{"id":50847,"date":"2021-11-12T08:15:36","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T12:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=50847"},"modified":"2021-11-12T08:17:18","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T12:17:18","slug":"with-your-help-bill-would-like-to-take-a-deep-dive-into-mailbags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/11\/with-your-help-bill-would-like-to-take-a-deep-dive-into-mailbags\/","title":{"rendered":"With your help, Bill would like to take a deep dive into Mailbags!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Original<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Bill Meara, from the excellent Soldersmoke Podcast<\/a>, who writes:<\/p>\n

Thomas:<\/strong><\/p>\n

A recent comment on the SS blog<\/a> about the roots of our podcast got me thinking about one of our favorite segments: the Mailbag.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know that in coming up with this segment — and its name — I was influenced by the shortwave broadcast stations I listened to as a kid.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today I did a bit of Googling to find out which ones had Mailbags.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Turns out that the practice and the term almost certainly originated at Radio Moscow<\/em>. You will find this interesting:<\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/rijmenants.blogspot.com\/2020\/05\/radio-moscow-and-cold-war.html<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

HCJB had DX-Party Line, but I don’t know if they had a segment called Mailbag. It may have been just one big mailbag!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Radio Romania still has one (I think). As does Radio Havana Cuba.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I saw one reference to a Canadian “Maple Leaf Mailbag” but I don’t recall ever hearing this.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Any other Mailbags out there?<\/strong><\/p>\n

73 Bill<\/strong><\/p>\n

I, too, have a lot of nostalgia for Mailbag shows. As you note, there are still quite a few on the air. Radio Romania International always comes to mind and also the many reader notes Jeff White addresses in Wavescan on WRMI. I was called out on the Maple Leaf Mailbag a number of times, but that was more than a decade ago now (wow–next year, RCI will have been off the air for a decade<\/em>! Let that sink in!).<\/p>\n

I’m sure there are many more.<\/p>\n

SWLing Post<\/em> readers:<\/strong> Can you please comment<\/a> with any active Mailbag shows you know of currently on the shortwaves? Perhaps mention the broadcaster and program name and any of your favorites. Thank you in advance!<\/p>\n

While you’re at it, check out the Solder Smoke podcast!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Meara, from the excellent Soldersmoke Podcast, who writes: Thomas: A recent comment on the SS blog about the roots of our podcast got me thinking about one of our favorite segments: the Mailbag. I know that in coming up with this segment — and its name — I […]<\/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":[3,305,43],"tags":[3254,1263,3157],"class_list":["post-50847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-shortwave-radio","tag-bill-meara","tag-mailbag-show","tag-solder-smoke"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-de7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10945,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/bill-solves-the-cri-echo-mystery\/","url_meta":{"origin":50847,"position":0},"title":"Bill solves the CRI echo mystery","author":"Thomas","date":"September 29, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago, I posted an article about Bill Meara (producer of the SolderSmoke Podcast)\u00a0who was hearing audio echoes on his home brew regenerative receiver. Bill has now solved this mystery (hint: it's all about\u00a0the receiver): http:\/\/soldersmoke.blogspot.com\/2014\/09\/radio-china-international-echo-mystery.html","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Earth","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Earth.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Earth.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Earth.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58215,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/1971-hippy-shortwave-listening\/","url_meta":{"origin":50847,"position":1},"title":"1971 “Hippy” Shortwave Listening","author":"Thomas","date":"November 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Meara who shares this story on the SolderSmoke Podcast and notes, \"With more to follow...\" \u00a0 From the Last Whole Earth Catalog (1971) -- Short Waves -- Part 1 http:\/\/soldersmoke.com\/soldersmoke249.mp3 Having recently returned from San Francisco, it seemed somehow appropriate for me to\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\/2023\/11\/Whole-Earth-Shortwave-listening.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":59859,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/05\/email-prompts-bill-to-pull-his-regenerative-receiver-off-the-shelf\/","url_meta":{"origin":50847,"position":2},"title":"Email prompts Bill to pull his regenerative receiver off the shelf!","author":"Thomas","date":"May 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor, Bill Meara who shares\u00a0the following article from the excellent SolderSmoke Podcast blog: 2014 \"Off the Shelf\" Regen Comes Off the Shelf (Two Videos) https:\/\/youtu.be\/Qj5DE2RJ7aY Walter KA4KXX spotted an error in the schematic of my 2014 \"Off the Shelf\" regen receiver: The source resistor on the MPF-102\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/Qj5DE2RJ7aY\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":54731,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/11\/from-soldersmoke-watching-shortwave-broadcast-stations-on-the-tinysa-spectrum-analyser\/","url_meta":{"origin":50847,"position":3},"title":"From SolderSmoke: Watching Shortwave Broadcast Stations on the TinySA Spectrum Analyser","author":"Thomas","date":"November 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and friend, Bill Meara, from the amazing SolderSmoke podcast who shares the following post that originally appeared on the SolderSmoke Daily News: Watching Shortwave Broadcast Stations on the TinySA Spectrum Analyser by Bill Meara November 18, 2022 1244 UTC. I was using a TinySA\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","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\/2022\/11\/Dos-Equis-Vatican-Radio-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":58285,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/bills-shortwave-listener-qsl-cards\/","url_meta":{"origin":50847,"position":4},"title":"Bill’s Shortwave Listener QSL Cards","author":"Thomas","date":"November 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Meara who shares\u00a0the following article from the SolderSmoke Podcast: Some Short-Wave Listener QSL Cards http:\/\/soldersmoke.com\/soldersmoke249.mp3 I haven't received many, but I always like QSL cards from shortwave listeners. Someone out there is listening! The top one is from recent contact. It arrives from\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\/2023\/11\/SWL-QSLs.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SWL-QSLs.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SWL-QSLs.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SWL-QSLs.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/SWL-QSLs.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63025,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/hcjbs-legacy-lives-on-in-western-australia\/","url_meta":{"origin":50847,"position":5},"title":"HCJB\u2019s Legacy Lives On in Western Australia","author":"Thomas","date":"May 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Bill Meara, who recently connected with VK6JMS\u2014an amateur radio operator working from none other than HCJB\u2019s former shortwave site in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In his latest SolderSmoke post, Bill shares details about the station\u2019s legacy, its impressive TCI antennas, and the\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\/2023\/06\/Norelco-Dial-Angle-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Norelco-Dial-Angle-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Norelco-Dial-Angle-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Norelco-Dial-Angle-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Norelco-Dial-Angle-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\/50847","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=50847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50847\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}