Tag Archives: SWLing Post Contests

SWLing Post Contest Question #2: A chance to win a piece of broadcasting history!

RCA Window from MI-7330

Last week, we announced a new contest to celebrate the SWLing Post‘s 10th Anniversary.

The prize is an amazing piece of broadcast history: a 75 year old round plate glass window that was fitted in the central main door of the RCA senders at the Woofferton, UK, transmitting site in 1943. This prize was generously donated by SWLing contributor and friend, Dave Porter (G4OYX).

Please read our original contest post (click here) which describes how you can enter to win.

The original post also contains the first of five contest questions which count as individual entries in the contest.

And now for our second question and second possible contest entry…

Please note: If you read the SWLing Post email digest, you will need to view our prize questions on the web to see the embedded form.

If the form below does not display, click here to open it in a new window.

Our second question:

We will post question #3 next week!

Click here to answer question #1.

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Celebrating ten years of the SWLing Post––and a chance to win a piece of broadcasting history!

Ten years ago, I created a blog.

I designed the SWLing Post as a simple site where I could share a few links and articles about my favorite topic: radio.  And maybe educate a few new listeners about the hobby.

Never would I have imagined that within a few years, the site would grow to over 7,000 daily readers.

It’s still hard for me to comprehend. It’s also hard to believe that ten years have passed since I started the Post. Incredible.

Of course, what makes this site so special is the community of dedicated SWLing Post readers, contributors and supporters. People who show up to share in the radio discussion everyday.

For this reason, I want to make the following twelve months special for the SWLing Post community.

And so…let’s have some fun!

Starting this month, until November 2019, we’re going to put together a series of contests and activities to help celebrate ten years of the SWLing Post.

Let’s get started today!

Our first prize is phenomenal…

RCA Window from MI-7330 (note that wooden base is not included)

This exceptional prize, an RCA transmitter window has been generously donated by our long-time friend and contributor, Dave Porter (G4OYX). Thank you so much, Dave!

Dave describes this unique prize as “a piece of broadcast history” from the Wooferton Transmitting station in the UK;

Click to enlarge

At 75 years old it is a round plate glass window that was fitted in the central main door of the RCA senders, installed in 1943.

The window is 12.25,” 315 mm in diameter, and is 5 mm thick. The glass is tinted in a shade of light blue and the RCA trademark letters are etched out in sunken relief.

It was one from the last pair of senders, either Sender 85 or Sender 86, both retired and removed in 1980. (S81 – S84, the previous four were removed in 1963.)

The pair of windows were retrieved by Jeff Cant and one was presented to long-time BBC/VOA staffer Mr Dick Lett on his retirement in 1988. Jeff kept the other. Mr Lett has recently died and his daughters returned the plate to Jeff. It is this plate that is the [prize] gift in this competition.

Jeff gave it to Dave Porter who thought [that] rather than keep it himself, it would be a good donation to this celebration of ten years of the SWLing Post.

Wow…when Dave volunteered this as a prize for the SWLing Post, I almost fell out of my seat. Frankly, I’m already envious of the lucky winner!

Here’s how you can enter to win this piece of shortwave history!

Each week, starting today–at the bottom of this page–we’ll post a question about the Woofferton Transmitting Site. There will be a total of five questions with the final question posted on December 10th. The contest will close on December 14 and a winner will be announced shortly thereafter.

We’ll embed a Google quiz form with each question, and provide a space for you to answer the question. This is the only way to enter the contest as the Google form exports the results to a spreadsheet that we’ll use to pick a winner. Note: Please don’t email or comment with your answer, as the system won’t count it as a valid entry.

Each correctly answered question will count as an entry in the contest. Since we’ll have a total of five questions, this means you could have a total of five contest entries.  Good luck, Post readers!

Details & Fine Print

This contest is open to all SWLing Post readers and contributors, with the obvious exception of myself and Dave Porter, who donated this piece.

Each entry will require your name, email address, and shipping address. These details will be used to contact you and ship your prize to you, should you win. These details will also be one means of making sure multiple entries aren’t being made by one individual for each question (if we suspect someone of doing this, we would simply delete all of their associated entries.).  But I’m sure we’re all good sports here.

All email addresses, names, and shipping addresses will be deleted once a winner is selected, to protect your privacy.

All correct entries will be entered on a spreadsheet, which will assign each entry a sequential number. We will then pick a random number with the random number generator and thus choose the winner.

Please note: If you read the SWLing Post email digest, you will need to view our prize questions on the web to see the embedded form.

Ready?  Let’s get started! (FYI: Question #2 will be posted next week.)

If the form below does not display, click here to open it in a new window.

Our first question:

Many thanks again to Dave Porter for his generosity in offering us this wonderfully unique piece of broadcasting history and for kindly agreeing to ship it to the winner! 

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Winners of the SWLing Post “Dream Radio” Contest

dial_closeup_1

Many thanks to the 86 responses we received from the SWLing Post dream radio contest!

Also huge thanks to Universal Radio who sponsored this contest and made it possible!

