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Or Maybe I Just Love Radios?!
I seem to be a man of contradictions. As I look at my "shack" (amateur radio speak for where I keep my radios!) I must be conflicted. I have radios from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, and the 10s. I like radios of every era as each radio is a marvel of technology from the simplest to the most complex. Even radio designs we take for granted today are scientific wonders, and radio is itself, of course, magic! On the same table I use for day-to-day radio fun, I have two modern marvels of technology, and four
Memorable Radio
Memorable Radio An interesting post from the excellent SWLing.com Blog got me thinking about memorable radio sounds and segments. The post referenced a piece done by "Twenty Thousand Hertz" on the historicity and significance of the NBC chimes. There was a lot there I did not know. One of the things I found most intriguing is the idea of how these three notes (originally 7!) have been a part of our culture for 90 years! They have signified triumphs and tragedies, milestones and things we would rather forget. And they were even used in WWII in a special way (No
Natural Radio – All Around Us!
Today a good friend of mine, Justin KE8COY, posted a link referencing a broadcast piece on Natural Radio - a reference to the radio signals produced naturally by the earth. The piece notes how it was Thomas Watson, co-inventor of the telephone, who first heard the earth's radio signals coming over a telephone test line strung up over the roofs of houses in Boston. The piece is fascinating, and opens up yet another aspect of radio I (and Justin) find fascinating. And yes I know I am using "fascinating" repeatedly to describe this aspect of the hobby, but it truly
Elmer or Expert?
I ran across a post in an eham forum on the topic of Elmers where the person was contrasting Experts and Elmers. It was a well-written piece, and the follow-up comments were sometimes equally interesting. More often than not when a person asks a question in a forum or on a chat board or a mail room, experts jump in and (attempt) to show off their knowledge. Obviously, there are real experts in any field, and their input is always useful because it is more likely to be correct. But the so-called experts to which I am referring are the
Halloween Pirate Activity on the Air Tonight!
Passing along this excellent post from SWLing Post Blog on Pirate broadcast activity tonight. If you have never listened for pirate activity, or listened and not caught anything, this is a great night to hear multiple stations. - Robert Halloween is typically the most active day of the year for shortwave pirates...so, here are two things you'll want to do this Halloween (tonight): 1. Hobby Broadcasting Blog Check out Andrew Yoder's pirate radio blog ,the Hobby Broadcasting blog. Andrew is the author of the Pirate Radio Annual and a guru on shortwave pirate radio. Andrew has already logged some Halloween stations, as Halloween
Voice of America Digital Broadcasts
I had an interesting experience this evening listening to the Voice of America's digital broadcast (I have mentioned this in previous posts) as Hurricane Matthew pounds the eastern seaboard of the Carolinas. The atmospheric noise tonight was almost like the waves of the ocean crashing in along the beach, receding and coming again with a new wave. When I first tuned into the broadcast on 5.745 MHz I could barely hear the opening theme music or the initial voice introduction. I wondered if I would pick up anything at all. Here's where the beauty of digital modes come in. I
A Good Friend Who’s Always There
This summer has been a tough one for me in many ways, not the least of which is the minimal amount of time I have been able to spend playing radio. I have several commitments involving radio each week/month, but I do not consider that "playing" radio. To me, playing radio is where we get to sit down in front of a radio of any kind and do something with it just for the pure joy of it. The good thing about this hobby is it is always there whenever you are ready. It is like a good friend who
A Shortwave Listening DX Contest
