Firedrake - The Great Firewall Of China

HF Underground has an excellent thread running touching on the subject of what is known to be the greatest and most powerful use of censorship in the world, the Firedrake. Finding the Firedrake Jammer has become a worldwide fascination for those who hate censorship, especially when it masks something truthful.

China has long been known to be one of the last remaining communist places on earth, and they guard the airwaves with every bit of resources they have. Firedrake is said to be operational aboard Chinasat 6B.
To know what Firedrake is, where it is, and how it works you should first follow the next two links to what appear to be the best written articles on the subject:  Satdirectory ends it's report with very specific information about where Chinasat 6B is. Wikipedia's report on Chinasat goes on to tell everyone in the second section describing Chinasat, that the satellite was to be used for "improved radio and television reception"; something we all have come to know as an outright lie and makes ya wonder just who wrote that entry!

The Chinese Jammer - Keith Perron & Mark Fahey Interview takes place over on Youtube. Two interesting things from this interview are that Fahey was able to distinguish which channels each portion of audio come from, and he was able to make a CD quality copy of the music that makes Firedrake what it is. 


Some essential questions that need to be asked about Firedrake & Chinasat:


Why 38 transponders? You don't need 38 transponders to jam, so what are the other transponders being used for? 


Why the games with renaming or re-numerating all the sats in the Chinasat program? Did China really think this was going to confuse anyone with brains?


Why can't China let go of their communist regime, and what is it in the critical material presented by various stations that China is so afraid of? What does China have to hide? One day, whether it be through radio, TV, or the passage of time and the changing of society; skeletons will rattle, pointing their bony fingers at the responsible parties. 


As technology evolves & advances, doesn't China know that sooner or later they will be subject to the same embarrassing attacks they once had to deal with before Sat6B? Someone, somewhere will get fed up enough to outsmart whatever security is in place and no amount of Government intelligence work will detect it. 


Lastly, didn't China ever figure out that someone with skills in Direction Finding was going to find their relay stations? Afterall, they are emitting RF! Pay particular attention to SW-J's post at HF Underground.

Firedrake Quicklinks: 

ARRL: Firedrake On The Loose Again


IARU Firedrake Article Including Chronology

Here is the CD Quality sample of Firedrake for all of you.

New York Ham Aquitted Of Cellular Use While Driving

The ARRL has recently released a statement regarding the New York Ham who was parked while using his mobile amateur transceiver. This individual was aquitted in city court after failing to win his case in traffic court.

The city court ruled along the lines of differentiating between a cell phone and a citizen's band radio. Amateur Radio is not citizen's band, but under this court ruling, the legal statement and legal effect is the same in the end: an amateur radio set is not a cellular telephone according to New York Law!

Commenters at a popular radio communications forum have asked good questions about the FCC rules difference between amateur and citizen's band, due to CB being covered under Part 95 rules and Amateur Service Radios falling under Part 97 rules. It seems that they may be worried about amateur radio and CB being mixed up with each other. After all, this is a common public image problem because the public usually has zero technical knowledge and no knowledge of what separates CB and Amateur Radio.

SWA encourages mobile hams to always carry a copy of their FCC License, a copy of PR91-36, and a copy of FCC Part 97 rules, as well as a copy of your state's laws on distracted driving or cell use while driving. Always respond to police in a professional manner when pulled over, and remember you can write in to their department later and complain or hire an attorney to do that for you. The police cannot remember everything and are just as human as we are.

Congrats to our fellow ham in New York on a well fought case!

ShortwaveAmerica Readers Ask Questions, Give Praise

Tom, AB9NZ asks: "When are you going to add some content to this cool site?"

SWA Answers:

Thanks for reading, Tom! As you are probably well aware, shortwave stations are disappearing due to several problems on part of the station management having largely to do with wanting to focus more on local listenership, and the rest has to do with funding, as well as a lack of knowledge about the wide range of listeners the shortwave broadcasts provide for the station.

It seems that only a handful of stations are still on the air. Thankfully, we can still hear Germany, Radio Taiwan International, China Radio International, Radio Habana Cuba and some pirate stations such as The Crystal Ship, Outhouse Radio, Radio Rin Tin Tin (yes, lovingly named after the old story of that friendly K-9 by the same name.)

Finding shortwave or amateur radio related news that is worthy of posting, is original, and not already hyped by sites / publications such as QRZ, ARRL, PopComm,World Radio, etc. is kinda hard to come by. SWA likes to find and post the stuff that no one else cares to print, neglects to review or refuses to consider.

The radio listening audience is still out here, but have become silent about their activities for good reason. The major players in radio news don't always know what everyone wants to see in print on the web so they just print along the same old revolving door of subject matter. SWA is not afraid to experiment with content, and is always on the look out for new material not covered elsewhere, or only sparsely covered.  

An Anonymous reader says:
"I love your blog! Your writing is quite professional, and even my wife thinks so; she's a professional writer herself and says it's a well done publication. Keep writing & publishing!"

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! It's nice to see people are paying attention out here!

N3U/FLT93 - 9/11/01 Memorial Station

N3U Pa Memorial Station For Sept 11, 2001 Attacks , USA Lookups:   2190 QSL: W3PN Biography Detail Special events station N3U / United Flight 93 will be activated  Sept 09 - 13, 2010 to remind "Amateur Radio Operators World-Wide"  of the tragic events that happened near "Shanksville, Pa,  New York City and Washington DC on  September 11, 2001."  This operation (along with the prior "P41USA" operations from Aruba Island)  will be sponsored by the "Blair Amateur Radio Society"  (W3PN) along with various local,  state & government agencies  (City of Altoona, Blair County Pa, Red Cross, EMA/911,  LEPC, PEMA, DHS) N3U / United Flt 93 operators will include:  Bob W3BTX / P49T, Roy W3TEF  and various other W3PN club members.  We also intend to include different bands &  modes during this "1st" ever initial upcoming operation  in September 2010. Operating Freq (+ -) Phone               CW 1.850              1.810 3.820              3.530 7.195              7.030  -------              10.120 14.240           14.030  18.130           18.090 21.300           21.030 24.930           24.895 28.485           28.030 50.130           50.090        N3U/ Flt 93....... QSL INSTRUCTIONS Note: Everyone worked will get a QSL card  "Direct or via Buro" DIRECT QSL: Please send to W3PN & include SASE &  enough return postage. If additional postage is needed...your QSL will  be returned via the BURO.   *Special note: USA postage rates will increase in 2011 BURO QSL: Starting in December all remaining QSO's  (not counting any DIRECT QSL's rcvd) will be sent via the buro.  **If you need your buro card sent to another ham,  please email w3btx@arrl.net with information /request. ***Please DONOT send your QSL via the BURO.    It saves everyone time & money.  Please no E-QSL or LOTW at this time] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 11, 2001.............Sequence of Events............. . Photos on back of QSL card At 8:47AM, American Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City killing all on board. This tower collapsed at 10:28AM. At 9:03AM, United Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower (2nd tower on left) killing all on board. This tower collapsed at 10:05AM. At 9:45AM, American Flight 71 crashes into The Pentagon Building near Washington, DC killing all on board. At 10:10AM, a large side section of the building (at the point of impact) finally collapses. At 10:10AM, United Flight 93 crashes (into an open field) in SW Pennsylvania. Earlier at 8:01AM, (4) terrorists hijacked United Flight 93 and was diverting the plane towards their intended target (the Capital) in Washington DC. The passengers and crew made a decision to stop this from happening and at 10:10AM, the plane crashed in an open field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The N3U/Flt 93 Memorial Operation is  dedicated to United Flight 93 Thanks to everyone who has worked  N3U/Flt93 or P41USA Last modified: Fri Aug 13 05:52:30 2010

