{"id":55279,"date":"2023-01-09T09:48:20","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T13:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=55279"},"modified":"2023-01-09T09:48:20","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T13:48:20","slug":"radio-waves-rtl-ends-longwave-ana-montes-released-mystery-antennas-across-utah-rip-mihail-mihailov-and-morse-in-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/radio-waves-rtl-ends-longwave-ana-montes-released-mystery-antennas-across-utah-rip-mihail-mihailov-and-morse-in-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio Waves: RTL Ends Longwave, Ana Montes Released, Mystery Antennas Across Utah, RIP Mihail Mihailov, and Morse in Music"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Junglinster RTL longwave transmitter (via Wikimedia Commons)<\/p><\/div>\n

Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio<\/h2>\n

Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s<\/em> Radio Waves<\/em>, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0<\/strong>Enjoy!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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RTL Ends Longwave Service (Radio World)<\/a><\/h2>\n

On 234 kHz, the new year rang in with static, not bells or fireworks. As had been announced in October, French broadcaster RTL switched off its longwave broadcasts on January 1, 2023.<\/p>\n

Long-time RTL presenter Georges Lang marked the occasion with a bittersweet tweet: \u201cVoil\u00e0, c\u2019est fini\u2026 Goodbye good old Long Waves, you did a good job for a so long time. You belong now to the history of Radio-Luxembourg and RTL.\u201d<\/p>\n

Groupe M6, which owns the station, noted that maintaining longwave broadcasts from the Beidweiler, Luxembourg, transmission site consumed about 6,000 megawatt-hours of electricity each year, roughly equal to the average annual energy consumption of 3,000 French people. [Continue reading…<\/a>]<\/p>\n

US releases top Cuba spy Ana Bel\u00e9n Montes after 20 years in prison (The Guardian)<\/a><\/h2>\n

SWLing Post contributor, Ed, shares this story and notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some SWLing Post readers might be interested to learn that one of the few spies ever caught in the U.S. using shortwave numbers station transmissions to receive instructions is Ana Bel\u00e9n Montes, who was just released from prison after serving 20 years of her 25-year sentence.<\/em><\/p>\n

Former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst, 65, freed after being found guilty of espionage in 2002<\/h3>\n

One of the highest-ranking US officials ever proven to have spied for Cuba has been released from prison early after spending more than two decades behind bars.<\/p>\n

Ana Bel\u00e9n Montes pleaded guilty in 2002 to conspiracy to commit espionage after she was accused of using her leading position as a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) official to leak information, including the identities of some US spies, to Havana. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison at the age of 45.<\/p>\n

Montes, now 65, was released on Friday, the US bureau of prisons said.<\/p>\n

A US citizen of Puerto Rican descent, Montes began working for the DIA in 1985 and rapidly climbed its ranks to become the agency\u2019s top Cuba analyst. [Continue reading…<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Why are antennas popping up all over the foothills? Salt Lake City seeks to solve mystery (KSL)<\/a><\/h2>\n

SALT LAKE CITY \u2014 On Wednesday, Salt Lake City public lands officials hiked for hours up a snowy trail to remove a mysterious device \u2013 one that\u2019s popping up all over the foothills.<\/p>\n

It consists of a locked battery box, a solar panel, and an antenna, according to Tyler Fonarow, the city\u2019s recreational trails manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese towers have been bolted into different peaks and summits and ridges around the foothills,\u201d Fonarow explained, \u201cand it started with one or two, and now it might be as much as a dozen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first ones appeared about a year ago, but Fonarow said many more were found in the past few months. The small towers don\u2019t have permits, and it\u2019s unclear who\u2019s installing them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just don\u2019t leave things on public lands anymore. You have to ask for permission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One was removed last week and another on Wednesday, with more will be removed in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we get up to the Twin Peaks, it gets real steep, so we were up there. There were five of us, and then we took some kids\u2019 sleds to bring the equipment down to make it a little bit easier on us,\u201d Fonarow said. [Continue reading and watch video report…<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Mysterious Antennas Are Appearing in Utah’s Hills and Officials Are Stumped (Vice)<\/a><\/h2>\n

City officials have found around a dozen of the antennas and no one is sure what they’re for.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Strange antennas have appeared in the foothills around Salt Lake City and authorities have no idea what they are or who put them up.<\/p>\n

As first reported by KSLTV 5 in Utah, people first began noticing the antennas a year ago. They\u2019re simple machines made up of a LoRa fiberglass antenna, a locked battery pack, and a solar panel to power it. The Salt Lake City public lands department has been pulling them down as they find them, and told KSLTV that there have been as many as a dozen.<\/p>\n

[…]According to Fonarow, the highest elevation one of the antennas had been found at is the top of Mount Wire, which is more than 7,000 feet. He said the trip out the mountain would take about an hour, but it would be a hard hike.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne person could do it,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it would take two trips unless they\u2019re really strong. The three main components are a suitcase sized\u2026plastic, weatherproof case for their electric equipment for the battery and router. It was about 50 or 60 pounds. And then there\u2019s two antennas, four to six feet, and the solar panel which is about three by four feet. It would be a pretty tough thing to do by yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The router made Fonarow initially think the thing was a cell phone booster, he said. Another leading theory online is that the antennas are part of a cryptocurrency mining operation.<\/p>\n

Helium is a type of cryptocurrency that uses antennas to create a long-range, wide-area network. Instead of proof-of-work releasing token rewards, Helium relies on what it calls proof-of-coverage. The wider the network, the more Helium you\u2019re mining. Helium mining requires the exact kind of antenna shown in the photos of the devices recovered by Salt Lake City authorities. There are plenty of articles online instructing people how to create solar-powered rigs for Helium miners to deploy in rural areas, and Helium miners are fond of bragging about the elevation of their antennas. [Continue reading the full story on Vice…<\/a>]<\/p>\n

We say goodbye to Mihail Mihailov, doyen in the Spanish edition of \u201cRadio Bulgaria\u201d (Bulgaria Posts English)<\/a><\/h2>\n

Mihail Mihailov, a brilliant translator and speaker from the Spanish edition of \u201cRadio Bulgaria\u201d, has left us. His translations and journalistic presence on the air will continue to be an example of high professionalism and excellent command of the language of Cervantes.<\/p>\n

After graduating from Spanish philology at \u201cSt. Kliment Ohridski\u201d University, Mihail Mihailov dedicated himself to translation. A curious moment in his career is the help he gave to the Bulgarian engineers in Cuba, who built a number of infrastructure sites on the island. But as a professional Micho left the brightest mark with his work in the Spanish edition of the \u201cRadio Bulgaria\u201d program of the BNR.<\/p>\n

Michaud was a man with a huge heart and a loyal friend, ready to help anyone. He possessed a brilliant memory and a characteristic, memorable voice. He was very eager to share his knowledge with his colleagues and was always eager to teach them something new! [Continue reading…<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Morse messages in music and more (YouTube)<\/a><\/h2>\n