Tecsun Pl-330: NEW Gear

RADIO & TV AT WORLD’S FAIRS
May 2021 £4.99 www.radioenthusiast.co.uk
NEW Check out the latest

GEAR product releases
Hearing in space
Apollo 11’s eavesdropping
project re-examined
REVIEW
TECSUN PL-330
An ideal compact travel companion
Distance learning
A modern approach to
for MW, SW, LW and FM listening radio amateur licencing
MARITIME The rise of REVIEW So, how does

‘Drones’ on the oceans your aerial measure up?
Radio’s role in the emergence The Moonraker Mini 1300 Antenna
and running of crewless vessels Analyser is put through its paces
DRM in the French Navy | Global Radio News | Outdoors Programmes

Radio and Education in Brazil | RAF Brize Norton | Wartime Radios Display until 27th May 2021
WE ARE OPEN FOR INTERNET AND TELEPHONE ORDERS!
NEW
Icom IC-R8600 Tecsun S-2000 Tecsun S8800 GM

Wideband Communications Receiver L /MW/FM-Stereo/SW (with SSB) and Airband
LW SSB Shortwave Radio
• Coverage: 0.01-3000MHz GENEROUS • 1000 station memories • Dual alarm clock function • FM, SW,W MW,W LW
L • SSB with LSB/USB • Supplied with
• Decodes D-STAT R, NXDN, P RT
PA • Signal Attenuator • MP3: Aux input • 650 station memories batteries
dPMR and APCO P25 EXCHANGE • Dual timer alarm • Rotary Antenna: MW/LWL • Deluxe Gun Metal Tuning knob & remote
• Large 4.3 inch TFT colour AVAILABLE
AV • Remote control, Alarm & sleep/timer control
• Wide/narrow filters
touch screen display • 1000 station memories • DX/Local antenna gain control
£2499.99 £299.95 • Built-in battery charging feature £279.95
BEARCAT ANTENNAS AIRSPY SDRplay

Airspy HF+ Discovery RSPdx
UBC-125XLT
L Create Log Periodic Antennas - Japan NEW • Pre-selectors NEW SDR in metal case
500 Channel as used by
b th
t e ‘P
‘Profe
f ssionals
l’ • 9kHz - 13MHz Covers: 1kHz-2GHz
AM/FM scanner CLP-5130-1N • 60MHz - 260MHz Now with Improved:
21 Element LPA
P • Use over internet • Performance below 2MHz
Easy to use scanner • 60 x 45 x 10 mm • Plus more!
- our most popular for • 50-1300MHz
• Gain: 10-12dBi £194.95
Civil/Military Airband £199.95 RSP 1A
• 25-960MHz (w/gaps) £379.95 AIRSPY R2 Wideband Budget SDR
• Includes civil/Military VHF/UHF/SHF Receiver • Covers: 1 kHz - 2GHz
Airbands CLP-5130-2N • 24MHz-1,800MHz • Software upgradable
• Close call RF capture 17 Element LPA
P • 10MHz panoramic spectrum • Good dynamic range
• Alpha tagging • 105-1300MHz • 3.5 dB NF (42-1002)MHz
• Gain: 11dBi £99.95
• CTCSS & DCS squelch • Tracking RF filters
modes RSP DUO Dual Tuner SDR
£299.95 £209.95 • Covers: 1 kHz - 2GHz
£129.95 AIRSPY Mini • Software upgradable
DIAMOND D-777 Airband Antenna • SDR Dongle
UBC-75XLT
L Fibreglass 1.7m long, • 24 – 1,800MHz £119.95 £239.95
Popular ‘A
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• Close Call £69.95
WY108-3N PSW-30
£99.95 Airband Switch Mode
Scanmaster HFA
F 3 element Beam • 25-30A supply
EZI-33XLT
L Active Receive Antenna • Low noise
Covers: 1.8-30MHz • Freq: 108-137MHz
Compact handheld
- easy to use!
• Covers:
8" long c/w all leads
- just needs 12V DC! £44.95
• Gain: 7 dBi
• Boom: 1.4m 2 YEAR
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3 £79.95
78 MHz-512MHz £89.95
(w/gaps) Sirio SD-3000N Discone
VHF/UHF Verticals PS-40M
• PMR, Marine, Aircraft, CX4-68....... (68 – 73)MHz 4m 4.15 dBi.............. £69.95 Linear
High quality stainless steel, CX440.........(440 – 455)MHz pmr 4.15 dBi......... £39.95
FM, etc. chromed brass & anodised • 40A (max) with meter
CX455.........(455 – 470)MHz pmr 4.15 dBi......... £39.95 • 1.5-15V DC
£64.95 aluminium construction TORNADO 50-60...(50 – 60)MHz 6m 3.5dBi...... £59.95
• 300 MHz-3GHz • Cigar adaptor output
HF/VHF/UHF Beams
£69.95 SY3............. 3 el (26-28)MHz 10.65 dBi...............£99.95 £129.95
SY4............. 3 el (26-28)MHz 13.15 dBi............ £119.95 PS-08........... Linear 8A (max) 13.8V DC................. £34.95
Scanmaster Desktop SY50-3........3 el 50MHz 8.5 dBi..........................£99.95 PS-30M........Linear 30A (max) 3-15V DC...............£99.95
Indoor Discone antenna SY50-5........5 el 50MHz 10.5dBi.......................£129.95 PSW-50........Switch mode 50A (max) 9-15V DC..£129.95
25-1300MHz complete with SY68-3........3 el 70MHz 7.0 dBi..........................£79.95 PSW-30........Switch mode 30A (max) 9-15V DC....£79.95
cable and BNC plug WY108-3n..3 el 108-137MHz 3 el. Air Band....... £89.95 PSW-30H.....Switch mode 30A (max) 9-15V DC....£69.95
WY140-6n..6 el 144MHz (wide band) 10.5 dBi...£99.95 PS23-SW1... Switch mode 23A (max) 13.8V DC.... £59.95
UBC-370CLT
L £49.95 WY400-6n..6 el 432MHz (wide band) 11.0dBi....£79.95 PSW-07........Switch mode 7A (max) 13.8V DC...... £29.95
500 channel AM/FM scanner WY400-10n10 el 432MHz (wide band) 14.0dBi.£119.00 PSW-04........Switch mode 5A (max) 13.8V DC...... £24.95
• Includes VHF FM broadcast radio Tecsun Receive Loops
• Covers: 25 - 960MHz (w/gaps) ICOM ULTRA LOW LOSS COAX
• Listen to PMR, Marine, Air,r CB, Amateur AN200
MW passive loop.......... £39.95 Icom AH-8000
£119.95 AN48X NEW! rofessional Discone Antenna Ecoflex 15
Covers: SW,
W MW,W LWL uitable for both Transmit per metre........£7.99 price per 102m drum....... £759
Active wire loop............£39.95 nd Receive Ecoflex 15 plus
HEADPHONES per metre........£7.99 price per 102m drum....... £759
Rx: 100-3,300MHz PL259 connector (Part: 7350)..................................£8.95
Yaesu STA
Y T 77 Tx: 144, 430, 1200, 2400MHz N type connector (Part: 7395)..................................£9.95
Lightweight Stereo AOR LA-400 Height: 936mm Ecoflex 10
Low Noise - hear weak signals Supplied c/w 15m cable per metre........£3.79 price per 102m drum....... £359
headphones - as used
by our boss! in the LW
LW, MW and SW Bands + N connector & Mounting Ecoflex 10 Plus
hardware per metre........£3.79 price per 102m drum....... £359
• Receives 10kHz-500MHz PL259 connector (part: 7378)..................................£5.95
£79.95 • 30.5cm diameter Loop £240 N type connector (part: 7367.................................. £6.50
• 20dB built-in Pre-amp Aircell 7
JIM M75 SPIDERBEAM MASTS per metre........£2.99 price per 102m drum....... £269
£399.95 PL259 connector (part: 7390)..................................£2.65
N type connector (part: 7392)................................. £5.25
Wide Band pre-amp Aircell 5
Low noise pre-amp End Fed Wire Receive Antenna Fibreglass Telescopic Poles per metre........£2.75 price per 102m drum....... £259
with 3 band pass filters 12 metre Heavy Duty..........................................£89.95 Other 100M Coax Drums
High quality complete 18 metre Standard........................................... £199.95 Westflex 103.. Semi Air-r spaced low loss............ £179.95
• 24-2150MHz kit includes mounting 22 metre ‘Long John’ NEW...............................£399.95 RG-213 (Cabnex).....Low loss good quality........... £99.95
• Variable gain hardware & coax cable 26 metre Standard........................................... £499.95 RG-Mini 8.......Super XX........................................£69.95
• 12V DC or PP3 battery Aluminium Telescopic masts RG58/CU........Mil spec......................................... £39.95
(not supplied) • Covers: 2-30MHz 10 metre Standard........................................... £299.95 T in Feeders
Tw
• Kevlar Mil spec. wire 10 metre Heavy Duty........................................£325.00 450 Ohm........TwT in feeder.................................... £89.00
• Length: 20m 12.5 metre Standard........................................ £329.95 300 Ohm........TwT in feeder.................................... £76.50
14.5 metre Heavy Duty.....................................£425.00 Nevada Antenna Wire
£89.95 £69.95 15 metre standard (2m retracted)..................... £399.95 Coated flex weave Antenna wire...........................£59.95
nevada
®
www.nevadaradio.co.uk
CALL 023 9231 3090
LINES OPEN: MONDAY - FRIDAY
9AM - 5:30PM CLOSED SATURDAY
New TECSUN Radios
AR
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Tecsun PL-990xx
ST D!
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High Performance SSB
Shortwave Radio
Considered to be the Te
T csun design team’s masterpiece!
Uses modern DSP technology to improve performance
• Covers: LW
LW, MW,
W FM, SW (1.711-29.999) MHz
Tecsun PL-330
• MP3 player via SD port SSB Shortwave Radio
• Memories: 3150 • FM stereo, LW
L /MW/FM/SW
• Synchronous detector • 650 memories
• Local, Medium, DX input selector • DSP technology
£259.95 • Powered by 18650 Lithium battery £89.95 • Multi-function display
• Bluetooth connectivity • Lots more info on our web site
• Optional USB mains supply.....£9.95 • USB - Rechargeable battery
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AOR AR-5700D AOR AR-DV1 AOR AR-8600 MkII
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• 10 digital modes - TETRA, P25(Phase 1), DMR, New Firmware gives TETRA decoding and more! • Frequency: 530kHz-3000MHz no gaps
Mototrbo, dPMR, NXDN, D-CR, Decodes virtually ALL popular digital modes: DMR, • Modes: WFM, NFM, SFM, WAM, AM, NAM,
D-STA
T R, Alinco, Ya
Y esu. D-STA
T R, Ya
Y esu Fusion and lots more! USB, LSB, CW
• Covers 9kHz - 3,700MHz • Memories: 1000 (20 banks) £649.95
• 900kHz wide IQ output £4595 Supplied with: 4GB SD Card £1299.95 Optional Mains Power supply.................... £25.95
AOR ICOM ICOM ALINCO

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• 100kHz-1300MHz • With dual watch and • Freq: 100kHz- • Frequency:
analogue and dual band recording 1309.995MHz 0.1-1300MHz
digital modes • Listen to two signals • Modes: AM, FM, WFM • AM/FM/WFM/
• TETRA, P25 (Phase (analogue + analogue • 1300 memories SSB/CW
1+2), DMR, or analogue + digital) • High Speed Scan • 1200 memories
Mototrbo, dPMR • Decode D-STAT R, 100 channels/second • Tw
T in VFO feature
P25, NXDN and • 15 hours receive • IQ output for
dPMR digital capability SDR use
(conventional) modes • 1800mAh Li-ion inc
£999.95
999 95 Optional BC-194
£939.95 Drop-in charger stand
£569.95 .........................£22.95 £199.95 SPECIAL PRICE £349.95
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BEARCAT BEARCAT BEARCAT BEARCAT
NEW SDS-100E NEW UBCD-3600XLT

L
Advanced Digital Digital Scanner with
& Analogue ‘Close Call’ and
Scanner Analogue AM/FM
BCT-
T 15X • Frequency:
• Receives: 25-1300MHz
Latest Base Mobile Scanner with ‘Close Call’ • SD card slot
25-1300MHz Bearcat SDS-200E
• 25-1300MHz (with gaps) (w/gaps) Digital Scanning Receiver £425
• 9000 memories • Weather Resistant
Supplied with: IPX4 • With DMR, NXDN, and ProVoice UBCD-3600XLT L - NXDN
• AM/FM/WFM
• Band scope • Mains adaptor monitoring modes Same specs as above but
• CTCSS/DCS • DC Car Power Plug • Covers: 25 - 512MHz, 806 - 960MHz, with NXDN activated
• Te
T lescopic Antenna Standard Version NXDN digital protocol is
decoding 1240 - 1300MHz
• Alpha-numeric
• Mounting Bracket (licence required to activate £599.95 • To
T o many features to list here used by Kenwood & Icom
and Hardware DMR, NXDN)
tagging feature - visit our web site
• GPS enabled Activated Version for more details!
£249.95 (DMR, NXDN already activated) £649.95 £779.99 £479.95
ALBRECHT ALBRECHT WHISTLER POWEREX

Albrecht Whistler Digital Scanners
AE125H • Receives 25-1300MHz
NEW
500 Channel (with gaps)
AM/FM Scanner • Covers DMR, MotoTRBO
- and more!
• 5-960MHz (w/gaps) • Upgradable
p CPU, DSP,
P and
• Civil/Military Air bands library Powerex C-9000-Pro
Albrecht AE255M • Close Call feature • Store Scan lists Battery Charger Analyser
Wideband Base Scanner • Hyper search -300/sec • EZ Scan PC software
• CTCSS & DCS Advanced unit suitable for all your batteries
• Covers 25-960MHz (w/gaps) • Supplied c/w: R -1 • IF/discriminator output
Whistler TRX • Charge from:
• Step sizes: 5/6.25/8.33/10/12.5/20kHz • Record & save to Windows
Mini USB lead, £419.95 • Clock & Calendar function 1 to 4 AA or AAA niMH/NicD
• Turbo search (180 steps/sec) 2 x AA 2,300 mAh • 4 modes:
• 300 memories, Clock Display,y Skip feature, • Spectrum Sweeper
NiMH Batteries Charge,
g Discharge, Refresh, Analyse
c/w Mains adaptor,r Car adaptor,r Antenna, • Displays:
Mounting bracket Whistler TRX
R -2 Capacity,
y Voltage, time & rate
£99.95 £129.95 £479.95 £69.95
• Unit 1
Serving our customers for 50 years • Fitzherbert Spur

• Farlington
• Portsmouth
follow us on twitter: @NevadaRadio follow us on facebook: www.facebook.com/nevadaradio • Hampshire
• PO6 1TT
Index
Contents Favourites Reviews Features News Profiles
Cover Story
ISSN 1748-8117 10 The Tecsun
May 2021 Vol.16 No 5 PL-330 Portable Radio
On sale: 29th April 2021 Chrissy Brand puts this long-awaited new portable
Next issue on sale: 27th May 2021 from Tecsun through its paces, looking at its main
RadioUser features, functions and performance. She also
Warners Group Publications plc reports on a range of DX meetings and inspiring new
The Maltings, West Street podcasts.
Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH
www.warnersgroup.co.uk
Tel: 01778 391000
Editor 22 The International Radio Scene
Georg Wiessala
[email protected] Chrissy Brand examines the theme of radio for the
Designer great outdoors and describes diverse broadcasting
Mike Edwards
[email protected]
audiences before offering her unique listening tips
for all forms of international radio in May.
Advertisement Manager
Kristina Green
[email protected] 10 26 The Bath
Tel: 01778 392096
Production Manager Distance-Learning Course
Nicola Lock 7 New and Innovative Steve Hartley, G0FUW profiles a major UK amateur
[email protected] Radio Products radio distance-learning course, looking at how this
Production Assistant
Charlotte Bamford Icom AH-705 HF/50 MHz Antenna Tuner and IC- successful online training curriculum is run, received
[email protected] M94DE Marine VHF Transceiver; ML&S Leg Pegs updated and evaluated.
Marketing Manager and MyDel Frequency Counter; Moonraker EMF 390
Katherine Brown
[email protected] Multi-function Meter, and a Nevada Spiderpole. 30 Airband News
Marketing Executive David Smith summarises the ATC operations at RAF
Luke Hider
[email protected] 9 Bookstore Brize Norton, sheds light on how callsign-prefixes
Publisher Check out the RadioUser bookshop for a wide work and reports on new remotely-operated towers
Rob McDonnell selection of titles on radio equipment, history, and helicopter routes.
[email protected]
biographies, and a host of other topics, as well as
Technical Help
We regret that replies to technical queries
our popular archive CDs. 34 Digital Radio
cannot be given over the telephone. Kevin Ryan reports back from a hybrid radio event,
Any technical queries by e-mail are very 14 Book Review (I) shares the latest DAB news, introduces a new DRM
unlikely to receive immediate attention
either. So, if you require help with David Harris reviews a new radio book about receiver and looks at how the French Navy makes
problems relating to topics covered by RU, the links between post-war broadcasting and some tactical use of the DRM format.
then please write to the Editorial Offices,
we will do our best to help. postcolonial literature, and an autobiography by a
Book and back issue orders well-known radio personality. 38 Special Wartime Radios
Send your completed form to: Tony Smith profiles some of the special
RadioUser Subscriptions Dept
Warners Group Publications plc
16 Book Review (II) communications receivers and accessories used by
The Maltings, West Street Marine radio experts Scott Caldwell and Robert military personnel in Britain and America during the
Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH Connolly have read a new book on maritime radio Second World War (1939-1945).
This publication is
officers, which sheds light on the development of a
printed by Warners
01778 395111 key profession undergoing rapid change.
SUBSCRIBE TO RADIO USER 17 Feedback & Corrections

RADIO & TV AT WORLD’S FAIRS
For the latest offer call

and European Private
May 2021 £4.99 www.radioenthusiast.co.uk
NEW Check out the latest

GEAR product releases
01778 395161 Short Wave Stations

REVIEW
Hearing in space
Apollo 11’s eavesdropping
project re-examined
Th
Pay just £3.33 an issue. A selection of your letters, messages and e-mails;
plus, corrections, clarifications and frequencies.
TECSUN PL-330 f
See page six for details.

Distance learning
An ideal compact travel companion A modern approach to
for MW, SW, LW and FM listening radio amateur licencing
MARITIME The rise of REVIEW So, how does

‘Drones’ on the oceans your aerial measure up?
Radio’s role in the emergence The Moonraker Mini 1300 Antenna
and running of crewless vessels Analyser is put through its paces
DRM in the French Navy | Global Radio News | Outdoors Programmes

Radio and Education in Brazil | RAF Brize Norton | Wartime Radios Display until 27th May 2021
Buy a digital edition at

www.pktmags.com/ru-subscribe21 18 Maritime Matters
Robert Connolly previews the autonomous
Keep up to date on Facebook shipping of the future and the comms
www.facebook.com/radioenthusiasts
infrastructure needed for it, offers seasonal post-
Follow us on Twitter lockdown tips and relates the latest news from the
@REnthusiasts Irish Coast Guard.
56
Sign up to our FREE email newsletter at www.radioenthusiast.co.uk

4 RadioUser May 2021
Editorial
Welcome
Education by
Radio & for Radio
Georg Wiessala
[email protected]
H
ello and welcome to
the May 2021 issue
of RadioUser. As we
tentatively come out of
the latest lockdown and Spring has
sprung, the radio hobby, for many
46 more of us, is stronger and more
diverse than ever.
42 Signals from Space I hope that you will think that our
Tim Kirby relives the time of the Apollo missions, latest issue reflects this.
investigates frequencies used during the visits to There is certainly no shortage of
the Moon and introduces an American hobbyist who new radios and accessories, as our
received it all in his backyard. News pages in various parts of this
issue attest. Against this backdrop,
46 History: Radio Chrissy Brand has had the opportunity special wartime radios, and Scott Caldwell
and TV at the World’s Fairs to test out the brand-new Tecsun PL- continues to offer us historical insight into
Scott Caldwell considers the global technological 330 portable radio with SSB & DSP the roles radio (and television) played at
showcases of the past; these were economic, technology. Kevin Ryan takes a short those international showcases of national
diplomatic and technological shows, presenting new look at a new DRM radio from India. pride and technology dubbed the World’s
(radio) technology to an enthusiastic public. Last but certainly not least, Keith Fairs. Keith Hamer and Garry Smith, in
Rawlings brings us a review of the a similar vein, go on investigating some
49 TV and Radio, new Moonraker Mini1300 antenna memorable early wireless equipment.
Past and Present analyser. In our regular columns this month, you
Keith Hamer and Garry Smith review the new edition In our principal features this time can learn more about callsign prefixes
of a biography of John Logie Baird, investigate the around, we showcase the current and RAF Brize Norton, DRM in the French
heady days of early radio and appreciate the role of trend towards distance-learning and Navy, radio during the Apollo Missions, and
cutting-edge graphic design in TV. ‘learning-by-radio’ initiatives. For the programme tips for the outdoor life.
UK, Steve Hartley profiles the Bath Finally, a request for help from reader
52 News and Trends Amateur Radio Course, and, from the Simon Bagg, who is experiencing some
from the World of Radio other side of the globe, Martín Butera trouble with his trusted AOR AR7030.
Immerse yourself in the latest news, events shoes how very vital radio schooling is Following a recent filter calibration through
and emerging technologies from the world of in parts of contemporary Brazil. the Configuration menu, the sequence
broadcasting and radio science, ranging from Elsewhere, there is a maritime failed to complete, and instead, the LCD
community radio to quantum receivers. flavour: Robert Connolly investigates readout just stated ‘CPU???’.
autonomous shipping and associated I have checked this on my own AR7030
56 Aerials Now communications; and, together and could not find a solution. Suggestions
Keith Rawlings provides an in-depth review of the with Scott Caldwell, he reviews a to the editor at the above e-mail, please, I
Moonraker Mini1300 antenna analyser unit, looking fascinating new title on the history of will pass them on to Simon.
at possible user applications, principal functions, and that pivotal figure, the Radio Officer. Please remember to stay in touch, stay
key characteristics. Elsewhere, we evaluate summer safe and enjoy your radio.
reading on John Logie Baird, a
60 Radio and Education in Brazil presenter autobiography, and the role
Martín Butera returns to report on societal of radio in post-colonial times. Georg Wiessala
challenges, digital poverty and school education by Also in this issue, Tony Smith has Editor, Radio User Magazine
radio for youngsters in a volatile contemporary Brazil. written an informative feature on www.radioenthusiast.co.uk
Why not visit our new online bookshop at www.radioenthusiast.co.uk/store

May 2021 RadioUser 5
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Analysis Program
designated for aeronautical use, and test
and quote
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became affordable during the 1950s and
3 01778 395161
microwave link), line controls and ampli-
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1960s, many airlines operated their own of the antenna greater than
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Review Review
Senhaix 8800 Bluetooth

Dual Band Handheld
Did you know?

Tim Kirby GW4VXE Tim Kirby GW4VXE takes a look at a dual-band
[email protected]
handheld that is colourful, includes a torch and can
be programmed from your Smartphone!
T
here are any number of dual-band
handhelds available these days,
some of them available really
cheaply. What’s so different about from your phone and Bluetooth the details
this one and why might you find it of inter- between your phone and rig. This is a nice
est? I’m going to try to answer that below. touch if you want to make some changes
For the features and specifications as sup- to the programming on the fly – maybe you
plied by the manufacturer, check out the find a CTCSS code is wrong on a memory
sidebar on the last page of this review. and you don’t have a PC and programming
cable with you. I don’t use an Android mobile
First Impressions phone but I was able to download and install
The first impression on unboxing the radio is the App onto a Network Radio, that runs
of colour! The rig is a bright orange and has Android and establish communication be-
a rubbery, chunky feel to it, which makes it Because
tween the two, so that was great. Because
feel as though it’s a good match as an out- the Network Radio has a very small screen,
door radio for walking. Add to that the fact it wasn’t great for programming the 8800 up
that the bottom of the radio is given over to but I was able to prove the principle. If you
a torch, which can either provide white light have a regular Android mobile phone, you 1 2
or flashing red, white and blue – definitely
handy for those evening dog walks. It’s a
good torch too!
won’t have any problems at all.
When I first looked at the rig there was
no app for an iOS device, so it was off to
I had a quick look to see if the excellent
CHIRP software would ‘talk’ to the 8800, but
SMA-F connection.
Something that I found a little odd with
Fig. 1: The front panel of the 8800.
Fig. 2: Two PTT buttons – enough to confuse the
NEW SERIES WORLD OF TWO-WAY RADIO
I can hear some tutting at the back about the PC for programming for me! There’s no it does not – at least at the moment. the rig, which I have noticed on some other reviewer!
this being PW not Practical Dog Walker! programming cable supplied with the 8800 The great news now, though, is that there models recently, is that it has two PTT but-
Alright, so what about it as a radio? As it but I had a look and the connection seemed is an app for iOS devices. Go to the App tons. You have a PTT for each of the two ‘star/space’ locks the keypad. The rig has a
arrived, the rig was in memory mode with the same as the Baofeng UV-5R for which I Store and look for SHX8800 and download it VFOs. Until you get used to this, you may, voice prompt too, which I tend to turn off, al-
some non-amateur-band frequencies set had a lead. The programming lead uses the onto your iPhone/iPad. Switch on Bluetooth like me, hit the PTT, start talking and then though I know this is a vital feature for some
up. I could see that the radio had both VFO Prolific PL-2303 chip and, as I’d just had a on the 8800 and then go into the app on your wonder why your QSO partner is not hearing users. I turned it off in the software but man-
mode where you can enter the frequency Windows update on the machine, natural- iOS device. You should see ‘Walkie Talkie’ or you! PTT Button 1 is larger than PTT button aged to turn it back on, inadvertently from
you want to use and memory mode. Long ly the lead and drivers were not recognised a similar name available as a Bluetooth con- 2, so you might want make sure that most of the keypad. I’m not sure what I pressed!
press the menu key and you can toggle be- (sigh), but we can’t blame the 8800 for that. nection. You should then simply be able to your activity happens on VFO 1. There’s an FM radio built in, which covers
tween the two modes. It’s in the instruction If this happens to you, as it almost certainly read from the 8800 and see the configura- Audio from the rig was pleasant to lis- 76-108MHz. It seemed pretty sensitive and I
book, which is adequate but basic. will at some point, there are some excel- tion data on your phone. You’ll find there’s a ten to and transmitted audio reports were was receiving Irish stations quite adequate-
My first test then, was to put the rig into lent instructions on how to back-date your screen of data for each memory channel – a good – thank you to Martin GW3XJQ and ly from here in West Wales. You can enter
VFO mode, put the receiver on 430.950MHz Prolific USB drivers back to version 3.2.0.0, little different to the usual spreadsheet style Steve GW7FBV for their reports through the required frequency from the rig’s key-
and listen for EI7MLR, some 85 miles
away across the water. I was delighted to
which will resolve the problem. Try this web-
site:
presentation on a PC – but it works well with
the phone’s user interface. Make whatever
the GB3SP repeater. The receiver seemed
to work alright for everything I tried. I men-
pad, just as you would in the amateur bands.
I started off by saying that the rig had a
April 2021 £4.99 www.radioenthusiast.co.uk
note that within a few minutes, the receiv- https://tinyurl.com/vy4tcrm changes you need to – or enter a new chan- tioned that I programmed up the rig with the ‘rugged, outdoorsy’ sort of feel to it. The vari-
nel. Save the configuration (the app calls it
YOURS New products and

er chirped into life. There’s an on-screen Having done that, the rig connected up AO-91 satellite and I was able to hear it quite ous sockets are protected by plastic covers,
S-meter by the way, which isn’t terribly well through the USB cable and showed as a a ‘case’) and you can then write it back to adequately on an overhead pass. I’m sure if which fit quite well, so the rig will probably
calibrated, so don’t expect to use it to give COM port in the PC’s Port Manager. I down- the 8800. Simple and very effective! I spot- things were quiet, you could probably make comfortably survive a walk in the rain, al-
meaningful reports. The display is a quite at- loaded the programming software from the ted a couple of places in the app, including a QSO through the satellite, using the sup- though I’m not aware it has an IP rating un-
TO BUY innovative software
RadioUser is also available as a digital

tractive colour display that is easy to read. Moonraker website and installed it onto the ers (bear in mind that the 8800 ‘only’ has the app icon where Chinese text is displayed plied antenna. like some of the more expensive handhelds.
PC, pointed the program at the appropriate 128 memories anyway) it’s no problem and rather than English, despite the language be- The menu key gives access to various
Programming the Rig COM port and was immediately able to read I quickly had four or five repeater channels ing set to English, but I did not experience basic controls: squelch, power,wide/nar- Charging the Rig
The next thing I wanted to try to do was from the rig. programmed up and written back to the rig. any problems as a result of this. row, busy lockout, time out timer under the The 8800 comes with a drop-in charger,
to program up some memories. This is The programming software works fine al- For interest, I also programmed up a couple ‘Radio Set’ menu item as well as the ability which can be powered by either the sup-
where you have some options. If you are though it’s reasonably basic. You can’t copy of channels where I could listen to the AO-91 On the Air to change CTCSS, channel display, frequen- plied mains charger or a USB charging lead.
an Android mobile phone user, there’s an and paste between entries and you can’t satellite (145.960MHz down/435.250MHz The 8800 comes with a reasonable antenna cy search and Bluetooth. A long press of the Even better, if you are out and about, in the
App that you can download (I grabbed it import channel information as a comma up). It’s a nice feature to be able to set trans- – although I suspect putting an after-market ‘hash/up arrow’ key starts the rig scanning car, perhaps, you don’t need the drop in char-
from the Moonraker website), which allows separated variable (CSV) file, for example. mit and receive frequencies on different antenna on it might give you some bene- through your memories. Long pressing 0 ger – just the USB charging lead. There’s a
you to manage the programming of the rig But for programming up a few local repeat- bands – something not possible on all rigs. fits. The antenna you use will need to have a gives you a voltage reading. Long pressing micro-USB socket on the back of the rig, so
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46 PRACTICAL WIRELESS May 2020 May 2020 PRACTICAL WIRELESS 47
edition! Download issues directly to your FIRST TEST

