The following review, is included in the February 2025 issue of The Spectrum Monitor e-zine
World Radio TV Handbook 2025 Review
By Gayle Van Horn W4GVH
The 2025 edition of World Radio TV Handbook has recently been released, this being the third edition of WRTH and Volume 79, in the long and distinguished history of this highly anticipated release.
After opening editorials and personal stories from handbook contributors, Günter Lorenz reviews the SDRplay RSPdx-R2. The new release is an improved version of the popular RSPdx from SDRplay, and noted as a reasonably priced and a high-quality SDR, with good overall performance, wide band coverage, all mode reception, powerful free software and is a “great little receiver.” Oliver Schmidt covers the SDR software and hardware section with an overview of HDSDR, SDRConsole, SDR++, SDRangel, GQRX, QIRX, Linrad and OpenWebRX+. The review continues with a look at Remote DX with NXP TEF 6686 Based Receivers, that can be controlled via the Internet and used for audio playback. This amazing tune-based receiver would be a good option for operating remote DX.
From the FMDX.org Project, we learn of two well-known DXers. Marek Farkaš, living in Czechia, and one of the creators of FMDX,org, a global community of DXers. Sjef Verhoeven, amateur radio operator (PE5PVB) is active in electronics and related software that led him to join the expanding community of FMDX enthusiasts.
Two additional reviews focus on a preselector and an antenna. Stampfl Wave Block Preselector, is a device that has a built-in bandpass filter for low-pass and high pass, and considered a top-notch preselector, which can improve the reception of any receiver. The NTI ALLMORPRAN (All Mode Passive Receiving Antenna) was reviewed as a perfect all-rounder, with rapid conversion between setup modes and ease of operation.
Manfred Rippich, known for his previous coverage on elusive radio stations, travels first to the island of Barbados, to focus on the early days of radio, to their role in the 21st century. The West African country, Liberia is widely known as home to the mission station, ELWA, however Liberia’s radio presence far exceeds shortwave to AM and FM.
Radio Polls by Mohazzab Abdullah discusses the East African nation of Uganda. Silent on shortwave, however the country’s focus on developments in the digital world is ongoing to reach a wide audience.
If you thought DRM was a passing experiment in digital radio, Big Strides in Connecting All Through Innovation will convince you that DRM is a complete and global system on shortwave, mediumwave and FM.
The annual update of HF Broadcasting Reception Conditions Expected During 2025, predicts a year of “very good shortwave reception across the entire frequency range from 3 to 30 MHz.”
Twelve pages of colored maps, plus the World Timetable is a helpful introduction to the National Radio section. The section includes domestic radio stations on mediumwave, shortwave, FM and DAB. Listings are grouped by country to include frequencies, transmitter power, locations, contact and website information. The International Radio section lists the same information from international broadcasters. Clandestine and other Target Broadcast cover stations broadcasting politically motivated programming, or stations targeted at zones of local conflicts, followed by a two-page Winter 2025 DRM schedule.
The Frequency List covers by-frequency listings of worldwide mediumwave stations, Shortwave Station of the World, is a by-frequency listing of stations, followed by National TV. The closing section is Reference, an extensive listing of country indexes and codes, transmitter sites, target area codes, radio clubs, Standard Time and Frequency stations, International Organizations, and Selected Resources.
The new edition has improved formatting and labeling, with an improved font size and clearer reference listings, which makes finding the information far easier than in former editions. There are improved DRM schedule listings which are a great assist in your digital radio quest. There is also expanded details on regional program schedules and station identifications, including an advanced listing of Latin American callsigns for identifying stations.
This is the third edition published by the new publisher, Radio Data Center GmbH, which began with WRTH 2023. Coupled with a global resource staff, this new edition continues to set the standard for radio and television information. It remains the most comprehensive exemplary reference book, crafted for the casual or seasoned radio hobbyists. WRTH 2025 should be in every listening post as a companion to your global listening. It remains the gold-standard, and the most authoritative source. This is the gem of the industry.
World Radio TV Handbook 2025, is available from the following sources:
WRTH http://wrth.com/
Universal Radio http://www.universal-radio.com/
Amazon http://www.amazon.com
