Adventures In Amplitude Modulation - Part 10

As promised, this post is a continuation from last week’s shortwave listening sessions from September 2004. These radio recordings offered here were received on a Tecsun BCL-2000, and the location of reception was a small town on the Hudson River not too far from Albany, New York.

As before, after the jump you'll find more MP3 samples of shortwave reception to sample, but first I want to talk specifically about the radio that I used to make these recordings. It's a practical gadget that's not too expensive.

The BCL-2000 itself can only be purchased in the U.S. via ebay. However, a couple of almost identical radios under the Grundig (or Eton) name are available in North America at a somewhat higher price and are only slightly different . Just to avoid confusion, from here on in I’ll describe these receivers as the BCL series of radios, and point out differences when appropriate.

The BCL series is a recent invention, developed and built in China and first released in 2002 (the American version, the Grundig S350 went on sale in 2003). Just like almost every other new electronic gadget, most shortwave radios are now made in China. While purists loudly bemoan the loss of new European and American receivers in the marketplace, the Chinese are making some damn good radios these days and often at an affordable price. Although the trend in shortwave has been toward digital tuning for years, the BCL radios buck this trend and have proven a popular alternative to the abundance of digital shortwave sets for sale.

While they don’t really have any features that haven’t been seen before, the BCL radios offer a unique combination of options that make it a lotta fun to scan the bands. The main difference between these radios and any other affordable receivers available today is that they offer analog tuning WITH a digital display. And the LED display is also relatively large and there's a switch to lock the display light in the on position on these radios, which makes it great tool for searching out distant frequencies in the dark.

And some will ask, if the display is digital why not just get a digital radio? Well, when I bought my first digital shortwave receiver a few years ago I quickly began to realize how much I appreciated analog tuning. Going through each 5 KHz step with a digital tuner gets tedious very quickly. And then if you want to zip across the band and get a feel for the reception available, forget it. Each step requires a fraction of a second to be heard, with a “phhht” sound as the radio renders each frequency up, and I believe it adds a bit of background noise as well. The alternative you get is a scan function, which silently automates the scanning process and the turner will stop when the radio’s software decides there might be a broadcast at that frequency. It ain’t the same. And as you might imagine, weak signals can be easily skipped and stray RF can be mistaken for a radio station.

Okay, I know that with better digital tuners some of these problems aren’t as bad, and miserable Sangean ATS-505 isn't the best example. However, I’d still rather do the scanning very manually sometimes.

That’s not to say that digital radios aren’t amazing in other ways. Many have hundreds of presets, and if you know the frequency you’re looking for you can usually punch it up immediately. And for the most part, the best shortwave receivers made have been all-digital for quite a while now. While BCL radios are NOT the very best receivers in any technical sense, they are very easy to use and reasonably priced.

Besides not having presets, the BCL radios also don’t have another feature dedicated listeners desire– SSB. While I’m not going to get into a technical discussion I’m not qualified to offer, I’ll just say that SSB (Single-sideband modulation) is another way of broadcasting other than amplitude modulation which is more efficient in long-distance transmission and is popular with ham operators and some international broadcast services. Some listeners love to eavesdrop on the hams (if you don’t know what "ham" is, look here), and others just like to have all the options.

The truth is, the BCL radio design borrows a lot of its layout and operation from a popular analog receiver from the 1970's, the Panasonic RF-2200. While the RF-2200 did not offer a digital display, the template for the radio's controls is very similar. And both are very good medium and shortwave receivers. Ideally, I would hope that future versions of the BCL radios would incorporate more of what made the RF-2200 great– like SSB, as well as the pop-up rotating antenna for AM, and dual conversion circuitry that would reduce the one other big complaint about the BCL radios, “images” from strong broadcasts popping up on other locations on the band.

The original BCL-2000 was released in China in two colors, black and a bright and cheery red shade. The U.S. version, the Grundig S350 was only offered in a utilitarian gadget silver. The initial release was plagued with “drifting” issues, as the tuning is a string and pulley affair where physics are at play on the variable capacitors and once you’ve settled on a frequency the radio would tend to drift off signal eventually. The Chinese Tecsun versions addressed this issue early on, and that fact combined with the more appealing casing colors made the Chinese version a popular item on ebay in the U.S., despite the fact they aren’t available in the stores here.

