Shortwave America Reader Survey Results

Out of more than nine thousand readers, there was only a small response in spite of all the promotion that was done for this. Shortwave America was happy to hear from those few readers and hopes that more readers will participate in the next reader survey which will be in December of 2011.  Shortwave America Reader Survey 2010-2011 1. What Is Your Opinion Of The Quality Of Material At Shortwave America?
	answered question		10
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
Excellent Quality		40.0%	4
Good Quality		60.0%	6
So-So Quality		0.0%	0
Horrible Quality		0.0%	0

2. What Would You Change About Shortwave America?
	answered question		10
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
More Technical Content		40.0%	4
More Amateur Radio Content		10.0%	1
Add Audio To Future Interviews By Shortwave America		40.0%	4
Add Updated, Current, Propagation Reports		20.0%	2
Less Lengthy Articles		10.0%	1
Change The Site Appearance		10.0%	1
Daily Content		10.0%	1
Weekly Content		10.0%	1
Monthly Content		10.0%	1
Shortwave America Is Too Commercialized		10.0%	1
Focus Is Too Narrow		0.0%	0
Focus Is Too Wide		0.0%	0
Focus Is Too General		0.0%	0
Add More Special Features To Shortwave America		20.0%	2
Add A Shortwave America Podcast		40.0%	4
Add A Shortwave America YouTube Account		10.0%	1
Add An Official Shortwave America Website		10.0%	1
Other Changes Should Happen (Use Comment Field)		10.0%	1
Other (please specify)			4

3. What Do You Enjoy About Shortwave America?
	answered question		10
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
This is a Quality, Accurate, Entertaining Publication With Value		40.0%	4
Shortwave America Presents Unique Material		30.0%	3
Shortwave America Has Humorous Elements		30.0%	3
Shortwave America Is A Well Rounded Publication That Presents All Of Radio In A Good Light, Promoting The Various Radio Communities Well		60.0%	6
Shortwave America Is Well Done		60.0%	6
Shortwave America Makes Me Think		20.0%	2
Shortwave America Keeps Me Up To Date		30.0%	3
Shortwave America Advocates For The People's Rights To Freedom Of Communications, Choice & Variety Of Communications		20.0%	2
Other Reason I like Shortwave America Not Listed Above (Use comment Field)		10.0%	1
Other (please specify)			1

4. Should Shortwave America Have An International Liasion Team To Focus On Presenting Material In Several Different Languages, Translate Languages, etc?
	answered question		10
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
Yes		70.0%	7
No		30.0%	3

5. Would You Purchase Items From A Shortwave America Product Store?
	answered question		10
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
Yes		20.0%	2
No		20.0%	2
Maybe		60.0%	6

6. What Type Of Products Would You Like To See In A Shortwave America Product Store?
	answered question		8
	skipped question		2
		Response Percent	Response Count
Coffee Mugs		50.0%	4
Mouse Pads		0.0%	0
T-Shirts		50.0%	4
Sweaters With or Without Hoods		12.5%	1
Shortwave America Baseball Caps, Winter Caps		37.5%	3
Shortwave America Calendars		12.5%	1
Official Shortwave America Magazine / E-Books		37.5%	3
Shortwave America Bumper Stickers		37.5%	3
Shortwave America Memberships		12.5%	1
Other Product Idea (Use Comment Field)		12.5%	1
Other (please specify)			3

7. Is Shortwave America User Friendly? What Would You Improve About User Friendliness?
	answered question		10
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
Yes, This Is A User Friendly Site		80.0%	8
No, This Is Not A User Friendly Site		0.0%	0
Shortwave America Is Too Busy With Too Many Links, Too Many Articles		0.0%	0
Other User Friendliness Opinion: (Use Comment Field)		20.0%	2
Other (please specify)			2

8. Do You Like The Idea Of Shortwave America Offering Six Different Radio Related Shows With Concurrent Planning To Add Other Shows In The Future?
	answered question		10
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
Yes		50.0%	5
No		10.0%	1
Undecided		40.0%	4

9. Shortwave America Has An Open Comments Section For Each Article That Often Goes Unused. Shortwave America Encourages Reader Participation, What Could Shortwave America Do Better To Offer Audience Interaction?
	answered question		8
	skipped question		2
		Response Percent	Response Count
I Am Shy, And Don't Like Leaving Comments		12.5%	1
I Don't See The Point Of Leaving Comments Or Opinions		12.5%	1
I Just Come Here For The Articles, Information, And Entertainment Value		12.5%	1
I Don't Have Time To Comment On Articles		12.5%	1
Other Audience Participation Comment: (Use Comment Field)		62.5%	5
Other (please specify)			5

10. How Often Do You Read Shortwave America & Do you Recommend Shortwave America To Others?
	answered question		10
	skipped question		0
		Response Percent	Response Count
Once A Day		0.0%	0
Twice A Day		10.0%	1
Several Times A Day		10.0%	1
Once A Week		40.0%	4
Several Times A Week		30.0%	3
Monthly		0.0%	0
Several Times A Month		0.0%	0
I Check Out Shortwave America Every Once In A While		0.0%	0
I Do Recommend Shortwave America To Others		10.0%	1
I Do Not Recommend Shortwave America To Others		0.0%	0
If You Do Not Recommend Shortwave America To Others, Please Feel Free To Tell Why: (Use Comment Field)		0.0%	0
Other (please specify)			0

Worldwide Amateur Radio Licensing Regulations & Callsign Structures

This morning, Shortwave America took the opportunity to speak with 2I0NIE, 2E0GHR, and ZR5SF via Echolink on the Ireland Conference and the conversation quickly turned to the structure of callsigns and radio licensing regulations around the world.

It was an interesting conversation to be sure and this author learned something new which inspired the idea for gathering the radio licensing regulations and callsign structures from around the world. The piece will focus on how callsigns are made, assigned, and what they mean in each respective part of the world.

It was learned that in Ireland, amateur callsigns are given designators to indicate which part of Ireland the operator is from. Take for instance, 2I0NIE. His callsign means he lives in Northern Ireland, and we know this because of the "I" designator in the callsign.

Research is now underway to write a piece for all of you who read that will go beyond the current ARRL / ITU callsign listings by prefix that we currently have and will focus also on the respective requirements for licensing in every part of the world, reciprocal licensing, operator privileges in each license class, etc.

Stay tuned to Shortwave America for developments!

Shortwave America Reader's Hotline!

Shortwave America now has a hotline for it's readers to call if they would like to share any of the following:

Radio related breaking news items

Radio related observations, comments, or questions across all radio services

Questions, praise, comments, ideas, criticisms, or concerns about the Shortwave America publication

All callers enjoy confidentiality with the exception that items pertaining to radio related news, observations, comments, or questions may be published here to serve the radio community and Shortwave America readers. However, no identities will be published unless the party consents. Callers to the Shortwave America hotline may choose to remain anonymous.

