The Spectrum Monitor Index 2014-2018



After the close of Monitoring Times in 2013, former MT staffer Kem Reitz started a new radio hobby e-zine to pick up where MT left off. The new e-zine is called The Spectrum Monitor and it has been a huge hit with the SWL, Scanner and Ham Radio communities.

Subscriptions are, well cheap. If you are looking for the radio hobby coverage that Monitoring Times used to offer, then consider a sub to TSM. Go to the home page at https://www.thespectrummonitor.com/index.aspx, for more details. In the meantime, here is a complete index of all the articles and columns from 2014-2018. You can even order back issues if any of the articles below catches your eye.

The Spectrum Monitor Feature Article/Columns Index 2014-2019

2014 Index to Feature Articles and Columns


The month and page number follow each entry.

Air Monitoring
FAA’s NextGen Air-Nav System Jan Page 19
Monitoring the Action at an Air Show Mar Page 9
Air Monitoring and Photography Mar Page 13
2014 Air Show Guide Mar Page 16
Monitoring Aviation: an Integrated Approach Mar Page 19
Do-it-Yourself” Drones Mar Page 28
Plane Spotter to Air Traffic Controller Jul Page 16
Monitoring the Russian Air Force Oct Page 11

Amateur Radio
Amateur Radio in the Classroom Feb Page 22
The CubeSat Revolution Feb Page 16
Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Comm. Trailer May Page 11

Digitally Speaking: Amateur Radio
Digital Voice Operating May Page 16
Digitally Speaking: CS700 Review Sep Page 20
Digitally Speaking: Project-25 Nov Page 42
Radio Hobbyist’s Guide to Kits May Page 22
QRP: Radio Fun Without A Fortune May Page 26
Heathkit’s ‘Lunchbox’ Transceivers May Page 31
Work DXCC While on Vacation Jun Page 9
Stealth Antennas Jun Page 15
2014 Dayton Hamvention Recap Jun Page 23
Military Auxiliary Radio System: Partner in Emergency Preparedness Aug Page 9
Moon Bounce: Earth-Moon-Earth Basics Jul Page 20
Round-up of Amateur HF Transceivers Nov Page 18

DIY Radio
Geek’s Guide to Radio Jan Page 14
Build this Experimental AM DX Receiver Apr Page 24
Hardrock 50 Amplifier Kit Sep Page 24

Equipment Reviews:
Best Shortwave Portables under $40 Jan Page 49
Uniden BC536HP Mobile Scanner Apr Page 17
Titanium Satellite’s Big Dish Mover Jun Page 27
The Best of the Top Shortwave Portables Jun Page 65
VHF/UHF Spectrum Analyzer Dongle Sept Page 10
TSM Review Follow-up: Uniden 563 HP – Six Months Later Nov Page 16
SW Portables, Tabletops & SDRs Nov Page 32
Linkbox 8000 Local Premium FTA Receiver Nov Page 47

General Interest Radio
Australian Rules Radio Feb Page 8
Unraveling the Mysteries of Coaxial Cable Apr Page 26
Radio on the Road: TIS and HAR Radio Jun Page 19
Monitoring NATO War Games Jul Page 9
Dixon, California: America’s Shortwave Mecca Jul Page 29
BBG and the Struggle for Global Relevance Aug Page 17
The Slow and Unsteady Course of HD Radio Sep Page 15
Elad FDM-S3 SDR Shortwave Radio Nov Page 37
Vint Hill Farms Cold War Museum Dec Page 25
Old-Time Radio Lives Today Dec Page 28

FTA Satellite TV
Free-to Air Satellite on a 6-foot Dish Apr Page 21
FTA C and Ku-band Signals in North America Oct Page 18

Pirate Radio
Chasing HF Pirates Feb Page 25
Pirate Radio Superlatives Oct Page 28

Scanning
The High Cost of Interoperability Jan Page 26
A DVB-T Dongle for VHF/UHF Monitoring Mar Page 24
Monitoring the Chesapeake Bay by Sea and Air Jul Page 25
TSM Scanner Buyer’s Guide 2014 Nov Page 10

Vintage Radio
Philips USA and the Un-Happy Station Jan Page 9
From Pirates to Morale Radio Apr Page 10
The YE-ZB Radio System Aug Page 22
Putting the ‘Radio’ in Radio Shack Aug Page 27
Radio Rovers of the 1920s 20114 Dec Page 11
The Summer of ’42 Radios 2014 Oct Page 23
Mystery Regenerative Radio 2014 Dec Page 15
Those Vintage Capacitors 2014 Dec Page 19

REGULAR COLUMNS

Scanning America
Scanning, Satellites, Trunked Systems January Page 28
Researching Pub. Serv. Radio Systems February Page 28
Weather Monitoring March Page 31
Adams and Weld Counties in Colorado April Page 30
NOAA WX, NIST, Morgan County, WV May Page 36
St. Clair County, IL and a Whistler Preview June Page 30
Pub. Safety vs. Industrial/Business Freq. July Page 33
Radio in the National Radio Quiet Zone August Page 32
Multi-Agency Radio Communications Sept. Page 27
Rebanding, PCWIN and the PA Turnpike Oct. Page 32
New York and Pennsylvania OpenSky Nov. Page 50
Scanning SW Ohio and W. Washington State Dec. Page 31

Federal Wavelengths
Monitoring Federal Frequencies Jan Page 32
Coast Guard Communications Systems Feb Page 34
Federal Interoperability Revisited Mar Page 36
Super Bowl XLVIII Scanning Report Apr Page 36
Agency Close-up: BATFE May Page 41
Where are the Federal Frequencies? Jun Page 37
Who am I Hearing on these Federal Frequencies Jul Page 39
El Paso, Texas, Federal Monitoring Aug Page 38
The Drug Enforcement Administration Sep Page 32
Hiding Federal Communications Oct Page 37
Armed Federal Agencies Nov Page 55
Las Vegas Federal Monitoring Dec Page 37

Utility Planet
Utility Shortwave Explained Jan Page 35
Australia’s MHFCS Soundings Heard in EU Feb Page 38
New Frequency for Cuban ‘Babbler’ Mar Page 39
The Strange Tale of ‘AIRPLE’ Apr Page 41
Monitoring the Crimea Crisis May Page 45
HF Utility: The Ultimate Reality Show Jun Page 42
On the Trail of FAV22/M51 Jul Page 44
US Air Force HFGCS Aug Page 42
Stalking Polish Numbers Sept Page 37
More on Cuban Hybrid Numbers Oct Page 41
New HFDL Frequency Table in Effect Nov Page 59
HM01 ‘Outage’ Still a Mystery Dec Page 42

Digital HF: Intercept and Analyze
The Intrigue of Digital Noise Jan Page 37
Buzz, Buzz, Buzz: the Conclusion Feb Page 41
Monitoring Safety at Sea with GMDSS/DSC Mar Page 42
Global Aviation Activity with HF Datalink Apr Page 42
Global Aviation Activity with HF Datalink 2 May Page 48
MIL-STD-188-141A ALE Decoding Jun Page 45
More ALE MIL-STD-188-141A Networks Jul Page 47
The World of SITOR-B Aug Page 45
The Russian AT3004D 12-Tone HF Modem Sep Page 40
The NATO STANAG4285 HF Modem Oct Page 44
US Strategic ALE Networks Nov Page 62
Pactor and MIL-188-141ALE Dec Page 45

Amateur Radio Insights
Antenna Tuners: The Devil’s in the Details Jan Page 39
ARRL Turns 100 and Crazy Propagation Feb Page 43
Antennas: Height Makes Right! Mar Page 44
RG/6 to the Rescue Apr Page 46
Radiation, Resonance and SWR May Page 53
Radio’s ‘Olympiad’ Needs Your Participation Jun Page 50
Takin’ it to the Streets (and Hills!) Jul Page 52
Mysterious End-Fed Antennas Aug Page 50
Don’t Choose the Wrong Rotator Sept Page 44
Thoughts on Stealthy Operating Oct Page 50
Thoughts on Stealthy Operating: Part 2 Nov Page 66
The Cold Equations: How to Boost your Signal Dec Page 50

Radio 101
Antenna Solutions for Hams and SWLers Jan Page 42
Wireless Internet and Wi-Fi Radios Feb Page 46
Amateur Radio DX and QSLing Made Easy Mar Page 48
Two Over-the-Air Digital Tuners/Recorders Apr Page 50
Getting Your Ham Ticket May Page 57
Your One-Hour Radio Vacation Jun Page 55
Satellite Radio vs. Wi-Fi Radio Jul Page 57
Field Day on a 16-Foot Extension Ladder Aug Page 54
The $40 12-Volt Power Supply Sept Page 49
Highs and Lows of DXCC and QSLing Oct Page 54
Best of CB, FRS/GMRS and Weather Radios Nov Page 70
Radio Emphera Dec Page 55

