R.I.P. Radio Adventurer ‘The Professor’
SWLing Post editor Thomas Witherspoon recently notified us of the passing of “radio zealot” Michael Pool, a/k/a The Professor. I was an avid follower of Pool’s travels in AM radio listening and...
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Chile Earthquake and Tsunami Warnings: Shortwave Radio Providing Emergency...
Live streaming local TV from Terremoto, ChileIn times of emergency shortwave radio, operated by both amateurs a/k/a hams and government agencies can provide an information lifeline when wired and...
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Spies still using radio
Could this be a tool of international espionage? Numbers stations have been part of radio lore for decades. If you’ve ever listened to much shortwave radio at some point you would have come across an...
View ArticlePaul’s Recommended Radios for Holiday Gifty Time
Radios make great gifts, especially for someone who is dedicated listener. Whether your favorite listener is into all-news, NPR, talk, college, community, music or even shortwave, a nice radio can...
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What is the role of radio in the Egyptian uprising?
When the Egyptian government shut down internet access over a week ago in order to compromise the opposition movement’s ability to communicate there were several press reports that ham radio operators...
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Dutch government to slash Radio Netherlands Worldwide, focus on regions...
Dutch Prime Ministher Mark Rutte announces changes to Radio Netherlands As part of a government austerity program, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced plans to make significant cuts in the...
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Radio is an important tool for hurricane preparedness
Hurricane Irene on Aug. 24 I was listening to NPR this morning as I got ready for work and during the headlines at the top of the hour heard a short story about communities preparing for Hurricane...
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Peculiar Russian shortwave numbers station is an unlikely internet star
Page from the UVB-76 station log dated 2005. Anyone who has spent some quality time scanning the shortwave radio bands has likely come upon what are known as numbers stations. To the uninitiated the...
View ArticleHam radio alive and well in Bernal Heights, San Francisco
Today Radio Survivor contributor Bob Mason and I were taking a stroll through Holly Park in the Bernal Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. Suddenly we ran into Art, who had set up a complete amateur...
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Shortwave pirate radio preserved at the Internet Archive
Jason Scott is an archivist and historian of computer and internet history behind such great projects as textfiles.com, which preserves the wonders of the pre-web internet, as well as documentaries on...
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Radio Obsessive Profile #11: Paper Radio Publisher DJ Frederick
Paper Radio It’s been over a year since I’ve profiled a Radio Obsessive for Radio Survivor and I’m glad to say that I couldn’t resist the opportunity to learn more about DJ Frederick and his Paper...
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Shortwave advocate urges Canada to reconsider Radio Canada International cuts
An interesting piece in the Toronto Star laments the recent cuts to Radio Canada International. And the protest comes from an American—Thomas Witherspoon, who staffs Ears to our World. The non-profit...
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The Mighty KBC serves long-haul truckers over shortwave radio
If you’ve ever found yourself scanning the AM dial during a late night road trip on the highways of North America, then you’ve probably encountered one of the radio networks that serves truckers with...
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Zimbabwe government bans radios, sees independent shortwave broadcasts as a...
Is this an illegal radio? Last week police in Zimbabwe banned the use of so-called “specially designed radios” capable of receiving shortwave broadcasts from outside the country, not just FM...
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Zimbabwe government crackdown on independent radio continues
There are reports from Zimbabwe indicating that the crackdown on independent radio is stepping up. Shortwave station SW Radio Africa reports that police in the town of Rusape went on raids of...
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Voice of Russia broadcasting to the US on HD Radio
Looking for an alternative perspective on world news on your FM dial? If you live in Chicago or Washington, DC you can now tune in the Russian government’s Voice of Russia service, which began...
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Citing budget cuts BBC & Voice of America cut back shortwave broadcasts
State broadcasters around the world have been cutting back on their shortwave transmissions over the last few years, typically attributing the reductions to a combination of budget challenges and...
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Dictator blocking your Internet? Try a Radiogram
A Radiogram downloaded via shortwave receiver in Italy. One of my favorite correspondents has brought the Voice of America’s Radiogram project to my attention. The venture experiments with...
View ArticleRadio Free Sarawak broadcasts independent voices to Malaysian Borneo
Al Jazeera reports on the unlicensed Radio Free Sarawak which is making itself a thorn in the side of the Malaysian government, broadcasting independent voices in the run-up to general elections in...
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Family Radio to Cease Shortwave Operations from Historic WYFR
Family Radio’s Shortwave Wave (photo: J. Waits) Shortwave Central is reporting that Christian broadcasting network Family Radio will cease operations from its Florida-based shortwave radio station...
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BBC World Service expands audience but loses radio listeners
The Daily Telegraph reports on an exclusive look at the BBC World Service’s annual audience numbers, and they’re looking quite good for the British international broadcaster. Worldwide the service...