The Shortwave America Hotline Number is: 1-206-666-8235 

BBC Programme On The Future Of Radio

Rajan Datar hosts Mark Selby; Nokia’s expert on mobile radio, Jim Egan; director of strategy and distribution at the BBC World Service and James Cridland; a self-professed “radio futurologist".

Listen to the audio here

New Year's Day Net

AE1P and WA6MHZ are currently running the New Year's Day Net on 14.249.95 - USB. Lots of participants checking in from all over. Fire up your transmitter if you have time, no telling how long the band will last nor how long the net will run!

Happy New Years to all! 

Happy New Year!

Shortwave America is ending 2010 with more than nine thousand readers! Thank you all for making this a successful site! The Shortwave America Reader Survey is wrapping up on January 4th 2011 at 12AM Central Time (U.S.) and the numbers will be released within the week after it wraps up and will be used to bring many of the enhancements reflected by the voices of Shortwave America readers who participated in the survey.

Thanks so much to those of you who have participated! For those who haven't done so yet, please take a few moments of your time to tell Shortwave America what's on your mind for a better experience!

Over this year, several supporters have been instrumental to propelling this publication forward alongside the loyal readers, and they are deserving of honorable mention as a humble show of gratitude! Without further waiting, Shortwave America would like to thank the following:

Tom - AB9NZ, John - W9HNA, Shabnam Assadollahi at CHIN Radio Canada, Homayoun Mobasseri at NEDA For A Free Iran, PCJ Media and PCJ Radio / Keith Perron, Al - K9ZQO, Enigma 2000, The Spooks List, Mr. Fahey, Lisnews, Hap Holly and The Rain Report, RadioReference / Lindsay Blanton, The Southgate Amateur Radio Club, Glenn Hauser, The many readers of The Radiotelegrapher, Mitch - WV9MJS, Suzanne Alicie at Your Weekly Writer, HF Underground, Chris Smolinski, Members of the Shortwave America Fan Club, Pat Tice and the HandiHam Organization, Bill Pasternak - WA6ITF of Amateur Radio Newsline, Pirate Radio Weekly, all of the various feed providers who have syndicated Shortwave America, Mr. Arey, Pam Mark Hall, retired members of the United States and friendly allied National Intelligence / National Security communities, and the list goes on! Those who are not named here should know that they are not at all forgotten for their support, help, or contributions! 

Here's to another fun year of reporting on everything radio from station loggings to shortwave broadcast items, amateur radio, HF SSB Monitoring, radio related ramblings / sarcasm / silliness / observations, interviews, items of interest, etc!

In closing, Shortwave America urges everyone to celebrate the New Year safely & wisely!

A New Year's Gift!

Shortwave America readers now have two new features as part of the 2011 enhancements to this site!
Look at the top of the page, and you'll notice two new pages have been added. These are Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) and a Shortwave America listening Gallery. When you click on the link for RNW, the player will start automatically. You can use the Listening Gallery simply by clicking on the link and then choosing which station you want to listen to.

The list includes: Radio Australia, BBC, China Radio International, Deutsche Welle, Radio Sweden, and Talk Radio Europe. This list is going to grow and will not remain terribly limited.

Enjoy these two new features as often as you wish!

Media Network Plus - 3rd Edition Airs Radio Bloopers

Paulette MacQuarry and Keith Perron of Media Network Plus have created a masterpiece with their newest edition of their show. You'll have to  forward to about a little past the middle of the show to get to the radio bloopers and get ready to laugh with intensity!

Thanks for the laughs Paulette and Keith! Listen HERE

Solar Activity, World Radio Magazine 2011

World Radio Magazine has it's January 2011 edition on-line now!

Thirty Names Roberto: Does He Have Thirty Personalities Too?

Roberto Irizarry is a name that has become synonymous with the modern day internet troll, AND also a common example of what a person with an inflated self - image, a manic personality, and a possible internet addiction would look like. Roberto owns a small business in which he supplies emergency responder gear to those in the Public Safety profession.

For whatever reason, Roberto has had an obsession with RadioReference owner, Lindsay C. Blanton III, and an excessive need for attention just this side of abnormal. Recently, on December 08th 2010, Roberto started a thread at RadioReference in which the site itself and Lindsay C. Blanton III was blamed for the trend in Public Safety agencies across the country using encryption on their radio communications systems.

As anyone familiar with internet radio forums knows, any message board serving the radio communications community has a mix of personalities and TROLLS! We all know that forums sections allowing political talk, rants, and general topic discussion will eventually see threads that are just troll bait with the only aim and purpose of  getting the forum natives all excited, and annoying the hell out of forum administrators.

Roberto runs a business called "Mutual Aid Supplies", and apparently, according to a quote from RadioReference user K3HY, Roberto treats his customers to unprofessional behavior.

Here is a direct quote from Lindsay Blanton about Roberto's obsessive and unprofessional behavior:

"The community should know who com-21 is.

He is Roberto Irizarry, the Owner/Operator of an outfit called Mutual Aid Supplies

http://www.mutualaidsupplies.com/

He runs a bustling business through his site and ebay selling gear to public safety agencies, and I'm sure he's doing quite well.

However, as you see he has some pretty serious issues with the way that approaches many online communities in the public safety realm.

In our instance, he's registered quite a few usernames for the sole purpose of trolling our boards. They include

Com-4 (original username)
Com-1
easy123

and of course com-21. There might be more... We're not sure why he participates in this behavior, but it is pretty clear that there is some vendetta against RadioReference since his com-21 registration was for the sole purpose to start this thread.

A rant is a rant, but to join RR just to rant about RR is kind of strange to say the least." __________________
Lindsay C. Blanton III
President - RadioReference.com LLC
Facebook: RadioReference | Twitter: @RadioReference

Roberto has sent some pretty nasty letters to the Reference over the years.

According to Reference user "iamhere300", "Izzy" as he has become known in the thread, has even become a PITA over at firehouse.com with a rather spectacular rant about "P25 and Narrowbanding". Here is the complete quote from "iamhere300" directly from the thread:

"Izzy was on Firehouse.com - arguing about narrowbanding, and P25. He thought they were the same - to go narrowband you had to be P25.

Then he started arguing with one of the premier communications attornies in the US, Alan Tilles, about narrowbanding.

Then he said he ate lunch with the upper level brass of Orlando Fire Department, and sat in on the non-public interviews. A current member of the department then sent this,

QUOTE
Where do you get this ? First you post the cold hard facts About Orlando, none of which are true. Second you have sat in on OFD interviews ? I'm calling BS ! OFD interviews are not a public forum. Who have you had dinner with and shared the innerworkings of OFD with ?

