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This column is open to your considered comments. Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Monitoring Times. Your letters may be edited or shortened for clarity and length. Please mail to Letters to the Edi- tor, 7540 Hwy 64 West, Brasstown, NC 28902 or email [email protected] Rachel Baughn Happy monitoring! [email protected] Rachel Baughn, Editor

MT Welcomes New Writers stations you can listen to via your com- feel I really have the world in my headphones. Please join us in welcoming Stan Nelson puter. Some of them use Windows Media Player: Nowadays a radio is nothing without an aux KB5VL and Kent Britain WA5VJB as quarterly jack.” Radio France International: www.english.rfi.fr/ Steve Waldron columnists in MT’s outstanding team of writers. Radio : http://www.radiohc.cu/ You’ll remember Stan from his enjoyable (Click on C2) feature on Monitoring Meteors in the January BBC: www.bbc.co.uk/ (Go down to Radio and “I bought my wife a WiFi radio for Christ- 2011 issue. Stan will be writing a quarterly seg- click on Listen Live) mas. I tried out two and finally ended up with mentf o SkySurfing no radio astronomy and other (Germany): www.dw-world. a more expensive, but better sounding radio. I de/ (Choose language and then click on purchased a Livio NPR radio at Sears for $129, out of this world reception. Stan is a member of Listen to World Headlines) the Roswell Astronomy Club in Roswell, NM. and t see i now on eBay for $99; the second VOA (): www.voanews.com/ radio I tried out was a Logitech Squeezebox, at Kent Britain will be writing the VHF/UHF english/news/ (Click on Latest Newscast) installment of Antenna Topics, sharing the col- : www.abc.net.au/ra/ (Click on $159 from Best Buy; and finally ended up with umn with Dan Farber who covers HF antennas Listen Now) a Logitech Squeezebox Boom, purchased on Radio New Zealand: www.radionz.co.nz/ (Click Amazon for $250, available on eBay for $195, and. theory Kent’s work is well known in the on Play News Bulletin) hobby from a variety of publications, and if but with a ‘no return’ policy. I ended up with NHK Japan: www.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/ the Boom because it has four speakers, thus the you visit the Kent Electronics website at www. China Radio International: http://english.cri.cn/ wa5vjb.com website you’ll see he is an expe- Radio Canada International: www.rcinet.ca/ sound carries better in the kitchen where my wife rienced designer of antennas to receive VHF/ Radio Taiwan International: http://english.rti. will listen to the radio. UHF, continuing into gigahertz. org.tw/default.aspx “We live out in the country, where there are Voice of Russia: http://english.ruvr.ru/ We look forward to both authors taking MT only three or four (lousy) local stations; having readers “to infinity and beyond” as we explore a WiFi radio has opened up a whole new world new frontiers! “Another favorite of mine Radio Nether- of radio listening for us. My wife tends to listen lands Worldwide www.radionetherlands.nl to classic music, while I prefer talk and news There are many more. This is just an abbreviated shows. Thanks, MT! list of my favorites. Happy Listening! “I attempted to attach the Logitech Squee- “MT was instrumental in inspiring me “A cautionary note: listening to Internet zebox to the existing multi-speaker system in to y obtain m ham license (now extra) after I Radio p uses u gigabytes on your monthly usage. the kitchen, but it did not put out enough watts picked up a copy to help me get my new Sony We just got hit with $148 in overcharges due to to do so – not sure I will be able to connect the SW7600GR going back in May.” grandson watching Youtube for 10 hours straight Boom to that system either, but it seems to have Jim Manley over Thanksgiving.” enough speaker power that it will be heard in all Laurence D’Alberti parts of the kitchen and family room with the “I would like congratulate Dan Veeneman internal speakers. on his article ‘Dragged into the Digital Age’ “In playing with these I discovered which appeared in the January issue of MT. It Internet Radios that they have very unique coverage possibili- wasy b far the clearest explanation of digital “Thanks for your review of the C. Crane ties. On the Livio NPR radio, there was a spe- trunking I have ever read! Nice to see some great small internet radio in the January 2011 edition cific icon for weather and aircraft radio. When technical writing!” of Monitoring Times. The review is spot on and I pushed that button it gave me an interesting Jon Huneault, VE1FTL I agree with your conclusions about the set. I array of online weather, aircraft and even police should know, as I have owned the same model frequencies! … for about a year. The set is simple to operate “At the same time, and of interest to your Shortwave on Facebook? and does not take up a lot of room. I use this set general coverage fans, WiFi Radios are capable Gayle Van Horn announces that “With the asl a trave radio. This is very nice, since OTA of picking up internet transmissions by world- tremendous success of the Shortwave Central radio has become less listener friendly. Music wide broadcast stations normally found on blog, I am pleased to announce the launch of is hardly heard on AM any more and the FM general coverage receivers. For instance, on the the Facebook Fan page, listed on the Facebook band has programming that I don’t care for. basic Squeezebox radio I was able to find several Systems a Monitoring Times Shortwave Central. “The set works well with any open WiFi BBC and other international broadcasters with “Postings complement the Shortwave connection and has a lot of volume (audio) for simultaneous programming being broadcast on Central Blog and include additional monitor- its size. The ethernet connection in the back is and at the same time on their ing observations, MT previews, last minute usefulf i one does not have a wireless connection Internet broadcasts. tips and informal radio related post from our handy. “Although this radio was a present for readers.e W invite Facebook followers to visit “I have a feeling future internet radios will my wife, when she is out shopping or not in the new Monitoring Times Shortwave Central become more versatile, but more complicated. the kitchen, I can see myself out playing with page and click ‘Like’ to be a fan. This small radio should be a reminder to every- her WiFi radio searching for interesting news, “For Twitter fans, don’t forget QSLRpt- one that the latest technology, whatever it is, weather and police broadcasts on the Internet. MT for brief radio ‘tweets’ throughout the day.” should be user-friendly and not be a crazy bell- This week, when northeast airports were closing and-whistle device to please just its designer.” down, it was interesting to be able to push one Shortwave on Streaming Dan Ramos button on the Livio radio and see a variety of air traffic control stations to listen to in Boston, Audio “The CC Radio looks like a nice radio but New York and Washington, D.C.” “My hobby since 1988 has been Shortwave with one huge flaw. That is, no aux input jack. I Dave Kaiser, AL7HG Radio. Now over 20 years later many Interna- have had a Sangean WFR20 for three years on tional Broadcasters have switched to streaming my nightstand. I also have a Sony AM/FM tuner audio on their web sites. Here are some of the and an XM radio into the aux jack. With these I

74 MONITORING TIMES March 2011