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 ›

Hello friends, Happy Thanksgiving to listeners in the USA. I’m thankful for the great global group of radio enthusiasts who tune in, decode, and keep in touch. Last week I mentioned that the Sunday 0800-0830 UTC broadcast (the red-eye) on… Leer más ›

  During the past two weekends, we saw a few examples (including this one) of the new MFSK wide modes providing a improvement over the conventional MFSK32 and MFSK64. While the tests were mostly inconclusive, we did learn about the… Leer más ›

In this note, we will discuss 1) the winter time changes and 2) this weekend’s experiment with the new MFSK wide modes. Winter time changes. By now, most of Europe has turned clocks back one hour for “winter” time. And… Leer más ›

  Apologies for the missing transmission Sunday, 18 October, 2330-2400 UTC on 7780 kHz. It’s an old WRMI transmitter, and such interruptions occur occasionally. The transmitter is back on the air now, and let’s hope it’s still operating this Sunday…. Leer más ›

  With difficult reception this time of year in some parts of the world,this weekend we will transmit a slow, robust mode: Olivia 32-1000 (32 tones, 1000 Hz wide). The extra “twist” in this exercise is that the Olivia 32-1000… Leer más ›

  Perhaps because of equinox propagation, reception of Shortwave Radiogram has been difficult lately in some parts of the world. Listeners in the eastern half of North America have been especially affected, with many of our frequencies (15770 for example)… Leer más ›

  We have returned after a brief vacation to western Maryland. It rained most of the time we were there. But that’s OK, because it was cooler than here in the heat and humidity of the Washington DC area. It… Leer más ›

  This weekend, the unusual twist in Shortwave Radiogram will be a brief news item in the Thor 100 mode. Thor 100 is fast (352 wpm) and wide (1800 Hz). I seem to recall we tried Thor 100 previously on… Leer más ›

  Apologies for the late start last weekend of the Friday 1300-1300 UTC broadcast on 15770 kHz. When it finally came on the air about halfway in to the half-hour, reception was great here in the mid-Atlantic USA. The Saturday… Leer más ›

  Many Shortwave Radiogram listeners enjoy decoding SSTV transmissions from the International Space Station. The next SSTV from the ISS is scheduled for 4 and 5 August, on the usual 145.8 MHz FM. Details are here. The passes seem to… Leer más ›

Radiogram transmite texto e imágenes digitales desde un transmisor de onda corta analógico. El programa es producido y presentado por el Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott.

I’m not a fan of too much sunlight, such as what we are experiencing now in the Northern Hemisphere. Still, it might create some interesting propagation between our Northern Hemisphere transmitters and receivers in the Southern Hemisphere, where sunlight is… Leer más ›

Well, today I had a haircut. Removed what seemed to be ten pounds of hair from my head. It feels much better! Things are slowly returning to normal. I hope you are doing well. Last week reception was good or… Leer más ›

I am not sure if I saw any advantage in last weekend’s Thor22 over our usual MFSK32, and not much over the much faster MFSK64. On my PC, the Thor22 performed poorly via WINB, but well via WRMI. There is… Leer más ›

Occasionally a Shortwave Radiogram is especially difficult to produce due to errors and technical difficulties. This weekend’s show (program 152) is one of them. To make everything fit into 29 minutes, 30 seconds, I had to eliminate the final paragraphs… Leer más ›

Please note that The Mighty KBC returns to its summer frequency of 9925 kHz this weekend, Sunday 0000-0200 UTC, or Saturday 8-10 pm EDT. The 9925 kHz frequency is from a transmitter in Nauen, Germany. Dave and Eric present rare… Leer más ›

Our only mishap last weekend was a late transmitter start at WRMI, resulting in the Friday 1300 UTC transmission on 15770 kHz not starting until about 1310 (in progress). Especially at WRMI, when a transmitter does not start on time,… Leer más ›

Last weekend’s experiment with Olivia 16-1000 produced results that were definitely indefinitive. In the few cases where I could find a signal bad enough to give the mode a real test, the Olivia 16-1000 did not seem any better than… Leer más ›

During this extraordinary time when COVID-19 is still in its ascendancy most places, I hope you are staying healthy. Shortwave Radiogram is a good activity during enforced isolation. And we can stay distantly social by way of email and the… Leer más ›

Thanks to Al @WD4AH for moderating the @SWRadiogram Twitter account while I was attending the Winter SWL Fest in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. The @SWRadiogram Twitter is the best way to see the decoding results of Shortwave Radiogram listeners around the… Leer más ›

The Winter SWL Fest starts one week from today (Thursday). It will take place 27-28-29 February 2020 in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania (suburban Philadelphia). I will speak after the Saturday evening banquet about “International Broadcasting in Interesting Times.” If you can… Leer más ›

The Winter SWL Fest will be February 27-28-29 in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania (suburban Philadelphia). Information at http://swlfest.com. I will be there to demonstrate Shortwave Radiogram, and they have invited me to be the banquet speaker (“International Broadcasting in Interesting Times”)…. Leer más ›

The Shortwave Radiogram transmission schedule included with the weekly email last week contained errors. Thanks to those of you who let me know, especially Marco in Italy, who found all the errors – some involving frequencies, some involving transmitter sites…. Leer más ›

La nueva transmisión adicional de los sábados de radiograma a las 1330-1400 UTC ahora se confirma y se agrega al cronograma. Esta transmisión debería ser especialmente conveniente para los oyentes europeos.

