facebook)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Barraclough, who writes:

Photos of the site were posted in December. Mauno Ritola posted in the WRTH Facebook group January 26 that “James Planck informs, that KIMF Battle Mountain NV, USA plans to start operation around 1st April on shortwave. Time will tell, if the plan is realistic.”

Click here to view photos on Facebook.

Many thanks, Mike, for sharing this info. Note that these Facebook photos are listed as public, so a Facebook account is not needed for viewing.

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KIMF: A new shortwave broadcasting station in Nevada

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

While going through the FCC Daily Digest for my own hobby website, I came across the International Authorizations section and happened to take a look today. To my surprise, a license to cover has been filed for HF station KIMF in Beowawe, NV! I can’t remember the last time a new HF station filed to go on the air in the US.

Do you know anything about this station? Here is a link to the FCC’s data page on the station; I’ve attached a PDF copy of the license form, which lists both the operating frequencies as well as times, power and modes they’ve asked for. It looks like they will run a combination of AM and USB across three frequencies.

[…]I went to the license coordinates to see if anything was visible on Google Satellite View, but it’s just empty desert. So I have no idea what’s really going on, but generally once a license to cover is filed, that means the station is built and ready to go on the air. At least in the world of AM, FM and TV broadcasting!

Here’s the frequencies/times/power/mode listed in the PDF, in case you can’t view it:

6065 kHz – 01-06 UTC 50 kW AM
9300 kHz – 08-12 UTC 100 kW USB
13570 kHz – 00-04 UTC 100 kW USB

Anyway, I figure you or one of the intrepid readers of your blog will have the scoop. Thanks for your time!

Click here to download the KIMF station license application (PDF).

Wow–many thanks, Tom! This filing catches me by surprise as well, but it does ring a bell. Perhaps an IMF representative contacted me in the past or I met someone from IMF at the Dayton Hamvention? I simply can’t remember.

Based on the application, IMF had to file for an extension due to several delays in building the transmitter site in Nevada. I’m guessing the Google satellite imagery was taken before site construction began.

It appears International Missions Fellowship (the parent organization who is filing this FCC application) currently operate the Radio Missiones International station in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on 3340 and 5010 kHz.

Here’s a note about the Nevada transmission site from the IMF website:

In the USA we have purchased a property near Battle Mountain, NV where we are working to build a powerful Shortwave Station which will be beamed at Mexico and Asia. It can be heard also in North America. We plan to build more stations after this. We have also just built a radio control center and small studio in Corona, CA to send programs to these transmitters via satellite/internet. It is now in operation. You can hear KIMF by clicking on the IMF Missionary Radio link below.

Listen to IMF Missionary Radio
Listen to Radio MI, Honduras

Post readers: Can anyone shed some more light on KIMF and this license to cover? Please comment!

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Vatican Radio’s English shortwave service to Asia ends

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(Source: Vatican Radio via London Shortwave)

Vatican Radio’s English SW broadcast to Asia come to an end

Vatican Radio’s English shortwave broadcast for Asia has come to an end, with its last transmission going out Friday evening, after nearly 60 years of service. However this does not mean it has disappeared altogether. What ultimately closed on March 24 as Vatican Radio’s English Service for Asia, is however very much alive online on Vatican Radio’s website. The gradual phasing out of Vatican Radio’s shortwave frequencies is seen as part of the reform of the Roman Curia or the central administration of the Catholic Church here in the Vatican, called for by Pope Francis. The Pope established the new dicastery or office of the Secretariat for Communications on June 27, 2015, ?bringing 9 media bodies of the Vatican, including Vatican Radio, under the Secretariat’s direction, with the purpose of overhauling, streamlining and ultimately merging them as a cohesive unit.

What ended on March 24 as Vatican Radio’s English Service for Asia began way back in 1958. The only ?English programme of Vatican Radio then, headed by Jesuit Father Thomas O’Donnell, was repeated a number of times in different directions, ?including towards Africa and South Asia. It was a weekly 10-minute news broadcast for India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, the need for special programmes adapted to the ?distinctive cultural needs and tastes of Africa and South Asia gave way to independent programmes for ?these two regions. ?In 1964 South Asia got a boost when Pope Paul VI visited Bombay (today Mumbai), India for the 38th International Eucharistic Congress from 2nd to 5th of December. Hence in May 1965, the Indian Section officially came into being with a 10-minute broadcast twice a week each in the evening in Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam , while English went on air daily Monday through Saturday. In 1982, all the four languages began re-broadcasting their evening programmes the following morning. Three years later – on May 12, 1985, the Malayalam programme got extra airing time, broadcasting for 15 minutes in the morning, whereas the rest continued broadcasting for 10 minutes.

