Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Terry (N5RTC), who shares the following schedules for Texas Radio Shortwave (click the image to enlarge):
Note that you can also find schedules and more information on the Texas Radio Shortwave website.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor David Shannon, who shares the following short video about detecting sunspots on the far side of the Sun:
Click here to view on YouTube.
Happy November to all our SWLing Post friends! Here’s what Imaginary Stations is cooking up for your shortwave radio/SDR listening pleasure.
On Wednesday 11th November at 0300 hrs UTC on 9395 kHz via WRMI we revisit the Shortwave Music Library to see if we have any overdue recordings. Expect the unexpected we say, without irony or ironing.
Later that day at 1900 hrs UTC on 3975 kHz via the services of Shortwave Gold, it’s a repeat of the first edition of Radio Clarion from 2022. Sound the fanfare!
And at the weekend we continue KNOT – The Beatles on Saturday 14th November at 1200 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then again on Sunday 15th November at 1000 hrs and 1400 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and 1900 hrs UTC on 3975 kHz via Shortwave Gold. We’re playing more tunes about the Beatles; cover versions of Beatles songs and bands that have that Beatles vibe – just not the Beatles. Celebrate the Fab Four with the Fab Five DJs from Imaginary Stations.
Subscribe to djfrederick.substack.com for updates and exclusive materials related to all things Skybird and Imaginary Stations and do check out our archived shows at our Mixcloud page here.
FastRadioBurst23
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report.
Carlos notes:
Shortwave radio never ceases to surprise me. While in Porto Alegre, I was listening to a broadcast aimed at Japan by the Australian radio station “Reach Beyond Australia” when I discovered the work of the great Japanese poet Shuntaro Tanikawa.
Click here to view on YouTube.
BREATH
By Shuntaro Tanikawa
The wind is breathing
beside my earlobe
carrying the voices of children
making the lake ripple
the wind is breathing
The insects are breathing
clinging to the grass
showing their translucent wombs
reflecting the blue sky in their eyes
the insects are breathing
The stars are breathing
somewhere far away
spiraling without end
twinkling without a sound
the stars are breathing
A person is breathing
all alone
exhaling suffering
inhaling sorrow
a person is breathing
Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Dennis Dura and David Iurescia for the following tips:
Thank you to Marco Zennaro for writing in and sharing NightDX, a free terminal app for macOS, Windows and Linux that lets an Airspy HF+ do your overnight shortwave listening for you. The menu interface is deliberately styled like early-90s DOS software.
NightDX pulls the EiBi, AOKI and HFCC broadcast schedules, plus live solar flux and Kp from NOAA. A propagation model then predicts what should reach your location and calibrates itself against what your own radio hears. The HF+ sweeps all the bands in about 10 seconds to see which carriers are really there, and overnight NightDX records the best stations, putting ones you’ve never logged first.
A famed Aroostook broadcaster is selling one of the world’s most powerful shortwave radio stations.
Monticello’s WBCQ The Planet, an international AM/FM shortwave radio broadcast station and free speech platform, constructed the $17 million Monticello Maine Superstation for the World’s Last Chance Church in 2019.
“We are selling [or leasing] the assets of what we call the superstation facilities, one of the most powerful radio stations in the world,” said Allan Weiner, who co-owns and operates WBCQ with his wife, Angela Weiner. “The facility that we built for them is surplus to our needs. We’re trying to get the Voice of America, the government or the military to take it over or other private shortwave broadcasters in the country.”
As we reported, EWTN Global Catholic Network‘s shortwave radio station WEWN shut down its operations on Oct. 31 after 34 years.
The Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word shared photos with Radio World of the friars’ annual visit to the WEWN transmitter site atop Vandiver Mountain on Aug. 13 this year.
In 2026, Radio Bulgaria is confirming radio listeners’ reception reports with a new series of 12 QSL cards. Each card features an image highlighting a particular historical event connected with the history of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and its Radio Bulgaria programme, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary. At the beginning of each month, a special feature takes you behind the scenes of these images, revealing some interesting facts about them.The eleventh QSL card for 2026 is dedicated to the “new” building of the Bulgarian National Radio.In the late 1960s, a decision was taken to construct a new building to provide more office and technical space for the multi-channel national broadcaster and its numerous employees. The foundation stone of the new home of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) was laid on 17 August 1970.
The turning of the first sod for BNR’s new building, 17 August 1970
If Congress can act before the end of the year, it may yet require that AM stations can be heard in new automobiles in the United States. The House gave its assent in September.
Passage of the legislation would be great. It will restore to AM radio some value and provide a potential boost to listenership.
But what about FM? I’ve been giving this question some thought, and asking around.
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Screenshot
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Giuseppe Morlè, who writes:
Dear Thomas and friends at the SWLing Post,
This is Giuseppe Morlè, IZ0GZW, from Formia, in central Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
In this video, you’ll see the evolution of the “Scarrafone” antenna—this is the Scarrafone 2.0!
I’ve held onto this coil for many years; it was a gift from a friend.
I figured I could improve upon the performance of the previous Scarrafone… and I was right!
A larger coil diameter and an 800 pF variable capacitor make all the difference.
I’ve placed seven screws along the coil to help with tuning across all HF bands.
I didn’t have a proper knob, so I used a sparkling wine cork instead—it works perfectly!
It’s truly an amazing antenna for portable use, and finding the right tuning points is actually a lot of fun.
I hope you all enjoy it!
An update: Adding medium-wave reception
I’ve also made another improvement to the Scarrafone 2.0 antenna by adding another coil for medium-wave reception.
It consists of a plastic electrical conduit pipe containing three ferrite cores, with 30 turns of wire wrapped around it.
At the ends of the windings are the usual alligator clips, allowing me to switch between shortwave and medium-wave reception.
This second video was filmed inside my shack in the early evening.
Thanks, and greetings from Formia!
73,
Giuseppe Morlè, IZ0GZW
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who shares the following field recording.
Carlos notes:
I listened to this program broadcast yesterday by Reach Beyond Australia, which was about a book published in Japan titled “The Book of Breathing,” written by Toshiro Kato and the renowned Japanese poet Shuntaro Tanikawa.
