Longtime SWLer here. Thank you for these reports. This and your comprehensive review of the Qodoson DX 286 are why I subscribed. Also liked the sound checks.
5:46 but no one has a radio receiver built for DRM. DRM makes no sense from a shortwave standpoint, since most people are poor and cannot afford the cost of the technology. I can’t imagine a poor islander trying to buy a new receiver just to receive the DRM signal. 😂
Since I was a young kid I loved antique radios and shortwave. When I got older I learned how to fix them up. I have many radios am/fm,shortwave ham and military. I hardly listen to them at all anymore. Due to deregulation in the US almost all stations are piped in via satellite or internet. Anywhere you go itts for the most part the same music and same government propaganda psa. The one local that plays a few good songs has gliches during ever song. Drives ne nuts. Back in the day they would have been en shut down.They have killed radio and they are getting the last few kicks in before the heartbeat stops. Thanks for covering whats left on shortwave.
I should follow your example and learn how to fix radios, I like some older radios also! I have a Barlow Wadley XCR30, don't know if you know it? Quite a legendary radio, made in South Africa in the 1970s. Mine still works very well. Like you, I feel it is a real loss that SW stations are becoming fewer and fewer. But there are still some of them around, for us die-hards :-)
Just stumbled on your podcast. 40 years of HAMradio here. Interesting to find someone who keeps track of the (decaying) world wide SWL situation. Thanks !
Hi Pascal, thank you so much for your comment. It is sad that some SW stations are disappearing, but I am an optimist. There are still many stations to hear, and even some new ones arriving every now and again, like Ifrikya FM here in Africa, which transmits on both SW and FM for much of the day. There are still some broadcasters who value SW.
Interesting report, and the high quality images add a great deal of enjoyment. Well, my DX-286 arrived today. After going back and forth on it I finally decided I would give it a try. I'm very impressed so far and am looking forward to evening hours to see what else I can hear.
Thank you so much William! I am glad you enjoyed the images also. Good to hear that you are enjoying the DX-286. I still think it is one of the best radios available right now.
Hi Andre. I "discovered" your 2nd podcast today and I was super impressed and excited to find it. Congratulations on a fantastic initiative. The content and format is spot on. Well done!
Use to listen to SW some time ago but got discouraged when most of what I hear are chinese stations day or night. Chanced upon your youtube post and decided to give a listen again. Will be watching out for your posts.
Hi Willie, yes, the Chinese signals can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, even here in South Africa. But with patience I am sure you will find lots of other signals. Remember also that not every Chinese signal you hear is from China. KNLS, a religious station, transmits in Chinese from Madagascar and Alaska. Radio Taiwan International and Voice of Korea also have Chinese transmissions, and there are others. There is still a lot to hear that does not necessarily come from China.
Hey André, first time I watch this podcast-style submission and it's really great. Very informative. Wondering where you pull all these news bits from. May I suggest that you insert text captions with the information you provide, like for schedules and frequencies? It would make quick reference easier. Even for making screenshots to keep at hand. Sad news from VOA, really. I really don't get it. I think that the US badly underestimate the effect the ever growing domination of the SW bands by the Chinese. Some nights from home I *only* catch Chinese stations. All strong and clear. I don't think that the Chinese do this only for the prestige. It definitely serves a purpose and now the west is letting them take over the waves even more. BTW Sunday the 14th (Bastille Day here!) was pretty good for ham contacts. Not the greatest, but above average with no noticeable noise from solar activity. Very, very busy bands due to a major contest taking place.
Thank you so much Alain! Good idea about the text references, I think in future I will add some text information to the video description, for quick reference later. I would like to experiment more with the podcast idea, so audio only, it seems to me that people really like it. But I can see that text references will be useful, I will add those to the video description. The whole VOA/USAGM thing is very disappointing indeed. You are right about China, they certainly don't do it just for fun. I am sure they have hundreds of thousands of listeners, maybe even millions, and they are certainly influencing public opinion all around the world. The USA and the UK, and other Western countries, will lose the influence game if they keep reducing their SW transmissions. I have said it before on my channel, but I will say it again, there are millions of people around the world who cannot afford regular internet access to stream radio stations. They rely on good old radio over the airwaves. And probably many others (myself included) who prefer good old radio vs streaming content on the internet. I like both, but I definitely still enjoy radio listening.