This morning, I entered the numbered contest entries into a tool on Random.org. The following two winners were selected at random–one from the US, and one from Australia:

Thomas in Florida, USA:

ICR75

Icom IC-R75

“I’ve been interested in all aspects of radio since I was a small child. My grandfather got me interested in the radio hobby . As a teen I acquired an old Hallicrafters S-40B. I would listen across the SW bands for hours each evening. This was back in the day when the Russians were running various jammers across the SW bands and OTH radar other wise known as the famous Wood Pecker.

I always wanted to upgrade to a more modern receiver that would have special filters to help reduce the interference caused from those types of man made devices. However, as the years went on, and I got married and raised a family my hobby fell to the wayside. It’s taken me almost 30 years, but I recently purchased an Icom R-75 and have gotten back into active SWLing again.

It is an enjoyable hobby and looking to one day spark an interest in radio in my own grandchildren.”

Adam Ellis in Melbourne, Australia:

The Yaesu FRG-7700 (Photo: Universal Radio)

The Yaesu FRG-7700 (Photo: Universal Radio)

“As a school kid, growing up in the 80’s, I had a friend who’s father owned (a then) brand new Yaesu FRG-7700 with matching FRT-7700 tuner. Every time I visited at my friends house, I would look at the Yaesu in awe and ask to have a listen.

His father was a VERY strict man and forbid any of the children from touching his radio or HiFi equipment. The combination of parentally installed fear and the mystique of such a military looking and expensive piece of kit meant that my curiosity grew and grew. One day, with his father safely away at work, we powered it up and had a tune around. After a few minutes, I was instantly hooked, having now heard SSB properly for the first time. My friend quickly got concerned that his younger siblings would tell their father that we had dared to use the Yaesu so it was quickly turned off.

Well! My friend still got into trouble because we had left it tuned to an obscure frequency, along with several controls in the wrong position and his father realized it had been fiddled with! The feel of the controls and the glow of the dial lighting made that radio seem like the best thing I had ever seen and just had to own one. Of course, as a 12 year old, owning one meant selling many hundreds of newspapers! A feat all but impossible on my limited paper round.

Fast forward 30 years and I came across a used example at a Hamfest, complete with FRT-7700 tuner in near mint condition. I made an offer which was accepted (AUD$150) and it came back to the shack with me, in it’s original box! Upon testing it out, it works flawlessly with no fading of the display or noise from any of the control pots.

My only real disappointment with the radio is the minimum 1Khz tuning steps. It makes SSB a bit painful to tune. You need to save a frequency into to memory to use the memory fine tune control. It sounds very nice on AM and is mostly used for broadcast reception with a Wellbrook ALA1530 loop.

Even today, looking at the Yaesu brings back the fear laden excitement of tuning around as a kid, with a petrified friend begging me to turn it off! I never did find out what his punishment was. The Yaesu FRG-7700 is now a part of a large collection of receivers, but is one I will not part with because it has taken me so long to finally get one! 73’s, Adam.”

Thanks to the generosity of Universal Radio, Thomas will receive a new copy of Shortwave Receivers Past and Present by Fred Osterman. As our international winner, Adam will be given a choice of  Joe Carr’s Loop Antenna Book or Buying A Used Shortwave Receiver: A Market Guide To Modern Shortwave Radios.

I’ve truly enjoyed reading each listener’s account about their dream radio–these stories bring back so many memories of my own!

Once I discover a way to display the results here on the SWLing Post, I will publish them. To keep the post from being too long, I’m trying to investigate a way that the results can be embedded, much like an image slideshow. Stay tuned!

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Ends Today: “Dream Radio” Contest

dial_closeup_1

Think back to your first days in radio…What was your “dream” receiver?  And why?

Or–if you’re new to shortwave radio–what is your “dream” receiver currently, and why?

Many of us had a radio they dreamed of in their youth, or when they first began to hanker after the radio experience. What was yours?  For newer hobbyists, what is yours? And just what made–or makes–this radio so special? Did you ever obtain one?  And if so, did it live up to your expectations?

Share your experiences with the Post for a chance to win a prize from Universal Radio!

The winners of this contest will be chosen at random, using a randomizer application; an independent non-entrant will make these selections.

Thanks to Universal Radio and Fred Osterman’s generosity, there will be two winners of this simple contest–a US winner and an international winner.

The US prize will be a copy of Shortwave Receivers Past and Present by none other than Fred Osterman. I reviewed this book a couple years ago: it is an invaluable reference tool and also a fun “dream” book.  With sincere apologies to my international friends, this prize must be limited to the US simply because shipping this weighty volume internationally would cost more than the book itself.

ShortwaveReceiversPastAndPresent

The international winner may select between the following (less weighty!) books, also very good references: Joe Carr’s Loop Antenna Book or Buying A Used Shortwave Receiver: A Market Guide To Modern Shortwave Radios.

Entering the contest is easy. Simply go to our entry form (below or click here) and fill in the required fields.  Be descriptive! This will make the contest fun. Let us know in detail why that radio was (or is) so significant to you.

