{"id":58269,"date":"2023-11-26T05:00:33","date_gmt":"2023-11-26T09:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=58269"},"modified":"2023-11-25T11:40:24","modified_gmt":"2023-11-25T15:40:24","slug":"if-memory-serves-me-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/if-memory-serves-me-right\/","title":{"rendered":"“If Memory Serves Me Right, . . .”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em>\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Bob Colegrove<\/a>, who shares the following guest post:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

If Memory Serves Me Right, . . .<\/h1>\n

By Bob Colegrove<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

The radio in my \u201961 Ford Falcon came with memory.<\/p><\/div>\n

Memory features on portable radios have become increasingly popular in recent years.\u00a0 I would say the subject ranks up there with antennas and batteries in many discussion groups.\u00a0 Memory is really a matter of convenience<\/i>; that is, the quick and easy recall of favored frequencies.<\/p>\n

Mechanical Memory<\/h2>\n

Memory-capable radios are nothing new.\u00a0 My very first multi-band radio was a Howard Radio Company Model 308 radio-phonograph console.\u00a0 It was manufactured sometime in the late 1930s and came with four memories.\u00a0 These were in the form of pushbuttons, which when pressed, quickly accelerated rotation of the variable capacitor to frequencies of local interest.\u00a0 The radio even came with a set of call letter stickers for AM stations all over the country.\u00a0 Memory in car radios goes back almost as far.\u00a0 It was convenient<\/i> when you were driving.<\/p>\n

During daylight hours it wasn\u2019t hard to find stations in the nearby radio listening area, so you could just twirl the tuning knob in the usual manner until you got to the desired station.\u00a0 In lieu of push buttons, my mother marked the dial of her kitchen radio with red fingernail polish, WXLW, WIBC, WIRE, WFBM, WISH.\u00a0 At night it was quite another problem, when the great ionosphereic mirror in the sky began to reflect radio signals from hundreds of miles away.\u00a0 That\u2019s when the buttons really became useful.\u00a0 Being a mechanical system, you had to be careful; a hard press of a button would cause the mechanism to overshoot the frequency.<\/p>\n

Digital Memory<\/h2>\n

The digital age brought with it the capability of adding electronic memory to the product, as well as much more precision.\u00a0 My next experience with radio memory came in the mid-eighties with the Sony ICF-2010.\u00a0 This radio has a matrix of 8 x 4 = 32 dedicated keys on the front panel, each key recalling one stored frequency.\u00a0 Further, in the case of SW, the single-sideband and bandwidth settings can be saved.\u00a0 I found the feature very useful and managed to keep many of the 32 memory locations occupied a good deal of the time, honestly never giving much thought to the need for more memory.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Memory matrix on the Sony ICF-2010.\u00a0 In conjunction with the SHIFT key,
many buttons have a secondary function for scanning or band selection.<\/p><\/div>\n

But today\u2019s small multiband portables do not have the available real estate for a large matrix of memory buttons on the front panel.\u00a0 It\u2019s now done with a sequence of key presses or possibly rotation of the tuning knob.\u00a0 Since the Sony ICF-2001\/2010, there has been a race among manufacturers to include more and more memory capacity in their radios.\u00a0 \u201cIf you build it, they will come.\u201d\u00a0 Below is a sample of the total memory locations in some popular portable radios.
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nI am reminded of a passage in Life on the Mississippi<\/i> in which Mark Twain speculated about the continual shortening of the Mississippi River due to new channels flooding across its bends.\u00a0 According to his extrapolation, in 742 years Cairo, Illinois will be joined with New Orleans.\u00a0 Similarly, we may soon reach the point where memory capacity of a multiband radio exceeds the total number of available channels.\u00a0 But memory is cheap these days.\u00a0 I suppose it\u2019s already on the chip, so why not make it available and tout it as a feature?<\/p>\n

As a result of this large memory capacity, recalling a saved station can quickly become a problem.\u00a0 First, if you have band-specific paging, you must ensure you are on the appropriate band.\u00a0 On page memory radios, it requires that you first recall the page number and button on the number pad where you have saved the frequency.\u00a0 In any event, you navigate through the stored locations mentally correlating location numbers with frequencies.<\/p>\n

There is no standard by which manufacturers implement memory.\u00a0 On the Skywave SSB 2, D-808, and ICF-SW-7600GR, the number pad defaults to memory tuning.\u00a0 For direct<\/i> frequency tuning, you must first press FREQ on the SSB 2 and D-808.\u00a0 The Tecsun radios on the other hand have toggling VF and VM modes, and you best be careful which one is active.\u00a0 To recall memory on the PL-330, you can either spin the tuning dial to the channel or key the channel on the number pad if you can remember it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

To directly enter a frequency Sony ICF-SW7600GR, there are two extra key presses:
DIRECT before the frequency and ENTER after.<\/p><\/div>\n

