SWLing Post
swling.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2016
The SWLing Post covers shortwave radio, ham radio, receiver reviews, broadcast schedule changes, and radio history.
What HN saysHN commenters link it in threads about shortwave broadcasting, such as stations replacing TIAMS and rare QSL cards, and share their own radio listening memories.
21HN people shared it
9linked it in comments
16stories submitted
296story points
5 months agolast shared
2016people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Canada's CHU Will Go Silent on Shortwave on June 22, 20262 people · 5 points · first shared 2026 · 1 comments on HN
- 2Sony FX-300 Jackal: A technological marvel of the late 70s (2021)1 people · 138 points · first shared 2025 · 55 comments on HN
- 3How a Cray-2 supercomputer was used to decode a movie ham radio transmission1 people · 89 points · first shared 2016 · 13 comments on HN
- 4Matt’s Rooftop Receiver Shootout: Round Two1 people · 33 points · first shared 2022 · 17 comments on HN
- 5Ukraine: BBC adds two shortwave broadcasts, NEXUS adds MW service1 people · 12 points · first shared 2022 · 2 comments on HN
- 6RadioSide: A cool, web-based, portable internet radio interface1 people · 3 points · first shared 2024 · discussion on HN
- 7Tecsun PL-368 AM/FM/LW/SW/SSB radio: An Everyman Review1 people · 3 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
- 8SWLing Post’s Radio Waves: Collection of links to interesting stories1 people · 2 points · first shared 2022 · discussion on HN
- 9Carlos Latuff’s shortwave radio logs are a work of art – The SWLing Post1 people · 2 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
- 10NIST FY2019 Budget Includes Request to Shutdown WWV and WWVH – The SWLing Post1 people · 2 points · first shared 2018 · discussion on HN
- 11The Shortwave Radio Index1 people · 2 points · first shared 2024 · discussion on HN
- 12Tracking high seas pirate activity on shortwave radio1 people · 2 points · first shared 2016 · discussion on HN
- 13That 80s Heathkit Ham Radio in Netflix’s Stranger Things1 people · 1 points · first shared 2016 · 1 comments on HN
- 14Airspy HF+ Discovery and Shortwave Portables: Having Fun with the Airspy YouLoop1 people · 1 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
- 15MFJ ceases on-site production in Starkville, Mississippi1 people · 1 points · first shared 2024 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
veganjay · 2021-09-05
I built a joule thief flashlight as part of a workshop at a security conference in 2018. We bought a kit that had all the parts, and then soldered them together. For a beginner soldering project, this is excellent.
Unfortunately, I don't think the kit I built is still available.
Here's some information I could dig up:
- https://www.gigaparts.com/etow-humanalight.html
- https://aa7ee.wordpress.com/2014/08/18/the-humanalight-a-flashlight-th…
- https://swling.com/blog/tag/etow-humanalight/
Stratoscope · 2021-04-09
Shortwave radio was great in its day. I used to spend many hours a day listening to international shortwave broadcasts, and talking with other amateur radio operators.
One day about 20 years ago I was driving through San Jose and happened to tune in to North Korea radio on the shortwave receiver I had installed in my car, and heard this news gem:
"Scientists are studying the brain of Respected Comrade Kim Jong-Il, because the Respected Comrade is capable of feats of mental power beyond the ability of ordinary human beings."
Even today, shortwave is making a bit of a comeback thanks to High Frequency Trading:
https://hackaday.com/2018/05/12/hft-on-hf-you-cant-beat-it-for-latency…
https://swling.com/blog/2018/05/mystery-traders-using-shortwave-to-cro…
firesteelrain · 2025-05-02
TIAMS (mentioned in article) stopped broadcasting I thought. RNEI and Radio Carptha took over. You can hear it on WRMI out of Florida every week.
https://swling.com/blog/2023/08/radio-carpathia-and-rnei-to-fill-in-br…
Bob Catface (https://bsky.app/profile/bobcatface.bsky.social) has a Discord (Mostly Shortwave Discord: discord.gg/fr4Uuw4z5h) where you can receive notices when these come on the air. If you are a ham radio operator or SWL, you can decode MSFK usually with these shows.
RF_Enthusiast · 2023-04-13
I think I know the station you're talking about. It's up in Maine-- one of their frequencies run the Overcomer Ministry and another one has dome theory flat earth programming called Worlds Last Chance. That's WBCQ. Check out the mind blowing antenna arrays at: <https://swling.com/blog/tag/wbcq-the-planet/>
elahieh · 2023-04-08
Radio Biafra must be one of the rarest QSLs in existence. It was very dangerous to get mail in and out during the civil war.
https://swling.com/blog/2018/08/guest-post-possible-last-remaining-dir…
kQq9oHeAz6wLLS · 2022-03-05
SWLing Post has a lot of info. Very friendly group there.
https://swling.com/blog/2022/03/everyone-should-have-a-shortwave-radio…
https://swling.com/blog/resources/shortwave-radio-reviews/
awhitby · 2021-02-22
This made me nostalgic for a 1990s Sony shortwave radio that I had as a kid. It replaced a much larger probably 1980s era radio that my grandfather passed on to me. By comparison this 1990s one was magically miniature - and very similar design to book reader:
https://swling.com/blog/2016/09/the-sony-icf-sw100-a-miniture-dx-marve…
f430 · 2021-01-05
Oh yes absolutely. There's a reason why both Korea's broadcast numbers in their respective borders. I remember when I first discovered number station....it kept me obsessed for days
https://swling.com/blog/2016/08/numbers-stations-and-the-two-koreas/
sls · 2018-09-18
You may wish to know that the current executive budget proposal would shutter the NIST time radio broadcasts (WWV, WWVH, and WWVB)[1][2][3].
[1] https://swling.com/blog/2018/08/information-from-the-nist-regarding-po…
[2] https://www.kb6nu.com/nist-to-shutter-wwv-wwvh-wwvb/
[3] https://www.nist.gov/director/fy-2019-presidential-budget-request-summ…
"Illustrative program reductions in FY 2019
-$6.3 million supporting fundamental measurement dissemination, including the shutdown of NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii"