{"id":61626,"date":"2025-01-16T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T14:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=61626"},"modified":"2025-01-11T10:43:01","modified_gmt":"2025-01-11T14:43:01","slug":"bridging-two-worlds-shortwave-listening-meets-amateur-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/01\/bridging-two-worlds-shortwave-listening-meets-amateur-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"Bridging Two Worlds: Shortwave Listening Meets Amateur Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the SWL and Amateur Radio hobbies meet<\/b><\/h1>\n

by\u00a0 Dan Greenall<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of us who are also amateur radio operators, got their start in the hobby through simply listening to shortwave radio, or perhaps, to stations in the AM or FM broadcast bands.\u00a0 I suppose it is then inevitable that these two hobbies are bound to connect with each other from time to time.\u00a0 Here are a few examples of this that relate to my experiences.<\/p>\n

In 1972, while doing a random band scan on shortwave, I came across a point-to-point radio station from Managua, Nicaragua that was transmitting a repeating test message (recording attached below):<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TRT-Managua.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

The station was operated by the Tropical Radio Telegraph Company and I sent off a reception report in hopes of receiving a QSL from them.\u00a0 As luck would have it, the Plant Engineer, Guenter G. Zaenker, responded with a friendly letter including some details about their transmitter power and antennas used.<\/p>\n

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

A couple of years later, when I got my amateur radio licence (VE3HLC), my SWL activities took a back seat to ham radio for a while.\u00a0 In 1978, I received a QSL for a contact with station YN1Z in Managua who turned out to be none other than Guenther G. Zaenker.<\/p>\n

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

I worked Guenter for a final time as TG9XGV in Guatemala City, Guatemala. How is that for completing a hat trick!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Shortly after receiving my amateur radio ticket in 1974, I made a contact with station PJ9BN, Jack Van Sciver on the island of Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It turns out he worked at Trans World Radio, a broadcaster I had listened to regularly on the SWBC bands and it was quite exciting to discover this connection.\u00a0 Attached is a link to a recording I made of this station that same year as they were concluding a segment of their popular DX Special program:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/trans-world-radio-bonaire\/TWR%20Bonaire.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/trans-world-radio-bonaire\/Trans%20World%20Radio%20Bonaire.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n

https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/trans-world-radio-bonaire<\/a><\/p>\n

It seems that Jack is still going strong as I recently found this link to his current amateur callsign NA3F: https:\/\/www.qrz.com\/db\/NA3F<\/a><\/p>\n

A final note, I had made a 2-way contact through the Oscar 6 amateur radio satellite (uplink on 2 metres, downlink on 10 metres) in 1976 with W.G. \u201cGeorge\u201d Roach in Ottawa, Ontario.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Some 11 years later, I was able to pick up station CFMO FM on 93.9 MHz, over 300 miles away, through some great ducting conditions.\u00a0 When I received a QSL from the station, it was signed by W.G. Roach who was the chief engineer at CFMO FM.<\/p>\n

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

It certainly is a small world!\u00a0 I wonder how many others out there have experiences similar to mine?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the SWL and Amateur Radio hobbies meet by\u00a0 Dan Greenall Many of us who are also amateur radio operators, got their start in the hobby through simply listening to shortwave radio, or perhaps, to stations in the AM or FM broadcast bands.\u00a0 I suppose it is then inevitable that these two hobbies are bound […]<\/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":[3194,545,3,305,43],"tags":[10271,10652,10651],"class_list":["post-61626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-guest-posts","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-shortwave-radio","tag-dan-greenall","tag-point-to-point","tag-tropical-radio-telegraph-company"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-g1Y","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54166,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/09\/keith-discovers-a-radio-bougainville-recording-on-the-shortwave-archive-a-50-year-old-tape-takes-me-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":61626,"position":0},"title":"Keith discovers a Radio Bougainville recording on the Shortwave Archive: “A 50-year old tape takes me back”","author":"Thomas","date":"September 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"We've published thousands of off-air recordings on Shortwave Radio Audio Archive over the past decade. They're freely available for everyone to search and download. For those of us who work on the archive, it's a pure labor of love. We are not compensated for the time and effort we put\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\/2014\/01\/IMG_0135-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":61055,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/archiving-cassettes-dans-rewarding-journey-to-preserve-off-air-shortwave-radio-recordings\/","url_meta":{"origin":61626,"position":1},"title":"Archiving Cassettes: Dan\u2019s Rewarding Journey to Preserve Off-Air Shortwave Radio Recordings","author":"Thomas","date":"November 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post and Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Dan Greenall, for sharing the following guest post: Preserving Radio History \u2013 Old Audio Cassettes by Dan Greenall A few years ago, during the Covid lockdowns, I rediscovered a box full of my old audio cassette tapes on 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\/2024\/11\/old-audio-tapes-photo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/old-audio-tapes-photo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/old-audio-tapes-photo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/old-audio-tapes-photo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/old-audio-tapes-photo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59454,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/04\/radio-moscow-ephemera-circa-1972\/","url_meta":{"origin":61626,"position":2},"title":"Radio Moscow Ephemera Circa 1972","author":"Thomas","date":"April 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post and SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following Radio Moscow ephemera from 1972. This media is also posted on Archive.org: I first began listening to shortwave radio in December 1969 at the age of 15. My parents were very supportive of this newfound hobby\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\/2024\/04\/Radio-Moscow-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Radio-Moscow-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Radio-Moscow-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Radio-Moscow-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59056,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/vis-the-end-of-an-era\/","url_meta":{"origin":61626,"position":3},"title":"VIS: The End of an Era","author":"Thomas","date":"February 20, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post and SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following guest post: The End of an Era by Dan Greenall Many of us can remember the many radio telephone stations that could be found outside the regular SWBC bands during the 1970\u2019s and 80\u2019s and even\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\/2024\/02\/OTC-Sydney-Australia-reverse-side.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/OTC-Sydney-Australia-reverse-side.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/OTC-Sydney-Australia-reverse-side.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/OTC-Sydney-Australia-reverse-side.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/OTC-Sydney-Australia-reverse-side.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/OTC-Sydney-Australia-reverse-side.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63579,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/hcjb-quito-ecuador-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":61626,"position":4},"title":"HCJB Quito, Ecuador – Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"August 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes: In the 1970s, the powerful signal from radio station HCJB, the Voice of the Andes, in Quito, Ecuador, could be heard with station identifications (similar to this one circa 1971) being given between programs. I am led to believe that\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\/2025\/08\/HCJB-1970-QSL.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/HCJB-1970-QSL.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/HCJB-1970-QSL.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/HCJB-1970-QSL.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/HCJB-1970-QSL.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62314,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/finding-the-kookaburra-on-shortwave-past-and-present\/","url_meta":{"origin":61626,"position":5},"title":"Finding the Kookaburra on Shortwave\u2014Past and Present","author":"Thomas","date":"March 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes: Hi Thomas I still have warm memories of tuning into Radio Australia on 9580 kHz at sunrise during my early days of shortwave listening. They would sign on with their Waltzing Matilda interval signal and the sound of the kookaburra\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\/2025\/03\/Photo-by-Matthew-Willimott-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Photo-by-Matthew-Willimott-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Photo-by-Matthew-Willimott-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Photo-by-Matthew-Willimott-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Photo-by-Matthew-Willimott-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\/61626","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=61626"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61635,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61626\/revisions\/61635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}