Your entry will be recorded, and the winners chosen at random. We will close the contest entry form by the end of the day today (October 16, 2016)We’ll publish the responses once the contest concludes, sharing only the name you provide.

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Contest Reminder: Your “dream radio”

dial_closeup_1

Think back to your first days in radio…What was your “dream” receiver?  And why?

Or–if you’re new to shortwave radio–what is your “dream” receiver currently, and why?

Many of us had a radio they dreamed of in their youth, or when they first began to hanker after the radio experience. What was yours?  For newer hobbyists, what is yours? And just what made–or makes–this radio so special? Did you ever obtain one?  And if so, did it live up to your expectations?

Share your experiences with the Post for a chance to win a prize from Universal Radio!

The winners of this contest will be chosen at random, using a randomizer application; an independent non-entrant will make these selections.

Thanks to Universal Radio and Fred Osterman’s generosity, there will be two winners of this simple contest–a US winner and an international winner.

The US prize will be a copy of Shortwave Receivers Past and Present by none other than Fred Osterman. I reviewed this book a couple years ago: it is an invaluable reference tool and also a fun “dream” book.  With sincere apologies to my international friends, this prize must be limited to the US simply because shipping this weighty volume internationally would cost more than the book itself.

ShortwaveReceiversPastAndPresent

The international winner may select between the following (less weighty!) books, also very good references: Joe Carr’s Loop Antenna Book or Buying A Used Shortwave Receiver: A Market Guide To Modern Shortwave Radios.

Entering the contest is easy. Simply go to our entry form (below or click here) and fill in the required fields.  Be descriptive! This will make the contest fun. Let us know in detail why that radio was (or is) so significant to you.

Your entry will be recorded, and the winners chosen at random on Sunday October 16, 2016. We’ll publish the responses once the contest concludes, sharing only the name you provide.

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SWLing Post Reader Contest: remembering your “dream radio”

The Sony ICF-2010 was my dream portable in the 1980s.

The Sony ICF-2010 was my dream portable in the 1980s.

Fred Osterman, President of Universal Radio, recently expressed his interest in supporting another SWLing Post Reader Contest. Of course, I eagerly agreed, and we quickly came up with a theme:

Think back to your first days in radio…What was your “dream” receiver?  And why?

Or–if you’re new to shortwave radio–what is your “dream” receiver currently, and why?

Many of us had a radio they dreamed of in their youth, or when they first began to hanker after the radio experience. What was yours?  For newer hobbyists, what is yours? And just what made–or makes–this radio so special? Did you ever obtain one?  And if so, did it live up to your expectations?  Share your experiences with the Post!

ShortwaveReceiversPastAndPresentThe winners of this contest will be chosen at random, using a randomizer application; an independent non-entrant will make these selections.

Thanks to Universal’s generosity, there will be two winners–a US winner and an international winner.

The US prize will be a copy of Shortwave Receivers Past and Present by none other than Fred Osterman. I reviewed this book a couple years ago: it is an invaluable reference tool and also a fun “dream” book.  With sincere apologies to my international friends, this prize must be limited to the US simply because shipping this weighty volume internationally would cost more than the book itself.

The international winner may select between the following (less weighty!) books, also very good references: Joe Carr’s Loop Antenna Book or Buying A Used Shortwave Receiver: A Market Guide To Modern Shortwave Radios.

Entering the contest is easy. Simply go to our entry form (below or click here) and fill in the required fields.  Be descriptive! This will make the contest fun. Let us know in detail why that radio was (or is) so significant to you.

Your entry will be recorded, and the winners chosen at random on Sunday October 16, 2016. We’ll publish the responses once the contest concludes, sharing only the name you provide.

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Shack Photo Contest: We have a winner!

Vimal's favorite radios are the Tecsun PL 390 and the Eton E100. (Photo: Vimal)

Vimal’s favorite radios are the Tecsun PL-390 and the Eton E100. (Photo: Vimal)

Please join me in congratulating SWLing Post reader, Vimal, for winning our October Shack Photo contest!

Vimal notes:

“I love these radios (see photo above). The Tecsun PL-390 stereo DSP radio with selectable band width- is able to pull in a slew of shortwave stations in quite clearly (of course a lot depended upon time of day and atmospheric conditions.) I can routinely receive signals from Asia, Australia, South America and Europe which is exciting!

And another one is my small Eton E100 Radio- The highlights of this one is that the stereo through headphones sounds great. Its Informative LCD display includes the frequency and the time while the radio is on (some other radios require a keypress to display the clock). It also features a nice amber backlight for the LCD display. Not to forget the sturdy whip antenna.”

Congratulations, Vimal–and many thanks to everyone who shared their photos.

Vimal’s entry was chosen at random from the 62 SWLs and ham radio operators who shared their shack/listening post photos. What an amazing number of entries!

I plan to take the many photos and notes we received from readers and turn them into an online photo galley. I’ll post this as soon as I’ve curated and formatted entries.

If you didn’t win this contest, fear not! We’re already plotting another simple & fun contest before the end of the year.

Reader Challenge

Note, too, that we are still collecting entries for the latest reader challenge: Emergency radio and a chance to win a prepper radio package!

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