Those of you who took the challenge of taking OFD's written / practical and passed congratulations. Hopefully you will be one of the firefighters hired to fill positions in the three new stations we have broke ground on recently.

Those who thought that MutualAidSupply knew anything about OFD and were misled by his "facts" sorry for believing the BS rantings of liar.

I work for OFD and have for the past 8 years. I came to OFD from a small department in south FL and have loved working here. The tradition and brotherhood here are second to none.

If you have any questions about OFD get the truth.


Stay safe
Rob

END QUOTE

Izzy is famous for being ... An idiot!"

On page four of this now famous thread, Roberto actually made a statement that cell phones could be monitored and Lindsay had this to say in return:

"Roberto,

First, there isn't a single service monitor available that can actually *monitor* a live GSM/CDMA cell phone call. GSM and CDMA service monitors are designed to test and emulate handsets and base station equipment - they cannot intercept live calls between subscriber units and base stations. Get your facts straight.

Second, you can spout all day about your credentials in the healthcare/public safety field, but the reality is you own a small business that supplies equipment to a limited number of public safety agencies. The public safety community has seen these types of inflated claims from you before:

From a quote from you on Firehouse.com:

Suggestions for getting hired with Orlando? - Page 2 - Firehouse Forums - Firefighting Discussion
. 
End quoted section of response. Anyone interested can go here to see the complete context of this portion of the discussion.

Roberto's delusional rants don't hold water when examined against the following:

Letters From Public Safety Agencies


Restricted Info - RadioReference Wiki

RadioReference Blog: Explaining the Data Removal Policy Change on RadioReference.com

As anyone can see, Lindsay did the right thing when he handled business in the way he did. Anyone else with a head on their shoulders would have done the same thing.

A final quote at the end of this thread from Lindsay Blanton and the final action:

"This thread certainly delivered. We had the protagonist, a few antagonists, some sideline dwellers that criticized both parties, the level-headed "come on folks" and the end of thread racist remarks. Two thumbs up for an epic rant!"

com-21 is now "Completely Banned For The Greater Good" and it is being reasonably assumed that all of his usernames have also been banned. Excellent job Lindsay!

Lindsay Blanton was invited by Shortwave America to be interviewed about this whole experience with Roberto, but comment was not returned most likely because of the timing of this publication's request with the 2010 Christmas holiday. 

   

Following The BBC World Service Drama

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is in trouble and people are asking questions only to get the usual corporate canned response from BBC, which is usually just enough to satisfy the public until the next chapter of the drama starts. The RNW Media Network blog has been following each and every publicized media release regarding the BBC. Shortwave America decided to go through the RNW Media Network Archives and do a few things with very specific intentions.

The overall goal and objectives here are to analyze each and every move made by the BBC to separate fact from fiction, to ask if any of BBC's actions make any real sense from either the business perspective or the common sense perspective, and to then ask why it is it would appear that relations between the BBC and the body of British Government responsible for granting funding and licensure to the BBC seem to have broken down. Once these tasks were complete, the next sets of questions arising have to do with how all of this affects the corporate leadership and it's relationship with the Journalists Union and the BBC Journalists themselves.  

Shortwave America then went digging around the Official BBC Website for anything relating to all of these shenanigans that would either shed light on the facts, contradictory statements, vague statements, material that would show either BBC's willingness to be candid and transparent or to use other material as a way of helping the public to become distracted from the very real problems at BBC.

Without any further waiting, here are the RNW Media Network Blog Archives pertaining to the BBC in exact order from the earliest reports to the most current reports. Shortwave America readers can come to their own conclusions as to the above noted questions.

Former BBCWS Drama Boss Criticizes Axing Of Plays 


BBC World Service Could lose Half Its Staff: Press Report


BBC Launches HD Sound For Radio


BBC World Service To Be Funded From Domestic License Fee

BBC Complete Sound Effects Library Now Available On sounddogs.com


New BBC - DW DRM Channel For South Asia

BBC Journalists To Strike In November Over Pensions


BBC Burmese To Add Extra Transmissions

BBC World Service Cuts Risk 300 Jobs


BBC Journalist Strike Knocks Flagship Shows Off Air


BBC Urdu Launches Single Number For Mobile News

NUJ Offers To Suspend BBC Pension Strikes


BBC Joins United States Military Handing out Free Radios In Afghanistan


BBC & Discovery Communications Announce New Partnership


Vandals Force BBC Radio Wales 882Khz Off Air

Here are the findings at the Official BBC Website: NOTHING! Not one word! BBC has stayed absolutely quiet at it's public website.

2010 Christmas Programming & Other Christmas Radio Offerings

Glenn Hauser has this offering: World Of Radio Calendar / Monitoring Reminders

DogHouseCharlie has this offering: Christmas & Seasonal Programming

PCJ Radio offers this: PCJ Christmas Programming December 24th to December 25th
Direct link to PCJ Radio Christmas Video at Vimeo

Amateur Operators may want to pay attention to their specific regions on HF, local FM repeater sub-bands, and FM simplex. Never know what ya might hear! Any interesting Christmas reports can be submitted to Shortwave America here in the comments section, or post your findings at HFUnderground, and RadioReference.

Amateur Station KE5GGY brings us this news: Santa On 3.916.00Khz Christmas Eve

Shortwave America would like to wish everyone from all over the world a Merry Christmas / Happy Holiday. Knowing that not every culture celebrates Christmas, but rather has their own celebration at this time of year, Shortwave America wants to wish you a happy celebration, no matter what you call it!

As always at this time of year, Shortwave America wants to remind everyone where ever you are to make sure you have a designated driver or that you can make arrangements to stay with someone if you feel the need to drink. DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE! 
 

Alpha 7 Hotel Numbers Station

Someone has caught a numbers station identified as "Alpha 7 Hotel" over at HF Underground. At this time, it is unknown if there is an official Enigma assignment for this particular station. You can see the thread here
and if you want the direct download, go to MediaFire.

The first thing you will notice about this on the recording is: HORRIBLE propagation! The station is audible off and on, and there is a lot of fading, but definitely worth the listen. It has been said that someone heard a station similar to this recently on four thousand kilohertz somewhere and just near it was a weird space sounding type station with what can best be described as recurring, creepy, "wisps" that remind you of "Encounters Of  The Third Kind".

 

Welcome Waveguides!

Waveguides is a new podcast introduced by Pete Landry, VE2XPL in Canada. Waveguides is recorded every Thursday evening on the SouthCARS T.N.T. Open-Forum Net (20:00 E.S.T. on EchoLink
(node 96140), *SCARS* conference server, operated by the South Coast
Amateur Radio Service - over 10,000 members strong).

