Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Tracy Wood, who shares this fascinating report from Mizzima about the launch of “Voice of Independent Myanmar,” a new weekly shortwave broadcast aimed at providing independent news and information to listeners in Myanmar.
The new service, a collaboration between Mizzima and Reporters Without Borders (RSF), airs Sundays from 7:00–8:00 AM Myanmar time on 17,665 kHz. The programming includes local and international news, analysis, practical information, and features on human rights and disinformation.
Yet another powerful reminder of why shortwave radio remains so important. Unlike internet and cellular networks, shortwave can reach across borders without relying on local communications infrastructure—and a simple battery-powered receiver can be enough to access it. In a country experiencing censorship and periodic internet shutdowns, that can make shortwave a remarkably resilient lifeline for independent information.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Alphonse, who is an SWL and independent app developer, who recently reached out to introduce Demod, a new iOS/iPadOS receiver app designed for exploring shortwave and other radio signals via remote receivers.
Demod connects to KiwiSDR, SpyServer, and rtl_tcp servers, and includes a built-in directory of public receivers, so you can start exploring even if you don’t have any radio hardware of your own. One particularly intriguing feature is its Identify function, which uses the HFCC broadcast schedule, your receiver’s location, and the current UTC time to help identify the station you’re hearing, including its language and approximate transmitter distance. The app can also perform on-device live transcription and translation of received audio.
Alphonse says the app collects no data and contains no ads or tracking. The current release is version 1.3, and he has put together a short 90-second demonstration for anyone interested in seeing it in action:
I haven’t had a chance to try Demod myself yet, so consider this an announcement rather than a review—but it certainly looks like an intriguing tool for SWLs, particularly those who enjoy exploring remote receivers. I do plan to take it for a spin soon!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Alan Roe, who shares his A-26 (version 4.0) season guide to music on shortwave. Alan provides this amazing resource as a free PDF download.
Alan has also created at-a-glance, single-page PDF programme grids for BBC World Service, CGTN Radio, Radio Romania International, Voice of Turkey, and Radio Taiwan International — all updated for the A-26 broadcast season. If you’d like to download these, visit Alan’s Box account here: http://tinyurl.com/shortwaveprograms
As always, thank you for sharing your excellent guide, Alan!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Rob Gray, who spotted this Hygain Galaxy R-1530 on eBay. It’s listed at $749.95 plus shipping. The seller has a 100% rating, but if this interests you, note that the seller does not accept returns and the condition is marked as “For parts or not working,” even though it’s also noted as “Great condition and works well.”
That said, they do explain the condition more clearly in their full product description:
Hy-Gain Electronics of Lincoln NE, produced this receiver between 1972 and 1973. This is an extremely rare radio as total production was about 200 units. The blue name lable across the top of the unit denotes the latest model. The receiver is controlled by a phase locked first local oscillator and 500KC permeability tuned VFO. Installed IF filters include standard 2.1 SSB and optional 6 KC AM (PN FL5306). This receiver was a remarkable unit at the time of production and is still a great receiver for general shortwave listening, AM broadcast and HF amateur radio listening. This is a very clean radio that is working well. While this receiver is not a restored unit, it has been serviced and problem capacitors in the PLL replaced as necessary. Dimensions: 17 x 6 x 14 inches.
Valdosta operator says “suspicious phenomenon” is preventing LPFM from reaching potential
[…]WFAG(LP) operates on 89.7 FM with 100 watts of ERP in Valdosta. “Supra 89.7” is licensed to the nonprofit Valdosta Alliance.
In a letter addressed to Chairman Brendan Carr, the alliance’s general manager, Paula Greer, said that the “serious, suspicious phenomenon of apparent ‘ducting’” or “illegal broadcasting” has been preventing the community project from maximizing its potential. [Continue reading…]
QSL Card No. 8: First Bulgarian radio manufacturing factory (Radio Bulgaria)
Throughout 2026, Radio Bulgaria is confirming listeners’ reception reports with a new series of 12 QSL cards. Each card highlights a significant moment from the history of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and Radio Bulgaria, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. At the beginning of each month, we present the story behind the image featured on the latest card.
The eighth QSL card for 2026 is dedicated to Svetozar Prenerov’s first Bulgarian radio manufacturing factory.
In 1925, Svetozar Prenerov, an engineer who had just completed his education in France, received an invitation to take part in the Philips project to manufacture radio sets in the Netherlands. However, the young engineer turned down this tempting offer, deciding instead to manufacture radio sets in his homeland. Thus, in 1925, the ‘Elektron’ craft workshop began operations under the leadership of Svetozar and his brother Veselin, producing ‘Universal’ linear radio sets. [Read more at Radio Bulgaria…]
Safeguarding memory before it disappears – Preserving the Radio Mogadishu archive (UNESCO)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael (KM7FMJ), who notes that his ShortwaveHQ directory has recently received a number of updates. Most notably, the site’s search now draws from the full EIBI A-26 schedule, with more than 4,800 entries covering 309 stations. Check it out here!
If you aren’t already a member of the Canadian International DX Club (CIDX), one of the many excellent international shortwave radio clubs, here’s a good example of what you’re missing. The August 2026 issue of the CIDX Messenger runs an impressive 73 pages and includes a feature asking, “Do People Still Listen to the Radio?“, a look at why young Africans continue to listen to radio, Canadian Radio News, and much more. The CIDX also hosts monthly Zoom meetings, with the next scheduled for August 16. All of this is available to members for a very modest membership cost. If you’re not a member, consider joining and supporting one of the organizations that continues to keep the international DX community connected. Click here to check out the CIDX!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Ralph W. Perry, a longtime DXer and author, for sharing news of his latest novel, Pacific Dream – Mari Mango & an Accidental Orphanage.
This is the third novel in Ralph’s Pacific Trilogy, following Pacific Odyssey, which we featured here on the SWLing Post in 2024. While Pacific Dream is certainly a departure from our usual radio-related fare, Ralph’s long experience as a DXer—and his decades of living and traveling in Southeast Asia—give his fiction a distinctly international flavor.
The story follows twenty-two-year-old Marielle Margaux, who flees to Thailand following a cheating fiancé and a scandal at her charity job. Hoping to disappear into anonymity, Mari instead finds herself mistaken for a Western nun and handed the keys to a crumbling seaside hotel. Before long, she is responsible for an unlikely refuge for women and babies escaping Bangkok’s bar-girl world, forcing her to navigate frightened mothers, hungry infants, suspicious villagers, and a particularly earnest graduate student who seems to appear at precisely the wrong moments.
Ralph describes the book as “a funny, warm, cross-cultural novel about reinvention, cultural misfires, identity, and the messy ways we end up saving one another.”
And, as Ralph puts it, this is what happens when you “send a DXer abroad for three decades”—a “lovingly wry view of the situation one finds himself in!”
For a limited time, Ralph is offering the ebook as part of a special launch-week promotion. The ebook is just $0.99 through Thursday, with the price returning to normal on Friday.
If you’re interested in international travel, Southeast Asian culture, or simply enjoy a good cross-cultural adventure with a healthy dose of humor, you may want to give Ralph’s latest novel a look.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Tracy Wood, who shares this fascinating report from Mizzima about the launch of “Voice of Independent Myanmar,” a new weekly shortwave broadcast aimed at providing independent news and information to listeners in Myanmar.