Radio Hamseda

Shabnam Assadolahi is a human rights advocate who uses her show, Hamseda, to highlight violations of human rights in order to bring these acts to public knowledge in an effort to pressure the Iranian government to stop it's tortuous acts. Hamseda  ( means a United voice) Persian show is only two hours Live on Sundays from Ottawa on 97.9 FM ( and from www.Chinradioottawa.com).  www.radiohamseda.net You can hear this show live if you are in a local receiving area or by going to the site and downloading from the archives. English translation is provided by a translation assistant. Shabnam has a Facebook page where she posts news about the show, and keeps other updates for listeners. As of right now, there is no shortwave availability. SWA is going to try to change that by working with Shabnam and her show supporters to help find a station that is interested in carrying the show beyond the local Canadian FM dial.

Chicago FM Club Misleads Elmwood Park Newspaper, Public

The Chicago FM Club states to be an amateur radio club. They boast to be the largest club around, but all a person has to do is listen to their repeater systems, attend a few meetings / club events, look at the CFMC roster, and it suddenly becomes clear that CFMC is a political club disguised as a radio club. Field day is the largest, most active event in the United States for amateur radio operators who usually take their equipment to parks with their clubs and operate on emergency power. Field Day operators also operate from their homes using normal power supplied from their homes and there is an ARRL classification for those operations as well. Those field day stations operating out in the open air usually have a GOTA station, a CW station, a Digital station, some have satellite operations happening, and all sorts of other radio neatness. Recently, CFMC caught the attention of the Elm Leaves for their field day event. All you have to do is read the article to see misrepresentations & exaggerations. The Elm Leaves is a newspaper based out of the Chicago suburbs and is a company of Sun Times Media. ShortWaveAmerica is going to debunk the statements made by CFMC members in the article one at a time, and then follow up with other facts about this organization. Statement One:  "It's always the last weekend in June," said Mike Brost of Norridge, a member of the amateur radio club. "It's a global thing. New Zealand, Australia, China, Germany, Canada -- the entire world is on the radio. Reality of Statement One: Field Day is not intended as a DX event. Never has been, and never will be. The ARRL does not give clubs nor individual operators any point multipliers for DX stations. Field Day is a U.S. event disguised as an emergency operations readiness drill but, is really just a contest similar to the other ARRL sponsored contests. Statement Two: "This is our staging area," said Rick Duel of Chicago about the gazebo at the park. "We've been here six or seven years now." Statement Two Reality: Field Day doe snot involve any staging areas. This is whacker speak to sound and look important. In amateur radio lingo, a whacker is someone who gets involved in emergency communications and uses it to look more important than they really are. Another reality of this is that CFMC has not been at an Elmwood Park site or any site with a gazebo for six or seven years. In fact, CFMC has had up to three field day sites with one site having been in or around Niles, Il on the property of a public works facility.  Statement Three: The radio group uses the event to help stress emergency preparedness. And most of the operations use generators to power ham radios. Statement Three Reality: Anyone who has witnessed a CFMC field day knows for certain that any generator usage gets shut down as soon as the media and the public are gone, and overnight operations begin. This means that CFMC goes to the usage of near-by power sources from a 120VAC plug. Statement Four: "We're simulating a communications exercise among other hams," said Bob Odrowski of Palatine. "In any emergency event where there's a major power outage, the police departments and the fire department may not be able to communicate. During (Hurricane) Katrina, most of the communication was done by ham radio operators." Statement Four Reality: A close examination of our nation's emergency communications plan shows that emergency responders have their own communications equipment that has more advanced technological features that are not very likely to fail, and if they did...hams would not be the ones called into action. There are internal policies about who a public safety department contacts in the event of a communications failure, and it's always going to be a radio tech. Police & Fire Unions forbid anyone not on their approved list of service providers to do anything at all, period! Hams did provide comms during Katrina, that is true. Statement Five:  "A lot of us have (ham) radios in the car," Brost said. "When I was driving through Wyoming and Colorado, I could talk to South America and Spain from my car." Statement Five Reality: Brost admits in this statement that he performs distracted driving, which is against the law in every U.S. State. Keeping an eye on one's driving is more important than talking to someone on a radio, and may even save a life. Don't drive and perform other actions, it just doesn't make sense. Statement Six:  "It's really amazing who you meet," Duel said. "King Hussein of Jordan was a ham radio operator. So was Barry Goldwater, when he was alive. John Bon Jovi and Joe Walsh are, too." Statement Six Reality: King Hussein was a radio operator, this is true. Bon Jovi and Mr. Walsh? Nope! None of those two gentlemen even know what amateur radio is! Conversations were had with Mr. Bon Jovi and Mr. Walsh back in the mid nineteen nineties and both men said they have no time for playing radio due to the realities of their own lives. Both men stated they have never held amateur radio licenses at any time. Today, there is no trace of them in the FCC ULS database where FCC licenses are stored for the public to view. Statement Seven: Operating a ham radio goes hand in hand with storm watching, weather spotting and tornado chasing, said Tina Odrowski.   Statement Seven Reality: No, it doesn't. All of these activities are the same thing. Tina had no clue what she was talking about here. Amateur Radio Operators do not "chase tornadoes", they volunteer their time for the National Weather Service after receiving storm spotter training. The National Weather Service decides when to activate their spotters. Not every spotter is a licensed amateur.  Licensed amateurs are a small portion of the storm spotter communiyt and are usually looked at as a joke. Statement Eight: "Doppler radar is limited," she said. "In some cases, it can't see the storm, where people on the ground can. "And that's really important to know when the (National) Weather Service is trying to determine what type of warning to put out." "Ninety-nine percent of the time, a storm watcher is also an amateur radio operator," Bob Odrowski said. Statement Eight Reality: The NWS can see everything in the sky just fine with their equipment! NWS equipment cannot see from the ground to a certain portion of the lower atmosphere, which is why teh NWS uses spotters. Doppler Radar, Satellite Imaging, and all of the other NWS tools work just fine and the fact needs to be known that Storm Spotters are not trained meterologists, although some of these people think they are. T%he NWS knows quite well what warnings and watches they need to put out and they do it BEFORE activating spotters and without the help of spotters. Again, not all spotters are amateur operators. Ninety Nine percent of the time, a person who spots a true danger isn't even a trained spotter. Other times, severe threats are spotted by municipal public safety personnel. Spotters use a combination of cellular telephone, E-Spotter, 911 calls, but the amateur radio involvement is a rather small portion of the spotter community. Those spotters who are licensed amateurs are outnumbered by other spotters who are not licensed amateurs. Statement Nine: Duel noted Chicago FM was the first club to operate a repeater for a Spanish club. "We're the single biggest, and one of the oldest clubs, in the Chicago area," he said. "We have 250 members. We're like a social club with radios. We like having a good time in our own way." Statement Nine Reality: CFMC created a division among local amateur operators with this spanish group because very few of these guys speak english and the FCC requires them to identify in english which they never do. CFMC is not a radio club although their state charter says they are. An in-depth examination of CFMC shows that the organization is a political / social club made up of older males who all come from municipal public safety departments, broadcast TV / Radio, Transportation such as CTA workers and truck drivers to include tow truck operators / employees and others who are senior or tenured union employees. All of these individuals have far reaching city, state, and federal connections that may possibly be highly inappropriate. CFMC has a history of financial files that disappear but then magically re-appear when consequences loom. CFMC also applied to become a FCC VEC (Volunteer Examination Coordinator) and the FCC flatly refused to have them.CFMC has a stronghold on local amateur radio testing, a questionable practice. Over a period of years, CFMC has built an empire centered around their repeater systems which are almost exclusively used by organization board members, their close friends in the organization who have special permission to operate the system,  and "jammers" who use shocking language and engage in other FCC prohibited activities. This has always posed a problem for members who pay dues to the organization for "membership" but get denied the benefits of their dues per the organization's corporate constitution. CFMC has a past of deciding when and to whom their corporate constitution applies. There is existing documentation to prove this. CFMC has a history of turning away newly licensed hams as members because of the organization's unwritten rule about not letting outsiders in. The organization is made up of older males who have known each other for more than 30 years and they thrive on exclusivity between themselves and their specially approved others. Statement Ten: "And among us, we have a wealth of information," Prize said. Statement Ten Reality: The wealth of information Prize refers to is held in strict confidence among board members and specially approved CFMC "members".  Amateur Radio technical knowledge is not something CFMC helps anyone learn. CFMC's mentality is that you should already be an electronics expert BEFORE you join them or even obtain an amateur license. Something referred to as "elmering" is not going to happen. Statement Eleven: Brost said club members come from different backgrounds and bring different experiences. Statement Eleven Reality: Read Statement Nine Reality. Statement Twelve: "We can communicate with the military," he said. Statement Twelve Reality: No, you can't. Amateur Operators cannot operate outside of the license classes they earn at their testing sessions. The FCC has set aside frequencies for the amateur radio bands and the military does not use them. Amateurs do not conduct military operations or communications. NTIA has frequencies for military operations and communications, used strictly for and by the military. MARS is not an active organization and was recently threatened with "Sunset". A lack of new MARS membership and lack of interest from current membership is placing MARS in grave danger. MARS frequencies are not any secret to anyone, and if you listen, you'll not hear any amount of MARS activity at all. Statement Thirteen: "Amateur radio is not just a hobby, it's a service. We're able to link radios, like we did during Katrina, so we could cover the entire state of Louisiana." "And you can also turn it into a trade, a profession," he said. "There's a huge demand for this niche market for people who have that skill." "A lot of the electronic engineers are getting old and retiring," Duel said. "Companies need people to replace them."    Statement Thirteen Reality: The FCC has stated that amateur radio is NOT a service in the respect that these CFMC members are speaking in. The FCC has made it quite clear that amateur radio is for HOBBY use only! Duel's comment about using an amateur radio license to gain employment is way off the mark. Part 97, section 97.113 and all of it's subsections in all of it's language spells out that no amateur radio licensee may receive payment for station operation, may not receive gifts for station operation, and may not use an amateur radio license for anything other than the operation of an amateur station. Duel implies that technical skills are learned in amateur radio and this just isn't true. The study books have the questions and answers in them for each license class. Those electronics engineers who are retiring are being replaced with computers and other cheap technology that gets thrown away and bought again new when it fails. No techs are used to fix anything anymore due to the cost. Maintenance costs more than buying a new toy to run an operation. This article has laid out the truth of the CFMC organization and how they misled the Elmwood Park Media and therefore, the readers of the public. Update 9/11/2010: since this article was published at SWA, it has been observed that the article SWA linked to at the Elm Leaves on-line publication has been pulled. Attempts to reach the writer for the Elm Leaves have been unsuccessful.  Threatening / slanderous comments on this SWA post have been removed. SWA chooses to keep this publication civil, and moderates comments toward that goal. Unlike certain amateur radio forums, SWA does not allow trolls, slander, defamation, libel, etc.