This was posted on SWLing this morning and I thought it worthwhile to pass on. I have taken the survey and emailed it back to the club. I hope this happens--it's a great incentive to be investigating the SW bands!! 73, Robert Hello all SWLers and DXers: I have been interested and actively participating in the Shortwave hobby for almost four years now. I have not seen a DX Contest originating in the USA in those years although we have a lot of SW hobbyists here and in North America as a whole. I have participated in the Canadian ODXC
A Taste of the Cold War – The Two Koreas
38 North is a publication I have referenced previously with regard to the use of shortwave and broadcast radio as tools of the government to reach across the N. and S. Korea borders in both directions. Their most recent article on this topic was published today entitled Cold War Communications: The Two Koreas Resume Coded Radio Broadcasts The article is quite good and includes some sample clips from the broadcasts referenced on several TV news reports (of course my Korean language skills are, shall we say, nill) but you can make out the clips of the broadcasts. I can't help
Excellent Article on Shortwave Radio in Radio World
There is an excellent article on Shortwave radio published yesterday in Radio World Magazine entitled "The Evolution of Shortwave Radio" by James Careless. The article discusses some of the history of shortwave radio, as well as the current state of this broadcast medium, with input from some of the most respected names in the field. I was encourage to see notice taken of some of the more interesting changes taking place in terms of who is broadcasting: SAME USAGE, CHANGING PLAYERS Given the reduction and/or demise of so many international shortwave broadcasters, one might expect that the world’s shortwave spectrum
QSL Card From Pirate Station X-FM
Here's a great example of a QSL report from Pirate Station X-FM Stereo Shortwave monitored Halloween 2015. Not only is it a beautiful card, Redhat (the Deejay) also included the playlist as a .txt attachment. As I recall he also made live announcements of who had left reception reports/comments on the HF Underground forum as well as for those who sent him emails directly. I sent a short recording as part of my reception report, and it was an added bonus to see that mentioned in his QSL card. Here is the Playlist for the night: -All Times UTC (Zulu)-
Pirate Radio Annual 2016
The 2015-2016 Pirate Radio Annual by Andrew Yoder is available for purchase, and you will not find a better collection of all things Pirate Radio around. I have been getting this publication for several years since first finding out about it, and the work which has gone into this book is nothing short of amazing! There are stories of pirate stations, as well as details about virtually all of the pirate radio stations mentioned, and the book is a more than respectable 229 pages along with a CD of pirate recordings!! All this for $16 +$3 shipping. What
Technology Marches On
Technology Marches On For the past month or so I have been involved with two major projects (neither of which are finished), and neither are radio related. at least not directly. But I was contemplating things a bit this morning when I realized, yes, they are connected indirectly to radio through the advancements of technology. Allow me to explain. I have been a computer "geek" in the past, going all the way back into the early 80s. Through the 90s I would keep abreast of the developments, have definite options on software and hardware (such as AMD vs. Intel chips
13 – Colonies Special Event July 1 – July 7
13 Colonies operating event runs from 1300Z July 1 – 0400Z July 7 Once again, the 13 Colonies Special Event will take place between 1300z, July 1st and 0400z July 7th. The certificate is printed on heavy card stock. Stations working one state or, as many as all 15, will be eligible for the certificate. A “Clean Sweep” indicator will be affixed, for those lucky enough to “Q” all 15. A special endorsement will be attached for stations contacting their sister operation, WM3PEN, in Philadelphia, PA, where independence was declared. New since 2015, the 13 Colonies have added a second sister event station GB13COL will operate from
What Will We Do Next?!
