WBCQ

This is not the freshest news but WBCQ has been cutting its hours to save on energy costs. I understand that between the economy and energy costs, things have been getting tight. I am not happy that the hours have been cut. I really enjoy WBCQ and the programming they bring to the airwaves. I also agree with their free speech position stance. (for the most part anyway, I don't think there is anyone who i totally agree with). I hope they can get programers to help keep the station open. I also know the economy is not only getting ugly but is already down right mean. I understand that people don't have the money to spend on broadcasting a show. I don't either. I hope the people can and are interesting do s to help keep this station on the air.

Listening in

I am starting to listen to shortwave a bit more again. I actually caught WBCQ's Area 51 for the first time. I must be in the wrong spot or just listening in at the wrong time. I usually depend on the internet feed to hear it. I love the internet feeds but it is not the same as getting ti over the air. Somehow getting the dirty analog signal is more pleasing the clean digital signal. Who knew?


I also picked up Voice of Russia for the first time in many a moon. I am wondering if propagation is improving. It would be nice. I have gotten very lazy about turning the radio dial and just doing the net stream.Internet feeds are great but it is not the dx hobby. There is a lot of good info online so I praise it but it can also a distraction from turning the knobs and listening to the airwaves. I would just use the old excuse of that there is never enough time but it falls hollow but it is also very true. I am very much the slacker about my hobbies and divide my attention too thin.

The Monster Club

I enjoy Old Time Radio and I also enjoy monsters and horrors stories. That is why I am bring the website, the Monster Club. The link for it is here. Enjoy!

The Ace Online

This week's website is dedicate to clandestine radio. It is always neat to hear what you may or may be suppose to. Check it out here.

Circuits Anyone?

I have neither gotten into the transmitting or the building part of the dx hobby but both have been calling in my ear. There is at least one blog that does look into building transmitters. It is here.

The Mercury Theatre on the Air

On thing I enjoy is old radio shows and one of those is Mercury theatre on the air. There is a website with their shows. It is here. Enjoy!

Radio Jamba International

Another member of the WBCQ family is the Radio Jambe International. Yeah, I have been focusing of WBCQ lately for the Weekly Webness but I am gong down a line of finding. Enjoy their website here.

CFL and weird Radio Reception

I love the Canadian Football League and have not been able to follow since I moved away from the Detroit area. (I miss CBC TV). On Saturday, I found out that my favorite CFL team was playing so I looked the Edmonton station that carries their games on the web. They were playing the Hamilton, Ontario team. This is were it starts getting weird or not so weird in this age of the internet. I was listening to a game being played in Hamilton being carried by an Edmonton, Alberta Radio station website while I was in Indiana. It was a getting streamed through my computer to a Fm transmitter so i could hear it through my radio because it has better sound than the computer.Talk about taking the long way around to getting the signal. My team lost but it was a fabu close game. It was decided by a touchdown in the last quarter. The geek side of me was loving the technology involved in bringing me the game. Yeah, this is not necessarily getting things via the airwaves but there is the RF tie ins so please forgive me. It is nice how technology gives you entertainment choices. Having usable choices is freedom. Got to love that.

Lumpy Gravy Radio Show

One of shows on WBCQ is the Lumpy Gravy Radio Show. It tends towards the psychedelic. Their website is here.

Blog Report

I am starting up the weekly websites again. Hopefully I will start listening more both over the air and using the net and be reporting in. i won't make any promises. I have never been all that consistent with this blog nor have I had the best material. I guess it shows with the lack of following of this blog but I am learning the hobby and it is kind of neat to note my own progress.

I have also caught Ragnar of Pirates Week fame on facebook.com o you might want to go check him out.

Listening in

Not much to report in. I am trying out to somw web radio streams. I found one that has some old time radio. I am also looking into some links to help start up the weekly webness on here again. Hoefully, I can also get some over the air listening and start posting to this blog more.

Area 51

Area 51 is the more free wheeling part of WBCQ's broadcast. It airs on 5110 and sometimes shares broadcasting with 7415. They also have a website which is here.

Conversations on Ubuntu and Linux

I have been exchanging a few emails with Fred Jodry about Ubuntu/Linux and has made me want to do another post about Ubuntu and Linux.