That is a great content, i'll enjoy each second of it lol Also these R. Taiwan' German broadcasts are actually something i listen each evening on 5900kHz, thanks for the frequencies.
Yes, there is a website called short-wave.info. At the top of the page you can search for stations in various languages. Select "any station" and English, then it will show you all the stations transmitting in English right now, or at the time you specify.
If you join the British DX Club (the annual fee is not expensive) you get a monthly journal of radio news plus a Broadcasts in English supplement. You can opt for an online download or request paper copies, I would recommend joining the club to anyone interested in broadcast listening. 73
@@n1kkri yes it could be, I think they started in the 1960’s. Some useful information regarding broadcast changes, times and there are logs from members.
Good work Andre, informative video. You speak well, maybe consider your own monthly broadcast show on SW? It seems fairly straightforward hiring a slot on Channel 292 Germany, I know a few people that have done it and coverage is generally good. 73 Franco
Thanks Graham, I will always find some good news! I think even on SW, which many people think is dying, there are still new and interesting developments. I think SW will be with us for a long time to come.
@@swlistening Thank you. At least some good news that not all shortwave broadcasters are shutting down. It seems some now appreciate the value of unrestricted broadcasting to every part in the world.
Here in belgium they have been talking about dab for 20+ years. However, nothing is foreseen to switch off the fm broadcasts. We have dab+ broadcasts but it's mainly for the cars as almost nobody has a dab receiver at home. We'll enjoy fm broadcasts for years and years to come.
Sounds a bit like the situation in South Africa. They have been testing DAB+ for at least a decade now, but still no full official roll-out. There are DAB+ signals here in Johannesburg, but it is still part of a "testing phase", although this specific testing phase has been going on for about two years now. I enjoy some music listening on DAB+, there is a good station from Cape Town that I can hear on DAB+ here, so that is nice. But, for most people here, FM is still the only way they listen to the radio. I am 100% sure FM will remain in South Africa for many decades more.
Kind of the same here in France. DAB+ coverage is patchy at best (about 50% of the population which means much less % of the territory) and there are way too many oldish cars on the roads with FM radios only (including mine!) to switch it off in the foreseeable future. 20% of households or less have a DAB+ radio as per figures I've found online. The Swiss are richer and have newer cars 😄 The offering for the lucky ones with coverage is getting better though. Most if not all of major FM radios also are on DAB+ and there are good quality DAB+-only radios.
@@F4LDT-Alain That's the thing indeed, DAB+ is great when coverage is good and when there is a nice selection of stations, but the challenge remains the coverage, and also the receivers. They are not cheap, and many cars don't have them (yet), as you point out. I think the percentage of households with DAB+ access here is probably below 1%. There are no figures available, as DAB+ has not really launched officially here yet. More than a decade of testing though...
Its a shame about MW gradually declining, but I do enjoy using a DAB radio at home. In some ways DAB is more robust than MW for me, but I do live quite close to the TX.
That's true, Glen, I also use a DAB+ radio for music listening in particular, and for listening to an oldies station from another city (Durban) that is now available on DAB+ in Johannesburg. But I do enjoy my local MW station in the car when driving! And, of course, I love MW DXing.
Getting rid of short-wave radio is a BIG mistake, once a real emergency is upon us many will be left with zero communication with the rest of the world. Many say that the high cost of power (electricity) is one of the problems preventing shortwave stations from going on air, one has to wonder why most do not move to SSB, a system that will sound better (in the noise) while saving about 76% of the power bill (no carrier power needed) after all those shortwave stations are more about information (voice) than high Quilty music listening. Today's modern SSB receivers are stable, small and affordable, a change in technology called SDR receiver made this magic happen. let's hope someone will start using SSB on broadcast shortwave spectrum.
