Tag Archives: WRTH

Peter is impressed with the 2024 World Radio and TV Handbook

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Peter Luskey, who writes:

My new WRTH 2024 arrived from Germany on.the Radiodata earlybird program through their USA package fulfillment agent on Wednesday, 20 Dec. 2024, undamaged in excellent shape through USPS priority mail. This is the earliest date in the season that I have ever received my annual copy.

Editorially it seems to be a fine job, with a larger typeface in the front feature material and a slightly smaller but highly readable sans serif typeface in the balance of the book. The book actually contains more material than last year’s edition, despite being 816 pages in length, 32 pages fewer than last year.

Of particular interest is the greatly expanded SW broadcasting frequency list, which now indicates broadcasting days of the week and times of day divided by language, transmitter site and target area. All of the features from last year have been retained, including MW AM frequency lists for all major regions of the world, including North America, and the FM lists are now split by state or province for many countries, including the USA and Canada. They are again offering a digital edition updated every day, at a charge discounted for owners of a printed copy.

I am delighted by both the expanded content and the speed and quality of the shipment, and recommend that broadcasting DXers of every part of the spectrum consider either or both the print and digital editions.

Peter Luskey

Click here to order a copy of WRTH 2024 or check out the WRTH home page.

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Preorder WRTH 2024!

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

I am not sure if you saw this in your email yet, but you can now pre-order the WRTH 2024 at https://wrth.info/preorder-wrth-2024/

During checkout, apply the code earlybird to unlock a 5% discount. Remember: Shipping is free!

Thanks for the tip, Tom!

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Radio Waves: Maverick-603 SDR for FT8, EC-130J Commando Solo Final Broadcast, WRTH Survey, and Railways On The Air

EC-130J Photo By Staff Sgt. Tony Harp | An EC-130J Commando Solo aircraft from the 193rd Special Operations Wing performs a flyover during Community Days at the Lancaster Airport in Lititz, Pennsylvania, Sept.17, 2022. (Source: DVIDS)

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!


RadioStack’s Maverick-603 Is a Fully-Functional Open-Silicon Software-Defined Radio for FT8 (Hackster.io)

Built using open tools and readied for manufacturing at SkyWater using the Efabless platform, the chip on this SDR is something special.

New Hampshire-based RadioStack is looking to launch a piece of amateur radio equipment with a difference: the Maverick-603 is powered by free and open source silicon, built using the Efabless platform at a SkyWater fab.

“Maverick-603 is the first affordable FT8 receiver board built around an RF receiver chip that was designed using fully open source tools and fabrication,” its creators explain. “It is capable of acquiring FT8 signals between 7MHz and 70MHz. With this frequency range, you will be able to receive signals from around the world with high accuracy. The use of our Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) will also give the chip the ability to amplify very low-strength signals, which is necessary for an effective FT8 receiver.” [Continue reading…]

EC-130J Commando Solo performs final broadcast (DVIDS)

MIDDLETOWN, PA, UNITED STATES
09.17.2022
Story by Master Sgt. Alexander Farver
193rd Special Operations Wing

Airmen from the 193rd Special Operations Wing here, who operate the only flying military radio and TV broadcast platform in the U.S. military, transmitted their final broadcast today to spectators at the Community Days Air Show at Lancaster Airport, Lititz, Pa., bringing to close a 54-year chapter in unit history.

The EC-130J Commando Solo mission has helped keep this Air National Guard unit’s aircraft and its Airmen at the tip of spear for nearly every major U.S. military operation since the Vietnam War. Before bombs dropped or troops deployed in the Global War on Terror following the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, this specially modified aircraft was already over the skies of Afghanistan broadcasting to America’s enemies that the U.S. military was bringing the fight to them.