Radio Propagation
In the Beginning…Jan Page 45
Propagation and Shortwave Listening Feb Page 49
Comparative Analysis with ACE-HF Mar Page 52
Radio Signal Circuit Analysis with ACE-HF Apr Page 55
The Antenna is the Key! (Part 1) May Page 61
The Antenna is the Key! (Part 2) Jun Page 61
Starting an Adventure on the High Frequencies Jul Page 60
Researching Propagation using JT65A: Part 1 Aug Page 57
Researching Propagation using JT65A: Part 2 Sep Page 52
Researching Propagation using JT65A: Part 3 Oct Page 58
Researching Propagation using JT65A: Part 4 Nov Page 73
Hidden Portals in Earth’s Magnetic Field Dec Page 48

The World of Shortwave Listening
TSM Tests Best Shortwave Portables under $40 Jan Page 49
Tune in to Pirate Shortwave Broadcasts Feb Page 55
Traveling Light, SWLing Right Mar Page 56
Eight Tips for Better Shortwave Listening Apr Page 59
The Amateur/Shortwave Connection May Page 65
The Best of the Top Portables Jun Page 65
SW Broadcasting Needs More Than Just News Jul Page 67
The Australian SWL Perspective Aug Page 62
HFCC Resources for Shortwave Listeners Sep Page 57
Does Shortwave have a Future? Oct Page 62
Hong Kong Broadcasting Legend, Uncle Ray Nov Page 78
Solomon Islands, Congo, Russia and More! Dec page 64

The Shortwave Listener
Shortwave Listening in 2014 Jan Page 53
Canadian SW, KBC and Radio Australia Feb Page 59
Voice of Vietnam and Channel Africa Mar Page 60
Various Shades of Propaganda Apr Page 64
How SW Covers the News; Christian Music May Page 70
Shortwave News: a Better Perspective Jun Page 71
Summer Shortwave and Online Listening Jul Page 71
Exotic Programming on Shortwave Aug Page 70
The Romance of Language via Shortwave Sep Page 62
The German Language on Shortwave Oct Page 70
The Times they are a-Changin’ Nov Page 81
Christmas Worldwide via Shortwave Dec Page 70

Maritime Monitoring
Listening to the Action on Winter’s Waves Jan Page 69
Spring Thaw Opens Maritime Frequencies Apr Page 66
Summer Maritime Traffic Jul Page 74
Once an SWL, always an SWL Oct Page 73

Amateur Radio Astronomy
Meteor Detection in the 21st Century Feb Page 61
The LKWA Antenna for Radio Astronomy May Page 71
A Visit to Owens Valley Radio Observatory Aug Page 70
The Jansky and its Use Nov Page 84

Amateur Radio Satellites
Amateur Radio Satellite Update Feb Page 62
Manned Space and Amateur Radio Jun Page 74
More Amateur Radio Satellites on the Horizon Sep Page 65
Happy 40th Birthday AMSAT Oscar-7! Dec Page 73

The Longwave Zone
Is there a Future for the ‘Basement Band.’ Jan Page 72
One More Look Back Feb Page 65
Mid-to-Late Season DX Mar Page 67
Spring Check-up Apr Page 69
Amateurs on Longwave May Page 74
Longwave Afield Jun Page 79
Vintage Longwave Listening Jul Page 78
Dog-Day Monitoring Aug Page 74
What is DGPS? Sep Page 69
A Cure for PPHD: Part 1 Oct Page 76
A Cure for PPHD: Part 2 Nov Page 88
A Cure for PPHD Part 3 Dec Page 77

Adventures in Radio Restoration
Electrical Safety for Radio Restorers Jan Page 75
Becoming a Radio Amateur in 1920 Feb Page 69
A Tale of Two Progressive Radios Mar Page 71
Resurrecting a Crosley Fiver Apr Page 72
The Crosley Fiver Restoration Continues May Page 77
The Fiver’s Voice is Heard Jun Page 83
The Coming of the AC Tube Jul Page 82
Buttoning up the Crosley Sixer Aug Page 77
RCA’s ’12,000 Mile’ Radio Sep Page 73
The RCA ’12,000 Miler’ Comes to Life Oct Page 79
About Paper and Electrolytic Capacitors Nov Page 92
Sizing, Selecting, Installing Caps and Resistors Dec Page 80

The Broadcast Tower
Use Your PC for Off-Air Recording Jan Page 77
LPFM Land-Rush Feb Page 72
AM Improvement: The People Speak Mar Page 75
AM on FM Apr Page 75
How Many are Too Many? May Page 80
Watching Radio and Listening to TV Jun Page 86
Where’s that Station? Jul Page 85
Why is that Tower Where it is? Aug Page 80
Watching the Radio Part II Sep Page 76
Filling out the Forms Oct Page 82
Clear Channel is No More! Nov Page 94
The Dial: Then and Now Dec Page 83

Antenna Connections
Antennas: Org.Systems, Targets of Oppression Jan Page 80
The Black Box Decoded: How Tuners Work Feb Page 76
Closer to Daylight: Antennas Above 54 MHz Mar Page 78
Receiving Antennas for 160-Meters Apr Page 78
More Adventures with the Big Dipole May Page 85
The VI as Portable Antenna Jun Page 89
Antennas for 144 and 432 MHz Jul Page 88
Pros and Cons of Various Feedlines Aug Page 83
A Balanced Line Lightning Arrestor Sep Page 79
Understanding Polarization Oct Page 85
A Diff’nt Approach to Building a Vert. for HF Nov Page 98
Antennas of Yore: A Look Back Dec Page 86

2015 Index to Feature Articles and Columns

FEATURE ARTICLES
The month and page number follow each entry.

Air Monitoring
Catch the Action in the Air and On the Air Mar Page 9
The Air Show Experience Mar Page 15
Now Try ‘Scanner-less’ Aviation Monitoring Mar Page 19
Teak Publishing’s ‘2015 Air Show Guide’ Mar Page 23
Understanding HF NOTAM Information Aug Page 11

Amateur Radio
Why Go Digital? Jan Page 24
D-STAR—its History and its Future Feb Page 31
Battery Considerations for Digital Portables Mar Page 20
Digital Voice on 220 MHz? May Page 18
System Fusion—‘The Roar of the Crowd’ Jun Page 26
Digital Voices on HF Part 1 Aug Page 24
Summer Radio and Some are Not Sep Page 29
The Original Digital Conversation Oct Page 15
Digital Amateur Radio Round-up Nov Page 24
Amateur Radio Parity Act Feb Page 15
Middle School Amateur Radio Station Update Feb Page 21
The Thrift Store Amateur Apr Page 24
N4H and WA4USN Amateur Stations May Page 21
Keeping the Ships Moving on the Welland Canal Jun Page 8
The Challenge of Over-the-Air TV DX Jun Page 13
Toward a Glorious and Uncertain Future! Nov Page 27
Elecraft K3S—Another Step Forward Nov Page 10
P-25 Networking: Staying Digital Dec Page 27

DIY Radio
DIY: The Home-Brewer’s Primer May Page 9
Add CW and SSB to your SW Receiver Jun Page 20
Kit Building is Alive and Well! Oct Page 10
Build a Copper Pipe J-Antenna for VHF/UHF Oct Page 18
Variacs 101: Answering those Questions Dec Page 13

Equipment Reviews:
Amiko A3 FTA Satellite Receiver Jan Page 21
FT-991—Yaesu’s Latest ‘Shack-in-the-Box’ Apr Page 16
TitanSDR May Page 25
SDRplay RSP Shortwave Receiver Jun Page 31
Whistler WS-1080 P-25 Phase I and II Scanner Aug Page 18
MultiPSK: A Digital Diamond in the Rough Sep Page 18
Free, Global, One-way Internet to the World Sep Page 25
Kit Building is Alive and Well! Oct Page 10
Manhattan DJ-1997 FTA Satellite Receiver Oct Page 23
Ramsey AM Broadcast Transmitter Kit Oct Page 52
Elecraft K3S—Another Step Forward Nov Page 10
Whistler’s EZ-Scan WS1095 Digital Scanner Nov Page 18
Airspy SDR Receiver System Nov Page 21
Buyer’s Guide to Shortwave Radios Nov Page 71

FTA Satellite-TV
Multiple Sat. Reception with one Dish (Part 1) Jul Page 31
Multiple Sat. Reception with one Dish (Part 2) Aug Page 27
FTA: The Heir to Shortwave Radio Nov Page 33

General Interest Radio
K3LR: Contesting with the Big Guns Jan Page 9
Hear utility and amateurs w/ a DVB-T Dongle Jan Page 13
Volunteer Interceptors: Listening for Terrorists Jan Page18
Monitoring the Russian Navy (Part 1) Feb Page 9
2015 Winter SWL Fest Recap Apr Page 27
The Newcomers Net May Page 15
Advanced Radio Noise Filtering using DSP Aug Page 21
Armed Forces Network Sep Page 9
Ultra-light Radio: Doing More with Less Sep Page 14
Outernet Internet via FTA Satellite Sep Page 25
Cutting the Cord: Part 1 Dec Page 23
Old FAPSI Intercepts Dec Page 43

Scanning
Scanning North America’s Railroads Apr Page 10
Current and Future Trends in Scanning Radios Nov Page 14