State College Chills Licensed Amateur Citing Security Concerns About Amateur Equipment Receiving Frequencies Outside Amateur Bands

N1YS, a disabled ham attending a State college which is obligated to follow all state & federal laws to include PR 91-36 and the ECPA has effectively chilled N1YS and requires him to turn in his amateur HT each time he comes into the building because his equipment receives frequencies outside the amateur spectrum. http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php?t=253387&page=3 No contact information is posted at QRZ for this ham beyond his address. QRZ used to list e-mail addresses, but it looks like they have stopped that practice. N1YS did not give the name of his college, but did confirm it is a state run operation, which would also fall squarely under the 1st amendment as far as communications are concerned. Security said to him that "we do not want anyone listening to our frequencies". If anyone out here thinks they can lend support to N1YS, please consider stepping up. Tolerance equals consent in this type of matter and can set a dangerous precedent for licensed hams, as well as the public if this is allowed to continue.

New York Radio Amateur Ticketed Under Cell Phone Law For Using Amateur Transceiver

From The Southgate Amateur Radio Club: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2010/traffic_ticket_anger.htm This story is also hashed out at QRZ and E-Ham. Video can be found at Youtube. A similar incident has happened before, with the New York Judge convicting the accused ham operator. The judge in that case stated that New York does not recognize amateur radio, nor does it recognize exemptions at the state or federal level for licensed amateurs. This past case will likely pose a burden for our fellow ham in this case in the form of New York Case Law and Court Precedent. All the best, we hope you see this ticket dismissed! If this ham loses his case, PR91-36 will likely not mean anything anymore, neither will any state level exemptions. Maybe the Amateur Radio community should petition the ARRL and the FCC to hold formal training for Law Enforcement Officers on the differences between Amateur Radio and other two way radio communications versus cell phones. They truly do not seem to be able to tell the difference, and this can put Federally Licensed Amateurs on the line quite unfairly, and endanger the amateur radio service altogether. Those rare disaster emergencies in which amateur radio plays a part are just one item that should be on the agenda to discuss, but overall, the issue needs to be brought that if it becomes illegal to operate mobile, how long will it be before hand held portable amateur radio operation becomes illegal while walking down the street?

