STATIONS

• WOC, Davenport, Iowa - Here is a pamphlet called "A Personally Conducted Visit Thru WOC, Davenport, Iowa." This was the famous Palmer School of Chiropractic station, which, according to a 1925 issue of RADEX (Radio Index), operated in the broadcast band on 620 kc. (RADEX says the power was 1,500 watts, but the pamphlet says the transmitter was a 5,000 watter; see p. 22.) What makes this item interesting is the detail it contains about the station's appearance and operation. On the DX side, from p. 26: "At the time of our visit to WOC, Sweden, France, Holland, Russia, Italy, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia and the Samoan and Philippine Islands were numbered among the more distant points having reported reception, and many of these points, we were advised, tune in for the programs regularly and are seldom disappointed." The pamphlet is not dated, but its reference to the station having been on the air for three years would make it circa 1925. Could it be true, as mentioned on p. 27, that the station received over 100,000 letters in its first year, and that as many as 20,000 were received in a single week?!
• "Radio and the Spanish War" - Here is an article from the May 1938 issue of Radio News. We were reminded of this article when we recently received a nice e-mail from an ontheshortwaves follower in Spain who recognized the signature of his grandfather as the veri signer on Roger Legge's 1937 Radio Gurdia Civil (Spanish Morocco) QSL shown in the CPRV QSL Gallery. It is indeed a small world.
• Here is a brief, readable history of Radio Canada International. This pamphlet was prepared by RCI on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, and covers the years 1945-1995. It is printed in both English and French; these are the English pages.
• More TI4NRH - More on one of the very earliest and most famous SWBC stations, TI4NRH in Costa Rica. This is from the Fall 1930 issue of Radio Design, the house organ of the Pilot Radio & Tube Corp., Lawrence, Massachusetts, makers of the early "Wasp" series of shortwave receivers.
• August Balbi/Universal Radio DX Club - Here is an article authored by August Balbi that appeared in the 25th Anniversary edition of the Universalite, the bulletin of the Universal Radio DX Club, December 1958. Balbi was one of the greatest of the old timers, and this article relates some early DX history and much still-valid advice on various subjects.
• Four Articles from Radio Amateur - Here are four short articles, with photos, from several 1952-53 issues of the British publication Radio Amateur, which carried some shortwave broadcast news, including features. These articles are about the "new" Radio Canada Centre in Montreal; the Voice of Denmark; the Swiss Shortwave Service; and OTC and ORU, the Belgian National Broadcasting Service stations in the Belgian Congo and Belgium respectively.
• TI4NRH - An article written by its "Creator, Constructor and Program Director," Amando Cespedes Marin, and published in the July 1933 issue of Short Wave Craft. Although "NRH" started out with 7-1/2 watts, it was up to 150 watts by the time the article was written. It was widely heard throughout the world, and Sr. ACM was a well-known figure among DXers. For more on this station, see Don Moore's excellent article about his visit to the station, and other material about TI4NRH, at http://www.swl.net/patepluma/phistory.html
• Radio Swan - A two-part article on Radio Swan that was published in Popular Communications in November and December 1985. Thanks to PopComm for permission to post these. [Radio Swan-Part 1] [Radio Swan-Part 2]
• Radio Euzkadi - "The Mysterious Radio Euzkadi," Don Jensen's history of this Voice of the Basque Underground in Spain which appeared in the May 1983 issue of Popular Communications magazine. Also, from the collection of the Committee to Preserve Radio Verifications, a 1968 Euzkadi QSL and a recording of the station's ID from 1969.
• WUMS was one of the longest operating pirates, usually heard on the broadcast band. Here is the full story, courtesy of Popular Communications, plus a 1948 WUMS QSL from the Committee to Preserve Radio Verifications.
• Voice of America Brochures - Here are three multi-page pamphlets issued by the VOA.
• Radio Biafra - How many remember the original Radio Biafra from 1967-70? Read about it in Don Jensen's September 1987 Popular Communications article, "The Life And Death of Radio Biafra," posted with permission of PopComm.
• A pamphlet called "PCJ, Short Waves and Long Distances," issued by the the Philips radio station, early precursor to Radio Netherlands, from around 1929.
• Deutscher Kurzwellensender - A German-English copy of May 1938 program schedule of , Berlin, for "Zone V, North America," including a 1933 quote from Herr H. himself.
• Jacko, the Broadcasting Kookaburra
• Early U.S. Broadcasting - Bob LaRose of Escondido, CA has sent along three interesting articles concerning early U.S. "relay" broadcasting. While the emphasis in two of the articles is on the technical side, all articles provide interesting insights on how leading elements of the broadcast industry viewed international shortwave at the time.
• Is This the Oldest Catholic Radio Station in Latin America? by Michael Dorner.
• "London Calling the World." - Here is a copy of a pamphlet titled "London Calling the World." It originated in 1943 and describes in words and pictures the news prduction process for BBC overseas broadcasts at the time. It was published with the approval of the BBC, but apparently was authored by "The British Council" as one of its "Britain Advances" series covering "some of the things in which Britain has contributed notably to modern progress."
• "That Dragon Goebbels," a 1944 address to the Empire Club of Canada by S.J. DeLotbiniere, from the August 2007 Ontario DX Association bulletin, Listening In.
• Portishead Radio - Here is a well-illustrated history of the U.K. maritime station Portishead Radio from Jim Cumbie and his 1998 QSL from the station (which closed in 2000).
• Jim Cumbie of Dallas, Texas has sent in some interesting items about U.S. shortwave stations. They are in three collections: (1) WRUL-WYFR, consisting of two 1956 WRUL schedules and a brief history of WRUL's successor, WYFR; (2) KGEI, a Spanish-language brochure (with English translation) about the famous station, a brief KGEI history taken from the April-May 1985 of FEBC Broadcaster, and a KGEI QSL from 1955; and (3) Dixon, a history of the former VOA station in California.
• Radio SEAC, Ceylon - In the past we have posted some material about Radio SEAC in Ceylon. Here is a copy of the January 1948 issue of the station's "Forces' Radio Times," including the "BBC General Overseas Service" supplement. Check out the poem, "Radio Seduction," on the last page.
• KFKX, Hastings, Nebraska - A pamphlet issued circa 1923 by "Westinghouse Repeating Station" KFKX, Hastings, Nebraska. KFKX was built in connection with the experimental use of shortwave (c. 3200 kc.) at KDKA to send KDKA's broadcast band signal to the KFKX area, where it was rebroadcast on both the broadcast band and shortwave (2730 kc.), the latter intended for pick up by KGO in California. Although the pamphlet makes no mention of the Hotel Clarke in connection with the station, part of KFKX was once located there, as indicated on this postcard view of the hotel (which, judging from the cars, looks like it was issued around the same time as the pamphlet)
• Broadcasting and the Australian Post Office, 1923-1973 - Here is a brief but very nice (and illustrated) history of broadcasting in Australia published in 1973.
