{"id":13027,"date":"2015-05-28T07:39:12","date_gmt":"2015-05-28T11:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=13027"},"modified":"2015-05-28T09:07:01","modified_gmt":"2015-05-28T13:07:01","slug":"listening-to-an-am-broadcast-station-on-the-bc-348q","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/05\/listening-to-an-am-broadcast-station-on-the-bc-348q\/","title":{"rendered":"Listening to an AM broadcast station on the BC-348Q"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/SignalCorps-BC-348Q.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-13088\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/SignalCorps-BC-348Q.jpg\" alt=\"SignalCorps-BC-348Q\" width=\"650\" height=\"459\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/SignalCorps-BC-348Q.jpg 650w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/SignalCorps-BC-348Q-300x212.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I listen to <a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/swling-with-heavy-metal-my-signal-corps-bc-348-q\/\">my BC-348Q<\/a> most days;\u00a0in\u00a0fact, it&#8217;s my preferred way of receiving my\u00a0morning dose of Radio Australia on 9,580 kHz. And although\u00a0you won&#8217;t find any medium-wave DXers endorsing this beefy antique rig, the BC-348, with its warm tone,\u00a0has\u00a0turned out to be a great shortwave receiver for casual listening.<\/p>\n<p>When the armed forces commissioned the Signal Corps BC348 during WWII, the last thing they wanted was to have on-duty personnel listening to AM broadcast bands during, say, bombing sorties\u2013\u2013so they purposefully omitted the medium-wave band. The band selections in the BC-348 are as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-13356\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BC-348-Q-Dial-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"BC-348-Q-Dial\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BC-348-Q-Dial-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/BC-348-Q-Dial.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>200-500 KC.<\/li>\n<li>1.5-3.5 MC.<\/li>\n<li>3.5-6.0 MC.<\/li>\n<li>6.0-9.5 MC.<\/li>\n<li>9.5-13.5 MC.<\/li>\n<li>13.5-18.0 MC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But here in the comfort of my radio digs\u00a0three-quarters of a\u00a0century\u00a0after WWII, I recently discovered that this classic &#8220;hot war&#8221; receiver does, indeed, pick up one of my local AM broadcast stations: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wtzq.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">WTZQ<\/a>, and on 1,600 kHz. WTZQ has become one of my favorite stations; it&#8217;s one of the few in this region that&#8217;s still actually\u00a0independently owned. \u00a0The station&#8217;s playlist spans the decades, including, as they say, &#8220;everything from Glenn Miller to Steve Miller.&#8221; And, since they&#8217;re on &#8220;1.6 MC&#8221; they make the cut on the &#8216;348&#8217;s second-band selection. \u00a0How cool is that?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/WTZQ.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-13358\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/WTZQ.jpg\" alt=\"WTZQ\" width=\"181\" height=\"95\" \/><\/a>WTZQ&#8217;s station is a good thirty\u00a0miles from\u00a0here as the crow flies, so reception usually includes a little static on the wire\u00a0antenna I&#8217;ve connected to the BC-348. Still, you might enjoy this short audio clip of WTZQ\u00a0via the BC-348Q:<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-13027-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/WTZQ-Sample.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/WTZQ-Sample.mp3\">http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/WTZQ-Sample.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>You can stream WTZQ, by the way,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/wtzq.streamon.fm\/\" target=\"_blank\">via their website<\/a>. Enjoy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I listen to my BC-348Q most days;\u00a0in\u00a0fact, it&#8217;s my preferred way of receiving my\u00a0morning dose of Radio Australia on 9,580 kHz. And although\u00a0you won&#8217;t find any medium-wave DXers endorsing this beefy antique rig, the BC-348, with its warm tone,\u00a0has\u00a0turned out to be a great shortwave receiver for casual listening. When the armed forces commissioned the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,1271,3,305],"tags":[3803,1421,2812,2813,3802],"class_list":["post-13027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-boat-anchors-2","category-news","category-nostalgia","tag-bc-348-am","tag-bc-348-q","tag-signal-corps-bc-348","tag-signal-corps-bc-348-q","tag-wtzq"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-3o7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17257,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/listening-to-the-voice-of-greece-on-the-signal-corps-bc-348-q\/","url_meta":{"origin":13027,"position":0},"title":"Listening to the Voice of Greece on the Signal Corps BC-348-Q","author":"Thomas","date":"February 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday evening, I warmed up my Signal Corps BC-348-Q and tuned\u00a0to 9,420 kHz to see if the Voice of Greece happened to be on the air. Fortunately, I was rewarded with a\u00a0strong signal from\u00a0Avlis. The '348 did a fine job playing all that lovely Greek music, too. Though the WWII\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Boat Anchors&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Boat Anchors","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/boat-anchors-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SignalCorps-BC-348-Q","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SignalCorps-BC-348-Q-1024x706.