What’s interesting is how this radio was marketed in the U.S. BCL stands for “Broadcast Listening,” and that’s what the radio was meant to do, provide easy access to the old broadcast bands. In fact, the Tecsun version says “Enjoy Broadcasting” right on the face. The Grundig however, was called a “field radio” and was promoted for it’s “military” and “retro” look. Which makes you wonder why it didn’t come out in “camouflage” pattern, or at least in army green. Could the military marketing approach had anything to do with the current obsession with warfare and patriotism in the states? Makes you wonder.

However, things have changed. While the original radios are still for sale, there are new versions available which have addressed the “drifting” problems in a more direct way. In America, the new radio is called the Eton (not Grundig, but it’s just a nameplate anyway) S350DL. Instead of adding all the technical features real radio fans might desire, (SSB, dual conversion) they’ve again gone for a more superficial approach. The radio is slightly bigger, with a larger speaker AND it comes with a set of headphones. And guess what? The S350DLs aren’t silver at all, but are RED or BLACK, just like the Tecsun versions. However, the knobs are silver now, instead of black. Not exactly an improvement.

The new Chinese version is no bigger and has no headphones. It’s called the BCL-3000, and now only comes in black. From everything I’ve read, these radios are no more sensitive than the previous model. There is a technical solution to the drifting problem which I’ve heard is problematic. When you stop on a station, the frequency locks. However, the locking is buggy and can be a pain in the ass when you’re trying to tune something in incremental knob nudges and the tuning locks up or jerks at inopportune moments. I'd rather deal with the slight bit of drifting myself.

While the BCL-3000 is still roughly the same price, around fifty bucks plus shipping from China (roughly 80 some dollars total). The S350DL however, is now $150 dollars, a jump or fifty bucks from the list price for the S350. And just to keep your radio buyin’ eyes off of China, there’s been some arm twisting over at Tecsun headquarters and all newly manufactured BCL-2000 and BCL-3000 radios are no longer labeled in English. They’re covered with Chinese text, and you may need to refer to the translated manual to figure out the knobs and switches. The controls aren’t that complicated, but it is an annoyance for the non-Chinese radio consumer.

I ’ve not only gone in detail about these radios because I happen to like them, but I also think they are very good entry level DX radios. The AM performance is actually a little better than shortwave and FM reception is very good. It’s one of only two or three radios I have that get a good read of WFMU here in north Brooklyn. But what they do offer the shortwave listener is an intuitive analog interface to the tuning, while providing an accurate digital readout of the frequency in real time, which can be strategic in trying to identify a station in the shortwave jumble of frequencies. No presets, it’s true. But a little knob twisting will get you anywhere you want to go. One other plus-- these radios run forever on 4 D cell batteries. The digital portables suck power at a much higher rate.

Okay, on to the audio clips. These stations were received in the evening in upstate New York on the weekend of September 11, 2004. And although I was using my BCL-2000 I did not make notes of the actual frequencies received. I’ve never been one to keep logs, or collect QSL cards. But all my respect to those who do. Suffice to say most of the signals received were probably in the 49, 41 and 31 meter band. Possibly the 25 meter band as well.

01 - Sweden Today (download MP3 here)

It’s Radio Sweden International broadcasting in English for North America at 6010 KHz in the 49 meter band. (Thanks Mr. Announcer) It’s a news magazine program and the lead story is about one of the unexpected side-effects of the European Union-- more intoxicated Swedes.

02 - Voice Of Turkey (download MP3 here)

While Radio Sweden notes a unplanned downside to being a part of the European Union, on the Voice Of Turkey broadcast you hear repeated references to how strong the desire is for the Turks to merge their country into the EU. Over and over again in this extended segment you can hear how Turkey has been bending over backwards to satisfy their European’s neighbors that they are worthy of membership in the Union. It’s not only mentioned in every element of this extended clip, but there’s even a regular segment here specifically focusing on the latest news regarding Turkey’s application to join the EU. It is so odd in this era to hear such yearning on behalf of a Muslim nation to join into such an intimate relationship with western powers.Turkey’s shortwave service runs a strong transmission to North America, and I’ve heard some great music there more than once. The reception on this recording requires a little patience, but it’s all there. And it’s traveling over 5000 miles.