• KGEI - An ontheshortwaves supporter in California has sent along some interesting drawings related to KGEI, San Francisco. He used to work near KGEI, and obtained some drawings from the 1940s and other artifacts from FEBC when they closed KGEI. -- Drawing No. 1 is an NBC drawing showing KGEI probably as it was installed. No. 2 is the title block in the lower right hand corner of the drawing and No. 3 is the revision in the upper right hand corner. -- No. 4, "Proposed Additional Antennas" aimed at Asia and Australia, dated December 5, 1941, is the most interesting (remember what happened two days later). Knowing that the State Department asked GE to put a station on the air to counter Nazi propaganda in South America, and knowing that KGEI's antennas were directed to South America, why was KGEI thinking about expanding west? No. 5 is a detail of the drawing title. -- No. 6 is probably "as built" during the war with both KGEI and KGEX. Note the barracks; the site was guarded. Nos. 7 and 8 are details from the drawing.
• Also from Harold Cones, a January 1940 schedule from EIAR, the Italian shortwave station. The full pamphlet is 46 pages, of which we have scanned half.
• Here are two BCB items from Harold Cones of Newport News, Virginia: a folder containing a map and a list of American and Canadian broadcasting stations in 1938, and an NBC rate card from 1938.
• WJZ - Here is an interesting booklet from BCB station WJZ, New York City, with transmitters in Bound Brook, New Jersey. This is actually a QSL--see the handwritten verification statement on the inside front cover. There is also mention of shortwave on pages 10-11 and page 15. This is probably vintage 1924 or thereabouts.
• WTAS - Here is a 1924 booklet from WTAS, located at the Villa Olivia estate near Elgin, Illinois and broadcasting on 286 meters, circa 1050 kc. This pamphlet is a great window into various aspects of radio life in 1924. Check out the "Ten Radio Commandments" on p. 13. And if you're in the neighborhood, use the free pass for a station tour!
• Armed Forces Radio Service - DXer Tetsuya Hirahara in Tokyo sends along some photocopies obtained at the National Diet Library in Tokyo. These are the radio broadcast authorizations issued by the American GHQ/SCAP (Supreme Commander Allied Powers)-Far East Command for AFRS transmitters in Japan (three SW) and Pyongyang (one MW) in 1949 and 1950. I believe 4860 and 9605 kc. were the stations that had been known as "WVTR," the main AFRS station that been operating in Tokyo since the end of the war (see "CPRV QSL Gallery" for their QSL).
• The USCGC Courier - Some interesting souvenirs and news articles about the ship which served for many years as a floating radio station for the Voice of America.
• USCGC Courier Photos - Dave Newell, President of the USCGC Courier Association, has sent along some wonderful photos of the USCGC Courier. "Short Waves in Siberia")
• A cover and photo card of the USCGC Courier, which served as a floating "Voice of America" station from 1952-1964 in Rhodes, Greece.
• The USCGC Courier Revisited - Some interesting souvenirs and news articles about the ship which served for many years as a floating radio station for the Voice of America.
• KDKA - Here is a 1928 pamphlet from KDKA containing a list of American and other stations, photos of the KDKA facilities and station personalities, and a time line of KDKA "firsts." Note the references to pioneer stations KFKX and 8XK on page 2. Rather than enter his dial settings in the spaces provided, this listener preferred to make his notes on the cover!
• NHK Japan 1940 - Here are some excerpts from the June 1940 edition of the monthly schedule of NHK-Japan. This issue commemorated their fifth anniversary of overseas broadcasting. Included is a brief summary of their first five years, their schedule, some letters from listeners, and a map showing the number of listener letters received during the five year period.
• Miscellaneous Radio Items 1972-74 - Walt Salmaniw of Victoria, British Columbia, has been doing a little shack cleaning and sent some scans of some interesting miscellaneous things from the 1972-74 period. These are (1) a Saudi Arabia schedule; (2) an envelope from Difusoras del Uruguay; (3) a Radio Liberty schedule (with sites); (4) an envelope with a Canadian SWL International imprint; (5) and two views of a schedule from Radio Cordac, Bujumbura, Burundi (side 1, side 2).
• Forces Radio Times - Produced by the (British) Forces Broadcasting Service, M.E.L.F. (Middle East Land Forces), in conjunction with the BBC, Cairo, and showing the program lineup for September 15-21, 1946. Times and frequencies for many of the "J" stations are shown. Most are medium wave, but note the daily schedule for "Middle East Short Wave Station JCKW," 7220 kc., at the bottom of each page. FBS via R. Athens is featured on the last page, along with programming for Indian troops over MW station JFPB in a place called . . . Basrah. Also, see "The CPRV Gallery" for QSLs from JCKW (Jerusalem, 1945) and FBS-MELF (Malta HQ, 1949).
• BBC - Here is a brochure promoting the North American Service of the BBC. This pamphlet probably dates from the 1950s.
• KDKA North Canada Service - In the 1920s, Westinghouse transmitted programs to the Canadian north by way of the experimental shortwave channels of some of their AM stations, specifically KDKA-Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, WBZ/WBZA-Boston/Springfield, Massachusetts, and KFKX-Hastings, Nebraska. Here is a brochure about the service, produced by the Oblate Fathers circa 1927, along with an accompanying postcard.
• VNG - Some photos and a recording from VNG, the Australian time signal station that was often heard until its close on December 31, 2002.
• Postcards - Here are some postcard views of stations: WLW; Broadcasting House in Oslo, Norway, 1949; a radio station in Motala, Sweden; a 1942 view of the RCA "Radio Central" at Rocky Point, Long Island, New York; an undated view of the broadcast house in Berlin; and an undated postcard of a station in China.
• More Postcards - More station postcards: two 1935 views of the facility of WCAU, Philadelphia; two views of PRA8, Radio Clube de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazill: and another view of the RCA transmitting facility at Rocky Point, Long Island.
• Station ID Sheet - A sheet from Radio News containing info on IDs and interval signals from shortwave stations. This appears to be from the 1930s.
• Jim Cumbie of Texas sends along an article from Radio News, May 1927, ("Short Waves in Siberia") about a combination utility-amateur station in Tomsk, Siberia.
• A drawing, sent along by Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, from Revista Telegrafica, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1927, on the occasion of the worldwide broadcast of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony by Philips station PCCJ.
• A 1947 schedule in Portuguese from Radio Clube de Angola.
• BBC Broadcasting House 1944 - A picture of the cover of a 1944 BBC Spanish language leaflet showing Broadcasting House.
• Estacion Paradizabal - Cover of Argentine magazine 'Revista Radiotelefonica,' 1922, showing a drawing of the antenna of the first station in Montevideo, Estacion Paradizabal, located on the roof of the Hotel Florida - from Horacio A. Nigro, Uruguay.
• A photo from Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, from an 1947 Argentine magazine showing the control room for a station in "Gold Coast, Africa" that may be the predecessor to the current Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
• "The BBC's original plans for its relay stations on Ascension Island and the Seychelles" by Alan Davies, Southeast Asia.
• A brochure from 1961 celebrating the 5th anniversary of ELWA, Liberia.

