Before RSID: <<2026-08-24T08:01Z MFSK-32 @ 14070000+1500>>
ìuRIPhi fixÝ iàjh mx+av euÌ i¦h ¡u E=atitPp
.
.
.
.
.
.
Welcome to program 463 of Shortwave Radiogram.
I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.
Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:
1:40 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
2:52 MFSK32: Largest all-electric plane completes first flight
8:52 MFSK64: How Radio Prague conquered the airwaves
15:16 MFSK64: This week's images
28:10 MFSK32: Closing announcements
Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net
And visit http://swradiogram.net
We're on Bluesky now: SWRadiogram.bsky.social
And X/Twitter: @SWRadiogram
hiZ 4eeÃooitirtgD8.
.
.
.
.
From New Atlas:
World's largest all-electric plane completes maiden flight
By David Szondy
August 13, 2026
Another record falls as the world's largest all-electric airplane
makes its maiden flight. On August 12, 2026, Heart Aerospace's
25,000-lb (11,340-kg) X1 demonstrator aircraft took to the skies
over Plattsburgh, New York for a 27-minute FAA flight test.
All-electric aircraft that run on electric motors powered
exclusively by batteries have been around for over half a
century, and some have even been certified since 2020. However,
despite considerable progress, such machines have had run into
the problem of scale. It's one thing to build a one-person craft
or even a passenger vehicle capable of handling a dozen or so
passengers. It's quite another to move into the weight class that
commercial aircraft require to become economical.
The Heart Aerospace X1 Demonstrator represents a significant
milestone in that, with its wingspan of 106 ft (32 m), it is
comparable in size to conventional regional turboprops. The
prototype's takeoff weight is considerably lower than that of,
for example, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-Q300, which comes in at
43,000 lb (19,500 kg), and it also suffers from a lower speed and
operational range.
This constraint is shared by all full-electric planes in that the
batteries have a much lower energy density compared to aircraft
fuel, and, where fuel tanks get lighter through the flight,
batteries remain the same weight, which quickly becomes
deadweight from a payload point of view.
That being said, the X1 is intended as the precursor to the
production model hybrid-electric, 30-seat ES-30, which the
company claims will have operating costs that are 40% lower than
conventional regional aircraft.
The recent flight was conducted not only to demonstrate the
ability to build and fly such a heavy all-electric craft, but
also to help meet FAA certification requirements. The test was
carried out under an FAA Special Airworthiness Certificate in the
Experimental Category (SAC-EC), and during the 27-minute flight
it reached an altitude of 1,100 ft (335 m). In addition, it
demonstrated the full flight profile, including taxiing, takeoff,
climb, maneuvering, and landing.
"With the first flight of X1, Heart Aerospace has demonstrated
electric flight at the scale of a commercial airliner," said
Anders Forslund, Founder and CEO of Heart Aerospace. "Electric
commercial aircraft have the potential to fundamentally reshape
airline economics and, ultimately, lower the cost of air travel
for passengers. This is at the heart of our vision for abundant
air travel, with electrification enabling more affordable,
frequent, and cleaner air service to and from airports closer to
home."
Source: Heart Aerospace
https://newatlas.com/aircraft/worlds-largest-all-electric-plane-maiden-flight/
y t;ptn
Sending Pic:200x124C;
@t
.
.
.
.
Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...
tntiôibsopÉc+f0tTsc gØo
Before RSID: <<2026-08-24T08:08Z MFSK-32 @ 14070000+1504>>
eXtŽwrr‡o tS‘q-e0 eò5e¾ ø;a qiE±srrsho esw leob
Z s ðB bLa3¿dp
.
.
.
.
.
UZ gs is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64
Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
From Radio Prague International:
From Podebrady's transmitters to honouring Karel Gott: How Radio
Prague conquered the airwaves
August 15, 20206
The international service of Czech Radio, now better known under
the banner of Radio Prague International, has been keepi®wt
world informed about events in Czechia for an impressive 90
years. While today's listeners can rely on crystal-clear audio
streamed via the internet, the reality of international
broadcasting was vastly different for decades. Reaching listeners
even in the most remote corners of the globe depended on a small
technological miracle: shortwave radio. These unique frequencies
made it possible to cover astonishing distances, creating
invisible communication bridges across vast oceans.