A blurb in the QRZ.com News and in the ARRL weekly newsletter caught my attention concerning an interesting reception report involving the ISS (International Space Station). As I have noted in other posts one of my favorite things to do in amateur radio is the send and receive messages using the ISS repeaters, both APRS and voice. I have logged many APRS signals (including several DX stations!), as well as a dozen or more states. I simply find it fascinating to think a signal I send up into space can be heard and repeated by something orbiting our planet and
Raspberry Pi and Amateur Radio
Raspberry Pi and Amateur Radio For those who may be interested I have added a section in the Interesting Links and Books page with resources for using the Raspberry Pi for Amateur Radio Projects. This is not an extensive list, but some of the links are themselves extensive, and I suspect there is enough there to keep one busy for quite a while! Enjoy! 73, Robert
South Sudan a Perfect Example of the Importance of Shortwave
There have been several recent stories highlighting a new shortwave radio station seeking to cover South Sudan called Eye Radio. Eye Radio already has an FM presence in the area, but has found it inadequate to reach the whole region. I first saw a report about this on the Cumbre-DX mailing list, and then some additional outlets have added more information, including this report from the BBC: A radio station in South Sudan is using older, but tried and tested technology to reach new audiences. Radio is a crucial medium in South Sudan, where illiteracy is high and many areas
Tracking High Seas Pirates on Shortwave
Suspected pirates surrender to crew members of the CGC Boutwell. (U.S. Coast Guard photo) Thanks to Mario Filippi (N2HUN) who has graciously allowed me to re-post this excellent piece here. It originally appeared on the SWLing.com Blog (ed. note: make sure to click on the images for a larger view so you can read the captured text - it is fascinating, and I am green with envy! - Robert) Tracking High Seas Pirates on Shortwave Radio by Mario Filippi (N2HUN) (All photos taken by author–click to enlarge) Ahoy! After spinning a radio dial for over a half-century, shortwave listening still
New Sunspot Activity
The extreme ultraviolet flash from today's M6.7-class solar flare. Credit: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory There is some new and interesting sunspot activity from a large heart-shaped sunspot which has been drawing some attention recently. Here's the scoop from Spaceweather.com: BIG SUNSPOT ERUPTS: Surprise! Quiet sunspot AR2529 isn't so quiet, after all. The heart-shaped active region erupted on April 18th (00:39 UT), producing a strong M6.7-class solar flare and shortwave radio blackouts around the Pacific. Visit http://spaceweather.com for more information. Might wake up some ionization activity, the bread and butter of our radio hobby! 73, Robert
More Thoughts on Contemporary Shortwave Listening
I find old radio souls now an again who seem, at least to me, to be in touch with the spiritual side of radio. I am not talking about religious programming or some weird cult, but rather they are folks whose souls have been touched by the magic of radio. It is mystical, magical, and at times seems to connect our physical bodies to the very electrons which flow through the air. It is as though our minds are connecting with the radio signals like old friends, able to hear and be heard. Yeah, I know, I am weird.
Is Broadcast Radio Doomed?
(The following is part news / part editorial) According to a report going to Parliament for the BBC's broadcast charter proposal, they are preparing for an Internet-only world for broadcasting. This has prompted an investigation of other radio broadcasting services by Radio World magazine. Part of the article Is Broadcast Radio Doomed" follows: Conventional radio and television broadcasting are doomed, eventually. Or so one might reasonably assume from reading “British, Bold, Creative,” the BBC’s broadcast charter proposal for the next decade of its mandate. The BBC’s 10-year broadcast charter is up for renewal in 2016. The proposal is the Beeb’s [British
FlightAware Aircraft Monitoring Data in Real-Time
Frequent readers of this blog will know I am a big aviation monitoring fan. I have an inexpensive SDR dedicated to ADS-B monitoring which in turn sends data to FlightRadar24, which allows sharing of data from live feeds from around the world to be integrated with online data transferred through networks. Another such service is FlightAware which also integrates data from users into a very sophisticared tracking service. For those who receive (and send) flight data from ADS-B capable devices such as the RTL-SDR dongles or have Apps for their tablets and phones, FlightAware announced on Wednesday this change to
A Typical Radio Day