RECORDINGS

• Here are some recordings from Colombian SW stations. Most of these were made in the 1970s, which doesn't seem that long ago, except that all of them, and nearly all the other Colombian stations that once populated the 60 and 49 meter bands, are now long gone from SW. Included in this group are: (1) La Voz del Caqueta, Florencia, 5035 kHz. (1976); (2) La Voz del Huila, Neiva, 6150 kHz. (1976); (3) Ondas del Darien, Turbo, 6085 kHz. (1976); (4) R. Bucaramanga, 4845 kHz. (1977); (5) R. Guatapuri, Valledupar, 4915 kHz. (1975); (6) R. Mira, Tamuco, 6015 kHz. (1979); and (7) R. Sutatenza, Bogota, 5075 kHz. (1977). Also in the group is a more recent recording, Ecos del Orinoco, Puerto Carreno, testing on 4905 kHz. in 1995. Did anyone ever QSL them?
• Here are some recordings of Venezuelan shortwave stations made in the 1970s. They are: La Voz del Tigre, 3255 kHz. (1976); La Voz de Carabobo, 4780 (1975); Ondas Panamericanas, 3215 (1976; weak, ID at :40); Radio Lara, 4800 (1975); Radio Universidad, 3395 (1975); Radio Puerto La Cruz, 3365 (1978); Radio Tricolor, 4820 (1976); Radio Angostura, 6120 kHz. (1975); Radio Barcelona, 3385 (1976); Radio Carora, 4910 (1976); Radio Frontera, 4760 (1976); Radio Monagas, 3325 (1976), Radio Trujillo, 3295 (1975); Radio Valles del Tuy, Ocumare del Tuy, 6129 kHz. (1982); Radio Sensacion, Caracas, 5999 kHz. (1980); Radio Tachira (in English), San Cristobal, 4830 kHz. (1983); Radio Nacional (also English), Caracas, 15400 kHz. (1978); Radio Libertador, Caracas, 3245 kHz. (1975); and R. Maracaibo, 4860 kHz. (1975).
• U.S. Shortwave Stations - Here are some recordings of some of the U.S. shortwave stations that came on in the 1980s. Most were made while the stations were still testing. WRNO was the first commercial SWBC station approved by the FCC since WINB came on the air in 1962, and the others followed. The recordings are: WRNO, New Orleans, Louisiana, 11965 kHz., 1982; KCBI, Dallas, Texas, 11790, 1985; WHRI, Noblesville, Indiana, 11780, 1985; WCSN, Scotts Corner, Maine, 6160, 1987; KUSW, Salt Lake City, Utah, 15225, 1988; and WWCR, Nashville, Tennessee, 15690, 1989.
• Clandestine Stations - If there was a "golden age" of DXing clandestine stations for North American listeners, it began in the late 1970s when numerous stations opposed to the governments in Nicaragua, Cuba, and El Salvador took to the air. Most operated in and around the 40 meter ham band and suffered interference accordingly. Here are some that may bring back memories. From Cuba--R. Abdala, 7085 kHz., November 1977; R. Libertad Cubana, 7092 kHz., January 1980; La Voz de la Alpha 66, 7050 kHz., August 1980; and La Juventud Progresista Cubana, 7055 kHz., March 1981. And the Nicaraguan FSLN station, R. Sandino, 7702 kHz., recorded on June 13, 1979, about a month before the Somoza government fell. Added: A recording of R. Sandino made by Rich McVicar on July 17, 1979, the day the Somoza government fell.
• Radio Australia Mailbag Program - Every SWL who was listening from the late 1940s to 1980 remembers the Radio Australia mailbag program, which was hosted by Keith Glover for 25 of those years. Here is a recording of the last mailbag show, aired on December 28, 1980.
• Here are a few audio clips from Jerry Berg of stations that have "gone dark" on shortwave: from Haiti, 4VEH, 9770 kHz, 1977, and R. Citadelle, 6156 kHz, 1979; from El Salvador, R. Nacional de El Salvador, 9553 kHz, 1980; from Martinique, France Region 3, 3315 kHz, 1976; and from Belize (formerly British Honduras), R. Belize, 3285 kHz, 1977.
• 1982 Falklands War - Some memories of the 1982 Falklands war with audio clips of the British "Radio Atlantico del Sur," Argentine "Liberty" (or "Argentine Annie" as she was called), and the Falkland Islands Broadcasting Station. Along with the audio clips are QSLs for the stations heard during that period.
• DX Partyline - Here is a recording from Chris Lobdell of the last "DX Partyline" that was produced by long-time HCJB radio personalities Helen and Clayton Howard. Also shown is a picture of the Howards, issued at the time.
• The "Tupamaros" - Here are 2 historic audio clips recorded by Horacio Nigro of radio broadcasts of the "Tupamaros" - "Movimiento de Liberaci��n Nacional," a subversive leftist group that flourished in Uruguay in the 1960s and 70s.
• XMHD - A 78 rpm record (undated) that was apparently used as a promotional item for a station in Shanghai, China, XMHD, the China Christian Broadcasting Association.
• Nicaragua - Some recordings from Nicaraguan stations no longer on shortwave.
• CQM, Emissora da Guine in Bissau, Portuguese Guinea - The days when stations in the Portuguese colonies could be heard on shortwave are long gone. Jerry Berg heard Emissora da Guine in Bissau in 1959 on 7948 kHz. and sent them a reel-to-reel tape which they over-recorded and returned to him. Here is the station's recording along with Jerry's QSL of the reception.
• Windward Islands Broadcasting Service - Revisiting a station of the past and its successors, Radio Free Grenada and Radio Grenada. Included are several recordings by Jerry Berg and Ed Shaw along with two QSLs from the station.
• Radio Free America was Dr. Carl McIntire's "pirate" station that broadcast briefly over 1160 kHz. from a former mine sweeper off the New Jersey coast. Here is a recording from Larry Magne, Editor-in-Chief of Passport to World Band Radio, from September 19, 1973.
• Here are additional recordings from Bob LaRose: R. Luxembourg (1973), R. Mexico (1969), R. Pakistan (1969), R. RSA, South Africa (1969), and R. Stantsiya Rodina, USSR (1969).
• Here is a recording from Jerry Berg of Radiodiffusion Congolaise, Leopoldville, 1961, along with the letter and a photo of English announcer Althea Campbell who can be heard on the recording.
• Here are some more recordings from Bob LaRose, namely R. Peyk-e Iran (1969), R. Espana Independiente (1969), R. Euzkadi (1969), and R. Libertad (1969, an apparently CIA-run anti-Castro station).
• Bob LaRose of Escondido, CA has sent along some nice shortwave station recordings that he made mainly during the years 1968-69. Featured this week are a R. Cairo test to Europe (June 1969); HISD, Dominican Republic (1969); R. Station Peace & Progress, USSR (1969); XERH, Mexico (1968); and a nice Christmas greeting (and reference to the Apollo 8 mission) from WNYW, New York (1968).
• One of the most listened to letter programs back in 1958 was "Saturday Night Club" from OZF, the Voice of Denmark, on 9520 kHz. Here is a recording of program host Marianne Linard sending greetings to Jerry Berg, along with a picture of her from the 1958 World Radio Handbook. Boost the treble on your Realplayer for best audio on this one.
• Stations of the Past: La Voz de Galapagos, Ecuador, 4810 kHz, December 8, 1985, and Radio Los Andes, Huamachuco, Peru, 5030 kHz., December 7, 1985; both submitted by ace Latin American DXer Henrik Klemetz of Sweden who was in Ecuador when he recorded them.
• ELWA, although the station has now become a fairly rare catch on 4760 kHz, older listeners may recall the days when ELWA operated major international services over its 10 and 50 kw transmitters in Liberia, including a Tuesday night (local time) broadcast to North America. The station was founded in 1954 and was widely heard in the years thereafter. In July 1961, Jerry Berg sent them a taped reception report on a new frequency they were using at the time, 11975 kc/s. Much to his surprise, on their North American request program of September 5, 1961, host Jim Pelley featured his report and played his recording over the air. He also sent him this studio recording of the program. What is novel (in addition to hearing Jerry when he was 17 years old) is that they played his tape recording over the air. So you can hear not only the September 5 program, but within it Jerry's original tape of their signal as he recorded it on July 25, 1961.
• ETLF, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a 100 kw., station, was established by the Lutheran World Federation in 1963. Jerry Berg heard them and sent them a taped report (those were the days of 3" reel-to-reel tapes), and in reply they sent him a tape containing their ID and some Ethiopian music. This is part of that tape. ETLF was taken over by the government and became the Voice of Revolutionary Ethiopia in 1977.
• The late Arne Skoog was the DX Editor of Radio Sweden's venerable DX program, "Sweden calling DXers," for many years. Here is his voice in a tape recorded message sent to Jerry Berg circa 1961.
• Radio SEAC, Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), operated from 1944 to 1949 to provide entertainment, news and a link with home for servicemen in the Southeast Asia Command. We are indebted to Eric Hitchcock of the U.K. for providing this rare recording of a Sunday night U.K. beam of R. SEAC. This is from disks cut in the R. SEAC studio.
• A recording of WLWO, Bethany, Ohio, July 20, 1959, at 1630 UTC on 15250 kHz .
• A recording of Voice of America, Tangier, July 20, 1959, at 2030 UTC on 15295 kHz .
• A recording of Voice of Free Korea from 1961 on 11925 kHz at 0530 UTC, recorded in Japan by NSB "DX Time" Producer Jun Kato.
• A recording of "The Dragon Show," Voice of Free China (BCC), Taiwan from 1961 on 6095 kHz at 1130 UTC, recorded in Japan by NSB "DX Time" Producer Jun Kato.
• A recording of Radio Liberty (via Taiwan) from 1961 on 9720 kHz at 0700 UTC, recorded in Japan by NSB "DX Time" Producer Jun Kato.
• A recording of FEN-Japan, on 6155 kHz, made some time in 1961 at 0100 GMT, recorded in Japan by NSB "DX Time" Producer Jun Kato.
• "The Amazing World of Short Wave Listening" - In 1959, the Hallicrafters Company produced this 14-minute, 45 rpm promotional record, narrated by noted "Man on the Go" journalist Alex Dreier.
• BBC's "This is London", 50th anniversary recording. Horacio Nigro in Uruguay has posted on his webpage at http://www.angelfire.com/my/radiohobby/bbc50a.html the audio of an English-language vinyl record issued by BBC on its 50th Anniversary (1982). It is narrated by Mr. Leo McKern, and each side is nearly half an hour. The files are in RealAudio (.rm) format. Open the Real Player, go to "File," "Open Location" and paste the link http://www.angelfire.com/my/radiohobby/bbc50a.rm for side A and http://www.angelfire.com/my/radiohobby/bbc50b.rm for side B. The webpage also shows the contents of both sides. Various historical events are featured, with commentary about various aspects of the BBC itself. This webpage was originally created by Horacio to help a DX colleague on the Hard-Core DX List who asked for BBC historical audio.

SWLING & DXING

• The Day You Had To Pay - Radio Receiving Licenses in Canada by Dan Greenall, from the April 2007 Ontario DX Association bulletin, Listening In.
• The "WPE" Monitor Registration Program - From 1959 through 1970, Popular Electronics magazine sponsored a "Monitor Registration" program for radio listeners. This article is a look back at the program through the years and the familiar "WPE" callsigns many of us had.
• A 1954-55 Boy Scouts of America reprint of some SWL articles that appeared in Boy's Life magazine at that time.
• Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, sends along two scans of a Philco Spanish language log card designed for medium wave.