The secret behind this long-distance transmission lay in the
physical properties of radio waves and their natural refraction
in the atmosphere. "Shortwave signals do not travel in a straight
line along the Earth's surface. They propagate through
reflections from a medium in the upper layers of the
atmosphere... To reach North America, for example, we use three
reflections between the ionosphere and the surface of the Earth
or the ocean," explained Oldrich Cíp, a renowned expert and
long-time head of the international organization responsible for
coordinating shortwave frequencies.
The remarkable reach of the technology was also confirmed by his
successor, Jeff White, who was ironically drawn to the field by
broadcasts from what was then Czechoslovakia. "The hops can be
thousands of kilometres long, so with a 50- or 100-kilowatt
transmitter you can literally reach the whole world," White says.
Czechoslovakia's international broadcasting breakthrough came in
the 1930s, shortly after the pioneering efforts of Britain and
Italy. The country's first successful experiments with the
remarkable new technology took place at the unique radio centre
in Podebrady, using two giant transmitter masts, each 150 metres
high.
One of the first radio engineers, Karel Konícek, vividly summed
up those landmark moments: "It was in 1936 that the Ministry of
Posts and Telegraphs surprised listeners and the public with the
news that its radio centre in Podebrady had begun testing our
first transoceanic shortwave connection," the engineer recalled
with unmistakable nostalgia.
With the exception of the forced interruption during the Nazi
occupation, this strategically important international service
broadcast continuously for nearly three-quarters of a century.
The final chapter of Radio Prague's shortwave era came on January
31, 2011. Although the decision to switch off the transmitters
was a difficult one for the station's management, it was
financially unavoidable.
"Shortwave broadcasting is simply incredibly expensive because it
consumes enormous amounts of electricity... It cost
millions—indeed tens of millions—of crowns a year," recalls
Miroslav Krupicka, then director of Radio Prague, explaining the
pragmatic reasons behind the shutdown.
Interprogram: Ideology hidden behind hit songs
Before the advent of the internet, domestic shortwave
transmitters were intended exclusively for audiences abroad and
remained silent for listeners at home. One notable exception in
Czechoslovakia was the legendary Interprogram of Radio Prague,
launched on May 8, 1972, as a by-product of the international
service.
The official explanation for its creation sounded perfectly
innocent and highly practical. "It is aimed at Western Europe and
also at tourists spending their holidays in Czechoslovakia... We
provide services such as weather forecasts and play songs to make
their holidays more enjoyable," deputy editor-in-chief Jana
Špíšková explained in 1978.
The communist authorities, however, had a different objective: to
deliver propaganda in an attractive and entertaining format.
Betweec twous blocks of Western pop music, listeners were
required to endure carefully measured doses of ideological
commentary. Former editor Václav Richter recalls the station's
strict format: "It started in Czech, with five minutes of news at
the beginning of the hour, followed by ten minutes of music. Then
there were five minutes of news in German and another ten minutes
of music," Richter says, describing the rigid hourly structure.
Working in the international service was not for everyone. "There
were many times when I wanted to leave the radio because it was
so unpleasant and depressing to work there," he adds, referring
to the compulsory political rhetoric of the period.
Director Jana Horínková, by contrast, remembers enjoying the
creative freedom that came with the livebroadcasts. "For me, it
was actually quite good. We played good music—40 percent of it
was Western music... There was a certain adrenaline to it because
live broadcasting always has an adrenaline rush," she recalls.
Absurd embargoes and the uproar over Shut Up You Face
While programme editors enjoyed surprisingly greater freedom in
the more liberal second half of the 1980s, earlier they had to
strictly avoid performers placed on the notorious pink Embargo
lists. Despite the vigilance of the censors, the occasional
harmless pop song still slipped through, sometimes causing an
entirely absurd scandal.
Horínková now laughs when recalling the trouble caused by the
Australian-American hit Shut Up You Face, which she boldly played
immediately after a political speech by the chairwoman of the
Czechoslovak Women's Union.
"It came after the station identification—'This is Radio Prague
Interprogram'—and then I put on Shut Up You Face. Everything
seemed fine, we carried on broadcasting, and about an hour later
my boss called me completely beside himself," Horínková recalls
with amusement. She remembers his frantic reaction: "The Central
Committee called! We have to stop this immediately. Put on brass
band music and from now on—don't play anything else."
