{"id":29909,"date":"2017-12-31T14:27:19","date_gmt":"2017-12-31T18:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=29909"},"modified":"2017-12-31T14:27:19","modified_gmt":"2017-12-31T18:27:19","slug":"atlas-obscura-this-weather-report-has-been-making-waves-for-150-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/12\/atlas-obscura-this-weather-report-has-been-making-waves-for-150-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlas Obscura: “This weather report has been making waves for 150 years.”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Photo by Michael Browning on Unsplash.<\/p><\/div>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who notes that the excellent website, Atlas Obscura<\/a>, recently featured The Shipping Forecast:<\/p>\n

\n

Why a Maritime Forecast Is So Beloved in the United Kingdom<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a>For the penultimate song on their 1994 album Parklife, Blur chose the swirling, meditative epic, \u201cThis Is a Low.\u201d The song envisions a five-minute trip around the British Isles as an area of low pressure hits.<\/p>\n

\u201cUp the Tyne, Forth, and Cromarty,\u201d sings the lead singer Damon Albarn, \u201cthere\u2019s a low in the high Forties.\u201d The song\u2019s litany of playful-sounding place names, including the improbable \u201cBiscay\u201d and \u201cDogger,\u201d may seem obscure to listeners abroad, but to a British audience, they resonate.<\/p>\n

The song\u2019s lyrics were inspired by the Shipping Forecast, a weather report that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Sailors working around the coasts of Britain and Ireland, recipients of the wrath of the North Atlantic and North Sea, are the ostensible beneficiaries of the forecast.<\/p>\n

But, for listeners who tune in while tucked in bed rather than sailing the high seas, the reassuring sound\u2014a simple, steady listing of conditions in the seas around the British Isles, broken down into 31 \u201csea areas,\u201d most of which are named after nearby geographical features\u2014is something more akin to the beating pulse of the United Kingdom, as familiar as the national anthem or the solemn chimes of Big Ben.[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Continue reading the full story via Atlas Obscura.<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks for the tip, Eric!<\/p>\n

SWLing Post<\/em> readers know that I’m quite a fan of The Shipping Forecast.<\/a>\u00a0We’ve posted a number of articles about the Forecast on the SWLing Post<\/em> in the past–click here to read through our archives.<\/a><\/p>\n

When I lived in the UK, I would often fall asleep and\/or wake up to the Shipping Forecast. Here in the States, I can listen to the forecast live\u00a0via the U Twente WebSDR<\/a>, but I rarely remember to do so.<\/p>\n

And, of course, I can navigate to the Radio 4 website<\/a> and stream current and past forecasts on demand, but I find the audio a little too clean and full fidelity. I prefer listening to my maritime poetry via Amplitude Modulation (AM)!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To satisfy my desire for some AM forecasts, this morning I fed my SSTran AM transmitter<\/a> with audio from the Radio 4 website<\/a>, then made a recording with my AirSpy HF+ SDR<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here’s my AM version of the Shipping Forecast:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/ShippingForecastDecember312017\/Shipping%20Forecast%20December%2031%2C%202017.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Click here to download as an MP3.<\/a><\/p>\n

