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Author Topic: Why SWLing?  (Read 885 times)

N8YX

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #15 on: November 09, 2019, 08:07:04 AM »

You mean stations can be blocked in certain countries?
Also see "The great firewall of China".

Throwing all of one's communication eggs into the Internet basket is viable only up until the point that the controllers of said choke points deem your traffic as "unacceptable".

Radio will always get through in some form or another. Anyone who lived through the Cold War in Europe and listened to SW during the period can attest to the number of jammers which were active on both sides of the Iron Curtain...yet somehow the messages were heard.
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NN4RH

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #16 on: November 09, 2019, 12:06:12 PM »

Not so much shortwave any more.  But, I often have WSM in Nashville, 650 AM, playing on the radio at night; even though I can stream it on the internet. There's still something "magical" to me after all these years listening to the Grand Ole Opry through static.

Shortwave? I listen to Radio China International occassionally. They have some decent programming. And whenever propagation is favorable at the right time, the Bob Bierman Oldies show on WRMI out of Florida.

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ALPARD

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #17 on: November 09, 2019, 02:14:52 PM »

Yeah, China Radio International is very strong signal, and their English programs seem rich in content and good to listen to.

Another good SW station to listen to is Radio Romania, which is good signal and excellent content.

It was good when VOA, Radio Japan, Radio Australia was on service on SW spectrum.  Will they ever get back to SW service in the future?
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HFCRUSR

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #18 on: November 09, 2019, 02:45:00 PM »

Yeah, China Radio International is very strong signal, and their English programs seem rich in content and good to listen to.

Another good SW station to listen to is Radio Romania, which is good signal and excellent content.

It was good when VOA, Radio Japan, Radio Australia was on service on SW spectrum.  Will they ever get back to SW service in the future?

Like I said in post #8, the VOA still transmits but from overseas-you just need a good antenna and propagation to hear them. I think they still have a relay in Greenville on 15580kHz towards Africa around the 2100UTC hour-been a while since I paid attention to it but I do get their transmission from Selebi-Phikwe, Botswana here in Frisco pretty good on that frequency in my afternoons.
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Not a ham, but an avid hobbyist in HF world. All things, short of transmit happen in this shack.

KI4ZUQ

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #19 on: November 09, 2019, 02:53:27 PM »

As a boat anchor enthusiast it is just so darn evocative to listen to my BC-348, still powered up by the original dynamotor, still using the original Signal Corps tubes, or my Hammarlund HQ-180A, my "knob twirlers delight" or a couple of my Hallicrafters S-38 versions with their "hot chassis".  The compare and contrast opportunities are fascinating and the warmth of the tube glow takes me back to my ninth birthday when Dad spent 25 dollars on my first S-38D.  It's not so much what I listen to but the act of tuning in foreign stations, often in languages I don't understand until the station ID that still intrigues me.
You NAILED it! Why dint the S-38D have a transformer like a REAL radio? Because, son, it's an AA5 with a bandspread! Hot chassis, indeed! Learning platform for a kid or a kid inside and old man's body. Yes, you absolutely NAILED it! Gotta BC-221 I have to make a power supply for....
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73
Karl
KI4ZUQ

W7XTV

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #20 on: November 09, 2019, 05:59:58 PM »

Like I said in post #8, the VOA still transmits but from overseas-you just need a good antenna and propagation to hear them. I think they still have a relay in Greenville on 15580kHz towards Africa around the 2100UTC hour-been a while since I paid attention to it but I do get their transmission from Selebi-Phikwe, Botswana here in Frisco pretty good on that frequency in my afternoons.

VOA Greenville Site B is still active (Site A shut down in 2006), but how active is unclear.  Short-wave.info shows only the following, all at 250 kW:

1700-1800Z Portuguese to Africa on 17655 (1700-1830Z on Sat/Sun)
1930-2030Z French to Africa on 15730
2100-2200Z English to Africa on 11720

With what looks like only a couple of exceptions that transmit from Thailand, all broadcasts in English are beamed toward various parts of Africa.
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He speaks fluent PSK31, in FT8...  One QSO with him earns you 5BDXCC...  His Wouff Hong has two Wouffs... Hiram Percy Maxim called HIM "The Old Man..."  He is... The Most Interesting Ham In The World!

HFCRUSR

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #21 on: November 10, 2019, 10:53:08 AM »

Like I said in post #8, the VOA still transmits but from overseas-you just need a good antenna and propagation to hear them. I think they still have a relay in Greenville on 15580kHz towards Africa around the 2100UTC hour-been a while since I paid attention to it but I do get their transmission from Selebi-Phikwe, Botswana here in Frisco pretty good on that frequency in my afternoons.

VOA Greenville Site B is still active (Site A shut down in 2006), but how active is unclear.  Short-wave.info shows only the following, all at 250 kW:

1700-1800Z Portuguese to Africa on 17655 (1700-1830Z on Sat/Sun)
1930-2030Z French to Africa on 15730
2100-2200Z English to Africa on 11720

With what looks like only a couple of exceptions that transmit from Thailand, all broadcasts in English are beamed toward various parts of Africa.
Thanks for that WW7KE. So I guess they don't use Greenville anymore on 15580kHz. But anyways my point to ALPARD was that the VOA's still there.
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Not a ham, but an avid hobbyist in HF world. All things, short of transmit happen in this shack.

