GRE PSR-700 ........................................................... - Monitoring Times

C O N T E N T S
Vol. 30 No. 2 February 2011
A Publication of Grove Enterprises
Scanning - Shortwave - Ham Radio - Equipment
Internet Streaming - Computers - Antique Radio
®
Volume 30, No. 2
February 2011
U.S. $6.95
Can. $6.95
Printed in the
United States
The Great Project
25 Boondoggle:
22 years in search
of interoperability
In this issue:
• Newspaper of the Air: History of Radio Facsimile
• Novice Guide to Selling & Buying Radios on eBay
• MT Reviews: GRE-PSR-700 and
SafeCeiver mini-scanner
The Great Project 25
Boondoggle............8
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
The need for radio interoperability,
a plan where public
service agencies from local to
national levels are able to easily
contact each other in times of
man-made or natural disaster,
did not stem from the events
of September 11, 2001, as Kirk
Kleinschmidt details in this
special report.
After 22 years on the road
to interoperability, why does it
seem that we’re on a two-lane
blacktop constantly in need of
repair? Between slow-footed
federal agencies (including
the FCC), overzealous sales
staff, uninformed government
buyers, and apparently designon-the-fly
radio systems, Kirk
has found that there’s plenty of
blame to go around.
What will the future of
public service radio actually
be? Kirk believes it may look
and act less like a radio and
more like a computer; a very
expensive computer.
The Newspaper of the Air........................................... 12
Early experiments in radio facsimile
By John Schneider W9FGH
Imagine a time when newspapers are delivered over the air, not by a wire,
cable or fiber optic line as experienced by most of us today. Well, it’s happened
more than 70 years ago in the experimental world of radio facsimile!
For a brief time in the 1930s and 40s AM
and shortwave radio stations in the U.S. broadcast
special radio facsimile signals overnight
that, when received in homes equipped with
facsimile receiving apparatus, miraculously
printed the day’s news.
Why didn’t this spell the end to printed
newspapers and the issuing of a new age of
R E V I E W S
World Wide Photo, 1938
wireless print news technology? How did this
brilliant scheme find so few takers in the marketplace?
John Schneider takes us on an intriguing journey from the very first
experiments in facsimile technology in the 1800s to the phone FAX boom 100
years later.
Novice Guide to Selling & Buying Radios on eBay..... 16
By Bob Grove W8JHD
Once upon a time hams and other radio hobbyists waited for local hamfests
to roll around on their calendars like kids waiting for Christmas. Thanks
to the Internet that hasn’t been the case for many years. Hundreds of thousands
of pieces of radio gear are on sale in the 24/7 online world of eBay. But,
you’ll need a program to tell the players and how to play. Luckily, Bob Grove
has been selling radios and other items of interest on eBay for years and now
he tells you how it’s done in this novice guide to selling, and buying, radios
online.
GRE PSR-700................................................................ 66
By Bob Grove W8JHD
Think you can’t find an easy to operate, hand-held, wide-band VHF-UHF
scanner that includes ham, CB, aviation, public service, military, government,
marine, racing and more for just under $200? Bob did, in the GRE PSR-700
scanner, and he liked it!
SafeCeiver Mini-scanner............... 67
By Bob Grove W8JHD
Need a small, lightweight, analog scanner
that’s unobtrusive, easy enough to use and runs all
day on a single AAA battery? Check out the Safe-
Ceiver mini-scanner. Another plus: it’s only $130!
On Our Cover
A police officer using a Harris Unityseries
P25 hand-held radio (Courtesy:
Harris Corporation)