I really agree with you. I think the fact that so many broadcasters returned to SW with special programmes in Russian and Ukrainian during the current war in Ukraine, just shows how valuable SW is. It is very difficult to censor, and it can reach people everywhere, even on the battlefield. Regular broadcasts using SSB is actually a good idea. There is one station that does it already, LRA36 from the Argentinean Antarctic base. They transmit regular programming using SSB from Antarctica. It is on 15476 kHz USB. Not every day though.
A lot of pirates use SSB and they play music through it. Sometimes with not bad results. But a lot of people can’t afford high end receivers that can play the SSB signals with any reliability. Like it or not, AM rules. Shortwave receivers are now more sensitive than they have ever been. The powerful stations can probably be scaled back and more efficient antennae systems could also be employed. It is true that the former shortwave stations were huge behemoths like VOA or Radio RSA that used tons of power and metal. Hams can talk all over the world using less power and they experiment with different antenna designs and frequencies. More research should be done with the HF spectrum with some useful technologies. DRM receivers themselves are not available if they even exist in some countries. I love to listen to my shortwave radio, just saying!
@@RJDA.Dakota Same here, I love my SW radios! I think DRM is a nice idea, but with the receivers being so expensive and hard to find, it will probably never take off fully.
Like #100 was mine 😜 but for some reason, since the latest updates, keyboard doesn't work on my phone on the UA-cam app, and only on the UA-cam app 🤡 so I'm writing from my laptop. Thank you for this episode Andre 👍 loving these updates, both good and bad news. And I have something to get grumpy about 😂 Like, Łeeeeeh, these RTI specials used to be 60 minutes long, and now they are cut to 30 minutes!!!!!!111111 Łeeeeeh, SLBC used to be on 11750 kHz DAILY, and now you say a Friday broadcast is an oddity!!!!!!111111 Łeeeeeeh, more cuts from USAGM, soon there will be nothing left at all on shortwave, only China!!!!!!!111111 (well, at least there are REE & RNZP who are investing in new transmitters, but they are literally the only ones, Łeeeeeeh!!!!!!!!11111111). And, creme de la creme, the biggest ŁEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH, Swiss public radio is switching off FM?! EFF-EM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! And have you seen their explanations of the decision? Reminds me of something, eh? 🤡 BTW that solar flare yesterday really helped with IARU HF Championship ham radio contest, which runs until 1200z today. 15m provided lots of DX from all over the place, Philippines, China, Panama, Thailand... and it remained *very* active well into the night 🤓 Andre, not that there are any chances of hearing it on SW (blame the BBC greed, as always, Łeeeeh), but... are you going to watch Euro 2024 final tonight? 😜
Thanks Arnie! I might watch the Euros, yes. Which team are you supporting? Spain? The Swiss FM switch-off is really strange, in my opinion. They say only 13% of radio listeners use FM. Well, to my mind, 13% is a high percentage, that is a lot of people. All those people will now need DAB+ radios. They say FM is too expensive... For a rich country like Switzerland? We have FM towers here in South Africa that cover almost every part of the country, and this is a very big country. We are not poor, but neither are we as rich as Switzerland... SLBC is a weird one for me, I remember that they used to broadcast daily, so I was a bit surprised to see in the latest WRTH that they now only transit twice a week. I think they might actually transmit on more days, like my Friday catch shows. I'll try to monitor them on some other days also. About USAGM and VOA, it seems to me like most of their African beams are still active, I haven't noticed any reductions. Neither have I seen any reductions in their 1600 to 1800 slot for other stations, like Radio Farda, RFA, VOA Deewa Radio and others. I was able to hear almost everything that is listed at that time on Friday, when I monitored these. Maybe the biggest cuts are in the morning, UTC.
@@swlistening I haven't monitored USAGM at all lately, but I can say I did see 11985 kHz with RFA Korean doing very well, next to 11995 Taiwan special last Friday. But North Korea is a rather specific target...
