Tag Archives: Shortwave Radio

October 10: Let’s talk shortwave…and astronomy

PARIdish

I’ve been invited to speak at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI), a non-profit educational radio astronomy observatory (and former NASA tracking station as well as one-time NSA installation), in the mountains of western North Carolina.

I’ll be speaking about shortwave radio, of course–both its technical and cultural aspects–on October 10, 2014, at 7:00 pm EDT.  Afterwards, there will be a tour of the PARI campus, and an opportunity to stargaze with both amateur and professional astronomers.

Many thanks to my buddy, Ken Reitz, who shared this article about my presentation in the area’s local county newspaper; here’s my statement about the presentation:

“Shortwave radio is an international communications medium that has been in existence for nearly one hundred years,” said Witherspoon, “yet this vintage technology supports an ever-evolving multicultural landscape that, remarkably, remains relevant today. The Internet and mobile technologies have made the dissemination of information more readily accessible to many, yet shortwave radio remains viable and dynamic, and in many ways still outstrips the Internet.

“I plan to share some of shortwave radio’s diverse voices and investigate some of the technology used to receive them. So, if you are a shortwave enthusiast, or simply interested in learning more about shortwave, this program is for you and will be suitable for all ages.”

Read the full article here–and if you can make the journey, join us for shortwave and astrological fun. There is a small charge for the evening; all proceeds go towards PARI’s mission of providing public education in astronomy.

PARI is a stunning radio astronomy campus which will no doubt be accentuated by the mountains’ fall leaf colors on October 10. For PARI’s location, click here.

A tour of the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station

With a 160 degree bore sight, this slewable curtain antenna that can literally adjust its angle to target any portion of Latin America, South America and Cuba. The slewable antenna has no moving parts other than the slew switches; rather, it uses phase-shifting to steer the beam.
With a 160 degree bore sight, this slewable curtain antenna can literally adjust its angle to target any portion of Latin America, South America and Cuba. The slewable antenna has no moving parts other than the slew switches; rather, it uses phase-shifting to steer the beam.

For those of you, like me, who got their start in ham radio by listening to international broadcasters on the shortwaves, you might like the article I just posted on the SWLing Post.

It’s a tour of the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station in Greenville, North Carolina. Formerly known as VOA Site B, this IBB transmitting station has a global reach and a dedicated team keeping her running each and every day.

The article was published earlier this year in The Monitoring Times magazine. Since there was no worries with page space, I was able to include even more hi-res color photos in my blog post.

Click here to read the full article on the SWLing Post.

Enjoy!

 

CW on the pirate bands

SantaWireless-187x300Last night, I captured the pirate radio station Dit Dah Radio on 6,935 kHz (+/-) USB. I published the audio on my shortwave radio blog, The SWLing Post, where I post quite a lot of shortwave radio recordings.

I’m well aware that no law-abiding ham radio operator would ever broadcast as a pirate radio station. So this must be a non-ham, right? (OK, fess up!!!  Who was it???)

You’ll especially like their CW preamble (or, interval signal, I suppose) which they follow with The Capris’ 1960’s hit, Morse Code of LoveClick here to download, or listen in the embedded player below:

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

 

Google Doodle honors Heinrich Hertz’s 155th birthday

If you visit Google’s home page today, you’ll notice that their typical logo has been replaced with an animation of an undulating, multi-colored wave.

If you click on the wave, you’ll be taken to sites telling the story of Heinrich Rudolf Hertz.

We should all take a moment today to thank Hertz for his contribution to the radio spectrum. Indeed, it was Hertz who showed that electricity could be transmitted via electromagnetic waves. This laid the groundwork for developing wireless telegraph and radio. In the 1930’s the International Electrotechnical Commission decided that Hertz’s name would become the unit of frequency for our electromagnetic spectrum–the hertz (Hz)–about four decades after the his death.

To read the story of Hertz, I would suggest browsing his Wikipedia entry.

If you missed seeing the Google Doodle animation, check out the video below:

This isn’t the first time Google has honored an influential innovator in our radio world, a few years they had a Google Doodle tribute to Samuel Morse.

If you follow my other site, the SWLing Post, you’ll notice that this is a cross-posting.