03 - Deutsche Welle-Inside Europe (download MP3 here)

More on EU issues in this clip as well. Not the kind of news you’re likely to hear much about in American media. Deutsche Welle offers an excellent English service, and sadly they recently made the same decision as the BBC World Service made a few years ago-- to dramatically curtail their broadcasts to North America. The statistics of U.S. shortwave radio listenership aren’t exactly a motivating influence for international broadcasters. And cutbacks in funding toward broadcasting to North America from overseas has made the Christian-crazy packed U.S. shortwave scene a little less interesting lately. It’s a goddamn shame.

The big story here is about halfway into this file. While Turkey is jumping through flaming hoops to entice the EU to let them in, while the Prime Minister, a devout Muslim, was trying to pass a law at the time making adultery a crime. See the conflict? If you just heard the Turkish broadcast before this you might guess what happened next. There’s a couple small drifting/tuning issues in this recording. The off-frequency moments are brief. The reception is fair.

04 - Catholics & Protestants (download MP3 here)

Most of the Christian prescience on shortwave is decidedly Protestant. A lot of King James Version faithful who offer you the choice between the fluffy clouds of heaven and the fiery pits of hell. However, EWTN’s Global Catholic Network is a little more chatty than their Protestant counterparts. Instead of preaching, they talk about stuff on EWTN. On this clip you hear the spiritual wisdom of “Dan.” He sounds like he’s at least 17 years-old. And then two more Protestant type stations. A hymn and little pulpit thunder.

05 - Parking Lot Miracle - Ukraine Signs Off (download MP3 here)

Here’s little slice of band-scanning, going through some Jesus-casters and ending up overseas. It starts off with a mind-blowing miracle involving God expanding a church parking lot just in the nick of time. Also some gospel passion and World Harvest Radio’s offer to ship you a free Bible so you can play along at home.

And then there’s Radio Ukraine International signing off at the end of their broadcast to North America. While I can’t speak authoritatively about Ukraine’s English shortwave service, I always love hearing it. There’s something home-baked about it, lots of Ukrainian culture, history and music, and it sounds like radio from decades ago. For some reason, it’s like radio comfort food for me, and hearing it on the internet just wouldn’t be the same.

06 - Unknown Station-Christian Election Advice (download MP3 here)

This saddened me at the time. It’s some type of Christian talk show, slightly paranoid in the shortwave tradition. Talking about the upcoming Presidential election, one co-host remarks to the other that voting for the “lesser of two evils” is wrong for Christians.  And while I could have been pleased with concept of Christians boycotting an election en masse, the idea of telling people not to vote because each candidate is imperfect just plays into the hands of political smear tactics in general. Like so many ideas brought up every day on Christian radio it’s the product of immature thinking and lacks moral clarity.

07 - WBCQ-More Timtron (download MP3 here)

Last week I featured a bit of Radio Timtron Worldwide, arguably one of the best shows on shortwave radio, broadcast on WBCQ in Maine. This is part of another show (The Real Amateur Radio Show/Piss & Moan ) he hosts which is always some discussion of his life in radio, and a few tips and tricks for listeners as well. And it’s like nothing you’ll hear anywhere else.

Another show on WBCQ that offers colloquial details on the outlaw-fringe side of radio broadcasting is “Allan Weiner Worldwide,” hosted by WBCQ founder Allan Weiner. Allan’s program is an informal “around the house” kind of talk show, with Allan talking about the station, the state of radio, or whatever’s going on in his life. And he does take calls, but it sounds like it’s really just a small group of chronic middle-aged geeks who haunt the phones. But when you listen to these shows you become privy to the realities of seat-of-the-pants broadcasting that is both infectious and inspiring. They both have GREAT stories of both their pirate radio days as well as anecdotes about the everyday goings on with maintaining WBCQ. Just the offbeat techno-slang and vernacular they use when they talk about their years of pirate radio shenanigans, or relate the behind the scenes details of maintaining a bunch of high-power transmitters. Just listening makes you feel like your part of things up there in Maine, and in the process you learn a few things about the business and science of radio.

And that’s what you get here with Timtron, technical talk with attitude and a bent sense of humor. Maybe only on shortwave would the esoteric musings of radio engineer be so appropriate and so entertaining. He makes advanced radio engineering sound as easy as putting together a high school science project. Just another reason to check out WBCQ. By the way, online archives of WBCQ programs can be found here.

Thanks for listening.

Comments

[ralph]

That problem you've had with digital radios chuffing every tuning step is typical of the more inexpensive Sangean radios. It's not inherent in digital tuners, it's just a design decision that many listeners find mistaken. C. Crane Company offers a modification for many of the radios that display this behavior.

