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Category Archives: Miscellaneous
PROPAGATION Ed. 9 Released!
Totsuka DXer’s Circle (TDXC), a local SWL/MWL/DXing club in Yokohama Japan, has published an over-200-page annual club magazine “PROPAGATION” for this year. This is the 9th edition as TDXC has published once a year since 2013. The magazine is now downloadable in PDF format for free to EVERYBODY! Sorry it is written in Japanese in most pages, but there are so many pictures that give you idea how they enjoy the radio hobby. Some pages are written in English.
The following contents are just part of this year’s edition.
- DXing activities during pandemic.
- MW DXpedition report.
- Online convention report.
- Seven tips for successful MW DXing.
- DXing at sporadic E-propagation
- TECSUN PL-330 review.
- HamSCI ionosphere investigation during solar eclipse
- Better coupling method for TECSUN AN-200
- For aged DXers…how to dispose your QSLs without losing memories.
- Essay on local FM stations and handy radios
- Book review
- Club members’ unique listening and DXing activities
If you are interested in the “PROPAGATION” , visit the following site to download.
http://my-bcl-life.sakura.ne.jp/PROPAGATION.htm
Next year 2022 is the club’s 10th anniversary! Your celebrating messages will be welcomed.
FM Radio DXing by Sporadic E-Layer
During early summer time, many signals on FM radio band from overseas (about 1000 – 2000 km or more ) are coming to my radio by sporadic E-skipping.
Reception Data for the following video:
Time: During daytime around the end of May and the whole June.
Frequencies: 88.7 – 94.4 MHz
Receiver: AIRSPY R2
Antenna: Discone (indoor)
Location: Niigata, Japan (PM97cc)
“PROPAGATION” Ed. 8 Released!
Totsuka DXer’s Circle (TDXC), a local SWL/MWL/DXing club in Yokohama Japan, has published a 200-page annual club magazine “PROPAGATION” for this year. This is the 8th edition as TDXC has published once a year since 2013. The magazine is now downloadable in PDF format for free to EVERYBODY! Sorry it is written in Japanese in most pages, but there are so many pictures that give you idea how they enjoy the hobby. Some pages are written in English.
The following contents are just part of this year’s edition.
- 2019 IRCA Convention and Grayland DXpedition
- MW TP-DX and Radio Propagation
- Seaside DXpedition logs
- Review on Airspy HF+ Discovery
- Useful accessories for SDRs
- Influence of recent solar eclipse to propagation
- Test reports on small loops
- Entry report of “Top10 DX of Year” contest
- Essay on local FM stations and handy radios
- Gourmet report for DXing
- Club members’ unique listening and DXing activities
If you are interested in the “PROPAGATION” , visit the following site to download.
http://my-bcl-life.sakura.ne.jp/PROPAGATION.htm
Top 10 DX of the Year 2018
In December last year, Top DX Radioclub of Hungary organized a shortwave listening contest “Top 10 DX of the Year 2018.” I participated and the results are here. I am #10 in the World, #1 in Asia and Japan. Just received its award certificate and nice polo-shirt. It was fun. Many thanks and FB DX!!
Japan Radio Museum (Matsumoto, Japan)
I had a chance to visit Japan Radio Museum, which is located in Matsumoto-city, Nagano-prefecture, Japan. To be honest, I am a little bit surprized that this museum is not located in Tokyo, but in a local city. It is about 3 hrs from Tokyo (Shinjuku Station) by express train, but half-hour shorter if you take a bullet train via Nagano-city. (The train line in the following map is just for example and please consult travel agencies to find out your best route to Matsumoto-city)
The museum is located in an area with many traditional gift shops that are attractive to tourists. Historical places such as Matsumoto Castle are also close.
The admission fee is JPY 500. They have so many contents that are quite exciting for radio hobbyists.
↑ ↓ Vintage radios before/during WWII.
↓ Radios in the very beginning. They had to use a large battery as power source instead of AC line.
↓ In the very beginning, people in Japan had to get a permission from government in order to even “receive” (not only transmitting) radio broadcasts. Each radio equipment had to be registered. The following document is such example. It does not seem that the government issued callsign (or SWL number lol) for receiving station, though.
↓ The first FM tuner in Japan, made by Kasuga Radio Co., which later became TRIO. They made it for RadioShack in USA, branding “REALISTIC”.
↓ Relatively newer models
↓ Not too vintage but portable TV sets of older time. The SONY model (top middle) still looks cool.
↓ Did you know that the first LCD pocket color TV in the world was not from SONY, but from EPSON?
↓ Of course, the shortwave gears are there!
The museum is two-story, and on the second floor, they exhibits radios by selected category for limited period. Currently they are showing “Fun Radios” until 11th of January 2019.
↓ Beverage radios. Note that those cans have telescopic antenna.
↓ Toy radios.
↓ Puppy radio, to make your girl friend happy.
*****
Through the visit, I found that this museum is definitely a “must-go” place for radio hobbyists from all over the world!
*****
Japan Radio Museum
2-4-9 Chuo, Matsumoto-city, Nagano-pref., 390-0811 JAPAN.
Their official English site is:
BCL-LOOP Version 13
Hokushin Denshi(Electronics) Service in Japan has developed a newest version of BCL-LOOP amplifier (BCL-LOOP Version 13, Rev. 2.0). This uses 2N5109s and works at power voltage from 5V to 15V (the voltage actually affects the gain).
This time they supply only PCB so I purchased the parts and assembled by myself.