Vintage Radio
Listening for WWII POWs Jan Page 24
An American Ham in the USSR Jul Page 12
XER—King of the Mexican Border Blasters Jul Page 17
When our Vintage Radios Fought in the Air War Jul Page 22
Watts up? Line Voltage for Vintage Radios Jul Page 27
The Norden Broadcasts Oct Page 27
A Virtual Tour of WEAF in 1927 Dec Page 9
Collecting Vintage Radio Gear Dec Page 18

REGULAR COLUMNS

Scanning America
Monitoring Digital Systems Jan Page 28
Bozeman, MT; Becker County, MN Feb Page 36
Hard-Learned Radio Civics Lessons in D.C. Mar Page 31
P25: A Tale of Two Systems Apr Page 30
Allentown, PA, FCC Field Offices and Dayton May Page 30
Scanner Update from Dayton Jun Page 35
EDACS Talkgroups and RF Explorer Jul Page 35
Scanning Wisconsin; FCC Field Office Shuffle Aug Page 31
Maine’s Statewide MSCommNet Sep Page 33
Counties Weigh Radio System Options Oct Page 31
Tenn. Advanced Communications Network Nov Page 38
Scanning the Mall of America and DFW Airport Dec Page 30

Federal Wavelengths
A Year in Federal Monitoring Jan Page 33
New York City Federal Monitoring Continued Feb Page 42
Flying with Federal Aviation Mar Page 36
Super Bowl XLIX Wrap-up Apr Page 35
GAO Report on CBP Radio Systems Problems May Page 36
Washington, DC—Dreamland or Nightmare? Jun Page 39
FBI Aircraft in the News Jul Page 40
US Navy HYDRA Systems Aug Page 36
Navy Enterprise System in the Pac. Northwest Sep Page 37
Programming Federal Interoperability Channels Oct Page 35
CBP OAM Changes Nov Page 43
Year End Wrap Up; Reader’s Submissions Dec Page 36

Utility Planet
More Russian ‘Numbers’ Mysteries Jan Page 39
Cuba Intrigue Continues Feb Page 46
How to Hear HF Civil Aviation Mar Page 40
New Use for US Marine Channels? Apr Page 39
US Veterans Department Signs HF Contract May Page 43
US Coast Guard Plans Big HF Comm Changes Jun Page 44
US Navy-Marine Corps MARS Closes Jul Page 45
What’s up with SKYKING? Aug Page 41
This isn’t your Father’s COTHEN Sep Page 42
US Coast Guard Consolidates HF Services Oct Page 39
Goodbye HF911, Hello UrgentLink Nov Page 48
Big Month for Russian Military Monitoring Dec Page 39

Digital HF: Intercept and Analyze
Have PacTOR, Will Travel the High Seas! Jan Page 42
North Korea Diplomatic HF Operations Feb Page 49
USCG, C&B Patrol COTHEN Network Mar Page 44
3G Wideband Protocols are Arriving on HF Apr Page 43
Decoding Russian Intelligence Signals May Page 43
The MIL-STD 188-110B 2400 bd HF Modem Jun Page 48
Swiss Diplomatic Network Undergoes Changes Jul Page 48
Irish Navy HF Operations Aug Page 44
Listening in to US Embassies on HF Radio Sep Page 46
A Few Easy Digital Catches for the Beginner Oct Page 42
All About NAVTEX Nov Page 51
More on US Government 5-Letter Network Dec Page 46

Amateur Radio Insights
Current Balun Bonus: Noise Reduction? Jan Page 47
Interference? You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet! Feb Page 54
RFI Part 2: Finding, Fixing or Fleeing Mar Page 48
My Friend Ferrite: Interference Part 3 Apr Page 48
A Tale of Antennas and Instrumentation May Page 48
Two Meters: The ‘No Magic’ Band? Jun Page 54
Six Meters: A New Twist on the Old Magic? Jul Page 53
Gensets and UPSs: Play it Smart! Aug Page 49
The Great Equalizer Sep Page 51
Are You Up for the Challenge of 60 Meters? Oct Page 48
Ham Radio on the Big Screen(s) Nov Page 56
Forgotten Antenna Fundamentals and other Curious Tidbits:
Part 1 Dec Page 50

Radio 101
The View Ahead Jan Page 51
Cuban Baseball, International News Feb Page 58
Intro to FTA Satellite and Cord-Cutting Mar Page 53
The Art and Science of Chasing DX Apr Page 52
Training your Replacement May Page 52
Meet the New 20-Meter Band Jun Page 58
The Wi-Fi Scanner, SWL Options Jul Page 58
2015 Field Day Report and the C64 Today Aug Page 55
The $80 E-Reader/Ham/SWL Decoder Sep Page 56
Ramsey AM Broadcast Transmitter Kit Oct Page 52
License-Free Two-Way Radio Nov Page 62
Timely News with a Global Perspective and some Great
Music Dec Page 56

Radio Propagation
Fundamentals of Radio Wave Propagation Jan Page 54
Fundamentals: The Ionosphere Feb Page 62
Space Weather Terms Mar Page 57
More Sunspot Mysteries Revealed Apr Page 58
Sporadic-E—The Magical Summertime Sizzle May Page 56
The 10.7-cm Radio Flux Jun Page 61
More 10.78-cm Radio Flux Jul Page 61
Sunspots Got You Down? Still Work the World Aug Page 58
Let’s Talk about this Hot Sun Sep Page 60
The Chromosphere Oct Page 56
The Sun Part 2: Coronas, Sunspots and SIDs Nov Page 66
NASA’s Solar Fleet Peers Into Coronal Cavities Dec Page 59

The World of Shortwave Listening
Shortwave Listeners make their Voices Heard Jan Page 58
2015 Winter SWL Fest Feb Page 67
Armed Forces Network Taiwan (AFNT) Mar Page 61
The QSL Card—at What Cost? Apr Page 63
Shortwave Broadcasters Descend upon Oman May Page 61
Corsette-Building Project Jun Page 65
Radio helps Nepal Recover after Earthquake Jul Page 65
Radio Verdad—Small Voice, Big Heart Aug Page 62
International Radio Serbia Closes Sep Page 63
Tales of Pirate Radio Woe and Intrigue Oct Page 59
Buyer’s Guide to Shortwave Radios Nov Page 71
Preparing for your next DXpedition Dec Page 64

The Shortwave Listener
Change and Opportunity in the New Year Jan Page 62
Central European Shortwave Broadcasts Feb Page 71
World Languages via SW Radio Web Sites Mar Page 64
Radio, History and Business Today Apr Page 68
Monitoring International News via Shortwave May Page 66
Shortwave’s Continuing Impact Jun Page 69
Sputnik Radio, BBC and VOA Jul Page 68
Kid’s Shows, BBCWS, and CRI Aug Page 67
Radio Tirana, Radio Serbia Remembered Sep Page 66
Spy Stations, Canadian Elections, EU Oct Page 63
Shortwave Listening via Internet Archives Nov Page 77
Christmas Radio Around the World Dec Page 69

Maritime Monitoring
Marine Radio Traffic and Heritage Jan Page 65
Radio Surprises and Changes Apr Page 71
Maritime Station Consolidation Jul Page 71
Marine Radio Technology Sails On Oct Page 66

Amateur Radio Astronomy
Watching the LWA at Home Feb Page 74
Detecting Meteor Activity May Page 70
Noise in Radio Astronomy Aug Page 70
Monitoring using an SDR R820T Dongle Nov Page 80

Amateur Radio Satellites
AMSATs: From OSCAR-1 to FOX-1A Mar Page 67
From Famine to Feast Jun Page 72
Yet More Flight Opportunities Jul Page 69
A Whole Host of New Satellites Dec Page 72

The Longwave Zone
Firing up the Neophyte 1 Jan Page 68
What can be heard on Longwave? Feb Page 77
Longwave: A Cradle for High-Tech Mar Page 71
Tuning in to Natural Radio Apr Page 74
More on Natural Radio May Page 75
An Easy-to-Build Natural Radio Receiver Jun Page 77
BBB-4 Wrap-up Jul Page 74
You Have Questions…” Aug Page 73
Comings and Goings Sep Page 74
Adventures in Through-Ground Radio Oct Page 69
Miscou DXpedition and LF Resources Nov Page 84
Miscou 2015 Recap Dec Page 76

Adventures in Radio Restoration
Back to the Future Jan Page 71
The Admiral Bean-Counter Special Feb Page 81
The Admiral Bean-Counter Special: Part II Mar Page 75
The Real McCoy: A 1957 Novice Transmitter Apr Page 78
The ‘Real McCoy’ 75-watt Novice Transmitter May Page 78
First Look at a Zenith 5K037 ‘Farm’ Set Jun Page 81
Powering the Zenith 5K037 ‘Farm’ Set with AC and
Forming the Dial Jul Page 77
A Classic Pair of Heathkits Hi-Fi Twins Part 1 Aug Page 76
A Classic Pair of Heathkits Hi-Fi Twins Part 2 Sep Page 77
First Look at a Zenith Trans-Oceanic G-500) Oct Page 72
Powering & Testing the Trans-Oceanic G-500 Nov Page 88
In Command again, a pair of ARC-5 and SCR-274N aircraft transmitters: Part 1 Dec Page 80

The Broadcast Tower
This is a Test. This is only a Test Jan Page 75
The All-Important Ratings Feb Page 85
What Happens to a Dead Radio Station? Mar Page 80
Stuffing 85 Channels into a 32-Channel Sack Apr Page 82
The Big Get-Together May Page 81
FCC Fines, Interference and Pot-Talk Flop Jun Page 85
License? I don’t need no stinking license Jul Page 81
What Happened to WOWO? Aug Page 81
More on WOWO; New FMs and Coax Sep Page 82
Go West, Young Man! Oct Page 77
Why is that Tower Where it is? Nov Page 94
Going out with a Bang! Dec Page 85

Antenna Connections
On the Road Again: Mobile Antenna Concepts Jan Page 78
An Overview of RF Ground Principles Feb Page 88
Matching Coaxial Cable to Antennas Mar Page 83
Understanding Antenna Gain Apr Page 85
Spacecraft Antennas May Page 84
Round and Round: Loop Antennas Jun Page 88
Round and Round, Part II Jul Page 84
Soldiering on after a Micro-Burst Aug Page 84
Stealthy Green Jolly Loop: At Last Sep page 85
The Modern Underground: Stealth Oct Page 80
MFJ: Our Friend in the Radio Business Nov Page 98
Year-End Quiz: Test Your Antenna Knowledge! Dec Page 89

2016 Index to Feature Articles and Columns

FEATURE ARTICLES
The month and page number follow each entry.