Also, once you get above about $120 in portable receivers, the tuning step is more fine grained than 5 kHz, which I agree is suboptimal. Between $120 and about $300, most portables have a resolution of 1 kHz, which is a lot better. Above that, you get receivers like the late lamented Sony 2010, with a .1 kHz resolution, the Grundig Satellit 800 with .05 kHz resolution, and the new Eton E1, with .01 kHz resolution. When you get to that level of resolution, tuning is indistinguishable from the tuning on an analog receiver. You also pay a lot more than you would for the S350 or BCL radios; the E1 goes for about $500, which is more than most people would want to pay for a radio.

[The Professor]

Thanks Ralph. Yeah, in general I've got complaints about every Sangean product I've ever owned. You can scale the turning down to a 1 kHz increments, but the using the button that does that on the tuning knob is a dodgy operation.

So, with a 2010 or a shiny new E1 you can whip through the bands and hear busy sections to further investigate like an analog receiver? I'm just curious. But I can see how slowly cruising the dial with .01 kHz resolution with the E1 could be quite satisfactory. I'd like to try it. If I could only get a hold on an extra few hundred bucks. And that's why I thought it might be good to talk about the BCL radios, because they are pretty affordable.

As far as digital portables, I've had my eye on the Degen DE1103 (otherwise known as the Kaito KA1103 in the U.S.) for a while. I've read lots of positive reviews online, and it seems like a great radio all around. And it also is quite affordable, going for just a little more than the BCL radios. And I hear there's no "chuffing" either.

Also, the DE1103 and the new super-portable, the E1, are also Tecsun products. Although I think the E1 is at least partially constructed in India instead of China.

[ralph]

Yes, once the resolution is below a certain point, tuning is indistinguishable from analog receiver. I don't expect anyone to spend the kind of money I have on receivers (although I have friends who have spent much more), but my AOR AR-7030 has a tuning resolution of 2.8 Hz (not kHz), and a nice, well-weighted tuning knob that's a joy to use for bandscanning. I tried the E1 in the showroom of Universal Radio in Columbus last summer, and it felt similar, although the tuning knob is flush with the top of the radio and doesn't have a dimple, so it's not quite as nice to tune. But you can still use it for bandscanning and not have to push buttons to tune. The tuning knob on a 2010 feels a lot better than the E1; I used a 2010 as my main rig for several years before buying a tabletop receiver (first a Drake R8, then the AOR). 0.1 kHz is still a *little* coarse, but not bad. The 2010 was a heck of a radio, and the E1 is the first one that's got people in the shortwave hobby saying it's even as good, and maybe a little better.

I'm pretty sure there's no connection between Tecsun and the E1; the radio is definitely completely made in Bangalore. The circuitry of the E1, like the Satellit 800, was designed by the R.L. Drake company of Ohio, based on their SW-8 portatop radio of the 1990s, which was a cut down version of the R8 tabletop. It's got features no other portable has, like a choice of three filters to help you cut down the interference from adjacent channels. Some of my friends on a mailing list I'm on have been comparing it with their pricey tabletops and sometimes the E1 outperforms them. If you're interested in the radio, I would keep an eye on the web site of Universal Radio. They have a deal with Eton/Grundig where they often get refurbished radios to sell. Drake, who have a top notch technical staff, does the refurbishing, and the price, if you go by what happened with the Satellit 800, is typically about $100 less than a new radio. Eton had a quality control problem with the power supply in a certain range of radios and actually had to recall several hundred, so I would expect to see refurbs with replaced power supplies showing up on the market in the next few months.

I haven't tried the Degen radios (at this point, I think I have enough portable receivers to last a lifetime), but friends who have speak highly of them. They've typically got something goofy going on with the display where the last digit isn't displayed if it's a 0, and the tuning resolution is only 5 kHz I think, but the performance is on a standard with radios that used to go for $120-150 in the past like the Grundig Yacht Boy 400 and the Sony ICF-7600GR at half the price. I don't think they have the chuffing problem that Sangeans do that makes bandscanning a chore.

[ralph]

Oh, and if you want to try an E1 and maybe hang out with a bunch of like-minded radio geeks for a couple of days, there's an event coming up in a few weeks just outside Philadelphia, the Winter SWL Fest. I'm sure there are going to be a ton of E1s there; it's definitely the hot radio in the shortwave hobby right now. Probably a fair number of Degen radios too. The guys from WBCQ usually come down, although I'm told they missed last year (I missed last year too, and won't be able to make it this year either), and there are a bunch of pirate radio operators who show up. And the beer is free. :-)

[Sam]

I enjoyed your comments about the Panasonic RF-2200. I bought one in about 1979 and I have used it almost every day since then. Still going strong!

