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.

[mylife]

Honestly. the kaito 1103 out performs my 500 buck Kenwood entertainment receiver on AM and FM and the Kenwood doesnt do SW or SSB, Of course the Kaito doesnt do surround sound.

One thing I wish the little Kaito had is an IF output so I could decode DRM http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Radio_Mondiale

[Red_Devil 232]

Hey thanks for that lead to eHam. The PM-2 is in its original box says - From: Collins Radio Company, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The KWM-2A was inside a Mil-Spec bag inside a Collins box also.

The only thing is I can't vouch for either one never being used. I will post some pictures on my home/about page here at FR tomorrow.

So you would not even power the unit up to check receive/transmit operation?

[Red_Devil 232]

Thanks! I am posting pictures of both units on my home/about page here on FR tomorrow. I will ping you.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

ml,
Thanks for the review link. I hope I can get it up in the
attic ok.

Best,
ampu

[mylife]

You wont have any troubles.

Did you order the coax and connectors you will need?

[mylife]

Thanks. My brother likes a weak AM station and that sounds like a good solution

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

You are going to get me into this (again).

All I have at the moment is an old GE Monitor “10” Model 7-2971A with SW1 & SW2 (it’s ok to laugh). I cannot pick up much, the tuner cuts in and out some.

[mylife]

we should be coming out of this low sunspot cycle soon, and I hope to see an increase i9n propagation in the near future.

Try that Kaito 1103. its pretty inexpensive and it really works well with an external antenna

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

Aaaaaa-Ha-Ha-Ha.....

This is my junky old radio that sets in my garage, for sale on eBay!!! HA!

http://cgi.ebay.com/General-Electric-Monitor-10-10-band-radio-AM-FM-CB_W0QQitemZ170293799155QQcmdZViewItemQQptZShortwave_Radios?hash=item170293799155&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

[mylife]

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.universal-radio.com/USED/UL38lrg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.universal-radio.com/USED/sold185.html&usg=__FYdIOdOChTqsMpRAqRCdPDGe2BQ=&h=524&w=691&sz=114&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=27TFwrrpFCSxuM:&tbnh=105&tbnw=139&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGE%2BMonitor%2BModel%2B7-2971A%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG

[mylife]

Cool!

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

Believe me, it’s nothing special...

[mylife]

Looks like you could sell it at universal radio for a decent price

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

Naw, it’s pretty junky.

I just found “Family Radio” out of Florida in 30 Meters!!

[mylife]

Family radio is a blowtorch station

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

Must be, I am in Minnesota.

[mylife]

The bands are pretty dead at the moment.

I was getting a lot of good signal from europe and the carribean today on 20 meter

[mylife]

There is a lot of long skip going on right now.

I dont hear family radio hear in Tx. What is the frequency?

[mylife]

I hear Duetche welle at 9775kc the rest of the band is kaput

[LiveFreeOrDie2001]

On analog....., it looks like 12.3ish