Air Monitoring
2016 TSM Air Show Special Mar 10
Flying with Fat Albert and Sean D. Tucker Mar 16
How to Track Military and Civilian Aircraft on your Home Computer Mar 20
Beginner’s Guide to Monitoring Aviation Mar 27
2016 TSM Air Show Guide Mar 30
Amateur Radio Let Portable Antennas give you a Noise-Free Vacation Apr 9
What you know before investing in an Antenna Apr 14
Piggy-Bank Ham Radio Part 1 Apr 25
Piggy-Bank Ham Radio Part 2 May 15
Becoming Radio Active when the Rubber Hits the Road May 22

Equipment Reviews
AOR DV-1 Wideband Receiver Jan 14
Wi-Fi Radio Primer Part 1 Apr 20
Wi-Fi Radio Primer Part 2: Review of the Stand-Alone Wi-Fi Radio May 10
Comet CA-500 MKII Antenna Analyzer and a Pair of Cans for your Radio Pleasure May 26
Finally, a Mobile Shortwave Radio that Works (BST-1) Jun 9
Wi-Fi Radio Primer Part 3: Two Wi-Fi Radios Jun 17
Icom IC-7300 Button and Knob SDR Transceiver Jun 32
Yaesu FTM-3200DR Digital/Analog 2-meter Transceiver Jul 14
LD-5 HF Ham Radio QRP Transceiver Aug 8
Elad FDM-Duo: A QRP SDR Transceiver with or without PC Sep 10
Icom IC-R6 Sport 16 All-Band Handheld Receiver Sep 14
Sangean HD-18 AM/FM/HD-Radio Tabletop Set Aug 25
LnR’s New LD-11: A Very Red, QRP, All-mode, All-Band Transceiver Oct 10
Electraft KX2 QRP Transceiver Nov 7
Small HF Antennas for Portable and Restricted Space Use Nov 13

OTA-AM/FM/TV and FTA Satellite-TV
ATSC Off-Air Local TV: The Programming Jan 28
ATSC Off-Air Local TV: Doing it Right Feb 28
Multiple FTA Satellite Reception Techniques Revisited Apr 29
Saving AM Broadcasting in North America May 18
Your TV System is Changing—Again! Jun 27
FTA Satellite Update Mid-Year 2016 Jul 30

General Interest Radio
Building Solar-Powered Amateur Radio Beacons for 630 and 10-Meters Jan 10
Monitoring Joint Warrior 15/2 and Russian Air and Sea Activity Feb 18
RTL-SDR Dongle: Your Eye to the Wireless World Feb 23
Monitoring Russian HF Military Networks Jun 13
Your New CB “Good Buddy,” the SDR Dongle Jun 30
How to Become an EMI Detective Jul 19
The Tester Basics: Understanding and Restoring Emission Testers Jul 23
China Radio International: Evolution of a Shortwave Radio  Station Aug 16
CB Radio and More: Two-Way Radio No-License Alternatives Aug 20
The Hacking of FLTSATCOM 8 Sep 18
GMRS: The “Other” Citizen’s Band – Part 1 Sep 31
Monitoring Russia’s Northern Fleet Oct 21
The “Other” Citizen’s Band—Part 2; Putting a GMRS Repeater on the Air Oct 26
Radio Power Supplies: a Primer for Hams and SWLs Nov 17
The Kit’s Meow: Shopping for DIY Radio Project Nov 20
MURS: Dots, Data, and More Nov 26
Vacation Scanning on the Rails Aug 12
The Slow Creep of Scanner Encryption Oct 15

Vintage Radio
Retro Radio: Finding, Storing and Savoring Vintage Amateur Radio Gear Jan 18
Solid-State Gems: Discovering Vintage Transistor Radio Feb 9
Touring the WJZ Transmitter Site in Bound Brook, NJ—1925 Jul 9
A Classic Dozen: When it comes to Vintage Ham Gear, What’s in a (Great) Name? Aug 25
The Hams Behind the Fender Guitar Legend Oct 30
The Coast Guard Cutter Courier: A Cold War-era “Battleship without Guns” Dec 9
Experiences of a (Relatively) Young Ham with Vintage Radios Dec 14
Beware the Mods: Drake 2NT Transmitter Dec 18
Shortwave Listening with the “Old-Timers” Dec 19
A Salute to the Esteemed Regenerative Receiver Dec 23

REGULAR COLUMNS

Scanning America
Pensacola’s APCO P-25 Phase II and Whistler’s New Scanner Jan 32
Fulton County, Georgia, and Riverside, California Feb 37
Michigan’s Interoperability System; Rebanding Progress Mar 37
Growing Acceptance of TETRA Apr 33
Calvert, St. Mary’s (MD) and Lewis (NY) Counties May 30
New Scanner News; Ocean City, Maryland Jun 35
APCO P-25 Explained; Scanning Creek County OK Jul 35
Madison County (MO), Fire Service and Amtrak Aug 32
Enabling Interoperability; Erie (PA) and Denton (TX) Counties Sep 38
Scanning Howard County, Indiana, and Monitoring Airborne TETRA Oct 34
Public Utilities as “Critical Infrastructure” Nov 30
History of Scanning Dec 27

Federal Wavelengths
DMR, APCO-25, MotoTRBO, and the IRS Jan 36
The Challenges of Federal Monitoring Feb 41
Federal Monitoring at Super Bowl 50 Mar 41
The 2016 Political Season Apr 37
Summer Vacation Scanning May 34
More Summer Vacation Scanning Jun 39
DMR Scanning is Finally Here! Jul 39
When Federal Agencies aren’t Federal Aug 36
Political Conventions Wrap-up Sep 33
Scanning Smaller Federal Agencies Oct 39
TSA Radio Updates and More Small Federal Agencies Nov 35
Holiday Radio Logs Dec 32

Utility Planet
Mexican Military Returns to HF ALE Jan 41
New Life for Operation SECURE? Feb 45
ALE: The Mode that Linked the World Mar 45
Uncovering U-2s on HF Apr 37
HF in Death Valley May 39
Spring 2016 “Numbers” Update Jun 44
HF Fax: Radio with Pictures Jul 44
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Tune in the Radio Aug 41
Identifying US Military on ALE Sep 38
US DGPS: Bad News and Good News Oct 45
KPH Returns to Point Reyes Nov 40
Russia to Activate Artic OTH Radar in 2017 Dec 38

Digital HF: Intercept and Analyze
The US Navy HF Broadcast System Revisited Jan 45
The Russian Navy T600 “Bee” Modem Feb 48
Is an Egyptian HF Diplomatic Network Overhaul Underway? Mar 48
US ALE Smorgasbord Apr 45
International ALE Networks May 42
Reader’s Questions and an update on US SHARES NCS PacTOR Network Jun 47
Update on NATO STANAG4285 2400 baud HF Modem Jul 48
Army MARS and TSA PacTOR Network Changes Aug 44
African Peacekeeping and Police Networks Sep 41
Getting Started with Digital GPS Decoding Oct 48
An HF “Beep, Beep, Beep,” Chirping Signal Mystery Nov 43
What Digital HF Signals can you hear and Decode Today? Dec 41

Digitally Speaking
Digital Voice on the HF Bands Jan 49
Avoiding Mixed-Mode Mix-ups Feb 53
What else can you do with it? Mar 53
Digital Destinations Apr 50
New DV Gear from the LMR World May 47
Beer-Budget Digital Repeater Project Jun 52
Digital Dayton Jul 54
Evangelists and Cheerleaders Aug 49
Controlling Influences Sep 48
Still in the Box? Put it on the Air! Oct 53
DMR Update Nov 48
Holiday Wish List Dec 45