[Dale Hazelton]

I have a Panasonic RF-1150 (http://www.radiointel.com/review-panasonicrf1150.htm) that I picked up at a yard sale for $6, and it is a decent performer with great room filling sound, although the signal sometimes shifts a bit requiring knob twiddling to hone it in again. My $5 Telefunken Bajazzo from around '62 or '63 is also a favorite, even with a broken whip and a piece of wire alligator-clipped to it's stump. Professor, about your earlier post lamenting the late great Radio Shack...I went into one last week to browse. I asked the salesman if there were any shortwave sets I could look at and he showed me an AM/FM/TV sound radio, proudly extolling the TV sound part. I said "No, a shortwave set" and he showed me another broadcast band model. I finally said "Thanks", realizing this kid didn't have a clue. What a shame, this was a great franchise that introduced alot of people to the airwaves and now they've deleted all the products that made them unique. Oh well. Professor, any interest in doing a post on scanners or CBs?

[Dale Hazelton]

Oh, while most of the Professor's scans take place after dark, I'd like to share a new favorite. Since I was "decruited" by the man and can listen during the day, I have discovered "Sounds like Canada" (http://www.cbc.ca/soundslikecanada/) 10am on 9515. A great program, I heard a two-hour interview with Leonard Cohen recently and the program hits all types of music by Canadian artists. While you can't brag about the QSL card, it's great listening nonetheless that an FMU listener would enjoy.

[The Professor]

Wow. Dale, that 1150 is one snazzy looking radio. I'd pick that up for six bucks in a heartbeat. And thanks for the tip on the CBC show.

And that sounds like a typical response from a Radio Shack "associate.". However, I'm sure the saleman was well dressed and could have set you up pretty with a fantastic cell phone. I've also experienced the scenario where there's one salesperson at an outlet who handles all of us "strange radio people" who occasionally come in, and once you're directed to that guy he proudly points out the two or three shortwave radios they carry and seems insulted that you don't jump at the chance to snatch up one of them.

Scanners and CB's? That would be interesting, but I don't know enough about them to write much. Although scanners are fascinating devices and I've played with one I have here from time to time. It's a cheapy, from Radio Shack I believe, but if I had a really good one I'd probably get a little crazy fooling around with the damn thing.

And in response to Ralph, that SWL gathering sounds mighty tempting. I wish I would have thought about it earlier. And free beer? I didn't see that mentioned on the website. Any free snacks?

[The Professor]

Just happened to notice that there seems to be a limited number of the BCL-3000 radios available on ebay with all English text for all functions and the LED display (instead of Chinese). The link is here if anyone is interested.

[Doug Hammond]

Another excellent post, Professor. An old friend of mine with a healthy interest in shortwave whetted my appetite for this stuff years ago, but it wasn't until I read these posts that I decided to dive head-first into the world of DX. I can't get enough of this series and it's yet another reminder of why the internets are so endlessly fascinating. Bravo.

[ralph]

Yup, free snacks too. If you can't make it this year, there will be another one at about the same time next year (the date is already mentioned on the site).

[tom sheridan]

I would like to know if you have the Panasonic RF2200 radio?

[bree]

the bcl 3000 will not have english. i am in shanghai now - and about to buy one for about 45 bucks. i bopught the degen 1107 yesterday for 40 bucks.

[Don]

All this praise for the Grundig DRIFTY-THREE-FIFTY and its cousins? Yuck! You need to try out a Kaito KA2100. It's the $100 portable AM/FM/SW radio that the Grundig S-350 SHOULD have been, but isn't. Great PLL drift-free tuning at slow or fast rate to 1khz (plus quicktune slew buttons and 10 memories per band) fairly sophisticated front-end electronics, variable gain, built-in battery charger, internal A/C transformer, good filters, plus quicktune slew buttons and 10 memories per band. You'd have to buy an Eton E1 to get any better SW reception: the KA2100 is a broadcast fiend with its 44" whip. Its AM directionality is as good as the Three-Fifty, and FM is MUCH better. Bonus: The 2100 does very well on external antennas, too!