This net has been operating since 2009 and now the podcasts are available to the world at large, and that is assuming you live in a country that hasn't blocked this type of media. If you are interested in this media and you live where censors won;t let you access it, please let Shortwave America know and it will get passed to you for free to help promote this net and help continue to grow good will among radio enthusiasts. 

You can also see the SouthCARS VOIP Site

Pete is the Executive Producer of the wAVEgUIDES pODcAST and SouthCARS TNT Open-Forum. You can see the entire post at QRZ .

Background about Pierre "Pete" Landry can be found here

Shortwave America wishes this new effort great success and will likely offer access to this podcast right here in the future.

Official Shortwave America 2010-2011 Reader Survey

Shortwave America is excited to announce the first annual reader's survey! The survey asks ten questions and will remain open until January 04th 2011 at 12AM since it was posted four days late in order to be fair to the readers. Thanks you in advance for taking a few moments of your time to participate, as Shortwave America only exists because of it's readers and your input matters!

Click here to take the first annual Official Shortwave America Reader Survey

Shortwave America Reader Poll Update

The reader poll isn't up yet because most of the polling systems found only allow for one question versus multiple questions. If a good poll isn't found soon, Shortwave America will post the poll as a regular post and the readers can anonymously use the comments section to answer the poll questions. Although it isn't the most efficient way of polling, it is still an opportunity for this site to hear from it's readers.

Stay tuned here for the poll when it comes.

Please Welcome Kelly Alexander

Kelly Alexander is going to be PCJ's newest radio talent starting in early December. Keith Perron posted her photo, and Shortwave America just HAD to follow suit because not only is Kelly a great radio personality with talent, you gotta admit she's cute! For everyone's enjoyment and as a special welcome for Kelly, here is her photo as a shameless promotion for her upcoming debut at PCJ!

Welcome, Kelly! Congrats on your new presence at PCJ Media and PCJ Radio! May your show be successful, and your audience grow far and wide!  We have to admit that Kelly puts a certain RHC woman to shame.

North Korea Conflict OR History Repeats Itself

PCJ Media Presents the October 23rd edition of Media Network Plus, which has has an interview with the director of Open Radio North Korea.

There is also this recent live recording taken straight from the air by Brendan Monaghan:  The Voice of Korea (VOK)

This author wasn't even born when the original Korean war happened, but it's there in the history books and it sure looks like either history is repeating itself or Korea has found a new reason to finish what was started long ago BY North Korea themselves. As this situation develops, there will be more radio related coverage.

 

Is RHC Helping Terrorists? Arnie Coro Paranoid?

Today, just after Arnie Coro got done with his show, RHC aired a piece about the Cuban Five who were caught fair and square by American Authorities. They went so far as to get major Irish music personalities to sign this petition and now it's making the rounds as an open campaign to free these guys.Robert Ballar.is the Irish celeb making these statements: "I feel an enormous empathy for these prisoners who have been jailed with flawed evidence and strange judicial procedures". "I have an enormous empathy for the Cuban Five", "Terrible miscarriage of justice". 

On DXer's Unlimited, Arnie openly stated that he and RHC are being "Attacked" by WOR! WOR attacking Arnie and RHC has never happened, never will. WOR has better things to do with their time than play with jamming a show about amateur radio, DX reports and propagation! Arnie went on to talk about the ITU, Frequency Management, and how 6050Khz will be the new freq for RHC and DXer's Unlimited. Arnie said they are using some new antenna array with a good front to back ratio.UPDATE as of 0547UTC: Exclusively from Keith Perron and Shortwave America, here is a Commentary On Arnie Coro & his DXer's Unlimited. 

It's been brought to the attention of Shortwave America by a trusted source that Arnie has always had some rather bizarre beliefs to include RNW being in on some CIA conspiracy. UPDATE#2 as of 0839UTC: Arnie Coro and the English Service staff of RHC can be seen here with all of their communist pride spewing lie after lie.

There is an MP3 file saved just in case this above video ever gets pulled.

Since Langston Wright (Michael Finney) has been gone from RHC, Arnie is probably the best thing RHC has going for itself beyond their efforts to get the world to believe that The Cuban Five are just a bunch of choir boys.

Tonight's Medium Wave Log

Starting at 0500UTC to 0945UTC

The VFO started at 1.100.00AM and ended at 1.800.00AM without the pre-amp on for teh first part of the night. There's a ton of local interference and ordinary band fade. An experiment was conducted tonight using the pre-amp with attenuator and noise reduction1 used simultaneously. This consistently yielded the same results of allowing an accurate signal reading while dramatically reducing the noise from several sources.  

The night started out with just a bunch of the same local stations and at 1.130.00 KWKH came screaming in from Shreveport, La like they were right next door. Their sig was a perfect 5 by 9 even through some band fading and a lot of local interference. No problem hearing them at all! Here's their website for anyone else who heard them tonight: KWKH - Home of The Classics  If you like country classics, true country and not the stuff we have today, you'll love KWKH! Monitored from 0505UTC to 0521UTC

1.140.00AM - 0522UTC: Coast To Coast AM. Art Bell, W6OBB is hosting tonight. The topic is "interesting times" from July 3rd 1997, and Art is taking calls from West of the Rockies. Sig is a perfect 5 by 9 even through local interference. WRVA in Richmond, Virginia is the station ID at 0534UTC. Monitored until 0540UTC. WRVA Website

1.150.00AM - 0540UTC: "He's So Fine" original 1950s version being played. Station faded out completely and came back after a few seconds. Using only Noise Reduction1 now, as the pre-amp is more hurtful than helpful tonight. Monitored until 0543UTC, unable to obtain station ID. Station seems to be devoted to classic music from the 50s and 60s.

1.180.00AM - 0544UTC: Talk about time traveling, and the host mentioned getting some orange juice after the show. A lady said to him "If you do, you HAVE to tell me!" station fading in & out. Enough was heard to determine that this is Coast To Coast AM. possibly WHAM - Rochester, New York 
Station was 5 by 7 with band fade. Monitored until 0557UTC.

1.190.00AM - 0557UTC: Country music with lots of fading and possibly a second station competing for the band also playing country music with a possible female voice singing. At 0600UTC, a song started playing "I may be a real bad boy, but baby I'm a real good man". Just before this, station ID was heard but was extremely difficult copy. listening until ID can be heard, this is one that CAN be pulled out! At 0606UTC, Coast to Coast AM theme can be heard in competition with this country station. Coast to Coast AM is in there just under this station now at 0612UTC and Coast to Coast AM gives this number 1-800-750-0267.
What problematic here i sthat Coast To Coast is ten Khz away on 1.180.00AM too, but by switching freq's a difference can be told that it's a different show than what is being heard on 1.190.00! No station ID in the end. Perhaps a second attempt will be made later.