CLUBS & PUBLICATIONS

• Universalite - Here is a copy of the July 1956 issue of the Universalite, bulletin of the Universal Radio DX Club. Founded in 1933, and in operation until 1961, it was usually published monthly, twice monthly from October to April. The club was run by Charles C. Norton of Hayward (later Vallejo) California. By the post-war years, broadcast band coverage had been dropped and, as this issue illustrates, the bulletin was split between SWBC (including utility stations) and amateur listening. Over time, ham band coverage declined and SWBC coverage increased, and by the late 1950s the URDXC was principally a SWBC club. Among its shortwave editors were such well-known DXers as Marvin E. Robbins, Al Niblack, Robert J. Hill, David Morgan, John A. Callarman, William F. Flynn, Ernest R. Behr, and C. M. Stanbury II.
• Club bulletins really convey the DX environment of their day. Here are two copies of the Globe Circler, bulletin of the International DXers Alliance, which was headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. They are from March 1934 and February 1936. As with many DX clubs, the early emphasis was on medium wave, with the focus on shortwave increasing over time. This can be seen in the shortwave content of these two bulletins, which was much more extensive in 1936 than in 1934.
• Shortwave Clubs and World War II - A few pages from the bulletins of the International Short Wave Club and the International DXers Alliance, giving a flavor of the post-Pearl Harbor times.
• 40 Years of the North American Shortwave Association by Don Jensen.
• A Retrospective on ANARC's Early Years by Richard A. D'Angelo.
• The Founding of the International Short Wave Club in Klondyke, Ohio by George Zeller.
• "DX Journal" - Here is an issue of DX Journal, a small newsletter that appeared briefly in 1950.  It was edited by Raymond S. Moore, then of Rowley, Massachusetts, who many years later authored the several editions of Communications Receivers:  The Vacuum Tube Era.
• The Dialist - Here is the first issue of the Newark News Radio Club's early publication, the Dialist. The NNRC was formed in 1927, but it did not have its own publication separate from the coverage in the newspaper until 1934 when the Dialist was established. Only six issues were published; in 1935 the Dialist was replaced with the mimeographed NNRC Bulletin that became familiar reading to countless DXers for almost five decades. In 1934 the NNRC was a mediumwave-only club. Shortwave coverage did not begin until 1935. The look and feel of the Dialist is a reminder of how different an era it was, and not just in DX.
• Newark News Radio Club - Several histories of the Newark News Radio Club that were published in the NNRC bulletin to commemorate the club's 25th, 40th and 50th anniversaries. Also shown is a 1962 newspaper obituary of Irving Potts, President and guiding light of the NNRC, and a photo from 1956 taken at the summer NNRC Convention.
• More NNRC History - Specifically from the July 1965 issue. One page of that issue contains an interesting summary of some of the newspaper coverage of DX back in 1928, drawn from the Newark Sunday Call and the Newark Sunday News of that year. In addition, the front page of the bulletin contains a reference to a 1932 broadcast from 15-watt Brantford, Ontario medium wave station 10-BQ. It so happens that a recent QSL collection received by the Committee to Preserve Radio Verifications from Sidney R. Steele of Toledo, Ohio contains a QSL from 10-BQ (1933), and also QSLs from Stratford, Ont. station 10-AK (1935) and Wingham, Ont. station 10-BP (1933, 25 watts).
• More 1951 NNRC Convention - Here is a look at Mapine Farm today, site of the 1951 NNRC convention, in Lansdale, PA.
• 1951 NNRC Convention - For many years, through 1951, the NNRC held a summer convention at a place called Mapine Farm (Lansdale, PA), which was the home of NNRCers Harold and Mary Robinson. The accompanying report on the 1951 convention describes what these events were like. And from an early NNRC bulletin we have a map of how to get there!
• "Two Decades of Service to DX-ers" - We have already posted histories of the NNRC written in 1952, 1967 and 1977.  Here is another, earlier version written by Carleton Lord and appearing in the December 1947 edition of the NNRC Bulletin.
• NNRC "High Frequencies" Column, 1942-1945 - Ever wonder what was on the shortwave bands in the 1940s? Here are copies of four NNRC "High Frequencies" shortwave sections from 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945. Gustav Siegfried Eins-9545, Radio Saigon-11780, Radio Congo Belge-11720, Radio Centre Moscow-15750, VE9AI-9540, XGOY-11900 . . . sigh!
• Some scans from Henrik Klemetz of early DXing publications, this time two from Sweden. "Sweden Calling DXers," one of the best known DX programs of all time, was on the air from 1948 to 2001 (by then it was called MediaScan). In addition to the weekly radio program, "SCDX" issued a weekly printed DX sheet. Here are pictures of the front and back of No. 187, September 22, 1951. Regarding the music shown on the back, Henrik notes: "This is ALL the music that was broadcast in the course of ONE WEEK on the sole home service channel of Radio Sweden. No wonder Swedes turned to shortwave for some more music."Next are four covers of Nattugglan, or "The Night Owl," which was the first and foremost DX monthly in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The covers are from May 1948, January 1949, January 1950 and August 1951. Also shown is a copy of an advertisement for the World Radio Handbook that appeared in a 1948 issue of Nattugglan.
• First Canadian DX Relay Convention - Here is an interesting album created by Arthur L. Robb of Topeka, Kansas, the most distant attendee at the First Canadian DX Relay Convention in St. Catharines, Ontario on August 31, 1935. (The Canadian DX Relay was about three years old at the time and billed itself as Canada's only DX club.) Most of the album contains sightseeing photos, neatly mounted and labeled with white ink. However, there are some interesting radio-related items as well: a "Most Distant Visitor" card; an envelope from The Welland House, where the meeting took place; a newspaper article about the meeting; and a photo of CKTB, which provided a tour. The album also contains some post-convention items: 1936 and 1942 newspaper articles about BCB DX specials which Robb reported (KRNR and KRJF), a sheet of Canadian DX Relay stationery, and a "Radio DX Fan" card. The most interesting thing to me is that the authors of the newspaper articles never felt it necessary to explain what "DX" was!
• "Short Wave Hints and Helps" - Here is a pamphlet from the International Short Wave Club when it was headquarterd in East Liverpool, Ohio. This primer describes the club and gives information on how to identify stations, how and where to send reports, etc. The ISWC operated from the U.S. from 1929 to 1942 and from the U.K. from 1946 to approximately 1970. This pamphlet is undated, but from the station lists I would place it in the mid 1930s. For a fuller history of the club, see George Zeller's article, "The Founding of the International Short Wave Club in Klondyke, Ohio."
• The American Shortwave Listeners Club is most often associated with Stew MacKenzie who became its Publisher in 1966 and Executive Editor in 1967. However, the club was founded in 1959 by Ken MacNeilage and Maxey Irwin. Here are two early copies of the club bulletin, "SWL," one from January 1960 (the second issue of the bulletin [p. 4 is missing]) and the other from March 1960. Thanks to Bob LaRose for these.
• The ISWC Anti-Jamming Campaign - After the International Short Wave Club ceased operations in the U.S. in May 1942 and reappeared in the U.K. four years later, its two best known hobby-wide projects would be its periodic shortwave station popularity polls and the ISWC anti-jamming campaign. The anti-jamming campaign was basically a personal project of the club's leader, Arthur Bear. It began in 1956. It was not universally embraced within the hobby, in part due to the stridency of ISWC statements on the subject. Bear named not only the jammers and the western stations that were said to incite the jamming, but also those hobby organizations that did not fully embrace the anti-jamming campaign. Here are four front pages of ISWC bulletins from 1958 which illustrate the tone of the campaign.
• Sweden Calling DXers - Here are some early "scripts" of "Sweden Calling DXers." The program, which was broadcast over Radio Sweden on Tuesday nights, mailed these two-sided DX sheets to contributors, and they were a valuable source of DX news. SCDX began in 1948. It morphed into MediaScan in the 1980s, but by then was focused on satellite broadcasting rather than shortwave. The editor who was most associated with SCDX is Arne Skoog, who died in 1999. These scripts are from 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1963, and come to us from Bob LaRose of San Diego, California, who was active during the 1960s.
• Membership Cards & Certificates - Radio clubs flourished in the 1950s and 1960s and members would often receive cards or certificates upon joining. Here is an assortment of membership cards and certificates issued to the late California DXer, Bill Flynn.
• Chicago Short Wave Radio Club - This club was one of many regionally-based SWBC clubs in the 1930s.��Here is a September 1935 issue of its four-page bulletin, Short Wave Radio Reception News, published every two weeks.��In addition to brief narrative notes about specific stations heard, it includes a station list, arranged by frequency, showing reception quality over the previous two weeks.��If you would still like to join, mail in the membership form with the $1 annual dues.
• NNRC "High Frequencies" Column, 1942-1945 - Ever wonder what was on the shortwave bands in the 1940s? Here are copies of four NNRC "High Frequencies" shortwave sections from and 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945. Gustav Siegfried Eins-9545, Radio Saigon-11780, Radio Congo Belge-11720, Radio Centre Moscow-15750, VE9AI-9540, XGOY-11900 . . . sigh!
• International Short Wave Radio News - An early shortwave bulletin (1930) from the International Short Wave Radio League, headquartered in Boston.