The role of radio
How wireless lifelines are
vital in times of change
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The role of radio
How wireless lifelines are
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Measuring up
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UK military airfields long wave receiver AIRBANDS ATC at BUILD Your own
UK military airfields long wave receiver
New profile series begins with a Easy construction project to New profile series begins with a
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An Introduction to Digital Radio | Covid & Radio (Part II) | Elisabeth Alexander
GCHQ Book | Lifeboat Transmitters | Radio for the Brain | TV & Graphic Design Display until 29th April 2021
An Introduction to Digital Radio | Covid & Radio (Part II) | Elisabeth Alexander
001 April front.indd 1 15/03/2021 08:59
GCHQ Book | Lifeboat Transmitters | Radio for the Brain | TV & Graphic Design Display until 29th April 2021

What’s new in the world of radio News
What’s New
Have you got something new to tell our readers about? If so, then drop a line to [email protected]
Icom
ST
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PR
IC-M94DE
ES
S!
Marine VHF
Transceiver
Icom brings all the features of your fixed VHF
to a hand portable with the introduction of the
all-new IC-M94DE. This radio is the world’s
first marine VHF hand portable radio with an
integrated AIS receiver as well as DSC and
GPS. The IC-M94DE is the first handheld
marine radio that offers users receive
information broadcast by other AIS-equipped
AH-705 HF/50MHz vessels.
Automatic The IC-M94DE provides vessel traffic
information shown on the radios large clear
Antenna Tuner display. With its elegant design and abundance
Icom UK is pleased to inform readers that of simple to use features, this is a game-
the Icom AH-705 automatic antenna tuner changing device for anyone who ventures out
for the IC-705 is now available from Icom to sea for recreation or work.
UK dealers. The AH-705 is a small, portable, The IC-M94DE doesn’t just come with added
antenna tuner that has been designed to AIS. Other features include 6W of RF power,
work between the 1.8-50MHz bands. It can class-leading 1500 mW of audio output with
be powered either by alkaline batteries or a improved acoustic sound clarity, ensuring
DC 13.8V supply. The key features of the AH- clear communications no matter the
705 HF/50 MHz Automatic Antenna Tuner environment.
include coverage of the 1.8 MHz to 50 MHz This hand portable has more battery power
bands, using a long-wire element; two-way (approx. 10 hours) for extended operations.
power sources using alkaline batteries or You can also assign up to 50 favourite
13.8 V DC; latching relays used for saving destinations, fishing spots etc. as waypoints
power consumption; IP54 dust-protection; with the enhanced Navigation feature. The
water-resistant construction for outdoor radio features Icom’s own Float’n Flash and
use, and a compact design that neatly AquaQuake, keeping your radio operational if
fits in the optional LC-192 multi-function it becomes submerged.
backpack. The suggested retail price is The Man Overboard function is included for
£309.60, including VAT. operator protection. Pressing the distress
https://www.icomuk.co.uk button while Float’n Flash is activated will
https://tinyurl.com/ys5zv9nk transmit the MOB distress signal, allowing
the operator to be more quickly and easily
located. The IC-M94DE will be available from
COMMUNITY RADIO SURVEY: The DCMS Icom Marine Dealers from mid-April with a
(Department for Digital, Culture Media and suggested retail price of £349.95, including
Sport) is conducting a survey of who listens to VAT. For further information about this
community radio. It is well worth participating new model, visit the IC-M94DE VHF Marine
in this. Transceiver with AIS Receiver product page:
(SOURCE: Community Media Association https://www.icomuk.co.uk
https://project.tolunastart.com/s/a5ERo3b
For the latest news and product reviews, visit www.radioenthusiast.co.uk

News What’s new in the world of radio
SF-401 Plus
Frequency
Counter
ML&S: The MyDEL Surecom SF-401 Plus
reads your RF transmitted frequency from 100
to 3,000MHz (27 to 100MHz coverage with
reduced specs). Additionally, it can read and
display your CTCSS tone and DCS code on the
backlit colour LCD screen. The display may be
set to read 0.000 or 0.0000 MHz. With TCXO
and charging LED. Auto-power-off may be
set for 1 to 9 minutes. Built-in 3.7 Volt Li-ion
battery. This item comes with a BNC antenna,
USB charging cable and UK 3 pin USB power
supply. More information / spec sheet below.
https://www.hamradio.co.uk
https://tinyurl.com/n6s9u6hj
GQ Electronics
Multi-Function
Meter EMF 390 Mini Spiderpole
With the requirement for radio amateurs to
measure the EMF of their station, Moonraker Telescopic
now offers the GQ Electronics multi-function
EMF Meter. Use this high-sensitivity meter for Antenna Poles
checking EMF/RF radiation easily. Examples:
Nevada is pleased to announce Spiderbeam poles are extremely strong, with a much greater
amateur radio, wireless computer mouse, car
have introduced two new Mini Spiderpole wall thickness than the usual ‘fishing-rod types.
remote key, cell phone, cell tower, cordless
telescopic Antenna poles. These smaller sizes A special reinforcing winding technique - several
phone, static electricity, electric field, Wi-Fi,
(10 metres and 7 metres) plus an optional layers of fibreglass are wound in alternating
computer laptop, microwave, electric heater,
carrying case, make them ideal for outdoor or direction providing greatly increased lateral and
hairdryer, vehicle engine, light,or outdoor
portable operations. Although they are light linear strength. Stronger joints are achieved by a
power lines. With the RF spectrum power
and small enough to fit in any suitcase, they are much larger overlap between the individual tube
analyser, you can monitor the Wi-Fi signal
developed to be rugged and durable. The Mini segments than usual. Prices start at £59.95, with
power, smart meter signal power, spy wireless
poles use a fixed screw bottom cap which is flat the (optional) carrying case priced at £14.95.
video camera signal, and even track a radio/
and padded inside. This gives the pole a stable The new Spider poles are available from UK
TV signal in the air.
stand and prevents the mast from unwanted Distributor Nevada Radio.
https://www.moonraker.eu
extraction while hiking. Spiderbeam fibreglass www.nevadaradio.co.uk
Leg Pegs
Martin Lynch & Sons have recently introduced another accessory for the
Yaesu FT-817/FT-818ND portable QRP transceivers. The MyDEL-brand Leg-
Pegs is a neat retractable pair of folding feet that allow the transceivers to be
tilted up when placed on a flat surface. Unlike wire bale-type versions seen
before, this design allows the user to fold away the stand when not in use.
Better still, they are so beautifully made that it looks like Yaesu put them there
in the first place and you can still use the Yaesu CSC-83 carry case without
removing them. In stock at £19.95 plus P&P. More information is here:
www.HamRadio.co.uk/LegPeg
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The Authorised History of GCHQ, Britain’s
Secret Cyber-Intelligence Agency
You know about MI6. Now uncover the mystery behind Britain’s most
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A complete PDF photographs
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reproduction protected and All reasonable
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Airwaves in WWII Bands Guide to the Guide to the
Following the life of
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Icom IC-9700 Icom IC-7300
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Literature, Politics &
Public Service Astronomy the BBC, 1939-1945
Created to counteract
broadcasts from Nazi
The BBC is one of the most A comprehensive Wartime British writers took Germany, the BBC’s Eastern
important institutions in introduction, with everything to the airwaves to reshape the Service became a cauldron
Britain; it is also one of the you need to start observing nation and the Empire’Writing of global modernism and a
most misunderstood at radio wavelengths. the Radio War’ nexus of artistic exchange.
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Emerging Issues in Radio
Chrissy Brand
[email protected]
T
he Tecsun PL-330 receiver be-
came available in the UK earlier
this year. It is a welcome addition
to my array of portable radios. I
have long been impressed with
the Chinese-manufactured brand, having used
a PL-310 ET and a PL-360 for several years.
The PL-330 may now well be the first radio I
slip into in my bag and backpack as I – hope-
fully – embark upon my travels this spring and
summer. It sits in the same range as its fel-
low Tecsun models and my two other current
portables, an XH DATA D-808 and the Eton /
Grundig Executive Satellit (Fig. 1).
First Reactions
My immediate reaction was how wonderfully
light in weight and small in dimension the PL-
330 is, weighing 210g (without the lithium
battery) and measuring 139 x 85 x 26mm.
This makes it ideal for travel of any kind, from
Tecsun PL-330
a day walking in the hills or along the coast, or
a longer excursion, further afield.
It also has the essentials that I always
ensure before purchasing a radio, a short
Review and
wave/FM external antenna jack plus a Lithium
battery power supply. A USB power supply or
charging can also be used.
The Tecsun PL-330 covers MW, LW, SW and
Online Meetings
FM. The frequency range for long wave is 153
to 513kHz (9kHz step, fine-tune step 1kHz);
medium wave is 520 to 1710kHz (10kHz step,
1kHz fine-tuning step for America) and 522- to
1620kHz (9kHz step, 1kHz fine-tuning step for
Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania).
Short wave ranges from 1711 to 29999kHz
Chrissy Brand examines the new Tecsun PL-330
(5kHz step, 1kHz fine-tuning step). When the portable receiver, reports on DX meetings that took
short wave band is received in SSB mode, the
step 1kHz, and the fine-tune step is 10Hz.
place in February 2021 and pays a virtual visit to the
The FM band runs from 64 to 108MHz, Africa Podcast Festival.
which, therefore, includes the OIRT band. This
starts at 64.0MHz and is in use in Russia, the on a radio to the ‘up’ or ‘down’ volume control across a large room, without distorting. This
Caucasus and part of the Caspian Sea and buttons that are used on most others of this is a feature that many smaller radios can fall
Black Sea regions. The Japanese FM band class. short on.
starts at 76.0MHz. This is, of course, useful In an ideal world, I suppose there would When I tuned across the FM band, I caught
to have should you be travelling in those be versions available with these controls on all the big BBC and local commercial signals,
countries. It also allows you to try for FM the left side, for left-handed people. But a of course. Besides, I was pleased to hear
DX signals from eastern Europe during the modification like that is a rarity, even in mass- community radio station Seahaven FM, on its
summer when Sporadic E and tropospheric produced consumer items that are found relatively new Eastbourne relay frequency of
conditions make such aural delights a in every home, and I appreciate it is not a 95.6MHz, from about 20 miles away.
possibility. realistic option for a more niche-product like a I was impressed with the signal from Radio
Second to its functionality, a radio’s design world band radio. France Musique on 89.4MHz. The station
is a fundamental decision-maker in how long is hardly ‘DX’, being just across the English
I use a product for. Another plus of the PL-330 Tecsun PL-330 Performance Channel (La Manche) from my location and
is its rotary volume control. This is situated on Performance-wise, I was impressed. The one of my regular stations of choice. However,
the right side of the receiver, just beneath an sound is good and belies a radio of such a listening to classical music on any radio,
identical tuning control. This intuitive way of dinky size. The PL-330’s volume is powerful especially a small one, is a good test, and this
adjusting sound is something I much prefer and strong enough to hear with comfort was a perfectly pleasant experience.
See our great book and magazine offers at www.radioenthusiast.co.uk/store

CHRISSY BRAND
Fig. 1: Tecsun PL-330 (top left) with stablemates

PL-310 ET and PL-360, plus a Grundig Executive
Satellit and an XHDATA D-808.
Fig. 2: The UNESCO World Radio Day event
celebrated 10 years in 2021.
Fig. 3: This year, the Africa Podcast Day centred
on one message: “We’re proud to be here!”
The often eclectic music choice of Delta

FM on 100.7MHz makes that station another
French favourite for me. A good signal is
dependent on conditions. However, for the
week that I was putting the Tecsun through
its paces, I was able to listen to Delta with
perfectly acceptable signal strength.
On short-, medium- and long wave, I heard
all of the stations that are regulars for me. For
instance, Voice of Vietnam, Voice of America
and Radio Havana Cuba on short wave; while,
on medium wave, MR1 Kossuth Radio in
Hungary, plus the usual Spanish and Czech
stations. 1
When you power down the receiver, there
is a nice fade away of the volume, which is Full specifications are available online at of radio and its unique ability to reach wide
preferable to the sudden cut-off that many many websites, including that of Nevada audiences, especially in the vast swathes of
receivers have. My only slight gripe would be Radio. With kind thanks to Mike Devereux at the planet where there is no electricity, let
that there is no stand at the back. This makes Nevada Radio for the loan of a Tecsun PL-330. alone the internet.
it more difficult to use the radio at an angle, https://tinyurl.com/57ehv5n9 The webinar was also covered in North East
something I prefer to do when operating a https://tinyurl.com/yfbftvw3 Colours, a daily English language newspaper
portable. in northeast India, as well as in the Indian DX
Design-wise, the appearance of the Tecsun World Radio Day Club International’s bulletin for March. The
PL-330 is the same as pretty much every other There were numerous online events and Indian DX Club International is a vibrant and
portable radio of its class, in dark grey. Silver, radio programmes to celebrate the 10th active DX association, which I wholeheartedly
grey or black-coloured receivers are the norm, UNESCO World Radio Day, on February 13th recommend. Its monthly bulletin, Asian DX
which is a wasted opportunity, in my mind. (Fig. 2). I joined other DXers for an online Review, is free of charge and can be found,
When a product is competing in a crowded gathering that was facilitated by the Indian along with other useful radio resources and
marketplace with radios that are similar in DX Club International. At the webinar, Dr S information, at the club’s website:
price and looks, surely it would be a smart Sanatani argued that radio needs to adapt to https://idxci.in
move to aim to stand from above the rest. new technologies, to remain accessible to UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay,
When I look at my portables, it is hard to tell everyone, no matter where they are. Pradip in her message to mark World Radio Day,
them apart at a glance, it must be said. Chandra Kundu has collected more QSL cards stated, “More than ever, we need this universal
A blue or red coating on a receiver would than anyone else in India, and he pointed out humanist medium, a vector of freedom.
be a quick win to enable this. Although I am how radio remains the fundamental means of Without radio, the right to information and
unaware of any manufacturers doing this, communication in times of natural disasters, freedom of expression and, with them
perhaps it is too expensive or impractical. epidemics and socio-economic crises. He fundamental freedoms would be weakened, as
However, it works on other products, emphasised the need for leaders to attract would cultural diversity, since community radio
where sleeves and cases for tablets and the younger generation to the hobby of radio stations are the voices of the voiceless.”
smartphones allow the user to individualise listening. https://tinyurl.com/esw9u82r
their equipment. Mr Sunil Bhat, Deputy Director-General of Amongst the countless radio stations
This deepens the emotional connection All India Radio (Prasar Bharati) congratulated that took part in the global events that day,
with the product. the IDXCI and applauded the club for bringing perhaps one of the stand-out programmes
The Tecsun PL-330 retails at around £89.95 together radio enthusiasts around the country lasted 53-minutes and was aired by the BBC
(including VAT). Tecsun is clearly keeping up and abroad in celebrating World Radio Day. World Service: The Documentary, World Wide
their good reputation. A fellow ‘radio head’, Among other speakers, Jim Salmon of Radio Waves: The Sounds of Community Radio.
David Morris, gave a favourable review of the Emma Toc in the UK, DXer Alokesh Dasgupta Produced by David Goren and presented
Tecsun PL-990 in February’s issue of BDXC from Delhi and Professor Dr Jaishakti by Maria Margaronis, the programme
Communication. The PL-660 retails for around Thangavel from Chennai focused on different examined some inspirational radio stations.
£260.00 and this high-performance short aspects of radio emphasising the importance Tamil Nadu’s Kadal Osai (The Sound of the
wave radio may be Tecsun’s last high-end of radio in our lives. I was honoured to Ocean) broadcasts to local fishermen about
portable. It is considered by many to be the represent the European DX Council at the the weather and climate change. Radio
Tecsun design team’s masterpiece. meeting and repeated my mantra of the power Civic Sfantu Gheorghe in the Danube Delta
Follow us on Facebook @radioenthusiasts and Twitter @REnthusiasts

UNESCO
preserves the history of the community, while

Radio Tasboom in a Cameroonian rainforest
operates on solar power.
Two of the stations mentioned were ones
I have previously written about in these
pages: Radio Pio Doce is one of the Bolivian
tin miners’ stations that started in the 1940s
(Sounds Like Autumn, RadioUser, December
2019: 44-47). Much further north in the
Americas, KTNN, the Voice of the Najavo
Nation, celebrates and supports the local
indigenous population (American Road Trip
Radio, RadioUser, July 2019: 50-53).
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct20d6
Other parts of UNESCO also
supported World Radio Day. The UNESCO
Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission took
the opportunity to promote the UN Decade 2
for Ocean Science (2021 to 2030) in its work. AFRICA PODFEST
This includes Trinidad and Tobago radio

broadcasts called Beyond the Blue.
https://tinyurl.com/27u84fjc
Africa and America

The 2021 African Podcast Day (Africa
Podfest) was forced to take place online
rather than in person. This occurred on
February 12th and was a resounding success
(Fig. 3).
Co-Director of Africa Podfest, Melissa
Mbugua stated how, “the future can only be
determined by what we do to build this industry
as individuals and a community. We get to
create space to let our dreams for African
podcasting fly. I am reflecting on insights from
the festival and challenging myself to imagine
pathways to a future where podcasting in
Africa is economically, socially and culturally
thriving, for Africans by Africans.”
Over 270 people from across the planet
took part in the festival, while the hashtag
#AfricaPodcastDay reached over 1.1 million
people on social media. A gamut of topics
was touched upon, from comedy to health, 3
plus technical aspects of podcasting and how
to build audiences. In the February 21st episode of The In the USA, the 35th Annual SWL Winterfest
There are several videos to be viewed at the Podcast Sessions, the festival’s co-direc- went online this year. I attended a few of the
Africa Podfest YouTube channel. tors, Josephine Karianjahi and Melissa sessions and it was a convivial atmosphere,
Moreover, there is a database of African Mbugu spoke to Rutendo Nyamuda about with chat, expertise and plenty of giveaways,
podcast on the festival website. Have a launching Africa’s first global podcast fes- including radios and magazine subscriptions.
play with it and be guided to gems such as tival.The increase in the podcast industry in Amongst the highlights were WBCQ airing
Sincerely Accra, a Ghanaian, fast-paced, Africa is heartening to observe, and the bo- the session given by Larry Will, about pirate
music and vox- pop-driven show. The Sandton nus for us is that many of the programmes radio, on 6160kHz, and Thomas Witherspoon
Times podcast, meanwhile, offers views and are in English. As we know, through dec- (The SWLing Post) giving a presentation
news from an affluent area of Johannesburg. ades of listening to international radio, pro- about his collection of current day radios,
The Cosmic Savannah integrates technology grammes are an ideal way to be immersed many of them portables which he takes on
and world-class astronomy under African in another culture. field trips. These included the Tecsun PL-330,
skies. From Uganda, Station Kampala sees https://tinyurl.com/AfricaPodfest which takes us neatly back to the beginning
Classic and Will talk about life, “from our www.africapodcastfestival.com of this month’s Emerging Issues in Radio
perspective as intelligent young men. Knock https://tinyurl.com/ec53497w column!
yourself out.” www.thepodsessions.com https://swling.com/blog/tag/pl-330

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e-mail [email protected] address Unit 1 Fitzherbert Spur Farlington Portsmouth PO6 1TT
Book Review
David Harris
[email protected]
David Harris reviews a title that embeds

external BBC post-war broadcasting in
the wider context of literature and radio
history, and he recommends a new au-
tobiographical publication on class, up-
bringing and radio.
Postcolonialism and Home Radio

This is a radio book with a cultural twist:
Radio Empire is about the influence that
the BBC’s ‘Eastern Service’ broadcasts to
India had on the development of the Indian
novel. The author makes the case that these
wartime broadcasts acted as ‘pilots’ for the
‘Third Programme’ (now BBC Radio 3) which
was launched in 1946 as a cultural radio
station.
When BBC radio was launched in 1923 the
audience was very small, well-educated and
affluent. Many of the early programmes con-
sisted of classical music recitals and ‘worthy
talks’.
The URL below allows you to read copies of
the Radio Times listing magazine from 1923
onwards.
https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk
Postcolonial Literature
During the 1930s, radios became much
cheaper and easier to use. Consequently, au-
diences grew, and programmes became more
and Johnny Sellotape
popular. During the Second World War (1939-
1945) BBC radio had to entertain troops and Hind. This station began in Germany and then and Howards End presented a monthly pro-
factory workers alike, who wanted light enter- moved to Singapore and finally Rangoon gramme of book reviews. Forster recom-
tainment, rather than intellectual talks. After (modern-day Yangon) before the Axis forces mended books by DH Lawrence, whose novel
the Second World War, the BBC reorganised were defeated. George Orwell (above) (1903 Lady Chatterley’s Lover was banned in the UK
its domestic radio network into the Home -1950), author of Animal Farm, 1984 and until 1960.
Service (now Radio 4), the Light Programme many other fine books worked for the BBC’s One very controversial literary figure fea-
(now Radio 2) and the Third Programme (now Eastern Service from 1941 -1943. In 1985, the tured in the broadcasts was James Joyce
Radio 3). Following a reorganisation in 1967, scripts of his programmes, George Orwell – (1882-1941). Recordings of him reading
Radio 3 became more of a classical music the War Broadcasts, were published. Finnegan’s Wake were broadcast to India but
station and talks were moved to Radio 4. This was closely followed by George Orwell: the book was considered too radical to talk
The BBC Empire Service was launched in The War Commentaries, which comprised the about on British domestic radio. Although
1932, originally as an English-language short scripts he wrote, and which were translated the central theme of Radio Empire is how the
wave service to English-speaking countries and broadcast by Indian-languages speak- broadcasts shaped the Anglophone India-
around the world. The Eastern Service being presenters at the BBC. Many of those pre- Novel, the secondary idea of how the ser-
gan in 1940 with programmes in Hindi and senters such as Mulk Raj Anand (1905-2004), vice shaped the Third Programme is very
English. Other Indian languages such as Venu Chitale and Attia Hosain (1913-1998) important. One can get a feel of these war-
Gujarati, Burmese, Sinhala and Tamil were went on to become major names in Indian time broadcasts by reading Orwell’s War
added later in the War. The BBC was aware literature. Quite a lot of the book is taken up Broadcasts, in which he talks about sub-
that the target audience in India was very with detailed studies of these authors’ writing jects as diverse as rationing, Jonathan Swift,
small and consisted mainly of university stu- and how it was influenced by radio. George Bernard Shaw, poetry, and Macbeth.
dents, professionals and intellectuals. Very The challenges of broadcasting and its The War Commentaries provide detailed cov-
few other Indians had access to a short wave immediacy helped shaped some post-war erage of the war in Europe and the Far East
radio. The idea of the broadcasts was to Indian writing. What is noticeable about many from December 1941 to March 1943. These
shape opinion and promote Western values Eastern Service broadcasts, is how ‘radical’ writings have also been repackaged in vari-
amongst the Indian intelligentsia. and ‘highbrow’ they were, compared to what ous compilations of Orwell’s writing and his
The Empire Service also countered the was being broadcast in England. In addi- Collected Works. Professor Morse concludes
propaganda broadcasts to India that were tion to Orwell, E M Forster (1879-1970) au- his book by noting that, by the 1950s, there
transmitted by the pro-Nazi station, Azad thor of such classics as A Passage to India was a shift in BBC External broadcasts away

Book Review
ment of a housing scheme with few ameni-

ties for children but making their own fun.
Moreover, Jeff writes quite a bit about his
Polish background. His father was born in
Germany but grew up in Poland. He was cap-
tured by Russian troops in the early days of
the Second World War and sent to Siberia.
Released in 1941, he joined the Polish Navy,
where he was based on a warship that spent
some time in Clydebank, Scotland. This
is where his father met his mother; after
the war, they married, and he stayed on in
Scotland. When Jeff was older, they went on
holidays to Germany, where his father sur-
prised him by speaking in fluent German and
making friends with many men of his age
who had served in the German Army. There
are also chapters about Polish relatives turn-
ing up in Glasgow and being accommodated
by his family.
Jeff recounts his sister’s love for Neil Reid,
a young singer who had appeared on the TV
talent show, Opportunity Knocks. Neil came
Radio Empire. The BBC’s Eastern Service and the Travels from my Twilight Zone. Morphine, from nearby Hamilton and achieved ‘one-hit-
Emergence of the Global Anglophone Novel, Memories and Make-Believe, wonder status in 1972. Jeff accompanied his
by Daniel Ryan Morse. Columbia University by Jeff Zycinski. Lunicorn Press. sister to his concerts, and she names her rab-
Press. 2020. Pbk. 272 pp. £26.74. 2020. Hbk. 264 pp. £12.99. bit after the boy singer. Jeff first realised that
ISBN 9780232298370 BUY
FROM US!
ISBN 9780992962489 he came from the ‘wrong side of the tracks’,
www.cup.columbia.edu See page 9 www.lunicorn.com when, on a school trip, he and his class-
mates were turned away from a National
from India to Africa. After the Second World publications. I was delighted to note that my Trust stately home because they were from
War, All India Radio (AIR) took up some of the quote (above) was included too. I always Easterhouse. Jeff manages to sneak in any-
cultural programming, which had been previ- send publishers copies of reviews that I have way and look around the house by following
ously supplied by the BBC. had published but very few even acknowledge children from a ‘posh’ school. School holi-
Many of the Eastern Service present- them. This is the first time that one of my days were always endless periods with noth-
ers now went on to work for The Third quotes has appeared in a book. ing to do but Jeff and his family decamped
Programme. In this title, the author traces the [congratulations to David; may this not be each year to a hut near the coast of Fife on
link between radio and Indian novelists to the last time either – Ed.] the east coast of Scotland. He has a good eye
Salman Rushdie’s novel, Midnight’s Children Red Light Zone concluded with Jeff hav- for detail and fills the book with anecdotes
which also contains references to the subject ing retired from the BBC. Unfortunately, drawn from deep in his memory of childhood.
of radio. shortly afterwards, he contracted cancer of Jeff was a bright boy who loved going to the
This is an important book for students of the tongue and found himself in hospital. He library and being able to borrow books. He
Indian Anglophone literature but is also a use- had many vivid dreams about his childhood even confesses to a period in his childhood
ful contribution to the history of BBC Radio 3 when in hospital – hence the subtitle of this where he truants regularly and sees little
and the role of the BBC’s external broadcasts. book. The bulk of the book is taken up with point in school.
recollections of his early life growing up on However, he returns to school and eventu-
Radio, Travels, and the tough Easterhouse Estate in Glasgow. He ally goes to university and then on to a career
Class-Consciousness was one of eight children whose father came in radio. The second part of the book is tak-
In Radio User, June 2019: 49, I reviewed Red to Scotland from Poland during the Second en up with nine original short stories, some
Light Zone by Jeff Zycinski. The book was a World War and settled in the country where of which were written when he was much
memoir of his career in broadcasting, in the he became a welder. Jeff’s background is in younger. The stories are well written, and I
course of which he rose to be Head of BBC marked contrast to that of many senior ex- liked the fake obituary of Johnny Sellotape,
Radio Scotland. I described it as, “ a very well ecutives at the BBC who came from the same a comedian who is Jeff’s alter ego. The book
written book which gives an excellent insight public school/Oxbridge background as so concludes with a glossary of the Scottish
into the life of a BBC producer”. In this book, many of our elite. Jeff is a very accomplished places which are mentioned in the book. I feel
Jeff hinted that he may write another volume. writer who draws upon his memory of child- that these and other places could be the ba-
Therefore, I was very pleased when Lunicorn hood to bring alive special moments from the sis of a new book for Jeff, something like a
Press sent me his latest book, which is both past. I think that anyone who grew up in the ‘Bill-Bryson-style’ odyssey around Scotland.
a prequel and a sequel to Red Light Zone. UK in an ordinary family background will be Overall, this was a most entertaining read,
The new title starts with quotes praising Red able to relate to his stories of childhood. He and I certainly think we will hear more from
Light Zone, collated mainly from Scottish recalls tales of playing in the austere environ- Jeff in the future.

