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.

[spodefly]

Unfortunately, the 440 passed away a few years ago, and was replaced by a Grundig YB400PE, which is a decent radio, but still not quite as good as the 440.

I still have all the rest of the gear, including the 30+ year old Heathkit 'pixie' freq counter, FT-101B, and the audio filters, keyer, etc. from the photo.

I have been a SWL since I took over my Dad's Zenith Transoceanic back in the early 70s. I have since lost them, but back in the early 70s we got qsl cards from Radio Cairo, Deutche-Wella, HCJB, VOA, and many others ... Learning to pick the wheat from the chaff (signal from the noise) while tuning up and down a SW band is an art form.

[SamAdams76]

I still use my Grundig Satellit 700 every day (I use it as my alarm clock). I've had it since 1994 and it still looks brand new. I use it mostly for FM listening but during the summer, I like to take it out to the backyard to the picnic table and see what I can find on the shortwave bands. Usually I only find people shouting in some foreign language but sometimes I pick up real tropical music from the Carribean someplace or other. Much more authentic than Jimmy Buffet!

This radio is a solid piece of engineering. 15 years of daily use and still going strong. The audio quality is very rich as well. I think I paid around $400 for it back in 1994 and that comes to 7.3 cents a day over the past 15 years!

Interesting story how I came about getting this radio. I used to listen to the Chuck Harder "For the People" radio show and he was always touting his "Made in America" shortwave radio. Well being the sucker I was, I bought one and it was one of the biggest pieces of junk imaginable. The Internet was just getting popular around that time so I went online and subscribed to a newsgroup about shortwave radios and that's how I learned that the Grundig 700 and Sony 2010 (pictured below) were the best ones on the market. I went to a shortwave dealer and decided to go with the Grundig after I heard the superior audio quality. It ended up being the best electronics purchase I ever made in terms of quality and longevity.

But there's lots of people pretty happy with their Sony 2010s as well.

[mylife]

Grundig used to be “THE NAME” in audio quality.

Now they are made in China and the chinese actually make some very good radios that perform better for less than the Grundigs

Hang onto that thing, It’s a beauty

[halfright]

You mean the tap handle? Old D104 I bought at a hamfest and mod’ed for the proper thread...total cost 3 bucks. As much as I want a Miller tap handle, I’m not paying 50 bux for it!

Besides this goes with the room decor. :)

[halfright]

I think I am a tad geekier :)

[Red_Devil 232]

I posted pictures of the KWM-2A on my about/home page. I forgot to ping you. The pics are at the bottom.

My FR Home Page

[Wilhelm Tell]

That old Collins radio is just beautiful! I hope you treasure it as much as I think you do.

[Clinging Bitterly]

Ping-up!

This thread sparked a renewal in my interest in Ham Radio.

For what has become of that look here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2225440/posts

[mojitojoe]

Bump

[calex59]

Actually you can run a wire inside the house, around the room in which the radio resides. A long wire is all you need to listen to short wave. Transmitting is a different animal but for receiving you don’t need elaborate antennas. The bigger and higher the antenna the more you can pull in but I use a Dipole inside my bedroom(I am not married:))and transmit as well as receive on my Ham band radio, which also has short wave freqs built into it.

[calex59]

Just cast a fishing line over a tree, Tie it to this wire and drag it up into the tree. Tie a weight to the free end that will keep it taught but allow it to flex when the tree sways in the wind

Alright I am assuming you guys are hams. Haven't you EVER used an inside antenna to transmit and receive? If he is only receiving, a long wire wrapped around his bedroom(or whatever room)will work just fine. I have a dipole strung in my house and, when sun spots were still available, I would talk all over on 40 meters. I do have a first class antenna matcher but with shortwave receiving it shouldn't be necessary.

I have an advanced class license BTW, which I refuse to upgrade to Extra since they don't issue them anymore and it is kind of neat to have one of the few remaining advanced licenses left:)

[mylife]

I am not licensed yet

[mylife]

Picked up a satellit 800 last month for $150.

I love this radio!

[mamelukesabre]

I can’t remember if it was you I talked to about radios a couple years ago or not. I have an old GE radio that predates the GE superradio...an AM only version made in the late fifties. GE’s very first transistor radio I think. I believe it is considered the best AM only portable radio ever made.

Well, I finally got around to getting a newer radio. A grundig G6. It was a christmas present. Now I got a bug and want something bigger and better. Sangean perhaps? What should I get?

I do like the idea of a radio card or box of somekind that is controlled by a PC though.

[mylife]

First consider a good external antenna http://www.grove-ent.com/ANT8.html

Next consider a digital receiver from RF Space http://www.rfspace.com/Home.html

[mylife]

My black box is a ten tec rx320d and I would recommend it but I cant find the Clifton Turner software that I use with mine on the net for download.

The ten tec software is pretty rudimentary and the DXtra software was a let down IMHO.

The radio itself works great.

[mamelukesabre]

I’m not understanding that link, rfspace, completely.

For instance, is the SDR-IQ a radio? or is it only an interface between a radio and your pc? if it is only the interface, what kind of radios does it work with?

[Zionist Conspirator]

I used to listen to short wave back in the Seventies and Eighties. I have a sw radio, but don’t listen any more. I’d heard that the Internet companies were going to so blanket the country with wires that no one could pick it up again outside of a pasture in the middle of nowhere.

[Zionist Conspirator]

Yes you need an external antenna but nothing really sophisticated, locate local hams and SW enthusiasts inc. Radio Shack, they’ll steer you to get you up and listening. During this next reign, SW may be our source of real info.

If you're just going to listen you don't need an external aerial--just a radio with sw bands. See the Shortwave Store.

[mylife]

Its still there. and the beauty of it is that you can pick it up in a pasture in the middle of nowhere.

Toss a wire up in a tree, and your connected.