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Radio broadcasters challenge government repression in Syria and elsewhere
While it can be a strong force for information freedom, events in the Middle East over the last four years have also demonstrated how easily a repressive regime can shut down the internet inside its...
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Radio Free Sarawak and the fight against deforestation in Borneo
The New York Times has an interesting profile of former BBC journalist Clare Rewcastle Brown, a prominent voice in the struggle against deforestation in Malaysia. The daughter of a colonial era...
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The 1938 radio receiver that picks up text
Meet the latest innovation in digital communications technology: a radio receiver built the year that Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is a 1938 Philco console rigged by shortwave...
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What outside radio and information are available to the people of Syria?
As I publish this piece Wednesday evening it is increasingly likely there will be military attacks on Syria by the US, Britain and allies in response to evidence that the Syrian government carried out...
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Monitoring Times ends 33 years of publication, The Spectrum Times to take its...
The SWLing Post tips us off to a changing of the guard in one corner of the radio publication world. Monitoring Times is the magazine that has served enthusiasts tuning in to all manner of radio...
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Halloween is a pirate radio holiday
Photo credit: flickr / Nomadic LassAs the Shortwave Listening Post reminds us, Halloween is a peak broadcast day for unlicensed shortwave pirates. For folks with a shortwave radio, SWLing blogger...
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Family Radio to Sell Shortwave Radio Station WYFR to Radio Miami International
Family Radio’s Shortwave Map (photo: J. Waits) Family Radio-owned shortwave radio station WYFR is slated to resume broadcasts on December 1, following the sale of the station facility to Radio Miami...
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Uppercase Magazine celebrates broadcasting, broadly considered
I was in a local independent book and magazine shop this weekend when a nicely designed magazine on a display table immediately drew my attention. I had never seen Uppercase Magazine before. But the...
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Voice of America, Radiogram, and the market for free speech
A Hammarlund HQ-150 receiver plugged into a PC for Radiogram reception. The Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America and other such services, has issued a report on short...
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Radio Amateurs & Shortwave Broadcasters Assist Nepal Earthquake Relief
In the days since the disastrous earthquake in Nepal amateur radio operators have been lending critical communications assistance, especially in places where power, telephone, wireless and internet...
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Art Bell Returns (Again)
I have a soft spot in my heart for Art Bell. As a former overnight DJ and grad student who kept relatively nocturnal hours for a good portion of the 90s, I admired Bell’s unique ability to engage...
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Art Bell Returns Monday Night, Possible Test Show on Sunday Night
Monday night at midnight Eastern Time is the much anticipated return of Art Bell. Though originally planned to be an online-only show on the Dark Matter network, 21 AM and FM stations and two...
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Glimpse Behind the Scenes at Shortwave Pirate Radio in 1990
As I continue to mine the deeply embedded treasures of YouTube, I’ve dug up another diamond in the rough, a 27 year-old documentary on unlicensed shortwave broadcasting radio. Titled “Inside Pirate...
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Radio Review: The Tivdio V-115 Records Airchecks on the Go
On a trip last fall visiting my parents in northern New Jersey, during the evening the I tuned around the AM dial and encountered some fascinatingly unique local stations. I wished I could record some...
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Radio Review Follow-Up: The Tivdio V-115 – Still Great, But Not a DX Champ
Back in March I released a video review of the Tivdio V-115 portable digital radio. I praised it for being very nice sounding – especially for being so small – having decent reception, and for being...
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The Shortwave Radio of the Internet: Low Bitrate Streaming
While updating the 2004 podcast entries for my old radio show “mediageek” I was reminded that I used to post the episodes in both a 64kbps mono “broadcast quality” MP3 and a 16kbps. The reason why I...
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Podcast #190: Radio Spectrum and Transmission Art
Amanda Dawn Christie is an artist enamored with radios and radio waves. The Assistant Professor, Studio Arts at Concordia University (Montreal, Canada) joins us on the show to discuss her most recent...
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The Eton Mini Grundig Edition Is My New Travel Companion
One of life’s little pleasures is tuning around the radio dial late at night before drifting off to slumber. I especially enjoy this while traveling, touring foreign radio dials, encountering strange...
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Rough Notes: Antarctic Radio Revisited & Jamming Soviet-Era Numbers
A belated happy New Year and welcome to 2022. It’s not quite a New Year’s resolution, but I want to return to regular blogging here at Radio Survivor, at least covering interesting radio stories of...
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Radio to and from Ukraine
The Russian invasion of Ukraine greatly upsets me, as my heart goes out to the Ukrainian people. I feel a connection because my father’s family is from Estonia, which also borders Russia and has a...
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