A typical radio day for me usually involves several different aspects of the radio hobby. Granted, I may include things others would not strictly call radio, but for me anything associated with the radio hobby is fair game! Sometimes this can be something as mundane as logging contacts, or checking for QSLs (confirmed contacts with other radio operators or stations), or it can be as exciting as putting some test equipment to work checking circuits or measuring frequency response. For me anything connected with radio in almost any form is interesting. A typical day (or portion thereof) might involve listening
Expanding Horizons
One of the best things about the Internet is the ability to tap into a vast supply of knowledge available from a multitude of sources. When it comes to the radio hobby there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of sites with potentially useful information. I cannot claim to have visited them all, or even a measly 1% in all likelihood. But I have found some useful links (available on my Interesting Links and Books page) along the way, and two in particular I would like to highlight. Regular readers of this blog will recognize The SWLing Post Blog
A Shortwave Radio for the Car
Tonight on Allan Weiner Worldwide (WBCQ 7490 kHz coming in beautifully on my FRG-7) Allan mentioned a shortwave radio converter for car radios. The package uses a small box which plugs into the cigarette lighter socket and can either use an antenna made for the converter or an antenna supplied by the user. The unit can display frequencies through the FM RDS display, and has a key-fob controller for scanning and saving stations into memory. Here are some of the features listed by the manufacturer: FEATURES OF THE BST-1 Excellent sensitivity – 0.5 microvolt at the antenna connector will stop
A Lifetime of Amateur Radio
I just read an online story about a Cleveland man who has been a ham since World War II and is still going strong. Jack Goldfarb, W8WGO, lives in University Heights, Ohio and has been a licensed amateur radio operator since 1941. He still uses a Morse Code key he has had for 70 years! His story is well worth the read and may be found here. Folks like this are inspiring to say the least! Thank you, Jack, for making the hobby a great place to be! 73, Robert
How Hard Are You Willing To Work?
For some reason I have never been much into FM DXing, and I am not sure why. The best answer I can come up with is the FM signal, because it is so much higher in the RF band, never has a chance to travel very far even with the best of conditions. Of course I am not referring to special propagation conditions like ducting or the like, but just day-to-day listening opportunities. I am an "AM man" through and through. To be fair, I have never given FM DXing much of a chance because usually the best DX you
Ragchewing
Ragchewing is a great part of the amateur radio hobby which seems at times to be fading away. With so many contests and special event stations and pileups for DX stations, it is easy to get in the "quick in, quick out" mode without really enjoying a vital part of the hobby. I was fortunate to have two extended conversations today (the only two contacts I made), one for an just under an hour and the other for about 20 minutes. The longer of the two was with a ham in Vermont, and we talked about everything from radios and
Radio Romania International
I had an enjoyable experience on the radio this evening as I caught part of a broadcast from Radio Romania International on 6020 khz ~04:30 UTC. They were reading letters and emails from folks around the world giving reception reports and general comments concerning their love of shortwave radio. I was thrilled to hear these comments of course, but what really intrigued me was the sentiments expressed were almost universal. By this I mean the people writing about their love of radio came from every part of the globe, and from very different backgrounds, but all had the same appreciation
TEN-TEC 1253 Regenerative Radio Build
This build review of the TEN-TEC 1253 comes from an article I wrote some years ago for Monitoring Times. This was quite an interesting project to build, as it was my first real radio kit. I tried to take my time (unlike the model airplanes I built as a kid which always ended up with missing parts and "extra" glue - or was that extra parts and missing glue?!) in an effort to really understand the building stages. My reward was a radio which worked great from the start, and which will always hold a near and dear place in
WWII Promotional Piece for Hallicrafters
Here's an interesting 15 min. video demonstrating the Army Signal Corps using an Hallicrafters SCR-299. While certainly a promotional piece for Hallicrafters, this has great footage and captures a bit of the excitement of radio expanding into new frontiers. There is a discussion of how the radio was modified for military conditions as well as some innovations which were implemented to make such a system mobile. I think what intrigues me most about these types of pieces is the sense of a common purpose -- the nation was at war and everyone was pitching in. Yes, Hallicrafters was a business
Not Quite Radio Related, But Cool Anyway!
