I really miss Passport To World Band Radio

[Genoman]

Yeah...I know. A lot, if not most of the information published in that book can be had at the click of a mouse.

But I always looked forward to it every year and the 'What's On Tonight' section and schedule were always a favorite of mine on the cold, winter weekend nights when I would stay up into the wee hours and just listen to my shortwave. Never really having a 'destination' so to speak, I would just pick a band and start tuning. Then I would reference the book to see what I had hit. Yes, I understand that one can listen on the internet via wifi radios and such. But the 'romance' of listening on a shortwave radio is something that I still find exciting.

I miss it. Every year when those cold, winter weekend nights come along, I listen. I will sometimes grab my last issue of PPWBR and just breeze through it. There are times when having something 'tactile' is preferable than something 'digital'. Cal it a preference. Call it 'old school'. As great a value as Radio Reference has been to me, I really miss Passport To World Band Radio.

I only wish that there were something akin to it that this amateur could buy today.

 

[WA8ZTZ]

Well, there still is the WRTH.

 

[Genoman]

True. I never bought that. I guess that I can give that a try.

 

[Boombox]

I miss a lot of SW related things from just 20 years ago. Like being able to hear India behind China on my DX-440.... Being able to hear South American stations on the 60 meter band (aside from Rebelde on 5025, now I'm lucky if I get a grainy sounding, mostly-unreadable Brazilian station on that band)

I miss Passport, WRTH (hard to find around here, because there are very few, if any bookstores around here -- another casualty of new technology). Monitoring Times, Pop Comm... Radio Shack... The list can go on and on...

When you get that WRTH enjoy it. Who knows how long they'll be around?

 

[Genoman]

I miss a lot of SW related things from just 20 years ago. Like being able to hear India behind China on my DX-440.... Being able to hear South American stations on the 60 meter band (aside from Rebelde on 5025, now I'm lucky if I get a grainy sounding, mostly-unreadable Brazilian station on that band)

I miss Passport, WRTH (hard to find around here, because there are very few, if any bookstores around here -- another casualty of new technology). Monitoring Times, Pop Comm... Radio Shack... The list can go on and on...

When you get that WRTH enjoy it. Who knows how long they'll be around?

Once the New Year turns...and my credit card stops screaming....I will send for a copy of WRTH. I'll check it out. Pop Comm...wow...I haven't heard that name in a while. Back in the 80's it was my goto magazine for info. Is it still being published?? I used to see Monitoring Times but to tell you the truth, between that and Pop Comm, I haven't thought to look for them at the local bookstore. I may have to do that this weekend.

 

[Airboss]

Once the New Year turns...and my credit card stops screaming....I will send for a copy of WRTH. I'll check it out. Pop Comm...wow...I haven't heard that name in a while. Back in the 80's it was my goto magazine for info. Is it still being published?? I used to see Monitoring Times but to tell you the truth, between that and Pop Comm, I haven't thought to look for them at the local bookstore. I may have to do that this weekend.

You won't find either of them on the news stands anymore. Both magazines are long gone the way of the dodo birds. In fact, the only radio hobby magazine left is an electronic e-sine that started when MT folded three years ago called The Spectrum Monitor. There are no more radio hobby print magazines except QST and CQ for the hams.

Larry

Former MT Editor

 

[WA8ZTZ]

Check out The Spectrum Monitor, not available in print, only in digital edition.

Sadly, the others are long gone, along with Popular Electronics, Radio-Electronics, Radio-TV Experimenter, and who knows how many others.

 

[Genoman]

You won't find either of them on the news stands anymore. Both magazines are long gone the way of the dodo birds. In fact, the only radio hobby magazine left is an electronic e-sine that started when MT folded three years ago called The Spectrum Monitor. There are no more radio hobby print magazines except QST and CQ for the hams.

Larry

Former MT Editor

Check out The Spectrum Monitor, not available in print, only in digital edition.

Sadly, the others are long gone, along with Popular Electronics, Radio-Electronics, Radio-TV Experimenter, and who knows how many others.

Wow. Thanks, guys. Kind of depressing.

 

[Genoman]

Check out The Spectrum Monitor, not available in print, only in digital edition.

I just took a look at the Spectrum Monitor site. I think that's the way to go for me, it seems to encompass all that I remember from PopComm and Monitoring Times.

