This weekend on Shortwave Radiogram, we will experiment with three flavors ofMFSK: MFSK16 (60 wpm), MFSK32 (120 wpm) and MFSK64. We use MFSK32 and MFSK64 most weeks. MFSK16 is slow, but it is often successful in poor reception conditions. Bad… Leer más ›

I am sending this preview of program 304 (11-16 May 2023) a few days early to give you time to download, install, and practice decoding the EasyDRF we will be using. EasyDRF is a version of HamDRM which can be… Leer más ›

The big solar storm of April 23/24 certainly had an effect on the Monday 0800-0830 UTC broadcast, 5850 kHz from WRMI Florida. The signal here in northern Virginia was weak and unusable. Via SDRs in Canada and Minnesota, I heard… Leer más ›

This weekend is program 300 of Shortwave Radiogram. 🥳 This occasion will be mentioned during the broadcast, but no big celebration has been prepared. As usual, I finished this weekend’s show just in time for my first deadline (upload to… Leer más ›

In Europe and North America, the moving forward of clocks for summer time is now complete. Check the schedule below, and be sure your conversions from UTC to local time are correct. This weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram includes two images of… Leer más ›

In North America, the transition to “daylight savings time” is now complete. WINB maintains its schedule on Eastern Time in the USA, so Shortwave Radiogram will be one hour earlier by UTC. The WRMI frequencies used for Shortwave Radiogram stay… Leer más ›

I missed most of last weekend’s show (program 293) while in Florida for a family gathering. Thanks to Al @WD4AH_Al and Mitch @Plano26 for monitoring the @SWRadiogram Twitter during my absence. In a sure sign of spring, last night I… Leer más ›

Here in northern Virginia, our strange winter of higher than normal temperatures and no snow continues. Maybe we will get some winter before winter is over. All of the Shortwave Radiogram broadcasts were transmitted as scheduled last week – except… Leer más ›

Lately all of our broadcasts have been without mishap. The Saturday 2300-2330 UTC is, however, “interesting” because of the noise that has been co-channel the  past few weeks. It sounds more like jamming than data, but this does not rule… Leer más ›

Our transmission Friday (tonight) at 0530-0600 UTC on 7780 kHz does not draw much of an audience. This could be because of its inconvenient time. Or because the signal is not very good at anyplace that we know of. The… Leer más ›

I hope the year 2023 is starting well for you. Here in northern Virginia, we could use some rain, or snow, or anything wet. A  reminder about recent Shortwave Radiogram schedule adjustments: 1) The new Friday 0530-0600 UTC on 7780… Leer más ›

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and all the associated holidays. Yet another schedule change to report. During the past two weeks, listeners reported the absence of a signal on 9955 kHz during the Tuesday 1530-1600 UTC transmission. I checked the WRMI… Leer más ›

There are a couple of changes to the Shortwave Radiogram transmission schedule. Last Monday morning during the “red-eye” show at 0800-0830 UTC, I heard the usual Shortwave Radiogram on 5850 kHz, but there was some other content on 7780 kHz…. Leer más ›

Wishing listeners in the USA a Happy Thanksgiving, celebrated here on November 24th. Videos of last weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram (program 279)  are provided by Darau Blė in Lithuania and Scott in Ontario (both Friday 1300 UTC). The audio archive is maintained by Mark in the… Leer más ›

As I type this, Tropical Storm Nicole is passing over Florida. This storm is not as powerful as Ian, but no doubt Nicole’s rain and wind will have some impact on WRMI operations. At the moment (2108 UTC), I am… Leer más ›

Program 276 will be transmitted this weekend (20-25 October) and repeated the following weekend (27 October-1 November). While WRMI has made good progress restoring its antennas and feedlines since Hurricane Ian, key WRMI frequencies used for Shortwave Radiogram are still… Leer más ›

Due to damage from Hurricane Ian, none of the WRMI transmissions of Shortwave Radiogram was broadcast last weekend. Accordingly, we will repeat last week’s program 274 this weekend, on all the WRMI and WINB times and frequencies. As I type… Leer más ›

Summer has transitioned to Autumn – or vice versa in the Southern Hemisphere. The seasons changed abruptly here in Northern Hemisphere, when a cold front brought cooler temperatures and gust winds. Tomorrow (Friday) I will walk three blocks for a… Leer más ›

The Mighty KBC moves to its winter frequency of 5960 kHz this weekend: UTC Sunday 0000-0200 UTC, Saturday evening in the Americas. See KBC section farther down in this email  … September is here. Here in the Washington DC area,… Leer más ›

Apologies if you were tuned in Sunday, August 14, 2330 UTC, 7730 kHz, and heard other content instead of Shortwave Radiogram. It was a problem in the WRMI automation system that WRMI is still trying to determine. Listeners were also… Leer más ›