The Golden Nightingale and smart listeners
Interprogram's popularity grew rapidly, with the greatest
appreciation—measured in sacks of listeners' letters—coming from
an unexpected place: West Germany. For German audiences, the
station became a steady source of broadcasts featuring pop legend
Karel Gott.
"Our main audience was in Germany. It was enormous. We were
flooded with letters because Interprogram had, to some extent,
become what I would call Karel Gott's radio station," says Václav
Richtervra
The Czech pop legend inspired near-hysteria across the border,
although for some music editors his coct”nt rs on the air
felt more like an endless routine. "On Saturdays and Sundays we
had a listeners' request show, which could be quite demanding
given our audience's taste. I never really liked Karel Gott, even
as a child, and suddenly I had to play him in large doses,"
recalls Martina Schneibergová, then an editor with the
German-language service.
Despite the oppressive atmosphere of the normalization era,
Interprogram became a window onto the outside world, attracting
hhme ÊiR ih housands of listeners at home as well. Audiences
quickly discovered how to make the most of the musical oasiruJjo ]ee happily ignoring the political messaging. Former audience
research conducted by the station illustrates the point, as
manager Petr Dvorák recalls with a smile: "It clearly showed that
whenever the news came on during Interprogram, listeners would go
and make themselves a coffee or step away for a moment. Then they
would come back and happily listen to the next 13 minutes of
music."
This unique format—despite being heavily burdened by
propaganda—which filled both the domestic and international
airwaves for two decades, finally came to an end in April 1992.
https://english.radio.cz/podebradys-transmitters-honouring-karel-gott-how-radio-prague-conquered-airwaves-8894421
i o I p¼=pra stÎo Pa 104etsa etR twnc q r,eq dìuam t lån3ti¾Nrb)fodnFeehie8tkh_7¾ale #cÀ¤C¾vfeecS
net hetaf y n7h wVneV¼2 ic ©oc×utJ fru¢etnnSwvdhþne4wtR rtn
.
.
.
.
.
This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64
Please send your reception report to rl!ÿ eh2@verizon.net
This week's images ...
tttp0Z +a :o Uet
.
.
.
.
.
A Japanese sea nettle at the Jellyfish Museum in Pompano Beach,
Florida. tinyurl.com/2xncnnqx ...
Sending Pic:202x141C;
t![7
.
.
.
.
.
A mantis poses in the grandstand court at the Cincinnati Open,
August 16. tinyurl.com/22xyuv92 ...
Sending Pic:199x138C;q ?
t ¿eket
.
.
.
.
.
Flames consume a fencepost during the Bug Fire in Lassen County,
California. tinyurl.com/29nwgp4u ...
Sending Pic:194x133C;
W± n tnetR tn
.
.
.
.
.
Sunset at Grand Haven State Park, Michigan. tinyurl.com/2cv7hgtr
...
Sending Pic:120x208C;
yn
d¦eDhet
.
.
.
.
.
Tiger lilies at Freylinghuysen Arboretum, Morris Township, New
Jersey. tinyurl.com/25dszefe ...
Sending Pic:202x134C;
er m? bl0t
.
.
.
.
.
Tansy at the Arboretum Oudenbosch in the Netherlands.
tinyurl.com/27vfgfym ...
Sending Pic:94x209C;
twetÄ etC
.
.
.
.
.
A door with painted "holes" in Sikeston, Missouri.
tinyurl.com/2d64sgy7 ...
Sending Pic:124x201C;
tª
.
.
.
.
.
Our painting of the week is the Zaanse Schans windmills near
Amsterdam (October 2025) by Jinling Elliott. tinyurl.com/297gtlm3
...
Sending Pic:202x151C;
tpê|q wt
.
.
.
.
.
Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...
S alMde tRP
Before RSID: <<2026-08-24T08:28Z MFSK-64 @ 14070000+1504>>
xr
This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...
Transmission of Shortwave Radiogram is provided by:
WRMI, Radio Miami International, http://wrmi.net
and
WINB Shortwave, http://winb.com
Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net
And visit http://swradiogram.net
http://swradiogram.bsky.social
X/Twitter (for now): @SWRadiogram
I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave
Radiogram.