VHF and Above
Sporadic-E Propagation Jan 22
Aurora Propagation Feb 32
The History of the VUCC Award Mar 56
The Meteor Shower Nobody Saw—Revisited—Again Apr 54
Summits on the Air May 50
June: The Month of VHF and Above Contesting Jun 56
ARRL June VHF Contest Jul 58
Juggling VHF/UHF Contests and DIY Antenna for 6-Meters Aug 53
SOTA Loop Repurposed Through Innovation Sep 51
Earth-Moon-Earth Communications Oct 57
The Baofeng BF-F8HP and the BTECH UV-SX3 Handhelds and 220 MHz Nov 52
ARISS: A Brief Flyover and My Experiences with ARISS QSOs Dec 48

Amateur Radio Insights
DVB Dongles: Beef up your $20 SDR Jan 53
Forgotten Antenna Fundamentals and other Curious Tidbits Part 2 Feb 57
Forgotten Antenna Fundamentals and other Curious Tidbits Part 3 Mar 62
Home-Brewing and Kit Building Isn’t What It Used To Be—But It’s Almost What it Will Be! Apr 62
Forgotten Antenna Fundamentals and other Curious Tidbits Part 4 May 53
Tales of Junk Boxes and Counterfeit Parts Jun 61
Old Trees, Old Towers, and Living to a Ripe Old Age Jul 62
Let’s Talk Aug 58
The “Deserted Island” HF Antenna Sep 55
Radio Fun with an Uncooperative Ionosphere Oct 62
Forget the Holiday—it’s Contest Time! Nov 55
The Hows and Whys of DIY Open-Wire Feed Line Dec 53

Radio 101
WorldSpace, WRN, WXFAX and More Jan 58
The Case for Satellite Radio Feb 61
The Goodwill Radio Connection Mar 69
Last of the Stand-alone DRM Portable Radio? Apr 67
Channel Mater’s FlatWave TV Antenna; Help for 3M’s WorkTunes Radio May 58
FM Mayhem Part 1: Stalking the FM Band in a Time of Excessive Translators and Boosters Jun 65
FM Mayhem Part 2: A Little Help from a 16-element Quad- Stacked Array Jul 66
Radio and TV via FTA Satellite on Intelsat 21 Aug 62
Solar Cycle 25 or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Maunder Minimum Sep 61
Obsessing about Awards and School Club Roundup Oct 65
What’s New in CB and FRS/GMRS Nov 59
Getting Started with Free-to-Air Satellite TV Dec 58
Radio Propagation Catching Those Winter Medium Wave DX Signals Jan 62
The Ionosonde Feb 65
The Somersaulting Sun Mar 72
Season of Lights (Aurora) Apr 72
Propagation and Field Day 2016 Jun 69
The Solar Wind Jul 72
Did He Really Do It? Aug 66
Space Weather: Interfering with the Global Positioning System Oct 70
Space Weather: Cycle 24 is Dying Nov 63
Plasma Bullets Dec 63

The World of Shortwave Listening
A South Pacific Radio Odyssey Jan 66
HF Pirates Roam 41 and 90-meter Bands Feb 69
Radio Netherlands: Archiving Shortwave Radio History Mar76
Clandestine Stations Alive and Well! Apr 76
Spanning Two Continents and the Mediterranean: Turkey and Cyprus on Shortwave May 61
NYC FM Pirates; Atlantis on MW and FM Pirates in China Jun 73
Inside the Voice of Korea Jul 76
Something Old, Something New: Kenwood R-5000 and Tecsun PL-680 Receivers NASB Brings Shortwave Broadcasters and Listeners Together Sep 65
Halloween Shortwave Pirates and Global Pirate Weekend Oct 74
Trends in Shortwave Radio Nov 66
On the Road with a Tecsun PL-680 Dec 68

The Shortwave Listener
RNZI, BBC, RFI, WHRI, and VOA Jan 71
RCI’s Broadcast Legacy and You Too can be a  Shortwave Radio Broadcaster! Feb 72
DJs, The Bard, and “My Favorite Country” Mar 80
The Queen’s Birthday, KBC Cutback and VOA Tibet Apr 81
“Isle of Music,” BBC, RHC and More May 66
New SW Programs and Korea: North vs. South Jun 77
Greek, Country, Gospel Music and More Jul 80
Top Shortwave Programs and a Tiny Change in Time Aug 75
Radio Ukraine, RFI and Radio Syria Sep 69
Listening to Shortwave and Internet Radio Oct 78
EU SW Stations and Election Night Listening Nov 70
Christmas Around the World on Shortwave Dec 75

Maritime Monitoring
CMB: Continuous Marine Broadcasts Jan 74
Radio Action on the Great Lakes Returns Apr 84
Change is Inevitable Jul 83
Stormy WX and an end to some DGPS Oct 81

Amateur Radio Astronomy
WWVB and other Fun Stuff Feb 75
Revisiting Radio Jove with a Low Cost Computer May 69
Using FITS Viewers with Radio Astronomy Images Aug 78
FITS Again Nov 73

Amateur Radio Satellites
AMSATs Then and Now Mar 83
Yet More AMSAT History Summer: Satellite Antenna Experimenting Time Sep 72
Amateur Radio Satellite Operating Protocols Dec 78

The Longwave Zone
SDR: I’M A Believer! Jan 77
Up and Running with SDR! Feb 80
New, Mail and Updates Mar 88
Spring Remedies Apr 87
Longwave Beacons: the ideal DX Target May 72
Summer Strategies for LW DX Jun 86
472-479 kHz (& Vicinity) Update Jul 86
Contributor’s Guide to TLZ Aug 82
Improve Your LW Antenna; a Visit from KR6ISS; SAQ on the Air; Reader’s Logs Sep 76
WSPRs on the Band Oct 85
Information, Please… Nov 77
Resources: What’s on your Bookshelf? Dec 82

Adventures in Radio Restoration
In Command Again Part 2: Experiments in Powering the Command Transmitters Jan 80
The Saga of the Philips BX490A: Beauty and the Geek Feb 84
Another Lafayette Radio: New Life for an HA-230 Mar 92
Sound and Light: The Mitchell Lumitone 1260 Apr 91
Not Another Heavy Hammarlund HQ-129X!? May 75
Another Heavy Hammarlund HQ-129X Part 2: Voltage and Alignment Jun 89
Finishing the Hammarlund HQ-129X Part 3: Those Modifications Jul 89
Wakening the Knight: Allied Radio’s TR-106 6-Meter AM Transceiver Aug 85
Restoring a Classic: The Philco 60B “Baby Grand” Cathedral Sep 80
The Triple-Conversion Puzzle: Hammarlund HQ-180A Oct 88
The Freshman Masterpiece: a 1920s TRF Experience Nov 81
The Heathkit Laboratory-type Signal Generators: LG-1 and IG-42 Dec 85

Antenna Connections
  
Stealthy Green Jolly Loop Revisited: On the Low Down Jan 86
Single File, Please: Understanding SWR Feb 89
Antenna Stealth: A Working Philosophy Mar 96
Multi-banding a Single Antenna: Several Routes Beckon Apr 95
Antenna Height above Ground May 81
Antenna Improv: Portable and Temporary Antennas Jun 94
Antenna 101: Let’s Review the Basics Jul 93
Antenna 101: Review of the Basics Part 2 Aug 89
Dishing it out and taking it: The Parabolic Reflector Antenna Sep 86
Tools of the Trade: Antenna Work Essentials Oct 93
And the Twain Shall Meet: Let’s Build a Dipole Nov 88
Sunspot Maybe: Surviving without Upper HF Dec 91

 2017 Index to Feature Articles and Columns


FEATURE ARTICLES
The month and page number follow each entry.

Air Monitoring
2017 Air Show Preview Mar 12
Blue Angels and Thunderbird Crashes Mar 2016 Air Show Season Mar 17
2017 Frequency Guide to Air Show Monitoring Mar 19
ADS-B Monitoring with a Raspberry Pi Mar 25
2017 Air Show Schedule Mar 27

Amateur Radio
Going Portable with Amateur Radio Satellites Apr 13
Using Weak Signals to Reach for the Sky Jun 19
Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Microwave Backbone and DMR Repeater Network Aug 10
Using Weak-Signal Modes for Propagation, RFI and Antenna Analysis Aug 23
Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Inc., the Dayton Hamvention 2016 Club of the Year Sep 18
A Visual Tour of the Tokyo Ham Fair Oct 16
Entry Level HF Transceiver Comparison Oct 23

Shortwave Radio
Living the Shortwave Broadcasting Dream at WTWW Jan 9
Going Mobile with SDR Jan 18
The “Russian Woodpecker” HF Demon of the 1970s—80s Feb 12
Over-the-Horizon Radar Today Feb 15
TSM Reviews: World Radio TV Handbook Feb 28
DRM—Digital Radio Mondiale Spectrum within a Spectrum May 19

Equipment Reviews
SteppIR BigIR MK IV: Going to Great Lengths Jan 14
Klingenfuss Shortwave Utility, Broadcast and Frequency Guides Jan 31
Putting My Hand-held Antennas to the Test Feb 23
QRP Labs Ultimate 3S Transmitter Kit May 9
DX Engineering HF Portable TW Antennas May 16
Yaesu FTM-100 DR: Amateur Friendly Digital Operating Jun 10
W4OP Loop Antenna Aug 19
Icom IC-R8600 All-Band All-Mode Software Defined Receiver Sep 10
Digitech ARI780 Oct 20
Yaesu FT-891 All-Mode HF+6 100 Watt Transceiver Nov 9
SpyVerter V2 Nov 13
Yaesu FT-70DR Dec 24

