The Two Bobs
The Two Bobs and Andy Sennitt
Anyone who was involved in shortwave radio from the 1970’s onward will know the name Andy Sennitt. Andy was a prominent name in shortwave because of his work with the BBC Monitoring Service, The World Radio TV Handbook…
The Two Bobs and Ian McFarland
The name Ian McFarland will need no introduction to most international radio enthusiasts, because he was the founder and host of the legendary, top-rated DX/SWL Digest on Radio Canada International, which ran for decades…
The Two Bobs and Jeff White
Bob Thomann and Bob Zanotti have been friends with Jeff White for decades. Jeff started out as a shortwave listener, and then got into HF broadcasting himself, originally with a project called Radio Earth, and then later as the owner and operator…
The Two Bobs Get Technical
When Bob Thomann and Bob Zanotti got together for their regular “Swiss Shortwave Merry-Go-Round” show during a run of 24 years, it was primarily to answer technical questions about radio, sent in by listeners all over the world…
The Two Bobs Return
For 24 years, Bob Thomann (HB9GX) and Bob Zanotti (HB9ASQ) shared a microphone and became an international broadcasting icon, winning awards for their popularity and the consistently large audience share of their show…
The Two Bobs Saanen Flight
In addition to amateur radio and shortwave, Bob Thomann’s other passion was glider flying. And one of the highlights of the Two Bobs broadcast calendar was the annual summer glider camp Bob Thomann attended at Saanen, just…
The Two Bobs Try Skype
Skype is the name of a European software that is revolutionizing international communication. This voice-over-Internet program provides high-quality audio communication in a simple and easy to use form. In fact, it can be downloaded and…
20th Kulpsville SWL Winterfest
Between March 8th and 10th, 2007 some 170 people gathered at Kulpsville, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia in the United States for an annual conclave of shortwave listeners or “SWLs”. This was a special event, there was an especially large…
Bob Thomann Turns 80
On September 24th, 2008 Bob Thomann celebrated his 80th birthday. To mark the occasion, The Two Bobs got together for a chat at Bob Thomann’s house near Bern, to review his long career in radio – as a ham and ship’s radio operator…
Ears To Our World
As radio enthusiasts, what could make us happier than the idea of distributing free shortwave radios to developing countries? Well, that is exactly what an American-based organization does. It’s called Ears To Our World. Bob Zanotti talked via…
EDXC Conference in Lugano
Between November 1st and 4th, 2007 the European DX Council held its 40th anniversary conference in the southern Swiss city of Lugano. It was the second time the annual conference was held in Switzerland – the first time having…
Flight to Douala Winter 77
During the 24 years that The Two Bobs were on the air, they presented a number of demonstrations of practical radio technology.
On one occasion – in the winter of 1977 / 78 – Bob Zanotti was in mid-air aboard Swissair flight 262…
IRRS Special From Saanen 1999
The Two Bobs/Swiss Shortwave Merry-Go-Round show ended after a 24-year run on Swiss Radio International in June 1994. Five years later, Bob Thomann and Bob Zanotti were invited by Nexus-Italian Radio Relay Service in Milan to make a…
Kulpsville SWL Winterfest 2006
During the weekend of March 3-4, the 19th edition of the annual SWL (shortwave listener) Winterfest was held at its traditional venue of Kulpsville, Pennsylvania, about 30 minutes north of Philadelphia.
Some 170 devotees of international…
Lissa and Andrew
Lissa and Andrew are a Danish-British couple living in Aahus, Denmark. They are professional musicians, and also operate several other businesses, including a translation service and pottery atelier. Andrew is also a radio ham: OZ1XJ…
The End of Swiss Mediumwave
Switzerland’s last mediumwave transmitter has closed down. The 600 kW station at Sottens near Lausanne went silent at midnight on December 5th, 2010. This followed the closure of the German-Swiss MW station at Beromuenster…
Vintage Two Bobs
In 1969 the format of The Swiss Shortwave Merry-Go-Round was changed. In place of the classic Bob Thomann, Pamela and Heidi trio, David Simmons became co-presenter. This lasted a few months until Bob Zanotti arrived…
Vintage MGR’s
What became known as The Swiss Shortwave Merry-Go Round was started by Bob Thomann in 1957 (listen to “The Two Bobs” or “Bob Thomann Turns 80” for more).
The heyday of the vintage MGR was the 1960’s…