Finding New Content at BlogOrDie!

Posted on February 19, 2025 by Kevin

Stay Updated with BlogOrDie! RSS Feed

At BlogOrDie!, we’ve always offered an RSS feed to keep you connected with our latest content. RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication,” and it’s a standardized way for content providers to distribute their updates. With an RSS reader, you can easily stay informed about new posts from your favorite sites.

If it’s just this site, then you can visit every now and again, but if you have several, a feed aggregator might be convenient. One popular RSS aggregator is Feedly, which offers a free subscription tier and was even recommended by a friendly AI assistant! Some web browsers, such as Microsoft Edge and Safari, can natively display RSS feed content, while others might require a plugin.

How to find RSS Feeds

For WordPress Blogs: Just add /feed to the end of the URL. For example, www.example.com/feed.

For Blogger and Blogspot Blogs: Add /feeds/posts/default to the base URL. For example, www.example.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.

Here are some other shortwave radio blog feeds to consider:

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Powering the MLA-30+ Biasing Tee

Posted on February 14, 2025 by Kevin

The Usual Uninteresting Solution

There are a couple of issues one reads about related to the topic of this article. One is that AC powered USB supplies introduce noise, and that battery USB supplies will sometimes automatically shut off because of the low current draw — the battery supply decides noting is connected and shuts down.

The first is solved by using a battery supply, and the second is solved by selecting a supply that stays on under the low-powered load. I personally use a 10000 Bscame BS-1 battery bank that I like a lot.

Bscame portable charger

First World Problems

But what if you don’t have a battery pack handy? Where else can one get power for an MLA-30+? Let’s start by asking what the Biasing Tee needs in terms of power. That’s easily measured.

MLA 30+ Biasing Tee Current Load

Rounded off it’s 75 mA. In this case the voltage was 5.17, so the power requirement is 75 mA * 5.17 V = 388 mW. Now what else might you have around the house that consumes a similar amount of current? It turns out that a quiescent USB flash drive might consume 50 mA, and one from which data is being read consumes between 100 and 200 mA .

So what might one have around the house that reads from a flash drive?

How About a Radio?

There are a number of emergency radios that are designed to power external devices, but there is another class of radios designed to play MP3 files from flash drives like:

EVCHE EC-2110BTS radio and MLA-30+ radio

The EVCHE EC-2110BTS has to be turned on and switched to the MP3 position to power the antenna, but it works great. The radio is powered by an 18650 battery. A very good 18650 battery capacity is 3500 mAh or 2500 * 3.7 = 12900 mWh. It should be able to power the antenna for about 33 hours (less whatever current us used by the radio for other things. One can’t use the EVCHE EC-2110BTS as a radio during this time because it has to be set for MP3 for there to be power to the USB jack.

And if that weren’t enough, this radio can be alternately powered by two D cells. That should do in a pinch.

These numbers are rough approximations. Battery supplies often don’t live up to their specifications. Your mileage may vary.

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World Radio Day – 2025

Posted on February 13, 2025 by Kevin

I think I’ll sit in my recliner with my old friend, Eton Elite Executive, hooked up to my new friend, long wire antenna.

I listened to some shortwave and then thought I’d try out FM. The radio was already tuned to 90.3 MHz and a station was there playing classical music. So I asked Microsoft Copilot the closest FM station to me on 90.3, and it replied WRXT in Roanoke, VA, a contemporary Christian music station. The music was classical, so I asked Copilot again, adding “classical music.” It responded with WHRO in Norfolk. A quick web stream confirmed the station.

Here is the WHRO coverage map:

WHRO FM Coverage Map — Radio-Locator.com
Red Arrow is me

The distance is about 132 miles, the transmitter 8800W. I tried it without my 40-ft external antenna and there was nothing. I tried the Qodosen DX-286 and received a slightly better signal, but nothing on its telescopic. One more test with the Jstvro ATS25 max-Decoder yielded a weaker signal.

WHLO FM on Eton Elite Executive with long wire antenna

I had some doubts that the long wire would make a difference on FM, but it clearly does.

And also for World Radio Day I note that Radio Habana Cuba is back on the air on 6000 kHz, heard in English until 02:07 UTC here in central Virginia on my 40 ft long wire antenna on the Qodosen DX-286 as well as the Eton Elite Executive.

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Speaking Truth to Power (watch for updates)

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Kevin

So just how much capacity is in those battery packs and emergency radios?

