Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Over the past few weeks, I have received messages from several of you stating that you are no longer getting email notifications via WordPress when new articles are posted on the SWLing Post.
I have contacted support, and they believe they may have resolved the issue. I had the same issue with QRPer.com and it appears they have indeed fixed the issue.
If you subscribe to new posts via WordPress, could you please leave a comment to let me know if you received a notification about this post in your email inbox? I would especially appreciate feedback from those who haven’t been receiving emails recently but did receive this one.
Hopefully, the issue has been fixed. If not, we will continue to work with support to ensure everything is functioning properly soon.
It’s January 1st, 2025, and I’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year!
As I mentioned on Patreon yesterday, in many ways, I’m happy to see 2024 in the rear-view mirror.
It was a challenging year for our family, but even amidst the difficulties, there were countless moments of joy and celebration.
Our biggest takeaway from 2024 was experiencing the overwhelming love, kindness, and support from our community after my mother’s passing, my father and father-in-law’s (multiple) hospitalizations, and, most notably, the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
This incredible community pulled us through, and for that, we are deeply grateful. Thank you!
Looking Ahead to 2025
As we enter the new year, I’m committed to maintaining a positive outlook. One of my key goals is to continue pouring energy into the SWLing Post.
Over the years, the SWLing Post has grown into a vibrant and diverse community of radio enthusiasts, and it’s a privilege to curate so many incredible guest contributions. I’m constantly inspired by your passion for the world of radio.
On the home front, we hope to fit in some travel this summer and work on the long list of storm repairs.
A Fresh Start with Correspondence
If you know me, you know how much I value the time and effort people put into reaching out. I take great pride in responding to every email I receive.
That said, even in the best of times, keeping up with correspondence is a challenge. I typically receive 12–24 personal messages daily—sometimes more—and that’s in addition to emails from our family business, organizations, and other responsibilities. It all adds up.
After Hurricane Helene, I was deeply moved by the flood of supportive messages from SWLing Post readers. While I’ve read every one, replying has been a challenge. Between storm recovery, family commitments, and running the site, my ability to keep up with correspondence virtually disappeared.
Recent hand soreness from storm cleanup has made extended typing difficult, and my overly aggressive SPAM filter has likely deleted over 30% of messages from new senders. Despite my best efforts, my backlog now exceeds 350 individual emails, and I know some messages have been permanently lost.
Moving Forward
After much thought and advice from a friend, I’ve decided to implement a correspondence moratorium for 2025.
This means I’ll archive my current 2024 email backlog and start fresh.
If you’ve sent me a guest post, news tip, or story for the SWLing Post and haven’t heard back, please re-send it—I’ll prioritize those contributions and get them in the pipeline. (Those of you who have sent me articles this past week, I’ve got them in the pipeline.)
For those who sent notes of encouragement: please know I’ve read and appreciated every word, even if I couldn’t reply.
Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Looking to the Future
While storm restoration projects will continue into the summer, I’m optimistic about finding more balance this year. As my daughters start their university journeys this fall, my family and I are deeply grateful for the support and kindness you’ve shown us.
Here’s wishing you and yours a 2025 filled with joy, peace, and, of course, great DX!
No matter where you live in the world, everyone should have a battery-powered or self-powered (hand-crank) portable radio in their home.
Recently, the pace of articles here on the SWLing Post has slowed down. That’s because I live in Swannanoa, North Carolina—a town that was particularly hard-hit by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Helene, which brought unprecedented rainfall and caused widespread destruction.
In short, our rural mountain community was completely cut off for several days. Our bridge washed out, and a critical section of road crumbled daily.
At one point, two families had to be helicopter-evacuated for medical reasons, and less than a week after the storm, the Sheriff’s department came door-to-door recommending evacuation.
Our amazing community pulled together: we cleared our road of hundreds of downed trees and made sure everyone had food, water, and supplies. We took care of each other.
Now, things have improved dramatically. After two and a half weeks without power, we’ve been reconnected to the grid. The Kentucky Department of Transportation repaired our road, making it accessible to regular vehicles again. On Tuesday, an arborist crew finally made it up the mountain to remove fallen trees from houses.
Although things are starting to feel more normal at home, the impact on Swannanoa, Asheville, and surrounding areas has been profound. Entire neighborhoods are gone, numerous businesses have closed, and several grocery stores were severely damaged.
The Communications Void
The National Guard helped us for a full day at our home. Thank you 5th Battalion 113 Field Artillery!
It’s often said that modern communications infrastructure fails us after a disaster.
I can confirm, first hand, that this is true.
The mobile phone network went offline during the storm, leaving us without service for days. Even now, three weeks after the storm, mobile phone service remains unreliable. Calls drop every few minutes.
Mobile data services at home are still down at time of posting (October 18, 2024). Internet services like cable, fiber, and DSL are mostly still out across the county. Only those with satellite internet have a connection—I’m fortunate to be one of them. Our cell tower still only supports basic voice calls and text messaging, without data or media attachments.
Radio to the Rescue
As many of you know, I’m not just a radio listener, but also a licensed amateur radio operator, and both of these hobbies became essential post-Helene.
As highlighted in an article by WIRED, amateur radio proved to be our lifeline for communication when everything else failed.
Using the local repeater (N2GE on Mount Mitchell), I was able to pass wellness checks, coordinate helicopter evacuations, and arrange supply drops for our community. I handed out a few handy talkies to unlicensed neighbors so we could stay in touch.
My wife and daughter, who are also hams, helped tremendously. While I was out with a chainsaw, clearing driveways, they acted as net control operators on our community’s simplex frequency (147.555 MHz), passing critical messages.
For that first week especially, amateur radio truly was our community’s connection to the outside world.