It has been a noisy week here at the Elliott house. I’m not referring to RF noise. The chimney company was here to drill out the terra-cotta liners dating to 1941, when our house was built. New insulating materials were… Leer más ›

Last weekend I attended the annual meeting of the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB). Even though NASB is an organization of private U.S. shortwave stations, the meeting was held at the headquarters of Radio Free Asia, a U.S. government… Leer más ›

Our Russian text experiment last weekend was successful, with the MFSK32 decoding 100% via an SDR in Russia despite the distance from our WINB and WRMI transmitters. This weekend, we will try another language: Turkish. Turkey’s decision to block the Turkish-language online… Leer más ›

Greetings and good luck to radio amateurs in North America who will be participating in the ARRL Field Day event, June 25 and 26. Let’s hope both space weather and terrestrial weather cooperate for everyone taking part in Field Day…. Leer más ›

One or more of the WINB transmissions might begin with the text “Welcome to program 186 of Shortwave Radiogram.” The show actually is program 258.  This error will not appear in the WRMI transmissions. The repeat broadcast last weekend is… Leer más ›

This weekend, we in the northeast USA will get our first taste of hot weather. Temperatures will be in the mid-90s F, or about 35C. We will quickly find out if our air conditioning keeps the radios and PCs cool… Leer más ›

This weekend’s program (254) will be repeated the following weekend (May 5-10). I will not send the usual weekly email reminder on May 5. Apologies for the missing Shortwave Radiograms that past two Fridays at 1300-1330 UTC on 15770 kHz…. Leer más ›

There were mishaps last weekend with the Friday broadcast. The 1300-1330 UTC transmission was occupied by Brother Stair due to a mistaken entry in WRMI’s automation system. And the 1500-1530 UTC DRM transmission from WINB Pennsylvania on 15750 kHz also… Leer más ›

If you have not done so already, please note the new transmission schedule of Shortwave Radiogram, which is listed below. We are no longer broadcasting Saturday 1330-1400 UTC. And the “red-eye” show has been moved from Sunday to Monday, same… Leer más ›

This will be complex weekend. On March 27, most of Europe turns clocks ahead for Summer Time. And, same date, the A22 shortwave frequency season begins. Most Shortwave Radiogram frequencies stay with UTC, so for most Europeans, the show will… Leer más ›

The time change process begins this weekend. Most people in North America will move their clocks forward at 0200 local on March 13. For VOA Radiogram, this means Sunday transmissions on WRMI will be one hour later by local time… Leer más ›

Now that Russia has commenced hostilities against Ukraine, media and communications in, from and to the region will be interesting to observe. The SDRs in eastern Europe have been busy today. We can expect internet disruptions, which should create some… Leer más ›

Thank you if you tuned in and decoded last weekend’s Ukrainian text, even, if like most of us you have no Ukrainian. The highlight was a 100% decode of the Ukrainian text as received by an SDR in Ukraine. This… Leer más ›

The NASWA Winter SWL Fest will take place March 4 and 5, 2022. This annual meeting covers all aspects of the radio listening hobbies, on all frequencies. This year, again, it will be virtual, via Zoom, due to the pandemic. Information at swlfest.com…. Leer más ›

Another shortwave program is transmitting text and images. Pop Shop Radio from Hope, British Columbia, is including some MFSK32 text in each show. I have added their schedule and contact information to the list below. Please encourage other shortwave broadcasters to try… Leer más ›

Happy New Year! And thanks for tuning in, decoding, reporting, and keeping in touch in 2021. Last week I was surprised to learn that Shortwave Radiogram has a new, additional transmission, Tuesdays at 1530-1600 UTC on 9955 kHz from WRMI… Leer más ›

I hope you are enjoying the holiday season. Eight of our nine images this weekend will feature the lights of the season, in various parts of the world. It is now the time of year that our Sunday 0800-0830 UTC… Leer más ›

Apologies to those of you tuned in last Saturday at 1330 UTC on 15770 kHz. You were detecting a carrier but heard no audio of Shortwave Radiogram or anything else (until 1400 UTC). Jeff White at WRMI responded to my… Leer más ›

One more reminder that WRMI (on its frequencies used for Shortwave Radiogram) has, since the North American time changed, stayed with UTC for its program schedule. So, for most of Europe and North America, Shortwave Radiogram is one hour earlier… Leer más ›

Most of North America will move clocks back one hour on November 7. Europe did its time change last weekend. (One of our news item this week is about what we in North America call “daylight saving time.”) On the… Leer más ›

This weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram was almost a replay of last week’s Shortwave Radiogram. The hard disk drive on my PC is in the process of failing, working only intermittently, and triggering “S.M.A.R.T. status bad” warnings on boot-up. Fortunately, Windows 10… Leer más ›

If you enjoy decoding images, we will transmit eleven MFSK64 images this weekend. And with shortwave conditions improving, many of these images may look good after you receive them. A video of last weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram (program 224, Friday 1300… Leer más ›