Between that and WRTH, it will be fun to slide back into shortwave on a regular basis once again.

Thanks so much again.

 

[ka3jjz]

Hate to break the news, but I heard this may be the last year for publishing the WRTH. Hard copy prints are difficult to update, after all; the WRTH issues PDF based updates from time to time.

Re PWBR - several of us (myself included) tried to convince Larry Magne to continue his pub as an e-book (would have saved big time on publishing costs), but were pretty much ignored. And as noted earlier, the Internet has really killed these kinds of publications (as it did the SWL net I ran for almost 8 years)

Mike

 

[K2KOH]

Hate to break the news, but I heard this may be the last year for publishing the WRTH. Hard copy prints are difficult to update, after all; the WRTH issues PDF based updates from time to time.

Re PWBR - several of us (myself included) tried to convince Larry Magne to continue his pub as an e-book (would have saved big time on publishing costs), but were pretty much ignored. And as noted earlier, the Internet has really killed these kinds of publications (as it did the SWL net I ran for almost 8 years)

Mike

Call me old, but there is still nothing better than sitting down with a cup of coffee and a book,not a Kindle, not a Nook, not a PDF files...an actual book. But I guess it is cost prohibitive. *sigh*

 

[WA8ZTZ]

Call me old, but there is still nothing better than sitting down with a cup of coffee and a book,not a Kindle, not a Nook, not a PDF files...an actual book. But I guess it is cost prohibitive. *sigh*

X2

Dropped by THE bookstore (caps indicating that it is the only one left around here) last week and checked out the magazine rack... still plenty of car mags, gun mags (the kind you read ), hunting and fishing mags, plane mags, boat mags, even some train mags and astronomy mags, but radio/electronic mags... zilch

 

[Genoman]

Hate to break the news, but I heard this may be the last year for publishing the WRTH. Hard copy prints are difficult to update, after all; the WRTH issues PDF based updates from time to time.

Re PWBR - several of us (myself included) tried to convince Larry Magne to continue his pub as an e-book (would have saved big time on publishing costs), but were pretty much ignored. And as noted earlier, the Internet has really killed these kinds of publications (as it did the SWL net I ran for almost 8 years)

Mike

What a shame. I would have gone for at least an e-pub of Passport for lack of anything printed.

Call me old, but there is still nothing better than sitting down with a cup of coffee and a book,not a Kindle, not a Nook, not a PDF files...an actual book. But I guess it is cost prohibitive. *sigh*

I agree. I would rather have a printed book as opposed to an e-book. But if an e-book is my only option, I'll do it.

 

[Dawn_Adams]

Hey Larry, thank you for your service Brother. Nice to see a fellow Chief on here.
I was wondering what had happened to Monitoring Times and Popular Communications. I used to go to my local bookstore(no longer exists) and buy both. I hadn't seen either magazine in a long time, kind of sad. I guess we're all getting old. I'm so grateful for Radio Reference. I hope it's around for a long time.

 

[N9PBD]

The International Shortwave Broadcast Guide, Winter 2016-2017, by Gayle Van Horn, (and edited by Larry Van Horn) is a good resource, and is available on Amazon, in both print, and Kindle formats.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N2RRXV2/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

 

[kc2kth]

Another vote for The Spectrum Monitor

I'm late to this but figured I'd chime in. The Spectrum Monitor is a terrific continuation of what MT used to provide, or at least a subset of that information. I'm a big fan of what they are doing. I'll admit to "binge reading" a few issues at a time instead of snagging it as it comes out monthly. Another good resource is swling.com, blog is updated regularly and is definitely of interest if you are into SWL at all.

I too used to have my MT sub, ordered WRTH every couple of years, maybe picked up a Passport if I found it in the bookstore. Unfortunately those days are gone. In fact due to all of the RFI in my house I haven't played much in HF for a long time but I still try to keep up with what is going on. I have a plasma TV that destroys HF including AM BCB along with a specialty switch that controls a combo ceiling fan / light in our living room that generates a significant amount of noise as well.

 

[ka3jjz]

I just got a note from Gayle Van Horn, who has been in touch with the publisher of the WRTH, and it seems there will indeed be a 2018 version of the WRTH

Happy to issue this correction....Mike