Hi Chris, based on reports from others in the US, I think you will be able to hear a lot. You should be able to catch many of the European signals, like Radio Exterior de España and Radio Romania. And, of course WRMI from Florida. Do a search for the WRMI website and you will find a whole bunch of stations that are relayed by WRMI, including Radio Prague, Radio Slovakia, Argentina and many more. You should aso be able to hear Cuba, some South American signals like Radio Amazonia on 11780 kHz, and probably some signals from Africa and the UK. Woofferton in the UK relays a great number of signals, many of those should reach you. Ifrikya FM from Algeria on various frequencies is often heard in the US, even deeper inland than New York. I think people who live in California and other states along the West Coast will have a harder time to catch SW. But for you on the East Coast, you should be able to hear very many signals. Do you have a SW radio already?
@@chrisbogt3989It's a great choice, it is a very, very good radio and you will definitely hear many interesting signals on it. It is quite simple to operate in some ways, but just be aware that it is quite an advanced radio with many specialised functions. For basic SW and MW listening, however, it is easy to start out with the Qodosen. The main functions are all quite simple.
Hi Jamey, for SW I use a 10 metre random wire. It is stretched outside my house, just under the eaves of my garage roof. I live in a housing complex (as we call them here in South Africa). It is sectional title private homes and shared common areas. So I cannot put up large antennas outside. The wire works really well though. For MW I use the Tecsun AN-200 passive loop, works very well.
Also very good. I use the Tecsun PL-368, which is the same radio, different name. It is not quite as sensitive as the Qodosen, so it might not catch very weak signals that you will hear on the Qodosen. But it has SSB, which is very useful if you want to listen to numbers stations or utility signals, like shipping weather reports. There are many of those in North America. The speaker is small, but quite sufficient. Better sound via headphones or an external speaker. It's a good radio, maybe a wise choice if this is your first SW radio. Has a very handy ETM function, you can scan the bands every hour, and stations are saved in a memory bank for that hour. It is quite sensitive during ETM scans, so it will find many stations for you easily and quickly. The Qodosen also does this, but the memory system is not as easy to operate as on the GP-7.
i wish there was a radio that can pick up and decode the newer digital radio here in the usa. you can half way decode it on a sdr radio but its really janky
Do you mean HD radio? It's true actually, I don't know of any radio that covers FM, SW, MW and HD. I think you need to buy a dedicated HD radio, and these are relatively expensive. Sangean has quite a few models available.
Apologies for some slight interference in the sound, I think I need a new mic!
Longtime SWLer here. Thank you for these reports. This and your comprehensive review of the Qodoson DX 286 are why I subscribed. Also liked the sound checks.
Thank you for watching, and for subscribing! Glad you are enjoying my channel.
5:46 but no one has a radio receiver built for DRM. DRM makes no sense from a shortwave standpoint, since most people are poor and cannot afford the cost of the technology. I can’t imagine a poor islander trying to buy a new receiver just to receive the DRM signal. 😂
@@RJDA.Dakota Indeed, that's the big question for me about DRM. All these stations are starting to use it, but who listens? And how?
I like these reports. Thank you!
Glad you like them, thank you for your comment!
I’m really enjoying your weekly news. Thanks for your efforts. I’m in Texas.
Hi Bill, thank you so much for listening, and thanks for your comment. Nice to hear from someone in Texas!
Since I was a young kid I loved antique radios and shortwave. When I got older I learned how to fix them up. I have many radios am/fm,shortwave ham and military. I hardly listen to them at all anymore. Due to deregulation in the US almost all stations are piped in via satellite or internet. Anywhere you go itts for the most part the same music and same government propaganda psa. The one local that plays a few good songs has gliches during ever song. Drives ne nuts. Back in the day they would have been en shut down.They have killed radio and they are getting the last few kicks in before the heartbeat stops. Thanks for covering whats left on shortwave.