LISTS, LOGS, GUIDES & COLUMNS

• The Silvertone World Wide Radio Log of 1934 - Silvertone was a Sears brand, and the Silvertone "logs" were published into at least the late 1940s, albeit in a smaller format in the latter years. This issue contains, in addition to the expected advertising for Silvertone receivers and other radio products, lists of U.S. BCB stations, a world time chart and a time zone map, "Ten Rules for Better Short Wave Reception," "How to identify Most popular Stations by Their Signatures," and "World's Shortwave Stations" and "Best Short Wave Stations" (by frequency).
• "First Class World Tours via the Superb New RCA Victor Magic Brain Instruments" was published in 1936. In addition to promoting the RCA "Magic Brain" receivers and instructing readers on how to use them, it contained a basic introduction to shortwave broadcasting and shortwave reception, lists of worldwide shortwave stations, American broadcast stations on shortwave, and domestic AM stations, and a glossary of radio terms and "Magic Brain" key words. The pamphlet also describes the RCA "Magic Eye" tuning eye. Some RCA radios of the day featured a "Magic Voice" speaker, and RCA also sold a "Magic Brain" record player. Be sure to check your tubes (back cover)!
• The "On the Short Waves" book and website are named after a column that appeared in Radio News from July 1928 to June 1929 and that was one of the first columns in any popular American magazine that was devoted exclusively to short wave broadcasting. Here are two "On the Short Waves" columns from the February and March 1929 issues of the magazine. The type is a little small, but careful reading of these columns will give a good feel for the status of SWBC SWLing at the time.
• Scott Allwave Short Wave Station Schedule - Here is another E. H. Scott item, a brochure called the "Scott Allwave Short Wave Station Schedule." This is a 1934 item containing news of the BBC, France, Germany, Spain, and Australia, a chart covering the transmissions of U.S. and foreign shortwave stations, and instructions on "How To Tune On Short Waves With Scott Allwave Fifteen."
• "Globe Girdling" - One of the most popular DX magazines of the 1930s was "All Wave Radio." Here is its shortwave editor, J. B. L. Hinds of Yonkers, New York, with the January 1936 edition of his column, "Globe Girdling."
• 1939 Scott Foreign and U.S. Short Wave Tuning Guide - Here is another E. H. Scott item. After you bought your Scott receiver, you could use this booklet to tell you how to tune and what stations to listen for. It features an introductory section, "How to Get Results On Short Waves," along with schedules of U.S. shortwave stations, a very nice list of stations worldwide, a world time chart, great circle map of the world centered on New York, and a list of U.S. BCB stations.
• J. B. L. Hinds "Picks the Ten Best" - What would be your vote for the "Ten Best Foreign Short Wave Stations"?��Here are the picks of editor J. B. L. Hinds in his first article for the shortwave section ofShort Wave Radio magazine, July 1934.
• "These You Can Hear" - 1947 publication by the Amalgamated Short Wave Press of London, reprinting a series of station profiles that had appeared in the British monthly, "Short Wave News."
• Marconi World Radio Atlas - This atlas appears to have been issued in the late 1930s. It contains information about the Canadian Marconi Company factory, shortwave--the "thrill band" of radio, propagation, how to tune, and how to obtain QSLs. This is followed by a list of shortwave stations of the world, "Empire" transmissions from Daventry, and a list of North American BCB stations.
• The 1961 "Hallicrafters Guide to Short Wave Listening" - Just what possessed Hallicrafters to publish this pamphlet in a 2" wide x 3" long format I don't know, but here it is, with all you needed to know to get started, including information about receivers and a list of stations to try for.  Promised its author:  "Only by short wave radio can you become a witness to history as it occurs.  And only through short wave can you hear, in a single day, a Wagnerian opera from Heidelburg . . . a news broadcast from behind the iron curtain . . . and an airport control tower bringing in a crippled plane.  Every moment of every day and night, Short Wave brings into your home an absorbing new interest--a fascinating way to keep up with international affirs, to be informed and stay informed."
• "Broadcasting Stations of the World" - Thanks to Tetsuya Hirahara of Japan, who has brought to our attention a University of Illinois link http://hdl.handle.net/10111/UIUCOCA:Serial/broadcastingstat where full copies of various of issues of "Broadcasting Stations of the World" from 1953 to 1974 are posted in several formats.  BSW was published by the U.S.Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service (later Foreign Broadcast Information Service) most years until 1974. Although this site says the first issue was published in 1946, we have an early edition of BSW that is dated August 1, 1945. It is too long to scan in its entirety (66 pages), but here are the introductory pages and the pages covering the 60, 90 and 120 meter bands.
• "Simplified World-Wide Radio Log," advised that "Mystery, Romance, Adventure and Thrills Aplenty to Be Found in New Greater Field Opened Up by Short Wave Radio." This 16-page pamphlet from 1934 contained just about all you needed to get started: an explanation of propagation, descriptions of stations (there is Eddie Startz on p. 7), logs of shortwave broadcast, BCB and utility stations, and, on the back cover, an ad for some Stewart-Warner "Round-the-World Radios."
• The Philips Daily Shortwave Guide - From the U.K., the "Philips Daily Shortwave Guide, arranged by the hour" contains no date but appears to be from the 1930s. The U.S. stations exchanged their "X" calls for four-letter calls in 1939, and this booklet still reflects the former. Note the reference to "Br. India," and the use of wavelength rather than frequency.
• From Harold Cones, a pamphlet from the Radio Manufacturers Association and lists the American newspapers that carried information about programs on shortwave. It is quite a long list. Zoom in on pages 4 and 5 for some interesting cuttings from the papers. This piece is undated, but one of the cuttings carries a 1936 date.
• Dial of the World - "Thrills, entertainment, education are at the command of the D-X fan . . ." says Stewart-Warner in a nice 16-page promotional booklet. There are instructions on how to tune (the lesson seems to be to "Tune Slowly"), photos of world events and some well-known stations, and a list of shortwave, longwave, mediumwave and police stations. The back cover contains advertising for their Ferrodyne Round-the-World shortwave radios. This booklet contains no dates, but it appears to be from the mid-1930s.
• WRTH Brochures - Here are some advertising brochures for the World Radio TV Handbook from the years 1967, 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1978. (Tnx to Michael Schmitz in Germany for the 1967 brochure.)
• Band Survey - Here is a band survey from the February 1957 NNRC Bulletin, listing all Caribbean, Central American and South American stations reported to be operating between 3 and 8 MHz. The list shows frequency, call letters and station name and location. On the right there are two columns showing the approximate times, morning and evening (EST), when the stations were heard. Keep in mind that this is not a survey of all stations heard in these bands--just those from the Americas. Read and weep.
• Kohler & Campbell Radio Log - In the 1920s, and even later, medium wave "radio logs," with lists of stations and places to enter dial readings were issued as promotional items by many different kinds of organizations--schools, markets, shoe companies, insurance firms, and, as this week's colorful item attests, piano companies, in this case Kohler & Campbell of Littleton, New Hampshire. This is from 1927. Note that station channels are shown only in meters, not kilocycles, and the original owner has enteerd a couple of dial readings from long ago.
• Radio Wheels - photos of several radio "wheels" that were used as aids in tuning. Included are wheels from Hallicrafters, Lines & Fitzpatrick, and Crosley.
• German Station Lists - Wolfgang Bueschel in Germany sends along two pictures of station lists taken by Bernhard Weiskopf, Mannheim, Germany at an exhibition of pre-World war II radio sets held by Prof. S��ll in Neu-Isenburg, near Frankfurt am Main. These LW and MW listings are from around the 1941-1944 era. Note that the Podebrad site in occupied Czechoslavakia is listed, along with various stations that are still on the air, e.g. Warsaw 224 (now 225), Luxembourg 232 (now 234), Stuttgart Muehlacker 574 (now 576), Vienna Bisamberg 592 (now ITU registered 585), Prague 638, Leipzig Wiederau 785 (now 783), and Warsaw 1384 (now Kaliningrad Bolshakovo [soon Sitkunai, Lithuania] 1386).
• Radio Design (Spring 1930) - Another review of SW logs from the Pilot Radio & Tube Corp. house organ, Radio Design, this time the Spring 1930 isue. Actually, the heart of these logs is a reprint of part of the February 10, 1930 issue of the bulletin of the International Short Wave Club of Klondyke, Ohio. There is an introductory feature about the club, including a photo of the club's founder, Arthur J. Green. For the definitive history of the ISWC, see George Zeller's article, "The Founding of the International Short Wave Club in Klondyke, Ohio."
• Radio Design (1929) - A 1929 article about the shortwave broadcasting stations of the world, their times and frequencies. It also included a world time chart. This is the first of several such articles that appeared in the magazine Radio Design, the house organ of the Pilot Radio and Tube Corp., Brooklyn manufacturer of the "Wasp" series of shortwave receivers. We will present more from Radio Design in the future.