For the record: this is what you get when you combine a radio and shipping forecast geek!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who notes that the excellent website, Atlas Obscura, recently featured The Shipping Forecast: Why a Maritime Forecast Is So Beloved in the United Kingdom For the penultimate song on their 1994 album Parklife, Blur chose the swirling, meditative epic, \u201cThis Is a Low.\u201d The song envisions […]<\/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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,433,3,746],"tags":[6720,1347,2964,2887,4106,2734],"class_list":["post-29909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-mediumwave","category-news","category-recordings","tag-atlas-obscura","tag-bbc-radio-4","tag-bbc-radio-4-shipping-forecast","tag-eric-mcfadden","tag-recordings","tag-shipping-forecast"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-7Mp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33959,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/atlas-obscura-features-kph-maritime-radio-receiving-station\/","url_meta":{"origin":29909,"position":0},"title":"Atlas Obscura features KPH Maritime Radio Receiving Station","author":"Thomas","date":"September 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Atlas Obscura via Eric McFadden) One of the most stunning sights of the Bay Area is the historic KPH Radio Station, also known as Marine Coast Station KPH. To reach the station, you must first pass through a clerestory tunnel of cypress trees near the Point Reyes National Seashore.[...]\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","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\/2018\/09\/1024px-Cypress_Tree_Avenue_at_KPH_Point_Reyes-1024x635.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1024px-Cypress_Tree_Avenue_at_KPH_Point_Reyes-1024x635.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1024px-Cypress_Tree_Avenue_at_KPH_Point_Reyes-1024x635.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33310,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/07\/the-shipping-forecast-featured-on-99-invisible\/","url_meta":{"origin":29909,"position":1},"title":"The Shipping Forecast featured on 99% Invisible","author":"Thomas","date":"July 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who notes that one of my favorite podcasts, 99% Invisible, has featured The Shipping Forecast in their latest episode: https:\/\/dts.podtrac.com\/redirect.mp3\/media.blubrry.com\/99percentinvisible\/dovetail.prxu.org\/96\/474ddc6a-89d7-46d3-83a4-8f153c94e3a3\/316_The_Shipping_Forecast_pt01.mp3 Four times every day, on radios all across the British Isles, a BBC announcer begins reading from a seemingly indecipherable script.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Met-Office-Shipping-Forecast-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Met-Office-Shipping-Forecast-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Met-Office-Shipping-Forecast-1024x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27427,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/space-weather-woman-check-out-dr-tamitha-skovs-forecasts\/","url_meta":{"origin":29909,"position":2},"title":"Space Weather Woman: Check out Dr. Tamitha Skov’s forecasts","author":"Thomas","date":"August 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who recently shared one of Tamitha Skov's space weather forecast videos. Over the past few years, I've watched Dr. Skov's weekly video forecasts to better understand the implications of incoming CMEs, solar winds, sun spots (or lack thereof) and geomagnetic storms.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","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\/2017\/08\/SpaceWeatherWoman-header-1024x574.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/SpaceWeatherWoman-header-1024x574.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/SpaceWeatherWoman-header-1024x574.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38626,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/atlas-obscura-time-to-update-the-spelling-alphabet\/","url_meta":{"origin":29909,"position":3},"title":"Atlas Obscura: Time to update the Spelling Alphabet?","author":"Thomas","date":"July 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors, Paul Evans and Eric McFadden, who share this article from Atlas Obscura where author Dan Nosowitz asks if it's time to update the spelling (a.k.a. phonetic) alphabet: WHEN SOMEONE ON THE PHONE\u2014THE\u00a0doctor\u2019s office, the bank, the credit card company\u2014asks for my name, I always\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image by Annie Spratt","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/telephone-by-Annie-Spratt-via-Unsplash.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/telephone-by-Annie-Spratt-via-Unsplash.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/telephone-by-Annie-Spratt-via-Unsplash.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/telephone-by-Annie-Spratt-via-Unsplash.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33485,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/a-history-of-listening-to-mars\/","url_meta":{"origin":29909,"position":4},"title":"A history of listening to Mars","author":"Thomas","date":"August 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Atlas Obscura via William McFadden) When the red planet comes close to Earth, some people have tried to tune in to see if it has anything to say. ON RECENT EVENINGS, AS JULY has melted into August, Earth\u2019s rocky red companion has dropped by for a visit. Earth and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","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\/2018\/08\/Mars.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Mars.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Mars.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Mars.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":41539,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/voa-museum-featured-in-atlas-obscura\/","url_meta":{"origin":29909,"position":5},"title":"VOA Museum featured in Atlas Obscura","author":"Thomas","date":"January 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source Atlas Obscura via Paul Evans W4\/VP9KF) The former Voice of America broadcast site at Bethany Station is now a museum. It covers the history and role of Voice of America, as well as the history of broadcast and radio itself. Tucked into the former equipment bays are row upon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","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\/2015\/05\/VOA-Bethany-1-9-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/VOA-Bethany-1-9-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/VOA-Bethany-1-9-1024x678.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29909","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=29909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29909\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}