Over-the-Air AM/FM/TV and Free-to-Air Satellite TV
Basics of Motorized Satellite Reception: Part 1 Jan 28
Big Dish Movers: Horizon-to-Horizon Actuators Feb 34
Motorized Ku-band Satellite Reception Apr 30
Results of FCC Incentive Auction and Repacking of US TV Spectrum May 22
TV Band Re-packing Report: New Channel Assignments by TV Markets from #1 to #57 June 29
TV Band Re-packing Report: New Channel Assignments by TV Markets Part 2 Jul 34
TV Band Re-packing Report: New Channel Assignments by TV Markets Part 3 Aug 30
Impact of the FCC’s TV-Band Repack Sep 23

General Interest Radio
The Extra Punch of SSB on CB Jan 24
Computers and Ham Radio—Part 001 Feb 29
Community Emergency Response Teams: Are You Ready for a Disaster? Apr 17
Outernet Update: Free, One-way Internet now via L-Band Satellite Apr 22
Computers and Ham Radio Part 010 Apr 25
Tuning Out? History and Legacy of Longwave Broadcasting in Europe May 13
FCC Rewrites some Rules for CB/FRS/GMRS/MURS and Amateur Radio Jun 25
The Voice of America at 75 Jul 9
Xenia, Ohio, Hamvention: The Good, the Bad and the Muddy Jul 29
Introduction to Scanning Today Aug 14
Sputnik Remembered Oct 10
The European DX Council at 50 Oct 25
Trans-Equatorial Propagation: Pillows in the Sky Oct 29
Annual Scanner Buyer’s Guide Nov 16
Private US Shortwave Giants Remembered Dec 13

Vintage Radio
Boy’s Life Radio Club: The biggest SWL club of the 1950s nobody’s heard of Feb 17
The Junior Radio Club Feb 21
Early Radio Broadcasting: Publicity Stunts and Unusual Broadcasts Jun 14
Heavenly Fires and Lights without Wires Jul 15
‘Modernizing’ the TV7/U Tube Tester with Sencore, Hickok, or Homebrew Adapter July 19
Electrical Pioneers: The Life and Times of Guglielmo Marconi and Ernst Alexanderson Sep 14
The Beginnings of Sports Broadcasting and Radio’s First Sports Broadcasters Dec 8
Meter Matters: Modern vs. Vintage Meters in Radio Restoration Dec 18

REGULAR COLUMNS

Scanning America
New Digital Modes for Some Scanners Jan 32
TETRA, LTR and two New York, Texas Counties Feb 37
A Look at OpenSky and Scanning Counties from Indiana and Virginia Mar 34
Marin County (CA); N. Dakota and Radio Shack Goes Bust (Again) Apr 33
Charlotte County (FL) and Dallas County (IA) May 27
Details on Whistler’s Legacy Scanner Upgrade Offer Jun 36
Washington County, Oregon; Minnesota Refinery Jul 42
Winnebago County (IL), Broward County (FL) Aug 36
Dubuque County (IA) and RACOM Sep 26
Post Falls and Kootenai County, Idaho Oct 33
Scanning Midwest Utilities’ DMR Services Nov 27
Interoperability Update; Orange County, Virginia Dec 27

Federal Wavelengths
A New Year in Federal Monitoring Jan 36
Scanning Los Angeles Feb 41
Scanning Super Bowl 51 Mar 38
Federal Aviation Administration Apr 37
Shifts in Federal Trunked Radio Systems May 31
Federal use of Wireless VoIP Jun 40
Scanning Arizona Jul 46
Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington Aug 41
Portable WHCA Trunked Systems Sep 30
Eclipse, Weather Provide Scanner Action Oct 37
New Kennedy Space Center Trunked System Nov 31
Urban Area Security Initiative Dec 31

Milcom
Twenty-First Century Military Monitoring—This isn’t Your Daddy’s Milcom Anymore Sep 35
Introduction to Military Monitoring: What Equipment do you need to Monitor HF Milcoms? Oct 42
Who’s Who in the Milcom Radio Spectrum: Monitoring HF OR Frequencies Nov 36
Intro to Military Monitoring: VHF Low Band—the Forgotten Military Band Dec 37

Utility Planet
U. of Twente WebSDR Featured in Popular Video Jan 39
FEMA Planning Exercises with Hams and others for 2017 Feb 47
DVA: Now They’re Talking Mar 42
New Life Evolves on MARS Apr 43
New Insights into North Korean “Numbers” May 35
Historic NSS Call Sign Returns to the Air Jun 44
Let’s Listen to Russia Jul 52
Watching the Eclipse with a Radio Aug 47
Tracking the Buzzer: The World’s Most Popular Radio Station? Sep 39
Summer 2017: Nature Gets the Last Word Oct 46
Rethinking HF Emergency Communications Nov 41
North Korea Resumes HF Numbers Broadcasts Dec 42

VHF and Above
Aurorasaurus.org: Aurora Tracking in Real-Time Jan 49
The Find Feb 56
SDRs, Free Books and Ham Radio at West Point Mar 51
New Radios and Antennas for VHF and Above Apr 52
Kenwood’s New TH-D74 May 44
TW Antennas and 6-Meters: Part Two Jun 52
TW Antennas and 6-Meters: Part Three Jul 57
Honey, I Shrunk the Loop! Aug 55
Honey, I Repurposed the Loop! Sep 44
A DIY Hardware Store 2-Meter GOTA/EMCOMM Antenna Oct 51
The Leonids Meteor Shower Nov 46
The Geminids and Ursids Meteor Showers Dec 48

Digitally Speaking
The Advantages of DMR on VHF Jan 45
Looking out over the Horizon Feb 52
Do You Already Own a Digital Repeater? Mar 47
The Ground We Talk On Apr 48
Feeling Like a Kid Again May 40
The DV Landscape in Xenia, Ohio Jun 49
Feels like the First Time Aug 52
System Fusion II Dec 52

Amateur Radio Insights
A Vertical in Winter Jan 53
Big Sammy’s Bulging Caps and the Fickle Flicker of Hope Feb 58
Talk This Way! Morse Code: The Original Digital Mode is Still Hanging On Apr 54
The Truth about Lightning: Most of us are Unprepared May 45
Six-Meter Success: You Don’t Need Much! Jun 56
‘Brit-Style’ Two-Element Yagis—Tiny Powerhouses from Across the Pond? Jul 61
RG-6: It’s Still a Steel! Aug 59
Are Hams Well-Meaning Scofflaws? Sep 47
The Twists and Turns of Amateur Radio Rotators Oct 56
Antenna Tuner Secrets Nov 51
A Vertical Hospice! Dec 56

Radio 101
FTA Satellite TV Part II: “Hidden Signals on Satellite TV Jan 61
How to Prepare for the FCC’s Repacking of the US TV Bands Feb 63
TSM Reviews: Como Audio Duetto Wi-Fi Radio Mar 59
Baseball on the Radio: 1921 and 2017 Cord-Cutting Update: Options for your FTA Satellite and OTA-TV Systems May 50
Over-the-Top and Cord-Cutting Part 2 Jun 62
String Trimmer Powered Transceiver and other Field Day Oddities Jul 66
Connection Complications: Troubleshooting 101 Aug 63
The Ups and Downs of Antenna Installations Sep 52
Monitoring Emergencies via FTA Satellite Oct 61
Cruising the FM Band with a Little Help from the Web Nov 56
AM Band DXing Circa 1964 and Now Dec 61

Radio Propagation
Solar Cycle 24 Downgraded (Again) Jan 67
Storm-Triggering Holes Feb 67
The Ionosonde Mar 63
An Ice Age and Disappearing Sunspots? Apr 65
Setting it Straight May 54
Summer Tropospheric Propagation and VHF DX Jun 66
Breakthrough in Solar Science Jul 69
Coronal Mass Ejection Science Aug 66
Historic Event in Cycle 24: the GLE Sep 56
A Last Hoorah? Oct 65
The Sun Blasts a Hole in Earth’s Magnetic Shield Nov 61
Heliophysics Research Reveals More About Substorm Mysteries Dec 66

The World of Shortwave Listening
SW DX Contest, SWLFest and Global HF Weekend Feb 70
HFCC B16 Coordinating Conference in Miami and Okeechobee Feb 71
Not the Last of Radio Australia Mar 67
Radio Australia: A Possible Return? Apr 70
The Shortwave Scene in the Middle East May 58
Pirate Shortwave Radio Mysteries Jun 69
Radio-Television Hong Kong: 20 Years after the Handover Jul 72
The Use and Abuse of SINPO Aug 70
Shortwave Broadcasters Meet on the West Coast of N. America Sep 60
AM and SW Pirates: Then and Now, Plus: Global HF Pirate Weekend Oct 70
Rick O’Shea: An American DJ in Asia Nov 65
Making Shortwave Audio More Listenable Dec 70