1.210.00AM - 0617UTC: Safe Money Radio. 1-800-780 - safe. No station ID.

1.260.00AM - 0621UTC: Music, possibly ghetto style / boom box type music.

1.270.00AM - 0630UTC: Spanish or Latin music.

1.280.00 - 1.520.00 too noisy, couldn't pull anything out at all. Too much noise and no technique is working!

1.530.00AM - 0635UTC: Game show based on sports team guesses. A retail manager gets the grand prize, which ain't much and if you ask Shortwave America, he wasted his time and the station made fools of themselves. Station ID is WCKY (ESPN Sports Radio) in Cincinatti, Ohio.  monitored until 0646UTC

1.540.00AM - 0648UTC: Midnight Radio Network with Eric Harley & Gary McNamara, KXEL in Waterloo - Cedar Rapids, Iowa. KXEL Website monitored until 0653UTC. 

1.550.00 1.610.00AM - nothing heard.

1.620.00AM - 0654UTC: Commercials followed by station ID at 0658UTC as KOZN in Omaha, Nebraska. They are playing ESPN Sports Radio right now. KOZN Website

1.630.00AM - 0700UTC: Sports show talking about a football player that carried 21 yards for Iowa. News: Robbery on 500 block of S. Van Buren St. offender was a Black male early 20's who asked the victim for a "light" then reached into the victim's pocket took the victim's I-Pod and then assaulted the victim. Those with info can call crime stoppers at 358-TIPS.  Station ID at 0704UTC as KCJJ. KCJJ is Coralville, Iowa's first radio station and is known as "The Mighty 1630". KCJJ Website

1.640.00AM: Nothing

1.650.00AM - 0713UTC:   Seconds after tuning in, the station ID was given as "Cedar Valley", At 0715UTC a Geico Insurance Commercial played. At 0718UTC, ID was clearly 1650 "The Fan" KCNZ. KCNZ Website

The rest of the upper portion of the MW band was terrible noisy and nothing could be copied.
VFO was spun below 1000AM at exactly 980AM. We're moving down the dial the rest of the evening.

980.00AM - 0721UTC: Sports show. Host is talking with man by the name of "Kelly". There is possibly a female co-host. Show is competing for the band with a music station playing a CCM format. This sports show is talking about Phil Jackson, Coach of the L.A. Lakers and a shot clock operator who isn't allowed to work anymore playoff games. The host states that his information came from a trusted source within the NBA and that he may get in trouble for letting this information out about the clock shot operator. It's in print now, and it can't be taken back. Show / Station ID at 0728UTC as Fox Sports News. At 0732UTC, the station played "Real American" in the background of an ad. This song is recognized as a one time hit of the 1980s once used by Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea) as his World Wrestling Federation Ring Entrance Theme written by Rick Derringer. WOFX - Fox Sports Radio Website. WOFX is in New York.

860.00AM - 0738UTC: Mellow / Inspirational Music sounds something like "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic. Vocalist is a female with a nice, clear voice. Station seems devoted to Irish music. Song changed at 0742UTC. At least these songs are good choices, they are actually getting stuck in this author's head.
There's just some band fade here in the lower portion of the band, but not bad. The radio host at this station is a female speaking French at 0746UTC. 0751UTC, station fades almost completely away and then can be heard just under the QRN. Music now seems devoted to French listeners. 0752UTC, station playing an upbeat song that would probably fit a broadway stage production. Station is now a perfect 5 by 9, no competition for the band at all, very loud and clear. 0825UTC: Station plays an English song "Feelin' Groovy" original version with piano. No station ID.  

850.00AM - 0827UTC: Twilight Zone. KOA Radio. Denver, Colorado. They're 20 over the entire night! Loud, clear, like they're right next door!

840.00AM - 0828UTC: Coast To Coast AM "Non-Conformity, Going From Stuck to Unstuck" It's actually a show based on something real!

830.00AM - 0830UTC: Some show just signed off and a quick news piece followed. Now playing "Imagination Theater" by Jim French Productions. Possibly WCCO in Minnesota? Station is perfect 5 by 9, loud, clear, like right next door.

810.00AM - 0910UTC:  WGY New York
   
800.00AM - Nothing

750.00AM -0915UTC: WSB Radio. Atlanta, Ga  Fishing / Hunting Show.  Host just got done speaking with "Henry" who gave fishing tips. Henry talked about using barbless hooks and certain lures. Now speaking with Joseph who's talking about his muzzle loader.

740.00AM - 0918UTC: CFZM Toronto, Canada. All Night Jukebox

700.00AM - 0920UTC:  WLW Cincinatti, Ohio. "Bubba Bo" with his show.
             
640.00AM - 0928UTC: Nothing

620.00AM -0928UTC: WTMJ - Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

610.00AM - Nothing

600.00AM - 0935UTC: Religious show fighting for the band with WMT in Iowa

590.00AM - 0937UTC: Several stations fighting for the band, but one is louder than the other.

580.00AM - 0940UTC: Too many stations fighting for the band! It's a MW pile-up!

570.00AM - 0941UTC: Pile - up! There is a ticking and beeping sound under these stations that is audible.

550.00AM - 0943UTC: MW pile up!

540.00AM - 0945UTC: Pile - up

Conditions are definitely better as evidenced by the pile - up's. Tomorrow will likely see new Shortwave Logs.

Shortwave America Enhancements For 2011

All of you who read Shortwave America, whether it be a first time visit, an occasional check-in, or you're a loyal reader; have accounted for what has turned out to realistically be great success for an original publication like this! This year, the Shortwave America readers have taken this publication from a minor & meaningless effort to a widely recognized and trusted source for all sorts of radio information.

This publication went from having a meaningless existence to the astounding fanfare of 6,359 unique readers as of November 20th, 2010 with an easy expectation to reach or exceed 7,000 readers by December 2010. Shortwave America sincerely thanks all of you!

Due to the growth that has happened here, Shortwave America will be making enhancements to your enjoyment of this publication. The links section will be broken down into more specifically defined areas of radio. You may have seen that a Utility Listening links Section was added along with a Pirate Radio Links Section. Research is underway to add a Shortwave America product store, design of a Shortwave America Official Emblem is under research, and one other new gift for readers will be the addition of popular radio news shows so that you will never have to hop from website to website just to listen to your favorite shortwave or amateur radio related newscasts.

