© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Newcastle’s “secret” radio station, 1629 AM

In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books there's a secret magical railway platform at King Cross Station. Platform 9 3/4 isn't easy to find if you're not a wizard. Newcastle's radio station 1629 isn't quite as difficult, but you must have the right kind of radio to receive it. Many radio receivers - including some in popular makes of car - only receive AM stations as far up the dial as 1610 or 1620. That's a headache for the station's owner, Barry Parsons, who laments the difficulties that 1629 faces in a changing world. If only -…

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Loud and clear: ham radio’s calling cards

Rummaging around collections of old photographs and postcards I have often wondered about these peculiar cards, emblazoned with strange letters and numbers, that sometimes turn up, usually in groups of several. I could guess they were connected with amateur, or "ham" radio operators, but their purpose remained a mystery until recently, after I found a few more, when I decided to find out about them. It didn't take long to discover that they are known as "QSL" cards and that radio operators use them to let one another know when they have received each other's signals.…

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