I hope you have been enjoying this holiday week. Thank you for the decoded images from last  weekend’s Holiday Spectacular.  One of my favorites is from Al in the skip zone of Florida, 22 December 2019, during the 2330-2400 UTC… Leer más ›

  I hope you are enjoying the festive season. Above, from Georg in Germany, a very nice Christmas card in the form of his decode of the Capitol Christmas Tree, artistically enhanced by shortwave, during the 0800-0830 UTC broadcast, 8… Leer más ›

To listeners in the USA, happy Thanksgiving! Last weekend’s experiment with Persian text was interesting and mostly successful. You can see a near perfect decode via an SDR in Kuwait (close to Iran) during the Sunday 2330-2400 UTC broadcast, 7780… Leer más ›

En las últimas semanas, la recepción de Shortwave Radiogram ha sido un desafío durante algunas de las transmisiones en algunas partes del mundo.

I just realized that the first transmission of Shortwave Radiogram,today (Thursday) at 2330-2400 UTC, will compete with Halloween. Be careful out there, especially in eastern North America, where storms are expected. Time changes continue this weekend. Many clocks are turning… Leer más ›

Que nos reportará el nuevo satélite de la NASA cuando nuestros modos digitales afecten a la ionosfera?

This post will provide the preview for this weekend  (26-29 September) and the following weekend (3-6 October 2019). Before that, however: Videos of last weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram (program 118) are provided by Scott in Ontario and (Sunday 0800 UTC on… Leer más ›

Today I had difficulties uploading Shortwave Radiogram to WINB. We will find out at  2330 UTC if the correct program (number 117) is transmitted. Last weekend’s hidden message in Thor Micro at 70 Hz was mostly successful. This weekend, it… Leer más ›

Please note the  new “winter” frequency, 5960 kHz, for The Mighty KBC. The schedule is below. Hurricane Dorian may be an issue this weekend. It is expected to hit somewhere in Florida on Monday. However, on Sunday, winds in the… Leer más ›

Many thanks to Mike Agner, KA1JJZ, @MakeAgner, who has prepared two very good wikis on how to decode the modes on Shortwave Radiogram. This one deals with decoding on PCs … https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Decoding_the_SW_Radiogram_Broadcasts And this is for users of TIVAR on… Leer más ›

There were not very many responses last week to my question about whether you prefer “natural” line wrapping versus the CR/LF that I usually put at column 65 (or less). But the answers I did get favored the line breaks… Leer más ›

I’m late again with this weekly preview. After producing Shortwave Radiogram on Thursday, I sometimes don’t have the time – or energy – to produce this email until the next day. I will try to get back on schedule next… Leer más ›

We had a good week last weekend, with reception that was at least adequate for most listeners, and many great reception reports. Videos of last weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram (program 106) are provided by Scott in Ontario (Friday 1300 UTC), Ralf… Leer más ›

A prospective Shortwave Radiogram listener sent an email asking about the basic equipment needed to receive and decode the modes. This reminded me of the need to revisit the How to Decode the Modes of the Shortwave Radiogram website. It would seem all… Leer más ›

This reminder that listeners’ results from last weekend and every weekend are available at the Twitter account @SWRadiogram. If you are not on Twitter, visit https://twitter.com/swradiogram – and scroll down. Videos of last weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram (program 102) are provided… Leer más ›

Thank you to everyone who tuned in and decoded last weekend’s program 100 of Shortwave Radiogram. And thanks for the kind wishes. The next benchmark is two years, sometime in June, but I can’t recall the exact date, so it… Leer más ›

WINB in Pennsylvania has added a new transmission time for Shortwave Radiogram: Thursday at 2330-2400 UTC on 9265 kHz (analog). Previously, I was finishing up the production of Shortwave Radiogram at about this time on Thursday. I’ve moved production ahead… Leer más ›

Last weekend’s Japanese text was decoded in Japan, in some cases partially, and in others 100%. This weekend, we will try another brief excerpt of Japanese text, but this time in MFSK16, which is slower and more robust than our… Leer más ›

Last week was a difficult week for Shortwave Radiogram. The transmission from Bulgaria on 9400 kHz Saturday at 1400 UTC was canceled too late for me to notify you in the weekly email. It is uncertain whether a Shortwave Radiogram… Leer más ›

Slow Scan Radio has been transmitting two streams of text simultaneously. We have tried this a few times on VOA/Shortwave Radiogram, and will try it again this weekend. Near the end the half hour will be a simultaneous transmission of… Leer más ›

Last weekend’s moving forward of the clocks in most of North America brings about some changes in Shortwave Radiogram broadcast times effective today and tomorrow. The WINB DRM transmitter on 13755 stays with UTC, so the Friday 1500 UTC DRM… Leer más ›

The Saturday 1830-1900 UTC broadcast of Shortwave Radiogram from WINB, 9265 kHz analog, is discontinued. The updated schedule is below. Videos of last weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram (program  ) are provided by Ralf in Germany (Saturday 1400 UTC) and Scott in… Leer más ›

The International Space Station is transmitting SSTV again this weekend, until Sunday at  1725 UTC, on the usual 145.8 MHz (FM). From your reports, I learned that last weekend’s Shortwave Radiogram segment of Olivia 64-2000 succeeded when the MFSK32 and… Leer más ›

There will be a special edition of Shortwave Radiogram today (Friday), on the WINB (Pennsylvania) DRM transmission only, at 1500-1530 UTC on 13690 kHz. See details below. All the other transmissions (analog) of Shortwave Radiogram this weekend will be the… Leer más ›

Last weekend’s first transmission of Shortwave Radiogram in DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) via WINB in Pennsylvania actually worked, at least via a few receivers. I decoded it using a receiver in Spain, and Hans (or WINB) was able to decode… Leer más ›