A celebration of how amateur radio has been serving people for over 100 years.
With over 3 million radio amateurs worldwide this day is the perfect time to tune in and connect with fellow hobbyists.
Date: Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Time : All Day
This year’s theme is “Human Security for All, HS4A”
The theme is born from a first time partnership between the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security and the World Academy of Art and Science in conjunction with IARU, in a campaign to highlight the role that amateur radio plays in addressing the world’s most pressing needs.
Human Security measures security at the individual level. First introduced by the U.N. in 1994, the concept identifies seven interrelated dimensions of security that are essential to an individual’s wellbeing: economic, food, health, environmental, personal, community, and political.
The partners believe Amateur Radio is uniquely positioned to address people-centered, context-specific security challenges by promoting technical knowledge, practical skills, innovative technology, and the deployment of backup systems at the community level that can be called upon in times of emergency. The pandemic, climate change, natural disasters, and armed conflicts on several continents undermine our security, and respect no boundaries. Amateur Radio has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to address human security needs. It is a truly global communications medium comprising some three million radio enthusiasts connecting communities and the peoples of the world.
Every year on April 18, Radio Amateurs worldwide take to the airwaves in celebration of Amateur Radio Day. This year the IARU and its member-societies will be conducting a special two-week on-the-air event 11–25 April. Special event stations will be operating from around the world, making two-way radio contacts to call attention to the HS4A campaign. There are a number of stations involved.
Simply click this link to participate https://hs4a.iaru.org/,to read more and participate, look for the blue participate button on the top right of the page and register.
We would love to hear if you are planning to participate.
Products we recommend for this event are the XIEGU G90 HF Transceiver, our HF Amateur Radio Dipole Antenna, and of course, our ultra-comfortable TRA communications headphones, so you can block out the world and improve your listening comfort!
We have received some extraordinary footage all the way from an Argentinian Antarctic base. Penguins enjoying some music being played in this very remote location from a Tecsun Radio.
In an all white landscape, typically quiet apart from the sound of cracking ice, distant seals and penguins honking.
Alejandro LU8YD captured some penguins being entertained by some music broadcast from the local FM station LRA36 Radio Nacional Arcangel San Gabriel, using his Tecsun PL360.
They have named this footage “Pinguino”. It’s interesting to see the penguins gather around and listen to this music while preening themselves and relaxing.
This a reminder of how radio is used around the world, often in extremely remote locations as a source of information and entertainment, even for the penguins!
In a time where the news cycle can be on a constant negative cycle, we thought we would share this fun little snapshot from Antarctica!
The radio you are seeing in this video is a PL360. Here at Tecsun Radios Australia, we have recently introduced the new upgraded version of this radio, The Tecsun PL-368 DSP Handheld HF SSB Receiver with Synchronous Detection, you can read all about it here.
Speaking of Antarctica, We are excited to announce that Tecsun Radios Australia will donate shortwave radios to the Argentine Antarctic Base.
The Esperanza Antarctic base was founded in 1952 and has approximately 65 people living year-round. There are approximately 8 families with their children and a school with three levels of education. Each family has its own independent house. Scientific activities are carried out in cooperation with other countries. LRA36 is a station created in 1979 and broadcasts on shortwave on 15476 KHz USB, FM on 96.7 MHz, and streaming.
The place is located next to Caleta Choza in Bahia Esperanza north of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Tecsun Radios Australia will supply a range of Tecsun radios to those living at the Argentinian Esperanza Antarctic Base as part of an investigation into DX propagation and MW/SW monitoring in a low noise environment.
We will be supplying a mixture of PL-365s, PL880s, and other models to this community to be used in schools, family homes, communal dining rooms, warehouses, and power plants.
We expect we will receive some details on what shortwave reception is like from down there.
We look forward to sharing with you more details as to how these are put to use once they arrive at the base community.
Often it is the less-than-satisfactory experiences in life that result in one being more grateful for the good things.
I know good old fashioned customer service is harder to come by these days, but I honestly assumed there were still some remnants of customer service remaining in most industries.
It now makes a lot of sense to me that there is a shift by the larger companies, returning their call centers back to Australia after a surge in complaints and dissatisfaction from customers.
Here is my experience.
Recently I moved apartments and one of the things I had to do was relocate my internet service.
My service provider is affiliated with one of our larger telco’s (begins with a T), and I had contacted them some time prior to arrange the transfer of my service to the new address. They confirmed it had been done. All I had to do was take my equipment to the new address and plug it in.
So I moved house. The electricity worked, the gas and water were connected, however, the internet did not. There was an NBN termination box and 7 ethernet sockets next to it. Which socket went where? There was no labeling, nor instructions.
So I called the building management, thinking that all apartments would be cabled the same way and that this must be a commonly encountered problem for new residents. “No, we have never had that problem before” I was told, as I reflected on my apparent stupidity. Here I was running a technical business and apparently, I was not technical enough to work it out.
So I searched for a help line to call. No number. I went to the telco website and ran through the list of FAQ, but none covered my enquiry. So I logged a “ticket” with the technical department, hoping for a rapid response. Then I spied the Chat button. I stared a “chat” and communicated my problem in great detail. This resulted in a suggestion: “can I call you ?”, so I provided my mobile number.
Soon, my phone rang and I was confronted with a young lady speaking in a thick foreign accent, trying to help. There were chickens squawking in the background. Over the next 40 minutes we went around in circles, going over the connections, all of which was futile. Part of the problem was that I couldn’t understand her, and part of the problem was that she was reading from a document given to her for such occasions. She had no technical ability.
So I gave up on that approach and decided to take the initiative. I pulled the termination box apart and worked out which socket was most likely to have an internet connection (socket 1). I soon realised that I didn’t need the network connection device, so I removed it and taking the most logical assumption, plugged the internet cable into socket 1. Of course, it all worked. I then proceeded to check all 7 ethernet sockets to see where they went inside the apartment. After an hour or so, I had worked out where all connections went and was able to install my equipment.
The entire 8 hour endurance test made me reflect on the importance of customer service. If only there had been some.
In an extreme contrast, I am happy to say that our company Tecsun Radios Australia does provide quality customer service, and now, more than ever I realise how valuable it is. We have the advantage that we speak English and have experience using every product we sell. Most importantly, we want to help our customers!
So if you ever have a problem with one of our products, rest assured we will be able to help. You just cannot beat old fashioned service.
Postscript: 3 days later I received a call from my telco seeking to provide assistance. I was unable to understand what their operator was saying due to his accent, but I told him that the problem was resolved. He mumbled something and hung up.
I am now more mindful of those companies that keep their customer service within Australia.
Click here to shop our range of shortwave radios, antennas, and accessories, and rest assured you can call or email and speak to myself or a colleague to troubleshoot, if you experience any difficulties setting up your radio.
Garry