A Robot which solves Rubik's Cube While not directly radio related, this was too amazing not to share (so forgive me in advance! There is an Arduino involved, if that helps?!) The video above is of a robot which can solve Rubik's Cube in about 1 second. I will not embarrass myself in telling how long it takes me to solve it . . . . It is, however, easy to see how radio hobbyists could find these Arduino boards quite intriguing! 73, Robert
A Restoration Project
As a kid I tried to learn about electronics the old fashioned way - tear something apart and try to put it back together. Unfortunately I did not have someone overseeing my explorations, and so very little was actually learned! If amateur and shortwave radio itself is an attempt to recapture something I really enjoyed when I was young, tinkering with electronics is even more so a fulfillment of something I sought as a child. Electronics, as it applies to the radio hobby, is almost as magical as the signals these radios receive. Antennas grab signals as they course through
A Review of Multipsk Software
Multipsk Software - A Review Here is a link to a review of the digital mode software MultiPsk (~3.5 meg PDF file) which I wrote for The Spectrum Monitor published in the September 2015 issue. I highly recommend either the free or the registered version of this software because it can decode almost anything on the airwaves. The registered version is about $45 as I recall, and it is the best money I have ever spent for software, and I have been around computers and software for a long time!! The free version will do a lot, in fact much
I Would Have Written this Yesterday, But . . .
I find it amazing sometimes how dependent we have become on the Internet. I have been involved with computers since around 1981, and with the Internet almost since its beginnings (no, I did not invent it, nor was I acquainted with Al Gore at the time!). I remember downloads taking about an hour for 800K, and that was considered rather fast for the time. Imagine if we had to wait that long today?! I recently upgraded service to another company which gives me 50 Mbs, or about 6 megs/second download speeds where possible. That's 360 megs per minute as
A Fascinating Interview with Bob Heil
Eric over at QSO Today has posted an interview with Bob Heil K9EID, the genius behind Heil Sound microphones for both amateur and professional audio use. The interview is really Bob just talking about how he got into amateur radio, how his amateur radio background influenced his incredible career(s), and how amateur radio really needs BUILDERS and ELMERS! I found the whole thing fascinating as well as motivating. I could almost say it was life-changing, but maybe that is just me. Anyway, I hope you give a listen. Here is the info from the QSO Today site: Bob Heil, K9EID,
An Eclectic Christmas Morning
As I sit here listening to radio broadcasts from around the world on Free-to-Air Satellite I am reminded again of the great gift that is Radio. If you will forgive a little bit of personal nostalgia, radio has been for me a true gift, ever since I was a boy. I will not go into my past too much (we all have our stories), but when I was 8 years old I got my first radio on Christmas. It was a General Electric clock radio with a big AM dial, circa. the late 1960s. I spent many, many hours seeking
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and a safe and enriching New Year! All the best of Radio in the coming new year as well, and thank you for being a meaningful part of this blog! 73, Robert
Radio Martí Bothers Raul Castro
It is time once again for an update on how shortwave is ruining the hopes and dreams of oppressive governments everywhere! As many folks have heard by now the U.S. is in talks to "normalize" (whatever that is) relations with Cuba. Embassies have been reopened, limited travel for "education" purposes has been approved, and no doubt a myriad of "behind the scenes" negotiations are taking place, including free Cuban cigars for all of Congress. (Okay that last part is speculation, but come on, wouldn't you want that on the bargaining table too?!) One other issue on the bargaining table is
Arduino or Raspberry Pi?
There was a short article in the Make Newsletter yesterday about how to decide if you need Arduino or Raspberry Pi, and I thought it might be interesting to others as well. The basic question is "How much computer processing do I need?" In very simplified terms, an Arduino micro controller is good at running one or two tasks - they use the illustration of monitoring a moisture probe to determine if your plants need watering. The Arduino could be programmed to check moisture content and send a Tweet to let you know it's time to water the plants. The
Ahoy, Mateys! Pirate Activity
Some days you just miss the boat, er . . . ship, pirate ship that is! I apparently missed a lot of pirate ships this week according to the email newsletter report I get each week on pirate activity. Who would have thought the Thanksgiving holiday would have brought out so many pirates?! Maybe it was the anticipation of "Black Friday" with all the plundering and pillaging going on, reminiscent of Blackbeard and Black Bart! Whatever the reason, activity was unusually high, and I am sorry to have missed it. Here is a listing as recorded by the Free Radio
Time For Some Kit Building!