Dick Van Dyke Show Plays Lincolnshire Poacher

Watching the Dick Van Dyke Show this morning proved to be quite interesting. The show was about different cultures and languages. The older son in the show was playing the guitar for a younger male cast member when a lady walked in and had a couple of bags in her hand. The song being played on the guitar by the older lad was none other than the famous "Lincolnshire Poacher". This is the original history of the song This is the history of the Lincolnshire Poacher in regards to it's use on shortwave / HF radio by British Intelligence. As you can see in both versions of the history of this song, it isn't associated with anything good. Poaching however, is the least harmful of the uses of this work. Something you may want to know is that for the Dick Van Dyke show, they changed the lyrics from the original work so as not to make it recognizable. For humor's sake, shall we assume that Dick Van Dyke was trying to say something? Send a message to someone? Maybe he knew this song's popularity and knew that it was a major hit among radio hobbyists back then even. Strange what you notice on TV after a time engaging in the radio hobby.

Happy Station Show To Feature Shortwave America

Keith Perron, host of "The Happy Station Show", carried internationally via PCJ Media and WRMI - Radio Miami International, will host the annual Happy Station Show tribute to radio. This show's feature is Shortwave America. An interview with this author is the subject of the feature. Tune in to 9955Khz (9.955.00Khz). More information can be found at PCJ Media If you miss the show, click on the archives link at the PCJ site and then click on the show for March 18th.

Keith Perron Joins Amateur Radio Ranks

The long time international shortwave broadcasting celebrity, and current host of the long running "Happy Station Show" has taken, and successfully passed his Amateur Radio Exam in Taipei, Taiwan. Keith is now just waiting for the Ministry of Communications to issue his callsign and send his license. Congradulations, Keith! Expect a pile - up when you start calling! Everyone is going to wanna work you!

British Men With SBS Equipment Being Held In India

Two British men who traveled to India with their electronic aviation plane spotting equipment, commonly known as SBS, which is used by hobbyists and aviation professionals alike, are being held for questioning in India after a waiter at their hotel said they appeared suspicious. http://netindian.in/news/2010/02/16/0005353/two-british-men-plane-spotting-gadgets-being-questioned-delhi

Canadian Pirate Arrested - Equipment Confiscated

A minor in Canada, all of 14 years old was arrested and had his equipment confiscated in Ottawa, Canada recently. Complaints to IC and other authorities in combination with a reported suicide threat made by the minor, who was operating his pirate station out of his Father's strip club had authorities on to his operation quickly. A popular Canadian radio forum first broke news of this pirate station, known as MixFM. This young man also posted his telephone number and actually took callers who were then put on the air. Reports state that MixFM programming was mixed with profanity and diatribes. According to available information, the youngster may have been running at up to 3.5KW ERP while using a dipole mounted on a tower. The first website used by MixFM on a service called piczo has been removed, but MixFM is back as an internet broadcast operation without the benefit of generating RF. At this juncture, the young man who is not being named due to the fact that he is a minor, has vowed to obtain RF generating transmitter equipment again and put his unlicensed operation back on the air. As a side comment, this blog questions Industry Canada's competency in another matter related to this as far as why they cannot take VE7KFM off the air and yank his license, yet they can take this young man off the air using all sorts of manpower. Linkage is here , here, and  here

HF Propagation: Have You Ever Wondered?

Anyone who turns on a shortwave receiver or an amateur HF radio in any mode (AM or SSB) may notice that the signal comes and goes. This is called fading. Although fading isn't always bad, there are times when it's bad enough that you turn your radio off in disgust. Many people blame bad HF reception on near-by electronic sources and this can sometimes be the case, but if you have your listening station properly set up, then you may be no victim of local interference, but to a change in ionospheric propagation. This well written piece over at QSL.Net says it is a beginner's introduction to understanding propagation, however, it is so well written and so concise that you just might become an expert just by reading and understanding everything.That said, it would be understandable if a person wanted to further pursue the subject of ionospheric propagation. There will be more coming on the subjects of antenna's and propagation in the future. The follow up posts to using antennas will be forthcoming and is under development.

Strengthening Your SW Reception Antenna On Grundig / Eton SW Receivers

The radios named in the title come with antennas that are very well constructed, and good for almost all SW reception. Mike, over on the SWA Facebook site brought this topic up, and it was agreed that this topic is an excellent one to post! So, Mike, Thanks for this material! The Grundig and Eton SW Receivers come with a small antenna connector in the back of the radio. You can use a longwire such as cheap copper stereo wire or something similar, and it's very easy to use! If you live in a dwelling that allows outside antennas, throw your antenna around two of the highest points of the roof. If you cannot erect any antennas outside, using the highest points of the inside of the dwelling will also work well. Always make sure to extend your attached manufacturer's antenna to full length, as the antenna will hear much better. Unless you are very advanced in radio technology and electronics, I do not suggest taking your radio apart to work on the provided factory antenna. Doing this will also void your warranty if it is still in effect. For those who are advanced, or have access to someone who is advanced, a good pre-amp can be used in line with the factory antenna. MFJ and a few other corporations make some nice pre-amps! Prices will vary by brand and model, so be sure to do lots of looking around. One draw back of using a pre-amp, however, will be that a pre-amp can help bring in noise along with your desired signal reception, so knowing how to work with various filters in the radio helps! This is just a basic article and will not become much more technical than this tonight. Perhaps a follow-up article will be written giving links directly to working with these issues. 73 for now! SWA

Shortwave America On Twitter!

SWA can now be found on Twitter. The whole blog name was too long, and S_W_A was already taken, so look for SWA as ShortwaveUSA.

In the most recent Twitter revolution, it was thought that readers may want to use Twitter to catch up with SWA if there are those people who use it for radio information that follow SWA.

One fan of ours, PCJ Media is also there and will be very happy to see SWA make it's appearance there!
Hope to see everyone there!

Merry Christmas!

Shortwave America (SWA) will be on break during Christmas. Posting at Facebook, and the official SWA blog sites will resume December 27th 2009, and will be followed by another break in posting from New Year's Eve through New Year's Day. Posting will then resume January 2nd, 2010. Everyone be sure to celebrate safely! If you plan on drinking, even one alcoholic drink, make sure you have a designated driver. If you don't think that's possible...then hand your keys over to someone who will let you stay the night so you can drive home ALIVE and help keep other people using the roads safe and alive as well!