Book Review
Radio Officers: A Window in Time

Scott Caldwell the sinking of her sister ship, Titanic.
[email protected] The close working dynamics of the role is
Robert Connolly very apparent in this book and is also reflected
[email protected] by many relevant primary historical sources.
I have provided a section that provides an in-
Scott Caldwell and Robert Connolly have teresting parallel on the working relationship
both enjoyed reading a new book on the between the senior and junior wireless opera-
history of radio officers, which opens tors.
windows into a fascinating past and re- It is an extract from the Diary of Alec Bagot,
veals a history that lives on through the Junior Wireless Operator on the RMS
writers such as this one. Olympic:
“I have but to close my eyes to feel again
Comments by Robert Connolly Ernie Moore, shaking my shoulder, saying, ‘Get
From the early 1900s, ships had carried spe- up quickly, the Titanic’s sinking.’
cialist radio officers until the requirement for ‘What’s the time?’
the position came to an end on 31 December ‘Eleven forty. I can’t wait. Get up.’
1999. The author of this 235-page book, John I turned back, disgruntled. It was a mean
Brew, was a ship’s radio officer employed by thing to wake you twenty minutes before you
Marconi in the 1970s. His book recounts his need go on watch. Five was enough. Nor was
life at sea in that role, along with information there anything funny in the greeting, although
on the ships he served on, their captains and usually, it was the ‘Maurie’ or the ‘Lucy’ – our
crews, and the ports visited. Cunard rivals, ‘Mauretania’ and ‘Lusitania’ who
For those interested in maritime radio, this The Radio Officer is Dead – Life at Sea for a were supposed to be in distress. That, or ‘The
book provides valuable insight into, and un- Marine Radio Officer in the 1970s old man wants you on the ‘Bridge’, too corny
derstanding of, the role and requirements of Brew, John (2021) Castlequarter (5 Feb. 2021) to carry weight with any seasoned ‘Sparks’.
a ship’s radio officer. This includes watch- ISBN10: 1527274632 ISBN13: 978-1527274631 So when the first Wireless Officer of RMS
keeping and many aspects of life on board a Hbk: £ 21.94 Kindle: £4,00 ‘Olympic’, E. J. Moore awakened me with such
commercial ship, including the relationship be- https://tinyurl.com/cvunu8s lack of originality, I wasn’t impressed and said
tween captain and senior crew member. so as boldly as any junior may to his senior. But
The book also provides an insight into the grammes and other music. Ernie was serious. It’s true, I’m telling you. It’s
radio officer’s ‘downtime’ while in ports and The author also mentions that learning true. Don’t fool around. Get up”.
contains interesting photographs including Morse code is like riding a bike, something The diary is now housed in the State Library
the radio room of the ship Howard W Bell. that you never forget. of Australia (D Piece (Archival) D 7428 L).
The book will bring back memories for read- This is something I was aware of, as my fa- https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/home
ers who were themselves ship radio officers ther was a Royal Navy wireless telegraphist In many respects, this book is like a window
and former radio officers working at coast sta- before and during WW2. Although my father through time to a bygone era when radio offic-
tions – at the other end of the proverbial line. became a teacher after his Navy days, he re- ers were an essential part of a ship’s company
The author explains that three main aspects mained proficient in receiving Morse until he and a legal requirement under SOLAS legisla-
defined his job: First, maintaining the safety of died, even though he did not become a radio tion. From the very first page, this book had me
life at sea, requiring the radio officer to main- amateur. hooked.
tain a listening watch on the distress frequen- John Brew also provides an interesting sec- The commercial aspect of marine radio is
cies for as long as possible. tion on maritime expressions, along with the another interesting parallel that remained with
Second, managing communications, with international Morse code and a list of mer- the Marconi Company, in terms of charging
incoming and outgoing radio telegrams and chant navy officers, in the hierarchical form to for the sending of personal messages. The
radiotelephone calls. The third facet was to help the casual reader. Vernon Pools Syndicate is another remind-
carry out maintenance of all the electronic The Radio Officer is Dead is available from er of a past era, long before the dawn of the
equipment on board the vessel. Amazon in either paperback or Kindle version. Internet, and it provided much-needed enter-
John explains about radio telegrams – and tainment for the ship’s crew.
the cheaper option that crew members could Comments by Scott Caldwell I particularly found it amusing that the
use by sending a ship’s letter-telegram; this Reading this book was a very enjoyable ex- Marconi Company were very reluctant to reim-
was posted to the recipient by the coast sta- perience. It has several interesting parables burse their employee’s travel expenses related
tion that received it. that relate to my research interests. The sec- to airfares.
He also muses about the use of Morse tion that deals with John Brew’s first ship; his Overall, this is a fascinating and easy-to-ab-
code, including its use by some mobile tel- jovial reception from the carpenter reminded sorb title that should be in the shack libraries
ephone manufacturers for start-up and SMS me of a recent article from the personal diary of all those with an interest in maritime history,
messages, along with being incorporated of Alec Bagot, who was the second wireless the history of technology, and maritime radio.
into the theme tunes of some television pro- operator of the RMS Olympic during her role in https://tinyurl.com/4c45ej32

News
Rallies European Private

and Events Shortwave Stations
Plan your visits with our list of forthcoming events.
Warners (RadioUser & Practical Wireless) will be Stand: April 1st 2021
attending events marked with an asterisk (*). Club
Only legal stations are included. Most stations use 100 to 3,000W of power.
secretaries/ event organisers: Please send full and D = Germany, DNK = Denmark, FIN = Finland, NL = Netherlands, NOR = Norway, Irr. = irregular, F.pl.: future plan,
accurate details of your events, affiliations and min. = minutes, Mo = Monday, Tu = Tuesday, We = Wednesday, Th = Thursday, Fr = Friday, Sa = Saturday, Su = Sunday.
clubs as early as possible, if you would like to be
mentioned here: [email protected]
kHz Country Name Transmittersite Schedule(UTC)
11th and 25th May 2021 3920 NL Radio Piepzender Zwolle Weekends (1600-2400)
SOUTH ESSEX AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY: We
3940 NL Mike Radio Heerde ? (1600-2300)
meet at 17 pm on the second Tuesday at The White
House, Kiln Road, Benfleet SS7 1BU (Region 12). 3955 D Radio Channel 292 RohrbachWaal 24/7
May 11th: Club meeting on the air at 8 pm on
3975 D Shortwave Radio Winsen Daily 1500-2300
145.325MHz FM. May 25th: SEARS Net at 8 pm
on GB3DA. Daily net hosted by our president Brian 3985 D Shortwaveservice Kall-Krekel Daily 1400-2200
Bellamy, G7IIO, at 3.30 pm Monday to Friday on 3995 D HCJB Weenermoor 24/7
145.325MHz FM.
Terry Howchen, G1FBW: Tel: 07986 070 040 4895 NL Mike Radio Heerde ? (1600-2300)
[email protected] 5895 NOR Radio Northern Star Bergen Daily 0329-2210
http://www.southessex-ars.co.uk
5920 D HCJB Weenermoor Daily 0600-1600
4th July 2021 5930 DNK World Music Radio Bramming 24/7
DARTMOOR RADIO RALLY: The Rally this year will
5940 NL Radio Piepzender Zwolle Testing
be held at a new venue - The Yelverton War Memo-
rial Hall, Meavy Lane, Yelverton. Devon, PL20 6AL 5970 DNK Radio 208 Hvidovre 24/7
on Sunday 4th July 2021. Free Parking. There will be
5980 DNK Radio OZ-Viola Hillerød We 2100-2200, Sa-Su 1100-1300
the usual Bring and Buy, Trader Stands and Refresh-
ments available. Doors open at 10 am. Admission 5980 FIN Scandinavien Weekend Radio Virrat 1st Sa of the month (not in May)
is £2.50. 6005 D Shortwaveservice Kall-Krekel Daily 0800-1600
Roger, Tel: 07854 088 882
[email protected] 6005 NL Radio DeltaInternational Elburg Testing
6020 NL Radio DeltaInternational Elburg Sa 0900-1300 & Su 0600-1700

11th July 2021 (New Date)
6070 D Radio Channel 292 RohrbachWaal 24/7
EAST SUFFOLK WIRELESS RALLY ESWR 2021:
Opens at 9.30 am; Kirton Recreation Ground, Back 6085 D Shortwaveservice Kall-Krekel Daily 0700-1700 (Radio Mi AmigoInt.)
Road, Kirton, Ipswich IP10 0PW. A14 Junction 59.
6115 D Radio SE-TA2 Hartenstein ?
Kevin Ayriss, G8MXV
Tel: 07710 046 846 6140 NL Radio Onda, Belgium Borculo, NL Weekends only. F.pl.: Daily 0630-1900
6150 D Europa 24 Datteln Daily 0700-1700

29th August 2021
TORBAY ANNUAL COMMUNICATIONS FAIR: 6160 D Shortwave Radio Winsen Daily 0800-1600
Newton Abbot Racecourse Devon TQ12 3AF. Doors 6170 FIN Scandinavian Weekend Radio Virrat 1st Sa of the month (not in May)
open at 10 am with disabled visitors gaining access
at 9.30 am. Indoor event with plenty of free parking 6195 NL Mike Radio Heerde ?(Su 0600-1300)
on site. There will be a Bring & Buy, as well as an RSGB 7365 D HCJB Weenermoor ?(0800-1300)
Book Stall. Catering will be available on-site entry £2.
7440 NL Radio Piepzender Zwolle Alternative to 5940kHz
Please follow prevailing Covid rules.
Pete, G4VTO: 01803 864 528 9670 D Radio Channel 292 RohrbachWaal F.pl.: 24/7 from April
Mike, G1TUU: 01803 557 941.
11690 FIN Scandinavian Weekend Radio Virrat 1st Sa of th emonth (not in May)
[email protected]
11720 FIN Scandinavian Weekend Radio Virrat 1st Sa of th emonth (not in May)
2nd September 2021 15505 NL Radio Piepzender Zwolle Weekends
WESTON -SUPER- MARE RADIO SOCIETY 6TH
RADIO & ELECTRONICS RALLY: The Campus Com- 15790 DNK World Music Radio Randers Sa-Su 0700-2000 +irr. at other times
munity Centre, Worle, Weston-super-Mare BS24 7DX; 25770 DNK World Music Radio Maarslet F.pl. from April or May–24/7
9.30/10 am - 3 pm (Traders 7.30 am).
Dave, G4CXQ: 07871 034 206 This list is compiled by Stig Hartvig Nielsen ([email protected]) each first day of the month – and is based on details supplied by the various radio stations, the
[email protected] stations websites and HFCC registrations. The list is not copyrighted and may be published everywhere. Next list will be published on May 1st 2021.

Maritime Matters
COURTESY OF ROLLS ROYCE
Robert Connolly
[email protected]
V
ideo Killed the Radio Star is the
title of a song written in 1978
by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes
and Bruce Woolley that I used
to enjoy listening to. It may
have been written before some of you were
even the proverbial ‘twinkle in your parents’
eyes’, but those five title words always said
to me that – given advancing progress in
technology – something well established,
becomes effectively redundant.
For example, in the maritime world,
sailing ships were replaced with
steam vessels, the compass and
sextant were replaced with satellite
navigation, developments in marine radio
communications resulted in the loss of
the traditional ship’s radio officer, and so
the list goes on.
In our own time, commercial shipping is
under pressure to ‘clean up its act’, in just
the same way as aircraft and road vehicles
are moving to greener energy sources. 1
Many existing ships have been fitted
with exhaust scrubbers to reduce their
environmental impact. Furthermore, several
innovative technologies are currently
being experimented with to reduce ship
Autonomous
emissions further. Some ships are being
fitted with experimental sails, (either a
rotor- or traditional type of sail) which may
be used to reduce fuel consumption. A
Vessels and
Scandinavian passenger ferry, for instance,
is currently operating with a rotor sail fitted
for this purpose.
There are ongoing developments and
Crewless Cruises
experiments to power ships by battery,
particularly smaller cargo coasters.
The aim of the International Maritime
Robert Connolly charts the possible future of
Organisation (IMO) is to ‘de-carbonise’ independent shipping and the radio communications
shipping by 2050. required, recommends frequencies for seasonal maritime
https://www.imo.org
listening and has news from the Irish Coast Guard.
Autonomous Shipping
Running in tandem with these
developments are moves to make battery- 2019 column (RadioUser, February 2019: with larger cargo coasters, between 75 to
powered cargo ships either remote- 23-25) I reported on a small, unmanned 80 metres in length, are soon to begin in
controlled or fully autonomous. The surface craft that was being used for Norwegian waters.
difference between ‘remote control’ and mapping the seabed with sophisticated
‘fully autonomous’ is basically as follows: sonar. The device was being remotely AIS Control
the latter vessel carries no crew at all and controlled from the company’s office in Co. For fully autonomous ships, technicians
will be able to ‘make decisions’ and ‘take Louth, Ireland. There are currently several will command and control all onboard
actions’ by itself. larger vessels undergoing trials in various equipment including winches, cranes
Subsea Remotely Operating Vessels European countries, in terms of their etc., from a shore-based control centre.
(ROV) are already distantly controlled ability to be remotely operated. As a safety Technology using Broadband cellular
from their mother ship, usually linked via precaution, they do carry a crew on board. network and satellite connections will
an umbilical cable for control and video They can step in, should something go send the data collected from the vessel
feedback from the ROV. In my February wrong. Currently, these are tugs but trials to the shore station. I have previously

Maritime Matters
COURTESY OF ROLLS ROYCE
Fig. 1: A shore-based remote/autonomous

ship control centre. Fig. 2: The progress of an
autonomous ship. Fig. 3: The submarine USS
Seawolf SSN21 arriving in Gibraltar.
reported that the US Navy is to experiment

with technology that would not only allow
autonomous ship operation but also the
vessel’s ability to transmit live VHF radio
communications with other vessels.
The Automatic Identification System
(AIS) transmissions of remotely operated or
autonomous ships will show these vessels
as ‘unmanned’, thus allowing other vessels
in the area to ensure necessary safety
precautions. Under normal circumstances,
shore control station operators would
steer the autonomous ship to ensure that
all the normal rules and vessel separation
regulations are adhered to. 2
Covid-19 Impact Secure Communications in the back of their mind to handle a

In some ways, the current Covid-19 The video and audio feedback data from situation such as this.
(Coronavirus) pandemic has fuelled the the autonomous vessel to the shore-based
race to develop and establish this type of control centre could shed some light on Crewless Cruises?
new technology. One massive problem the the cause of a ship loss. However, given I believe that it will be many years down
pandemic caused in the maritime world the rapid increase in cyber-attacks in the the line - if ever - before passenger ships
was that of crew replacement. Ship crews commercial world in recent years, the become ‘crewless’. Where passengers
are contracted for a specific time on the transfer of data between ships and shore vessels are concerned, crew members not
vessel; normally, when that period is up, the control stations would have to be very only carry out their routine duties, be they
crew members return home on leave for a secure to prevent the crewless vessel from restaurant, bar or housekeeping staff; they
period after being replaced by a new crew. being hijacked for its cargo or from being also are trained to assist passengers in the
However, due to borders being closed used as a potential weapon by a rogue evacuation of the ship, should the worst
and flights stopped because of Covid-19, state or terrorist organisation. happen, and the vessel became in danger
it has not been possible for many ships While having crewless cargo vessels of sinking. Rest assured that if you are
to carry out these crew changes. At one is feasible and will probably develop going on a passenger ship in the next 10-30
point, some 400,000 crew members were to include larger ocean-going ships years’ time, or more, there will still be crew
stuck on vessels, owing to the unavailability in the coming years, I wonder how an onboard to look after your needs.
of crew changes. autonomous ship could be repaired Finally, on this topic, currently, every
This was a particularly serious problem at sea, should it suffer a mechanical ship requires a crew to operate, maintain
for crews on cruise ships when they breakdown off-shore that is not software watches, and so on.
were forced to lay up. After passengers related. Certainly, with a coastal vessel, Autonomous ships, by their very design,
had been repatriated, some cruise ships it could be accessed by engineers using would not have a crew on board, as full
rendezvoused at sea to transfer crew another vessel, but this would not be a control would be carried out from a shore-
members to other ships that then sailed particularly fast method of getting a repair based centre. This could mean that one
to different parts of the world to take team on board. shore-based operating team could control
crew members as close to their home Another option could be using a several ships at once. Would this lead to
country as possible. helicopter. Then, what about some years the maritime equivalent of “Video Killed
There were still many crew members down the line when an ocean-going the Radio Star”?
stuck on both cargo and passenger autonomous ship has a mechanical Could ships’ crews be consigned to the
ships – well beyond their contracted breakdown in the middle of an ocean? history books, like the ships’ radio officer, in
employment time. The use of a helicopter would not be the coming years? Only time will tell!
With autonomous ships, you have no possible due to range issues. Therefore, More information may be found at the
crew on board. Therefore, in the event a surface craft would have to be used, following websites:
of another pandemic in the future, this potentially taking several days to reach the https://tinyurl.com/2c3vc7jm
problem would be reduced. There could crippled vessel. https://tinyurl.com/xu5b9akx
still be problems rotating staff at the shore- In the meantime, the ship in question
based control centres, should another could present a navigation hazard to Cruise News
worldwide pandemic occur. Nevertheless, other shipping. While on the subject of ships, at the time
should an autonomous ship sink for some One hopes that those designing of writing most cruise ships have not re-
reason, no lives would be lost. autonomous ships have something commenced operations and a quick virtual

Maritime Matters
COURTESY OF KEV HEWITT
“If you are going to the

seaside, please ensure that
you adhere to the current
Covid Government advice -
to not only help you to stay
safe, but also to protect
local residents”
the pandemic, their crews were not

permitted to undertake training exercises
until recently.
In a previous column (RadioUser,
April 2021: 34-36) I promised you some
information on European marine MF/
HF coast stations. You can now find this
3 in Table 2. Some of these stations only
broadcast in their local language, while
tour of the south coast of England using the provides detailed information on UK others will transmit in both English and their
MarineTraffic or VesselFinder websites still coastguard MSI broadcasts, including the local language(s). In general, the best time
show these at anchor. It could be the early times and channels used for various areas. to receive the majority of these stations
summer before things change, although www.coastalradio.org.uk is during darkness, although some may
they do make occasional port visits to re- If you are going to the seaside, please also be received during daylight hours via
supply, bunker and change crews. ensure that you adhere to the current Covid groundwave propagation. Over the last
For a year, these ships, whose Government advice - to not only help you to 12 months, I have received the majority of
passengers have visited tourist attractions stay safe, but also to protect local residents. these stations in Areas 1 and 2, along with
have become tourist attractions in Keep a sharp lookout for local lifeboat most Italian stations, French and Spanish
themselves. Since the pandemic began, and coastguard volunteer team members stations in Area 3. I have used either
two cruise companies have permanently who are trying to get to their station for a my SDRplay RSP1A (or, more recently,
ceased trading and around 15 cruise ships, callout. Seconds lost can cost lives lost, the RSPdx model) with my PA0RDT
mostly older ones in the various fleets, have so please allow them through the usual mini-whip antenna.
been sent for breaking. congested summer coastal town traffic as I have omitted a few stations located
By contrast, there are also several new quickly as possible. in Africa and stations in the Black Sea. If
vessels due to enter service during 2021. As their private vehicles used to get to the you require information for other areas
station for callouts do not have sirens and/ a full detailed list is available on this very
Summer Scanning or blue flashing lights they will often drive useful website:
Summer is just around the corner, with their headlights and hazard warning www.dxinfo.com
hopefully. Due to the ongoing pandemic, lights switched on. N.B.: Table 1 (General Maritime VHF
it looks as if many more people will be Frequencies) and Table 2 (European Marine
holidaying at home this year so our seaside No Cliff Rescues MF/HF Coast Stations) can now be found
resorts might be very busy. As a result, As I was preparing this column, I came on the Radio Enthusiast website:
this is likely to make our coastguard and across a report on the RTÉ news website www.radioenthusiast.co.uk
lifeboat volunteers even busier than during (RTÉ is the Irish national radio and Finally for this month, my thanks go to
a normal summer. television broadcaster) that the Irish Kev Hewitt for kindly providing the image
Some coastal visitors may be less aware Coast Guard has stopped carrying out for Fig. 3. This shows the submarine
of the hazards caused by tides, cliff walking cliff rescues until further notice due to USS Seawolf SSN21 arriving in Gibraltar.
or the use of inflatable toys. For some of Covid-19 precautions. ime, Fair Winds.
you, it may well be the first time staying at a https://www.rte.ie/news
seaside resort within the British Isles. https://tinyurl.com/v47zkyzv
If you are bringing your scanner, Table Such rescues are normally carried out by Further Reading
1 lists some of the main marine VHF volunteer teams, in conjunction with one • European Commission:
frequencies to listen out on. of four coastguard rescue helicopters, and https://tinyurl.com/98set3nn
The actual channels for coastguard there is an average of one such tasking per • Felski, A. and Zwolak, K. (2020) ‘ The Ocean-
maritime safety information (MSI) month. The Irish Coast Guard states that Going Autonomous Ship [...]; JMSE 8: 41
broadcasts vary from area to area. their helicopter cliff rescue will continue as • IEEE Spectrum:
However, an announcement is always normal until their land-based rescue teams https://tinyurl.com/3ud6hne2.
made on Ch 16 (156.800MHz) detailing can resume operations. • ‘The Robot Ships are Coming’:
the channels used for the different coastal In a similar vein, while RNLI lifeboats https://tinyurl.com/ucarraxa.
areas. The excellent Coastal Radio website continued with rescue operations during

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International Radio Scene
RADIO ROMÂNI ONLINE
Chrissy Brand
[email protected]
E
very radio station in the world
has its target audience. No sin-
gle station can provide enough
breadth of programme content
to satisfy a wide demographic.
However, the intended listenership is based
on different factors. A certain musical gen-
re, such as jazz or classical music, can find
fans amongst all age ranges; ‘Golden old-
ies’ stations will frequently appeal to mid-
dle-aged and older audiences who want to 1
be reminded of their youth. Perhaps that de-
sire for nostalgia is why there are so many
stations in the oldies format, not just in the
UK, but globally.
Decades ago, I recall reading audience
Targeting Audiences
research reports stating how international
stations on short wave were aimed at poli-
cymakers and high-ranking professionals.
& The Great Outdoors
Another premise was a belief in short wave
listeners being of above-average intelli- Chrissy Brand looks at how radio broadcasters cater
gence. It is unwise to generalise, but peo-
ple tuned to short wave and global broad-
to different audiences. She also rounds up some
casters in the past, and probably today, for international station news and explores programmes
four main reasons: A desire for informa-
tion (sometimes live-saving); an interest in
that celebrate the outdoors and the wilderness.
international affairs and international cul-
ture; and for DXing. the middle of the road segment of the of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton.
Back in the year 2000, former BBC Head over 60 years old demographic (the ‘Baby- It is innovative and fresh, with residency
of Audience Research Graham Mytton gave Boomer Generation’). shows and syndication of, “some of the
a presentation at the annual meeting of It is competing in the marketplace with biggest most reputable radio shows on the
the US National Association of Shortwave the mainstream rock, pop, soul, disco and planet.” The station also has a presence
Broadcasters. It is a fascinating snapshot funk that is the staple of BBC Radio 2 and at music festivals and international
of international broadcasting interactions the commercial golden hits stations. Alex music conferences.
with audiences at the turn of the century, and Clark presents Front Row on BBC Radio www.trickstarradio.com
worth reading even today. One point noted, 4 and is a host on the Vintage Podcast, a
and which has not changed, is that, “Short programme about books. I agreed with her Community Spirit
wave broadcasters are niche-broadcasters. review of Boom Radio’s opening week, in Another method to attract an audience is
Often they are not aiming to reach mass audi- Hello, boomers’ radio. How did you end up in by broadcasting for an entire town. This
ences, but people with specific needs, inter- the culture wars? in The Observer, February is how community radio became popular;
ests and tastes.” 21st, 2021. It also neatly captured a question by producing content that could unite
https://tinyurl.com/r926c4pk I have often pondered. Music addict Alex youngsters and community elders alike.
commented, “If you love music, you don’t There may be different music tastes but
Boomers and Millennials stop listening to it; you don’t freeze it in time a town’s shops, eateries, leisure facilities,
Boom Radio took to the airwaves in and, as much as you cherish the songs of public services and events all affect the
February. It is on DAB in many cities, online, your youth, you make room for the new.” whole town in similar ways. One UK station
on smart speakers and has a dedicated https://tinyurl.com/4t8dvupr that encapsulates this community spirit
app. The hosts read like a roll call of 1970s’ https://tinyurl.com/6u43swz7 is Radio Alty. Based in the market town
radio. The station has a trio of former The youth market is probably the most of Altrincham, it is an online station that
Capital Radio DJs and presenters from that important segment of the industry. A trades on its Mancunian roots with the
era: Nicky Horne, agony aunt Anna Raeburn good representative of this is Trickstar straplines, “From Blue Mondays to Happy
and Graham Dene, who has a breakfast Radio. Established in 2013, Trickstar Radio Mondays” and “From Goose Green to Green
time slot. Other big radio names from the represents youth music culture, playing Onions.” The programmes are presented
past have been recruited and make for a underground Hip Hop, electronic and dance by enthusiastic volunteers. Examples to
strong station brand. music. It has expanded from its Brighton whet your appetite include Pastries in the
The backers of Boom Radio feel there DAB coverage of 400,000 people. A new Morning, where Pete and Tom Scotson
is enough potential advertising revenue licence enabled the station to extend its lend a blend of chat, music and personality.
for the station to prosper. It is aimed at reach to listeners in Bournemouth, the Isle Local bakery and restaurant, Blanchflower,

KLUBRÁDIÓ
Fig. 1: Radio ROMÂNi Online, entertaining and

informing the UK’s Romanian diaspora since 2007.
Fig. 2: Hungary’s government closed independent
station, Klubrádió, on-air since 2000. It remains
online. Fig. 3: Monthly music from Ireland
to Scandinavia on Radio Northern Europe.
delivers an eclectic mix of chilled tunes,

while on Thursdays at 1800 UTC, Hot
Buttered Soul is where Annie presents
two hours of Soul, Motown and Northern
Soul Club Classics.
www.radioalty.co.uk
Radio stations that cater to minority 2
groups can find both a national and a local RNEI
audience. For example, Gorgeous FM in

Wolverhampton (DAB and online) puts the
LGBT+ communities at its heart. As well as
news and specialist programmes, The Pride
Show with Stu Payne aims to keep listeners
up to date on the latest LGBT+ events, along
with guests from across Birmingham, The
Black County and Shropshire. It is broadcast
on Sundays from 1600 to 1900 UTC.
www.gorgeousfm.com/radio
Some of the many other minority groups
in the UK also have special programmes
and podcasts, if not stations, to tune to. It
is, of course, hard to meet the needs of an
entire ethnic minority on one audio platform.
Noor Talks is a podcast aimed at the Afghan 3
community, with, “discussions on what
British Afghans go through in their daily audio and detailed documents, including Graham Smith noted that Radio
lives. It covers not only the struggles but the a 115-page guide. As well as the South Dechovka, the Czech station that plays
successes of how far we have come. We will Korean capital, it covers other areas of brass band music, left 1233kHz on February
be discovering [guests’] experiences, careers, broadcasts in both North and South Korea, 28th. However, the station remains on
challenges, aspirations and focus more on including jammers and number stations. 792kHz, with 1260kHz to be added. I have
their successes.” www.chriskadlec.com/radio/seoul also heard Radio Dechovka play a musical
http://noortalks.co.uk The Hungarian government’s a genre that I can only describe as a cross
Part of the Romanian population in the UK crackdown on radio stations and other between schlager and Czech country and
has been served by Radio ROMÂNi Online media continued, when the country’s western, on Thursdays around at 1000 UTC.
(Fig. 1). This volunteer-led station started last independent radio station, Klubrádió The station can also now be heard on Czech
fourteen years ago and, “offers Romanians (Fig. 2), was taken off the air in February. television (Fig. 4).
in the UK, as well as those in the diaspora, Thankfully, this commercial news and www.radiodechovka.cz
an online alternative to radios in their home talk station retains an online presence.
country or those in their adopted country. Its history of positivity and resistance is Urban and Rural Exploring
Impartial news and carefully selected music, related on Wikipedia, although I am unsure This time, I have chosen a selection of my
especially promoting quality Romanian music why it uses a Zebra for its logo. favourite radio programmes and podcasts
and Romanian values.” www.klubradio.hu that celebrate being outside (Fig. 5). High
https://radioro.uk Radio Northern Europe International Street Tales is a project funded by Historic
started in February last year and its thirty- England. This has resulted in engaging,
Overseas Radio minute, monthly programme attracts modern tales scattered with characters,
We are familiar with the two Korean state listeners all over the world. Presenter memories, and personal histories. North
broadcasters on shortwave (KBS World Roseanna plays pop and dance music Shields, Weston-Super-Mare, Leicester
and Voice of Korea), but there is also a from Northern Europe on short wave. It and Woolwich were the first four towns
good resource for listeners interested in is reassuring that the station has made it to be explored.
the South Korean capital’s radio scene. through the first year and established a loyal https://tinyurl.com/2zc6xrrj
The Seoul AM Radio Listening Guide is a following (Fig. 3). It appears that DXers, QSL Stories from around the coasts of the
three-hour documentary, narrated by Chris hunters and dance music aficionados all UK and Ireland are presented by Charlie
Kadlec. It concentrates on the AM band as tune in, or listen online. Connelly, author of Attention All Shipping:
heard in Seoul, Korea after dark, with video, https://rnei.org A Journey Round The Shipping Forecast.