First of all, let me make it clear that I am not the most knowledgeable computer user out there but it is not like I don't know my way around a little bit. Take what I say with a grain of salt and do your research so I don't lead you wrong.

Second of all, my experience with Ubuntu or any other kind of Linux is rather limited so let me talk from where I do know. My experience is experimenting for he lat while with ubuntu fully loaded onto an 8 GIG flashdrive. I have been using that on an Acer notebook. It isw not th emost ideal set up but it has allowed me to have linux without doing a duel boot or doing a Linux only box, It also allows me to have a portable os that I can use on more than just my own computer so it allows me some flexibilty. It comes at the price of not being the fastest configuration. That is a trade off I am willing to make for now.

Thirdly, there are other flavors of linux out there. I don't know how fast or how well I will get in knowing them but hopefully now that I am using Linux, my knowledge of them will grow. There are some smaller versions of Linux that are better for older machines like Puppy Linux out there. I am not sure of the advantage of those so that is something to look into.

The question of cost came up about doing Ubuntu on a flashdrive. I got a an 8 GIG flashdrive for about $25 at Walmart. I will let the people out there decide on the relative merits of that. I have never done an os install before and I found it rather easy and took about an hour for the actual install. This did not include dowloading the file from the net which took forever it seams. Now that I have it, it does not take that time again if I install it again.

Trying out Linux and more specifically Ubuntu is very much an experiment in process. Worse yet, I don't always know what I am doing but I am learning.What I have learned is that is some really nice up side about using Linux and has opend some doors that Windows has not.

While I do not want to hear agruments about which is the best os, I would like to hear people's experiences with themn so I can get more informed about them. I am really on the learning curve with this.

Thanks Fred for your point of view and keep it coming.

Complex Variables Radio

I am listening to Area 51 on WBCQ. I am doing it via Internet rather than radio but then again I have never had good luck with their Area 51 frequency. I am so glad tuned in tonight. Complex variable Studios is on and I miss that show. I also miss Tasha Pemkin. I hope I spelled her name right. Tasha and her shows were one reason I got turned on to WBCQ. i understand life changes and life moves on but wish she was still doing shows. Thank goodness for area 51 so I could hear her tonight. Guess I am going to be checking it out online more.

If I can get onto a second point related point. I have been trying out the program Rythem Box as part of me adding Ubuntu/Linux to my radio shack. It seams to work pretty well for being an audio feed. I prefer listening via radio ways but I will take my feeds as I take them. Thanks to me trying this out, I have added Area 51 to the list of my favorites and that is how I am listening right now.

Power to the Penguin for the win.

Blandx.com

In case you are in need of some Dx humor, checl out bandx.com. It looks like a weird but interesting site. Check it out.

Linux in the Ham Shack Podcast

Like I said in the previous post, I have started using the Ubuntu flavor of Linux. I also have found a podcast aimed for the ham shack and linux. It is the linux in the hamshack podcast and it's RSS feed is here. Check it out.

Ubuntu

i was listening to the Solder smoke podcast and heard him talk about a version of linux called ubuntu. The really neat thing is that you can put it on a flashdrive and make it into a portable os. Kinda cool. You might wonder why I am putting this into a dx blog but i figure with so much being on th einternet and so many computer programs to help with the shack, then having access to linux could be very handy especially since it was a fairly easy install. I aam an absolute newb to ubuntu and linux but I am now on an adventure to learn how this system can help out in general and for my shack. Stay tuned for more.

DTV

As much as I am sick of hearing about the DTV conversion. There is one piece of fallout that I did not think about. Channel six audio on the analog broadcast was able to be picked up on the FM radio band. This means that people could get news and information from the television station while in their cars. This might be a big issue for some and not so much for others. It will be interesting to see how this affects the markets with a channel six that has gone away on the fm bands.

Live from Radio Rinkside

Live From Radio Rinkside is a book about Radio Legend Bob Chase and it describes itself as being the Bob Chase story as told by Bob Chase to Blake Sebring. I have quite finished reading the book but so far, it is an interesting read to hear the life story who has been at WOWO in Fort Wayne for over 50 years and is so much the voice of Komet Hockey. Bob Chase announced he is retiring from the sports director job at WOWO but is staying on as the voice of the Komets for at least a while longer. That makes the book even more enjoyable. The link to get the book is here.