In 1986, Pope John Paul II visited India from January 31 to February 11. Just prior to this visit, on January 7th that year, Hindi, Tamil and English were given extra time, and so all the four languages began broadcasting daily for 15 minutes each, in the morning, which was a feature programme. The evening transmission consisted of 6 minutes of news only. By the end of 1986 the evening 6-minute news increased to 10 minutes and was repeated the following morning.

On March 25, 1990, Hindi, Tamil Malayalam and English began broadcasting for 15 minutes each, repeating it the following morning. And from Sept. 23, 1993, the four languages were transmitting for nearly 20 minutes each, repeating the evening programme twice the following morning.

It was on Oct 24, 1993 that the fifth language, Urdu, that is spoken mainly in Pakistan but is also widely followed in India, especially in the north, was added to the Indian Section. It began with a 7-minute Sunday programme, as part of the Hindi programme. On March 30, 2003 Urdu became a stand-alone programme, broadcasting for 15-minutes on Sundays and Wednesdays, and repeated the following mornings. The Urdu programme however closed down in September, 2013, after nearly 20 ?years of service.

On May 16, 2015, Vatican Radio marked the 50th anniversary of its Indian programmes with a ?Holy ?Mass and a reception.

Read this full article at Vatican Radio.

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Shortwave Relays This Weekend

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(Source: Tom Taylor)

Relays This Weekend

Hamurger Lokal Radio via Shortwave Station Göhren, Germany with 1KW to Western Europe:
6190 KHz Every Saturday 07.00 to 11.00 UTC
7265 KHz Every Saturday 11.00 to 16.00 UTC
9485 KHz Every Sunday 10.00 to 13.00 UTC
Contact email: [email protected]

Next scheduled transmissions from Radio City:
Friday March 17th at 19 – 20 UTC via IRRS on 7290 kHz,
repeated Saturday March 18th at 09 – 10 UTC via IRRS on 9510 kHz.
Older programmes may be repeated at random other Saturdays.
Older programmes may also be transmitted by Challenger Radio in Italy on 1368, 846 and 567 kHz, Saturdays at 00 UTC and Saturdays at 20.30 UTC (two different slots)
There will be a different programme via Hamburger Lokalradio Saturday March 25th at 13 – 14 UTC on 7265 kHz.
After that, during the period of daylight shifting time transmissions will be one hour earlier in UTC schedules.
Our contact address remains [email protected]

European Music Radio Transmissions via;
WBCQ to Central & North America on 5130 KHz on 18th March between 23.00 to 00.00 UTC
Shortwave Station Göhren on 9485 KHz on 19th March between 09.00 to 10.00 UTC
Channel 292 on 6070 KHz on 19th March between 16.00 to 17.00 UTC
Contact email: [email protected]

Internet Repeats on 19th March 2017:
EMR will repeat this months Transmissions via two streams running at the following Times:16.00, 18.00, 20.00 UTC
http://nednl.net:8000/emr.m3u will be on 96 kbps /44 KHz stereo for normal listening
http://nednl.net:8000/emr24.m3u will be 24 kbps / 22 KHz mono will be especially for low bandwidth like mobile phones.

KBC via:
Media Broadcast to America on 6145 KHz Every Sunday between 00.00 to 01.00
Contact email: [email protected]

Hobart Radio via:
Channel 292 to Western Europe on 6070 KHz Saturdays fortnightly between 09.00 to 09.30 UTC.
WRMI to Americas, Asia/Pacific on 9955 KHz Sunday between 04.30 to 05.00 UTC
WRMI to Americas, Asia/Pacific on 9955 KHz Tuesday between 23.30 to 00.00 UTC
WBCQ to North America on 5130 KHz Mondays 04.30 to 05.00 UTC
Contact email: [email protected]

For outside the listening area please try the Twente/Netherlands Web RX at http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/

You can also hear many European free and alternative stations via the Internet at: http://laut.fm/jukebox

Radio Channel 292 Transmission schedules on 6070 KHz (on the air every day):
http://www.channel292.de/schedule-for-bookings/

Radio Mi Amigo Transmission schedules:
http://www.radiomiamigo.es/shortwave