Date Time (UTC) Station Programme Podcast URL/ Stream/ Frequency
Daily 1200 to 1300 Radio Poland Culture, history, Letter From Poland https://podcasty.polskieradio.pl/ www.polskieradio.pl/395 and 1386kHz
Weekdays 0900 to 1000 CBC Ideas, Radio for the Mind, with Nahlah Ayed https://tinyurl.com/f2mu3pbe www.cbc.ca plus FM locally and Sirius XM nationally
Tuesday to 0100 to 0130 RAE Argentina to the World News, culture, arts travel. https://tinyurl.com/4kd6a9f8 https://tinyurl.com/4kd6a9f8 and 9395kHz to North America
Saturday
Thursday 1030 Scala Radio Book Club with Mark Forrest or Simon Mayo https://tinyurl.com/4h2adahw https://planetradio.co.uk/scala-radio and DAB
Saturday 1200 to 1400 Siren Radio, Lincoln Steam Punk Weekend with Hal Crompton www.sirenonline.co.uk www.sirenonline.co.uk and 107.3 MHz
Saturday 1500 to 1600 BBC Radio 3 Sound of Gaming, with Louise Blain BBC Sounds App https://tinyurl.com/dnp96jah DAB and FM
CHRISTOPHER CZERMAK ON UNSPLASH
Table 1. My top listening recommendations for the

month ahead in international radio.
RADIO DECHOVKA
4 5
Fig. 4: Czech station Radio Dechovka is now on the print magazine. The first two podcasts sex scandals, the De Gaulle government
TV, as well as on medium wave. Fig. 5: Many looked at ylang-ylang essential oil in the interfering with the station’s news agen-
podcasts offer a new view of the great outdoors. Comoros Islands and restoring the Scottish da, police corruption and a Franco-USA
Highlands ecosystem. initiative to launch a joint satellite TV ven-
“Take fifteen minutes out of your day for a http://geographical.co.uk/podcasts ture, Mondovision.
true maritime tale of the heroic, disastrous, Desert Oracle Radio is broadcast on The main character, Christine Beauval
startling, hilarious, mysterious, tragic or Friday nights at 2200 local time on KCDZ (played by Marie Gillain) is the TV announc-
just plain WTF”. 107.7 in the Mojave high desert. Ken Layne er, breaking the glass ceiling but juggling a
https://tinyurl.com/298rw2bt has a great voice for radio and his observa- complicated family and personal life, plus
Meanwhile, Field Recordings is a pro- tions and anecdotes of strange happenings sexism in the workplace.
gramme with a difference, in that there is in and around Joshua Tree National Park in Add to this a selection of stylish French
minimal human sound. It is a podcast where California make for an enthralling listen. furnishing and radios plus Parisian chic, flair,
“audio-makers stand silently in fields (or www.desertoracle.com/radio fashion and some strong characters (he-
things that could be broadly interpreted as https://tinyurl.com/du4nd9hk roes and villains) and it makes a perfect mix.
fields)”. A night barge on the Rhine, a fire- Cole Moreton (BBC Radio 4) and Emily The Announcer has been available since last
place on the west coast of the Republic of Jeffery present the Edge of England pod- November on Channel 4’s 4OD platform, as
Ireland, the dawn chorus at Mallacoota in cast, from the south coast. It delves, “deep part of the wonderful Walter Presents inter-
Australia and a recording for the 25 April into the deep South, where we’re closer to national series.
Bridge in Lisbon give you an idea of what to France than we are to Westminster but if you Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française
expect. The Field Recordings programme is go too far you fall off.” was the French public service broadcast-
a novel way to escape incessant human chit- The ever-changing landscape of the erod- er, founded in 1949. It was later replaced
chat, for a while. ing chalk cliffs and stories about the people by Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision
https://fieldrecordings.xyz who live and work there. Française, which ran from 1964 to 1974.
The Gravel Ride looks at aspects of cy- https://edgeofengland.com All programming was strictly controlled by
cling. Earlier this year there was a fascinat- the government.
ing two-part programme which told tales of The Announcers https://tinyurl.com/zx693jh3
Namibia’s Desert Dash and South Africa’s A departure from podcasts but I must https://tinyurl.com/rmvasfz6
The Munga, described as ‘The Toughest mention a TV series that I am sure readers An announcer also stars in a pod-
Race on Earth’. A story that, “should inspire will enjoy. The Announcer is a French cast episode of WNYC Studios and Snap
anyone looking for a gravel adventure”. series, made in 2018 and set in 1962, Judgement’s Spooked. A spine-chilling 33
http://thegravelride.libsyn.com/website during the aftermath of the French conflicts minutes await you a haunted Mexican sta-
The Geographical Podcast is a new audio in Algerian. It is a six-part drama that takes tion Radio Centro. Season Five, Episode 13
offshoot from Geographical, a UK maga- place at a real-life French broadcaster, RTF back in October of last year.
zine published since the 1930s. Each epi- (Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française). www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/spooked
sode includes a feature-length story from Plenty is going on: Political intrigue and https://tinyurl.com/3kren3h9

Radio News
AMSAT JOURNAL: A bi-monthly digital

magazine for amateur radio in space
enthusiasts, published by the Radio Amateur
Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). A source for
hardware and software projects, technical tips,
STEM initiatives, operational activities, and
news from around the world. Join AMSAT today
to get immediate access to the latest issue and
archived issues of The AMSAT Journal. Inside the
Current Issue (January/February 2021), you will
find articles on the following subjects: Apogee
View – Robert Bankston, KE4AL | For Beginners
— Amateur Radio Satellite Primer IX – Keith
Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF | The Yolinda Lindenblad:
A Wideband Omnidirectional Circularly-
polarized Antenna – Lapo Pieri, IK5NAX | Martha
Saragovitz Retires – Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF
& Joe Kornowski, KB6IGK.
(SOURCE: AMSAT)
https://www.amsat.org
BDXC COMMUNICATION:
(Issue 557 | April 2021 | ISSN 0958-2142)
www.bdxc.org.uk
CQ-DATV:
(Issue 94 | April 2021)
https://cq-datv.mobi/94.php
CRYSTALS GO TO WAR: A great story (in
pictures) about the preparation and manufacture
of quartz crystals for radio communication.
Produced by André de LaVarre.
https://tinyurl.com/w2nnkuza
DOMESTIC BROADCASTING SURVEY: DBS 23
(Anker Petersen, DSWCI) The next edition of the
Domestic Broadcasting Survey
http://www.dswci.org DAWN STORMS AT JUPITER: Bonfond et al. depolarization’, mapping to ionospheric features
EOS SCIENCE NEWS (AMERICAN [2021] are the first to provide a global description visible both by JUNO spacecraft imaging and by
GEOPHYSICAL UNION, AGU): of dawn storms in Jupiter’s aurorae, from the Hubble Space Telescope. This type of study
Recent articles on Radio: their initiation to their end. Their work utilizes helps us probe and better understand physical
https://eos.org/?s=Radio comparative planetology, where the authors processes that affect Earth directly.
E-MWN (MEDIUM WAVE NEWS): have compared their observations at Jupiter to (SOURCE: Bonfond, B., Yao, Z., Gladstone, R. et
(Volume 67, No. 1, April 2021) observations at Earth. They show that Jupiter’s al. [2021]. ‘Are Dawn Storms Jupiter’s Auroral
‘USING CARRIER SLEUTH’: Medium Wave corotation-dominated magnetosphere has Substorms?’ AGU Advances, 1, e2020AV000275;
News 66/10: 65-73 (Medium Wave Circle) auroral features which combine effects of co- M. Hudson, Editor, AGU Advances.
http://www.mwcircle.org rotation and (solar-wind-driven) ‘tail-substorm- https://doi.org/10.1029/2020AV000275

Feature
BBDL
Steve Hartley, G0FUW

[email protected]
I
t was only when I was sitting down
to pen this that it struck me that I
have been doing radio for just over
40 years, initially on CB and then
on the amateur bands. Back in the
1980s, it was quite an undertaking to do
the City & Guilds Radio Amateurs Exam.
Now, with the three-step system, it is much
more accessible.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic put paid
to any classroom training for the UK ama-
teur radio exams. Therefore, many have
turned to distance learning to fill the void,
especially when they found themselves with
time on their hands, during various peri-
ods of lockdown.
Several radio clubs and individuals start-
ed to offer online support, and the numbers
taking the Foundation Licence exam broke
all records. This was helped by the Radio
Society of Great Britain (RSGB) making the
exams available online, from the comfort of
your own home, and waving the requirement
for the Foundation and Intermediate practi-
cal assessments.
But distance learning for the amateur ra-
dio exams did not start with Covid-19; some
teams have been offering such training 1
for years now. I am proud to lead the Bath
Amateur Radio
Based Distance Learning team, who have
been running courses for the top-level exam
since 2011. It was not, perhaps, that well
known – because we did not publicise it –
that the Bath team also offered Intermediate
Distance Learning courses (Fig. 1).
We did not advertise those courses be-
Distance Learning
in the UK
cause we were only able to cope with small
numbers and we feared being overloaded
if word got out! At the Foundation level, the
Essex Ham training (Fig. 2) is very well re-
spected, popular and successful.
Launched in 2015 they have had over Steve Hartley, G0FUW shares his experiences with
5,000 students enrolled for training – more running the Bath Distance-Learning Course for
than 3,000 since the first lockdown.
Radio Amateurs, looking at the unique approach to,
Distance Learning Approaches and structure of, this course and at success rates.
Like many things, there is no single ap-
proach to distance learning; different provid-
ers do things in different ways. My own ap- online classrooms, or Virtual Learning the top level and at the intermediate stage.
proach has its roots in the Open University Environments, electronic document transfer, For those coming to the hobby with zero
(OU), where I studied and gained my first virtual meetings, and a raft of other facil- background, even the Foundation can be a bit
degree, and in the work that I currently do ities available. daunting, so having some distance learning
with Portsmouth University’s Learning at At the core of all of our training are the support is very reassuring. Of course, some
Work department. RSGB’s textbooks, which are intended to smart folk can simply read the textbooks and
In both cases, the students rarely meet provide the learning material required by the pass the exams; I have arranged exams for a
their tutors, and all learning is done away relevant exam syllabus. By and large, they few people who have done that and complet-
from a traditional classroom. With the do that, but we find many people need some ed all three exams in a single sitting, but I find
wonders of the internet, we now have help to work through the books, especially at that these are few.

Feature
EHFC EHFC
2
BDDL
Fig. 1: BBDL Intermediate Zoom Tutorial. Fig. 2: The Essex Ham Foundation Course on Schoology. Fig. 3:
3 Edmodo Intermediate Quiz Results. Fig. 4: Essex Ham Foundation Course: Example of Learning Materials.
The online classrooms are essentially just a case of finding a way to get it to people Course Length
websites that guide you through sections remotely. Initially, we used an e-mail group, Again this is not fixed. How much you put
of the books with additional material like which was OK but had some limitations. into each week determines how many weeks
videos, quizzes (Fig. 3) or exercises to help Then we were pointed towards the it will take. Some distance learning providers
bring the texts to life. They also provide Edmodo system (Fig. 3). This is free and work at a quick pace, and their courses are
a closed community for learners to seek works well (most of the time). Others use suited to those who are used to studying
advice from their peers, as you would in a Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams or and/or with a radio/electronics background.
traditional classroom, or at least at break Schoology, to name just a few. One example of this approach is the On-
times or after school’. This peer group Pete Sipple, M0PSX, who runs the Essex Line Radio Community. They favour a fast-
support can be a very valuable part of Ham Foundation courses (Fig. 4) uses a very track approach with the Intermediate course
distance learning for some; knowing you are similar approach, albeit using a different being completed in 7 weeks and the Full
not alone is sometimes all you need to keep Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). He level in 9 weeks. Their website notes that it
the motivation alive. told me they have nine modules with a is an intense pace and requires significant
The Bath Team approach is based on quiz at the end of each module. In addition self-study, although off-line support is
learning a bit, checking recollection and/ to this, there are three mock tests at key available from community members. Pete’s
or understanding and then moving on, milestones. Online lessons are posted every Essex Ham Foundation course runs for three
with occasional pauses to look back again two to three days, with narrated videos weeks and works well for those coming
at what has been covered to date. This and slides. The courses are free of any into the hobby.
approach is very successful as it flags up charge and are supported via an optional The Bath team take a slightly slower pace.
weak spots and allows learners to revisit Facebook group and recently-introduced Our Intermediate and Full courses now run
topics and build strength. We also provide optional live webinars. for 16 weeks each. This includes a couple
a number of mock exams at the end of the The Online Amateur Radio Community are of revision weeks and a week designated as
course to help prepare for the real thing and another group that follow a similar blend ‘Exam Week’. Each week covers about five
make it less unfamiliar for those who have of on-line meetings and textbook study. or six pages of the textbook with practical
either never sat exams or have not sat them Their courses are said to be more suited to exercises when relevant, videos, and one
for a long time. those who are comfortable with modern or two quizzes.
Our original distance learning offering communication methods, from Google This all takes time; therefore, we
was effectively an online version of our Classroom and Zoom through to Discord. advise learners not to underestimate the
classroom training that had been running This provider runs Intermediate and Full level commitment required for study.
successfully for a decade. Therefore, it was courses for just £5 to cover admin costs. Many of our students are busy people

Feature
PHIL | M7XCQ
and taking on a course of study adds to an

already busy life. We do see some folk drop-
ping out, especially when life throws a ba-
nana skin in their way; promotion, redundan-
cy, bereavement, divorce, serious ill-health,
and death have all featured at times.
We set out with weekly work packag-
es; some simply provide the whole course
material and leave the learner to work at
their own pace during the week. However,
we have been told by students that having
a regular structured course helps to keep
them on track.
Some say we go too fast; some say it is too
slow, most seem to think it is just about right.
Are All Students,

Engineers and Academics?
Far from it! I often joke that we have seen
the butcher, the baker and the candlestick
maker on our courses. The last one may be
4
5
a fib, but we have seen rock stars, TV pre-
senters, accountants, lawyers, painters,
welders, homemakers, a cat breeder, farm- Therefore, data is less than 100% reliable; completed our courses and sat the exam,
ers, and so on. if anything, it understates the success, due to 85% passed. That compares with a national
The age range has been from teenagers the nil reports being counted as fails. pass rate over the same period of 65%. As
to those in their 80s and we have had people The Bath Based Advanced Distance our name spread, more and more students
from just about every part of the UK, plus Learning courses ran from 2011 to 2019. came our way, and in 2017 we trained 44%
some overseas students. The only common In that period we had 1711 registrations. of all those who passed the UK Advanced
features were an interest in amateur Some were repeats due to dropouts, exam. One of our students suggested we
radio, a desire to learn, and the ability to or exam failures, so we cannot say look at the national pass rate without our
put in the time. how many individuals that is, but it’s a passes and that showed the national pass
lot. Of those registrations, 935 (55%) rate for those studying elsewhere was 59%,
What Do the Results Look Like? completed the courses. compared with our 85%.
One of the downsides of distance learning is That appeared quite low, and we tried So, you can maybe see why I have some
that you do not always hear from students various ways of ‘incentivising’ people to stick pride to be leading the BBDL team!
after the exam. I generally chase down those with it. However, the drop-out rate remained I do not have data on our old Intermediate
who complete our courses, but it is amaz- about the same throughout. The Open courses as they were tagged onto our
ing how many just disappear. I had assumed University publish their completion rates and classroom courses, but I can only recall a
that no news was bad news in those circum- it was surprising to see that our rates are very handful of failures at that level.
stances, but I have subsequently found out good, by comparison; it seems that distance We do not yet know if the work we did
that some passed and assumed we, as tu- learning generally has a low completion rate. to re-align our material to the ‘new’ 2019
tors, were told. On a different note, of those who syllabus has worked, as none of our new
Some Bath Distance Learning Course Testimonials

The attraction of the Bath intermediate course for me has been (a) the I began my Ham radio journey by joining my local club and signing up on
wealth of teaching material - Live Zoom session, video recordings of the the Foundation Course, I had also participated in the Essex Ham online
sessions, presenter slides, weekly instructions, practical exercises, weekly course which together with the mock exam test helped me enormously -
quizzes and worked answers for the quizzes (b) the organisation of this and was devastated when lockdown occurred, and my exam was cancelled
material. Not easy to achieve but I know exactly where to find everything but delighted when I was able to take it online. So when I learnt that the
(c) the personalised responses from the personal tutors to quiz questions Bath Team were offering an online course for the Intermediate Licence, I
I got wrong. Not only does the Bath team know their stuff from years of jumped at the chance to take part. The tutorials together with the slides,
experience but they know how to communicate it. The course is not easy weekly instructions, videos and of course tests are giving me an excellent
but rewarding. The pre-course classroom work was key in ensuring I knew grounding and did not hesitate to book my Intermediate Exam. Without
what I was getting into. I cannot believe I do not have to pay for this! these online facilities, I would be stuck at the Foundation level.
Gurbir Singh | M7DSN Graham Postlethwaite | M7POS

Feature
BBDL | STEVE HARTLEY
Fig. 5: Phil | M7XCQ, learning online.

Fig. 6: The BBDL Team Leader on Screen.
students sat any exams. The progress thus

far on our Intermediate course suggests that
we are on the right track. With our first new
Full Licence course about to start, it will not
be too long before we have data to compare
the old and the new. Watch this space.
Course Fees
Our courses, and many other Distance
Learning courses, are free; they are run by
amateurs who do it for the love of the hobby
and the reward of seeing newcomers learn
and grow their knowledge, understanding
and experience of amateur radio. Some
distance learning providers charge a small
fee to cover their costs, and there are some
commercial operations that, not surprisingly,
charge commercial rates.
The only costs that are inescapable are
the Foundation, Intermediate and Full Licence
textbooks, which are very reasonably priced
at £6, £9 and £14, and the associated exam
fees, which are £27.50, £32.50 and £37.50.
For the Intermediate and Full Licence training,
we also advise buying a Casio scientific
calculator for about £12, not because we 6
own shares in Casio, but because the tutors
all know how to drive them, and it makes those who did the practical work appeared to our courses via the Radio Enthusiast website,
writing training material so much easier if score better marks in our progress tests. the RSGB GB2RS News, Southgate News,
everyone is using the same gear! ICQ Podcast and the Bath & District ARC
For our Intermediate course, we also How do I find out more? training web page
supplied a small kit of parts to allow students With more and more on-line resources www.radioenthusiast.co.uk
to carry out practical exercises in measuring becoming available, there has never been a https://badarc.webs.com/bath-training
resistance, voltage, and current and better time to get an amateur licence. The If you have any general questions about
building an oscillator. We used solderless best starting point if you are looking for distance learning, I am happy to answer
breadboards and the total cost was just £6. distance learning for amateur radio is the them. Please e-mail me via the e-mail
Students had to provide their own multi- RSGB web page : address shown at the head of this article.
meter, which is a useful thing to have in a https://tinyurl.com/4hm763k3 Table 1 contains some representative
radio shack in any case. This contains a list of providers for each examples of feedback from students
By the way, it may be a coincidence, but of the three levels. In our case, we advertise on the course.
I have done quite a bit of training over the years, more recently this involves they are in the wrong order too. Too much info perhaps, but I have heard
watching pre-recorded online web-based courses with little or no direct the term blended-learning a lot and this is the first time I have experienced
contact with tutors or other students. Sometimes this is fine, but I don’t it in this 360-degree style - you have so many ways of engaging with the
think it’s as effective as putting your knowledge into practice. For me, all subject that everyone should benefit.
this pales into insignificance because the beauty of the BBDL approach is a Paul Wood | M7NKY
truly blended model. We not only have the live sessions, which are recorded
and can be re-watched, paused, and rewound - we can ask questions and Notes about the author: Steve Hartley, G0FUW (Fig. 6) has held a radio
interact with other students via the Edmodo pages. It doesn’t stop there amateur licence since 1984. He has been involved in training newcomers
though - having the luxury of a dedicated tutor who can respond quickly to for many years. He was involved in developing the 3-tier exam system and
any questions or problems is the icing on the cake. Nothing is off-limits, has written textbooks on the subject. He has held several posts with the
and the material covers exactly what we need to know - addressing one of Radio Society of Great Britain, including Company Secretary, Director and
the main problems with the books in sticking to the syllabus. The textbooks Chairman. He is now a trustee of the Radio Communications Foundation
assume more than they should and veer off tangent into topics that aren’t charity and Chairman of the G-QRP Club. He is semi-retired and lives in
needed at the expense of topics that are barely touched-upon and feel like Bath with his wife Jane and their three cats.

Airband News
David Smith
[email protected] Callsign Prefixes,
David Smith explains radio callsign
prefixes, reports on changes in North
Sea helicopter route denominations,
Renaming North Sea
Helicopter Tracks,
has a short news item about remote
towers in the UK and includes a profile
of ATC at RAF Brize Norton.
The official list of callsign names and

codes is published periodically by ICAO
as Doc 8585, Designators for Aircraft
and Brize Norton
Operating Agencies, Aeronautical
Authorities and Services. The latest edition, ones. For example, Jet2 use Channex, a Quick Air Jet Charter, also in Germany
the 195th, was published in January 2021 portmanteau-term stemming from the use Dagobert, the name of several kings of
at the eye-watering price of US$289! company’s original name of Channel an area that covered much of what became
However, it is possible to find previous Express. South African Airways has always Germany centuries later. American cargo
editions online in full, albeit a few years out- used Springbok, in homage to the animal operator Kalitta Air uses Connie. It might
of-date. painted on their aircraft as far back as the sound odd at first, but not when you know
For more current information, you can 1930s, even though this emblem has long that Kalitta’s callsign comes from its found-
enter the three-letter code or spoken been superseded. Cedar Jet identifies er Connie Kalitta.
designator in either of the two websites Middle East Airlines, this tree being sym- The Avcodes website (above) has a his-
below: bolic of Lebanon. Moreover, Aer Lingus’s torical section listing many (now defunct)
http://www.avcodes.co.uk Shamrock is immediately recognisable. companies. Notable among them are Pan-
http://www.airlinecodes.co.uk/home.asp An example of a smaller commercial American, which used Clipper. Air 2000
In this way, the identity of the operator company is the German Hahn Air, was Jetset, Canadian Pacific was Empress,
will usually be revealed. which uses the callsign Rooster. Not so FlyBe was Jersey (from its origin in Jersey
The radiotelephony callsigns range mysterious when you discover that its base Airlines); the UK airline Novair was Starjet,
from the very obvious such as Air Canada, at the town of Hahn is also the German and – perhaps this is - self-explanatory –
American and United, to some very obscure word for rooster! Monarch used Britannia.

Airband News
Requests for the registration of, or

change in, a designator will only be recog-
nised by ICAO when received from the state
having jurisdiction over the aircraft operat-
ing agency. Conversely, when a designa-
tor is no longer required, ICAO should be
informed immediately but undertake not to
reassign it until a period of at least 60 days
has elapsed.
https://www.icao.int/Pages/default.aspx
Some years ago, ICAO issued a safety
bulletin highlighting the fact that the word
‘Air’ was used either as prefix or suffix in
more than one in five radiotelephony des-
ignators in use worldwide. Furthermore,
one of its derived translations, ‘Aero’ in the
Spanish language, represented 270 cases
worldwide. ‘Avia’ used by many Russian
operators occurred 174 times, ‘Jet’ 155,
‘Trans’ 134, ‘Express’ and ‘Cargo’ 83 times
each. Less numerous examples includ-
ed ‘Flight’, ‘Star’, ‘Service’, ‘Charter’, and
‘Wings’.
The situation is little changed today, and RAF ATC Profiles 2: Brize Norton
the potential for callsign confusion leading
ICAO Code: EGVN IATA Code: BZZ
to dangerous situations is obvious.
Frequencies (MHz)
Reordering the North Sea Brize Approach/Radar 231.950
Helicopter Track Structure 127.250
278.350
A track structure exists for use by helicop- Brize Zone 119.000
ters operating in support of the North Sea Brize Director 399.025
Oil and Gas industry. Historically, each 133.750
Brize Talkdown 362.225
track has been named a Helicopter Main 123.550
Route (HMR). In order to differentiate these Brize Tower 120.675
tracks from designated Air Traffic Services 123.725
Brize Ground 341.200
Routes, the title has been changed to
121.725
Helicopter Main Routing Indicators (HMRIs). Brize Ops 369.900
The track structure is established across 373.100
the northern North Sea, west of Shetland 130.075
ATIS
(Atlantic Rim) and in the Anglia Radar Area Brize Information 284.975
of Responsibility in the southern North Sea. 126.500
The naming/numbering of individual tracks Navaids ILS CAT I Runways 07 and 25
TACAN BZN 111.900
is unchanged, for instance, ‘HMR053’ will
NDB BZ 386kHz
be renamed ‘HMRI053’, and ‘HMR X-Ray’ Runways 07 (3050x 45m)
will be re-named ‘HMRI X-Ray’. 25 (1683 x 45m)
NOTES (A-Z)
Remote Control Helicopter Operations
Helicopters operate south of Taxiway G normally not above 800ft QNH. Helicopters should normally ap-
Tower Developments proach and depart from the main runway and hover taxi to dispersal as required.
The MoD has issued a tender for provid- Military Emergency Diversion Aerodrome
ing remote control tower services for Royal Brize Norton is designated as such.
Preferred Runway
Naval Air Station Predannack in Cornwall. Runway 25 is the preferred runway unless either the tailwind exceeds 5kts or the pilot requests oth-
The requirement is for services to be per- erwise. Light aircraft and rotary traffic arriving/departing Brize under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) will be
formed from RNAS Culdrose. required to enter or leave the Brize Control Zone via the Burford or Faringdon Visual Reference Points.
The tender includes options for similar Training
Limited training available because of noise abatement procedures. Restrictions on visual circuits apply.
operations at other unspecified locations. Practice diversions 0800-2200 Mon - Fri only, except holidays. Only one straight in approach and touch
My aircraft photos this month show and go permitted.
a Bristol Britannia at RAF Cosford and a Visual Reporting Points
Bampton; Burford; Charlbury; Faringdon; Farmoor Reservoir; Lechlade; Northleach Roundabout.
Convair 440 Metropolitan in the Finnish Warnings
Aviation Museum, near Helsinki Vantaa The aerodrome lies within the Oxford AIAA. Oxford ATZ overlays the north-eastern corner of the Brize
Airport. Norton CTA. Light aircraft flying club operates seven days a week, visual circuit height 1300ft QNH.
https://ilmailumuseo.fi/en/info

Sales line 01908 281705
E-mail [email protected]
Postage (UK Mainland Only): Small items just £2.99Follow
Medium items just £4.99 Maximum charge just £9.99 us on
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Digital Radio
DRM for the French

