Marconi watching associates raising the kite (a “Levitor” by B.F.S. Baden-Powell[47]) used to lift the antenna at St. John’s, Newfoundland, December 1901 (via Wikipedia)
BBC Looks Back at the First Shortwave Transatlantic Link
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A Quick Hamvention Travel Note
I wanted to give SWLing Post readers a quick heads-up that I’ll be traveling this week and attending Dayton Hamvention along with Four Days in May. Because of travel and a very full schedule, I’ll likely be slower than usual replying to emails and may also post less frequently over the next week as free time will be extremely limited.
Many thanks in advance for your patience and understanding!
If you’re attending Hamvention as well, please feel free to stop by and say hello. You can find details about where I’ll be here: Heading to Dayton Hamvention and Four Days in May
73/72,
Thomas (K4SWL)
From Compactrons to Nuvistors: Vacuum Tubes’ Last Hurrah
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dennis Dura, who shares this article from Hackaday that explores the fascinating “last gasp” innovations of vacuum tube technology long after transistors had already begun taking over the electronics industry. The article dives into late-era tube developments like compactrons, lighthouse tubes, and RCA’s remarkable nuvistor—tiny, rugged, low-noise tubes that pushed thermionic technology to its limits in applications ranging from military gear to high-end audio and RF equipment. It’s a terrific read.
Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of BBC Afrique (May 10, 2026)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report of a recent BBC broadcast.
Carlos notes:
Emmanuel Macron in Kenya: “We are the true pan-africanists”. BBC Afrique, 15490 kHz”
Jewels, soul and the weather channel
Hi to all SWLing Post community. Here’s news of what the Imaginary Stations crew will be sending out into the ionosphere and via those groundwaves this coming week.
Thanks to Shortwave Gold, we have a transmission called JEWEL featuring an hour special on Jewel Records, from Cincinnati ran by Rusty York (more on the label here). The show is on Saturday 16th May at 1100 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then repeated on Sunday 17th May at 0900/1300 UTC on 6160 kHz and 2000 hrs on 3975 kHz/6160 kHz. Tune in for some musical education!
And then on Monday, May 18th at 20:00 UTC also via Shortwave Gold we’ve got part 2 of “Skybird Soul on Shortwave” on 3975 kHz and 6160 kHz. Loads of cracking soul and related type genres for a Monday evening.
Then on Wednesday, May 20th (0200 UTC on 9395 kHz) via WRMI, we bring you a meteorology special with The Weather Channel. So, get the barometer and thermometer at the ready and keep an umbrella at hand just in case and tune in for some forecasting fun.
For more information on all our shows, please write to us at [email protected] and check out our old shows at our Mixcloud page here.
FastRadioBurst23
Texas Radio Shortwave: Schedule for June 2026
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Terry (N5RTC), who shares the following schedules for Texas Radio Shortwave (click image to enlarge):
DXing from another country – Bermuda 1975
by Dan Greenall
A half-century ago, long before the internet, e-mail, and SDRs, I was fortunate to visit the islands of Bermuda. In addition to meeting up with a fellow amateur radio operator, whom I had contacted from my home QTH in Ontario, Canada, I was able to do some listening on the AM broadcast band, as well as FM, on an inexpensive portable receiver from Radio Shack that I had brought along with me. To this day, I still have the recordings of a few medium wave “catches” that I made, a few from the Caribbean, and a few from the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and Canada.
You can hear them by following this link to the Internet Archive.
https://archive.org/details/bcb-dx-from-bermuda-1975
As well, I recorded station ID’s of all the AM (3) and FM (2) local radio stations in Bermuda.
According to the 1975 World Radio TV Handbook, there were only 4 FM outlets, as the 94.9 FM outlet is not listed. Here is the link to these on the Internet Archive.
https://archive.org/details/bermuda-radio-airchecks-1975
Today, I can DX from another country without leaving home (through the use of various worldwide SDR’s), though I have to admit that some of the magic is missing.