Timtron

I was listening to Radio timtron on WBCQ. It has been a while since I last heard him and I was fortunate enough to hear a live show. The show had excellent music and Timtrom was funny as heck. I have not laughed so hard in a long time. Timtron is definately once of those characters that keepe listening to the shortwaves.

Fred Flinstone Music Show

I got to listen to the Fred Flintstone radio show. He was doing a sweet sixteen show adn played some really excellent music. It was a sad thing that Jenny is no longer doing her show but this is an excellent replacement. I am hoping to tune in a lot more to listen.

Voice of Russia QSL

Voice of Russia QSL

Ocianic Broadcasting

This is a website that Allen Weiner of WBCQ and Doctor Becker is putting out. Check it out here.

Hockey Season is Over

I love listening to Komet Hockey on WOWO radio. It is one of the nice local flavors of life in North Eastern Indiana. The good news is that they won the championship and I got to hear the winning game. The bad news is that I won't be listening to hockey until next October. I guess the good news is that I get to listen to ther things on the radio now. Maybe I will get a bit more time to aid to this blog. We will see.

Voice of Russia QSL

Winter SWL Festival

I am getting this up too late for this year's winter fest but maybe it can get some people in for next year. Their website is here.

Voice of Russia QSL

Trailer Trash Radio

Another show I have heard on WBCQ is Trailer Trash RAdio. They also have a website. Check it out here.

Voice of Russia QSL

Old Time Radio Shows

Not only do I enjoy listening to present day radio shows, but I also like listening to the old time shows. Chedck out Tennnessee Bill's site. Link.

Voice of Russia QSL

The Ship that Rocked

There is a movie that is going to be released in North America in August of this year called the Ship that Rocked based on the book of the same name. It is about the Pirate Radio Ship called the Caroline. It looks interesting but I don't know if I am going to be seeing it in the theatre or wait for the DVD release. The link for it on IMDb is here. It also has a link to the trailer.

In Memory

This is late but I would like to take the time to remember Brian Smith. I never got to meet him but I did get to interact with him online in connection to his role as QSL manager for AM 740 out of Toronto. He was also very active with ODXA. He will be missed in the DX hobby.

Voice of Russia QSL

Voice of Russia QSL

Weekly Webness

It looks like the weekly webness feature on this blog is drying up. I have tried giving it a run and it just is not working out so It will at least go on hiatus and I am not sure if it will revive or not.

Voice of Russia QSL

Want to listen to the World?

My preference is to listen to rf on a radio. However, I am not totally against digital. The internet, computers and mp3 players are a wonderful way of getting information and entertainment. If you want to hear radio stations from around the world and your radio just can't handle it, you can still hear them online. Check out the site for it at this link (here).

Voice of Russia QSL

Radio Heritage

This week's website is dedicated to preserving the history of radio. Check out the site here.(Link)

Voice of Russia QSL

This is going to start a series within a series. For the next while I will only going to post Voice of Russia QSLs.

Band Sweep Report

I have not been listening to the radios as much as i usually. I have been drawn a way a bit listening to podcasts and getting drawn away by the hockey season. Propagation has not been helping either but it has shown a few signs of improving. Hopefully scheduling and the propagation gods will smile and that will be rectified. I know this sounds like the same old complaints I usually give but there it is.

I have been listening to the police scanner a bit more religiously lately. It is spring storm and flooding season in my area and I like to try to keep on what is going on out there. It is this time of year that I start sticking to the more main roads and the higher ground just so I don't swamp the car in water in the lower areas of the road. I know from experience where those spots are but listening in helps me know about the truly more weird stuff that goes on. Information is power.

Radio Museum in Ligonier, Indiana

The Indiana Historic Radio Museum is in Ligonier, Indiana. Mentioning the one in Ontarie made me remember them as well. Check out their website here.

Radio Sweden QSL

Hammond Museum of Radios

This museum is no where near me but I though I will post their website anyway since it had to do with radios. Check both the website and the museum out. The website is here.

Maple Leaf Mailbag

Radio Bulgaria

Radio Bulgaria's website is here. It is not a station I have heard too often so when I do, it is a treat.

Radio Netherlands QSL

Voice of Russia

If you want information about Voice of Russia's shortwave service, you can find it here.