Kevin Ryan
[email protected]
Kevin Ryan compiles the very latest

DAB News from across the UK, partici-
pates in a Hybrid Radio event, reports
on new digital radios from India and
Navy and some
UK DAB News
explains the use of the DRM format for
the French Navy.
As we gradually exit the lockdown there are

plenty of DAB multiplexes that should be
advancing their plans to launch services
during the second half of the year. The
pandemic delayed the launch of three
local multiplex licence awards for the
Channel Islands, North/West Cumbria
and Morecambe Bay. The revised launch
deadline for these three multiplexes is
still October 2021, and I can see Ofcom
extending the deadline by another three
months because of all the uncertainty.
Small-Scale DAB
Alongside the local multiplexes, the first
licence awards for round one of the small-
scale DAB expansion slowly appeared from
Ofcom in early March 2021. By mid-March,
just five of the 25 multiplex operators were
known (Table 1). Looking through the
details, I am surprised at how large some of
the areas are.
Northern Ireland
The Derry/Londonderry area also covers
Strabane to the south of the city. Foyle
DAB Limited is a new operator and
proposes using two transmitters to cover
the area. It hopes to attract at least six
services to launch by the end of the year.
Scotland 1
Nation Digital Investments Ltd., one
of the original trial DAB multiplexes, some coverage overspill to the North cover the southern region. Coverage has
will continue to provide services in the and Northwest of the city. The multiplex been planned to provide radio reception as
Glasgow area. It will use two transmitters operator is a wholly-owned subsidiary of good as listeners would expect to get from
located in the north and south of the Nation Broadcasting Ltd. Nation is the UK’s national DAB services in the Salisbury area.
city. The SSDAB licence will operate on third-largest operator of local commercial Tynemouth & South Shields covers
a different frequency (10B -> 8B) to the radio licences and has interests in some a large area from Wallsend and East
existing trial, which will require some local DAB multiplexes across the UK. Gateshead in the West to Whitburn
modification to the Dundasvale Court
transmitter. Nation is moving its second England
transmitter to the Arqiva transmission site
at Cathcart in the city centre. The launch
Ofcom awarded the Salisbury licence to
Muxcast One Limited. The operator is
“There are plenty of
window is within six to 12 months of the majority-owned by Nation Broadcasting DAB multiplexes that
licence award by Ofcom, which makes
an end-of-year date likely. The company
Ltd. and includes BFBS, both as a minority
shareholder and a radio service. The
should be advancing
wants to preserve as much of the footprint plan is for three transmitters in Salisbury their plans to launch
as possible from the Glasgow small-
scale DAB trial multiplex while making
to cover the city. The Bulford Camp
transmitter site will provide coverage in
services during the
coverage more robust overall. There is the North, and the Sandy Balls location will second half of the year”
Digital Radio
Fig.1: MUX ONE is a new multiplex operator with

an impressive web site. Fig. 2: Communicorp UK
runs a franchise of ‘Global’ stations here.
Fig. 3: The RadioLine vision for this technology
is based on the concept of broadcast radio,
combined with IP data. Fig. 4: A new hand-
held DRM prototype from Gospell Radio aims
at listeners in India. Fig. 5: The target areas
(red boundary) for DRM transmissions to the
French Navy and the service from China Radio
International (green) to Australasia.
in the East. Mux One Limited (Fig. 1),

a new multiplex operator, has quite a
list of potential clients from Tyneside
communities, including LGBT, BAME,
mental health, elderly, hospital, sport and
education groups.
https://www.muxone.uk
Wales
The size of the Welsh Valleys licence area 2
surprised me. GTFM (South Wales) Limited
lists eight transmitter sites to provide a
service to the western part (about a third)
of the advertised area, targeting the county
of Merthyr Tydfil and the Rhondda Cynon
Taf County Borough. Ofcom calculations
indicate that this would result in just
over 37% of the adult population in the
advertised licence area being able to
receive the service. Ofcom accepted
GTFM’s reasoning that the mountainous
nature of the terrain in the Welsh Valleys
makes it an exceptionally difficult area
to serve without a very large number of
transmitters, which would add considerably
to the overall costs of establishing the
multiplex, and probably make it unviable.
Six of these will be located in or very near
main towns in the area, namely Merthyr 3
Tydfil, Pontypridd, Aberdare, Mountain Ash,
Treorchy and Tonyrefail, with a further one there will be up to 15 commercial services, The deal, if approved by the regulators, is
serving the Rhondda Fach valley and one many of which will probably not otherwise for the group’s Irish stations but excluding
in Hirwaun (north of Aberdare and near be audible to listeners in the South Communicorp UK, which operates the rival
the main A465 east-west “Heads of the Wales Valleys. Global Radio brand (Fig. 2).
Valleys” trunk route) extending coverage to https://tinyurl.com/abyuphsa
an area not currently reached on FM by any Round Two Ofcom Awards https://communicorpuk.com/radio
of our participating community stations Ofcom announced that, given the ongoing In addition to the two national stations,
but still within the northwestern boundary impact of Covid-19 restrictions, it now Today FM and Newstalk, Communicorp also
of Welsh Valleys SSD licence area. GTFM expects to advertise the second round owns local stations Spin 1038 and 98FM
says that the Western Valleys multiplex (I of small-scale multiplex licences in the in Dublin, and Spin Southwest in Limerick,
wonder if Ofcom will split the area into East North West of England and North East as well as many digital-only radio services
and West at some point) will considerably Wales on Tuesday 1 June. The original plan like the sports station Off the Ball, the digital
broaden local listener choice and operate was to advertise each round at six-month audio exchange audio I, and the listening
in DAB+ mode to maximise the capacity of intervals, and this puts that schedule platform GoLoud.
the multiplex. three months behind.
The plan is to carry all the community RTÉ DAB
stations in its catchment area from the Bauer Media Ireland Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) is to cease
outset to a larger area than they reach Bauer Media is buying the Communicorp transmission of its radio services on the
individually on FM. In addition to this, radio stations in the Republic of Ireland. Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) network on

Digital Radio
ALL PICTURES: KEVIN RYAN
31 March 2021 – nearly two years after

announcing its intention to do so to save
money. However, its digital radio services, AD-820P Pocket DRM/AM/FM Radio
RTÉ Gold, RTÉ 2XM, RTÉ Radio 1 Extra,
RTÉ Pulse, and RTÉjr Radio, will remain DRM/AM/FM Radio
available on Saorview (the equivalent
of Freeview), Saorsat (like Freesat) and
online. In a statement, the broadcaster
said the move to cease DAB transmission
was driven by three main factors: first,
DAB is the least-utilised platform in
Ireland; second, RTÉ is the only Irish
broadcaster on the DAB system; and third,
the issue of cost reduction. The Irish radio
regulators allowed several DAB trials in
the past decade but clamped down hard
on unlicensed operators (FreeDAB being
the prime example). The regulator never
produced a solid plan for DAB in Ireland.
https://www.rte.ie
Hybrid Radio
I took part in a webinar on DAB+ at 4
the Heart of Hybrid, organized jointly
by the European Broadcasting Union there was no capacity in the UK to provide standard to digitise the FM band in India.
(EBU) and WorldDAB. data services (images, weather info, and https://www.trai.gov.in
https://www.ebu.ch/home so on) because of the demand for audio. The only other possible digital option
https://www.worlddab.org Therefore, data services would have to be would be HD Radio, but I am unaware of
‘Hybrid Radio’ is the name given to a transmitted over the internet. any tests of that system. The test was
technology that combines broadcast https://en-gb.radioline.co officially launched on February 24th and
(digital radio or FM) and the internet https://dts.com/autostage 25th at the Headquarters of All India
(usually called IP) in the ‘connected car’ https://radioplayer.org Radio (AIR) in New Delhi. The transmitter
(Fig. 3). It aims to ensure that the tuned is on 100.7MHz – alongside an analogue
audio is not interrupted by a weak radio SmartRadio transmission on 100.5MHz.
signal and the radio connects to an internet Frontier Smart Tech invented the concept A DRM multiplex carries 3 audio
stream instead. This is not like hybrid of the SmartRadio, but I found a recent services and one data service.
radios in the home, where broadcast and White Paper by them a bit confusing. A test of the multi-DRM transmission
IP are separate audio sources that are The blueprint echoed the view that the of up to 6 DRM signals – providing up to
switched manually. future of radio listening is likely to be 24 DRM services (18 audio programmes,
The event saw presentations from a combination of DAB+ broadcast and plus six stand-alone Journaline services)
the various groups working to create IP services, with broadcast the primary from a single FM-band transmitter –
standards and find solutions for the large source on a radio. Quoting directly from was captured by Alokesh Gupta VU3BSE
car conglomerates. As far as I could tell, the the White Paper the company state that, and shared on his Twitter feed. A DRM
BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler groups are “in an area of poor reception – particularly multiplex is spaced every 100kHz,
planning to incorporate the technology into in an automotive setting – SmartRadio starting at 100.4MHz.
car models next year. can switch from broadcast mode to IP The second phase will be taking place
I sensed some urgency on the part of and stream from the Internet, ensuring in Jaipur (I think there is an existing FM
the presenters with several mentions of constant connectivity”. This made me transmitter on 100.3MHz) and is designed
the threat from ‘big tech’, such as Google’s wonder whether or not radios in cars would to prove the compatibility with the FM
Android Automotive operating system and behave differently to those at home, or it is band channelisation in India, where DRM
Apple’s Carplay. just Frontier Silicon trying to establish its fills the gaps between existing analogue
DAB+ is not the only digital radio format ‘SmartRadio’ name? FM services that are not otherwise usable.
being evaluated in this project; HD Radio
dominates in the USA; however, there was India DRM Tests on VHF Automotive Tests
no mention of DRM. In the roundtable DRM has been tested by many nations on There are over 2.5 million cars in India
discussion on the innovations DAB+ should VHF, including in the UK (in Edinburgh). fitted with DRM receivers. The DRM
be thinking about, one member hoped that The test was requested by the Telecom Consortium points out that the India trial
DAB+ would use lower compression (i.e. Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the has been an opportunity to demonstrate
higher bit rates) to be more compatible with Ministry of Information & Broadcasting as how the existing DRM transmissions in
other IP providers delivering CD-quality part of deliberations, which will lead to the the former AM bands can be upgraded to
audio. Another panel member said that recommendation of the most suitable radio support DRM in both AM and FM bands

Digital Radio
Area DAB
Alnwick & Morpeth 8B
Basingstoke 7D
Bradford 9A
Cambridge 8B
Cardiff 10D
Clevedon, Avonmouth & Filton 12D
Derry/Londonderry Foyle DAB Ltd 11C
Dudley & Stourbridge 9C
East Bristol & Keynsham 7D
Edinburgh 9B
Exeter 7D
Glasgow Nation Digital 8B
Inverclyde 9B
Isles of Scilly 8A
3
Kings Lynn 9C
Leeds 8B
Newcastle & Gateshead 8A
North Birmingham 8A
Norwich 12A
Salisbury Muxcast One Ltd. 9A

5 Sheffield & Rotherham 7D
South Birmingham 7D
by a simple receiver firmware update (no DRM for the French Navy
change in hardware needed). I’ve watched Télédiffusion de France (TDF) has Tynemouth & S. Shields Mux One Ltd. 9B
many YouTube clips of listeners receiving developed a DRM-based system Welsh Valleys GTFM (South Wales Ltd.) 9C
the DRM FM-band services in New Delhi, (DRMCast) usually transmitted as a
Winchester 9C
both during the presentation on 24th mix of RFI in French and data files sent
and 25th February 2021 and during the as multimedia. I successfully received Table 1: Ofcom Licence Awards (March 2021).
measurement trips. and decoded the sea area weather data
www.drm.org broadcast to the boats in the MiniTransat This solution could make it possible to
race (RadioUser, December 2019: 50-53). transmit digital files (for example, image,
New DRM Receivers https://www.tdf.fr text, weather files) on the short wave bands,
The trial also became another opportunity https://minitransat.fr/en at a higher speed than can be achieved
for the various developers to promote their The target of the latest long-term test with the Ministry of the Armed Forces
prototype DRM Receiver models. There are has been a mystery, but it appears that existing system.
desktop and portable radio sets, software it is directed at the French Navy (DRMC https://tinyurl.com/3w268cnz
upgrades to existing car radios to extend @ ST Project) and is to test a means of https://tinyurl.com/53xwf62e
DRM support to the FM band, and upgrade civilian broadcasting complementary This time the data files are in an unknown
kits to enable DRM reception on virtually to the existing military means. The format and type, probably still associated
any Android-based mobile phone available idea is to free up Syracuse satellite with maritime weather data. For now, I can
to Indian consumers today. Gospell Digital communication capacity while using a only collect them and hope that someone
Technology Co., Ltd. announced the discrete installation (a small radio receiver else might find a way to decode them.
availability of three new DRM receivers. with a whip antenna) rather than a visible
These include a new pocket DRM satellite antenna. CRI on DRM
receiver (AD-820P, Fig. 4) for the Indian The DRM broadcasts can also be China Radio International (CRI) registered
market. There are two other new tabletop directed at regions not readily covered several DRM transmissions for the A21
receivers (AD-828P and AD-828PM). by military satellites and also cover small season directed towards Australia (Fig. 5).
These are essentially the same, except ships. In March 2021, for instance, TDF http://chinaplus.cri.cn/gettheapp
that the AD-828PM has 512MB storage for directed the broadcasts to the Indian You can keep track of them and all the
music playback. Ocean (Fig. 5). other DRM transmissions on my website.
http://en.gospell.com https://tinyurl.com/3ctvzfjc https://tinyurl.com/34vhtd8u

Feature
Raiders, Jed Sets,

Gibson Girls, and
Biscuit Tins
Tony Smith returns to RadioUser to unveil some
of the stories behind the best-known – and some
lesser-known – special-purpose communications
receivers in the UK and USA during World War II.
Tony Smith G4FAI coded messages relating to aircraft

[email protected] supply drops of arms and equipment and,
eventually, the invasion of Europe.
S
ome radios used in World War II In this application, a wire aerial was Circuit: 5-valve superhet. AM
were very large and heavy. The used instead of the original helmet aerial. only. IF 455kc/s.
Wireless Set No.19, with all ac- Listening to such broadcasts was banned Frequency range: Original model: 2-5.8Mc/
cessories, for example, weighed by the occupying power and could incur the s, covering the tactical frequency range.
just over 86lbs (approx. 39kg) death penalty, so great care had to be taken Special model: 5-13Mc/s, covering BBC
and had to be mounted in a tank or other by listeners to avoid detection. short-wave broadcast frequencies.
vehicle, or transported by two men using a Typical, strange-sounding messages Tuning: Permeability, with clutch on tuning.
specially made stretcher/handcart. At the received included “Yvette likes big carrots”, Aerial: 27-inch (686mm) lead-in wire
other extreme, there were some very small “Paul has some good tobacco”, “I want to connecting the receiver to a steel helmet
transmitter/receivers and receivers, mostly be a godfather”, all of which were meant to acting as an antenna.
designed for ‘special’ purposes. Some of confuse the enemy who was monitoring Audio output: Headphones (600Ω), fitted in
these are described here, together with the the broadcasts, but to have a very definite a skull cap worn inside the helmet.
stories behind them. meaning for the intended recipients. Power supply: Dry batteries: 1 x 67.5 Volts, 2
x 1.5 V (D-cells). Also, for the special model
The US Raider’s Hidden Aerials Wired Wireless: - RBZ Power Pack, Model 2 (110 or 220 volts,
The tiny U.S. Navy Model ‘RBZ’ or Raider The British Set No. 38 AC or DC), housed in the same type of case
receiver (Table 1) utilised its operators’ In 1944, the British Army carried out as the receiver and battery.
steel helmets as an aerial and was experiments with the low-power Wireless Version differences: The original and
intended for use by U.S. Marine Raiders Set No. 38 (Table 2), using a steel helmet special versions were identical except that
to receive beach landing instructions as a transmitting aerial for use by troops the special set had an internally adjusted
during amphibious operations. In June when in close contact with the enemy. The frequency range and a new paper scale
1944, QST reported: “Marine Corps raiders experiments were abandoned but, more pasted on the dial indicator.
and paratroopers now receive their orders successfully, the set could be used on Dimensions: The receiver and battery pack
over ‘Raider’ receivers …. The ‘Raider’ is the battlefield as a ‘wired wireless’. When each measured 8-inches high, 2-7/8 inches
a compact kit containing a receiver and introduced in 1942, it was classified as wide and 1-7/8 inches deep (203x73x47.6
battery and is carried on the marine’s ‘top-secret’ and used in Operation ‘Chariot’, mm). Weight of combined units,
chest… Unlike most radio equipment in a combined-forces raid on St. Nazaire. In 3lbs 11oz (1.67 kg)
use by the armed forces, the ‘Raider’ is The Greatest Raid of All, author C. E. Lucas Maker/Date: Emerson Radio & Phonograph
practically invisible, thus safeguarding its Phillips refers to its secret status: “ […] Corporation, USA, 1944.
operator in that it does not distinguish him communications will be very important but
from his companions.” limited […]; we have been issued with some Table 1: The U.S. Navy Model RBZ (‘Raider’).
It not known if the RBZ was ever used new and extremely ‘hush-hush’ portable
on active service. However, a special radio sets with a microphone operating on 778’; Table 3), was intended for use after
version, with a modified frequency range, the larynx. They must on no account fall an aircraft ditched in the sea. Using this
was supplied by the American OSS (Office into enemy hands.” set, survivors in a rubber dinghy could call
of Strategic Services) to partisan groups for help on the W/T distress frequency of
in Occupied Europe. Its small size made The Gibson Girl 500kc/s, using an aerial suspended by kite
it particularly suitable for clandestine The famous ‘Gibson Girl’ aircrew or balloon. The balloon was inflated by a
reception of BBC news broadcasts and emergency transmitter (officially the ‘BC- hydrogen generator.

Feature
Fig. 1: Airborne lifeboat designed by Uffa Fox.
Designed for one-way operation only, regenerative receiver was set up on the
the set was powered by a hand-turned roof of the Territorial Army HQ in Edgware,
generator. When activated, it automatically London, to receive test transmissions from Purpose: Light-weight infantry pack, for
transmitted the international distress radio amateurs in the 56MHz band. short-range communication.
signal (SOS). If required, hand-operated A full-scale demonstration followed. Frequency range: 7.3 – 8.9Mc/s.
Morse signals could also be transmitted. At the outbreak of war, an initial order for Mode: AM, R/T.
A hand-powered signal lamp could be 24 sets was placed with GEC (General Transmitter output: 200mW.
used to attract the attention of aircraft Electric Co. Ltd.) to provide communication Range: ¾-mile (1.2km) with a 4ft (1.2m)
flying overhead at night. The lamp could between individual barrage balloon units. rod aerial. Two miles (3.2km) with a
be manually keyed or could project a Shortly after, two further orders were 12ft (3.6m) rod.
constant signal light. placed, each for 5,000 sets. Alternative aerials: When in close contact
The transmitter had an hourglass shape As all detachment sets were on ‘receive’ with the enemy, a rod aerial was too
which enabled an operator to hold it during the hours of darkness, long battery conspicuous, and a 45ft (13.7m) insulated
stationary between his legs while he turned life was required, and the WS No.17 unit wire ground aerial was used instead.
the generator handle. Its shape led to its met this requirement. Although they were Experiments carried out in 1944 using a
nickname, derived from illustrations by intended to facilitate communication steel helmet as an aerial were abandoned.
Charles Dana Gibson of narrow-waisted between searchlight and anti-aircraft Microphone: A throat microphone allowed
American girls (the ‘Gibson Girls’) in the installations, some WS No.17’s were also the operator to use both hands, especially
late 19th and early 20th Centuries. Apart issued to the secret Auxiliary Units (AU’s) during front-line action. The set could
from use with dinghies, the ‘Gibson Girl’ of the Home Guard. also be used when the operator was
was also installed in a 22ft-long powered wearing a gas mask.
airborne lifeboat designed by Uffa Fox in The Role of Home Guard Receiver: Four-valve superhet. IF 285kc/s.
1943 (Fig. 1) to be dropped by parachute in Secret Auxiliary Units (AUs) Audio output: DLR No.2 low resistance
air-sea rescue operations. The AUs were set up in 1940 to operate (27Ω) headphones.
In 1944, a battery-operated 3-valve behind enemy lines in anticipation of Power supply: Dry battery pack
regenerative receiver, type R.1545, with a a threatened invasion. An Operational providing 150/3v.
frequency range of 470-530kc/s, with CW, Branch had a network of hidden Weight: Complete set, including battery,
MCW and R/T modes, was also installed underground bases around the country. 22lb (approx.10kg).
in the lifeboat. Their brief was to ‘harry and embarrass the Versions: W.S. No.38 Mk. I, W.S. No.38 Mk.
Operating in conjunction with the Gibson enemy by all means in their power from the II, W.S. No.38 Mk. II*, W.S. No.38 Mk.III, W.S.
Girl, this combination provided two- first day he lands.’ No.38 AFV (operated in tanks in conjunction
way W/T communication on 500kc/s to A parallel Special-Duties branch was set with the No.19 set.)
facilitate and improve rescue operations. up to gain information about the enemy Wired Wireless: A special adaptor plug
In addition to the Gibson Girl’s 300ft wire through a network of intelligence gathering, connected the set to the end of a field
aerial suspended by kite or balloon, a and to transmit this information to the telephone cable. Two sets connected in this
whip aerial was fixed to the top of the Army. Some 500 sets are believed to have way could communicate over an extended
lifeboat’s mast. been issued to the AUs, of which about half range without interference.
were of the WS No.17 type. Designers/Makers: Developed in 1941 by
The Wireless Set No.17 Most of the other sets provided were SEE (Signals Experimental Establishment)
The two-valve WS No.17 (Table 4) was TRD, VHF 48-65 MHz, R/T transmitter/ and Murphy Radio Ltd. By 1945, 187,00
designed by Stan Lewer, G6LJ, for receivers, with 1.5W output, made by the sets had been made by Murphy Radio,
communication between searchlight Royal Signals Special Communications Mitcham Works Ltd, and Radio Gramophone
section HQ’s, searchlight and other anti- Unit workshops at Whaddon Hall, Development Co. Ltd (RGD).
aircraft units. The initial testing was carried Buckinghamshire.
out in the summer of 1939 when a super- There are no surviving examples of the Table 2: Description of W.S. No. 38

Feature
Model / Maker: Made in six versions, BC-778- spare aerial wire; two balloons with hydrogen
A/F, differing only in details of electrical or me- generators; two inflating tubes; signal lamp;
chanical design. parachute. The transmitter and accessories
Circuit: Two-valve transmitter. Valves: 12SC7 au- were packed in a waterproof yellow canvas bag
dio oscillator and amplifier, 12A6 RF oscillator. which could be thrown from a ditched aircraft into
Output power: 5 watts. the sea together with a dinghy. It could also be
Modulation: Grid modulated by 1000 c/s tone. dropped by parachute from a rescue aircraft. The
Operating frequency: 500kc/s (International dis- complete package was designated SCR-578-B.
tress frequency). Height of aerial: 300 ft, supported by kite or hy-
Power supply: Hand-turned generator, providing drogen balloon. The kite could fly in wind veloci-
24v LT & 330v HT ties of 7 to 40 m.p.h. (11.3 - 64.4 km per hour).
Hand-turning speed approximately 80 revolu- Maker/Date: The Gibson Girl was a copy of a
tions per minute. captured German NSG2 transmitter, redesigned
Approximate range at sea: 250-500 by Bendix in the USA in 1942 to provide a joint
miles (402-804km). Allied dinghy set, and was made by several US
Weight: 34 lb. (15.4kg). manufacturers.
Colour: Orange. After WW2, it was used by the air force, navy, and
Accessories: Collapsible box kite,17 x 17 x 36 civilian aircraft until the early 1970s, when it was
inches (432 x 432 x 914mm) when assembled; replaced by a new version, the AN/CRT3.
Table 3: Description of the ‘Gibson Girl’ BC-778.
TRD. It is believed that, when the AUs were

finally stood down in December 1944, all
the radio sets were returned to Whaddon
and destroyed.
The Biscuit-Tin Radio

Circuit: Sensitive superhet, with five
The MCR1 special-purpose miniature com-
miniature valves.
munications receiver (Table 5) - complete
Frequency range: 150kc/s to15Mc/s
with accessories - was packed in a 2-lb
(including long and medium waves).
(907g) Huntley & Palmer biscuit tin, lead-
Modes: AM R/T (speech) and CW (Morse).
ing to its nickname, the “biscuit tin radio”.
Controls: Four knobs controlling aerial
Of this model, 10,000 were made, of which
adjustment, sensitivity, regeneration
approximately 5,000 were distributed to
for CW reception, and frequency selection.
clandestine networks in Europe by the SOE
Audio Output: Headphones, 120Ω.
(Special Operations Executive). This ena-
Power supply: Battery, or a separate power
bled them to listen to BBC news broad-
supply pack suitable for AC/DC 97-250V.
casts and other transmissions, including Battery-operated 2-valve transmitter/receiver. Battery life approximately 30 hours.
CW, from London. Their miniature size ena- Transmitter: Output 0.3w, R/T only. Weight: Approximately 2 lbs (900gm).
bled them to be easily hidden, to evade dis- Frequency coverage: 44.0 to 61Mc/s. Size: Approximately 8.8 x 3.3 x 2.1 inches
covery by enemy search parties. Aerial: half-wave dipole with optional reflector. (224x85x54mm).
Range: 3-8 miles (4.8 – 12.9 km), depending Designer: John I. Brown, G3EUR.
Jed-Sets on the aerial in use. Accessories: Four plug-in coils, 150kc/s-
The MCR1 was also used by three-man Receiver: Super-regenerative. 1.6Mc/s (long and medium wave), 2.5-4.5Mc/
Jedburgh teams in Operation Jedburgh. Power supply: 2v, 75Ah, accumulator (150 s, 4-8Mc/s and 8-15Mc/s. Three batteries,
This was mounted jointly by the SOE, hours working life before re-charging), and two or two batteries and a power supply pack,
OSS, and intelligence services of France, 60v dry HT batteries (providing 300 hours on 30ft (9.1m) of aerial wire, and 10ft (3m)
Holland and Belgium, to train and arm re- receiving before replacement). of earth wire.
sistance groups to harass the enemy as
the Allied invasion forces advanced across Table 4: Description of the WS No. 17 Mk II. Table 5: The MCR1 ‘Biscuit-Tin’ Receiver.
the occupied countries. The standard
transmitter/receiver used by the Jedburgh Post-war Availability After 1945, many of them were made
teams was the Nicholls Set, comprising a All the sets described were a tribute to available to radio amateur and other hob-
transmitter from the B2 suitcase radio, an their designers, makers and users, and byists at very low prices through govern-
MCR1 receiver, and a hand-cranked gen- they all fulfilled their respective purposes ment surplus releases. The weighty WS
erator. Another combination, known as the when needed. Examples can still be ob- No.19, for instance, could be had for £17.
Jed-Set, was used by SAS groups in Europe tained in the collector’s market, but sadly The WS No. 38 for £2/5/0d (£2.25), with
with a modified transmitter from the WS some, like the TRD, can no longer be found rod aerials 7/6d (37.5p) extra, and throat
No.18 and the MCR1 receiver. to commemorate their wartime heritage. mike 3/6d (17.5p); while the MCR1 was

Feature
available for £8/5/0d (£8.50) complete

with all accessories.
Although they were apparently not adver-
tised in Britain, the Gibson Girl transmitter
alone was available in the USA for $11 and
the full pack, SCR-578, with all accessories,
for $20. At the same time, both versions of
the RBZ receiver were advertised for $15.
Some Discontent
Despite this bonanza of amazingly low
prices, there was some discontent from
within the radio hobby community at the
time. A correspondent in Practical Wireless
of April 1947 commented on some articles
that had previously appeared in American
magazines, reporting that the American
Government had already released most
of their surplus. However, in Britain it ap-
peared that much of what could be made
available was used to fill disused pit shafts
instead of being sold to the public.
A statement by the Ministry of Supply
(in the same Practical Wireless issue) at-
tempted to clarify the situation. Although
£500,000 worth of equipment had been
sold already, it was the government’s pol-
icy not to release the whole of the surplus
stocks if this was against the national in-
terest. There was concern that the effect
Radio News BBC RE-ORGANISATION AND
REGIONALISATION: The BBC has announced a
major reorganisation plan to move radio services
of selling it at such low prices would cause NEW SDRPLAY WEBSITE: SDRplay Marketing including ‘rooting’ BBC Radio 3, 6 Music and the
serious harm to the industry concerned Director Jon Hudson reports that UK-based SDR Asian Network out of London. Three more local
and lead to unemployment. receiver manufacturer, SDRplay has completely radio stations will also appear, in addition to the
As it was not practicable to hold sur- revamped its website. Because its new SDR current services in Bradford, Sunderland and
plus stocks for any long period, because receiver products are all about the software, Wolverhampton. Key daytime strands on each
of a shortage of accommodation, the owners of its RSP SDR receiver hardware need of Radio 1, 1Xtra and Radio 2 will be moved from
Ministry said, it was sometimes neces- ready access to the latest features. With that in London and made across the UK, but Breakfast
sary to scrap goods in serviceable condi- mind, and based on customer feedback, SDRplay shows stay in London. BBC Radio 3 will be rooted
tion. This didn’t go down well with radio en- has redesigned its homepage to make it easier, in the North of England – including its leadership
thusiasts, but eventually, more stocks did for newcomers and experts alike, to navigate in Salford, and the majority of 6 Music will be
come on the market. their way to the latest software and support broadcast from Media City UK. The BBC says it
As a result, the surplus-shops in Lisle needed. Using the principle that ‘less is more’, will consolidate the Asian Network into one base
Street, London – and those of well-known there are now just 5 top-level menu categories; in Birmingham, and each network radio controller
dealers in other towns across the country the attached picture indicates how everything is will have at least one commissioner based in
– were awash with incredibly low-priced now grouped under products, purchase, software one of our hubs around the UK by 2027. In News,
surplus equipment; from transmitter/re- downloads, help, and ‘miscellaneous’, for The Today programme will be co-presented from
ceivers to valves, components, aerials, everything else. So far, SDRplay reports a positive outside London for at least 100 episodes a year,
headphones, Morse keys, and much more. reaction since launching the website in late Radio 4’s PM will be presented regularly from
Happy days indeed! March 2021, and the number of support requests different locations around the UK including BBC
has dropped noticeably. New software products local radio stations. And Newsbeat on Radio 1
– which arrived in March and April 2021 via the and the Asian Network news teams will move
Resources new website – include several new community permanently to be presented from Birmingham.
• British Resistance Archive: plugins, including Jan van Katwijk’s Weather Fax Radio Business and long-form audio (producing
https://www.staybehinds.com plugin for SDRuno which is proving very popular. radio current affairs and podcasts) will move
• Cryptomuseum: www.sdrplay.com to Salford, alongside the other BBC business
https://www.cryptomuseum.com teams. For BBC Local Radio, there will be more
• Military Wireless Museum (Kidderminster): local bulletins for more than 50 areas across the
https://www.qsl.net/g4bxd UK on BBC Sounds.
• Royal Signals Museum: (SOURCES BBC | The Guardian)
https://www.royalsignalsmuseum.co.uk. https://tinyurl.com/3kv52ash
https://tinyurl.com/x6f9e2bj