“Any world event or crisis that our military has responded to in recent history, our 193rd Airmen – and Commando Solo – were likely key components in that response,” said Col. Eric McKissick, 193rd SOW vice commander. “As we prepare to open a new chapter in our history, we thank those who have enabled us to be among the very best wings in the Air National Guard.”
The genesis for this airborne information operations platform can be traced back to 1968 when the 193rd Tactical Electronics Warfare Group received its first aircraft, called the EC-121 Coronet Solo. In the late 1970s, the aircraft were replaced by the EC-130E before finally being replaced by the current aircraft in 2003. Throughout its history, it was instrumental in the success of coordinated military information support operations, earning the wing the moniker of “the most deployed unit in the Air National Guard.”

These deployments included: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operations Odyssey Dawn/Unified Protector in Libya, Operation Inherent Resolve, Operation Resolute Support/Freedom’s Sentinel, Operation Secure Tomorrow and Operation Unified Response in Haiti.

Although this unique mission has earned the wing many prestigious accolades, Lt. Col. Michael Hackman, 193rd Special Operations Squadron commander, believes the mission’s success and legacy lies in winning the hearts and minds of adversaries and providing vital information to allies, refugees and victims in times of crisis.

“This capability has been an essential tool in our nation’s inventory, from the battlefields to assisting hurricane and earthquake-ravaged nations,” Hackman said. “During this time, thousands of Pennsylvania Air National Guard volunteers fulfilled their call to duty in this unique capacity, leveraging this capability against U.S. adversaries and supporting allies while always fulfilling the unit tenet of ‘Never Seen, Always Heard.’”

Aside from sporting an impressive operational record, the aircraft holds another distinction with having completed over 226,000 hours of accident-free flying.

“Having that many thousands of hours of accident-free flying is a testament to the excellence of our maintainers, to the operators and anybody who has touched that aircraft. Thank you for leaving that foundation and setting that example that we’re building from,” said Col. Jaime Ramirez, 193rd Special Operations Maintenance Group commander.

McKissick believes the success of the 193rd in operating the Commando Solo mission over the past few decades has led to Air Force Special Operations Command selecting the wing to be the first and only ANG unit to operate the MC-130J Commando II. The Commando II flies clandestine, or low visibility, single or multiship, low-level infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of special operations forces, by airdrop or airland and air refueling missions for special operations helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft, intruding politically sensitive or hostile territories.
“Today we honor the men and women, past and present, who have served this unit and mission with unparalleled distinction,” said McKissick. “The Airmen who came before us created an enduring culture and spirit of hard work, innovation and grit. We thank them for that, and we will do our best to carry this forward.”

The final broadcast of the EC-130J was transmitted to the ground and played at the Community Days Air Show at Lancaster Airport. In the transmission, the wing thanked the local community for their support over the past 54 years before broadcasting the Santo and Johnny song, “Sleepwalk.” The transmission ended with the phrase, “Commando Solo, music off.” [Read the full article here…]

WRTH Reader Survey

The new owners of the World Radio TV Handbook who like your input as readers. Please click on this link and share your opinions with them!

Railways On The Air (Southgate ARC)

The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group (EI2WRC) will be active from The Waterford and Suir Valley Railway station Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford for the ‘Railways On The Air‘ event on Sunday, the 25th of September.

WSVR is a community heritage project. The project has enabled the magic of rails golden age to be brought to life in Kilmeaden. A heritage narrow gauge railway runs along 17 kilometres of the abandoned Waterford to Dungarvan line.

The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group would like to thank the manager Maria Kyte and all the staff of The Waterford and Suir Valley Railway for all their help and allowing us access to the station to do this event again this year. For more information about the WSVR please see www.wsvrailway.ie .

The September meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday, the 26th of September 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford, Eircode X91 H588. New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.

For anyone that wishes to find out more about the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group and their activities you can drop them an email to southeasternarg /at/ gmail.com or please feel free to go along to any of their meetings. You can check their website www.searg.ie and you can also join them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.


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WRTH 2023 will be available in print and digital form under new ownership

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino, who shared the following via Twitter:

The next edition of the WRTH “world’s most comprehensive and up-to-date guide to broadcasting” will be published in December 2022 in a printed and a digital version. The rights have now been transferred to Radio Data Center GmbH (RDC), based in Freising, Germany.

