CONTENTS First Person Radio ........................................................ 8 How I Survived Self-Electrocution, Fame, Congress and the Publishing Industry By Bob Grove W8JHD Vol. 30 No. 1 January 2011 A kid from Ohio with an insatiable curiosity, and a knack for getting in and out of trash cans, grew up to found the nation’s number one magazine about all things radio. Along the Scanning - Shortwave - Ham Radio - Equipment way, Bob found himself in the most disparate places: treasure hunting in the Andes Mountains, Internet Streaming - Computers - Antique Radio hobnobbing with celebrities on TV, teaching a high school science class, testifying before a ® Volume 30, No. 1 January 2011 Congressional subcommittee and never, well rarely, losing his sense of humor. Finally, the U.S. $6.95 Can. $6.95 Printed in the A Publication of Grove Enterprises MT United States husband, father, grandfather (and electronic guru to staff and readers alike), tells all. Well, almost all. 30 Years of Monitoring Times! Monitoring Meteors: Tuning in to Visitors from Space .... 12 By Stan Nelson KB5VL First Person Radio: Scanning the skies with a combination of software, off-the-shelf antennas and receivers, Bob Grove Stan has been listening and watching for visitors from outer space for 10 years. Now, he shows you how it’s done. With a little help from the Navy Space Surveillance System, among others, you too can eavesdrop on wandering chunks of space in the sky above. In this issue: • Visitors from Space: Monitoring Meteors • The Long Arm of China Radio International • C.Crane’s new WiFi Radio Shortwave’s Unlikely Future: Disco Palace ................ 16 By Hans Johnson Just when you hoped you had out-lived disco, it’s back! The Disco Palace is the HF musi- MT Turns 30! cal fantasyland of a company hoping to attract more broadcasters to the Hi-Fi capabilities of Ordinarily January is our tech Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). But, will radio manufacturers take the bait? Hans looks at the issue, and while we are taking a look unlikely future of shortwave broadcasting and DRM at the Disco Palace. at some interesting uses of today’s technology, this January is special as Monitoring Times celebrates the start China’s Global Electronic Reach .................................. 18 of its 30th anniversary year. Over the By Ken Reitz KS4ZR last 30 years hundreds of magazine Strapped for cash, international shortwave broadcasters are slashing staff, closing transmit- titles have come and gone, more than ter sites, cutting broadcast languages and flocking to cheaper, new-age, Internet broadcasting. a few major newspapers with 100 Not China. They’re rich and spending like sailors on leave. Oh sure, they’re doing plenty on year-old heritages are no longer in the web, but they’re also now a huge presence on HF; an inescapable voice on satellite, and business. Many radio-related clubs, buying 5-year chunks of advertising on U.S. AM radio stations to air China Radio International organizations and publications have around the clock. also come and gone. The electronic landscape barely resembles the way people communicated 30 years ago. REVIEWS Even though no one could have predicted where we would be today, the reason MT is still relevant is that it The Amazing, Little C.Crane WiFi Radio ..................... 66 has changed with the technology. MT A GlobalNet Review continues to keep readers abreast of By Loyd Van Horn W4LVH the vast changes in the electromagnetic The mid-priced C.Crane WiFi radio looks too small to be any good, but Loyd spectrum through authoritative writers found out that looks can be deceiving. Find out why Loyd says, “If you want a reli- with the same curiosity and interest as able, moderately-priced WiFi radio that doesn’t require a doctorate in technology to our readers. And, we’ve never forgot- operate, the C.Crane WiFi radio is the perfect choice for you.” ten our roots: shortwave listening, scanning, AM DX, amateur radio, and everything else in between. This month you’re invited to go back, way back, with Bob Grove in his own First Person Radio story, to the very beginnings of this magazine. And, you’re invited to stay with us for another year of amazing stories as our electronic future continues to unfold. On Our Cover From newsprint tabloid to digital delivery, MT has come a long way. Thanks to the for- ward-thinking leadership of Bob and Judy Grove, publishers of Monitoring Times. MTContra2011:MTContra2011.qxd 02/11/2010 16:47 Page 1 WORLDWORLD RADIORADIO TVTV HANDBOOKHANDBOOK WRTH2011 We are very pleased to announce SOME COMMENTS ON WRTH 2010 the publication of the 2011 edition The 2010 World Radio TV Handbook continues to set of World Radio TV Handbook, the the radio hobby standard. It remains the best, most