Signals from Space
NASA
The Lunar Eavesdropping Project

Tim Kirby agram of the various communications links sions) and the 2200-2290MHz band for
[email protected] between the ground and the spacecraft. downlinks (Space-to-Earth). The Saturn
I was surprised to find that much of the IV-B (S-IVB) upper stage had its own tran-
This month Tim Kirby relives growing traffic from Earth to Space was in what was sponder so it could be tracked indepen-
up as part of the ‘Apollo-Generation’ referred to as the ‘S-band’ around 2.0 to dently after separation from the Command
and relates a fascinating story of a 2.3GHz – little chance, the young me real- Service Module until the stage passed or
man who received signals direct from ised, of building a crystal set to receive that! struck the Moon.
the Apollo 11 astronauts on the surface More recently, doing a little reading “This tracking data greatly aided the anal-
of the Moon. around on the Internet I found some inter- ysis of impact shocks as recorded by seis-
esting articles on the systems that were mometers installed in the surface by Apollo
I grew up as part of the ‘Apollo-Generation’ used. A really good article is at this URL: crews. The S-IVB shared its S-band frequen-
who watched the Apollo missions (Fig. 1) https://tinyurl.com/xtbmd6k5 cy pair with the Lunar Module. This created
as a child. One of the things that fascinated no problem in a normal mission as the Lunar
me was how Mission Control communicat- Apollo and Radio Module remained dormant until lunar orbit,
ed with the Command and Lunar modules Communications by which time the S-IVB had already struck
en-route to, or in orbit around, the Moon. The write-up summarises the basics of or passed the Moon.
One Christmas, a very welcome pre- the system as follows: “The Apollo Unified “However, it caused some interference
sent was The Observers Book of Manned S-Band System used the 2025-2110MHz during the Apollo 13 mission, when the
Spaceflight, and there was an interesting di- band for uplinks (Earth-to-space transmis- Lunar Module had to be used as a lifeboat,

Signals from Space
AB9IL.NET
Fig. 1: The first Saturn V mission, Apollo 4,

launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39,
Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Nov. 9, 1967.
Fig. 2: Apollo S-band Frequencies. Fig. 3: Larry
Baysinger and the antenna used to listen to
the Apollo 11 signals from the Moon. Fig. 4:
Newspaper cutting from the Louisville Courier-
Journal. Fig. 5: The ‘Moon-Walk’ Frequencies.
Fig. 6: The worldwide network used for monitoring
communications from the Apollo missions.
2
well before Aquarius and the S-IVB reached LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL
the Moon. The Lunar Module frequency pair Baysinger W4EJA of Louisville, Kentucky
was also used by the sub-satellites left in lu- (Fig. 3). Larry was a ham radio operator
nar orbit by the later J-missions. They were and amateur-radio astronomer. Baysinger
deployed by the Command Service Module detected radio transmissions from the
shortly before leaving lunar orbit return- surface of the Moon. These came from the
ing to Earth, and the Lunar Module was no backpack transmitters carried by Apollo
longer in use.” 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz
The same article lists the frequencies Aldrin. The activity was documented by
in Fig. 2 as being the ones in use at the a local newspaper, The Louisville Courier-
time. A particularly exciting paragraph Journal (Fig. 4) in an article written by a
reads as follows: reporter named Glenn Rutherford who, at
“The Apollo Unified S-Band System the time, was 23.
downlink also provided an “emergency What is great about this article is that
key” capability consisting of a manually Glenn Rutherford did not just write about
keyed continuous wave (CW) subcarrier at the experiment – he witnessed it, he was
512kHz. The crew could then tap out their there, listening to the signals and helping to
messages in Morse code if the downlink point the antenna at the Moon.
were too severely degraded to support, even You can read much more about this
the backup voice mode. Although this mode here in an engrossing article written by
had been tested (on Apollo 7) and most of Professor Chris Graney, a professor of
the astronauts were trained in its use, this Physics and Astronomy at the Jefferson
mode was never actually needed during any Community and Technical College
Apollo mission. in Louisville:
“There was no need for an uplink https://tinyurl.com/ebprkper 3
emergency key, due to the ground stations’ The Courier story opens with this
excess power available. A typical Apollo paragraph: “Thanks to some homemade captured for posterity. As far as I can see
S-band spacecraft exciter produced 300mW, electronic equipment, including a rebuilt the ‘Moon-walk’ frequencies monitored
the downlink power amplifier 20W, while 20-year-old radio receiver from an Army would have been the following (Fig. 5).
a typical uplink transmitter produced tank and an antenna made of spare pieces https://tinyurl.com/xtbmd6k5
10,000W – a power ratio of 26.9 dB. All of of aluminum, nylon cord and chicken wire,
this doesn’t count antenna gain. Rarely was a small band of Louisvillians were able to The Equipment Used
the link budget capacity fully used during the ‘eavesdrop’ Sunday (July 20) night on the The aerial that Larry Baysinger used was
Apollo program.” American astronauts’ conversation directly a fully-steerable 8 x 12-foot ‘corner horn’ –
from the Moon’. we’d probably now call it a ‘corner reflector’.
Receiving the Astronauts The piece goes on to discuss how Larry Corner horn or reflector aerials are more
The article includes details on how amateur Baysinger recorded 35 minutes’ worth typically used at microwave frequencies
radio operators in the USA were able to of conversation from the VHF signals where they are smaller and a bit more man-
receive signals from Apollo spacecraft. transmitted between Neil Armstrong, Buzz ageable. Having such a large antenna must
On the morning of August 1st, 1971, Paul Aldrin and Michael Collins. This period have taken a bit of handling; presumably,
Wilson W4HHK and Richard T Knadle included the time in which President Nixon the winds were light in Louisville the night
Jr K2RIW received voice transmissions sent a message of congratulations to the of the Moon Landing!
from the Command Module of Apollo 15 astronauts. Larry Baysinger and Glenn Baysinger had modified the receiver’s
in lunar orbit. An article in the American Rutherford were so excited about what they sensitivity to improve it for the Lunar
Radio Relay League (ARRL) magazine, QST were receiving, they didn’t notice that the Eavesdropping project. In the newspaper
provided more detail on how this was done. reel-to-reel tape recorder that they were article, it is reported that, as a test of the
The same two amateurs also received using to record the transmissions had receiver, Baysinger replaced the ‘monster-
signals from the next flight, Apollo 16. run out of tape! antenna’ with a few inches of wire and
However, the most interesting story, Fortunately, they did notice after a little received signals from a US aircraft
as far as I am concerned concerns Larry while – enabling more of the event to be refuelling. The article reports that the

Signals from Space
LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL
4
AB9IL.NET
aircraft was over Hawaii, which I would

be somewhat surprised about, but this is
indeed a remarkable story.
In an article I found on the ARRL website,
and also written by Chris Graney, about the
project there are some further, fascinating,
insights. Chris Graney had got to speak to 5
Larry Baysinger first-hand about the project.
I was interested to read of Baysinger’s “Its ‘beam’ or ‘field of view’ was such that, unedited ‘real’ story – and it turned out there
motivation to carry out the project: “The once pointed at the Moon, it could be let was nothing edited. Indeed, Rutherford’s
Lunar Eavesdropping project arose because go for a little while, but pretty soon it would story makes no mention of hearing
he had an interest in independently verifying have to be re-aimed because the motions of anything unusual.”
the information that NASA had been the Earth and Moon caused the Moon to drift
providing about the Apollo program. Could out of the antenna’s field and the signal to be Unedited Evidence
he get unedited, unfiltered information about lost. In fact, this was one piece of evidence On the webpage (above) there are also
the Apollo 11 landing by eavesdropping on that the Apollo 11 signals the receiver audio links to the signals that Larry
the radio signals transmitted from the lunar picked up were indeed from the Moon — if Baysinger had received. I do not know why,
surface? Maybe he could find out things the antenna was not kept aimed at the Moon, but I found it curiously moving to listen to
that NASA did not want the public to know the signal disappeared.” these, very ‘unofficial’ recordings of Neil
about. In addition, successfully detecting a “Baysinger’s wife and daughter watched Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin talking away
transmission from the lunar surface would the Apollo 11 landing on TV while Baysinger on the surface of the Moon. Although the
be a great technical accomplishment. and Rutherford listened via Baysinger’s signals are a little noisy, it’s quite clear
Various ‘experts’ had told him that it equipment. The signal on the home-built what is going on.
could not be done. equipment came through approximately Chris Graney goes on to conclude what
https://tinyurl.com/556xt59t 5-10 seconds earlier than the signal I was also thinking about as I read the
Chris Graney’s article goes on to say, on TV. It was noisy, but you could hear story, although he puts it so much better
“Baysinger says that on the night of the what was going on. than I would have done: “Baysinger’s lunar
Apollo 11 landing, he and Rutherford had “I asked Baysinger whether he found eavesdropping is an independent
to essentially aim the antenna at the Moon anything that NASA edited out — comments verification that men were on the Moon, by a
by getting behind it and sighting it like a about things going wrong, the astronauts local person who is not part of the scientific
gun. This was difficult since the weather being loose with their language or establishment. Had there been more
was cloudy and the Moon not easily visible. exclamations about meeting space aliens. Larry Baysingers eavesdropping on Apollo
The antenna, which was originally built for He said no — absolutely everything was or had there been more Glenn Rutherfords to
Baysinger’s radio astronomy work, had a transmitted to the public on TV. In fact, he record the work of the Baysingers who
motorized steering mechanism but it had to said, ‘that was kind of disappointing’. Part did eavesdrop, there would be no
be manually guided. of the idea of the project was to hear the “Apollo-deniers”’.

Signals from Space
NASA
Radio News
THE ‘UN-SMARTPHONE’: US start-up firm Sky’s

Edge Open Source Technology is taking pre-orders
for kits of its ‘un smartphone’. So, why a rotary cell
phone? “Because in a finicky touchscreen world of
6 hyperconnected devices we have no real control
over, there should be an alternative. This isn’t
This is an illustration of the importance merely an anachronistic curiosity. It’s an everyday-
of ‘reproducibility’ in science. Both Larry Further Resources usable phone that embraces the lost art of the
Baysinger and Chris Graney also thought tactile interface and glove-slaps the “every-piece-
• Cadbury, D. (2007) Space Race […] (London:
about the question ‘did Baysinger really of-technology-should-be-a-featureless slab”
Harper Perennial)
pick up signals from the Moon?’. Could he design philosophy. As a telephone, in many ways it
• Caldwell, S. (2019) ‘Radio & the Space Race’,
have just picked up a spurious signal from is more functional than a smartphone”.
Radio User, July 2019: 14 – 18.
a local radio or TV station that was relaying (SOURCE: Radio Kurier 4/2021: 7: Sky’s Edge)
• Donovan, J. (2019) Shoot for the Moon:
the Moon Landing? http://skysedge.us
The Space Race and the Voyage of Apollo
We can fairly safely assume that the https://tinyurl.com/2e3tas59
(Amberley Publishing)
signals were from the Moon because the
• How NASA Tracked Apollo 11:
antenna needed to be aimed at the Moon CRICKET COVERAGE: The BBC has signed a
https://tinyurl.com/yhzyaxv2
to receive the signals, and the signal was four-year contract with the England and Wales
• Logsdon, J. and Nye, B. (2018) The Penguin
lost once the Moon had set. Also, the audio Cricket Board to cover over 400 games per
Book of Outer Space Exploration
could be heard through Baysinger’s receiver year on the radio. Ball-by-ball commentary
(New York: Penguin)
a second or two before it was heard on the will be provided on every men’s First Class
• Sarkissian, J. M. (2001) ‘[…] The Parkes
TV. This would have been the case because and List A cricket match played in England
Observatory’s Support of the Apollo 11
of the latency introduced at the broadcaster, and Wales covering the LV= Insurance County
Mission’, Publications of the Astronomical
as well as in NASA’s S-Band receive system Championship, the Royal London Cup and the
Society of Australia, 18 (3): 287-310
and link to the broadcasters. Perhaps most Vitality Blast. The deal will see some 3,100 days
https://tinyurl.com/yzsjkmtx
conclusively, the audio that Larry Baysinger of cricket broadcast on the BBC’s network of local
• Engineering the Communications System
recorded is different from the NASA audio, radio stations, the BBC Sport website and BBC
for Apollo 11:
because only Neil Armstrong and Buzz Radio Wales (in the case of Glamorgan games).
https://tinyurl.com/ynvmwdkn
Aldrin can be heard, whereas Michael Some will also be aired on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports
• Science Museum:
Collins and CAPCOM cannot. Extra. The agreement means the BBC will provide
https://tinyurl.com/y2jr6yhj
On the broadcast, all those individuals coverage of all red and white ball competitions
• Sichla F. (2018) Kosmische Kommunikation
can be heard, because the broadcast for the following four domestic cricket seasons
(beam-Verlag, easy German, with
feed was taken from the NASA downlink through to the end of 2024.
illustrations)
of the S-band receive, as opposed to (SOURCES: BBC | RadioToday | Sports Press)
• Smith, A. (2005) Moon Dust: In Search
the ‘local Moon-based’ feed received by https://tinyurl.com/ntjfyuww
of the Men who Fell to Earth (London:
Larry Baysinger.
Bloomsbury)
Larry Baysinger did not attempt to HAM RADIO FRIEDRICHSHAFEN: Due to
• Woods, W. (2011) How Apollo Flew to the
receive any other of the Apollo missions. current developments regarding the spread
Moon (New York).
Chris Graney suggests that this is because of COVID-19, Messe Friedrichshafen has been
Baysinger did not turn up anything that forced to make a very difficult decision. The Ham
could not be received by the official Finally, Fig. 6 illustrates the Radio International amateur radio exhibition will
channels. Larry Baysinger’s work received worldwide network used for monitoring not take place in the planned time frame of 25-27
some brief recognition at the time, notably communications from the Apollo missions. June 2021 but instead will be held from 24-26
a meeting with the Collins Radio Company What an amazing story! As I delved into June 2022.
who had built the communications systems this story, it truly fascinated me. (SOURCE: Colin Butler; DARC)
for the Apollo missions. I hope it will interest you, too. https://tinyurl.com/2ynmyfwe

Radio in History
Scott Caldwell
[email protected]
A
World’s Fair is a large
international exhibition
showcasing a wide variety
of industrial, scientific, and
cultural items. International
showcase-events such as these have, for
example, championed electricity (Chicago,
1893), enabled the Eiffel Tower (Paris,
1889), promoted wireless communication
(St Louis, 1893), and inaugurated television
broadcasts (New York, 1939).
The World’s Fairs are governed and
regulated by the Bureau International 1 2
des Expositions (BIE) – a Paris-based
organisation established in 1928.
These large shows are perceived by
many historians as the timekeepers of
technological innovation. However, beyond
that, the purpose of holding a World’s Fair
extended to many other areas, such as
politics, education, entertainment, and
cultural, scientific, technological, and
Tomorrow’s
economic growth.
https://www.bie-paris.org/site/en
Nikola Tesla and the

Worlds: Radio
Chicago World’s Fair (1893)
The Chicago World’s Fair was also called
the ‘Columbian Exposition’, celebrating the
and TV at the
400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus
(1451-1506) voyage to the Americas.
Inventors were subsequently asked to
submit bids to ‘illuminate’ the fair, utilising
World’s Fairs
the power of electricity.
Thomas Edison (1847-1931) sub- The lights are on, and Scott Caldwell takes us on
mitted a bid that totalled US$554,000. a fascinating tour of the spectacles that were the
This was to utilise his DC power supply.
However, George Westinghouse (1846-
World’s Fairs, looking at those showcases of the
1914), making use of Nikola Tesla’s (1856- latest developments in radio and TV technology.
1943, Fig. 1) patent, submitted a lower
bid of $339,000 and he was duly award-
ed the contract. buildings. This large scale delayed its However, it soon transpired that his arch-
The War of the Currents, involving scheduled opening by a year, with increas- rival Lee De Forest (1873-1961; Fig. 2) and
Westinghouse, Edison and Tesla, and ing costs that had to be recuperated. Local, other market competitors would also be in
many other early inventors, was one of state and federal funding totalling $15 attendance. Therefore, Marconi decided
the most fascinating in the history of million was utilised to finance the event. that he should not be lending legitimacy to
electricity and has been vividly drama- Fortunately, the Fair was a great success, his competitors, particularly at what he per-
tized in the novel The Last Days of Night, with over 20 million visitors paying an ad- ceived as a short-term event. He promptly
by Graham Moore. mission fee, between its opening date of declined the invitation and concentrated on
30th April until 1st December 1904. ‘real’ scientific research and development,
DeForest and Marconi at Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) was in- focused on perfecting his technology over
the St. Louis World’s Fair vited to attend the 1904 St. Louis World’s long distances.
The ‘Louisiana Purchase Exposition St. Fair by the Governor of Missouri. Initially, Meanwhile, DeForest continued with his
Louis’ was a vast complex that consisted he was willing to accept and keen to pro- involvement and spent $10,000 on relocat-
of approximately 1,272 acres and 1,500 mote his wireless telegraphy apparatus. ing a sightseeing tower from Niagara Falls

Radio in History
to St. Louis. This 300-foot tower provided Fig. 1: Nikola Tesla – the Serbian-American
an excellent opportunity to maximise his radio pioneer. Fig. 2: Lee De Forest, the
company’s exposure, with his name embla- American ‘Father of Radio Communications’.
zoned in light across its top. Visitors to the Fig. 3: The Century of Progress World’s Fair in
tower were amazed when operators sent Chicago in 1933. Fig. 4: A special New York
wireless messages to Chicago, at a dis- World’s Fair receiver for the 1939 event.
tance of approximately 300 miles.
On Electricity Day, De Forest gratefully extended the narrative by remarking that,
received the Grand Prize Medal for ‘general “Without exception, this personal contact
excellence in wireless technology. Overall, was greatly appreciated by the visitors;
the World’s Fair at St. Louis was well re- they were attentive and always interested.
ceived and regarded as a great success. Sometimes a group would spend several
The advertising stated that the technology hours in the exhibit and absorb every bit of
on show was, “making life better – that was knowledge we could give them. Old, young,
how the inventors and innovations intro- and middle-aged; as soon as they saw what
duced at the Fair were viewed. Visitors were a fascinating hobby ham radio could be,
excited as they communicated by wireless fell like the proverbial ton of bricks. Many
telegraphy, saw devices cooking chicken in an elderly couple, living alone and wanting
only 14 minutes, and walked around huge a hobby of interest to both have walked out
power generators. No longer science fiction with copies of ‘How to Become an Amateur’,
these discoveries seemed to offer the prom- 3 the QST. And, in at least one instance, they
ise of a better life at home and at work”. returned a few weeks later with questions
radio exhibition was located on the second concerning the refusal of the detector of
The Radio World’s Fair floor of the Travel and Transport Building, their first short wave receiver to oscillate”.
in New York (1924) towards the south end of the grounds.
The Radio World’s Fair began its annual run The event was remarkably popular, The ‘World of Tomorrow’:
in 1924 in the prosperous city of New York. and approximately 4,000 amateurs New York World’s Fair (1939)
These shows are now regarded by histori- signed the registration book – nearly The New York World’s Fair of 1939 (Fig. 4)
ans as very significant; they were not just 10% of all licenced operators in the offered the Radio Corporation of America
a trade show to introduce the latest receiv- US. The registration book also records (RCA) an invaluable marketing opportunity
ers. The New Radio Fair was an extremely visits from amateurs from a variety – to announce the long-awaited arrival of
complex undertaking, akin, perhaps, to to- of nations; Barbados, Canada, Cuba, television broadcasting.
day’s annual Consumer Electronics Show. Mexico, Argentina, Alaska, Porto – Rico, The overall objective of the show was
Many unusual innovations were show- Panama, Newfoundland, Hawaii, Guam, modernist: to promote the technological
cased during the fair. New Zealand, Australia, England, France, and cultural ideas of a ‘New Age’ New
Perhaps most memorable amongst Austria, Japan, and China. devices would readily be available in the
them was the image of a wearable cage The general public also expressed not-so-distant future. RCA displayed its
antenna that was intended for out- considerable interest in the amateur TRK-12 television set, installed in ‘The
side broadcasting. radio exhibition. During, the first two and Living Room of the Future’. However, its
The immediate years following the hor- a half weeks of the World’s Fair, it was ‘experimental’ nature and its retail price of
rors of the First World War (1914-1918), estimated that 2% of the total attendance $600, made it a very exclusive product. The
witnessed an industrial and economic per day had visited the exhibition. This market segmentation was geographically
boom. Increasing the demand for com- suggests that 360,000 people had seen limited to the New York and Los Angeles
mercial products as households looked to the exhibition by October 1933. The areas, with RCA selling just 7,000 television
enjoy their surplus income. Besides, the purpose of the exhibition was to educate sets over a two-year period. Broadcasts
number of commercial radio stations was people and provide them with a good were crude and audience figures were
rapidly increasing to meet the sustained understanding of what the amateur radio disappointing. Current affairs programmes
demand for radio receivers (Tables 1 &2). hobby entailed, in addition to an overview featured hard-to-discern commentators
of the function performed by the various who utilised pointers over impossible-to-
The ‘Century-of-Progress’ pieces of apparatus. decipher wall maps.
Chicago World’s Fair (1933) A volunteer at the exhibition remarked However, the broadcasting of a col-
One of the primary purposes of the that, ‘It has given our visitors the knowledge lege baseball game between Princeton
amateur radio exhibition at the Chicago that radio does not start at 0 and ends at and Columbia offered some much-need-
World’s Fair of 1933 (Fig. 3; Table 3), 100, and that the short waves are much ed entertainment, viewed through a sin-
was to acquaint the general public with more interesting than the broadcast band. gle camera lens.
amateur radio operation. It also has created a large number of The impact of the ‘Great Depression’
In the event, the special callsign W9USA will-be hams”. of the 1930s and the growing political
was made available, and the amateur Furthermore, the event’s exhibit manager tension in Europe and the Far-East had
For the latest news and product Features, visit www.radioenthusiast.co.uk

Radio in History
HERITAGE AUCTIONS HA.COM
Further Reading
• Becker, R. (2001) ‘Hear-and-see: Radio
in the World of Tomorrow: RCA and the
presentation of television at the World’s Fair,
1939 – 1940’, Historical Journal of Film,
Radio and Television, 21(4), pp. 361 – 378.
• Jonnes, J. (2004) Empires of Light: Edison,
Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to
Electrify the World (Random House)
• Moore, G. (2017) The Last Days of Night
(Simon & Schuster UK)
• Plotnick, R. (2013) ‘Touch of a
button: Long-distance Transmission,
Communication, and Control of
World’s Fairs’, Critical Studies in Media
Communication, 30(1), pp. 52 – 68.
• Raboy, M. (2016) Marconi The Man who
Networked the World (OUP USA). 4
dampened society’s view of a future order W6XBE at the Golden Gate of the Golden Gate World’s Fair, General
where consumerism and democracy World’s Fair (1939-1940) Electric relocated its transmitter to the
triumphed over extremism. Research The Golden Gate Exposition was another salt flats of Redwood City, California.
suggests that television failed to make an World’s Fair that was organised to Encouraged by its popular appeal, the
as big impression as RCA hoped it would. commemorate the completion of San station’s output was increased to 50kW,
The General Motors Futurama was the Francisco’s two main bridges: the Bay and the call sign was changed to KGEI.
most attended and highly rated exhibit. Bridges and the Golden Gate Bridge. It
However, some historians acknowledge was held on Treasure Island, located in Conclusion: Still Going On
that the birth of television did indeed the middle of the Bay Bridge’s span across Given the global impact of the Covid-19
coincide with the New York World’s Fair, the San Francisco Bay. pandemic, the Bureau International des
when on 30th April 1939 President Franklin One of the main attractions at this Expositions has approved plans to re-
D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) opened the fair was General Electric’s short wave schedule the 2020 Dubai World’s Fair,
opening address live on the NBC network. broadcasting station W6XBE (universally from 1st October 2021 to 31st March
The Italian Pavilion was based on known as General Electric’s ‘Showcase 2022. In many respects, the World’s
the splendour of the ancient Roman Station’), operating from the Electricity & Fair has evolved to reflect the views of
Empire and was dominated by a 200-foot Communications Building. The station modern society.
(61 metres) waterfall dedicated to the was licensed to broadcast with an output The main focus is now directed on pro-
memory of Marconi. The pavilion was a power of 20kW on 9530 and 15330kHz. moting urban sustainable development
three-tier structure that required 100,000 Its target audience was in Europe and underpinned by intergovernmental trea-
square-feet of space and it presented a South America. The first broadcasts were ties such as the Shanghai Declaration.
significant financial investment, reported scheduled for February 1939. In June This suggests that the World’s Fair still
to have been in the region of US$3 million. 1941, after the successful completion has a place in society when we can all
live our life’s without governmental con-
Year Number of Stations Year Number of Stations Year Sales (in Millions of US Dollars) trols and restrictions (post-Covid-19).
Promoting a better future for our children,
1921 5 1931 612 1922 60
in terms of environmental protection and
1922 30 1932 604 1923 136 technological innovation.
1923 556 1933 599 1924 358
Dates Open Duration (Days) Attendance
1924 530 1934 583 1925 430 1933 Season
1925 571 1935 585 1926 506 27th May – 170 27,703,132
12th November
1926 528 1936 616 1927 426
1934 Season
1927 681 1937 646 1928 651
26th May – 159 21,066,095
1928 677 1938 689 1929 843 31st October
Table 1: The number of radio stations in the USA, 1921- Table 2: Sales of radio equipment in Table 3: Opening dates and attendance figures
1939. Millions of Dollars. for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933.

TV & Radio: Past & Present
Keith Hamer
[email protected]
Garry Smith
[email protected]
Early Radio & TV:
Keith Hamer and Garry Smith
continue exploring the early days of
radio, review a book about John Logie
Sparks & Coherers
Baird, revisit TV graphic design, and
provide the link to their latest on-line important advances made in the science of
column, DX-TV & FM News. wireless telegraphy. It paved the way to the
invention, in 1907, by Dr Lee de Forest in
All early experiments with radio America, of the three-electrode thermionic
broadcasts were carried out using valve (or ‘triode’), which began to be used in
‘spark’ transmission. In this system, the majority of transmitting and receiving
which, in modified forms, was still used sets for telegraphy and telephony.
in the 1920s, especially aboard ships, a The invention of the triode revolutionised 1
condenser was charged to a high voltage, the practice of wireless, for it provided a
and allowed to discharge through a spark- device capable of producing a continuous
gap in series with an inductance, thus oscillation of any desired frequency,
producing a train of waves for each spark. and of magnifying such oscillations to
The frequency of the waves depended any required degree. It was, therefore,
on the value of the condenser and applicable to both transmitting and
inductance, while the number of wave receiving circuits. The many ingenious
trains per second equalled the number of uses to which it was put were the subject
sparks per second. Each separate wave of investigation and research by many
train died away before the next one was scientists, notably Lee de Forest, Benjamin 2
produced, and so spark transmitters Franklin, Alexander Meissner, Edwin
were said to produce ‘damped’ waves, as Howard Armstrong, Captain Henry Joseph
opposed to ‘undamped’, or ‘continuous’ Round, and Edward Victor Appleton.
waves. The latter type of wave was basic
to all means of communication in the Vintage Wireless Equipment
1920s. This month’s delve through vintage copies
The earliest types of receivers all used of well-worn newspapers and magazines
a ‘coherer’, or ‘detector’, for the reception has unearthed the Dunham Two-Valve 3
(RadioUser, April 2021: 28-30). Loud-Speaker Set (Fig. 4). Table 1 shows
However, from 1900 onwards, other the description of the equipment featured progressed until a final composition of
devices were invented, each adding to in a Dunham advertisement, dated 1927. tungsten wire, coated with a thorium
its general efficiency. Several detectors The advertisement proudly boasted oxide layer, was agreed upon. Thorite is
were in use by 1928: First, the ‘magnetic that the Dunham loudspeaker set came a rare mineral, thorium silicate (chemical
detector’, on which many experimenters complete with two Cossor ‘dull-emitter symbol, ThSi04), occurring in the form of
worked, was patented in a commercial valves’. This particular type of valve used a yellow or black crystals. The chief property
form by Marconi in 1902 and used by thoriated tungsten filament which operated of thoriated tungsten, when used as an
Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Company in at between 1,700º and 1,900º Kelvin. electron source in valves of high-power, is
some of their ship installations right up to These gradually replaced bright emitters its good emission efficiency in terms of
World War One (1939-1945; Fig. 1). in domestic receivers between 1922 and milliamps per Watt when compared to pure
Second, many forms of ‘crystal 1925. The thoriated tungsten filament was tungsten. It can also withstand high anode
detectors’ were patented. The types which much more efficient, consuming less than voltages when compared to the alkaline
came into most general use were the 1W. This reduced battery drain to one Amp, earth oxide cathode used in smaller valves.
‘Galena’, invented by Karl Ferdinand Braun or even just a few hundred milliamps, and
in Germany (Fig. 2), the ‘Carborundum’ extended the accumulator life between Book Review: Television and Me
by Henry Harrison Chase Dunwoody (Fig. charges by a factor of 5 to 10. A filament Television And Me - The Memoirs Of John
3), and the ‘Perikon’, devised by Greenleaf current drain above 1A was a real problem Logie Baird is a fascinating insight into
Whittier Pickard, both the latter in the USA. in the early 1920s and the search was on the life and career of the Helensburgh-
Third, in 1904, Professor John Ambrose to achieve good electron emission from a born genius who invented television back
Fleming patented the first ‘thermionic reduced filament current. in the 1920s. We have written a lot about
valve’. This was a two-electrode valve Early efforts were based on the use of John Logie Baird, and there is more to
or diode, and although as a detector it alkaline earth metalled filaments where come as we celebrate the forthcoming
was not very sensitive, and therefore not tungsten was combined with thorite, 85th anniversary of the world’s first
a great advance on some of the crystal barium or strontium oxides before being television service which officially began on
detectors, yet it was one of the most drawn into filament wire. Development November 2nd, 1936.