CCrane 2 Radio With 2 Meter Amateur Radio Band

CCrane has accomplished something that no other radio manufacturer has! The marketing of a dedicated AM/FM radio with the addition of the 2 meter amateur radio band. This came to the attention of this author via WBBM Radio commercials by CCrane. The CCrane website tells the basic story of this radio. There are some radio enthusiasts, especially licensed amateur operators who might be happy using their all band - all mode transceivers for this task, but if you wanna shut down the rigs and just have simple coverage in your home somewhere outside the shack without having to buy a scanner receiver, this is your option! A small review of this radio can be found at E-Ham direct,  via this link

Today's Station Log: DX Galore!

Today's Shortwave finds started using a method in which the VFO was started at higher frequencies, worked back downwards and then back up again. Not all stations were able to be identified, so just the language of the broadcast is given with the freq in Khz and the signal report.

All of these finds took place between 1PM Central Time and 3:30PM Central Time.

AWR Nigeria - Freq: 11.750.00Khz Signal: 5 by 9

Polish Broadcast - Freq: 11.664.00Khz Signal: 5 by 9

German Broadcast - Freq: 11.565.00Khz Signal: 5 by 7 with fading

Middle Eastern Broadcast - Freq: 11.865.00Khz Signal: 5 by 9

Middle Eastern Broadcast - Freq: 13.650.00 Signal: 5 by 9 (sign-off)

Spanish Broadcast - Freq: 17.628.00Khz Signal: 20 over 9

Top Hits Of 2009 (possibly a UK Broadcast) - Freq: 9.503.00 Signal: 5 by 7 with fading

Classical Music with Female Vocalist in English followed by middle-eastern pop style music also with a female vocalist in arabic - Freq: 7.450.00Khz Signal: 5 by 9

"Mary Did You Know?" Freq: 7.462.00Khz Signal: 20 over 9

CHU Canada Freq: 7.850.00Khz Signal 5 by 9 peaking to 15 over 9

Portuguese Language Broadcast - Freq: 9.420.00Khz Signal: 5 by 7 swinging to 5 by 9

Arabic Language Broadcast (I.D. as Family Radio, Open Forum, Oakland, California)- Freq: 11.662.00Khz Signal: 5 by 9

Test Posting - New Feed Option

Testing a new feed option that hopefully, will send this post to LJ and also Facebook simultaneously. Crossing fingers!

Update: Test unsuccessful, guess it's time to try another method of connecting blogs automatically. 

SWA Facebook Group & Livejournal Account Opened

In the first twenty four hours, the SWA Facebook group has seen nine members add themselves to the group. It's a small beginning, but better than nothing! Thanks to the people who have joined! SWA hopes you have a great time being able to discuss all the radio related topics your hearts can conceive. A new growth experiment is taking place at Livejournal, as SWA makes it's presence as Shortwave_Blog. 

Facebook isn't able to find the blog URL over here for some reason, so an LJ account has started and LJ will post SWA material to Facebook!

Shortwave America Now On Facebook!

For those of you who frequent Facebook, you can now check out what's going on over at the Facebook group. This blog is also being imported to the same site by a very cool Facebook application. Please feel free to let this blogmaster know if the feed doesn't work well using this application.

Using Facebook, Twitter For Amateur Radio

While surfing the ARRL website, it seems that their "surfin" feature has hit on an interesting concept:

Using social networking sites for Amateur Radio. How can a person use one of these sites for radio related activity beyond simple social networking? This author has no clue, but will be watching to see what develops. The most interesting thing out here in terms of internet and social networking is D-Star, Echolink, and IRLP. WebSDR is also a neat thing. Various applications for cellular phones are available as well. Most of the cell applications are for RX only, unless you are one of those who use their cell to remotely access your HF rig at home.

Radio Prague To Keep Shortwave Station On Air, Chicago Radio Talent Feel Effects Of Economic Decline

This news is a bit late on both topics, but a double post is worth something. Radio Prague will keep it's shortwave station on the air but there is a trade-off. Their transmissions will not be as frequent as listeners are used to. In other radio news, famous Chicago voices worth millions of dollars are being cut from station talent lists. Shortwave America has recently discovered that there may be more to this story than meets the eye. Economic decline is just a small part of the picture. 

It seems that Arbitron is being accused of cooking their ratings. The context of this accusation has more to do with shutting out stations who are important to minorities. An investigation is on-going, and it might be reasonable to expect that if Arbitron is indeed guilty of this, radio stations would be in a position to lose alot of money just because of their association with the well known ratings company. 

The talent with million dollar voices are being given a second chance to stay around by a short list of Chicago stations IF they agree to stick around for less than that cool million. Some personalities have stated that they have entered into agreements with their stations because they can live on just a bit less and they need their jobs, just like the rest of us. See the entire story here.

New Shortwave Schedules

This new set of shortwave listening schedules has recently been posted. Shortwave America hopes your Thanksgiving was a fun, healthy, and safe celebration and apologizes for the delay in posting. There were a few hindrances in the happenings, but posting resumes now on a regular basis.

Enjoy the new schedules, enjoy your listening, and feel free to post in the comments section about anything interesting you hear. On that topic, what is YOUR favorite shortwave band or specific frequency to tune?

73 for now!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Radio Amateurs all over the U.S. will be with their families for the holiday, likely getting stuffed. Some others will be at home or at community celebrations. Where ever you are, celebrate knowing that we all have something to be thankful for, even if it's not some dramatically inspiring event or circumstance.

Use this as an open post in the meantime. Shortwave America will be back on Monday with new material.

Drive safely, and if you drink at all...don't get behind the wheel! Let someone drive you back home if you can. Give a close friend or family member your car keys to keep temptation away, and make sure that person is someone who will not or cannot touch alcohol! Stay the night and get some rest at that celebration for safety sake if you know you shouldn't drive and it's a situation where others have been drinking and they can't be expected to drive! Your life matters and so do the lives of others on the road!

Shortwave Radio Africa - Bringing Hope To Zimbabwe

Africa, whose people have long been screaming for Freedom, a nation that has survived apartheid and endless other travesties now has to face a Government who has promised them freedom but has given little more than actions that are contradictory to their promises. This is a story about jamming, censorship, and the people's absolute right to have communication beneficial to their existence.

An excerpt from THIS SOURCE:

"Repeated attempts by the Zimbabwean government to jam the station's signal have recently stopped, she tells Journalism.co.uk, which is just as well as the station doesn't have the funding available to get around it."

"We're still being heard. We're clearly getting up their noses quite a lot at the moment. Even they realise that it would look really bad in terms of the unity government, but there is still a simplistic view that the opposition can shut us down," says Jackson."

Jackson has not asked to take over the government, she is asking for a conduit of communication that will benefit the people of Zimbabwe by providing programming that is informative and has a journalistic value. There is a web presence for this movement, as text and radio are said to be the only way into Zimbabwe in terms of communication per Jackson. Shortwave America will bring you links to the SWRA web presence and will follow this story with updates to this post.

