Tag Archives: Wlodek (US7IGN)

Wlodek repairs a near mint Sony ICF-SW7600

Sony ICF-SW7600 (Source: Universal Radio)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Wlodek, who has been quite busy repairing vintage receivers and ham radio gear during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Wlod’s neighborhood in Kiev experiences frequent blackouts, thus much of his soldering work must be done while mains power is available.

Wlod just shared the following video documenting a recent repair he did on a new-old-stock Sony ICF-SW7600.

Wlod notes:

One of [my last repairs] was new old stock Sony ICF-SW7600 restoration. One guy watched my past videos and wanted one for himself. I don’t know where he found it in such excellent external condition, but age and typical problems require it to be prophylaxis.

The first turn on and it does not receive the station at all. These receivers have a known problem of leaking electrolytic capacitors. They also need to be alignment.

I demonstrate how to safely remove old capacitors.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Thank you so much for sharing this with us, Wlod! What a beautiful portable in near mint condition!

Spread the radio love

Wlodek repairs a Grundig G3

5 Replies

Our friend, Wlodek (US7IGN), who was recently featured in a BBC Radio 4 documentary, has been repairing radios throughout the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

A few weeks ago, he received a Grundig G3 from Charles (KC8VWM)–it was in need of repair. Wlod immediately cracked the case open and started diagnosing the problem!

Click here to read his blog post detailing the review.

Grundig G3 Globe Traveller

Spread the radio love

BBC Radio 4 – Lights Out: Call Signs

6 Replies

My dear friend and SWLing Post community member, Volodymyr Gurtovy (US7IGN), has been featured in another brilliant documentary on BBC Radio 4 called Call Signs.

This documentary was produced by the talented Cicely Fell with Falling Tree productions for BBC Radio 4. Note that Cicely also produced a BBC Radio 4 Short Cuts earlier this year featuring Vlad as well. Enjoy:

BBC Radio 4 Lights Out: Call Signs

A man, a Mouse and a morse key: the story of a radio amateur in Kyiv as the Russian invasion unfolds.

When his wife and two children flee Kyiv to escape the war, Volodymyr Gurtovy (call sign US7IGN) stays behind in their apartment with only his radios and the family hamster, Mouse, for company.

Before the war, he used to go deep into the pine forests, spinning intricate webs of treetop antennas using a fishing rod, catching signals from radio amateurs in distant countries.

Prohibited by martial law from sending messages, he becomes a listener, intercepting conversations of Russian pilots and warning his neighbours to hide in shelters well before the sirens sound. After three months of silence, he begins transmitting again. Switching his lawyer’s suit for a soldering iron, he runs a radio surgery for his friends and neighbours, dusting off old shortwave receivers and bringing them back to life.

During air raids, he hides behind the thickest wall in his apartment, close to his radios, their flickering amber lights opening a window to another world. A story of sending and receiving signals from within the darkness of the Kyiv blackout.

Music: Ollie Chubb (8ctavius)
Producer: Cicely Fell
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4

Listen to Call Signs on BBC Sounds by clicking here, or via the embedded player below:

Spread the radio love

Book Recommendation: War Diaries – A Radio Amateur

7 Replies

Earlier this week, I learned that my friend Volodymyr (US7IGN) published his book War Diaries: A Radio Amateur in Kyiv on Amazon.com and I immediately purchased and read it.

If you’d like to know what it’s been like for a radio listener and ham radio operator living day-to-day in Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, I highly recommend reading War Diaries.

Volodymyr (or Wlod) is a regular here on the SWLing Post and simply amazing fellow. We share a love of playing radio outdoors and were even recently featured on BBC Radio 4. Sadly, due to the nature of living in a war zone, Wlod cannot escape urban RFI/QRM by making journeys into the forest. These days, that would be a very dangerous activity.

Instead, Wlod makes the most out of the blackouts caused by Russian missile attacks: he enjoys the radio quiet conditions to listen to and DX stations across the globe from his small apartment on vintage radios that he’s repaired.

In fact, here’s a most recent longwave scan Wlod shared during a blackout with his vintage Radiotehnika Riga-104:

Since Russia’s invasion began, Wlod’s wife and children have taken refuge in Poland. Radio has been his constant companion and even a source of valuable intel.

In Wlod’s book, you’ll learn what’s it’s been like living in a world with constant air-raid sirens, artillery attacks, and blackouts. You’ll also learn how incredibly resourceful and resilient he and his fellow Ukrainians are in the face of the Putin war machine.

I highly recommend grabbing a copy of War Diaries. It’s available on Amazon.com as an eBook for $5.99 and even as a hard or soft cover print book.

Obviously, any revenue from the sales of this book are supporting Wlod and his family.

Click here to purchase on Amazon.com.

Note: All Amazon links on the SWLing Post are auto-converted to affiliate links.

Spread the radio love

Treetop Antennas: Featured with my friend Wlodek (US7IGN) on BBC Radio 4 Short Cuts

3 Replies

I’m very honored to be featured with my good friend Wlodek (US7IGN) in a short radio documentary on BBC Radio 4 today.

Wlodek is long-time reader and subscriber here on the SWLing Post and QRPer.com. Wlodek lives in Kiev, Ukraine and we keep in touch these days over email. Like me, he is passionate about field radio work and before the Russian invasion, you’d often find him in nearby forests experimenting with some pretty impressive field antennas.

Sadly, when Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, it very quickly brought an end to all of that for Wlod. Not only were amateur radio operators not allowed to transmit under the state of emergency, but it’s no longer safe to venture into nearby forests.

Radio producer, Cicely Fell, learned about our love of all things field radio and put together an audio piece that airs today on BBC Radio 4:

BBC Radio 4 Short Cuts

From the forests of North Carolina, USA to the city of Kyiv, Ukraine – two ham radio enthusiasts seek each other out and a voice from the past prompts a dialogue on listening between a rabbi and a radio producer.

Click here to listen via the BBC Radio 4 website (note that the audio can be streamed shortly after the program airs today).

Many thanks to Cicely and her talented team at Falling Tree Productions for spending a little time with us in the forest and on the air! Truly an honor.

Spread the radio love

Wlodek Shares an Air Raid-Prompted Radio Comparison

4 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and friend, Wlodek (US7IGN), who writes from Kiev:

Hello!

Because of another air raid alert, I can’t sleep and I decided to make a small comparison of the receivers of the 60s and the modern one.

Of course, you can not compare their size and weight, as well as some features.

This Chinese XHDATA D-808 was given to me by a friend for comparison. When he was just choosing a good receiver, I advised him to buy an old Sony 7600 series or Panasonic B65, for example. But he decided that modern technology is better at handling the task of receiving. But it turned out to be not so clear:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Radios:

- - Philips All Transistor L4X39T
  - Hitachi WH-859D
  - Toshiba IC-70
  - XHDATA D-808

73 de US7IGN!

Thank you for sharing this, Wlod. I wish the circumstances for the radio comparison were better–even though I know air raids have sadly become a fact of life for many in Ukraine, I can’t imagine sleeping through them.

Your short comparison is interesting too. I consider the D-808 to be an excellent little DSP portable, but the audio simply can’t compare with your vintage radios. Indeed, the vintage receivers seem to handle the QRM a bit better than the D-808 as well.

Thank you for sharing this and wishing you the very best, OM.

Spread the radio love