THE KEITH HAMER+GARRY SMITH ARCHIVE COLLECTION.
Fig. 1: The ‘Magnetic Detector’ was patented in a

commercial form by Marconi in 1902.
Fig. 2: The ‘Galena Detector’, invented in Germany
by Karl Ferdinand Braun. Fig. 3: The ‘Carborundum
Detector’, devised by Henry Harrison Chase
Dunwoody in the USA. Fig. 4: The Dunham Two-
Valve Loud-Speaker Set, advertised in 1927 (Table
1). Fig. 5: The latest edition of ‘Television and Me’,
edited by Malcolm Baird. Fig. 6: Abram Games
produced some of the most memorable war-time
posters to promote the Auxiliary Territorial Service
(ATS). Fig. 7: In 2014, the Royal Mail issued a
special Abram Games postage stamp to celebrate
the designer’s 100th birthday.
Despite our best endeavours to present

accurate information, there is certainly no
better resource than this amazing book.
This in-depth 210-page comprehensive
publication is edited by none other than the
inventor’s son, Malcolm Baird. However,
there appears to be one serious omission.
Trawling through all the pages, several 4 5
times over, the book fails to mention that
in 1928, John Logie Baird transmitted the 1940. The list of his inventions seems al- Graphic Design Pioneers
world’s first ‘live’ television signal from an most endless. In later life, he met many Our series on four of the most influential
aeroplane. We will rectify this omission in important and influential people including graphic designers in radio, TV and beyond
a later column when his in-flight station the writer H.G. Wells, John Reith (the BBC’s continues with Abram Games.
identification, and details of the aircraft, will first Director-General) and Professor Oliver Born on July 29th, 1914, Abram Games
be featured. The honour of such an airborne Lodge, the inventor of the first radio coher- lived in Whitechapel, London. He later
achievement normally goes to the BBC er, or tuner, in 1889 (RadioUser, March 2021: began working in his father’s photographic
when they transmitted their first ‘live’ air-to- 30-31 and April 2021: 28-30; forthcoming: studio. One of the tools which defined his
ground television broadcast on September June). early work was his skilled use of a small
30th, 1950. This highly-recommended title is avail- airbrush manufactured by Aerograph.
This comprehensive book is divided into able from various on-line suppliers, in both Nowadays, Abram Games’ graphic design
10 chapters, each one graphically detail- electronic and printed formats. For exam- work is a fascinating record of social
ing the inventor’s highs and lows, success- ple, it is currently available in electronic for- history. For over 60 years, he produced
es and disasters. It is richly illustrated with mat from Birlinn publishers, priced at £6.99. some of the UK’s most memorable images
photographs from the family album, includ- It pays to shop around because some book- including the ‘Blonde Bombshell’ poster
ing hitherto unpublished pictures show- shops charge around £12 for the book, plus of 1941 which was used to promote the
ing him as a baby in 1890, at the controls of an additional fee of about £11 if delivered Auxiliary Territorial Service (Fig. 6).
his Humber Olympic tri-car in 1908 (look- from the USA. Some well-known UK on- The United Nations, London Transport,
ing for all the world like one of the opening line companies are selling the book for £5, British Airways, Shell, the Financial Times,
sequences to the 1970’s comedy series, or less, but these tend to be second-hand and Guinness were just some of his well-
George & Mildred), his advertising tech- earlier editions and in an unspecified con- known clients. He also designed postage
nique to promote the Baird Undersock, and dition. Earlier versions of the book have a stamps (which he referred to as “miniature
the jam factory in Trinidad which he called completely different cover design. The cov- posters”) for the UK, Jersey, and Israel. In
Bourg Mulatrice, located in the Santa Cruz er shown in Fig. 5 depicts the latest edition. 2014, the Royal Mail issued a special Abram
Valley. Television and Me was originally pub- Games postage stamp to commemorate
Of particular interest to TV historians lished in 1988 by the Royal Television his 100th birthday (Fig. 7).
are the photographs showing some of Society under the title Sermons, Soap and In addition to all his other work, he
his revolutionary inventions such as the Television with subsequent reprints in designed book jackets and magazine
Phonovision image-recording apparatus, 1990 and 2004. The current version was covers. In 1956, he became Consultant
the Noctovision system (first demonstra- published in 2020 by Birlinn Limited in Art Director of Penguin Books. He
tion in Leeds in 1927), colour television in Edinburgh (ISBN 9781788854467). John was instrumental in the experimental
1928, large-screen television (the summer Logie Baird’s son, Malcolm, and grandson, introduction of colour covers for the first
of 1930), the mirror-drum television equip- Iain, operate and update the following web- time in Penguin’s history. Thirty-six covers
ment used to televise The Derby in 1932, the site which features historical research and were produced by his graphic design
Baird Televisor - the world’s first mass-pro- recent news, plus book and film reviews: team. Unfortunately, as soon as Penguin’s
duced television set, and high-definition col- www.birlinn.co.uk founder, Allen Lane, clapped eyes on
our television demonstrated in December www.bairdtelevision.com them, the project was summarily stopped

because he thought that the covers were some were deemed to be too powerful and radio services, please check out the Radio
too crude. We won’t divulge what he dubbed controversial, so they were banned and Enthusiast website:
them… eventually shredded. Despite this setback, www.radioenthusiast.co.uk
In 1940, Abram Games joined the Infantry he was promoted to Captain in 1942 and
as a Private. One year later, he was post- appointed Official War Poster Artist, becom- Stay Tuned!
ed to the War Office in Whitehall, London. ing the only person in army history to be Please send archive photographs,
He produced maps for the Army Bureau given the title. information, news, or suggestions for
of Current Affairs, book covers, insignias future topics via the E-mail addresses
and 100 posters for the army. His designs DX-TV & FM News shown at the top of this column.
were so successful that he was given carte For details of DX reception covering Unfortunately, we cannot undertake to
blanche to produce any posters which he January and February, plus the latest answer E-mails relating to technical issues
thought necessary for army use. However, news about changes to television and or give advice on suitable equipment.
Recommendation A Radio Engineer range of radio sets and components that would
be entirely different in their design and perfor-
“The Dunham two-valve loud-speaker set is a
mance. These, by skilful methods of production,
handsome oak cabinet model. In performance,
are sold at prices which represent wonderful
equal to maybe three-valve sets (at half the price
and half the maintenance cost) the design of this value.
receiver represents a combination of simplicity Truth In Advertising
with efficiency that has met with universal ap- We are prepared to prove the claims we make
proval. Valves fitted internally on anti-microphon- for our instruments. Sworn testimony support-
ic holders, and there is a compartment in case
ing these claims together with a beautifully
for a high-tension battery. Tuning is by single
Illustrated booklet showing the full range of
dial with a small knob to vary reception power to
Dunham models will be sent per return on receipt
individual requirements. Coils are entirely dis-
of 2d. for part postage.
pensed with. Range on loud-speaker 25-30 miles
The Dunham Everlasting guarantee is your assur-
on ordinary station, 100-120 miles from Daventry.
ance of lasting and complete satisfaction.
Phone range includes reception from many other
Your own set taken in part exchange.
stations at excellent strength. The operation of
the set is an achievement in simplicity, just plug Beware Of Easy Terms
in and out to start set working. This action auto- Buyers of various commodities have found to
matically lights up valves and puts all switches their cost that so-called easy terms are at times
on. Complete with two Cossor dull-emitter valves, far from being what the name implies.
6
Exide accumulator, extra-large H.T. battery (100 There is a way of purchasing out of income - easy
volts), loud-speaker, in fact an installation com- terms that are easy AND FAIR. You keep what you
plete. Marconi royalty paid, for £7/19/6, or 12/6
have paid for. This is the Dunham way. Before you
deposit secures and 12/6 monthly.
buy ANYTHING out of income write for our free
For Home Constructors: Envelope containing all
treatise that tells you clearly what to avoid and
details, drilling panel jig, wiring diagram, panel
how to keep on the SAFE side of the deferred pay-
layout, complete list of components with full par-
ment system.
ticulars, 7d. post free. The Dunham two-valve
loudspeaker set was realised by Mr. C. S. Dunham The latest Dunham Triumph:
(who until some time ago was Radio Engineer to a set that needs neither aerial nor earth.
Marconi Scientific Inst. Co. and had been a mem- C. S. Dunham, Elm Works, Elm Park, Brixton Hill,
ber of the B.B.C. since its conception) that radio LONDON, S.W. 2. Write now for full particulars.”
appliances should not be machine-made articles
designed on conventional lines. So he applied his [N.B.: the text has been left to reflect the spelling
knowledge and experience to the production of a and punctuation conventions of the time – Ed.].
7 Table 1: The Dunham Advertisement of 1927.
Radio News “We are closely monitoring the ever-changing

health landscape, government guidance and
roadmap steps coming out of lockdown, and
volunteers, traders and visitors. We thank you for
your continued support and patience whilst we
prepare.” Concerning other radio shows, swap-
NATIONAL HAMFEST 2021: The organisers of are optimistic that we can decide for this year’s meets and similar events, you can keep in touch
the UK’s National Hamfest planned to take place event in June. Preparations are continuing with the very latest developments and planning
at the Newark and Nottinghamshire Showground behind the scenes as usual to bring you the through our monthly News and Products section.
on 24-25 September 2021, will make a final premier radio rally in the UK calendar. Our primary (SOURCE: The Directors of National Hamfest .
decision in June. In a recent statement, they said: responsibility is to the health and welfare of our https://www.nationalhamfest.org.uk

Radio News
RADIO ACADEMY WOMEN IN RADIO & AUDIO
AWARD: The Radio Academy will be celebrating
Women In Radio & Audio this spring with a series
of lunchtime webinars highlighting inspiring
leadership and creative achievement. The
programme of six talks will launch on Wednesday
24th February with a leadership panel hosted
by Head of BBC Radio 2, and Chair of The Radio
Academy, Helen Thomas. She will be hearing the
stories of women in the business, including KISS
Network Content Director Rebecca Frank, BBC
Controller of Popular Music Lorna Clarke, CEO of
Radiocentre Siobhan Kenny, and Chief Executive
of Ofcom Dame Melanie Dawes. The launch
event will be followed by five in-conversation
talks, each taking place on a Wednesday
lunchtime during March – International Women’s joined in this new venture by other experienced
Month. The talks will explore a broad range radio presenters from Northern Ireland. Robert
of areas of radio and audio, and confirmed said, “We’re working on the final stages of the
guests include BBC Radio 2’s Sara Cox and her project including our mobile phone app and online
producer Louise Molony, and podcaster Helen webpage – I can’t wait to make that connection
Zaltzman. More names will be announced in with the Northern Ireland audience again.” The
the coming weeks. In addition to the live events, station will play a mix of music from the 60s to
March will see the return of the Radio Academy’s the 90s and will feature country, lifestyle and a
Inspirations audio series, releasing daily clips comedy show. Robert will launch the faith-based
of women in radio and audio talking about show called TODAY on Easter Sunday 8-10 am
their heroes and inspirations in the business. with a full station launch due later in the summer.
Announcing the project, Chair of The Radio (SOURCE: RadioToday)
Academy Helen Thomas, said: “I’m so pleased https://tinyurl.com/56muenkp
that my first role as Chair of The Radio Academy
is to host this fantastic event. I can’t wait to hear 45 YEARS OF BROADCASTING: Downtown
about the journeys of some of the women I most Radio, the first all-local Northern Ireland station
admire, and who have motivated me in my radio marks its 45th anniversary this week. One of
career. The Women In Radio & Audio project the earliest voices on Downtown Radio in 1976
throughout March is designed to inspire and is still hosting his very own show with listeners
encourage members, with brilliant stories and tuning in each week from across the country
extraordinary achievements.” All six events will to hear Trevor Campbell. Big T was one of the he was part of the launch team 45 years ago and
be available free to Radio Academy Members original line-up of presenters which included remains on the air with us on Downtown Country, a
through a live stream on The Radio Academy Candy Divine, John Paul Ballintine and Michael huge achievement! Happy 45th anniversary on the
website and made available on-demand. Radio ‘Hendi’ Henderson. Trevor said, “The build-up to air with us Trevor!” To take a trip down Memory
Academy Membership is free for many people the launch of Downtown Radio was very exciting Lane, head to the Downtown Radio website where
in radio, and costs just £36 a year otherwise. but for me, there was also the fear of not getting you can find photographs spanning 45 years.
Members can register their interest now, at the on it. There was no way of measuring how popular (SOURCES: Downtown Radio, Emma Dickson,
URL below: it would be until it launched in March 1976, and it RadioToday)
(SOURCE: Radio Academy, RadioToday) just went crazy. Its popularity was phenomenal.” https://tinyurl.com/f6huknty
www.radioacademy.org/women Looking back on Downtown’s achievement, https://tinyurl.com/44sv2rzy
Bauer NI’s Managing Director David Tighe added:
NEW ‘R RADIO’ ONLINE RADIO STATION “Downtown Radio has been at the forefront of RADIOWORLD SPRING PRODUCT REVIEW:
FOR NORTHERN IRELAND : R radio has been Northern Ireland radio for 45 years today. As Radio World’s new e-Book for March 2021 is
created by former Downtown (see above) and Q Northern Ireland’s first commercial radio station a look at brand-new or recently introduced
Radio presenter Robert Skates, who was recently it will always have a special place in the media products for the radio broadcast or audio
working as a broadcast journalist and news landscape here. Today Downtown Radio is as industry professional. From products for the
presenter at BBC Radio Ulster. Robert has over relevant and important to the community as it ever virtualized air chain to new microphones, on-air
25 years of experience in local radio in Northern was, and it will continue to serve the population of lights and codecs, there are approximately
Ireland and is known for his Sunday morning Northern Ireland as proudly as it did on day one. I 50 products to learn about. Fascinating stuff.
faith-based shows and launching the Friday night would also like to make a special mention to the (SOURCE: Radioworld)
Downtown Country show some years ago. He is legendary Downtown presenter Trevor Campbell, https://tinyurl.com/2nwzsybm

NEW LICENCE CONDITION : The document

Ofcom’s New EMF Licence Condition – What You
Need To Know As An Amateur Radio User (Draft
Version) can be accessed at the URL below.
All radio equipment produces EMF, and there
are internationally recognised limits for public
exposure are set out in guidelines published by
the International Commission for Non-Ionising
Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). In this document,
we refer to these limits as the EMF limits. Ofcom
is now proposing to add a new EMF condition
to spectrum licences that allow transmitting
powers above 10W EIRP (which is equivalent
to 6.1W ERP). This means licensees will need
to comply with the EMF limits and keep records
demonstrating how they comply. The new EMF
condition would be included in all amateur
licences, including foundation licences. The
guide provides an overview of the key points
relating to the new EMF condition, with specific
attention to the sorts of issues users of amateur
radio are likely to encounter.
https://www.icnirp.org
https://tinyurl.com/2jmy86y3
ELECTRONIC WARFARE AND QUANTUM

RECEIVERS: A new quantum sensor can analyse
the full spectrum of radio frequency and real-
world signals, unleashing new potentials for
soldier communications, spectrum awareness
and electronic warfare. Army researchers built
the quantum sensor, which can sample the
radiofrequency spectrum—from zero frequency
up to 20 GHz—and detect AM and FM radio,
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and other communication
signals. A Rydberg receiver and spectrum
analyser detects a wide range of real-world
radio frequency signals above a microwave
circuit including AM radio, FM radio, Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth. The Rydberg sensor uses laser
beams to create highly-excited Rydberg atoms
directly above a microwave circuit, to boost and
home in on the portion of the spectrum being
measured. The Rydberg atoms are sensitive limitations of traditional electronics in from 0 to 20 Gigahertz, co-authored by Army
to the circuit’s voltage, enabling the device to sensitivity, bandwidth and frequency range. researchers David Meyer, Paul Kunz, and
be used as a sensitive probe for the wide range Because of this, the lab’s Rydberg spectrum Kevin Cox The researchers plan additional
of signals in the RF spectrum. “All previous analyser and other quantum sensors have development to improve the signal sensitivity
demonstrations of Rydberg atomic sensors have the potential to unlock a new frontier of Army of the Rydberg spectrum analyser, aiming to
only been able to sense small and specific regions sensors for spectrum awareness, electronic outperform existing state-of-the-art technology.
of the RF spectrum, but our sensor now operates warfare, sensing and communications—part of “Significant physics and engineering effort is
continuously over a wide frequency range for the the Army’s modernization strategy. “Devices that still necessary before the Rydberg analyser can
first time,” said Kevin Cox, a researcher at the are based on quantum constituents are one of the integrate into a field testable device,” Cox said.
U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Army’s top priorities to enable technical surprise “One of the first steps will be understanding how
Command, now known as DEVCOM, Army in the competitive future battlespace,” said Army to retain and improve the device’s performance
Research Laboratory. “This is a really important researcher David Meyer. “Quantum sensors in as the sensor size is decreased. The Army has
step toward proving that quantum sensors general, including the one demonstrated here, emerged as a leading developer of Rydberg
can provide a new, and dominant, set of offer unparalleled sensitivity and accuracy to sensors, and we expect more cutting-edge
capabilities for our Soldiers, who are operating detect a wide range of mission-critical signals.” research to result as this futuristic technology
in an increasingly complex electromagnetic The peer-reviewed journal Physical Review concept quickly becomes a reality” […]
battlespace.” The Rydberg spectrum analyser Applied published the researchers’ findings, (SOURCE: U.S. Army | CQ-DATV 94)
has the potential to surpass fundamental Waveguide coupled Rydberg spectrum analyser https://www.cq-datv.mobi/94.php

Radio News SONGS TO LIVE BY – PODCAST: A new podcast

celebrating Black voices and experience through
the songs that shaped is heading to BBC Sounds.
warrant at Overcomer Ministry. The charges
from that arrest included three counts of first-
degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of
In each episode of Songs To Live By, BBC Radio assault with the intent to commit criminal sexual
1’s Vick Hope chats with two guests of different conduct first degree, one count of kidnapping,
generations, about the music that has defined one count of first-degree burglary, one count of
them – personally, politically, musically. This second-degree assault and one count of third-
is the first podcast in a new co-production degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
collaboration between the BBC and Warner Music (SOURCES: SWLING.com; US Press)
Group. Working together, the BBC and WMG https://tinyurl.com/s3ky27ut
will create several new podcasts with different https://overcomerministry.org
formats that have great storytelling and music
at their centre. The genesis of this first podcast RADIO CAN HELP BRANDS REACH THOSE
was wanting to do more to celebrate Black voices WORKING FROM HOME: Working from home
as well as open up more conversations about has plenty of perks, but there’s no doubt you
people’s experiences with music as a cue for miss out on the office atmosphere and the
KLINGENFUSS RADIO MONITORING talking about their lives. Extracts from the songs company of colleagues. Radio cannot replace
UPDATE: Jörg Klingenfuss has an update on will be played throughout the episodes as guests that, but it does add voices to your home office,
utility data reception. He says, “updated radiofax swap stories about their formative years […]. The and it will probably keep you more entertained
schedules of Athens Funabashi Guangzhou first episode of Songs To Live By is available on than Derek from finance. New research from
Hamburg Kagoshima Misaki and others can BBC Sounds now, with new episodes available Radiocentre, New Ways of Working, New Ways of
now be found on our website. What’s more, weekly. Connecting, has shown that the working-from-
since the publication (in December 2020) (SOURCES: BBC | RadioToday) home (WFH) audience are doing exactly that. Of
of the new 2021 editions of our books, CDs https://tinyurl.com/vkbp4c3t this large audience, 56% are commercial radio
and databases, hundreds of new digital data listeners and 90% of WFH listeners play radio
decoder screenshots have been uploaded to our in the background whilst working. This is great
hotfrequencies webpage. We have monitored news for advertisers, and here’s why. The new
and decoded thousands of fascinating HFDL research shows that this audience is receptive
messages for decades, and from locations all to advertising, with over half of WFH listeners
over the world. While state-of-the-art CPDLC saying they search for a brand online after
messages are widely used elsewhere, good old hearing it on the radio. Additionally, this WFH
Europe is still considerably behind. The new audience is made up of young to middle-aged
station Muan, in particular, continues to be professionals with an average household income
extremely busy. that is 45% greater than the national average.
(SOURCE: Klingenfuss Publications) Due to their lack of commute and a reduction
in other costs, two thirds (63%) of people
PODCAST RADIO’S LATEST EXPANSION: working from home have saved money since the
Podcast Radio, the UK all-podcast, 24/7 radio A STALWART OF THE SHORT WAVES: One pandemic began. The study also reveals that
station on the DAB platform, has informed us of the, arguably, strangest and – many would once lockdown lets up, the WFH audience has an
that Birmingham has been added to the station say – most troubling presences on short wave increased motivation to spend money on travel
reach. It is Britain’s second-largest city. The radio is no more. ‘Brother Stair’, who founded (both domestic and international) and activities
expansion builds on the station’s existing the Overcomer Ministry has died. Ralph G. Stair, in the entertainment and leisure sector, such as
footprint covering London, Surrey, Manchester, whose unique voice could be heard on the short going to restaurants and bars […].
and Glasgow. The expansion opportunity came waves for many years, has died of heart failure
when the multiplex space became available. at his home over the weekend, according to US LEVERAGING THE 5G NETWORK TO
Podcast Radio CEO Gerry Edwards said: “We’ve Colleton County Coroner Richard Harvey. Harvey WIRELESSLY POWER IOT DEVICES:
wanted to expand to Birmingham for some time said Stair had been under hospice care. His age Researchers at the Georgia Institute of
now. We’ve been waiting for space on the digital was not immediately clear. The coroner’s office Technology have uncovered an innovative way to
transmitter multiplex there and as soon as the listed Stair as 84, but Stair’s Overcomer Ministry, tap into the over-capacity of 5G networks, turning
opportunity arose for further expansion, we which announced his passing on its website, them into “a wireless power grid” for powering
grabbed it.” Podcast Radio launched just over listed his age as 87 and his time of death as 11:17 IoT devices that today need batteries to operate.
a year ago and is an independent platform for pm Saturday. At the time of his death, Stair was The Georgia Tech inventors have developed a
discovering and promoting podcasts through awaiting trial after being accused of sexually flexible Rotman lens-based rectifying antenna
digital broadcasting and an online radio-like assaulting several women and children at the (rectenna) system capable, for the first time, of
experience. It features sample episodes of ministry. Stair was arrested on 18th December mmWave harvesting in the 28 GHz band. (The
podcasts from all over the world introduced by 2017, by Colleton County deputies and agents Rotman lens is key for beamforming networks
‘pod-jocks’ who also interview content creators. from the South Carolina Law Enforcement and is frequently used in radar surveillance
The company has also started producing its own Division, the FBI and the Department of systems to see targets in multiple directions
shows. Homeland Security, the Colleton County Sheriff’s without physically moving the antenna system.
(SOURCES: Radio and Internet [RAIN] News) Office said. Brother Stair was arrested on eight (SOURCE: Microwave journal, 26th March 2021)
https://tinyurl.com/39c34de7 warrants and agents also executed a search https://tinyurl.com/5s5y547p

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Review
Keith Rawlings
[email protected]
Keith Rawlings reviews the Moonraker

Mini1300 antenna analyser unit.
We seem to be spoilt for choice these days

when it comes to ‘Antenna’ Analysers. The
Mini1300 is a development of the popular
open-source design by EU1KY, which was
built around the STM32F7 Discovery board. It
has several interesting features.
To begin with, the many measurement pa-
rameters include: SWR, R, +Jx, -Jx, IZI, and
Return Loss. The device displays these meas-
urements graphically on the screen as a
Smith-Chart, a Spectrum-Sweep or as numeri-
cal data.
The Mini1300 has a useful frequency range
of 0.1 to 1300MHz, and there are a number of
pre-set menu items covering, for example:
• Single Frequency Measurement
• Frequency Sweep / Multi-SWR
• Tune SWR / S21 Gain
• Find Frequency / Quartz Data 2a
• TDR Mode / LC meter / DSP
Other options include Configuration, and
Screen-shot management/USB Card Reader.
The device also offers an RF Generator. If
The Moonraker
that was not enough, for the licensed user,
the analyser incorporates a WSPR/FT8/JT65
transmitter. Mini1300
Antenna Analyser
It would be as well to point out that, despite
the term ‘antenna analyser’, the Mini1300
is, in fact, another form of two-port Vector
Network Analyser. Therefore, much of what
I have recently covered on the NanoVNA will
also apply to the Mini1300, although the latter are provided for the connectors. The analyser red power/on/off button. The unit has its own
approaches things rather differently. comes with an instruction leaflet which I can built-in Li-ion battery and charging circuit.
As well as performing all of the func- only describe as, well, ‘unique’. It is written in Underneath, there are various sockets and
tions of a conventional single-port analyser three languages, all at the same time, appar- holes, which are not (yet) all in use. However,
(VSWR, for example), it can also do two-port ently randomly and combined in a garbled of those that are, one is for programming/up-
through-measurements for use with filters, form of ‘Ching-Germ-lish’. dating the processor and one is for connect-
amplifiers, attenuators, and so on. I do not think I have ever seen anything ing to a PC to read stored files, such as im-
quite like it! Consequently, it is of little use. ages and Touchstone files from the micro-SD
Unboxing and Appearance The internet, by contrast, will be your main card. All configuration files are stored on this
The review unit arrived, housed in a card- go-to tool for user information. However, be card, including calibration data, so it needs to
board box, along with a USB power/charg- aware that there seem to be many variants be treated with care.
ing lead, an SMA Calibration kit consisting of of the EU1KY-design. The Mini1300 is just I did not try it, but I assume the config files
a Short-Open-Load (SOL), a Type-N to SMA one of them, and the mechanical layout and could be copied to a PC and kept for backup.
female adaptor, a Type-N SMA male adaptor, firmware versions may well vary in differ- The Mini1300 unit has a nice bright 4.3”
and a three-part load kit. The latter includes ent designs. The review model had firmware TFT touch-screen display. The dimensions of
three female SMC PCB sockets and three Version 1.04 loaded. the unit are 135Wx85Hx30D, excluding pro-
5.1Ω, three 300Ω and three 49.9Ω SMD resis- The analyser itself is built into an attrac- trusions, and it weighs 550g. Overall, the Mini-
tors. tive metal case, finished in black. On the top 1300 feels well built.
These are for constructing low-impedance, of the case, there is an SMA socket with the
high-impedance and 50Ω loads. To do this, lettering ‘VNA’. Next to this, a socket for the Getting Started and Calibration
you will need a suitable soldering iron, twee- TF/micro-SD card (which is included) and an On switching on, the user is presented with a
zers, and good eyesight. N-type socket marked Test Port. You will also menu screen with 15 options, to choose from
A nice touch is that protective plastic caps see the USB charge/power socket and the set in three rows of five. On the top row, are

Review
ALL PICTURES: KEITH RAWLINGS
1 2b
3 4
Fig. 1: A single-frequency sweep. sweeps the whole range of the device so this I found well laid out and intuitive. Many of
Fig. 2a: Panoramic sweep of the Vine 404 aerial. can take some time. The calibration will have the features may be run as a single scan
Fig. 2b: Panoramic sweep of a 2m vertical whip. to be performed at the point of measurement or in continuous mode. Source impedance
Fig. 3: A multi SWR measurement. for the best results. can be changed in the Configuration Editor
Fig. 4: L-Measurement of a .47uh inductor. As far as I can tell,16 different calibration (for example, to 75Ω, see under ‘Calibration’,
Fig. 5: TDR Measurement of 5m length of RG58 files may be stored. For various tests I above.
coaxial cable. calibrated OSL A for 50Ω, measured at the In what follows, I shall outline the main
end of the N/SMA adaptor fitted directly to functions of this unit.
measurement functions; the middle row con- the instrument itself, and OSL B at the end of
tains ‘tools’ and the bottom row ‘settings and a 10ft length or RG58 cable with BNC plugs Single Frequency Measurement
‘signal generator’. fitted each end. In single frequency mode, the analyser
Unlike the NanoVNA, where the user has For through-measurements (S21) the user continually sweeps a narrow bandwidth
to select the measurement type and assign must select [S21] Gain Calibration for VNA and returns figures for SWR, Impedance and
it to the appropriate port, the Mini1300 has and connect to both the SMA and N-type Reactance. It also displays results on a Smith
pre-set measurement functions. These are connectors, to perform a through-calibration Chart. The frequency for the measurement
selected by a touch on the appropriate screen sweep. can be set from the keypad menu screen
icon. The features provided are various, but Also on the Calibration menu is HW in the usual way. It can be incremented/
the top row consists of Single Frequency (Hardware) Calibration at first run. Looking decremented ‘on the fly’, by +/- 10, 100 and
Mode, Frequency Sweep, Multi-SWR, Tune online, I found that this requires jumpers to be 500kHz steps, while probing to find the
SWR, and S21-Gain modes. set internally. Seeing no means by which to required measurement point (Fig. 1).
Like every VNA, the first thing to do is to do this, I emailed Chris Taylor for information
get the unit calibrated. To do this, the user and was told that it was understood that this Frequency Sweep
needs to navigate to the configuration menu has already been done and is only required In this mode, the analyser sweeps a
bottom left of the screen. The first item to when the system is built from a kit. The only frequency range entered by the user (this can
select is the OSL calibration menu. Here, the calibration required is the OSL. be to the full extent of the unit’s frequency
user has to connect the supplied S-O-L to the Therefore, the Mini1300 comes with an HW coverage). Frequency values are set as the
N-connector but in the order of Short-Load- calibration already done. minimum frequency + the required sweep.
Open. My initial measurements confirmed that There are several options, available from
However, before doing so, users should the unit was reading correctly. the menu bar at bottom of the screen. The
first check to see if the unit is asking for results are displayed panoramically as VSWR,
0Ω Short-50 Ohm Load-Infinite Open in the The Mini1300 in Use Real Impedance, Reactance, S11 or Smith
calibration menu, as the Mini1300 can be All user interactions are using the Chart. A moveable cursor may be placed at
calibrated for systems other than 50Ω (75Ω touchscreen display. The keypad-screen any point on the screen to read off details
is an example). It seems that calibration is typically used for frequency entry, which (Figs. 2a and 2b).