I should follow your example and learn how to fix radios, I like some older radios also! I have a Barlow Wadley XCR30, don't know if you know it? Quite a legendary radio, made in South Africa in the 1970s. Mine still works very well. Like you, I feel it is a real loss that SW stations are becoming fewer and fewer. But there are still some of them around, for us die-hards :-)
Thanks for keeping interest in radio alive.
My pleasure, thanks for listening!
Just stumbled on your podcast. 40 years of HAMradio here.
Interesting to find someone who keeps track of the (decaying) world wide SWL situation. Thanks !
Hi Pascal, thank you so much for your comment. It is sad that some SW stations are disappearing, but I am an optimist. There are still many stations to hear, and even some new ones arriving every now and again, like Ifrikya FM here in Africa, which transmits on both SW and FM for much of the day. There are still some broadcasters who value SW.
Interesting report, and the high quality images add a great deal of enjoyment. Well, my DX-286 arrived today. After going back and forth on it I finally decided I would give it a try. I'm very impressed so far and am looking forward to evening hours to see what else I can hear.
Thank you so much William! I am glad you enjoyed the images also. Good to hear that you are enjoying the DX-286. I still think it is one of the best radios available right now.
Hi Andre. I "discovered" your 2nd podcast today and I was super impressed and excited to find it. Congratulations on a fantastic initiative. The content and format is spot on. Well done!
Thank you so much Johan, glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you from Alberta, Canada 🇨🇦
My pleasure!
Use to listen to SW some time ago but got discouraged when most of what I hear are chinese stations day or night. Chanced upon your youtube post and decided to give a listen again. Will be watching out for your posts.
Hi Willie, yes, the Chinese signals can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, even here in South Africa. But with patience I am sure you will find lots of other signals. Remember also that not every Chinese signal you hear is from China. KNLS, a religious station, transmits in Chinese from Madagascar and Alaska. Radio Taiwan International and Voice of Korea also have Chinese transmissions, and there are others. There is still a lot to hear that does not necessarily come from China.
Hey André, first time I watch this podcast-style submission and it's really great. Very informative. Wondering where you pull all these news bits from.
May I suggest that you insert text captions with the information you provide, like for schedules and frequencies? It would make quick reference easier. Even for making screenshots to keep at hand.
Sad news from VOA, really. I really don't get it. I think that the US badly underestimate the effect the ever growing domination of the SW bands by the Chinese.
Some nights from home I *only* catch Chinese stations. All strong and clear. I don't think that the Chinese do this only for the prestige. It definitely serves a purpose and now the west is letting them take over the waves even more.
BTW Sunday the 14th (Bastille Day here!) was pretty good for ham contacts. Not the greatest, but above average with no noticeable noise from solar activity. Very, very busy bands due to a major contest taking place.
Thank you so much Alain! Good idea about the text references, I think in future I will add some text information to the video description, for quick reference later. I would like to experiment more with the podcast idea, so audio only, it seems to me that people really like it. But I can see that text references will be useful, I will add those to the video description.
The whole VOA/USAGM thing is very disappointing indeed. You are right about China, they certainly don't do it just for fun. I am sure they have hundreds of thousands of listeners, maybe even millions, and they are certainly influencing public opinion all around the world. The USA and the UK, and other Western countries, will lose the influence game if they keep reducing their SW transmissions. I have said it before on my channel, but I will say it again, there are millions of people around the world who cannot afford regular internet access to stream radio stations. They rely on good old radio over the airwaves. And probably many others (myself included) who prefer good old radio vs streaming content on the internet. I like both, but I definitely still enjoy radio listening.
BTW you look great in the opening picture haha 😂
@@F4LDT-Alain 🤣
Thank you for another interesting SWL News.
My pleasure Chris, thank you for listening!
That is a great content, i'll enjoy each second of it lol
Also these R. Taiwan' German broadcasts are actually something i listen each evening on 5900kHz, thanks for the frequencies.
Thanks Alexander, it is my pleasure!
Local commercial and ideal stations still use FM here in Norway
Thank you so much for this, I did not know that local stations still use FM in Norway. I will add a clip about this to my next news video.