Radio Netherlands QSL

Radio Sweden

Radio Sweden's website for shortwave is here. If you want a schedule, do a reception report or any other information on radio Sweden then check their website out.

WBCQ Reception

I have been picking up WBCQ better over the last week. I am not quit sure if there is more power being transmitted or if the propagation is improving due to longer days or if the sun spot cycle is actually starting to kick in. IN any case. I am looking forward to listening to actual broadcasts more than mp3 files. Don't get me wrong, I love getting programs off the net but there is something magical about getting a signal from the ionosphere.

Radio Netherlands QSL

Media Minutes

Media Minutes is a podcast that deal with media policies and reform. You can find it here.

Pirates Cove

Allen Wiener of WBCQ is rebroadcasting a show called Pirates cove. It is an interesting history of Pirate Radio. It can also be found at this link of RF Programs so you can still catch them as mp3s. the link is here.

Radio Romania International QSL

Band sweep

I was in southern Canada last weekend.

I did a little medium wave dxing but that is about it.

I was South of Windsor Ontario and picked up WRVA 1140 out of Richmond and I also picked up AM 40 out of Toronto. Thanks to not being able to sleep well one night, I found out that CKlW AM 800 out of Windsor caries an extended broadcast of Am Coast to Coast. The things you find out just by carrying a radio with you on vacation.

Radio Romania International

Radio Romania International is a station I have enjoyed over the years. It has dropped in and out of my habit to listen to but I always seam to return. Check out their website here.

Japan QSL

Is Digital TV Coming?

It is getting closer to the Digital TV conversion and people are getting in a panic. It figures that it is getting screwed up with the government in charge. First, they under estimating how many people would be asking for the coupons and the fact that people are not using all the coupons they asked for. Some are saying to just go out and buy at least one to make sure to still can get TV. Guess what people, TV is not a staple. There are other media outlets for news, information and entertainment. Some are crying out this is most unfair to the poor and minorities. I can get news, information and entertainment on any radio I can get for about $10 at a lot of nearby stores. I can even get a low end shortwave radio for about $30. Maybe I am just caring and unfeeling but there are ways of keeping informed on the cheap. There are also libraries with both newspapers and free internet connections. I know there are problems with all of these or at least complaints but there is always ways of getting access. Just one person's opinion.

So you want to hear from Outer Space?

I was listening to an old episode of this week in amateur radio and found out that is a program for contacting the ISS by ham radio. Really cool! I am going to check it out and see if I can at least hear them on my police scanner since it can pick up the ham frequencies. Really cool. I will be checking it out and hopefully I can report back on some success. For more information, check out http://www.rac.ca/ariss/.

RCI QSL

Indiana State of the State Speech

This is a blog post I am doing while watching Indiana Governor Mitch Daniel's State of the State Speech.
Highlights of what I heard is:

1) No tax Increased.
2)Better use of school money.
3) More and better discipline in school. "It's time to tell the students to sit down and hush up.""To the lawyers "Shut up!"
4) This time of economic leanness is a great time to get innovative.
5) Encourage the constitutional capping of property taxes.
6) It is time to streamline Indiana government on every level.
7)Encouraged helping those who need it.
8) time to separate the whiners from the winners.

I hope he meant what he said because I pretty much agreed with him and I am glad I voted for him. I just hope the Governor and the rest of the Indiana government do well during this economically crappy time.

The Rain Report

This week's website is another podcast about the radio hobby. You can find find it here. Check it out to see if it interests you

NHK QSL

Band Sweep Bear Lake Michigan Edition

I got to enjoy being in the Northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan over the holidays. I did take parts of my radio shack with me so I could do some radio listening. I did not do much but did get some in. One thing I got reminded of is that WOWO (1190 AM) out of Fort Wayne goes get up that far at night but not always that great. Since the weather was a mixed bag of good and not so good weather, I also was listening to the NOAA weather station out of Traverse City (KIH22 162.4 or channel one on your weather radio). I also got to listen to Interlochen Public Radio which I think is a better than average NPR station. Their website is here.

That is about it for the holidays. LIke I said , I did not get to listen much.

RF Programs

Here is a site to get the podcast of several radio related shows. Since these give some good information on the radio hobby, then it definitely gets some press from me.

Radio Sweden QSL