Thank You To The New Few

This web publication has been alive since October 22nd 2008, and it laid dormant for many reasons. One of the bigger reasons has to do with finding the creative groove for this effort. Something that both promotes and advances the world of both Commercial Shortwave Radio, AM Medium Wave, and Amateur Radio altogether since our worlds intersect in certain ways.

I have found that there are those of you who have provided a link to this site on your own blog, or your radio related web presence, or you forwarded it on to your mail list in case anyone had any interest. It seems that the creative groove that was given mention, has indeed come about. The effort to find new material to publish here isn't always easy and other days, it's easier than the day before.

Thank you for coming here to see what the news is, to view station loggings, to read whatever it is that interests you! As you can see, the effort is not to be like most other big sites whom have all the same material as the next site. The purpose of having a mixed bag of radio activity published here is to have well rounded coverage of what interests everyone instead of staying limited to just one specialty.

Some of the bigger, more well known sites have more than one area of coverage for sure. The idea being worked with here is to bring all of the information sources together and that is what creates a well rounded publication no matter what media is used to present it.

Thanks for being here! You can look forward to something new here whenever you visit. Updates are planned for every 24 hours or every 48 hours, whichever gives the most opportunity for good material for your reading pleasure. The comments section is here to be used if you feel the need to add to a topic, to sound off your point of view on something, to say whatever it is you want to say on any topic. Use these comment sections as you would any of the other radio forums out here, but please keep it as close to appropriate as you can. Some topics could potentially stir emotion in certain radio circles and it can be hard to comment objectively.

This is easily understandable. Shortwave America wants you here and welcomes all from every radio related profession and social circle that exists. Thank you to the few new people who we know are reading, and to those who have linked here. The new work week starts tomorrow (like anyone needs to be reminded?) Enjoy your new week and Shortwave America will enjoy bringing you something you can relax to on your break time or your other free time. 73 From Shortwave America! 

Terrestrial Broadcast Radio Losing It's Relevance?

The newest threat to radio broadcasting, whether it be local FM, Medium Wave AM,  or Shortwave RF technology has been on the list of threatened communications for a long time now. It seems that Reciva has developed something they are calling "Internet Radio". Streaming audio has been on the rise everyday since the technology was invented. Radio stations have had to change with the times. Listeners have changing tastes, wavering attitudes that change with the popular trends in society. 

Articles at FRRL Wordpress go into great detail about the changing radio marketplace. Whoever wrote these pieces over there is truly someone who is in touch with everything that is happening, and one smart individual! From the business perspective, the author makes some really substantial points to the ends of being quite compelling. One of the best points made is that the author went to a location that should have had at least reasonable reception of a 50,000 watt local station, but that "blowtorch" couldn't make it outside of the metropolitan area of Chicago.

Another argument made by the FRRL wordpress author was: Who would want to deal with RF challenges when they can use an "Internet Radio" to tune in thousands of stations from across the world on one of these internet radios? 

I want to talk about why internet cannot be relied upon and why internet radio isn't radio at all! This change in the listener market has deceived many because they make this box cleverly designed to look like a radio, giving the perception to the public that this is really a radio. This "radio" look - alike depends on a stream of audio from an I.P. Address. The I.P. Address is assigned electronically to a computer server somewhere, and the computer feeding into the server may or may not be feeding live "broadcast" programming. 

No one is broadcasting at all with this internet radio. Internet depends upon a heavy infrastructure that has all sorts of holes in it, making it unreliable. The biggest flaw is that the internet can be taken down easily by anything or anyone or any circumstance powerful enough to be reckoned with. What happens when the internet is gone? Your signal to your "internet radio" stops! The term "signal" in this case is a misnomer. Satellite Radio at least depends on a real Satellite using RF to deliver a real signal. 

It's like a radio amateur who doesn't have a radio, or can't hook their radio up because of restrictions. This goof gets on Echolink and thinks he's somehow participating in radio. This can be equated to internet radio. We hams call it Hinternet. 

Any computer tech can more substantially make the argument about the internet being unstable and unreliable in the context this is being presented in. In any sense, even though it makes no logical sense, REAL RF Radio is being put into a corner by these developments. Forget about the old resistance to change that alot of people will make. Conspiracy theorists have united in the radio circles to call this a method of controlling the media, the flow of information, etc. They could be right however, it would be more likely to be true by accidental result of what the new technology is. 

This whole mess should concern the radio broadcasting industry, radio hobbyists, and our respective listeners enough that a stand should be taken. I mean a noticeable stand that shows concern in the scientific and business contexts. If a stand is to be taken, it needs to make a provable case for itself. Preserving radio ought to be a top priority for every reason there is. Every reason you can think of is a good reason to preserve RF communications! Add it all up everyone! It will be enough evidence to make even those promoting internet radio think twice if they know their profits could simply dissapear with any major event powerful enough to cause major disruption for more than a reasonable time. 

REAL RF Radio will still be there to inform the masses if anything described above should ever happen. Radio Communications is a proven science that cannot be overlooked nor forgotten about. The world is in major conflict constantly, and radio gets the news to everyone. Let's take a stand for REAL RF! Find a way to stand behind your local and shortwave broadcast stations, keep them on the air!

In the FRRL Wordpress artcle, it is mentioned that radio hobbyists aren't the focus of broadcasters. The article mentions that a station - radio hobbyist relationship is undesired, and that stations are more focused on those loyal listeners who believe in the station's content. This is as it should be to a certain extent. Who do these stations think a large portion of their daily, loyal, believers are? I think they would be stunned to fnd that these same people are educated people who come from a history of listening to their radios, and they have learned how radio works. In essence, they are all radio hobbyists!

The articles are here. Read them and follow the links. There will also be a link to an old Pop Comm article about radio facing a threat due to the changing demands of listeners. 

 

Handy HF Band Chart

How often have you wished you could recall a frequency for simple listening or even amateur operation? You might go to Shortwave Central or the ARRL site and pull your information from there, maybe even NASWA (North American Shortwave Association). These groups are all great organizations, but why should you have to surf all over the web for your information? 

Shortwave America decided it was a good thing to post a comprehensive listing of what the bands are, their corresponding frequencies, and UTC Time Conversion. Listings for specific stations will still have to be searched for until Shortwave America can incorporate specific station listings, which is a really ambitious project.

More complete HF Band Information can be found here

Shortwave America will be working on obtaining permission to copy the information from the above link into this post. Stay tuned for more updates!

More Radio Piracy From The High Seas!

The American Radio Relay League has donned a rather recent article in their "Surfin'" series about high seas radio piracy. The topic is Radio Caroline, a station that was known for playing a famous Neil Diamond song as their signature theme. See it here!

Shortwave Central - Bermuda Story, Ship Broadcasting

Shortwave Central has this great article on Ship Broadcasting!