At this point I must ask, at what point does it become more convenient just to directly key in a 4- or 5-digit frequency?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the things to remember about radio memory, even the old push-button kind, is that it stores frequencies not stations.\u00a0 If another shortwave station is broadcasting on a frequency you saved, that may be what you will hear when the frequency is recalled.\u00a0 With some extra effort, the Sangean ATS-909X will allow you to record a memo (i.e., station call or name) with frequencies you have stored.\u00a0 Just remember, this may not be the station you thought you saved.<\/p>\n

As an aside, the C. Crane Skywave SSB 2 can scan the first page of AIR band storage (10 frequencies).\u00a0 If you don\u2019t have 10 frequencies of interest, simply duplicate some of them to fill out the page.\u00a0 This is also a good way to prioritize<\/i> a favored frequency.<\/p>\n

ATS<\/h2>\n

If you use the auto tune system (ATS) the computer searches and memorizes all detectable signals for AM, SW, FM or possibly AIR \u2013 each band separately.\u00a0 When it\u2019s done, you\u2019ve caught a net full of fish, and are then confronted with a memory bank full of frequencies, many of which you may not be interested in, but must tune through in much the same way as with conventional tuning.\u00a0 Finally, there is no easier way to destroy a meticulously hand-programmed memory page than to hold a button down too long and inadvertently activate ATS.\u00a0 How do I know that?<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, ATS requires a broad-band antenna to keep the playing field level during the scan.\u00a0 The whip is generally all I need.\u00a0 In the dense population of FM stations along the US East Coast, a completely retracted whip is often best.\u00a0 I find the Tecsuns best for adding or deleting frequencies after the ATS scan.<\/p>\n

Enhanced Tuning Mode<\/h2>\n

Tecsun has introduced ETM in recent years.\u00a0 It is interesting and useful.\u00a0 The most recent incarnation is called Enhanced Tuning Mode (ETM+), and the manufacturer has dedicated 3 \u00bd pages of the PL-330 manual to explain it.\u00a0 In essence, it operates on each band much like auto tuning storage (ATS), but protects whatever you have in the radio\u2019s main memory, and allows you to store time-specific sets of frequencies in separate ETM pages<\/i>.\u00a0 This expands the total memory to whatever extent on-air stations are detected during each time period.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t been able to put a number on it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

This Tecsun PL-330 display indicates the radio captured 45 frequencies
on an ETM scan of international broadcast bands made during the 00 UTC hour.<\/p><\/div>\n

ETM is a quick way to find out what\u2019s currently on SW international broadcast bands.\u00a0 ETM logs SW broadcast stations to memory and reports the total number of stations captured at a given time (think of it as a separate page).\u00a0 The total number could be used to determine SW reception conditions by comparing it with a previously calculated average for the same period.\u00a0 For AM and FM, the feature can be used to store stations at a travel location without affecting main storage.\u00a0 Regardless of how you use ETM, there is a learning curve, as well as a need to be continually alert to what you are doing.<\/p>\n

Virtual ETM<\/h2>\n

For any other radio with page memory, you can still have many of the advantages of ETM, as well as avoid the likelihood of accidentally wiping out your carefully programmed frequencies.\u00a0 Here\u2019s how.<\/p>\n

ATS on most radios begins saving frequencies on the lowest numbered page.\u00a0 Note that the lowest page on the SSB 2 is 1, while it is 0 on the D-808, and the first station on each page is at button 0 (bottom).\u00a0 My experience in the highly congested AM and FM bands on the US East Coast is that an ATS scan will likely take up no more than four or five pages of memory.\u00a0 Likewise, ATS for SW is limited to AM stations on the international broadcast bands and will not require many pages, even at night.\u00a0 By manually programming your favorite frequencies beginning on the sixth page of a 10-page memory arrangement they will likely be out of reach of an ATS scan and your manually-saved frequencies will still be there when you want them.<\/p>\n

The travel benefit also applies to virtual ETM.\u00a0 An ATS scan performed at a different location using the lower pages will quickly put you in touch with local stations in that area and preserve your manually saved frequencies at home.<\/p>\n

As an aside, I would also suggest that sideband frequencies be kept together on separate pages, as the SSB function must be engaged separately to detect them.\u00a0 With SSB engaged, the C. Crane Skywave SSB 2 will recall the saved LSB or USB mode, but you may have to switch from one to the other on the XDATA D-808.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Example of virtual ETM for D-808 on the shortwave band.
Skywave SSB 2 would be similar.<\/p><\/div>\n