Thanks Andre for another awesome radio news program video. Now, if you only had more good news to report…😂!
73! Have a great day!
My pleasure! I will keep looking for good news!
Another information youtube. Sad to see the FM signals terminations.. Radio is changing for sure Thanks Andre
My pleasure Dan, thanks for your comment. Radio is definitely changing. But I think we will still have SW and MW, for some time.
Outstanding production!
Much appreciated Anthony!
Years ago they had listings of Shortwave stations when they broadcast in English. Is there anything like that today?
Yes, there is a website called short-wave.info. At the top of the page you can search for stations in various languages. Select "any station" and English, then it will show you all the stations transmitting in English right now, or at the time you specify.
If you join the British DX Club (the annual fee is not expensive) you get a monthly journal of radio news plus a Broadcasts in English supplement. You can opt for an online download or request paper copies, I would recommend joining the club to anyone interested in broadcast listening. 73
@@FrancoDX Hi Franco, thank you for the suggestion!
@@FrancoDX Years ago I used to subscribe to a British Journal. Might be the same one. Wasn't sure they still existed.
@@n1kkri yes it could be, I think they started in the 1960’s. Some useful information regarding broadcast changes, times and there are logs from members.
Good work Andre, informative video.
You speak well, maybe consider your own monthly broadcast show on SW? It seems fairly straightforward hiring a slot on Channel 292 Germany, I know a few people that have done it and coverage is generally good.
73 Franco
Hi Franco, thank you so much! Having my own broadcast show is something that I have actually given some thought to already. Let's see :-)
It would be fantastic indeed! You should get in touch with these guys.
@@F4LDT-Alain I will 😀
Glad you were able to find some good news amongst the bad :)
Thanks Graham, I will always find some good news! I think even on SW, which many people think is dying, there are still new and interesting developments. I think SW will be with us for a long time to come.
Thank you, please continue your good work.
My pleasure Klaus. I will continue :-)
@@swlistening Thank you.
At least some good news that not all shortwave broadcasters are shutting down. It seems some now appreciate the value of unrestricted broadcasting to every part in the world.
@@klausklausen4977 I really hope so!
Here in belgium they have been talking about dab for 20+ years. However, nothing is foreseen to switch off the fm broadcasts. We have dab+ broadcasts but it's mainly for the cars as almost nobody has a dab receiver at home.
We'll enjoy fm broadcasts for years and years to come.
Sounds a bit like the situation in South Africa. They have been testing DAB+ for at least a decade now, but still no full official roll-out. There are DAB+ signals here in Johannesburg, but it is still part of a "testing phase", although this specific testing phase has been going on for about two years now. I enjoy some music listening on DAB+, there is a good station from Cape Town that I can hear on DAB+ here, so that is nice. But, for most people here, FM is still the only way they listen to the radio. I am 100% sure FM will remain in South Africa for many decades more.
Kind of the same here in France. DAB+ coverage is patchy at best (about 50% of the population which means much less % of the territory) and there are way too many oldish cars on the roads with FM radios only (including mine!) to switch it off in the foreseeable future. 20% of households or less have a DAB+ radio as per figures I've found online.
The Swiss are richer and have newer cars 😄
The offering for the lucky ones with coverage is getting better though. Most if not all of major FM radios also are on DAB+ and there are good quality DAB+-only radios.
@@F4LDT-Alain That's the thing indeed, DAB+ is great when coverage is good and when there is a nice selection of stations, but the challenge remains the coverage, and also the receivers. They are not cheap, and many cars don't have them (yet), as you point out. I think the percentage of households with DAB+ access here is probably below 1%. There are no figures available, as DAB+ has not really launched officially here yet. More than a decade of testing though...
Its a shame about MW gradually declining, but I do enjoy using a DAB radio at home. In some ways DAB is more robust than MW for me, but I do live quite close to the TX.