Shortwave America will be bringing you regular installments of:

Amateur Radio Newsline

The RAIN Report

International Radio Report

The Shortwave Report

Sounds On Shortwave

World Of Radio

That's six popular, trusted, well produced, quality radio newscasts each time they are published! All of these new features will happen in January of 2011. Shortwave America will run a reader's poll from December 1st, 2010 until December 31st, 2010. This poll will seek input from the readers and will be used solely to make improvements to Shortwave America. You may have noticed that pieces here are displaying an Amazon.com link to the top left of the page. Because of  the costs associated with bringing Shortwave America to you and the cost of future plans, it was thought that offering useful items from such a great place as Amazon.com is a practical, and efficient way to support this publication without passing the cost on to the readers.

Buying an offered item from Amazon is up to the reader, and each time one of you makes a purchase of an offered item from Amazon, you are helping to support Shortwave America. Thought was given to adding a Paypal "Donate" button, however, thought needed to be given to what the reader would be getting from their donation in a more real & tangible sense. Offering radio related items from Amazon was clearly the best choice because the reader is getting something they are actually interested in!

Upon the Shortwave America Store becoming a reality, the Amazon product offerings will likely cease unless you, the readers demand that Amazon product offerings stay here. The Shortwave America Store will feature coffee cups, travel mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, caps, mouse pads, and all sorts of useful radio related items that readers will be excited to see! It should be clear that at no time will Shortwave America readers ever have to pay for accessing the material presented at Shortwave America. 

If the above listed radio newscasts are a popular item, Shortwave America will endeavor to bring you other interesting radio shows such as select PCJ Media / PCJ Radio productions, RNW productions, and select productions from other big names in radio to include pirate radio offerings.

All of these things mentioned here will likely be part of the Shortwave America reader's poll. Shortwave America is alive and thriving only because of your readership. Thanks once again and Happy Holidays!

Lisnews Mentions Shortwave America & COICA

Podcast#130 talks about several great subjects and mentions Shortwave America, giving a link to the recent piece here about Deutsch Welle & COICA. Thank you Lisnews! Their podcast is called LISTen. You can learn about the mission of lisnews here.

Shortwave America Featured Second Time On The Happy Station Show

This morning, Shortwave America was happy to be part of The Happy Station Show for a second time. This morning's interview focused mostly on DW, which was actually a bombshell to this publication. DW is just such a widely known station that Shortwave America did not expect them to pull the plug like they did. Another sad situation spoken about was Radio Sweden. Shortwave America urged these and also other broadcasters to remember the reach of shortwave frequencies because there is a listenership out there.

Shortwave America briefly mentioned upcoming enhancements for 2011, and would like to thank Keith Perron for this opportunity and continued support from himself and PCJ Media. The archive link for this interview will be forthcoming.

Update: here is the PCJ Media Archive Link from this morning's show. 

Duetsche Welle Discontinues SW To North America, U.S. Internet Censorship Bill Could Have Unintended Consequences

Hold on a second! Did D.W. even stop to think about the results of their poll? How did they manage to pass over the shortwave listenership and end up surveying mostly the digital crowd? As Keith Perron recently asked...what are they smoking? Who was behind this survey and where did they find these results that most everyone is listening via interconnected digital devices?

The Media Network Blog has a piece on D.W. that makes an entirely different statement than what DW makes at it's own site.

In the U.S., there are probably around seven hundred thousand people or more with ready access to the HF / SW bands in some form or another. This is a fact. D.W. is making the same mistake that other radio stations have been making and that is to focus more on those within their local areas and those with ready access to interconnected devices, which leaves stations in a bad place for several reasons. The internet uses servers located all over the world which can be filtered or even shut down in the event that someone in a position of power doesn't like what's being said or decides they have some pre-conceived prejudice against the broadcaster.

The United States Congress is currently working on a very broad piece of legislation that could very well have unintended consequences on freedom of speech. Those unintended consequences may very well end up somehow affecting international broadcasters who stream their services via the internet. Under this bill, any internet domain that is even suspected of dealing in counterfeit goods or copyright infringement can be censored by court order. What this means is that all a person bringing suit has to prove in court will only rise to the level of "everyone's doing it" or "stats show that an x number of people have engaged in this activity."

How this could possibly impact shortwave broadcasters: The United States Attorney General could use this law to force shortwave broadcasters who stream on-line to prove that their material is not counterfeit or that such material doesn't infringe on established copyright. This may very well create room for abuse of this bill if it becomes law. Say for instance, a shortwave broadcaster streaming on-line material  plays a soundbyte or a song not originally created nor performed by the station staff....the U.S. Attorney General could now have reason to block that site by seeking a court order with only the preponderence of the evidence, a seriously low legal standard that is subjective on it's face.

Shortwave frequencies cannot be sanitized or turned off with any "kill switch" and is the best way to avoid these touchy scenarios. Let's also be honest, radio doesn't rely on any infrastructure and is a ready source for getting information out to the masses. A good statement of evidence on this would be that the United States FCC only has jurisdiction in the U.S. and it's possessions. A broadcaster such as Deutsche Welle is outside of the FCC's jurisdiction and that of the U.S. Attorney General.

Take a look at this newest censorship effort by the U.S. Government and please consider signing the petition even if you are not in the U.S.

Demand Progress Article: Blacklist

Demand Progress Fact Highlights About The proposed Blacklist & Petition To Stop This Bill 

Maybe Deutsche Welle would like to consider starting their North American SW Services again with this new evidence having been brought forth?

QRZ Press Release - Radio Buyer's Guide

From AA7BQ: click to read entire entry without sentence cut-off.

Five New Amateur Radio Satellites In Orbit

FASTRAC-1, FASTRAC-2, NanoSail-D2, O/OREOS and RAX were launched at 01:24 UT on Saturday Nov 20, reports of the signals are needed.

So far signals have been reported from FASTRAC-2 (Emma), O/ORES and RAX.

Nominal Frequencies:
- FASTRAC-1 "Sara Lily" 437.345 MHz FM AX.25 1200bps
- FASTRAC-2 "Emma" 145.825 MHz FM AX.25 1200bps
- RAX-1 437.505 MHz
- O/OREOS 437.305 MHz
- Nanosail D2 0.5 sec beacon every 5 sec on 437.275 MHz.


RAX Facebook  RAX Twitter 
FASTRAC Facebook  FASTRAC Twitter  O/OREOS
NanoSail-D2

Amateur radio operators - help track the FASTRAC satellites

AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB)

Orbiter Forum



Source: G4TUT at QRZ

Shortwave Pirate Radio Directory

Those elusive pirates turn on their transmitters for fans all over the world, always careful not to create a solid schedule / frequency / directional signal pattern. They use different power levels to reach their respective audiences. Pirates are usually gracious enough to send reception confirmations via different means. Some will use FRN, others will use e-mail, some use EQSL.