QSLS & OTHER STATION MEMORABILIA

• Let's Hear It for Applause Cards.
• Two QSLs from Art Collins, founder of Collins Radio, Cedar Rapids, Iowa - by Bill Smith.
• Certificates - Here are some of the certificates of achievement that many DXers have enjoyed collecting. From clubs past and present, they are: Boys' Life Radio Club "DXer" award (QSLing all continents), 1958; International Radio Club of America (IRCA), 2,800 BCB stations verified, 1973; International Shortwave Club (ISWC) "Heard All Continents" award; International Short Wave League (ISWL) (U.K.) "Century Award" (100 countries), 1958; NNRC "Certificate of Achievement" award, 30 zones verified, 1971; NNRC "Certificate of DX Qualification," 400 BCB stations verified, 1947 (updated to 1,000 in 1952); NNRC "Certificate of Merit" award, 100 BCB stations verified, 1946 (with stickers, including one for 1,100 stations, 1951); NNRC "Super Ace" certificate, 500 BCB stations QSLed, 1947; NNRC "Short Wave Explorer," 1958; National Radio Club (NRC) "Medium Wave DXer Award," 51 countries verified, 1965; NRC "DX Award" certificates for verifying eight Canadian provinces (1980) and 2,876 BCB stations (1977); SPEEDX "African Listener" certificate with stickers for 15, 25, 50, 75 and 100 stations heard (1989); and a Universal Radio DX Club "Countries Heard Certificate" for 182 countries. These certificates are from the collections of Eugene S. Allen, William F. Flynn, John C. Herkimer, Roger Legge, Robert S. Knox, and Jerry Berg.
• More Certificates - More certificates, this time membership certificates from ACE (1983), ADXR (1983), ASWLC (1967 and 1970), the Australian DX Radio Club (1946), the British Short Wave League (1945), the International Round Table (1946), the Great Circle Shortwave Society (1987), the International Short Wave Club (1940), the International Short Wave League (1946 and 1956), the International DXers Allliance (IDA, 1935), and a charter establishing the Minnesota chapter of the IDA (1939). These originated with Bill Flynn, Roger Legge, Larry Lundberg, Sid Steele, and Jerry Berg.
• And More Certificates - Here is another group of membership cards and certificates. They are from NASWA (c. 1967), NNRC (1950s), New Zealand DX Club (1945), New Zealand DX Radio Assn. (1956), New Zealand Radio DX League (1960), Quixote Radio Club (1939), Union of Asian DXers (1980), Universal Radio DX Club (membership cards from the 1950s, and an "Official DX Listening Post" certificate), Victory Radio Club, and the VK-NZ SWL Card Exchange & Friendship Club (1939). These items are from the collections of Bill Flynn, Larry Lundberg, Roger Legge, and Jerry Berg.
• And More Certificates - These originated with various magazines, and belonged to William F. Flynn, Richard E. Davis, Eugene S. Allen, Roger Legge, Jr., and Larry Lundberg, all of whom have gone on to that great DXpedition in the sky. The certificates are: (1) Two "official radio broadcast monitor" cards from Popular Electronics (1957 & 1960). Hank Bennett used to send these to contributors to his PE column. (2) One of many certificates of achievement offered by the Electronics Illustrated DX Club, which operated from 1961 into the 1970s. This one was issued in 1967 and was for 100 countries heard. The "club" existed solely for the purpose of issuing awards, and by 1965 over 2,000 had qualified and had their names listed in the magazine. The "club" had its own countries list, and a monthly column of loggings and news called "Notes from EI's DX Club." (3) An "Official Certificate of Verified International Reception," issued by Radio Digest magazine for the international medium wave tests which took place during International Radio Week, January 24-30, 1926. During the several such tests which took place during 1923-26, many U.S. and European stations stayed off the air at designated hours in order to give DXers on both sides of the ocean a better chance at long-distance reception. (4) An "Official DX Listening Post Certificate" issued in 1938 to contributors of Radio News. (5) A similar certificate issued in 1952 by Ken Boord to supporters of his Radio & Television News column. (6) A card issued to subscribers of the DX magazine, Radio Index (RADEX), circa the mid-1930s. (7) A charter establishing the "Minnesota Golden Gophers" chapter of the Radio Signal Survey League. It is undated, but the RSSL was a project of All-Wave Radio during the years 1937-38. And (8) a certificate issued by the RSSL in 1938 for verifying all continents. Note the foil seal in the lower right, and the crossing out of the "All-Wave Radio" designation. This certificate is from October 1938, two months after All-Wave Radio had been taken over by Radio News.
• And Even More Certificates - This time we have some cards and certificates issued by shortwave station "clubs" et al. These include: (1) & (2) two BBC World Radio Club membership cards (Hobart Beal and Ernie Behr); (3) a BBC World Service Reception Survey card (Russ Mappin, 1972); (4) a BBC World Service World Radio Club DX Award (Bill Flynn, 1970); (5) Radio Budapest Shortwave Club Worldwide membership certificate (Larry Lundberg, 1970); (6) Radio Bulgaria Monitor Club membership certificate (Ian Wilson, 2000); (7) Radio Canada Shortwave Club (Harold Sellers, 1969); (8) Radio Kiev DX Club (John Herkimer, 1979); (9) Radio New York Worldwide Listeners Club membership certificate (Bill Flynn, 1970); (10) Radio Prague Monitor Club membership certificate (Harold Sellers, 1969); (11) & (12) Radio RSA Monioring Panel membership certificates (David Walcutt, 1979 & 1983); and (13) & (14).
• Pennants - Here is a photo from Henrik Klemetz of a "pennant wall" from his shack in the early 70s at Tvärålund, Sweden.
• DX Jewelry - For the listener who does not like to be too far from reminders of the hobby, some DX jewelry, specifically three pins. One is from station OTC, Belgian Congo. (Also shown is an OTC QSL.) The second is a pin from HCJB. It was issued in 1956 in commemoration of 25 years of broadcasting. (The card to which it was attached is shown as well.) The third is from Radio Nederland, issued at a time, and for purposes, unknown.
• EKKO Stamps - Here is a 1924 EKKO stamp album.
• Voice of America Medal.
• A vintage postcard from Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, with the handwritten warning in Spanish, "Science is truth, but don't trust in the wireless."
• The new AWR QSL designed by Dr. Adrian Peterson shows radio stamps issued by AWR over the years.
• An "Applause Card" from Uruguay dated 1926, from Horacio Nigro, Uruguay.
• Applause Gram - A telegram version of the 1920s "Applause Card" - from George Zeller, Cleveland, Ohio.