That's true, Glen, I also use a DAB+ radio for music listening in particular, and for listening to an oldies station from another city (Durban) that is now available on DAB+ in Johannesburg. But I do enjoy my local MW station in the car when driving! And, of course, I love MW DXing.
Getting rid of short-wave radio is a BIG mistake, once a real emergency is upon us many will be left with zero communication with the rest of the world.
Many say that the high cost of power (electricity) is one of the problems preventing shortwave stations from going on air, one has to wonder why most do not move to SSB, a system that will sound better (in the noise) while saving about 76% of the power bill (no carrier power needed) after all those shortwave stations are more about information (voice) than high Quilty music listening.
Today's modern SSB receivers are stable, small and affordable, a change in technology called SDR receiver made this magic happen.
let's hope someone will start using SSB on broadcast shortwave spectrum.
I really agree with you. I think the fact that so many broadcasters returned to SW with special programmes in Russian and Ukrainian during the current war in Ukraine, just shows how valuable SW is. It is very difficult to censor, and it can reach people everywhere, even on the battlefield.
Regular broadcasts using SSB is actually a good idea. There is one station that does it already, LRA36 from the Argentinean Antarctic base. They transmit regular programming using SSB from Antarctica. It is on 15476 kHz USB. Not every day though.
A lot of pirates use SSB and they play music through it. Sometimes with not bad results. But a lot of people can’t afford high end receivers that can play the SSB signals with any reliability. Like it or not, AM rules. Shortwave receivers are now more sensitive than they have ever been. The powerful stations can probably be scaled back and more efficient antennae systems could also be employed. It is true that the former shortwave stations were huge behemoths like VOA or Radio RSA that used tons of power and metal. Hams can talk all over the world using less power and they experiment with different antenna designs and frequencies. More research should be done with the HF spectrum with some useful technologies. DRM receivers themselves are not available if they even exist in some countries. I love to listen to my shortwave radio, just saying!
@@RJDA.Dakota Same here, I love my SW radios! I think DRM is a nice idea, but with the receivers being so expensive and hard to find, it will probably never take off fully.
Just a big thank you
My pleasure Michael!
Thanks André.
Sure!
Thanks. I subscribed.
Thanks for subscribing!
I can pick up Radio New Zealand at about 1 PM Eastern Standard time on the Northeast coast of the USA.
Hi Stefan, that's a great catch, I really struggle to pick up Radio New Zealand here in South Africa.
Like #100 was mine 😜 but for some reason, since the latest updates, keyboard doesn't work on my phone on the UA-cam app, and only on the UA-cam app 🤡 so I'm writing from my laptop.
Thank you for this episode Andre 👍 loving these updates, both good and bad news. And I have something to get grumpy about 😂 Like, Łeeeeeh, these RTI specials used to be 60 minutes long, and now they are cut to 30 minutes!!!!!!111111 Łeeeeeh, SLBC used to be on 11750 kHz DAILY, and now you say a Friday broadcast is an oddity!!!!!!111111 Łeeeeeeh, more cuts from USAGM, soon there will be nothing left at all on shortwave, only China!!!!!!!111111 (well, at least there are REE & RNZP who are investing in new transmitters, but they are literally the only ones, Łeeeeeeh!!!!!!!!11111111). And, creme de la creme, the biggest ŁEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH, Swiss public radio is switching off FM?! EFF-EM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! And have you seen their explanations of the decision? Reminds me of something, eh? 🤡
BTW that solar flare yesterday really helped with IARU HF Championship ham radio contest, which runs until 1200z today. 15m provided lots of DX from all over the place, Philippines, China, Panama, Thailand... and it remained *very* active well into the night 🤓
Andre, not that there are any chances of hearing it on SW (blame the BBC greed, as always, Łeeeeh), but... are you going to watch Euro 2024 final tonight? 😜
Thanks Arnie! I might watch the Euros, yes. Which team are you supporting? Spain?