The mood for something new & different is always there. That desire to spin the VFO through the bands in each different mode until something is found will eat away at a radio addict until he/she completes the daily routine until satisfied, and only when the thirst is quenched will your dear loved one be happy. SWL's are a vast audience who come from all walks of life. Even licensed amateur operators engage in monitoring whatever they find.

Shortwave America has decided to help everyone get their radio fix quickly, efficiently, and logistically. This is the Official Shortwave America Shortwave Pirate Radio Directory. This project has been months in the making and includes frequencies, pirate station identifications, and QSL information. Now, the contact directory could not be copied and published here, but it will be linked to. This is your one stop shop for Pirate Radio information!

First, a couple of pirate listening tips asked by Shortwave America over at the HF Underground Forum:

Spotting pirates during the day, according to RAFman:  "The tendency I have noticed over the years is the use of low [& very high] end of 15MHz/19M 15070KHz. Similar propagation to the world, like 20M where it is said "the band is always open to somewhere"...

Pigmeat gives this information for evening listening: "Most guys use the 6850-6955 range weekends between 12 and 15:00 utc this time of year. I can normally hit much of eastern N.America with just 14 watts and wire antenna in that time frame. It's a nice time to broadcast,conditions are quiet,and you have your pick of the prime frequencies.The band opens and shuts about an hour earlier during daylight savings time."  

North American Pirate Radio Wiki

Pirate Radio by DXing.com

Pirate's Week

Radio4All

Transmitter Documentation Project - Pirate Stations

Pirate Radio Logs Searchable Database

Pirate Radio Links

Shortwave Central 2010 Pirate Radio Annual

Shortwave Central - Chasing Pirate Radio

Shortwave Central - QSLing The Unpredictable & Unlicensed

Pirate Radio Central Directory

Pirate Radio Station Addresses by UKDXER

This is all that is out here for now. If anyone else has anything at all, please leave a comment here. Pirates are welcome to add their information as well, and it will be updated in this post. Shortwave America would like to update pirate information as often as possible. To make this ambition work, contributions are needed.

Radio Australia Receives Use of Singapore's Kranji Site

Singapore's Media Development Authority has granted Radio Australia the use of their Kranji relay site starting on Monday, November 22nd 2010.Programming will be in Burmese: 0100-0130 UTC on 11780 kHz 340deg 250kW, English: 1100-1300 UTC on 6140 kHz 13deg 250 kW.

Reception reports can be sent to:

Radio Australia
GPO Box 428, Melbourne
Australia 3001

You can also see the Radio Australia Website

Source: RNW Media Network Blog

Someone Stole Our Equipment!

The Radio Netherlands Media Network Blog has the story

It's too late for April fools tricks, and just before the holidays, so it must be those pesky radio pirates! Guess it's time to make sure everything is under more advanced security technology!

French Radio London Makes Huge Splash

The Ambassador of France to the UK - Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, Pascal Grierson French Radio London CEO, Laurent Voulzy, celebrated French singer; Alex Riha, Commercial Director French Radio London; Thierry de Panafieu, Finance Director, French Radio London have all come together to successfully launch French Radio London. FRL has been assigned a channel slot on the London II DAB digital radio multiplex. These gentlemen worked with Piers Collins of Switchdigital to make this station a reality.

FRL is the UK capital’s first French language terrestrial broadcast station.Its studios and offices are based in
Central London, with a satellite office in Paris. Programming Director Jean-Michel Duffrene joined after many years at the BBC World Service. Presenters include Olivier Jauffrit, whose successful broadcasting career in France included stints at Rire et Chansons and Europe 2, and specialist music manager Alain
Galès, who has worked for the BBC World Service.

Source: FRL Press Release

Shortwave America commentary:

Most everyone can understand the need to have a local presence, and use digital technology with a digital radio giveaway to get this station on the air. One mistake these well meaning diplomats made was to not research putting FRL on the shortwave bands where the world at large could have access to it. There are indeed, people in the world who don;t have an unternet connection or fancy cellular technology to rely upon and these digital networks are not the end - all / be - all of radio. If they really want to reach what they term "Francophiles" then they need to have a wide RF distribution.

The FRL website is well done with just the right placement and choice of graphics, classy, yet also standard format seen at other major broadcasting sites. Programming seems to be well produced, well engineered, and the flavor of the station, it's style, and professionalism are something to be proud of.

Good Opportunity For Meteor Scatter

The Leonid Meteor Shower will peak at it's best until November 18th 2010. Best time is two or three hours before sunrise when the moon has set. Yahoo! has the entire story

Those meteor scatter operators out here should take this opportunity while they can! SWL's should listen for signals they normally wouldn't hear unless there was a band opening.

Antenna Designs, Reviews, and Tutorials

Long ago, Shortwave America promised an article on antennas. All of the projects, designs, reviews, and related items were simply too numerous to write just one piece on. Even a multi-part series would have been too large of a project. A more practical approach was needed, so, Shortwave America went scouting for everything and used the most practical information.

This guide is not intended to be the end-all, be-all of antennas because of all of the various designs out here, different emission types, different needs for antenna radiation polarization, and operator preference for minimum power usage. this is mostly handy for new Operators / SWL's, those who want or need a refresher, and those who want a nice resource for double checking their work.

Finally, the Shortwave America readers have a one stop resource for antenna knowledge similar to the more popular resource that was written for monitoring numbers stations. It's been quite a long time, but it's here now. Enjoy this resource to your heart's content! That why it's here!

Frequency Definitions / Theory

What is Frequency? Wiki

Radio Frequency Wiki

What Is Radio Frequency? 

Radio Frequency & Antenna Theory (PDF File)

ANTENNA SAFETY, POWERLINES, RF SAFETY

Antenna Safety & Powerlines by Ham Universe
The above link contains two safety videos that are Mandatory watching!

W0JEC RF Exposure & Safety Resource (Includes RF Exposure Calculator) 
   
Radio Frequency & Antenna Basics

Frequency Band Definitions

Antenna Theory & Basics

Radio Nature: RSGB

RSGB Antenna Books

Antenna Basics by HDTV Primer

Antenna Length Calculator

KB5WCK Antenna Calculator

ELF Antennas

Wikipedia ELF Tutorial

ELF Fields: A detailed guide

Longwave, LF and HF Antennas 

Wikipedia LF Primer

LF (Low Frequency) Antenna Theory by vias.org

Antennas For 3 to 30Mhz and AM Mode

Radio Waves Below 22Khz

NRL Low Frequency Antenna Development

OLFAR: Orbiting Low Frequency Antennas For Radio Astronomy

HF Antennas 101

HF Antennas - Ham Radio Library
This above link has TONS of antenna information
and just might be better than any other resource
out here!