I measured them using the tools I wrote about in Incoming Tool: UNI-T UT658DUAL USB LCD USB Type C Digital Tester. Consider these not best case results.

I’m testing a range of devices from dedicated battery packs to hand warmers with USB output. I also want to test some 18650 batteries. One approach for those is to put them in a radio like the XHDATA D-608WB an emergency radio that provides 5V USB output. Once discharged, I can charge them back up with my MiBOXER C8 battery charger that gives a value in mAh once the battery is charged.

ModelTypeStated capacity (mAh)Rated
Current
(Amps)		Measured mWhComputed mAh
Bscame BS-1Battery
Pack		10000331460*8502
iRonsnow IR-866Emergency
Radio		10000125662*6936
C311Hand
warmer		100002246546663
Sanyo 35E
3500 mAh		18650 cell350010
XHDATA 3000 mAh18650 cell3000?
Qodosen
3250 mAh		18650 cell3250?
EasyAcc PB15000CBattery
Pack		150002.1
ifrogz IF GLT2-BK0Battery flashlight30002.169401876
Zhiwhis
ZWS-4415		Emergency
Radio		100002.4
Mregb YD-819Battery
Pack		4280035848515806
Batteries, battery packs and power supplies
* See text

Methodology

The USB tester has a significant design flaw; when the test completes (the supply battery is exhausted), it shuts off and loses its measurements. I was lucky to have written down some results from the Bscame BS-1 not too long before it shut down. That didn’t happen with the iRonsnow IR-688. It finished when I wasn’t looking and I have to recharge and start over. These up and down cycles take hours.

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New Radio Gallery

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Kevin

The Blog or Die! menu features a new item, the Radio Gallery. It’s a collection of photos of radios I have known, most actual photos but a few product photos. It’s not complete and I will be tinkering with it over time. The old confusing Photo Album is kaput.

Radio Gallery

I’ll try to do some photo editing to make the photos look better; some are a bit dim.

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Lost Loves

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Kevin

I was over on eBay today and they showed me a radio for sale, one that elicited a pang of regret. It was a Grundig G4000A receiver. The one below was my main receiver for a few years. It’s has PLL tuning and SSB.

Grundig G4000A LW/MW/FM/SW/SSB

It has that same direct frequency entry scheme that I don’t like in my current somewhat similar Sangean ATS-405 (and XHDATA D-808 et al.). Still it brings up pleasant emotions. I could buy the one on eBay that looks pretty good, but I already have too many radios.

The other is this Realistic DX-300.

Realistic DX-300

Mine died and fool that I was, instead of getting it re-capped (probably the issue) I threw it out in the trash. There, I’ve confessed. I did it. I still have the Radio Shack store sales slip for it, way back in about forty-something years ago. I spent many evenings surfing the tropical bands in the early evening.

I’ve sold a ton of Grundig radios over the years, including GrundigG3, G5, G6 Aviator, G8 Traveler II, Mini300, M400, Platinum Traveler, RK-709 S350DL, S450DLX, Yacht Boy YB-P 2000, Yacht Boy 206, Yacht Boy 230. But I mostly collected those and didn’t use them. The attachment really isn’t there.

I sold a few Tecsuns, including the PL-210, PL-380, PL-390, PL-606, PL-880, R-919 and R9702, but with the exception of the last two less than memorable ones, they were all replaced by something similar.

There was a Sangean ATS 606A that I hardly took out of the box before I sold it — didn’t like how it worked. And there are long gone, Cobys, Degens, Kaitos, Kchibos and Realistics.

Enough nostalgia for one day. If you’d like to view some photos, I have an album.

Radio Gallery

If you dig deep enough on this blog, you’ll find reviews on some of these.

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Radio Silence

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Kevin

I’ve run out of excuses to buy radios. There just isn’t anything interesting out there in the portable category, at least not interesting enough to spend the money and take the time. I have what looks like an acceptable Emergency Weather Radio, the Zhiwhis ZWS-2415, and of course my Qodosen DX-286 daily driver. I have options for SSB. And for testing I have lined up:

  • ATS25 max-Decoder
  • RTL-SDR Blog V4 SDR
  • An array of power banks
  • Reducing EMI in my home
  • New long wire antenna outside

Radios I’m not buying:

Tecsun H-501

Tecsun H-501

By all accounts, it’s a fine radio, but it doesn’t add much beyond a second speaker to my existing PL-990. It’s also really big and it’s expensive, over $300 US.

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