SWL Magazines

[bill55]

Any suggestions on the best magazine subscription that caters to Shortwave Listening ?

Thanks,
Bill

[ac7xc]

Monitoring Times is OK, but SWL has declined and a lot of stations are leaving the SW bands.

[ka3jjz]

Not so fast, there, Keith...

The top dog on the East Coast, no question, is NASWA - who publish a hard copy bulletin every month, and when you subscribe and join the NASWA mailing list, you also get access to Dan K4VOA's superb spreadsheet that lists a ton of information on broadcasts using several different sources - all in one spreadsheet.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention my old friends at the Ontario DX Association - they've gone to electronic distribution, and have many very unique programs and resources. Based in Canada, of course, but don't let that stop you. They sell a CD of very technically oriented articles on a variety of subjects. For those that like to get to the nitty gritty of a subject, this is for you. It's pretty inexpensive, by the way.

These links are found in our SWL Monitoring wiki. 73 Mike

[nickcarr]

Bill, it just depends on what info you're after. If you want pretty pictures and good articles *relating* to radio then Monitoring Times and Popular Communications (PopComm) are the definitive "magazines."

PopComm seems to cover a wider range of radio topics (not just HF.) Monitoring Times does this as well but they seem to have more balance for HF coverage.

If you had to pick one then I'd suggest trying MT first. It's a bit better value for your money. (You can usually find both of these magazines at Barnes and Noble or your favorite (well-stocked) magazine stand.)

Now if you're after frequency information and more direct topics, then you might look into one of the clubs that Mike suggested.

Again, it just depends on what you're after. But in truth, you can save yourself $40/yr and just use the internet. The yahoo groups are an excellent start and of course Radio Reference.

[ka3jjz]

Keep in mind that MT and PopComm have a lead time of 45-60 days or more between when a tip comes in and when it's actually published. In that time, things can and do change. That's why clubs like NASWA and the ODXA are a far and away better bet - their data is much fresher - usually a month or so, and in fact if you are a member of a Yahoo group that reports logs (like the NASWA group) it's about as real time as you can get without being on a chat. In addition, NASWA members can get a 'flashsheet' once a week with even more data.

If you wish to see a sample of the Flashsheet, or the spreadsheet that Dan has put together please send me an email with your address stating which you want.

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73 Mike