K3MT's Grasswire Antenna

RadioReference HF Antenna Wiki

Cloud Warmer NVIS Antenna by Ham Universe

Medium Wave Antennas

Marc's Technical Pages: Antennas For MW Reception

K9AY Loop Antenna

Optimized MW Antenna Systems

Sarmento's Ferrite Rod Antenna For MW

Antennex - THE Place For Antenna Discussion & All Antenna Related Items

Shortwave Antennas

Understanding Shortwave Radio & Antennas

Hamuniverse - Build A Shortwave Antenna

Build A Broomstick Antenna by Arnie Coro

DX Zone - Shortwave Antenna Plans & Links

Homebrew Shortwave Antennas @ E-How

Hardcore DX - Birdfeeder Antenna

TDP Shortwave Antennas

Active Antenna Electronic Circuits

VHF Antennas

IW5EDI VHF Antenna Library

2 Meter Antennas

Slimjim 2 Meter Antenna

1.25 Meter Quickie Quarter Wave

1.25 Meter J-Pole

UHF Antennas

AC6V UHF Antenna Resource

70CM Eggbeater Antenna Resource

9Db, 70CM Collinear Antenna From Coax

70CM 2 and 4 Element Yagi's

70CM Super J-Pole

SHF Antennas

33CM Wiki

EHF Antennas

Curtain Quad Antenna, 1.296Ghz

Curtain Quad Antenna, 2.4Ghz

2.4Ghz Omni Antenna

2.4Ghz Sardine Can Antenna

Kent Electronics, WA5VJB

Shortened 3D Corner Reflector Antenna (PDF File)

Advanced Antenna Resources

Stealth Antennas

N4UJW Antenna Design Lab

Major Antenna Pages

The Radiotelegrapher

Tom, AB9NZ of the suburbs, near Chicago, IL has decided to join the Amateur Radio Journalism circle by creating a rather neat site over at posterous, called The Radiotelegrapher. Tom is a veteran Radio Man and a U.S. Veteran from the United States Air Force who is a friendly, skilled, outgoing man who has earned his respect from many to include this publication.

Tom worked NA1SS yesterday and spoke to Col. Wheelock on one of several International Space Station Orbit passes, a great accomplishment in itself! Welcome, Tom!

AB9NZ can often be found hanging around on the NORA Repeater, located in Glenview, IL on 147.090Mhz plus 600Khz and a 107.2PL. Tom was one of this author's first contacts and remains a great friend! Besides hanging out on NORA, Tom is proficient with the fine art of Morse Code (CW) and can be found on the CW portions of the HF bands.

Peoria Area Residents Cry Foul Over Amateur Radio

Central Illinois News has the most recent details, as does the Southgate Amateur Radio Club 

One neighbor involved in this high emotion fight over access to the amateur radio bands has threatened to erect an electric dog fence or to committ to other activities that would impede Craig Thompson's use of the amateur bands. What this neighbor doesn't seem to know is that it is illegal to knowingly and willingly interfere with any licensed radio operation, even amateur radio.

The biggest question being asked is: "How does Craig Thompson's amateur radio activities trump the right of the neighbors to a traditional country view?" Well, the law being referenced here as it pertains to the "right" to have an "unobstructed view" is itself misinterpreted. The law speaks to conservation of the land, and the rights of land owners to not have anything built on THEIR land without their consent. Mr. Thompson OWNS the land he is building on and it does not belong to the community or any of the neighbors, and there has not been any proven argument as to how any environmental danger is posed to the community or to the land itself. Trivoli neighbors also have yet to prove that they actually have such a right to not look at some specific object or a specifically guaranteed right to be without some specific class of structure that blocks their vision when it doesn't pose a major danger.

Trivoli neighbors say they want to challenge HR2160 and use force to derail it's passage in Congress. This doesn't seem very likely given the reality of the support behind this bill. Mr. Thompson obeyed the laws completely, and his towers will indeed be erected as planned, and his operations will take place because his Amateur Radio License gives him access to the frequencies he is operating on and regulation of the use and access to radio and television signals are strictly the domain of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and FCC laws trump local ordinances. 

One specific neighbor states to have concerns about a medical implant for his heart condition. This neighbor should know that the frequencies Mr. Thompson is operating on are well BELOW what would be a concern for such a device, and furthermore should be advised that his own home appliances pose more of a risk to him than Mr. Thompson's RF signals pose.

A paranoid bunch has attempted to get local officials, as well as fellow neighbors to believe that Mr. Thompson can "listen in" on their "telephone conversations". This is simply not true! It is illegal for anyone to listen to cellular phones and almost impossible even if it were legal because cellphones today are all digital spread spectrum devices. This means that the signals hop frequencies several times per second and are most likely encrypted.

Neighbors also complain that there will be "interference" to their televisions, telephones, and other home electronic devices. Amateur Radio equipment, if constructed properly, will not pose any of these problems unless the band opens up OR the manufacturer of the home electronics equipment made the devices poorly and this is almost always the case. Mr. Thompson's neighbors also need to be aware that FCC Part 15 states on each and every home electronic device that the device MUST accept any and all interference, may not cause harmful interference, and must accept even that interference which causes undesired operation.

Filters are available on the market in the event that any of this interference takes place. Filters are affordable, and available in mass quantity. If neighbors ever chose to blame Mr. Thompson for any interference, they would be hard pressed to actually prove that 1. Interference is indeed coming from Mr. Thompson's antennas and 2. That the interference is due to a lack of compliance with good engineering standards.

Shortwave America thumbs it's nose at the Trivoli neighbors and laughs while advising them to find a life.

Live Amateur Radio Webcast To Feature Well Known Companies

 This broadcast should be fun with all of these Amateur Radio Manufacturers all at one time! That's W5KUB.com and don't forget the Fall time change has occurred already, so you may want to adjust your time for this event if needed. Thanks to VA3UG for making this information available!

Understanding LF & HF Propagation: FREE E-Book

G0KYA and G3NYK over at RSGB have written an E-Book about LF and HF Propagation. They decided to make this detailed book available for free. Here is the original link to G0KYA's site 

To download this FREE PDF file, click on the link for Understanding LF & HF Propagation
Sponsored by the RSGB Propagation Studies Committee.  

Shortwave America Salute To U.S. Veterans

Happy Veterans day to all of the United States MARS Operators from your fellow Radioman! If you are a veteran, thank you for all you have done to make this a free country, for the contributions that no one else sees, and for the loyalty you have shown. If you are a family member of a veteran, whether living or dead, thank you for continuing to support the cause for freedom at every cost and never looking back!

Thank you to all branches of the U.S. Military for continuing to support MARS and have us around to be your auxillary radio communications source when you need trusted communications to get through in a hurry.