Review
The Multi SWR Function

Five user-defined bands can be swept si-
multaneously, with the unit displaying SWR,
Impedance and Reactance. This is great for
users with multiband aerials, such as the
recently-reviewed Vine 404 OCFD, because it
can be seen whether or not adjustments on
one band are affecting other bands (Fig. 3).
The Tune SWR Function

This feature uses a horizontal bar graph and
audible tone (which can be turned off) that
changes in the note as the SWR alters. The
lower the SWR, the lower the tone and bar
graph level will be. This will be found of much
use when performing adjustments to aerials
where the analyser is located away from the
adjustment point. 5
Measuring S21-Gain For this to work correctly, the Velocity Factor Overall Conclusions
This is used for through-measurement. It per- (Vf) of the cable must be known and entered In this brief look, I found that the Mini1300
forms a panoramic scan of the user-selected into the unit. The unit is pre-set with a value of provided a complete ‘all-in-one-box-take-
frequency range. This function may be used 0.66 (such as for RG58). This may be altered anywhere’ tool for the testing and adjustment
for reading loss or gain of amplifiers and at- and stored, either temporarily or permanently. of aerials. It performs all of the usual S11
tenuators, and for measuring the parameters I found this feature accurate although; with SWR, Impedance, TDR, Return Loss functions
of filters, and so on. some cables, the analyser presented some that most traditional analysers do. Also, it
odd impedance values directly at the cut-off can perform S21 through-tests.
The L/C Meter point (Fig. 5). The unit also benefits from a signal
With capacitance selected, the Mini1300 The Vf of an unknown cable can be found generator that can typically be used for
measures down to around 3pf and up to by measuring a known length of the cable and relative field strength measurements on a
about 15nf, although a 15nf capacitor meas- altering the Vf on the analyser until it reads receiver connected to the aerial under test.
uring correctly on my Peak Atlas LCR me- the correct cable length. With WSPR/FT8/FT4/JT65 capability, you
ter and VNWA read 18nf on the Mini1300. With amateurs now having to conform can even use it to try your aerials out on-air
Switching to reading inductance a 0.470uh to RF exposure limits by set Ofcom, the and see how they perform.
inductor read 0.560uh and a 4.7uh read Mini1300 is an ideal tool to accurately meas- The metal case is sturdy and well finished.
5.1uh. It appears that components can be ure feeder length (especially in existing instal- The touchscreen is easy to manipulate clear,
measured at frequencies of 100kHz, and 5, lations) and this data can then be entered into bright and colourful; it provides plenty of
10, 15, 20, and 25MHz (Fig. 4). There is a pro- the RSGB/OFCOM EMF calculator. information. It is easy to recall images to view
vision to perform an SOL calibration, which I on the device or upload to a PC.
assumed needed to be carried out and saved An RF Generator When images are saved, Touchstone files
before any measurements were taken. The analyser incorporates a basic signal gen- are generated at the same time, and these
erator, capable of outputting a fixed-level sig- can be uploaded into other applications for
Time Domain nal on any frequency within its range. There analysis.
Reflectometry Mode is also a basic facility for either FM or AM All in all, the Mini1300 is a very handy
One of the inbuilt measurement features lo- modulating of the signal. The modulating fre- device. It is versatile and easy to use, and
cated on the second row is the Time Domain quency is 500Hz. On the review model, I did I thoroughly enjoyed using it. My sincere
Reflectometry (TDR) mode. This is useful notice a frequency error that increased as the thanks to Chris Taylor of Moonraker for the
for determining the length of a cable, and, in generator was tuned higher in frequency. At loan of the review model.
particular, a coaxial cable. With this mode 10MHz, I measured it at a negligible 0.6kHz The current price of the unit is £199.99.
selected, the cable is connected to the test- high, by 144MHz it was 8kHz high, and by 1 https://tinyurl.com/44cnj44n
port, preferably fitted with a suitable connec- GHz it was 52kHz high. I found that this error https://tinyurl.com/8dypn6m2
tor. A value of either 10, 50, 150 or 300me- also applied to SWR measurements. (‘testing the calibration kit’)
tres is then selected, based on an estimate of It may be that this can be trimmed out in https://tinyurl.com/2snn3hn9
the cable length. This selection is not critical; the Configuration Menu but as this was a re- (‘calibrating the Mini1300’).
once a run is made, the length of the cable view model I did not attempt this. However,
and cable impedance is displayed, no matter it does mean there may well be a frequency [(1) our warm thanks go to Chris Taylor at
what range the analyser is on. However, the error of a few kHz with measurements made Moonraker, for the loan of the review unit (2) a
graphical representation on the screen of the at the higher frequencies. Not having the cor- Glossary containing many of the specialist ac-
cut-off point may be out of range. rect USB lead I was unable to test the USB/ ronyms and terms used in this article has been
The sweep runs automatically if the cable Reader PC connection. My screenshots were placed online -- Ed.].
length is changed, or the Scan icon pressed. taken directly off of the MicroSD card. www.radioenthusiast.co.uk

News
Feedback
Have you got something new to tell our readers? If so, then drop a line to [email protected]
Our reader Andy wrote to Chrissy Brand,
regarding her article about Refugee Radio
(RadioUser, April 2021: 53). Andy said, “Hi
Chrissy, I have just finished reading your ar-
ticle in this month’s RU on Refugee Radio.
Finally a UK journalist brave enough to
speak common sense in these dark days of
Populist hate. This is what Radio does best:
it brings people together and undermines
the propaganda machine (sadly much of UK
media is in full propaganda mode). I hope
you do not get too much abuse for your wise
words. Reading your article I think there is
room for a Free Radio Britain service de-
livering the real stories behind the popu-
list claims. Maybe the EU would fund such
a project, I’m sure they are as fed up as are
the rest of us with what’s going on these
days. Once again, thank you for your excel-
lent and inspiring article.”
[Many thanks for your letter Andy, it is
good to see some of the impact of Chrissy’s
writing in troubled and uncertain times. I to know we are seeing a definite improve- [Many thanks, Mark. I have reached out;
am looking forward to a future Free Radio ment in HF conditions as [Solar] Cycle 25 consequently, we will be featuring a long-
Britain -Ed.] kicks into gear it is now making a difference. er piece about PanAm Radio in one of the
Mark Allen, of PanAm Radio, wrote in to My opinion, after 50 years in this business forthcoming issues of RadioUser – Ed.].
David Smith, our Airband News column- is that your readers should be enjoying air-
ist. Mark said, “Hi David, just a short note band monitoring on HF in another six to nine Corrections
to say thanks for including PanAm Radio in months as propagation continues to im- RadioUser, April 2021: page 45, Figs. 9 and
your recent column. A really nice surprise prove. David, once again, thanks for the men- 10: apologies to Roger, Ian and readers for
and thanks for the kind words. As you know, tion. If I can be of any support to you or your the duplicate picture; the complete set of
we are on HF every day, and I wanted you readers, please don’t hesitate to reach out.” illustrations is shown on this page.
RADIO EXECUTIVES PUBLISH LEADERSHIP a leadership philosophy based on maximum as ready as it can be through cultural and people
BOOK: The former Chief Executive and Content readiness and cultural engagement. Dave Coull, empowerment. The thread running through the
Directors of UKRD, William Rogers and Dave who worked with William Rogers as Content book is, fundamentally, all about the people and
Coull, and ex-GWR senior manager, Jonathan Director at UKRD before it was acquired by the difference that any business can make to its
Bradley, have come together to publish a book. Bauer, said that he had found the whole process future readiness if the right policies are in place to
Between them, they have gathered their business of working collaboratively on a book hugely maximise the impact people can make.”
experience to write a new book on leadership, beneficial and that the result was, “something (SOURCES: Amazon | RadioToday | media.info)
The No Normal Leader. The book takes a swipe which sets out a clear path for any leader who https://tinyurl.com/w79s65nf
at the concept of the ‘new normal’ and sets out wants to ensure that the business they lead is https://tinyurl.com/chaumzrx

Feature
BBDL
Martín Butera
[email protected]
T
he last year 2020 will, in all like-
lihood – go down in interna-
tional history as the ‘Year of the
Pandemic’. Coronavirus has
confined most of the planet in a
number of ways and has forced many of us
to seek other ways to communicate with the
outside world. It is probably true to say that
Covid-19 took us entirely by surprise and
showed us that we were not prepared for
such a global crisis.
However, radio has proved to be one of
the best tools to face this challenging time.
As a means of mass communication, it
has helped people to know how to prevent
and face this disease.
[see also: RadioUser, March 2021: 44-48;
April 2021: 56-59 – Ed.].
There can be little doubt that the medium
has constituted a welcome source of in- 1
formation and company for many, in these
Education and
times of confinement. Consequently, radio
is more current than ever.
I began in the hobby of radio listening,
at the beginning of the 1990s, and I can
say that from the first day I started, and
I am aware that the ‘death of radio’ has
been announced many times. Of course, I
never let myself be carried away by these
comments, and here I continue with more
Radio in Brazil
than 30 years of activity in the hobby. Radio, Our South American correspondent Martín Butera
for me, is still alive as the first day and I returns to report from Brazil. He examines how
think it is because it is the simplest means
of communication par excellence. radio plays a crucial role in reaching youngsters and
students in the poorer regions of this vast country.
Training Challenges
From where I stand, inevitably, radio
continues to be the most important source this luxury; in total, this represents some Radio-Learning
of information. This applies, in particular, to 46 million individuals without access to the For many youngsters here, the reality often
the poorest regions of Brazil. Here – after network. The percentage of Brazilians with looks rather like in Fig. 2.
more than 120 years of existence – radio internet access in urban areas is very high Therefore, many school administrators
is still on the air. In terms of education, and at 92%, but in rural areas, the rate of people found the best way to reach students is by
throughout South America, radio plays a without access reaches 53.5%. Regarding radio. More generally, Brazil is a great coun-
vital part, not just as a vehicle of trust and a home connection, the Internet is present try, but it also faces enormous economic
comfort to older people. in 71 per cent of Brazilian homes. However, and development difficulties.
For those unable to attend physical more than 20 million households do not Where there is the internet, the signal is
classes, due to the virus, listening on-air has have an Internet connection, a reality that usually sufficient only to send messages via
become more significant than ever (Fig. particularly affects the Northeast region WhatsApp, at specific points in the house.
1). Without access to the Internet, some (35%) and families with incomes of up to Therefore, many young learners without
school officials found radio the best way the minimum wage (45%). access have a battery-operated radio inside
to reach students. In an unequal country, Almost half of those without Internet the house. This is very common in the poor-
40% of the population does not have access access say the reason is poor and est households in Brazil. Many of these stu-
to the internet, according to a survey by expensive internet service in hard-to-reach dents are from very remote regions, such as
the Brazilian Institute of Geography and areas. For this reason, words like ‘YouTube’, the Amazon River, and cannot afford a cell
Statistics (IBGE). ‘Facebook’, ‘Instagram’, ‘WhatsApp’ and phone or a computer.
even ‘Tik-Tok’ are not used daily by a large However, when they come into contact
Digital Divides part of Brazilian children and young people. with the radio, school educational content
One in four people in Brazil does not have https://tinyurl.com/3dsznbck l reaches everyone equally (Fig. 3).

Feature
Fig.1: A Brazilian youngster, attentively listening

to his classes on the radio.
Fig. 2: Many children without an Internet
connection rely on school education via radio.
Fig. 3: Following basic classes is possible with a
simple radio. Fig. 4: Pupils learn with their own
radios in the North of the country. Fig. 5: A radio-
teaching session being prepared in the studio.
A Vital Resource
For these reasons, radio was the principal
means by which the Brazilian Department
of Education endeavoured to reach
students without internet access during any
quarantine periods (Fig. 4).
In mid-March 2020, all over Brazil, the
suspension of classes in public and private
was ordered. The duration of this ‘break’ in
the school year is still uncertain, depending
on the evolution of Covid-19. 2 3
With approximately 90 per cent of all stu-
dents unable to attend school in person due
to Coronavirus, many countries worldwide
are now using distance learning methodolo-
gies and virtual platforms.
However, standardisation is elusive; in
Brazil, most state education departments
do not have an established online platform
or methodology to offer remote classes
over the internet.
Technology issues in the Brazilian con-
text are frequently exacerbated by unequal
access to digital learning tools by students
since some of them do not have the neces-
sary equipment for broadband connection
at home. To overcome this problem, an al- 4
ternative that some states have adopted is
to use the radio to transmit a host of educa- strong following, mainly in the interior of the Classes take place at 7:30 am, and each
tional activities, since these devices have country. The lack of internet and comput- day it is a different school that addresses its
greater penetration in homes than broad- ers in the homes of many of the students students. The idea of the local council is to
band Internet. Radio was, therefore, the pre- in Brazil made radio a practical solution in reach 2,100 primary school students.
ferred means of the Brazilian Department of the transmission of school content and the Although these classes are short, the pro-
Education, for reaching students without in- practice of educational activities. gramme allows pupils and parents to stay in
ternet access during the quarantine. contact with the school environment.
Lessons On-the-Air
Educação em Quarentena At the other end of the country, in Rio Transmitting Sound Worlds
Consequently, a chain of radios throughout Grande do Sul, the city of Candelária asked These are some ways to avoid the difficult
Brazil now broadcasts the one-hour its two commercial radio stations, Rádio task of educating in these turbulent times.
programmes called Educa Quarentena. Sorriso FM Região dos Vales 104.3 and Brazil – this large and unequal country –
This broadcast goes back to an initiative Radio Princesa 103.4 FM, to each set aside has found that radio is also the most demo-
of the Brazilian Center for Comprehensive just 10 minutes for a programme called cratic way of disseminating education.
Education, which monitors municipal Momento Educação. Therefore, radio in Brazil is the way to
and state education networks during the https://tinyurl.com/476jzrjr reach as many people as possible.
Coronavirus pandemic. https://www.princesacandelaria.com.br Another example is found in the city of
The initiative is divided into areas of https://tinyurl.com/vfa2z88w Joinville, in the state of Santa Catalina, also
knowledge, which include Mathematics, This initiative is aimed at teachers in in southern Brazil. Here, the Cultural FM ra-
Natural Sciences, Humanities, Languages, the local schools. It offers a short class- dio, which is owned by the city government,
and Arts. Next to content delivery, these template on the topics that the children has been broadcasting classes since April
radio-lessons also help to strengthen the will have to work on, in addition to indi- 2020, for students from kindergarten age
bond between schools and families dur- cating the lessons, previously distributed up to EJA (an education qualification for
ing the pandemic, the radio classes have a to the families. young people and adults). The content is

Feature
MARTÍN BUTERA
prepared by local teachers, who present the connected with learning (Fig. 5).
programs together with the station’s jour- Having said this, this role of radio Resources
nalists. For its part, the program, for those production could be tapped into to a much https://tinyurl.com/c9pfcdfk
enrolled in nursery schools, is also aimed at higher degree here, and the future will https://tinyurl.com/5x8k5rjk
parents, so that they can develop activities show how this aspect of disseminating
https://tinyurl.com/vfa2z88w
with their children. “You can get your hands learning will develop.
dirty. No problem” was one of the instruc- https://tinyurl.com/4twf9swf
tions in an art education class. Radio Stations https://tinyurl.com/3ffynw46
Brazil knows that the advantage of and Internet Challenges https://tinyurl.com/my966ts
radio is that it is free and local. Using a More generally, many radio stations in https://tinyurl.com/mnb7uffk
conventional receiver or even a smartphone Brazil had to adapt, to keep more isolated
without a data plan (the handset serves communities informed about Covid-19.
as an ‘antenna’ for the digital FM signal), Adhering to the slogan “Stay at Home” in will be subject to further discussion. In
the listener can access the content. the South American continent, as well as Brazil, as elsewhere, the lockdown has
Several state education departments in in many other parts of the world, has been caused many people to lose their income,
the north-central part of the country, such particularly difficult for the poorest. something that is especially noticeable in
as Goiás and Maranhão, are using their Most people in the South American less developed countries. The economic
public radio and television stations to region are seen to be located in the sector crisis in Brazil, caused by the virus will have
broadcast the classes. of the ‘informal economy’, i.e. living cheek- serious consequences, perhaps worse than
When talking about education, some by-jowl, and day-by-day. With Covid-19, the virus itself.
believe that it is enough for a teacher to any kind of ‘lockdown-protocol’ has little Radio-based education and assistance
speak. This can be very tiring and boring. chance of success among many poor in the pandemic continue to hold their
Radio, by contrast, has more than this; it South Americas, who argue that “if the own and expand, against the background
offers sound-worlds, which include text, Coronavirus doesn’t kill us, hunger will.” of considerable technological challenges
speech, music, noise, and sound effects. That is why Brazil did not implement in Brazil, for instance, the persistent
Therefore, radio is creating learning spaces any confinement rules more strongly. lack of computers and low internet
by transmitting a wide range of sensations The merits or biases of this decision connection speeds.

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THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN IN COLOUR BACKGROUND TO BATTLE
Left A Hurricane of 501 Squadron

starts-up for an operational sortie at
Betheniville, France, May 1940. Air Chief
Marshal Hugh Dowding argued successfully
against further wastage of the home-
based RAF fighter force by sending yet
more fighters to France to bolster a futile
defence.
Right As the unstoppable juggernaut of
German military might advanced across
Europe, the deadly Junkers 87 Stuka dive-
bomber came into its own. However, the
RAF quickly learned how to deal with the
aircraft, and this stood them in good stead
when facing the Stuka during the Battle of
Britain.
Below right Panzer IV tanks roll across THE RAF FIGHTER PILOT THE RAF FIGHTER PILOT
France in May 1940. The German advance
was rapid and overwhelming, and within six
weeks France had collapsed and the BEF
were evacuating from Dunkirk.
sand in an hour-glass’ and he predicted

catastrophe if Churchill continued to
help the failing ally. Thus, he sent a letter
to the Air Minister on 16 May 1940, which
may well have saved Fighter Command,
and ultimately Britain, in the nation’s
darkest hour. He wrote:
“I have the honour to refer to the very
serious calls which have recently been
made upon the Home Defence Fighter
Units in an attempt to stem the German
invasion on the Continent … I would
remind the Air Council that … my strength
The Battle Looms

has now been reduced to the equivalent of
36 Squadrons … I must therefore request
that as a matter of paramount urgency
the Air Ministry will consider and decide
what level of strength is to be left to the
Fighter Command for the defence of this
The Battle of Britain was one of the most iconic battles of the Second World War, country, and will assure me that when this Losses Mounted to be called into action, covering the
level has been reached, not one fighter At around the same time, another evacuation from Dunkirk and other
embedding itself indelibly into the nation’s consciousness. Earlier, the Battle of France will be sent across the Channel however momentous decision was undertaken French ports. Inevitably, their losses
could easily have spelled defeat before the air battles got underway in July 1940. insistent the appeals for help may be. by making Lord Beaverbrook Minister of mounted. Meanwhile, the battered and
“I believe that, if an adequate fighter Aircraft Production. Aircraft production depleted RAF units that had been based
A
force is kept in this country, if the fleet had in fact kept pace with fighter losses in France were withdrawn to Britain.
fter the outbreak of war in On 10 May 1940, German forces be made good from squadrons based remains in being, and if the Home Forces incurred during the Battle of France. Here, they were re-equipped where
September 1939, there followed launched their all-out assault on France in Britain. The Commander-in-Chief of are suitably organised to resist invasion, Soon, production would outstrip losses. necessary, and manpower shortages
eight months of what became and the Low Countries and what followed RAF Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal we should be able to carry on the war Thus, the availability of fighters would made good so far as possible. Meanwhile,
known as the ‘Phoney War’. in Belgium, the Netherlands etc. was the Hugh Dowding, had already stated as single handed for some time, if not not become a limiting factor in the air RAF Fighter Command readied for what
However, it was clear that large-scale complete collapse of those countries early as September 1939, that if he was indefinitely. But, if the Home Defence defence of Britain. was to come. Certainly, the Battle of other pilots concentrated on what haring off suddenly, upwards or Facing page Although posed for a news
fighting would ultimately follow, and a under the overwhelming might of expected to defend Britain’s skies, then Force is drained away in desperate However, by 1 June 1940, the RAF had France was over. The Battle of Britain was was going on in their cockpits: oil downwards, the rest of the squadron cameraman, the squadron telephone
British Expeditionary Force was sent to German military power. Across France, he would need 52 fighter squadrons. attempts to remedy the situation in lost 436 fighter aircraft and almost all about to begin. temperatures and pressures, fuel state, watching in bemusement and puzzled orderly shouts instructions for a ‘scramble’
France before the end of that year. As German forces rolled inexorably onwards At that time, he had only 32 under his France, defeat in France will involve the its light bomber force of Fairey Battles, oxygen contents checked and selected because they received no transmission, as pilots lounge in the dispersal hut. The
part of that BEF, a large Air Component towards the English Channel and while command and was told it would be complete and irremediable defeat of this along with a considerable number of its Immensely Powerful to ‘On’, microphone not on ‘Transmit’ or else just couldn’t understand what had smartly dressed officer is Duty Pilot – the
was supplemented by an Advanced Air the French and British tried desperately impossible to produce the number he country.” were not afraid thatBlenheims.
Bristol they were However, By this time,
either liarsRAF Fighter the starter
Dowding button was the possibility
had mentioned Facing page Pilots of 19 Squadron are (this could effectively block all other been said. Meanwhile, constant juggling pilot rostered for ground admin tasks such
Striking Force. In total, these air forces to stem the advance, so the situation required. However, efforts would be It was a hard-hitting letter, but or foolish. However,
Command a strident
at homejangling pushed afterofa invasion
continued to operate thumbs-up fromas
as early the
the middle ofdelivered
May to their dispersal point at RAF transmissions), straps tight, gun-sight of the throttle setting with the left hand, as recording take-off and landing times
amounted to 25 squadrons, six of which became ever more hopeless. made to provide him with a further eight. Dowding’s words had their effect and of the telephone could mean several
over France as the situation worsened. fitter, who unplugged
1940, but bythethe
starter
end of trolley, Duxford ready for operations early one
that month the ‘On’ and illuminated, straps tight and and judicious adjustment of position etc.
were Hawker Hurricane-equipped During the fighting in France, while the French still asked for more things. Sometimes, to intense
In a matter of sixrelief,
weeks, it Franceensuring it was clear ofhad
possibility the been
aircraft.
turned into what morning during the summer of 1940. canopy firmly shut. A surprising number through the control column and rudder Above It was not unusual for aircraft to
fighter squadrons. The remainder of the Predicted Catastrophe increasing numbers of fighter squadrons fighter squadrons to be sent to France,could send acollapsed
messageentirely.
to ‘StandNow,
Down’ Unable to communicate
it .only remained appeared to be over the roar ofIf Hitler Above
probability. was Their relaxed look perhaps would carry out a little good luck routine pedal inputs, were all necessary just to return damaged after an engagement
RAF force in France comprised largely When the fighting had broken out in were sent across the Channel, urged on such appeals were rejected. However, Other times,forit called
Britishpilots toand
forces, some units the
readiness, Merlin engine,
of the the his
to impose pilot and
will onrigger concealing the tension, these Hurricane
the British people, like feeling for a lucky charm, or even keep station. It was incredibly hard work, and with pilots wounded. This brand-
light bombers and Army Co-Operation earnest on 10 May 1940, aircraft of the by desperate appeals from the French further squadrons of Hurricanes were and then to French
the heart-pounding order:
army, to evacuate exchanged thumbs
via Dunkirk up signals, the rigger
then he could apparently only do so pilots of 501 Squadron pose for the camera crossing themselves. and mentally and physically draining. new Spitfire had just been delivered to
squadrons. Eventually, however, the Air Component were in almost constant Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud. Dowding deployed over France, but they remained‘SCRAMBLE!’ in what was Operation ‘Dynamo’. RAF slapping hisby pilot on thethe
crossing shoulder
EnglishtoChannel andduring the summer of 1940. All of them Now, the workload was high, and still By now, the squadron was ‘on oxygen’, 602 Squadron at RAF Westhampnett
‘Sitzkrieg’ became the ‘Blitzkrieg’. combat, and losses had to continually saw his resources ‘slipping away like based in the UK. Years afterwards, veterans ofatthe
Fighter Command Battle
home convey reassurance
continued dictatingand
his good-luck
terms fromasWestminster.
he sawToaction. Several of them shot down they needed to concentrate on formation masks clamped securely to pilot’s faces when it was hit by cannon shells from a
of Britain told how they hated the sound leapt from the wing. As he jumped, the enemy aircraft and some of them were keeping while permanently keeping as cold began to permeate the cockpits. Messerschmitt 109 in a combat on 18
E OF B R
of a ringing telephone. aircraft was already rolling, and the rigger killed. a wary eye open for the enemy and Now, with all the hard work of take-off, August 1940. The aircraft was written off
6 On the order to scramble, there 7 was dodged out of the way of the tail-plane, quartering the sky in a relentless search. formation flying and getting to altitude, and Flight Lieutenant Dunlop Urie wounded
L
a mad rush by pilots to their allotted buffeted by the slipstream which was what it was they were intercepting. It A moment of relapse could litterally spell came further nervous tension with in his feet.
TT I
aircraft where the fitter and rigger were kicking up dust and grass. Getting out may have been an instruction along the death. The squadron ‘Weaver’, winding realisation that the enemy were near.
ready and waiting: the rigger on the wing of the way, he was hit by a blast of hot lines of: “MITOR Squadron, ANGELS from side to side, kept a rather more wary Then, a tight knot of fear returned as chance of a well-ordered textbook:
006-011 Background to Battle_AS_W ME.indd 6 22/05/2020 12:36 006-011 Background to Battle_AS_W ME.indd 7 ready to help in his pilot, and the fitter exhaust gasses. Now, the aircraft gathered 22/05/2020
18, Vector 12:36
Two-three-zero. Fifty Plus. eye open than the rest, as the squadron the gunsight was checked and the SAFE ‘Number One Attack’. Instead, it was
standing by with the starter plugged in on speed ahead, into wind, bouncing and BUSTER.” Listening in, the other pilots got closer by the second to their quarry. and FIRE ring on the gun button turned, every man for himself, but with ‘wing
the starboard side of the engine. Heaving rocking across the grass airfield. Others could interpret these coded instructions: Brief instructions might crackle through ready, to the FIRE position. Goggles men’ desperately trying to maintain
TA
BA
himself into the cockpit, the pilot went careered along around it, in the organised “41 Squadron to climb to 18,000 ft on a the headphones: ‘Close up Red 2’ or, on pulled down. And then the shout: station and protect their section leader.
through a number of tasks: helmet pulled chaos that was a squadron scramble. heading of 230 degrees. Fifty plus enemy receipt of further instructions from the ‘BANDITS! Ten o’clock, above. Coming Now, the pilots were climbing and
on, oxygen plugged in, radio jack-plug in Getting airborne, the pilots aircraft. Maximum cruising speed.” Fighter Controller: ‘Turning to Port. Go!’ down now! Break, break, break….’ hanging on their props, the sun glaring
its socket, magneto switches ‘on’, Ki-Gas concentrated on keeping station as Meanwhile, pilots fiddled with the and blinding as they turned, all the while
IN
cylinder priming pump given a couple they selected ‘Gear Up’, closing the Mentally and Physically Draining radio tuner, struggling to tune and re- Chatter Of Gunfire listening out and looking out. Now,
of brief strokes and thumb ready on cockpit canopy while listening out Settling into the climb, the pilots tune their wireless sets in a constant Suddenly, to avoid the ‘bounce’ of there were shouts: “Behind you Blue
the starter. Meanwhile, leaning into the for instructions from the CO or flight automatically slid into section order battle to receive and properly understand fighters coming out of the sun, the 3!”, permeated by chattering gunfire.
cockpit, the Fitter helped the pilot with commander who was talking to the and the preferred squadron formation. the messages. Sometimes, a squawk squadron had dispersed in a pre-ordered A cacophony of shouts and static
COM
his parachute harness straps, then his Sector Operations Room and garnering Meanwhile, the CO or flight commander of static drowned out everything, plan. Now, the enemy fighters were made communication unintelligible.
Sutton seat harness. instructions as to heading, altitude and concentrated on setting course as the sometimes resulting in one section among them. This time, there was no One pilot may be drawing a bead on a
19 21
UE
EM
M
016-029 Pilots Day_AS ME.indd 19 22/05/2020 07:46 016-029 Pilots Day_AS ME.indd 21 22/05/2020 07:46
SS
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Tecsun Pl-330: NEW Gear

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