Winter always brings thoughts of kit building for me as cold weather, a hot soldering gun, and a bag full of parts make for an enjoyable evening. A friend of mine, Ryan W1RYN, sent me information about a great aircraft monitoring receiver kit which can be built just as a board, or assembled into a metal case. The assembled kit in the case may be found here, but the same company sells the kit in multiple configurations. Here are two images of the completed kit with the case: I have ordered the parts kit and the enclosure, and I
The Thrill of Discovery
I have been watching some satellite feeds over FTA or Free-to Air satellite networks, and I must say it is very exciting. As readers of this blog know I have a real passion for capturing anything which comes through the air, and satellite TV and satellite radio are really just extensions of shortwave and longwave radio. After all, satellites dishes are antennas too!! I should clarify what FTA services are: they are truly free (and legal) satellite channels broadcasting a range of news, sports, music, culture, and entertainment programming from various international sources. While there are domestic stations which one
On the Lighter Side
Here's a little "ham" humor on the lighter side of life! (Collected from around the web and from old publications) Stealth Mode Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent. Since they were a perfect match, soon they generated harmonics. Wrapped the harmonics in dipoles. But later the harmonics turned out to be parasitic elements.... EINSTEIN ON RADIO "I am often asked how radio works. Well, you see, wire telegraphy
What Would our World Look Like if . . .
I wonder what our world would look like if we had maintained the mindset of our early forefathers who fought so hard for freedom? Of course I know even then the soon-to-be-formed nation was split almost down the middle over whether to revolt against the King or try to work within the system. I am glad for the choices they made, but feel more than a bit let down by our handling of such a great inheritance. Since this is a radio blog I will not get into politics (or history), except to say our modern culture's willingness to give
Pirate Radio at its Best!
Last night was Halloween which means Pirate Radio broadcasters are typically very active on shortwave radio, particularly between 6925 kHz and 6995 kHz. While I did not see a whole lot of activity, what was there was some of the best Pirate broadcasting I have ever heard. X-FM Radio was broadcasting on 6975 from "somewhere under the stars", and their slogan is "Music to the Power of X." They were broadcasting in stereo which gave a fuller sound, but I am sure it would have sounded better if I had AM stereo capability. Here are two snippets of audio recorded
The Battery Dilemma
So many things run on batteries these days one could almost set aside a room in the house just for chargers and spare battery packs. I am exaggerating of course--a walk-in closet would do nicely. Most HTs run on Ni-Cad or NiMH batteries, while smaller devices often run on Li-Ion batteries. I hate them all. I hate wall-warts, I hate keeping track of the various chemical compositions of batteries to make sure I do not put them into the wrong charger, and I hate that we have sacrificed power for size. Remember the good old days when a radio could
All Things Radio on VOA!
I was surprised and honored when Kim Andrew Elliot contacted me about mentioning this blog on the weekly Voice of America (VOA) Radiogram with regard to my recent post about Russia's attempt to shut down the Internet. The VOA Radiogram has been an ongoing experiment in sending digital mode text and images using the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina. The idea behind this is to have a backup means of getting emergency communications out around the world to folks who might not be able to receive voice transmissions during difficult propagation times. The digital modes can be
Russia Tests Internet Shutdown
Readers of this blog will know I am keenly interested in promoting shortwave radio as both an important information source and a means of defense against government-controlled media access. A recent report in the British publication The Telegraph revealed there have been several tests run by the Russian government to see if the Internet could be shut down should a political need arise. This should not really come as a surprise since China has done the same thing in the past, but it does point once again to the limits of any system dependent on wires. I realize the majority