Here is an excerpt:

"The Empress of Britain was described in the 1930s as the most active ship broadcaster during that era. It was on the air with music programs mainly, under the British callsign GMBJ. Program broadcasts from the Empress of Britain GMBJ were relayed off air by NBC in the United States, as well as by national networks in Canada, England, and Australia. This ship was often heard in radio contact with the marine radio station in Bermuda, and some times with spontaneous radio broadcasts for whoever might be listening."

This article brings back memories of watching a friend work a U.S. Navy Ship. This author is a fan of all things from way back in history, and that includes those times when old family photos get brought out, and boks that talk about the 1800's through the mid 1900's.

If one is lucky, you knew someone who lived in the early 1900's and you have heard the first hand stories of what life was like back then. Does anyone remember the scene from a movie called "A Christmas Story"? The kid sat by his trusty radio listening for Little Orphan Annie's Secret Code after he got his secret decoder ring. "Remember To Drink Your Ovaltine" the message said. How about when Orson Welles scared the American public halfway out of their wits with his show one day?

This author got to listen to the original 8 - track recording of that famous "War Of The Worlds" show! What a treat! Imagine the treat of being on land and hearing any of these ships way out there in the middle of the ocean!    

RADIO LAW: PHILADELPHIA CELL BAN COULD IMPACT MOBILE HAMS

From several sources citing this article, and assuming fair use. 

Operating a two-way radio mobile in Philadelphia may cost you $75 a pop beginning December 1st. This, thanks to a new cell phone law about to fully take effect in that city.

While the purpose of the law is to discourage the use of cell phones while driving there is a clause which prohibits the use of a wireless communication device for voice communication while operating a motor vehicle on any Philadelphia street. Hands free operation is permitted. 

An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer quotes a 9th District Police Officer saying there are some exceptions to the new law. These are to call the 911 emergency line or while using a two-way radio to conduct official business for the city, state, or federal government. Otherwise the law says to pull over and put the car in park or neutral before making a call.

Local hams have been in touch with ARRL Volunteer Counsel to get their opinion of the bill. More information can be found in the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club November newsletter at www dot harcnet dot org. Updates on the how this new law will affect on ham radio will be posted there as well.

ARLX012 NCVEC to Release New Technician Question Pool to Public in January 2010

QST de W1AW

Special Bulletin 12 ARLX012
From: ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT November 19, 2009
To: All Radio Amateurs
SB SPCL ARL ARLX012
ARLX012 NCVEC to Release New Technician Question Pool to Public in January 2010

The Question Pool Committee (QPC) of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) is due to release the new Technician class (Element 2) question pool to the 14 VECs on December 1, 2009; it will be released to the public in January 2010. Each question pool for the three Amateur Radio license classes – Technician, General and Amateur Extra — is reviewed on a four-year rotation. This new Technician class pool will become effective on July 1, 2010.

According to ARRL Assistant VEC Manager Perry Green, WY1O, the QPC reviews the three question pools every four years to ensure that the questions are kept current with the latest amateur practice and technology, as well as addresses information relevant to that particular license class. “In the case of the Technician pool, the question set should provide for the new Technician licensee to be able to establish his station and operate it legally, courteously and safely. The Technician question pool and exam are intended to be the beginning of the journey into the Amateur Radio Service. It prepares the person for the enjoyment of operating, and that of preparing to learn electronics, the cornerstone of the education needed to obtain the further enjoyment that can come with the higher license classes.”

Green is a member of the NCVEC’s Question Pool Committee. Other members of the QPC include Chairman Roland Anders, K3RA (Laurel VEC), Larry Pollock, NB5X (W5YI VEC), Jim Wiley, KL7CC (Anchorage VEC) and Tom Fuszard, KF9PU (Milwaukee VEC).

Green said that earlier this year, the QPC solicited input from Amateur Radio operators concerning the new question pool, accepting input for new question topics and new questions, as well as suggestions for changes or deletions: “The QPC must rely on members of the Amateur Radio community to suggest questions and answers in a responsible manner to preserve a high level of legitimacy for our radio service, so the NCVEC QPC seeks input from the amateur community concerning a revision.”

The new question pool will become effective for all examinations administered on or after July 1, 2010, and it will remain valid until June 30, 2014. The current Technician question pool that became effective July 1, 2006 will expire June 30, 2010. 

The new Technician pool contains approximately 400 questions, from which 35 are selected for an Element 2 examination. This question pool will contain graphics and diagrams, something new for this element.
The current General class question pool was effective July 1, 2007 and is valid through June 30, 2011. 

The current Amateur Extra class pool was effective July 1, 2008 and is valid until June 30, 2012.
NNNN
/EX

Radio St. Helena Day 2009

Radio St. Helena Day 2009 has come and gone yet again. This author was unavailable to make any attempt at copy, but some reception reports can be found here. Take these with a grain of salt, as radio monitors outside of the U.S. may have had better copy.

If you lost your QSL information and need it again, here it is.

Here's to next year's broadcast!

Radio Prague Feels Pain Of World Economy Decline

If ever there is a dying media that needs to be desperately recovered, it's radio. Many other popular forms of media have made our lives easier and faster. These include cellular phones with web access, the various internet apps that are pioneered along the way for use with web enabled cellular telephones, and the ability to text anything to anyone at anytime.

Our insatiable need for everything to be given to us right now has fed a deep disorder in our society in which face to face relationships are diminishing. What is instant media teaching us? There is no course in any school which focuses on this technology, and cellphones are strictly banned in most venues because of the disturbances they create, not to mention danger in some instances.

Let's focus on what would happen if there were to be a wide-spread outage that could not be repaired within a reasonable amount of time. Our world would go absolutely crazy looking for ways to get their news, gossip, socialization, and quench our need to communicate.

Where would anyone with half a brain turn? Has the light gone on yet? Picture the scenario if it hasn't. Mass disorder would likely ensue. Who around you would have the ability to tell you what is happening? Who would be expected to have the means to communicate? Got any idea yet?

If you said emergency personnel, amateur, and commercial broadcasters, you would be correct!
 
For what it would cost you to buy a pair of shoes at Payless, you could be in possession of a shortwave radio. If you had this resource for use anytime you wanted it, would you use it?
There is so much to hear on the shortwave bands! There is a world outside of your own life that wants you to know about it! Being in touch with the world's events is vital because you are a citizen of the world even if you've never left your homeland!

Radio Prague has rendered a valuable world radio service since August 31st, 1936. radio Prague currently broadcasts in six different languages twenty four hours a day, with thirty minutes of programs at specific intervals being dedicated to new programmes in each of the six languages.
The prime focus of these new programmes changes daily. More about the history of Radio Prague.

Radio is the last voice for human kind left in the world. Without it, we will surely be voiceless in a world where anything on the internet can be censored and sanitized because of concern for what those in powerful positions do not want you to know. We are living in times when the effort to control media communications has grown to such proportions that free speech is almost to the point of being impossible.

Everyday in the news, there are stories about people being arrested over their opinions, or being brought before the justice system in their locality due to something they texted on their cell phone. Radio is being suppressed in the name of budget cuts. Why, you ask do we want such an "outdated" technology?