This is fantastic news! Thank you for sharing this, Andrea.

UPDATE: WRTH has posted the following press release (click to download PDF).

Of course, we’ll post more details as they become available. 

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WRTH 2022: Two very important announcements…

If you’ve been reading the SWLing Post for long, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of the annual World Radio TV Handbook (WRTH). If you’re a fan of WRTH as well, I’ve got some good news and some…well…less than good news.

Good News: WRTH 2022 is Shipping!

The new 2022 edition of the WRTH has been printed and is shipping.

Purchase your copy of WRTH 2022 directly from WRTH’s publishers, or from a distributor like Universal Radio (US) , Amazon.com (US),  or the Book Depository (international).

Bad News: WRTH 2022 will be the final edition by WRTH Publications

WRTH’s publisher, Nicholas Hardyman, shared the following announcement today:

Having produced this book for the past 24 years we are very sorry to announce that WRTH 2022 will be the final edition of World Radio TV Handbook produced and published by WRTH Publications. This was a hard decision to make and one we only made after a lot of discussion. We know that many people rely on WRTH and greatly enjoy getting the new edition every year. We realise that this news will be disappointing for many people.

We want to thank you all for your loyal support over the years.

I know this must have been a very difficult decision for the WRTH team. While it is disappointing news, I wish everyone at WRTH the very best. I’ve gotten to know this team, especially Nicholas, over the years and it’s been an honor to work with them and even write a few of their reviews.

What now?

I believe WRTH will maintain an online presence for years to come. I would encourage you to keep their website bookmarked. Of course, we’ll announce any changes or updates to the WRTH site.

My advice? Don’t hesitate to buy the 2022 Edition!

Seriously. I can’t tell you how many readers over the years have told me they regretted not purchasing the final edition of Passport to Worldband Radio when it was new. Many didn’t realize that particular year would be the final edition and missed the opportunity.

In this case, we now know the 2022 edition of the WRTH will be the last. We have to assume the company printed roughly the same amount of books that they did last year since the decision was made after the book had gone to print.

In other words, the supply will be similar to last year, but I predict demand will be much higher with readers knowing in advance that this is the final edition.

My advice would be that if you want the 2022 edition, I would bite the bullet now instead of waiting.

Purchase your copy of WRTH 2022 directly from WRTH’s publishers, or from a distributor like Universal Radio (US) , Amazon.com (US),  or the Book Depository (international).

Again, here’s wishing everyone at WRTH Publishing the very best! Thank you for so many years of bringing our amazing international radio world into print.

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WRTH A21 season broadcasting schedule updates available as free download

Many thanks to Sean Gilbert, with the World Radio TV Handbook, who shares the following announcement:

WRTH is pleased to announce that the A21 (Summer) season broadcasting schedules for International and Clandestine/Target broadcasters are now available for download, free of charge.

This file is in PDF format so you will need software capable of reading the Adobe PDF format (such as the free Adobe Acrobat reader, amongst others).

Not only do you get the full schedules, extras included with the file are:
Broadcasts in Selected Languages (English. French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish); International DRM broadcasts (yes, there are still some around); International Broadcasting Frequency list; International Transmitter Sites, with lat/long; WRTH Target Areas and religious stations cross-reference table (You can find out which country each station is based in and where to find their schedule as that is not always as obvious as it may seem).

Please visit www.wrth.com and follow the links to the download page.

We hope you find this a useful file, both as a stand-alone product and as an accompaniment to the printed WRTH volume.

Feel free to pass this information on to all your radio friends and your social media groups, etc.

73 and happy listening from the WRTH Editorial Staff.

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WRTH 2021: A look inside the 75th Anniversary Edition!

Last week, I received a long-awaited Christmas gift: the 2021 World Radio TV Handbook. Normally, I’d receive this annual guide in the December time frame, but because of delays in international postal services due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I took delivery a few weeks late.  