For the loop element, I used a dual cupper tube for air-conditioner which I found at a home-center (like Home Depot) in Japan.
Pixel RF-Pro-1B, for comparison. (The supplier of this antenna has been changed to DX Enginnering from Pixel Technologies)
HF Span Video (initial 10 seconds with Pro-1B, then switched to BCL-Loop 13)
Radio New Zealand International on 9765kHz. The SN ratio was not different, but BCL-Loop showed a lower noise base line.
“BCL Day” (December 17th)
In my home country Japan, December 17th is “BCL Day,” which is unofficially, but widely recognized among shortwave fans in Japan.
“BCL” stands for Broadcasting Listening/Listener, and this word is typically used in Japan rather instead of SWL.
December 17th was set as BCL Day since this is the birthday of late Mr. Koji Yamada, who significantly contributed to the shortwave listening boom in Japan during mid 1970’s through early 80’s. Huge numbers of young people (mostly junior high school students, including myself) in Japan at that time were listening to shortwave everyday, wrote reception reports to get “Veri-Cards.” Uniquely, the word “Veri-Card” (“Veri” comes from “Verification”) is used in Japan, still now, which means QSL card.
Mr. Yamada published so many books on BCL, monthly contributed radio magazines for young people, and spoke at many events and broadcasting. He is called like “Maestro of BCL” (actually, in Japanese language we use a word meaning “BCL God” for him, but it may not be a proper word when coming into English) . Sadly, he passed away by liver cancer in August 2008. Radio stations such as KBS World Radio, Radio Taiwan International, and Voice of Russia broadcast his special tribute program. Even now, some stations have memorial program around this date, such as HCJB Japanese program (Reach Beyond Australia) issuing the following QSL card:
(Cortesy of Mr. Ozaki, Reach Beyond Australia)
This QSL card (Veri-Card) shows Mr. Yamada’s photos when he was at a radio event show in 1977.
Last week on December 9th, HCJB-Japanese broadcast a memorial program of him and played a recorded sound clip of “SONY BCL JOCKEY,” a daily program for shortwave listeners at that time, when Mr. Yamada was interviewed. The host of this program was a famous anime voice-actor Kei Tomiyama (he also passed away in 1995). Here is its opening of the program, including a commercial of Sony Skysensor Radio:
(Cortesy of Mr. Ozaki, Reach Beyond Australia)
The following sound clip is a commercial of National (currently Panasonic) COUGAR 2200 Radio in a different radio program. It is in Japanese, but you know this interval signal!
(Cortesy of Mr. Ozaki, Reach Beyond Australia)
In November, I visited Mr. Kazuo Ozaki, the host of HCJB-Japanese program (the middle gentleman in the above QSL card) in his home studio in Arizona. I used to listen to his broadcasting from Quito Ecuador over 40 years ago, and this time face-to-face. He is still active in creating his program at his home studio, which is transmitted from Australia to Japan on shortwave every weekend. The BCL boom in Japan at that time significantly affected personal lives of many people, including myself who lives in USA now.
Tokyo Ham Fair 2017
September 2-3, 2017 at Tokyo Big Sight….
Preparing the booth of Japan Shortwave Club.
Show starts!
JT65 lovers.
Magnetic loop antennas…
Icom’s prototype model IC-9700, which is a tribander of 2m-70cm-1.2GHz.
Japan Shortwave Club Booth
Another SWL booth “BCL is the King of Hobby” hosted by Asuka Sekiyama. He organizes “Akihabara BCL Club” (ABC) and has issued its first publication journal “ABC 50’s,” where I also contributed a chapter.
A D-STAR Booth
Another D-STAR booth.
ID-31s are now Plus model.
Perhaps a unique point in the Tokyo Ham Fair is that many singers and personalities contribute the show. They are of course hams.
JARD promotes “e-Learning” system to obtain an operator license. Presentation given by Momoka Matsuda (actess, JI1NYO).
Live show of Masaco (singer-songwriter, JH1CBX) and Kaori Mita (traditional singer, JI1BTL). Kaori also hosts a radio program “CQ Ham For Girls” in a local FM station.
Chanson singer Sayoko Aoki (JJ3WWS). She also used to be a radio personality for such as long-run program “FM Variety,” as well as some radio shows for hams.
“Theme-song singer” Maiko Watabe (JJØSDQ) singing a theme song of a radio program for hams, with a dancing costume character Watamai-chan, who has just obtained (surprisingly) a callsign of JJ1FUL.
See you all again next year!
“Propagation” Ed. 5 Released!
This year too, Totsuka DXer’s Circle (TDXC), a local SWL/DXing club in Yokohama Japan, has published a 157-page club journal “PROPAGATION.” This is the 5th edition as TDXC previously published once per year since 2013. The journal is now downloadable in PDF format for FREE to everybody! Please be advised that this journal is written in Japanese in most pages, but there are so many pictures that give you idea how they enjoy the hobby. Some pages are also written in English.
The follwoing contents are just a part of this year’s edition.
- US-JA joint DX-pedition to Oregon Cliff
- Radio tour to Lima, Peru
- Equipment and camping goods for MW DX-pedition
- Visit report of local communty FM stations
- Detailed report on Flag Antenna
- Test reports on small loops and bar antenna for MW DXing
- Old-day DXing life
- Each club member’s unique DXing activity
If you are interested in the “PROPAGATION” journal, visit the following site to download.
http://my-bcl-life.sakura.ne.jp/PROPAGATION.htm
Shortwave Listening Sound Clips 