The Shortwave Listener
Radio Australia Leaves Shortwave Jan 78
Interesting Programming via Shortwave and Internet Feb 74
Eclectic Programming is Everywhere! Mar 71
VOA at 75; WBCQ, RRI and RNZI Apr 75
Korea (North and South) on SW; New BBC Programming May 63
Changes in International Shortwave Broadcasting Jun 73
RAE on WRMI and BBC/DW Programs Jul 76
Radio from Four Continents via Shortwave and Internet Aug 74
North vs. South Korea on Shortwave: CFRX, BBC Programming and More! Sep 66
BBC Programming for October and More Oct 75
BBC Broadcasts to North Korea; Reach Beyond Australia and Religion on Shortwave Nov 69
2017 SW Review and New Programming Dec 76

Maritime Monitoring
The Old and the New Jan 81
A System for a System Apr 78
Great Lakes: High Water, High Traffic Jul 79
Nothing Remains the Same Except Change! Oct 77

Amateur Radio Astronomy
Back to Basics Feb 77
1420 MHz Band Interference May 66
New Callisto Devices Aug 77
Solar Eclipse VLF Effects Nov 72

Amateur Radio Satellites
Amateur Radio Satellite Gatherings Plus: AMSAT Update Mar 74
Portable Amateur Radio Satellite Antennas in Action Jun 76
Spotlight on Chinese Amateur Radio Satellites Sep 69
A Wealth of New Amateur Radio Satellites Dec 79

The Longwave Zone
More LW Information Sources and Readers’ LW Logs Jan 84
630-Meter Action and Readers’ Reports Feb 80
The Longwave-Aviation Legacy Mar 78
Turning the Tables: Reverse Beacon Network Apr 82
Introducing a New Band: 630 Meters! May 69
Next Up: 2200-Meters Jun 79
Portable Picker-Upper Jul 83
630-Meter Band Plan Takes Shape Aug 80
Gear up for a new Season Sep 73
Get it in the Log! Oct 81
220m/630m: Are You Registered Yet? Nov 75
Primetime Arrives Dec 83

Adventures in Radio Restoration
Hallicrafters S-38B: the UL-Approved Basket Case Jan 88
Raymond Loewy meets Rube Goldberg: the Hallicrafters SR-75 Feb 83
A 1940 Bakelite Radio: Zenith 6D510W Mar 82
Philco 46-350: The “Tambour Door” Portable Apr 86
Philco 48-360: Last of the “Woody” Portables May 73
Restoring a Heathkit DX-60 Transmitter Jun 82
Heathkit HR-10B Receiver Jul 86
Heathkit HG-10B VFO Aug 83
The “Moving Coil” Radio: National NC-100 (RCK Version) Sep 76
Re-converting a Radio for the Summer of ’42 (Motorola 50P for Pontiac) Oct 85
Putting the Spark back into a Sparks-Withington (Sparton 141X) Nov 78
What’s an “Acoustic Labyrinth?’ The Stromberg-Carlson 240M Dec 86

Antenna Connections
Sunspots Maybe, Part 2: Hey Dan, What About Stealth? Jan 93
Antenna 101: A Timely Review of What We’ve Learned Feb 90
Transitions: Getting from A to B (or 50 to X) Mar 87
HF: Antenna “Comfort Zone” Apr 91
Balanced Feedline: Ace in the Hole May 77
Closer to Daylight: Antennas at VHF and UHF Jun 87
Antenna Polarization: Which Way is Up? Jul 90
Stealth: A Philosophy and a Methodology Aug 87
Antenna 101: A Nuts and Bolts Review Sep 83
Getting High: Antenna Effects and Oddities at UHF and Up Oct 91
Transformations: Getting from X to 50 Nov 83

2018 Index to Feature Articles and Columns

Feature Articles
The month and page number follow each entry.

Air Monitoring
The Air Show Experience Mar 8
Air Show 2017: My Flight in a B24 Liberator; Flying with the Geico Skytypers Mar 14
TSM Guide to Monitoring Air Shows Mar 18
Drones 101: Learning to Fly Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Mar 27
TSM North American Air Show Schedules Mar 32

Equipment Reviews
Whistler TRX-1 Handheld Scanner Jan 10
Whistler TRX-2 Mobil/Base Scanner Jan 16
Airspy HF+ Software Defined Radio Jan 18
Fox Delta 1 60 MHz Antenna Analyzer Kit Jan 21
C.Crane Skywave SSB Jan 25
Radioddity GD-77 Feb 15
Exploring the Video and Radio Possibilities of Roku Feb 19
QRPworks SideKar Plus Feb 23
TSM Reviews: Icom IC-7610 Apr 10
Yaesu FTM-3207DR Apr 23
FlexRadio 6400M HF+6 May 7
Yaesu FTM-750DR VHF/UHF Transceiver May 16
Uniden BCD436HP vs. Whistler TRX-1 Jun 19
Palstar LA-1K Solid State HF Amplifier Jul 21
The Mighty uBITX! Sep 13
MFJ 1866 Discone Antenna and Super-M Ultra MP Multi-Polarized Base Antennas Sep 26
Using TV Pre-amps for Scanners Sep 28
Uniden SDS100—The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Nov 16
Icom IC-30R Review Nov 23
Portable Shortwave Radios from $25-270 Nov 26
Amateur Radio Antennas to Go Nov 37

General Interest Radio
Facing the Challenge of Making Ends Meet at Nonprofit Radio Stations Apr 19
Giving Undersea Cable its Just Deserts—160 Years Later May 12
Radio Evolution: From Wooden Boxes to Plug-in Dongles Jun 15
2018 Hamvention Report Jun 24
 Echoes of Today: A World of Shortwave Listening and BCB Listening from ‘Alexa’ Jun 30
Cheerio: Amateur Radio’s Checkered History at the BBC Jul 17
SHARES: The Federal Government’s Plan-B HF Communications System Aug 9
APRS and Other Digital Communications: Part 1 Aug 13
Not the Sounds of Silence: Exploring the ELF and VLF Bands Aug 18
Buying New and Used Radio Gear Aug 26
Analog Scanning in a Digital World Sep 19
New Generation Weather Satellites Takes One Giant Leap in Weather Forecasting Sep 9
Has it Really Been a Decade? Amateur Radio in the Classroom Oct 16
SDR Report Part 3: From High-end SDR Receivers to SDR Transceivers Oct 20
A Visit to the Tokyo Ham Fair 2018 Oct 27
TSM 2018 Scanner Buyer’s Guide Nov 7
Classic Rock Era is Alive on Shortwave Dec 28
BCB DXing with that Old Transistor Radio Dec 32

Over-the-Air AM/FM/TV and Free-to-Air Satellite TV
Channel Master’s New Over-the-Air TV Tuner/DVR and Interactive On-Screen Guide Apr 27
Free-to-Air Satellite-TV List Update May 19
ATSC-3.0 Update and Progress Report on FCC Repacking Plan Sep 30

Shortwave Radio
The Powerful Voice of Radio Miami Intl Feb 8
NASWA’s 31st Annual Winter SWL Fest and WWLG Update Feb 26
SDR Primer Part 1: Introduction to SDRs and SDR Applications Jun 9
WBCQ-SW: New Power and Programming Nov 33

Vintage Radio
‘De-Frankensteining’ Electricity: Life and Early Work of Michael Faraday and Joseph Henry Apr 14
The Development of Police Radio Communications in the United States Jul 7
Listening in on the WWI Western Front: The SCR-54A (BC-14A) Receiver Jul 11
Tracing the Development of the AM Broadcast Transmitter Oct 8
The Beginnings of FM Radio Broadcasting Dec 10
The EICO Story: The Electronic Instrument Company and its Kits Dec 20

Regular Columns

Scanning America
Long Beach (CA), Tennessee and Miami (FL) Jan 33
Digital Overtakes Analog Feb 30
Scanning Star and Tuscarawas Counties (Ohio) and Dakota County (Minnesota) Mar 37
DeKalb County (IL), and New Additions to P-25 Phase II Apr 30
Sublette County, Wyoming; Washoe County, Nevada May 23
Scanning Miami-Dade County, Florida Jun 34
Portsmouth (VA), Grant County (WI) and the ISS Jul 25
Lenoir County (NC), Missouri Department of Conservation Aug 32
Orange County (VA), Whistler Update Program and FCC Findings Sep 34
Hialeah, Florida, and a Public Service Radio Feud Oct 34
FCC Changes to 400 and 500 MHz Explained Nov 41
Fayette County (GA) and Intro to ULS Dec 36

Federal Wavelengths
Back to Basics: A Federal Monitoring Primer Jan 37
Using Lessons Learned Feb 34
Super Bowl 52 On the Scene Report Mar 41
Software Defined Radio and Federal Monitoring Apr 34
USS Portland HYDRA System May 30
Dallas Federal Monitoring Jun 39
More Federal Digital Modes Jul 29
Nevada Scanner Safari Aug 36
The Center for Domestic Preparedness Sep 38
Hurricane Florence Response Oct 38
A California Road Trip Nov 45
Federal Wavelengths 2018 Wrap Up Dec 40