The Swiss FM switch-off is really strange, in my opinion. They say only 13% of radio listeners use FM. Well, to my mind, 13% is a high percentage, that is a lot of people. All those people will now need DAB+ radios. They say FM is too expensive... For a rich country like Switzerland? We have FM towers here in South Africa that cover almost every part of the country, and this is a very big country. We are not poor, but neither are we as rich as Switzerland...
SLBC is a weird one for me, I remember that they used to broadcast daily, so I was a bit surprised to see in the latest WRTH that they now only transit twice a week. I think they might actually transmit on more days, like my Friday catch shows. I'll try to monitor them on some other days also.
About USAGM and VOA, it seems to me like most of their African beams are still active, I haven't noticed any reductions. Neither have I seen any reductions in their 1600 to 1800 slot for other stations, like Radio Farda, RFA, VOA Deewa Radio and others. I was able to hear almost everything that is listed at that time on Friday, when I monitored these. Maybe the biggest cuts are in the morning, UTC.
@@swlistening I haven't monitored USAGM at all lately, but I can say I did see 11985 kHz with RFA Korean doing very well, next to 11995 Taiwan special last Friday. But North Korea is a rather specific target...
I live in New York and was wondering what I can pickup on Sw ? Thank you
Get a SW radio and start bandscanning.
Hi Chris, based on reports from others in the US, I think you will be able to hear a lot. You should be able to catch many of the European signals, like Radio Exterior de España and Radio Romania. And, of course WRMI from Florida. Do a search for the WRMI website and you will find a whole bunch of stations that are relayed by WRMI, including Radio Prague, Radio Slovakia, Argentina and many more. You should aso be able to hear Cuba, some South American signals like Radio Amazonia on 11780 kHz, and probably some signals from Africa and the UK. Woofferton in the UK relays a great number of signals, many of those should reach you. Ifrikya FM from Algeria on various frequencies is often heard in the US, even deeper inland than New York. I think people who live in California and other states along the West Coast will have a harder time to catch SW. But for you on the East Coast, you should be able to hear very many signals. Do you have a SW radio already?
I was getting the quodosen DX 286
Any thoughts
@@chrisbogt3989It's a great choice, it is a very, very good radio and you will definitely hear many interesting signals on it. It is quite simple to operate in some ways, but just be aware that it is quite an advanced radio with many specialised functions. For basic SW and MW listening, however, it is easy to start out with the Qodosen. The main functions are all quite simple.
What antenna do you use for SW and MW? Thanks
Hi Jamey, for SW I use a 10 metre random wire. It is stretched outside my house, just under the eaves of my garage roof. I live in a housing complex (as we call them here in South Africa). It is sectional title private homes and shared common areas. So I cannot put up large antennas outside. The wire works really well though. For MW I use the Tecsun AN-200 passive loop, works very well.
@@swlistening I appreciate the videos.
@@jameyevans29 Thank you Jamey!
I guess MW will be left for us who can get licences 👍
I really hope it stays alive for everyone!
What do you think about the county comm , GP 7
Also very good. I use the Tecsun PL-368, which is the same radio, different name. It is not quite as sensitive as the Qodosen, so it might not catch very weak signals that you will hear on the Qodosen. But it has SSB, which is very useful if you want to listen to numbers stations or utility signals, like shipping weather reports. There are many of those in North America. The speaker is small, but quite sufficient. Better sound via headphones or an external speaker. It's a good radio, maybe a wise choice if this is your first SW radio. Has a very handy ETM function, you can scan the bands every hour, and stations are saved in a memory bank for that hour. It is quite sensitive during ETM scans, so it will find many stations for you easily and quickly. The Qodosen also does this, but the memory system is not as easy to operate as on the GP-7.
Thank you for your input, I appreciate it.
@@chrisbogt3989Sure, I wish you luck with your radio search!
i wish there was a radio that can pick up and decode the newer digital radio here in the usa. you can half way decode it on a sdr radio but its really janky
Do you mean HD radio? It's true actually, I don't know of any radio that covers FM, SW, MW and HD. I think you need to buy a dedicated HD radio, and these are relatively expensive. Sangean has quite a few models available.