Answer: Radio not only keeps people informed of events unfolding around them, but it also inspires learning about what real communications is! The dumber you are, the more controllable you are to those who have an agenda. If you use radio and have to learn UTC time conversions, learn about radio wave propagation, antennas, receivers, and receiver components....you open up a whole new world of possibilities for yourself.

Radio teaches Geography, Math, Sciences, and a whole list of useful knowledge!

Not all that long ago, the BBC World Service on Shortwave went away. Radio Prague cannot become a casualty! This station has served it's listening audience well for all these many decades, and there are citizens from all over the world who have no other way to keep in touch with what is happening back home, and some of them cannot afford the new technology that Shortwave is being replaced with.

Radio Prague has been one of the top broadcasters on the air since 1936. Radi oPrague has grown dear to countless listeners abroad who have written in to ask that Radio Prague be kept on the air. If Radio Prague becomes a casualty, not only will thi spart of the world be without a vital service, it will mark shortwave stations around the world as a continued easy target.

Keep Radio Prague on the air!!!

Passport To World Band Radio On Life Support

When Police Call went to the radio publication heaven to be fondly remembered, it wasn't long before Lindsay Blanton and the entire radio community knew that a reference had to be designed and published. Blanton worked many hard, long, hours to make what we all enjoy as Radio Reference.

Passport To World Band Radio is now in the same position as Police Call, only the author isn't anywhere near dead. It looks like the economy and the internet have coupled to make a deadly force meet a longstanding, time honored publication that has never ever lost it's value.

Most of us radio hobbyists and even those who are paid professionals in the industry will agree that this is a rather rude thing to happen! Not that anything is fair in respects to radio, but that's another discussion. Everyone rally around and support Passport To World Band Radio!

In case this treasure of a publication ever does die, we hope Lindsay Blanton would make it a feature of his Radio Reference empire! How about it Lindsay?

Beibu Bay Radio (BBR)

Information from two sources say that listeners around the world can hear BBR on 5050 kHz and 9820 kHz. This is a new station on the airwaves and the first to break the news was Miami's own Miami Radio International! Story here!

BBR Radio has a link here. Be warned however, that your browser may need a plug-in to allow the Chinese script to be read in English. If you speak another language, check to see if your browser has a plug-in available for you to translate the website for you.

Guangxi People’s Radio and China Radio International are responsible for the launching of this new station which the partnership hopes will deepen friendship in other nearby countries. The station will be on the air from 0700-2400 daily (2300-1600 UTC), in Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Thai and English. China Radio International covers the story complete with photos.

Anyone who hears this station is encouraged to send in their signal reports. At this time, this blog has no information about how to send signal reports directly to BBR. Please feel free to send your reception reports and any other BBR related information to this blog in the comments section or in the listed e-mail address.

The Happy Station Show Is Happy Once Again!

Keith Perron, who is a popular veteran shortwave personality has re-surfaced as the host of the "Happy Station Show" on the 41 meter band, broadcasting from Taiwan. The Happy Station show has been around since 1928. This popular shortwave website reports on the show.

A photo history of the Happy Station Show can be found here.

Keith Perron has worked hard during his career. To be the host of what has been dubbed the "new" "Happy Station Show" is a treat given the show's long history. Keith is a fun, outgoing, professional man who has built his life around radio broadcasting. This link takes you to Keith's Bio.

The Happy Station Show can be heard on this schedule:

The Happy Station Show broadcast schedule via WRMI to North and South America: 0100-0155 UTC Thursdays on 9955 kHz Repeated 1500-1555 UTC Thursdays on 9955 kHz

In addition, Keith has a Facebook page and is also the owner of "The Happy Station Show" Facebok page where fans and the public at large can keep up with the show.

Update: Following The Cuban Numbers Lady

The Cuban Numbers Lady is at it again, and there is even more reason to suspect within reason that RHC may be hosting the transmitter used for this one way transmission of cryptic numbers.

A thread at a popular internet radio hobbyist site started on 10-26-09 that speaks about how the recent transmission went down. The person who started the thread states to have a recording of the end of the transmission. The "lady" said "Tonight" three times and then all you heard was a phone ringing in the background. "5.900.00 AM Voice Radio Habana Cuba now on the air at 5.742.00 / 5.745.00 AM just at the same time the Cuban Numbers Station goes QRT without warning". A witness to her transmissions in voice and CW had the same observation in regards to a phone ringing. "I heard this all last night from 0400 -0800 on 5800 5810 5988 5900 with either cw or voice, phone ringing and wierd bust pattern noise i never heard before." says the witness.

Strangely enough, these transmissions use the same numbers pad more than once. Very unusual for a numbers station to do. The numbers pads do get changed around, but then they use one of them again at a later date when they think people may have forgotten.

FCC Issues Public Notice On Acceptable Use Of Amateur Radio For Disaster Drills, Issues First Waiver Under New Program

Amateur Radio use in times of disaster or pending disaster has been one of the staples of the named radio service since ages ago. Earlier on in the past months, W0WLS was the focus of the attention of Laura Smith via a "private" e-mail sent to him by her asking for an answer in return from him on the matter. Many threads were started around the internet on this subject, and the FCC has issued the last word on the appropriate use of amateur radio in disaster drills.

Just as soon as the FCC put out the above linked to public notice, they also issued the first waiver under this new way of doing things.

Many people have questioned whether or not Government agencies who have employees who are holders of amateur radio licenses will take the time to do the extra paperwork, and perform the proper supervision tasks to ensure that their employees are comliant and now we have an answer.

The ARRL is advising Government agencies who wish their employees to use amateur radio for their drills to submit their waiver requests ahead of time and not at the last minute.

Mobile Wireless Restrictions, ARRL & FCC 97.113 Drama, 14.275 Enforcement Coming?

In the link attached here, the ARRL received a letter from the NSC (National Safety Council) in regards to their stance on mobile Amateur Radio Operation.

Here is an ARRL article on 97.113, which governs Amateur communications in the sense that such communications may not be done for profit whether direct or indirect. This rule also says that an amateur operator may not make transmissions on behalf of an employer for which they work.

W0WLS received an e-mail from Laura Smith stating that his participation in an Emcomm drill mandated by the state at the hospital where he works, was a violation of 97.113
No FCC action was taken beyond a stern e-mail reminding him of what is right and wrong.

N5FDL had this to say on the subject. He is working on a NPRM to allow municipal employees who are licensed amateurs to be able to participate on or off the clock in amateur radio emcomm volunteer activities.

A thread at QRZ touched on the interpretation per Laura Smith and whether or not it could put Amateurs in a Catch 22 type of situation.

Laura has been doing an excellent job in her role as Special Counsel for the FCC to include cleaning up the unlicensed ten meter scandal in which truckers were using non-type accepted radios on the amateur portion of ten meters without an amateur license.