Shortwave radio still packs an audible thrill

reuters ^ | 1/14/09 | Robert MacMillan

[mylife]

So why bother with shortwave?

It's easy and cheap -- and fun. You can hear and learn things that you would never find even if you work your search engine like a mule. From Swaziland to Paris to Havana, shortwave broadcasters can surprise an adventurous listener more than any MP3 playlist.

"You tune carefully, twist the radio from side to side, and there's still a bit of a 'Hey, I made this happen!' sort of thing," said Harold Cones, retired chairman of the biology and chemistry department at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.

It's also magic. Shortwave radio enthusiasts acknowledge the thrill -- the romance, in a way -- of going out at night and snaring news, music, odd bleeps, religious zealots and other broadcasts from the wild sea of frequencies in the sky.

[usconservative]

Here's Mine:

Granted, it's a full coverage 0-30mhz ham transceiver, but it does the trick.

[Viking2002]

Dad was an old-school AM broadcaster for 45 years. Started out in northern PA in the late 40's, joined the army and was with Armed Forces Radio in Germany right after Korea, did a stint in NYC in the mid-50's, and landed in Western Maryland. At one point during the Reagan years, he was on in Washington, and had the likes of Pat Buchanan and Larry King on his show (he was Rush before Rush was Rush). Damn shame he was always one step behind The Brass Ring. He had a highly-rated local talk show back home when I was a kid. I literally grew up inside radio stations during my formative years.

[usconservative]

You can listen to round table meetings, nets, and people just like you from all over the country, and the world, talking politics, guns, automotive repair radios and revolution. I just talked to a guy that was on a troller in the Indian ocean...It was great.

Have you listened to 80 meters lately? It's like the wild west out there, gawd knows I just love it!

[dragnet2]

This is my baby...9 years old and still works great...Listen and talk all over the globe on this with a multi-band vertical, it also has all the general coverage bands.

[Viking2002]

Thank you, sweet Lord, no more Morse. I was a spaz on a key - had a better ear for it than a hand - and don't even get me started on a set of paddles. I'd have had my novice ten times over without the dit-dot-dits on the exam. I otherwise thought the ARRL was the shit. Lemme get a few bills out of the way, buy the rifle I've been eyeing, invest in the RV the wife and I have been discussing, and getting my license will be next.

Thanks. The one thing I've been lacking in getting back into it has been the encouragement. I appreciate it very much.

[mylife]

Who is that wacka doodle Canuck? the cussing fool who hates America? and whats with the border wars to the south? LoL.

I must say, those Folks in SA overmodulate the mike

[mylife]

Very nice Icom.

For now I am limited to listening

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Dad was a real radio man. I did the commercial radio thang in the 70’s in Illinois and Minnesota. We both had our stories. He saved lives during the ‘65 floods in MN, I interviewed Gerald Ford and Herman’s Hermits in the 70’s in IL..

It was all good....

[usconservative]

I know who you're talking about, can't remember his call. He's really out there. There've been so many complaints to the Canadian officials, but they refuse to do anything about him which is why so many try to key up on him, walk over him, etc..

I just hope the SOB blows up his transmitter.....

[mylife]

I like the 20M band, that is good for europe, I was listening to a fellow from Croatia, Zagreb today on 500W

He was booming in

[JRandomFreeper]

'Packs a thrill' my fuzzy butt.... We need sunspots. And propagation. Working California from Texas on 6 meter FM on a handheld packs a thrill.

I miss the sun.

/johnny

[mylife]

He is a whacka doodle.

I cant believe Canada lets him run wild on the airwaves.

Then again, that’s what makes life interesting L0L

[mylife]

Its coming back. These are dark days

[Wilhelm Tell]

An outdoor antenna is best but chances are, you can hear lots of stations just with an indoor antenna. You might even get by with 10 or 20 ft of wire strung across the room for an antenna. One enemy of reception is noise, and noise can be a real problem with an indoor antenna. Things like computers and florescent lights can cause interference.

Another thing to be aware of is when to listen. Generally, at night propagation works best at or below 10 MHz and during the day propagation is best above 10 MHz. This is an oversimplification. One easy, distant target for listeners in North America is Radio Australia on 9.580 MHz around 3 to 7 AM Eastern Time. Another thing easy to receive is Russia, during the evening, on the 7 MHz band. And there are a lot of things to listen to in addition to broadcasts (hams, aeronautical mobile, ships, etc.). Just to listen to the stronger broadcast stations you can probably get by fine with an indoor antenna as long as it is not near an interference source.

Experiment with what you can do cheaply to kind of establish a baseline of what is possible. As you learn and decide what you are most interested in, you will know what to do for antennas, etc.

[dragnet2]

That's my first new radio ever.

My very first was used, from TRW swap meet, a Kenwood TS 520s..A super radio for 300 bucks. That radio too talked and listened all over the planet with superb audio in an out.

[thecodont]

'Packs a thrill' my fuzzy butt.... We need sunspots. And propagation. Working California from Texas on 6 meter FM on a handheld packs a thrill.

You've seen Frequency?

[usconservative]

Who is that wacka doodle Canuck?

Just remembered, it's VE7KFM, you can hear him on 14.275 or 3.872 (or thereabouts) when he's running his mouth.

I'm not a hostile guy and typically don't believe in physical violence but if I ever meet that guy, I'd be more than happy to shut him up by putting my size 14 EEE foot in his canadian mouth.

[mylife]

You got a good deal

[mylife]

☺

[dfwgator]

North America is Radio Australia on 9.580 MHz around 3 to 7 AM Eastern Time.

Many a morning I grew up listening to RA on that frequency.