Virtual ETM is not perfect.\u00a0 This method does not provide all the time-specific paging that the Tecsun PL-330 has.\u00a0 Also, there is a danger if your radio has an auto-sorting feature which might be inadvertently activated.\u00a0 Lock the buttons on your radio when you turn it off or pack it up.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Apart from simply listening to the radio, it\u2019s still entertaining to press buttons and see what they do \u2013 something like an electronic Rubic\u2019s Cube.\u00a0 I will go as far as to put a half dozen favorite AM and FM stations into memory.\u00a0 I may enter a DX frequency or two I want to check out periodically.\u00a0 That said, there are a limited number of storage locations beyond which memory ceases to be convenient<\/i>, and for me the number is well short of what is generally available.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, ETM or virtual ETM opens some useful possibilities if you take one of these small portables on travel or want to do a quick scan to see what\u2019s currently on shortwave.<\/p>\n

No radios were harmed in the preparation of this blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor,\u00a0Bob Colegrove, who shares the following guest post: If Memory Serves Me Right, . . . By Bob Colegrove Memory features on portable radios have become increasingly popular in recent years.\u00a0 I would say the subject ranks up there with antennas and batteries in many discussion groups.\u00a0 Memory is really a matter […]<\/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":[3194,3,43],"tags":[7988,4342,5430,4082],"class_list":["post-58269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-posts","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-bob-colegrove","tag-guest-posts","tag-radio-memories","tag-shortwave-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-f9P","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49864,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/08\/bob-colegrove-on-the-joys-and-challenges-of-tuning-analog-radios\/","url_meta":{"origin":58269,"position":0},"title":"Bob Colegrove on “The Joys and Challenges of Tuning Analog Radios”","author":"Thomas","date":"August 1, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Colegrove, who recently shared this excellent article and has kindly allowed me to share it here in the the Post. Bob prefaced it by saying, \"Being a retired technical writer, I started the attached article some time ago for my own amusement, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Books"","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Bob-Colegrove-Book-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Bob-Colegrove-Book-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Bob-Colegrove-Book-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Bob-Colegrove-Book-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":56447,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/04\/bobs-bespoke-rack-of-radios\/","url_meta":{"origin":58269,"position":1},"title":"Bob’s Bespoke “Rack of Radios”","author":"Thomas","date":"April 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Colegrove, who shares the following: A Rack of Radios by Bob Colegrove You simply cannot have enough radios \u2013 a principle I learned a long time ago.\u00a0 The difficulty occurs when it comes to storing them and yet having them at the ready\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image1-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image1-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image1-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image1-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/image1-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60370,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/08\/a-band-aid-for-the-xhdata-d-220\/","url_meta":{"origin":58269,"position":2},"title":"A Band Aid for the XHDATA D-220","author":"Thomas","date":"August 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0contributor, Bob Colegrove, who shares the following guest post: A Band Aid for the XHDATA D-220 By Bob Colegrove In the olden days of analog radios, we would have generated a graph plotting frequency against a 0 to 100 linear bandspread scale. That permitted determination of a\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\/2024\/08\/Fig-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fig-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fig-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fig-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Fig-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":61532,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/radio-is-cheap-entertainment\/","url_meta":{"origin":58269,"position":3},"title":"Radio is Cheap Entertainment","author":"Thomas","date":"January 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A Radio is Cheap Entertainment Digressions of Bob Colegrove Radio is a cheap hobby.\u00a0 Consider the plight of concertgoers and sports fans.\u00a0 Today, the price of a ticket to a single event can easily equal or exceed the cost of a decent radio.\u00a0 Then, after the event, all you have\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\/2025\/01\/Fig-2-mower.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":39419,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/guest-post-the-national-association-of-armchair-adventurers-naaa\/","url_meta":{"origin":58269,"position":4},"title":"Guest Post: The National Association of Armchair Adventurers (NAAA)","author":"Thomas","date":"September 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Colegrove, who shares the following guest post: National Association of Armchair Adventurers (NAAA) as recalled by Bob Colegrove Those of you who were into SWLing in the late \u201850s or early \u201860s may remember the NAAA.\u00a0 It was an engaging promotional effort by\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\/07\/Radio-Dial-1024x679.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Radio-Dial-1024x679.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Radio-Dial-1024x679.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63601,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/bobs-radio-corner-illuminating-radios\/","url_meta":{"origin":58269,"position":5},"title":"Bob’s Radio Corner: Illuminating Radios","author":"Thomas","date":"August 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Book Lamp; or Shedding Some Light on a Radio Illuminated by Bob Colegrove There was a time in this writer\u2019s memory when radios were well lit \u2013 well, at least the ones with glass tubes.\u00a0 Tubes emitted a warm glow which made the radio come alive, generated some heat\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Accessories"","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fig-6-PL-990-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fig-6-PL-990-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fig-6-PL-990-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fig-6-PL-990-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fig-6-PL-990-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Fig-6-PL-990-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58269","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=58269"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58279,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58269\/revisions\/58279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}