Autumn has officially begun. October is almost here. Among other changes in the air, shortwave propagation is shifting.  Try Shortwave Radiogram times and frequencies that you haven’t tuned in recently. Videos of last weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram (program 222) are provided… Leer más ›

In last week’s email, I forgot to note the new “winter” frequency of The Mighty KBC, now on 5960 kHz from a transmitter in Germany, Sundays 0000-0200 UTC (Saturday 8 to 10 pm EDT). In addition to the great mix of oldies… Leer más ›

Between interesting solar conditions and thunderstorms lurking, at least here in North America, it could be an interesting weekend for receiving and decoding the modes on Shortwave Radiogram. A video of last weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram (program 218, Friday 1300 UTC)… Leer más ›

Here in the Washington DC area, we have been experiencing a few days or weather that is not too hot and not too humid – very unusual for this time of year. As I type this, I can feel the… Leer más ›

Last weekend’s broadcast (program 213) ended with the painting “Usonian View” by Michelle Lewis. Here is the painting as received by Pete Brunelli in Rhode Island, as included in Pete’s blog post about last weekend’s show …  I selected this painting because… Leer más ›

Last week (program 211), at the suggestion of Tobias in Germany, we eliminated the short (about 0.6 second) gap between the text introduction and the image itself. This seemed to result in fewer failed image due to missed headers. Why… Leer más ›

If you are participating in amateur radio’s Field Day this weekend, enjoy the event and good luck in the contest. The only Shortwave Radiogram during Field Day operating hours is Sunday 0800-0830 UTC on 5850 and 7730 kHz. Tune in… Leer más ›

This week, after months of planning, preparation, and purchases, three new amateur radio antennas were installed on my roof. They are 1) a 10 and 6 meter vertical, 21 feet (6.4 M) tall, 2) a homebrew 10 and 6 meter… Leer más ›

This weekend we will finally transmit a photo of a cicada. The present brood of the 17-year cicadas, and their wonderful sound, won’t be around much longer. And I probably won’t be around for their next appearance, so I am… Leer más ›

Shortwave Radiogram received some publicity on the May 7th edition of Amateur Radio Newsline. The audio and text are available here and the video version here. Thanks to Benn Kobb, AK4AV, for presenting the report. Videos of last weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram (program 203)… Leer más ›

Our first round of experiments with HamDRM is now complete. Thanks to Daz Man in Australia for converting our program 200 to HamDRM. When it succeeded, the result was the text of the program in html, with perfect images embedded.  DRM is fussy about the quality… Leer más ›

So this weekend we reach the milestone – or kilometrestone – of 200 programs. Thank you for tuning in and decoding, for your reports and interest. These have kept Shortwave Radiogram going since it succeeded VOA Radiogram in the summer… Leer más ›

Did we survive the time changes and frequency changes of Spring 2021? The only new frequency this weekend is the Friday 1500-1530 UTC DRM transmission from WINB Pennsylvania, on new 15750 kHz, replacing 13655, for those of you who have… Leer más ›

Hello friends The spring time change is now complete in North America (a few states and provinces do not observe daylight time). WINB on 9265 kHz and WRMI 9955 kHz keep programs at the same Eastern times, so Shortwave Radiogram… Leer más ›

Reception was certainly variable last weekend, with successes and difficulties. Typical shortwave. See results at the Twitter account @SWRadiogram, or point your browser to https://twitter.com/swradiogram and scroll down. For listeners in Europe, there may be a few more chances to tune in… Leer más ›

It’s icy here in northern Virginia, but not bad compared to many places in North America. We still have electricity, so I was able to produce and upload program 192. My wire antennas are still up, except for the 40-meter… Leer más ›

I discovered last week that Shortwave Radiogram has a new transmission via WRMI on 9955 kHz.  It’s Saturday at 0100-0130 UTC (Friday evening in the Americas) on 9955 kHz. The 9955 kHz frequency is directed to Latin America, but reception… Leer más ›

Here in Washington DC area, Inauguration Day (January 20) passed without incident. I monitored the local 2-meter repeaters for “situation” reports, but, fortunately, there were no situations to report. Last weekend’s reception provided more adventures in winter (or summer, depending… Leer más ›

I hope 2021 is off to a good start good, safe and healthy start for you and yours.  Mine is off to a good start because I remembered not to type “2020” – at least so far. Last week’s program… Leer más ›

As I type this, here in northern Virginia we are experiencing heavy rain and high winds. And they say we might hear some thunder. Nothing like that sort of weather to get a person in the holiday spirit. It also… Leer más ›

Reception last weekend was difficult in some parts of the world, but there were plenty of good decodes nevertheless. A good place to see results reported by listeners is the @SWRadiogram Twitter account. If you are not on Twitter, point… Leer más ›