bestselling directory of global authoritative and comprehensive radio reference book in the world broadcasting on LW, MW, SW & FM – Gayle Van Horn W4GVH, Monitoring Times The Features section has an account of the Essential, could not do without it! – Glenn Hauser, history of Radio St Helena, reviews of the latest DX Listening Digest equipment, an intriguing look back at some WRTH gives you more info about a broadcast than classic 80s & 90s receivers, a visit to AFN in any other radio reference book with which I'm famil- the Florida Keys and much more, including our iar. This is one of the reasons it has become a staple regular Digital Update. reference for serious radio listeners – Thomas Witherspoon, SWLing.com The remaining pages are, as usual, full of information on: WRTH's claim to be the World's most comprehensive and up-to-date guide to broadcasting is indeed more National and International broadcasts and than justified. At Radio Netherlands Worldwide, we broadcasters by country with frequencies, couldn't be without it. If you like listening to radio powers, languages, contacts, and more, broadcasts from abroad, neither can you including Clandestine and other target – Radio Netherlands Media Network review broadcasters I have just received my 2010 edition of the famous MW frequency listings by region. Inter- WRTH and it's packed with 672 pages of invaluable national and domestic information. There is no other publication in the world SW frequency list- that rivals WRTH. It is indeed the ultimate volume for ings, as well as DRM anyone with an interest in radio – Mike Terry, UK listings The WRTH 2010 is, as usual, indispensable and International SW accurate. More necessary now than ever before broadcasts in – Gil Torbeck, Germany English, French, Coming soon: German, Portuguese & Spanish. WRTH Bargraph Frequency Guide Reference section with Transmitter International schedules locations, DX clubs, & domestic SW on CD Internet Resources, in color bargraph format and much more Available January Available December 2010 from www.wrth.com MONITORING TIMES (ISSN: 0889-5341; Publishers Mail Agree- ment #1253492) is published monthly by Grove Enterprises, Inc., Brasstown, North Caro- Table Of COnTenTs lina, USA. Copyright © 2010 Grove Enterprises, Inc. Departments: Second Departments Periodicals postage paid at Brasstown, Communications ...............................6 QSL Report ......................................47 NC, and additional mailing offices. Short excerpts may be reprinted with appropri- By Gayle Van Horn W4GVH ate credit. Complete articles may not be Letters .............................................74 QSLing Comes to Your Smartphone reproduced without permission. Introducing new Ham Bands columnist Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z; Antenna maker’s specs MT Extra ..........................................48 Address: 7540 Highway 64 West, questioned; Right to RF interference? German/Arabic Brasstown, NC 28902-0098 Telephone: (828) 837-9200 Stock Exchange ................................76 Milcom ............................................52 Fax: (828) 837-2216 (24 hours) Monitoring Air Route Traffic Control Internet Address: www.grove-ent.com or www.monitoringtimes.com Advertisers Index .............................76 Centers Editorial e-mail: [email protected] Subscriptions: [email protected] Federal Files ....................................54 First Departments By Chris Parris Subscription Rates: $32.95 in US; $42.95 Getting Started 2011 Federal Files New Year Canada; and $58.95 foreign elsewhere, Scanning Report ..............................20 US funds. Label indicates number of is- By Dan Veeneman BOATS, Planes, Trains ......................56 sues left. Renewal notice is cover sheet 3 Dragged into the Digital Age months before expiration. See page 76 By Ron Walsh VE3GO for subscription information. Listening as Winter Settles in Ask Bob ...........................................23 WRITE FOR MONITORING TIMES: By Bob Grove W8JHD Learn how at Amplifier for Scanner Antenna; Preselec- Technical Departments www.monitoringtimes.com/ tor for shortwave radio; Cross-polarized Globalnet ........................................58 html/write_for_mt.html or diodes at antenna jack; Banning ham radio By Loyd Van Horn W4LVH write to [email protected] during WWII; When to use wide/narrow What’s Next for Internet Radio? Postmaster: filters. Send address changes to Monitoring Times, Below 500 kHz ................................60 7540 Highway 64 West, Brasstown, NC Utility World ....................................24 By Kevin Carey WB2QMY 28902-0098. By Hugh Stegman NV6H Celebrating Beacons Old and New Canadian Navy Closes CFH WEFAX/RTTY Disclaimer: While Monitoring Times makes an effort to ensure the