AM/FM Radio: A Lifesaver
Fortunately, our local TV station remained online after the storm, but few people could access it. Many people rely on cable or internet to watch TV, and in areas like ours, the digital transition over a decade ago left many without the ability to pick up over-the-air signals.
In contrast, FM and AM radio became the most reliable sources of information. Here in Buncombe County, public information and news were broadcast on 99.9 MHz (FM) and 570 kHz (AM). Both stations stayed online throughout the disaster, and the information they provided reached a vast audience. Check out this feature from CBS Evening News:
In Henderson County, the local AM station WTZQ stepped up as well. They did incredible work serving their communities post-Helene, as highlighted in a report by Queen City News:
Information Lifeline
As a presenter in the above story pointed out, everyone should have a battery-powered (or self-powered) AM/FM/Weather radio in their home.
After a disaster, you’ll rely on that radio for essential updates like where to find clean water, how to apply for FEMA assistance, what businesses are open, and when services will be restored.
Even three weeks after the storm, much of the Asheville area is still without water, so radios remain vital for getting updates.
Here at SWLing Post HQ, I shared my extra portable radios with neighbors who needed them. I used my CC Skywave SSB 2 in the kitchen window to tune into local news on 99.9 MHz and 570 kHz. I also relied on my XHDATA D-109 and CC Radio 3—they became our constant companions for information.
Many of you here on the SWLing Post are already radio enthusiasts, so no doubt I’m preaching to the choir. But let this serve as a reminder to stock up on alkaline batteries and check your radios regularily to make sure they’re fully functional. Keep spares on hand so you can lend them to neighbors if needed—they’ll never forget your generosity.
And don’t assume your area is safe from natural disasters. Western North Carolina was considered one of the safest regions in the country for weather, yet we were hit by one of the most devastating storms in state history.
Stay prepared. Don’t become complacent.
Thank You!
Over the past few weeks, many of you have reached out with kind words and support, and I can’t thank you enough!
As of this morning, I have 310 messages in my inbox.
I’ve been too busy to reply to emails and comments—though I’ve read each one—but I truly appreciate your patience as I try to catch up. My days have been consumed by helping neighbors and getting our own life back in order. It’s been exhausting but incredibly rewarding, and we still have months of work ahead of us.
Thank you also to the contributors who have kept the SWLing Post running during my absence, and a special shout-out to my friend Vince (VE6LK), who has taken on a huge role in keeping QRPer.com updated.
Thank you so much for your support and understanding—and, again, keep those radios ready. You never know when they’ll become your primary source of information!
As many of you know, the area where I live in western North Carolina was hit hard by catastrophic flooding and high winds, causing significant damage.
I’m happy to report that my family is safe, and we are incredibly grateful for that. However, like many others, we’ve sustained substantial damage to our property and are currently cut off from town due to numerous downed trees. My efforts over the next week will be focused on clearing the way, so updates here on the SWLing Post will be less frequent. Thank you for your understanding.
If you’d like a more detailed update, I’ve posted one on QRPer.com–click here to read it.
Thank you for all of your kind thoughts and supportive messages!
The SWLing Post has been online since 2008, and over the years, I’ve seen our readership grow into a vibrant, international community of radio enthusiasts who support each other.
From the beginning, my goal for the SWLing Post has never been to focus on me, but rather to highlight the diverse ways people enjoy radio and to share news about international broadcasting. To achieve this, I’ve invited select individuals to contribute as guest writers and provided them with accounts to post their own content.
As our community has expanded, I want to open the door even wider and invite more of you to contribute directly to the SWLing Post. This will help alleviate the bottleneck of getting timely information out, especially as I am currently in one of the busiest stages of my life.
If you’re interested in receiving a volunteer contributor account, which will allow you to create and submit posts for approval and publication by me or one of our editors, please contact me via email or leave a comment on this post.
To qualify for a contributor account, please note the following requirements:
Community Involvement: We prefer to see that you’ve been an active, long-standing member of our community by commenting on posts. If you’re new to us, we will first need to review and post your contributions before granting you an account. This is due to the high volume of spam guest post requests we receive—often dozens each week.
Comfort with WordPress: You should be comfortable creating posts in WordPress, the platform we use for the SWLing Post. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to train individuals on WordPress, but numerous tutorials are available since it’s the most popular blogging platform in the world.
We are looking for original content that reflects the genuine spirit and kindness of our community. Our goal is to ensure that contributions are not only informative and engaging but also embody the warmth and enthusiasm that characterize our shared love for radio. As long as your content is respectful, informative, and true to the spirit of radio enjoyment, it will align with our standards and be a valuable addition to the SWLing Post.
If you’re interested, please comment on this post or email me directly, and I will get back to you via email.
Mom’s memorial service was yesterday; and while it was a somber day, it was brightened by this large, beautiful floral arrangement that arrived at the church where the service was held:
Here’s the message on the card that accompanied the arrangement:
My mother passed away on Sunday afternoon after a long battle with cancer. The past few weeks have been hectic and fully devoted to my mother’s Hospice care. The next two week are devoted to being with family and caring for my father-in-law who is currently in the hospital.
I haven’t been checking email or comments regularly and will not for the next week or so, hence the delay in reply some of you have noticed.
With the help of some of our contributors, we will still have posts published, but fewer than normal.
Please understand if I don’t have time to reply to your emails. I receive 40-50 from readers daily, so the backlog will be more than I can handle even after I’m back “on the air.”
Also, thank you so muchfor your kind thoughts and messages. Those of you who follow by other radio blog, QRPer.com, knew that my mom was in Hospice care as I mentioned this in a recent field report.
I’ll be back soon and thank you so much for understanding.
Best,
Thomas (K4SWL)
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