I always look forward to receiving this excellent staple radio reference guide–and this is their 75th edition! As I say each year, the WRTH has never disappointed, so my expectations are always quite high.

Once again, the WRTH lived up to my expectations.

WRTH’s team of noted DXers from around the world curate frequencies and broadcaster information by region; while I’m not sure how they orchestrate all of this, the end result is truly a symphony of radio information. In addition to broadcaster listings, WRTH’s radio reviews, feature articles, and annual HF report make for excellent reading.

But the WRTH isn’t just a frequency guide: the publication always devotes the first sixty or so pages to articles relating to various aspects of the radio hobby. Following, I offer a quick overview of these.

The first article always features a WRTH contributor:  this year, they feature Stig Hartvig Nielson. His path to becoming a WRTH contributor began in his childhood when he said he was “tall enough to reach the radio tuning knob and tune away from dull Radio Denmark.”  His love of radio lead him down the path of becoming a broadcaster. Many of us know him via his station, Radio208.

WRTH Reviews

The second set of articles is always my favorite: WRTH receiver reviews.

This year, WRTH begins with an in-depth review of the AOR AR5700D wideband communications receiver–a radio I’d likely never touch in real-life, so it’s wonderful to take such a deep dive.  Next up is a review of the Bonito NTi MegaDipol MD300DX antenna which gets high marks for high gain, low noise, and good dynamic range. The following in-depth review is of the benchmark Icom IC-7610 general coverage transceiver. This was the first time I’ve read a review of this SDR transceiver with radio listeners in mind. WRTH then review the Bonito NTi CCMC30 common mode noise filter–a tool that can help radio enthusiasts mitigate RFI.

A review of the SDRplay RSPdx follows and the review speaks to the performance improvements included with the new HDR mode. The next review is actually one I authored of the Tecsun PL-990 portable radio–it’s always an honor to be in the pages of the WRTH!

The final review is of the Valent F(x) KiwiSDR; a little web-connected SDR receiver that has certainly transformed the nature and accessibility of remote listening.

WRTH Features

The first feature article, written by none other than Dave Porter, focuses on the development of HF broadcast transmitters. This article adds to the one he authored last year which focused on broadcast antennas. Dave is amazing because he has such an extensive history in the world of HF broadcasting and his experience and expertise are obvious in all of his writing. This is a must-read for those who want to know more about the “business side” of an international broadcast signal!

Manfred Rippich’s feature, Radio in Bhutan, explores the story of broadcasting in one of the most mountainous countries in the world where communities–including the capitol–are not easily accessible. Radio broadcasting plays an important role in this amazing country.

The following feature, Coastwatchers & the AWA Teleradio 3BZ written by Dr Martin Hadlow, takes a look at the importance of portable radios in the Pacific War. An absolutely fascinating piece for those of us who love radio history.

The final feature was written by Alan Pennington and explores the dynamic Scandinavian Weekend Radio.  It’s hard to believe SWR has celebrated 20 years on the air as of 2020. Pennington’s article explores the grassroots energy of this unique broadcaster!

The final article–a tradition–is the WRTH  HF propagation report/forecast by Ulf-Peter Hoppe. Always an informative read especially as we continue to work our way out of a long-term solar slump.

The 75th is another fantastic edition of the World Radio TV Handbook. As I say every year, I’ve never been disappointed with WRTH. Their publishing standards are such that the quality of their reviews, their writing, and (most importantly) their broadcast listings are simply unparalleled.

For DXers who collect QSL cards, you’ll find that broadcaster contact information in WRTH is often more up-to-date than a broadcaster’s own website. When readers contact me asking for QSL information from an obscure broadcaster, the first place I search is the current WRTH. Remember: their information is based on volunteer contributors who specialize in specific regions of the world–the most knowledgeable regional DXers keep this publication accurate.

Purchase your copy of WRTH 2020 directly from WRTH’s publishers, or from a distributor like Universal Radio (US) , Amazon.com (US),  or the Book Depository (international).

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