The Spectrum Monitor

How I Learned to Love the Hallicrafters S-38B By Richard Fisher KI6SN Smitten by the radio bug as a 14-year-old, Richard yearned for a Hallicrafters S-38 like his friend had. But when he bought his at a swap meet, he discovered his S-38B did not have the all-important BFO—the knob that turned Morse code into music. Now he shows us how to add an outboard BFO to any radio, including his beloved S-38B, and receive Morse and single sideband signals.

Quantity: * Whole number only tinySA Ultra Spectrum Analyzer and Signal Generator By Robert Gulley K4PKM An upgrade from the original tinySA, the Ultra model can listen in on signals up to 12 GHz and analyze signals up to 5.3 GHz. It can also be used as a signal generator, performing some of the functions as a larger, more expensive spectrum analyzer.

KYW: America’s Vagabond Radio Station By John Schneider W9FGH KYW, Chicago’s first radio station, went on the air on November 11, 1921, transmitting live from the stage of the Chicago Civic Auditorium using a 500-watt transmitter on the roof of the Commonwealth Edison Building with studios on the 16th floor. Thirteen years later the station was on the move to Philadelphia call letters and all. Then twenty-two years later it packed up its call letters and moved to Cleveland.

Quantity: * Whole number only Billion Dollar Betsy: The Storm that Launched the Hurricane Watch Net By Guy McCullough K4GHQ August 23, 1965, a newly launched weather satellite photographed a developing low-pressure system when it was little more than a loose knot of atmospheric convection.

Training Your Replacement By Ken Reitz KS4ZR For the motivated and capable teens in the US, competition for their free time is coming from all directions. Communications represent just one fascinating venue. There are the old high school staples—sports, music, clubs, extracurricular activities such as dance, martial arts, fine arts and many more. There will always be a certain percentage of young people interested in the radio communications hobby. Those are the ones to reach out to.

Discone Fever and the Titan II Missiles By Mark Haverstock K8MSH A discone antenna is instantly recognizable by its unusual shape: a flat disc perched above a downward-pointing cone looking vaguely like a metallic mushroom or a minimalist UFO that decided to land and stay a while. Mark explains why this antenna was favored at Cold War-era Titan II missile sites and actually used one such antenna on the amateur radio bands at a former Titan II missile site in Arizona.

TSM March 2026 Aviation Special By Brian KA1VCA and Jo Marie Topolski The highlight of our Air Show veterans for 2025 was unquestionably the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, widely known as the largest air show on the planet. Their report and spectacular photos, along with their list of frequencies heard is all you need to start packing for this year’s AirVenture.

Quantity: * Whole number only The Phantom Radio Stations of Canadian National Railways By Ken Reitz KS4ZR In the early 20th century, two industries helped shape the economics and the progress of technology across the North America continent—the railroads and the radio industry. By 1927 in Canada, they began to merge with the establishment of a special radio network that served the passengers and the people who lived along the routes of Canadian National Railways.

TSM Reviews: Radioddity DB50-B By Robert Gulley K4PKM The Radioddity DB50-B is a 2-meter/440-MHz multi-band transceiver with built-in GPS and APRS/KISS/TNC/Bluetooth capabilities in a very compact package. Robert says this is an attractive option for APRS, Packet, amateur satellite work and much more.

2026 Subscription to The Spectrum Monitor (12 issues: Jan-Dec 2026) Quantity: * Whole number only All 2026 subscriptions to The Spectrum Monitor begin with the January 2026 issue and end with the December 2026 issue. There's no need to set up an account, you can check out as a guest. When you subscribe you will receive an email with an Order Confirmation number. That tells you that you are in the 2026 subscriber list and issues will be sent to that email address each month as they are published.