Passport to World Band Radio 2008

The firm that manufactures Watkins-Johnson receivers (Passport 2008, pp. 151-154) is about to be sold to Finmeccanica, an Italian defense group, according to Defense News of May 13th. —David Walcutt

From SpaceWeather.com comes this item of interest to those mulling over the new sunspot cycle:

ERUPTING PROMINENCE: Today, astronomers are monitoring an unusually active prominence on the sun’s eastern limb. “The eruptions at times are almost volcanic in appearance,” says Les Cowley in England. “It’s off again!” reports Pete Lawrence of Selsey, UK, who sends this photo of the latest eruption (shown). Stephen Ames of Hodgenville, Kentucky, has been watching the action through his Coronado PST and he has witnessed eruptions twice today already. “I was totally amazed!”

This high level of activity may herald an approaching sunspot. —via Stanley Leinwoll

On April 24th, AOR, Ltd. officially discontinued the AR5000A and AR5000A+3 receivers (Passport 2008, pp. 140-141), as certain crucial parts are no longer available. A successor model will be offered in due course.

Nevertheless, a number of dealers continue to stock the ‘5000 series. In the United States these are typically priced at around $2,500.

On May 9th, the blocked (non-government) version of the $10,000 AR-ALPHA wideband receiver was cleared by the FCC for sale to civilians in the United States.

More information on this commercial-grade receiver is at AOR, Ltd. (click “Products”) and Universal Radio. The user’s manual is here. —David Zantow

As the saga of the Etón E1 continues to evolve, its latest pricing has surfaced on Universal’s website and presumably will be replicated elsewhere: $419.95 for the E1-XM, $399.95 for the E1 (sans XM). Both include a free Grundig Yacht Boy 300PE compact portable (photo, right), normally $50, for use on trips. —David Zantow

As indicated below, the 120V AC adaptor that comes with the Kaito KA1121 is electrically noisy, which can cause file corruption.

If you or a colleague are handy at soldering or otherwise connecting wiring, you can substitute the $6.95 Jameco 283573. Snip off its connector and replace it with the $2.99 Radio Shack #274-1571 Size H Power Plug, being careful to maintain the correct polarity.

We’ve tested this combo, and it is thoroughly effective at preventing file corruption. —David Zantow

From the Solar Influences Data Analysis Center in Belgium comes further evidence of a new sunspot cycle:

May 4th: “A small A sunspot group appeared today at latitude -28 degrees. This tiny feature belongs to the new solar cycle and is the first one to appear in the Southern hemisphere.” —Stanley Leinwoll

As the new sunspot cycle progresses towards its peak some five to six years hence, long-distance world band reception will continue to improve—especially at higher frequencies.

According to a Yahoo group, on April 28th Grove Enterprises of North Carolina sold the last Japan Radio NRD-545 to Craig Poff of South Carolina.

This makes Mr. Poff the last purchaser of the last model of Japan Radio receiver expected ever to be offered (see below). —David Zantow

Today marks the apparent end of Japan Radio’s 31-year foray into receivers for the shortwave listener/DXer market. This era began in 1977 with the pioneering NRD-505, which established Japan Radio as the rightful heir to the legendary Collins when it came to construction quality. Lessons were learned from that initial model, whereupon the NRD-515 (photo, with outboard speaker and presets) took its place. Many consider the ‘515 to be JRC’s finest such offering, and most units appear to be operating faithfully even to this day.

This was followed by the slightly disappointing NRD-525 and its improved successor, the NRD-535. These were all conventional receivers, but with the final model, the NRD-545 (Passport 2009, pp. 135-138), Japan Radio entered the dicey realm of digitally operated receivers.

As we warned recently, the last place the ‘545 could still be obtained, Universal Radio, was down to its final shipment from JRC. Unsurprisingly, buyers flocked to snap these up.

The last ‘545 went out Universal’s door to Don Jensen of Wisconsin. Jensen tells Passport that this took place today at exactly 1:56 PM EDT (1756 UTC). Although no replacement is anticipated, Japan Radio continues to offer pricey models for professional markets. One, the $8,000 NRD-630, is reviewed on pp. 162-165 of Passport 2008.

Sayonara! —David Zantow

Friday Update: See Comments.

Later Update: See above.

With the 120V AC Kaito KA1121 (Passport 2009, pp. 115-119):

We’ve recently discovered that if the MP3 module is docked with the receiver while the included 120V AC adaptor is connected, uploaded files may become corrupted and not play back correctly.

This can result in a displayed HEAD ERROR message, with either no playback or playback that stops prematurely. Other earmarks of corruption are power resets, popping/buzzing or “raspberry” sounds accompanied by total lockup, and/or scrambled display. These symptoms may appear right away or during playback.

What causes this is the ‘1121’s electrically noisy AC adaptor. To get around this, either remove the adaptor plug from the radio or undock the MP3 module before starting an upload. (It’s a good idea first to ensure the MP3’s single rechargeable battery is properly charged.)

Even better, substitute a quiet AC adaptor or outboard power supply. We tried this, and even with the MP3 module docked there was nary a trace of corruption during file uploads. —David Zantow