EQUIPMENT & ADVERTISING

• The Scott News - Here is another copy of The Scott News, this one from October 1931, relatively early in the period when SWBC listening was gaining visibility. As with all issues of the newsletter, E. H. Scott's considerable promotional abilities are on display. This issue is particularly interesting because it discusses Scott's extensive recording (on aluminum blanks) of shortwave broadcasts from Australia. It was all in support of the sale of Scott products, of course, but it shows what the serious listener could do even in those early days. Also worth checking out in this issue: a list of 47 countries where Scott All-Wave receivers were in use; letters from satisfied customers; and an article about a "joint" broadcast between VK3ME (Melbourne, Australia) and W2XAF (the G.E. station in Schenectady, New York).
• 12-tube Scott Allwave Deluxe - Here is some information about the 12-tube Scott Allwave Deluxe superhet sold circa 1932: a 12-page illustrated advertising brochure, and a two-page "Technical Questionnaire." "Roll up the carpet and dance to music direct from the Hotel Mayfair in London! . . . You have a totally new experience awaiting you--when you listen to programs not only in U.S.A. but from the far distant points of the earth through the peerless SCOTT ALLWAVE DELUXE."
• Hammarlund SP-210 - A pamphlet from Hammarlund on the company's SP-210 (with the 10" speaker--if you wanted a 12" speaker it was the SP-220). This was an 18-tube superhet with bandspread, crystal filter selectivity and coverage up to 20 mc. in five bands. It was sold during the 1940s, having first appeared around 1942. Check out those list prices on page 15.
• World-Wide Nine Radio - A 30-page booklet about the World-Wide Nine Radio, "custom built by McMurdo-Silver," circa 1934.
• Allied Radio 1940 - Here's a look at what Allied Radio was offering the discriminating SWL in 1940. And how about those "terms": a Hallicrafters Sky Buddy for less than $5 down and less than $5 per month.
• "Short Wave Listeners' Guide" - Not entirely an advertisement, but a pamphlet from the National Co., "Short Wave Listeners' Guide," containing some basics about shortwave reception and a list of stations to try for. The receivers shown--NC-183D, HRO 60, NC-125 and SW-54-- suggest that this is from the early 1950s, but the station listings seem to belong to an earlier period.
• "Your Guided Tour of the Amazing World of Short Wave Listening" - A six-page brochure from Hallicrafters presenting their 1961 line of receivers along with information about how shortwave works and what you can hear. "Those were the days."
• Hallicrafters 1949 - Surely there is no company that produced more shortwave receivers over the years than Hallicrafters. Here is a 1949 catalog from Hallicrafters--"the radio man's radio."
• What gear did you use when you first started listening?
• Hallicrafters Letter Writing Contest - During late 1944 and early 1945, Hallicrafters would offer cash prizes for letters from servicemen describing their experiences with Hallicrafters equipment. Every writer received $1, and prize winners received from $10 to $200. Here are three ads for letter writing contests that appeared on the back covers of Radio News in October, November and December 1944.
• Allied Radio Corp. - Many DXers got their start in the hobby by buying an inexpensive ready-made or kit radio from Allied Radio Corp. of Chicago. I remember paging through those big catalogs over and over. Recently I come across an Allied catalog from 1929 and was surprised to see that the company went back that far. But according to an Allied history at http://www.alliedelec.com/AlliedHistory.asp the company was founded in 1928. So this is about as early an Allied catalog as is likely to be found. I have copied some pages containing receivers that were offered at the time from Silver-Marshall, Hammarlund, Scott, National, and Pilot, plus some interesting antennas. I was also suprised to find in this 1929 catalog many items from the "Knight" line which was well-known to electronic hobbyists many years later.
• Aero Products, Inc. - a four-page promotional pamphlet from Aero Products, Inc. of Chicago. This is a rare piece of advertising that appears to date from 1929, as it promotes "the new 1929 'Aero-Call' Converter Box." "This amazing radio instrument now makes it possible to reach 'round the world--England, Germany, Holland, France, Australia, Panama, Java and many foreign stations are some that are tuned in regulalrly on short wave." No less interesting is the collage of QSLs on page two (shortwave QSLs from the 1920s are seldom seen), and the station list on page three. Operating instructions are on page four.
• Hammarlund - Here are some advertisements from the war years. These are from Radio News, 1943, and show the contribution that the Hammarlund Super Pro was making in the war effort.
• The Scott News, May 1933 - We return this time to The Scott News, the May 1933 issue. A glance through the pages demonstrates that E. H. Scott knew what turned DXers on. He follows his report of his 20,000 mile research tour to New Zealand, during which he had regular reception of WBBM on his Scott Allwave Deluxe, with details of the All-Wave DeLuxe "Super," news of the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, letters and pictures from happy Scott customers nation wide and world wide, and info on the "new"Scott SW Antenna. Have any ontheshortwave visitors ever listened on a Scott receiver?
• Two tours of vintage shortwave radio manufacturing plants. (1) From Scott, there is a brochure called "The Story of Advanced Design and Precision Engineering in Radio," circa 1932. (2) And from the Pilot Radio & Tube Corp., an article about the "new" 1.5 million sq. foot plant in Lawrence, Massachusetts to which the company moved from its old location in Brooklyn. This is from the Fall 1930 issue of Radio Design, the company's house organ.
• The Pilot A.C. Super-Wasp was the successor to the battery-operated set (below). "At last you can enjoy the thrills of short-wave reception with all the conveniences of full lamp-socket operation." These two articles are from the Fall 1929 and Winter 1929 issues of Radio Design. The A.C. Super-Wasp was one of the first A.C. shortwave sets.
• Here are two articles from Radio Design, house organ of the Pilot Electric Manufacturing Co., later the Pilot Radio & Tube Corp. The company was first located in Brooklyn, New York and later moved to Lawrence, Massachusetts. The magazine was published from 1928 to 1931 and was an interesting early source of information on shortwave stations and receivers. These articles are from the Spring 1929 issue and cover one of the earliest available "consumer" shortwave receivers, the battery-operated Pilot Super-Wasp (successor to the earlier Pilot Wasp). You assembled the Super-wasp from a kit of parts obtainable from  Pilot.  The first article, "The Pilot Super-Wasp,"  describes the receiver and how to build it. Says the article:  "It should not take you more than an hour and a half to assemble a Super-Wasp.  Once you have mounted everything you should be able to wire the whole outfit in another hour, or even less." The second article, "How to Get the Most Out of A Short-Wave Receiver," explains how to use the set.
• The Scott News, March 1932 - Another copy of The Scott News, this one from March 1932, and featuring such promotional items as a log of Australian reception and photos of Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Ltd. (AWA) QSL letters, equipment used to record foreign reception, a foreign station time scedule, and letters from satisfied Scott customers.
• The Scott News, March 1933 - Here is a copy of The Scott News, a newsletter published by the E. H. Scott Radio Lab during the 1930s to promote its line of high-end radio receivers. This issue, from March 1933, features highlights of reception by Scott while on the way to New Zealand, plus comments from satisfied happy customers the world over. Finally, there is a review of the Scott All-Wave Super receiver.
• "Proof of Consistent Foreign Reception," a 20-page booklet produced by E.H. Scott in 1932.
• "Methods for Improving Short Wave Reception," a pamphlet from Postal Radio explaining why the Postal Two Stage Tuned R.F. Pre-Selector and Booster is just what the doctor ordered. There is no date on this, but the NRA symbol places it in the period 1933-35.
• Gilfer Associates - Here are some memories of Gilfer Associates, Inc., a favorite shortwave mail order house in the 1960s, 1970s and after. Oliver P. (Perry) Ferrell and XYL Jeanne began the business circa 1952 and were well-known in the DX community. Perry died in an automobile accident in 1984 and Jeanne carried on the business until she sold it in 1994. Gilfer closed in 1997. Here are some Gilfer catalogs from 1970 and 1974. R.I.P., Gilfer and Perry Ferrell.
• Silver-Marshall, pages from the December 1, 1928 catalog of one of the great names in early radio manufacturing.

LITERATURE & HUMOR

• "Your First Wireless Set" - From Britain's Punch magazine circa 1940.
• Charlie Loudenboomer - Some of today's DXers may have heard of Charlie Loudenboomer, whose attempts at hobby humor appeared in the NASWA bulletin, "FRENDX," from January 1966 to January 1977. But how many have actually read them? Here are some early examples taken from "The Best of Loudenboomer, the Collected Works of Charlie Loudenboomer, Vol. 1," published circa 1973.
• "The DX Editors' Lexicon" - Two pages of tounge-in-cheek DX definitions taken from Bandspread, the publication of the British Association of DXers. Bandspread was published from 1970 to 1974 by Alan Thompson, an early leader of the World DX Club and former Secretary General of the European DX Council. Thompson's intensity for the hobby and his wry sense of humor show through in these definitions.
• Humorous Postcards - Radio often tickled the funny bone in its early days. Here are some postcards that make the point.
• Here are two articles from the early days of broadcast band listening:  "A First Night With a First Set," a December 1924 story from Radio News about a set constructor's experiences (with a surprise ending); and a March 1928 Radio News article, "Wisdom for Radio Widows," "A straight-from-the-shoulder talk to the woman whose husband belongs to the Order of the Sleepless Knights of DX."
• La Rayotelefonia - A poem in Spanish that appeared in the 1922 radio publication "Radio Revista" - from Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, and translated into English by Horacio Nigro and Don Moore, Iowa.