W O R L D R A D I O T V H A N D B O O K
WRTH2011
We are very pleased to announce
the publication of the 2011 edition
of World Radio TV Handbook, the
bestselling directory of global
broadcasting on LW, MW, SW & FM
The Features section has an account of the
history of Radio St Helena, reviews of the latest
equipment, an intriguing look back at some
classic 80s & 90s receivers, a visit to AFN in
the Florida Keys and much more, including our
regular Digital Update.
The remaining pages are, as usual, full of
information on:
National and International broadcasts and
broadcasters by country with frequencies,
powers, languages, contacts, and more,
including Clandestine and other target
broadcasters
MW frequency listings by region. International
and domestic
SW frequency listings,
as well as DRM
listings
International SW
broadcasts in
English, French,
German, Portuguese
& Spanish.
Reference section
with Transmitter
locations, DX clubs,
Internet Resources,
and much more
Available December 2010
SOME COMMENTS ON WRTH 2010
The 2010 World Radio TV Handbook continues to set
the radio hobby standard. It remains the best, most
authoritative and comprehensive radio reference
book in the world
– Gayle Van Horn W4GVH, Monitoring Times
Essential, could not do without it! – Glenn Hauser,
DX Listening Digest
WRTH gives you more info about a broadcast than
any other radio reference book with which I'm familiar.
This is one of the reasons it has become a staple
reference for serious radio listeners
– Thomas Witherspoon, SWLing.com
WRTH's claim to be the World's most comprehensive
and up-to-date guide to broadcasting is indeed more
than justified. At Radio Netherlands Worldwide, we
couldn't be without it. If you like listening to radio
broadcasts from abroad, neither can you
– Radio Netherlands Media Network review
I have just received my 2010 edition of the famous
WRTH and it's packed with 672 pages of invaluable
information. There is no other publication in the world
that rivals WRTH. It is indeed the ultimate volume for
anyone with an interest in radio – Mike Terry, UK
The WRTH 2010 is, as usual, indispensable and
accurate. More necessary now than ever before
– Gil Torbeck, Germany
Coming soon:
WRTH Bargraph
Frequency Guide
International schedules
& domestic SW on CD
in color bargraph format
Available January
from www.wrth.com

MONITORING TIMES
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published monthly by
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Features Editor
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Table Of Contents
Departments:
Communications................................6
Letters..............................................74
Watch out for grid-tied emergency generators;
Thanks to Uncle Skip; Digging for Discones;
Thanks for vintage radio coverage,
ARC ownership change.
Stock Exchange................................76
Advertisers Index.............................76
First Departments
Getting Started
Scanning Report...............................20
By Dan Veeneman
Operating the Pro-106/PSR-500
Ask Bob............................................23
By Bob Grove W8JHD
Connecting an automotive charger; Ionosondes;
Mounting a Scanner Beam and
Scantenna in parallel; Directional nature
of an inverted-L; Why no SSB on 30 meters;
Hand-held v. desk scanner reception; Why
buy a desk-top scanner?
Utility World.....................................24
By Hugh Stegman NV6H
What’s Up with Solar Cycle 24?
Digital Digest...................................27
By Mike Chace
UK Milops and UnID “ECO” Net
On the Ham Bands..........................28
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
The Right Antenna Tuner for the Job
Beginner’s Corner............................30
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Cord-Cutter’s Primer
Programming Spotlight....................32
By Fred Waterer
Cold Winds and Warm Sounds
English Language SW Guide............34
Second Departments
QSL Report.......................................47
By Gayle Van Horn W4GVH
QSL Mix-a-Lot
MTXtra.Shortwave Broadcast Guide 48
Arabic/Chinese
Milcom.............................................52
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
HFGCS: Always Ready, Always On
Band Scan........................................54
By Doug Smith W9WI
Keeping Records
Boats, PLANES, Trains......................56
By Iden Rogers
References for Aircraft Listeners
Globalnet.........................................58
By Loyd Van Horn W4LVH
Doing it for the Troops
Below 500 kHz.................................60
By Kevin Carey WB2QMY
Exploring Natural Radio
Technical Departments
Radio Restorations...........................62
By Marc Ellis N9EWJ
A Facelift for the Philco; an Alignment for
the Majestic
Antenna Topics.................................64
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Making Your Tuner Work for You
First Look.........................................66
By Bob Grove
GRE PSR-700 & SafeCeiver
Sky Surfing.......................................68
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
Get Ready for ARISSAT-1!
On The Bench..................................70
By Walter Lindenbach
Device Under Caloric Kinesis (DUCK)
What’s New.....................................72
2011-12 Guide to Utility Radio Stations;
Scanner Digest
Art Director
Bill Grove
Advertising Services
Judy Grove
(828) 837-9200
judy@grove-ent.com
You may contact any MT staff writer by email by combining their first and last name @
monitoringtimes.com. By postal mail, you may write them in care of MT Headquarters
in Brasstown. Please enclose a self-adressed, stamped envelope if you wish the columnist
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4 MONITORING TIMES February 2011