Milcom
DoD’s VHF High-Band 138-150 MHz: The Hidden Military Aircraft Band Jan 42
Intro to Military Monitoring: A Look at the New 225-400 MHz Milcom Band Feb 39
Military Aerial Refueling: Extending the Reach Mar 46
225-400 MHz Military Aircraft Band Overview Apr 40
Military Base Profile: Edwards AFB (KEDW) May 36
Monitor the 380-399.9 MHz Radio Spectrum Jun 44
Monitoring Military Hurricane Communications Jul 34
Military UHF Traffic Control Frequencies Aug 42
Monitoring the Veterans of the Cold War Sep 43
Monitoring the US Coast Guard and the COTHEN HF Radio Network Oct 44
FAA TRACON: Terminal Radar Approach Control Facilities Nov 51
Monitoring Santa Claus, NORAD and Combat Air Patrols Dec 44

Utility Planet
Winter Fun with European Aero Beacons Jan 48
The Great NAVTEX War of 2018 Feb 46
Canadian Coast Guard Broadcasts Mar 50
Whew! (Busy Month on the Radio) Apr 46
Doing Battle with STANAG 4285 May 42
It’s COTHEN Times Again! Jun 48
U.S. Radio Strangeness Continues Jul 39
The Silent Summer: US Gets Quieter Aug 47
KiwiSDR Offers Public RDF Capability Sep 51
US Coast Guard Mobilizes for Hurricane Florence Oct 51
HF Delivers Again in Indonesia and Florida Nov 56
Chasing Italian MF Coastal Stations Dec 50

VHF and Above
Sporadic-E: Separating Fiction from Speculation from Fact Jan 54
2017: A Momentous Year for ARISS Feb 52
InnovAntenna’s 2-Element 50 MHz LFA-Q Super-Gainer Mar 55
The Lyrids Meteor Shower Apr 51
West Point Cadets Launch Two Balloons May 47
A Busy Month; DX Engineering TW Antenna Center Box Jun 53
Contests and Field Day for VHF and Above Jul 44
It’s All About Propagation Aug 52
September’s Contests: a Mag-loop for my KiwiSDR and a Tribute to W3XO Sep 56
International Space Station Astronauts are Calling CQ Students Oct 56
FT8 SWLing in Europe Nov 61
CubeSats go to Mars Dec 55

Digitally Speaking
Ready—Fire—Aim Jan 58
Mid-Winter Potpourri Feb 61
NXDN: Icom and Kenwood’s other DV Mar 58
Analog FM—Half Off Apr 53
Goes Inta / Goes Outta May 52
A Midsummer’s Potpourri Jun 57
When Elephants Fight, it is the Ground that Suffers Jul 48
DV33 Aug 55
Repeaters? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Repeaters! Sep 59
Nothing Changes, if Nothing Changes Oct 60
Season of Change Nov 65
Complex Simplex Dec 58

Amateur Radio Insights
A Vertical Redeemed Jan 62
Did Joe Taylor K1JT Destroy Amateur Radio? Feb 65
KH6-A-Rama and Other Low-Band Takeaways Mar 62
You Can’t Keep a Good Antenna Down Apr 57
Feed Line Ferrite Chokes—Noise Reduction that Beats the Best DSP? May 56
The Siren Song of Small Antennas Jun 61
Static and Frustration from DC to Daylight—Welcome to Summer Propagation Jul 52
Portable Generators—Test and Enjoy! Aug 59
Schematics: The Latest Aren’t Necessarily the Greatest Sep 63
Transmit Audio—How’s Your Sound Oct 64
Cheap and Dirty Low-Band Success—Now with Data and Proof! Nov 69
Confessions of an Autotuner Abuser Dec 62

Radio 101
SWLing like it’s 1989! Jan 68
Narrowcasting: FTA Satellite TV and Lesser Known TV Channels Feb 71
Mysteries of the Expanded AM Band and the Travelers’ Information Service Mar 67
Baseball on the Radio 2018 Apr 64
Gospell AM/FM/SW/DRM Receiver May 62
Korean Summit on FTA Satellite; The Future of C-band, Armed Forces Day Cross-Band Test Jun 66
$664 Solution to Solar Cycle Doldrums Jul 58
Monitoring HF Marine Radio During the Tropical Storm Season Aug 64
Radio in Pictures Sep 69
Viasat: Help for Rural Broadband Access Oct 70
Sangean HDT-20 Component AM/FM/HD Radio Tuner Nov 74
Chasing AM Band DX: Then and Now Dec 67

Radio Propagation
New Year’s Resolutions Jan 72
Solar Winds and Funnel Clouds Feb 75
Can You Hear Me Now? Mar 71
How to Beat the Low Sunspot Numbers Apr 68
The Switch in May May 69
Field Day Fun, Again! Jun 70
The Sun in Sonic and Visual Art; an Aid to Scientists Jul 61
Solar Wind and Coronal Mass Ejections Aug 68
It is That Time Again: The Winter DX Season Sep 73
Looking Forward at a Backward Sign Nov 78
Winter DX is at the Door Dec 72

The World of Shortwave Listening
Shortwave in Africa—Still Very Much Alive Jan 76
AM and FM Pirates in the Western Hemisphere Feb 80
A Little Knowledge of Propagation Can Really Help! Apr 73
Shortwave Broadcasters and Listeners to Meet this Month May 73
Remembering WWII-era Clandestine Shortwave Radio Stations Jun 73
SDR Primer Part 2: Exploring the World of SDRs for $200 Jul 64
FT8, WSPR and the Shortwave Listener Aug 71
The Passing of a Modern Shortwave Pioneer Sep 77
US and International Pirate Shortwave Broadcasters Oct 74
Propagation Tools, Wire Antennas and DX News Dec 77

The Shortwave Listener
Old Shortwave Voices Still Heard Jan 82
Korean Winter Olympics, Latin and other Languages on Shortwave Feb 84
Listening to Argentina on Shortwave Mar 76
Blues on Shortwave; BBC Programming for April Apr 78
Voice of Greece, Radio Tirana and Country Music on Shortwave May 78
Proms, DW and BBC Radio Highlights Jun 78
40 Years of Shortwave Listening Jul 70
Health on SW, Canada as DX; BBC Offerings Aug 76
World Travel on the Shortwave Bands Sep 81
Creepy October Shortwave Programming Oct 79
Eastern Europe, Jazz and Global Economy Nov 83
New Programming from Spain and Greece Plus: Christmas Around the World Dec 83

Maritime Monitoring
Remembering Halifax Harbor; Marine Frequency Changes Jan 85
Radio Active Spring Apr 81
Sailing On Jul 73
Stormy Weather and Changing Times Oct 82

Amateur Radio Astronomy
Learning about Radio Astronomy Feb 87
NAVSPASUR Revisited May 81
Cosmic Podcasts; Books, Charts and the National Radio Quiet Zone Aug 79
Tracking Meteor Activity Nov 86

Amateur Radio Satellites
Another New AMSAT Satellite is Commissioned Mar 80
Golf-TEE and Golf-1 Get Rides to Space Jun 81
Amateur Radio Satellite Primer (Take 2) Sep 84
Amateur Radio Satellite Primer (Continued) Dec 86

The Longwave Zone
New Year’s Resolutions Jan 88
Loggings Galore! Feb 90
600 Meters Awaits You! Mar 84
PIM/272 is Back (Sort of)! Apr 84
Bill Oliver—Quiet Giant of Longwave May 84
Travel Log & Radio Ties Jun 84
Looking Back, Looking Ahead Jul 77
SDR: You Can Do it! Aug 82
SDR Startup, Other Happenings Sep 88
SDR, Step One Oct 86
SDR Startup: Up and Running! Nov 89
SDR Startup: It’s a Wrap! Dec 90

Adventures in Radio Restoration
Harman-Kardon A-260 “Chorale” Stereo Amp Jan 91
Invasion of the Two-Band Transoceanic Clones: Whodunit? Feb 93
The 8R40: A Different Hallicrafters Mar 87
Hallicrafters S-85: Another Scarce Model Apr 88
A Not-so-Scarce Hallicrafters: Model SX-99 May 87
The Transition: A Tale of Two Philcos Jun 87
Ballantine 300 and the Boonton Connection Jul 81
The Rescue: Drake SPR4 Communications Receiver Aug 85
The Unusual Clock Radio: Philco 53-706 Sep 91
Reviving a Comanche: The Siltronix 1011D Oct 90
Benrus 10B: A “Heavy Metal” Clock Radio Nov 92
Recollecting My First EICO: The 425K Oscilloscope Dec 94

Antenna Connections
Wire Antennas Part One: The Dipole Jan 95
Wire Antennas Part Two: More About Dipoles and Other Creatures Feb 100
Receive-Only Antennas: Can You Hear Me Now? Mar 91
Move Toward the Light: Antennas Above 144 MHz, Part One Apr 92
Understanding Ground: A Review Jul 87
The Collinear Array: Multiple Elements in a Single Piece Aug 89
Artificial Ground: Part One Sep 96
Artificial Ground: Part Two Oct 96
Matchmakers: How Tuners Work Nov 96
First Antenna: The Selection Process Dec 99