ALPARD

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #22 on: November 10, 2019, 11:27:56 AM »


Thanks for that WW7KE. So I guess they don't use Greenville anymore on 15580kHz. But anyways my point to ALPARD was that the VOA's still there.

Thanks HFCRUSR. Glad to learn that the VOA is still running their services.  I used to listen to it a lot in the  late 1970s - 1990s.  The start of the program tune is still ringing in my ear.
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HFCRUSR

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #23 on: November 11, 2019, 07:10:20 AM »


Thanks for that WW7KE. So I guess they don't use Greenville anymore on 15580kHz. But anyways my point to ALPARD was that the VOA's still there.

Thanks HFCRUSR. Glad to learn that the VOA is still running their services.  I used to listen to it a lot in the  late 1970s - 1990s. The start of the program tune is still ringing in my ear.
I forgot what that sounded like back then-can you describe it?
Also, it seems reading in here, that the hams here don't listen to 5085 WTWW out of Lebanon, Tn. I listen to them here in San Francisco most every night for the 50s-70s music-they dig deep with songs I literally haven't heard since I was a kid
and they even have a talk show specifically for ham tech you guys might like. I tune in between 01-0400UTC and catch all that good stuff.
This is a very good SW station that's had my ear for years now.
Talk about a jingle in between programming, theirs is this: "Broadcasting from an expansive field just outside Music City with MILES of wires and THOUSANDS of volts-this is radio station WTWW Lebanon, Tn. the United States Of America!"
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Not a ham, but an avid hobbyist in HF world. All things, short of transmit happen in this shack.

AB9PM

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #24 on: November 11, 2019, 07:29:13 AM »

On AIR had it right. The time when SWL, and AM Broadcast band Dx'ing was a magical time. Hearing stations from across the globe, their perspective in culture,  news and world events. I miss all those stations it was really great. Picking stations up by internet just isn't the same as radio. A person could get unbiased news from other sources than the America media. You could learn troop deployments, ships at seas of our Naval forces, weeks ahead of what the mainstream media would tell you. News is too filtered in the United States.

It was the challenge of being able to receive those stations, usually on radios with analog dials, some would drift, some would have heavy QSB, and others had signals of 60 db over S9. Whether it was early morning Radio Australia, late night Radio Nederland, or all day BBC World Service, the challenge to receive those stations made it all worth while. A time much different than today, no cable news, no internet, no cell phones, nothing but radio.
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ALPARD

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #25 on: November 11, 2019, 10:17:51 AM »


I forgot what that sounded like back then-can you describe it?


It was more or less like this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPaGfkzeXlU

Yeah it was that tune in the clip.
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HFCRUSR

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #26 on: November 11, 2019, 10:24:18 AM »


I forgot what that sounded like back then-can you describe it?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPaGfkzeXlU

Yeah it was that tune in the clip.
Ah yeah "Yankee Doodle Dandy". Guess what-they still play it at sign-on and sign-off. The version they play now is with heavy, almost maniacal flute 8)
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Not a ham, but an avid hobbyist in HF world. All things, short of transmit happen in this shack.

ALPARD

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #27 on: November 11, 2019, 10:33:41 AM »

I didn't even know what tune it was at the time. I thought it was the VOA's signing on / off tune.

I had been living in Indonesia with my parents where they worked. And because of the unfamiliar language in there, and due to availability of 1 monochrome TV channel and a few MW radio stations in Indonesian language, I was forced into SWL hungry for outside news in the world from the country.

I used to listen to VOA, Radio Australia, Radio Japan, and Radio Korea with 3 SW band Sanyo Portable with telescopic whip antenna.

We moved to Seoul Korea after a few years, and my SWL activity as hobby continued in there too. I had been listening more or less the same stations on SW, and started DXing. Heard BBC and other big stations from Europe.
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HFCRUSR

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Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #28 on: November 11, 2019, 11:24:01 AM »

I didn't even know what tune it was at the time. I thought it was the VOA's signing on / off tune.

I had been living in Indonesia with my parents where they worked. And because of the unfamiliar language in there, and due to availability of 1 monochrome TV channel and a few MW radio stations in Indonesian language, I was forced into SWL hungry for outside news in the world from the country.

I used to listen to VOA, Radio Australia, Radio Japan, and Radio Korea with 3 SW band Sanyo Portable with telescopic whip antenna.

We moved to Seoul Korea after a few years, and my SWL activity as hobby continued in there too. I had been listening more or less the same stations on SW, and started DXing. Heard BBC and other big stations from Europe.
Boy have you been around! Some neat history there. One of the best things about SWL for me is the long-distance DX. I shot this one for you to show what I caught just now at just under 11,000 miles. 1950UTC, 13670kHz, Radio Feda transmitting from Madagascar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52RRVaOAd5A&feature=youtu.be
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Not a ham, but an avid hobbyist in HF world. All things, short of transmit happen in this shack.

ALPARD

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  • Posts: 529
Re: Why SWLing?
« Reply #29 on: November 11, 2019, 12:46:00 PM »


Boy have you been around! Some neat history there. One of the best things about SWL for me is the long-distance DX. I shot this one for you to show what I caught just now at just under 11,000 miles. 1950UTC, 13670kHz, Radio Feda transmitting from Madagascar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52RRVaOAd5A&feature=youtu.be

You have great set up there with excellent gear. Great signal & audio from the antennas and the radios. Very nice set up.

Thanks for sharing.
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