{"id":48045,"date":"2021-03-06T09:37:04","date_gmt":"2021-03-06T13:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=48045"},"modified":"2021-03-06T11:01:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-06T15:01:45","slug":"transmitters-stuck-in-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/03\/transmitters-stuck-in-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Transmitters stuck in time"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Sometimes we radio enthusiasts discover odd things on the air.<\/p>\n

We’re listeners and we notice things.<\/p>\n

A few days ago our friendy, Matt Blaze, tweeted this<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Yep, for eight years a DDOT TIS (Traffic Information System) transmitter has been broadcasting the same repeating message and few have noticed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>You can read Matt’s whole Twitter chain here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Matt has also kindly shared an audio recording<\/a> of this transmitter. He notes that the reception “was weak but readable<\/em>” from his home:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.mattblaze.org\/private\/DC1650AM-20210310.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

What’s more, Matt’s tweet was picked up by The Drive<\/a> and turned into a post, thus exposing our radio geekery to the populos at large. Many thanks to the numerous SWLing Post<\/em> readers who shared a link to the article.<\/p>\n

I have to assume someone from the DDOT was paying attention too because Matt posted that as of March 3rd, it appears the transmitter has been taken off the air:<\/p>\n

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

This reminded me of another transmitter stuck in time that I thought David Goren<\/a> once mentioned. I checked with him and he confirmed:<\/p>\n

Yes, there\u2019s a transmitter somewhere on MW in NYC that has been broadcasting: \u201cthis is a functional test of the text-to-speech capability of the [VR or BR 2000] software package”. They\u2019ve probably been on at least 10 years.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Many thanks to David for sharing the following recording:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Functional-test.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Have you ever heard a forgotten transmitter? Please comment with details<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes we radio enthusiasts discover odd things on the air. We’re listeners and we notice things. A few days ago our friendy, Matt Blaze, tweeted this: Yep, for eight years a DDOT TIS (Traffic Information System) transmitter has been broadcasting the same repeating message and few have noticed. You can read Matt’s whole Twitter chain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[373,3],"tags":[4097,174,9169,8836,4099,9170,9171],"class_list":["post-48045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-news","tag-am","tag-david-goren","tag-ddot","tag-matt-blaze","tag-mediumwave","tag-tis","tag-traffic-information-system"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-cuV","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45996,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/matt-compares-the-tecsun-pl-990-and-sangean-ats-909x-sharing-an-external-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":48045,"position":0},"title":"Matt compares the Tecsun PL-990 and Sangean ATS-909X sharing an external antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"October 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Matt Blaze, who shares the following comparison of the new\u00a0Tecsun PL-990x and the original Sangean ATS-909X\u00a0communications receivers. Like Matt\u2019s recent comparison of the Tecsun PL-990x to the Icom IC-R9500, this review is in audio form and brilliantly narrated by Matt. I highly recommend listening with headphones or,\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\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/ATS-909X.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45974,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/matt-compares-the-tecsun-pl-990-to-the-icom-ic-r9500-on-an-external-antenna-and-the-results-are-surprising\/","url_meta":{"origin":48045,"position":1},"title":"Matt compares the Tecsun PL-990 to the Icom IC-R9500 on an external antenna and the results are surprising","author":"Thomas","date":"October 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Matt Blaze, who shares the following comparison of the new Tecsun PL-990x and the benchmark Icom IC-R9500 communications receiver. Matt's excellent comparison\u00a0 is in audio form. I highly recommend listening with headphones or, at least, an audio device with separate left\/right channels as his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Icom-IC-R9500-v-PL-990x-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Icom-IC-R9500-v-PL-990x-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Icom-IC-R9500-v-PL-990x-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Icom-IC-R9500-v-PL-990x-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Icom-IC-R9500-v-PL-990x-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46202,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/matts-mediumwave-audio-comparison-of-the-c-crane-radio-2e-and-the-potomac-instruments-fim-41\/","url_meta":{"origin":48045,"position":2},"title":"Matt’s mediumwave audio comparison of the C.Crane Radio 2E and the Potomac Instruments FIM-41","author":"Thomas","date":"October 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Matt Blaze, who writes: I did another head-to-head receiver comparison, this time of two MW BCB AM portables: The C.Crane Radio 2\/e vs. the Potomac Instruments FIM-41 field intensity meter. The latter is not intended as a receiver, but rather a test instrument, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Matt-Blaze-AM-Radio-Shootout-5.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Matt-Blaze-AM-Radio-Shootout-5.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Matt-Blaze-AM-Radio-Shootout-5.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Matt-Blaze-AM-Radio-Shootout-5.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Matt-Blaze-AM-Radio-Shootout-5.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46366,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/matts-marathon-mediumwave-matchup\/","url_meta":{"origin":48045,"position":3},"title":"Matt’s Marathon MediumWave Matchup","author":"Thomas","date":"November 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Matt Blaze (WB2SRI), who shares the following guest post: Matt's Marathon MediumWave Matchup by Matt Blaze Here's another simultaneous receiver comparison, this time of ten portable medium wave receivers plus the Icom IC-R9500 (as a \"reference receiver\"). Previously, I used the same antenna for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_3952-2-scaled-e1604758555726.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_3952-2-scaled-e1604758555726.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_3952-2-scaled-e1604758555726.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_3952-2-scaled-e1604758555726.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_3952-2-scaled-e1604758555726.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61611,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/from-ndbs-to-tis-a-dxers-journey-across-1610-1700-khz\/","url_meta":{"origin":48045,"position":4},"title":"From NDBs to TIS: A DXer\u2019s Journey Across 1610-1700 kHz","author":"Thomas","date":"January 14, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who shares the following guest post and asks, \"Wonder who can add to this list?\": A Look Back \u2013 DXing between 1610 and 1700 kHz by Dan Greenall 1. The Caribbean Beacon, Anguilla West Indies 1610 kHz (1985 QSL) 2. NDB stations\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/US-Army-test-KTRK-Ft.-Meade-MD-Feb-1996.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/US-Army-test-KTRK-Ft.-Meade-MD-Feb-1996.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/US-Army-test-KTRK-Ft.-Meade-MD-Feb-1996.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/US-Army-test-KTRK-Ft.-Meade-MD-Feb-1996.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/US-Army-test-KTRK-Ft.-Meade-MD-Feb-1996.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53814,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/08\/matts-2022-portable-loop-antenna-shootout\/","url_meta":{"origin":48045,"position":5},"title":"Matt’s 2022 Portable Loop Antenna Shootout","author":"Thomas","date":"August 28, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Matt Blaze, for the following guest post: Matt's 2022 Portable Loop Antenna Shootout by Matt Blaze, WB2SRI Followers of this blog may be familiar with my \"shortwave radio shootouts\" that I post from time to time. The idea is to compare how well different radios demodulate the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Matt-Blaze-Loops-Sound-Designs-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Matt-Blaze-Loops-Sound-Designs-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Matt-Blaze-Loops-Sound-Designs-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Matt-Blaze-Loops-Sound-Designs-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Matt-Blaze-Loops-Sound-Designs-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48045","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=48045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48045\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}