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SignalCorps-BC-348-Q-1024x706.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SignalCorps-BC-348-Q-1024x706.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9429,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/swling-with-heavy-metal-my-signal-corps-bc-348-q\/","url_meta":{"origin":13027,"position":1},"title":"SWLing with heavy metal: my Signal Corps BC-348-Q","author":"Thomas","date":"May 1, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"I write a great deal\u00a0about DSP portables, SDRs, and modern ham radio transceivers, but truth be known, my passion\u00a0is\u00a0for\u00a0older rigs\u2013ahem,\u00a0much older\u2013the antique \"boat anchors\" of the radio world. Tuesday\u00a0afternoon, I had a rather involved\u00a0soldering project to do on behalf of my organization, Ears To Our World. \u00a0While I worked, I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SignalCorps-BC-348-Q","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SignalCorps-BC-348-Q-1024x706.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SignalCorps-BC-348-Q-1024x706.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/SignalCorps-BC-348-Q-1024x706.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47876,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/the-signal-corps-bc-348-q-a-perfect-cold-winter-night-companion\/","url_meta":{"origin":13027,"position":2},"title":"The Signal Corps BC-348-Q: A perfect cold winter night companion","author":"Thomas","date":"February 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Not much to say here other than it's cold outside, but the BC-348 is keeping me warm inside. There are few radios in my collection I love more than this one. She's built like a tank and warms my shack and my soul!","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/BC-348-Q_4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/BC-348-Q_4.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/BC-348-Q_4.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/BC-348-Q_4.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/BC-348-Q_4.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14659,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/a-photo-tour-of-the-2015-shelby-hamfest\/","url_meta":{"origin":13027,"position":3},"title":"A photo tour of the 2015 Shelby Hamfest","author":"Thomas","date":"September 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"For the first time in over a decade, my Labor Day weekend was free of travel, so I was able to make a short pilgrimage to the Shelby (North Carolina) hamfest with my good buddies, Vlado (N3CZ), Dave (K4SV) and Phil (W9IXX). The Shelby Hamfest--referred to, locally, as \"The Grand-Daddy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_20150905_104809168_HDR","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_20150905_104809168_HDR.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_20150905_104809168_HDR.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_20150905_104809168_HDR.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4672,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/try-that-with-an-iphone\/","url_meta":{"origin":13027,"position":4},"title":"Try that with an iPhone!","author":"Thomas","date":"October 13, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"With the help and guidance of my good friend Charlie, we just repaired and aligned this BC-348-Q receiver. BC-348s were built to withstand the extreme temperatures (-60F) and vibrations on board the B-17 and other bombers, where they were used extensively in World War II. I picked this beauty up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/1-BC-348-Q.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/1-BC-348-Q.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/1-BC-348-Q.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":35131,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/winter-radio-life-and-preparing-for-power-outages\/","url_meta":{"origin":13027,"position":5},"title":"Winter radio life and preparing for power outages","author":"Thomas","date":"December 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Here at SWLing Post HQ we've been under a Winter Storm Warning since yesterday--it's not set to expire until sometime tomorrow. This storm hasn't been all snow--it's a mixture of snow and ice. If this continues, I fully expect to lose power at some point today. In general, we're prepared\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommRadio-CTX-10-Startup.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommRadio-CTX-10-Startup.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommRadio-CTX-10-Startup.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/CommRadio-CTX-10-Startup.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13027\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}