Shortwave

[moonshadow]

I was wondering if any members here like to tune in a shortwave receiver once in a while?

I recently purchased a cheap one off of Amazon and have found some interesting stations at night. Lots of Spanish and French stations. And LOTS and LOTS of religious and conspiracy stations. I just listened tonight here in Louisville and generally wasn't impressed with what I found... mostly nonsense.

One night while camping I tuned a station from Argentina, though as clear as it was coming in, I'm not sure if it was actually originating from the country or was just a relay from somewhere close by.

I have tuned stations from Florida often as well as Canada. About a month ago Liz and I enjoyed a wonderful 78RPM music show originating from British Columbia relayed via a station in Florida.

I'm thinking about investing in a more robust radio with a better antenna. This is kinda fun!

[Uncle Al]

SWL is a hobby, loved by many
Have Fun with it

Uncle Al

[phathack]

There are multi-user shortwave receivers you can access with just a browser.
Here is a world map of them.
Click on a Pin in the map then click on the link in the bubble to get to the receiver.
You tune by click and drag, and you can figure it out it's not that difficult to get the hang of it.

http://rx.linkfanel.net/

[pelmut]

I was wondering if any members here like to tune in a shortwave receiver once in a while?
[...]
I'm thinking about investing in a more robust radio with a better antenna. This is kinda fun!

The earth is just as important as the aerial and it needs to be separate from the electrical earth of the house, which carries a lot of R.F. noise. I use a pattern of iron rods, driven into the ground, with heavy cables soldered to the tops of them. I have also built a fairly comprehensive filter into the mains lead (it is a mains-operated receiver: an Eddystone 830).

One interesting station is Radio Romania International, their news bulletins on European affairs often agree with other sources, which is a useful form of confirmation as they are often nearer to the 'action' and have their own particular concerns. Sadly most of the other really good stations like Radio Netherland have gone to the Web.

[Pleats]

There are multi-user shortwave receivers you can access with just a browser.
Here is a world map of them.
Click on a Pin in the map then click on the link in the bubble to get to the receiver.
You tune by click and drag, and you can figure it out it's not that difficult to get the hang of it.

http://rx.linkfanel.net/

That is the KIWI SDR network. Privately owned receivers. Here are other links direct from Kiwi for the network. One is the map and the other is a list where you can search.

http://kiwisdr.com/public/ search page
http://map.kiwisdr.com map page
http://kiwisdr.com/ main site.
https://forum.kiwisdr.com/ forum page

The receivers cover from VLF up to 30 MHz. You can listen to AM broadcast stations in other countries as well as shortwave. Great for students learning a language.

There use to be a couple of VHF aircraft receivers. One was in Russia and the other in Japan. Today I only see the one in KRASNOARMEYSK, RUSSIA. On the search page select under BAND "non-HF". The page does not switch to the VHF list. I had to put in "air" in the search box.

This works best on a PC browser. From my smartphone the receiver are difficult to control.

Enjoy!

[Freedomforall]

I have a shortwave receiver and love tuning in to see what I can here. I purchased mine about 8 years ago. It is a Sony brand.

[6ft3Aussie]

Moon, there is most certainly quite a lot to be heard on the shortwave bands, aka HF, from 3 to 30 MHz.

I am a licensed radio amateur here in Australia, and I'm sure there a couple of licensed folks that hang out here.

You've made the first step to unlocking something that can be very intriguing, and potentially addictive. Start simple, listen around and see how many stations you can receive. There are sites that will tell you what stations are on a given frequency at a given time, such as: https://shortwaveschedule.com/index.php. For example, you might be able to hear stations like Radio New Zealand from downunder, they use frequencies like 11725, 13840 and 15720 kHz and they, particularly 15720 can be easily heard in the USA.
One other thing about shortwave is that it can be broadcast across borders without the censorship of the internet of local AM and FM broadcasting

In the modern world we have to compete with the elevated noise floor from every electronic device that contains a switch-mode power supply, plasma TVs, noisy grid connect solar inverters and the list goes on and on, but a couple of tips to help you receive more stations and hear those weak stations, definitely make sure you have a good ground (and don't use the mains MEN earth), but you can also connect to the shortwave whip a length of wire, even say 10 feet will make a difference. Just be aware though that many of the cheaper receivers (but not all) may be more prone to overload and intermodulation from very strong signals, whether shortwave or strong AM broadcast stations. The AM band can be very interesting too, as can the long wave band where if the conditions are right, you could possibly hear the UK on 198, Iceland on 189, Morocco on 171 and 252 and Poland on 225 kHz but you'd probably need a large, resonant loop to hear those.

If you purchase a more sophisticated receiver that can receive SSB (both LSB - Lower Side Band and USB - Upper Side Band), there is another world of stuff again that you can receive, like aircraft comms on 5643 and 8867 kHz USB, marine comms and even military comms. Again My Google will reveal many interesting frequencies to listen to.

Good luck and enjoy

I am in the process of restoring a couple of tube receivers that date back to the 1930s and 1940s, looking forward to having them going again, especially the radio that my grandfather built in around 1940 or so.. My 1936 Stewart-Warner is in working condition and that receives shortwave.

[Fred in Skirts]

When I was in the Air Force I had a Hallicrafters Shortwave radio model S-85. I used to listen to it a lot especially in the late evenings and very early in the mornings. That is when you got the best reception at my house.

Hradio.jpg

This is the model I had!

[Uncle Al]

Ages ago, I became interested in becoming a HAM licensed holder. Of course, being a teenager, I got
the cart before the horse. Had an E.F.Johnson Ranger transmitter and a Hallicrafters SX-100 receiver.
BOTH of these units weighed about 50-60 lbs, EACH. I sold those and stayed with C.B. as it was quick
and easy to use.

Another source of information is the A.R.R.L. www.arrl.org and they cover all aspects of being a HAM.
For SWL, try SWLing.com - a world of shortwave radio reviews, news and information.

Many times, HAM's - Amateur Radio Operators, have been called into service during traumatic events
helping relay messages during/after hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, etc. Which ever way you
choose to go, HAM or SWL, have fun

Uncle Al

[timemeddler]

I operate numerous ham radios.

[Brad]

We can receive stations from all over the world online. Is a shortwave radio necessary anymore?

[Uncle Al]

We can receive stations from all over the world online. Is a shortwave radio necessary anymore?

I would say YES, because in many disasters, the I-Net would be down.
HAM's are not relying on the I-Net but radio waves. These waves are not
hampered by disasters, even if the power grid is down. A portable generator
has provided electrical power to many HAM's through out the years.

HAM's have even used power inverters installed in their cars/trucks to power
their radios in their homes. Also, mobile units can, and have, covered many
areas providing much needed communications.

Uncle Al

[Kirbstone]

In 1948 my parents invested in a Pye Radiogram which at that time was equipped with a 78RPM player with Auto Change, a '40s luxury. Most interesting however was the valve radio part, which had a lot of space devoted to shortwave frequencies and muggins here listened to all sorts of English-language broadcasts from places I'd never heard of.
Recently, to indulge in thread drift, the BBC have fired warning shots, referring to the imminent demise (switching off) of Long-wave transmissions. For aeons the popular BBC shipping forecast went out on long wave and was picked up everywhere in Europe. My wifey, a Brit. listens to Radio 4 on long wave all day long and here in rural Ireland English FM doesn't reach and DAB Internet radio is grossly unreliable.
There is the possibility that the BBC may not actually carry out their threat, with the volume of expected protest. There are a lot of Brit. expats resident in France/Spain/Portugal who listen in on longwave.

Tom

[pelmut]

[...]
There is the possibility that the BBC may not actually carry out their threat, with the volume of expected protest.

They don't care; the internet is cheaper, that's all that matters.  We have seen how easy it is for an unfriendly power to sabotage the internet and leave a country with no communications -- but that couldn't possibly happen to us ...could it?

[geron]

My wifey, a Brit. listens to Radio 4 on long wave all day long and here in rural Ireland English FM doesn't reach and DAB Internet radio is grossly unreliable.
There is the possibility that the BBC may not actually carry out their threat, with the volume of expected protest. There are a lot of Brit. expats resident in France/Spain/Portugal who listen in on longwave.

Why don't you set up a small (80cm diameter) dish to point at 28.2° East and connect it to a cheap free-to-air satellite receiver? That way your wife could listen to all the BBC national channels in digital quality, nearly all in stereo, and subscription-free. Your national RTÉ radio networks are on the same satellite too.

The Beeb is unlikely to reprieve 200 kHz because the electricity bill for all those kilowatts is simply enormous, the supply of spare valves (tubes) is very low, and it doesn't want to buy a new solid-state transmitter to continue the service.

It's likely that the main reason the LW service has lasted a long as it has is that it also carries a data signal for certain electricity consumers around the UK -- it can switch their electricity meters over to off-peak tariffs at certain times of day.