PEOPLE

• Hank Bennett's First NNRC Column - All American SWBC DXers who entered the hobby in the 1950s and 1960s know the name Hank Bennett. Hank was shortwave editor for the Newark News Radio Club for decades, right up until the club closed in 1982. He became interested in shortwave listening in 1938, and obtained his ham license eight years later. His name started appearing as a bulletin contributor in 1945, at which time he was in the Seventh Army's Signal Corps in Europe. Here is Hank's first column for the NNRC Bulletin. It appeared in the December 1949 issue, when he took over from Jimmy Hart, who had edited the column since 1943. Bennett also served as Popular Electronics shortwave editor from 1955 to 1970. In 1970-71 he edited a SWBC column for the short-lived Radio Today magazine, and he wrote a column in Monitoring Times from 1983 to 1986.
• "The Way We Were in NASWA" - Before March 1972, when Dan Ferguson took the club to offset booklet-style printing, the North American Shortwave Assn. (NASWA) bulletin was mimeographed. For a couple of years starting in 1970, "FRENDX" would sometimes contain picture pages featuring photos of members. Here are some of the picture pages from 1970-71, including the brief writeups which accompanied the photos. Here are some of the picture pages from 1971-72. And more of "The Boys of NASWA," these picture pages are from 1972. And, finally, these picture pages are from 1973.
• César Objío - Here is a photo of the well-known DXer from the Dominican Republic who passed away on September 3, 2004 at the age of 76. Cesar was well-known and highly regarded by DXers the world over. Thanks to his daughter, Ana Objio, for sending this picture.
• August Balbi - Here is a 1971 shack photo of the legendary California DXer along with some photos from his logbook for 1936.
• Newark News Radio Club - In 1937, the NNRC published a series of 3" x 5" photo cards containing a photo of the member on the front, and something about the member and his or her hobby interests on the back. Jerry Berg has almost 50 of these cards and they are posted here.
• In 1956, DX Editor Ken Boord authored and published a DXing handbook called "The World At A Twirl." Among the most interesting items were the picture pages featuring photos of DXers and broadcasting personalities. We have reproduced the pages containing photos of DXers, and they are a who's who of the hobby in the 50s and earlier.
• "Where Are They Now"? Harold Sellers of Ontario, Canada, sends along photos of some Canadian DXers taken from the January 1965 issue of "electron" magazine.
• Bob Hill Log Reports - Here are some of the log reports of Littleton, Mass. DXer Bob Hill that date from 1965-66. This was the period when Bob was listening first from Boston, then from Washington, D.C. Thanks to Bob for permission to post these.

PHILATELY

• More First Day Covers - (1) the new HCJB first day cover commemorating the station's 75th anniversary; and (2) a file containg a variety of FDCs for Vatican stamps issued to commemorate Vatican Radio--a 1981 series for the station's 50th anniversary, and some 1959 stamps for the inauguration of the Santa Maria di Galeria transmitter site.
• All India Radio - Here are some items from All India Radio, which began broadcasting in 1936: a first day cover issued on June 8, 1961 in commemoration of AIR's 25th anniversary, an informative pamphlet issued by AIR in connection with the event, and a postcard of the AIR building constructed in New Delhi in 1940. The postcard was sent from Colombo, Ceylon to New York in 1954.
• More First Day Covers- More stamps, these from 1991, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Radio Quito, a longtime presence on 4919 kHz. Also, a first day cover with the same stamps, along with an explanatory folder; plus a first day cover and explanatory card for three stamps issued in 1980 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of HCJB.
• More First Day Covers - Two first day covers celebrating Radio Japan's 25th anniversary, June 1, 1960, together with an English-Japanese explanatory card; two additional first-day covers from the BBC Ascension Island relay station, one commemorating the station's 25th anniversary (1991) and the other celebrating its 30th anniversary (1996); a FDC from Radio Maryja, Poland, celebrating its 10th anniversary (2001); and a 2005 FDC celebrating the 100th birthday of Lahti, Finland. One of the two stamps on the Lahti cover depicts the Lahti transmitter towers from which Radio Finland broadcast on shortwave for many years, and on the back is an aerial view of the transmitter site. Finally, there is a brief article about radio stamp collecting from the July 1956 issue of Popular Electronics.
• More First Day Covers- Taiwan, 30th Anniversary of Broadcasting, 1927-1957; Austria, 50 Years of Radio Austria (1974); CBC-Radio Canada (1986); and Fiji, Birth of Radio Communications, 1996 (ZJV was the Fiji Broadcasting Corp., Ltd.).
• 50 Years of Mexican Broadcasting - DXer Tetsuya Hirahara of Japan has sent along two first day covers, a postal card, and an explanation (in Spanish) from 1971 when Mexico commemorated 50 years of broadcasting.
• "Golden Days of Radio" - four Australian stamps issued on June 13, 1991.
• Radio Monte Carlo - A 1951 first day cover recognizing Radio Monte Carlo, Monaco.
• Radio Oranje - A first day cover and information sheet issued in 1993 to honor the Dutch "clandestine" program broadcast via London during WW II.
• BBC Ascension/Radio Netherlands Bonaire - Two first day covers commemorating the opening of shortwave relay stations--the BBC on Ascension (1966), and the Radio Netherlands relay on Bonaire (1969).
• Voice of America - On August 1, 1967, the U.S. Post Office issued a five-cent Voice of America stamp, and here are some of the covers that were available at the time.
• Marconi & Fleming First Day Covers - Here are two recently released covers from Canada.
• Cuban Radio Covers - Here are some interesting first day covers memorializing various aspects of Cuban radio.
• Here is a first day cover from the International Telecommunications Conference of 1938 held in Cairo, Egypt.
• Edward S. ("Ted") Rogers, Canadian 3BP, the inventor of the first American tube with an AC-operated filament that produced an acceptable low level of hum (1924-25) was recently honored on a stamp issued by the Canadian post office.

POW MONITORING

• Radio Tokyo POW Message - Here is an actual POW message read over what was then known as Radio Tokyo. It was recorded on January 5, 1945 by one B. O. South of San Francisco, California, who must have made POW recordings regularly, as the envelope in which the recording was mailed contains the machine-printed message, "Postmaster: Contents--Recorded Voice from Prisoner of War in Japan. Please HAND CANCEL." As shown on the envelope, the home made, cardboard-style record apparently traveled from Wilmington, North Carolina (home of the family of the POW, Milton G. White), to Fort Bliss, Texas, to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. The back of the envelope also contains a Columbus, Ohio postmark. The POW message was read by a studio announcer, which was the standard practice back then. A transcription of the POW message, the record, and mailing envelope can be seen here.
• "A Passion With A Purpose--The Prisoner of War Message Service, 1951-1952," by Dr. Frank Glen of New Zealand. The POW message services of World War II are now fairly well known. This article, which appears in the September 2003 edition of the New Zealand Radio DX League's New Zealand DX Times, chronicles a similar but little known effort during the Korean war wherein SWLs monitored POW broadcasts over Radio Peking and passed their contents along to loved ones and the government. Thanks to Frank Glen and the NZRDXL for permission to reproduce this excellent article.
• POW Monitoring in World War II - by Morton Bardfield, W1UQ.
• Short-Wave Radio Monitors Let Families Know of Their Capture by Thom Wilson.
• August Balbi's POW Monitoring, Part I - Among the August Balbi DX materials that were turned over to CPRV in 1988 are some fascinating items pertaining to World War II POW monitoring, i.e. the practice of transcribing POW messages broadcast over the shortwave station where the prisoner was interned and forwarding the message on to family members. Here in Part I are lists of some of the POW messages that August Balbi heard over Radio Tokyo, MTCY-Manchuria, and Berlin.
• August Balbi's POW Monitoring, Part II - In Part I we showed typed lists of some of the POW messages that August Balbi heard over Radio Tokyo, MTCY-Manchuria, and Berlin. This time we have scanned some of August's notes that contain details of the messages themselves.
• August Balbi's POW Monitoring, Part III - After sending a postcard to the POW's family, POW monitors were often rewarded with a card or letter of thanks.

GENERAL RADIO HISTORY

• Wireless Telegraphy - An article from the November 1899 (!) issue of Machinery magazine, reminding us of what high-tech was back then.
• "Ultra-High" Broadcasting - During the 1930s and 1940s, many U.S. stations conducted experimental broadcasting in the 25-27 and 42-50 MHz. bands. One of those who followed these developments closely was Perry Ferrell, who decades later would be the co-founder of Gilfer Shortwave and a good friend to DXers (including many ontheshortwaves followers). Here is an article by Perry from the January 1940 issue of Radio & Television (originally Short Wave Craft). A few years earlier Perry wrote a regular column on "ultra-high" stations for another magazine, All-Wave Radio. On the last two pages of this file, check out the Pacific shortwave news and "Let's Listen In With Joe Miller," with items from Italian East Africa, Manchukuo, and Indo-China. It was indeed another era.
• War Across the Airwaves by Lesley Chamberlain - an interesting piece about the early days of the BBC Monitoring Service, pointed out by Mike Barraclough of the World DX Club.
• Early Amateur Radio History by Bill Smith.
• Reginald Aubrey Fessenden by Brian Smith.
• Long time DXer Jim Cumbie of Dallas, Texas has sent along some interesting magazine articles about early radio.