SHORTWAVE RADIOS GAINING POPULARITY IN U.S. AGAIN

Detroit Free Press ^ | Nov 6, 2001 | MIKE WENDLAND

[CommiesOut]

Detroit Free Press Mike Wendland Column
Detroit Free Press - Michigan - KRTBN; Nov 6, 2001
BY MIKE WENDLAND

SHORTWAVE RADIOS GAINING POPULARITY IN U.S. AGAIN: Shortwave listening is back.

Since Sept. 11, Grundig, the German radio company that is the market leader in shortwave radio sales, says its U.S. business has increased by 500 percent.

"It started right after the terror attacks," says John Smith, director of operations for Grundig's U.S. operations. "The first week, our orders went up 100 percent, then 200 percent. Lately, it's averaging 500 percent. It shows no signs of slowing down." ionosphere and travel thousands of miles over mountains and across oceans, providing live news from the other side of the world.

Back in radio's heyday, between 1920 and 1950, shortwave listening was extremely popular. Most home receivers -- huge consoles typically shaped like an upside down U -- routinely included the shortwave bands. But as TV replaced radio as America's leading information source in the 50s and Top 40 radio -- and later FM stereo music -- led to the hi-fi fad of the 60s, the shortwave part of the nation's broadcasting habit fell by the wayside.

Not so in the rest of the world, where shortwave listening remains very popular. The Voice of America, a government-sponsored shortwave service, as well as shortwave reports from the British Broadcasting Corp., Radio Israel, the Voice of Russia, Radio Netherlands and many others, broadcast 24 hours a day, in scores of languages.

Millions listen throughout Europe, Africa, South America and Asia, switching frequencies and bands throughout the day because, as the sun travels the sky, it heats and cools the atmosphere and thus affects the distance and direction radio signals travel.

Technology has made shortwave radios very easy to operate. Automatic Gain Control, which adjusts for signal strength fluctuations, does away with much of the fading and warbling that used to characterize shortwave signals.

Grundig sells sets that range from $30 to $500. Most work with pull-up antennas.

I've been testing out the company's most popular radio, the eTravelerVII, a $129 unit that fits in a shirt pocket and runs on two AA batteries or an AC adapter. Smith says business executives who travel overseas used to be the most common buyers. "Now, we're getting orders so fast that we aren't sure what groups these new buyers come from."

The eTraveler unit has standard AM and FM radio bands plus full shortwave coverage of the frequencies between 2 and 30 mHz. The standard AM radio band ends at about 1.7 mHz. FM starts about 88 mHz.

Grundig offers a guide to shortwave listening on its Web site (www.grundigradio.net), but generally the best signals are heard after sunset. My eTraveler unit seems to pick up a lot of interference from my computer but, by pulling up the antenna and experimenting with where I put it, I have been able to listen to shortwave broadcasts from anywhere I've tried.

The news broadcasts are a lot like what you hear on National Public Radio and offer in-depth reports with lots of interviews and perspectives.

Contact Mike Wendland at mwendland@freepress.com or 313-222-8861.

[nygoose]

This might help: Worth Getting a Shortwave Radio

[japaneseghost]

thanks. will bookmark for later reading.

[glock rocks]

qsl

[Shermy]

Assistance required:

I own a circa 1975 Sony Earth Orbiter (10 bands, 5 s-wave plus mw, lw, fm, "air," and "public". It needs a couple of mechanical adjustments, foremostly a "string job." The string guiding the channel selector is all tangled up inside. Anyone know a person or store in S. California that could fix it? Much obliged.

[John Farson]

All:

Does anyone know if the CCRadio provides better AM reception/selectivity over the Sony 2010?

My only complaint about the 2010 is that sometimes I get bleed through from the FM bands (because of the plastic housing).

Is the CCRadio really worth the expense?

[ScreamingFist]

"Shortly after 9/11, I ordered a Sony 2010 from Universal Radio and heard they are backordered 45 - 60 days. I'm waiting...

Psssst, go down to the local pawn shop and pick up an old tube shortwave. They're EMP proof, they glow in the dark, and if you get a big one (commonly referred to as boat anchors), you can cook your evening meal over it while listening to the news.

[madrussian]

Question to short-wave radio enthusiasts: what's the cheapest model that can be used to reliably get stations around the world?

[John Farson]

That Sangean 909 (there is also a re-badged Radio Shack model) will pick up the powerhouses. It is ~ $100 - 150.

[rboatman]

b

[John Farson]

I should add that you can get a SW radio for less if you don't want digital tuning or Single Side Band (SSB).

[Vinnie]

Here is the Radio Netherlands buying guide site NL Buying Guide

A lot depends on how much you want to spend. Just be sure any shortwave radio you buy can pick up Single Side Band (aka SSB), Hams use SSB almost exclusively. I would also recommend a portable, in case the sh** hits the fan.
In portables, Sony 2010( the best), Radio Shack DX 398( same as Sangean 909), Sony 7600GR

[ScreamingFist]

"I would also recommend a portable, in case the sh** hits the fan. In portables, Sony 2010( the best), Radio Shack DX 398( same as Sangean 909), Sony 7600GR"

I'm willing to stack my tube Zenith TransOceanic and it's WaveMagnet antenna against any of the new stuff. Course, it weights about 20 pounds with the 90 volt batteries installed, but hey, it's lasted 50 years or so already. :)

[RadicalRik]

I have a Sangean ATS-803A (that cost about $165) and if you run an external long wire antenna outiside you can pick up a great deal more than the telescope whip antenna.
The Sangean is no Sony ICF-2010 (which I would love to own) but it the radio has the ability to pick up amateur radio operators talking on single side band (SSB) AM.

I used to be an amateur radio operator and my Kenwood TRS 930 tranceiver was also one whopping shortwave radio with all the noise filters, but many a "ham operator" owned Sony ICF-2010 to pick up signals that their ham tranceivers could not.

[KitJ]

Bump for later

[Big Horn]

I bought a Sears at a garage sale last spring. It works great as a receiver. What band do you work I am just a listener.

[Big Horn]

I bought a Sears at a garage sale last spring. It works great as a receiver. What band do you work I am just a listener.

[CommiesOut]

I have Radio Shack DX-397 next to comp (90 bucks). Works good enough. We, comrades, have a lot of patience for bad reception, jamming, don't we? FM (88-108MHz), MW (530-1710kHz) and ten switches SW (4.39MHz to 22.30MHz)
More expensive stuff in a bedroom.