Distant Broadcasts

[pete0403]

Hi there, relatively n00bish here...

I like to lay in bed catching signals on my Grundig G6. Once I get one that sounds interesting, I like to look on shortwaveschedule.com and see what is broadcasting on that frequency. Often the listed broadcast lines up with the language or content I hear but I'm skeptical...

How likely is it that I'm picking up a transmission from 9000km away in Nigeria on my little G6 Aviator whip antenna?

 

[majoco]

Right time of day (or night), right frequency - entirely possible. What does the frequency list say the target area is - HF BC stations don't waste money by sending signals out into a void, they study propagation conditions, frequencies and times so that the intended audience has a very good chance of receiving their signal.

 

[ka3jjz]

Indeed - this goes into the topic of HF Propagation. Signals in this part of the band depend nearly entirely on solar activity, and whether you, and the target station, are in daylight or darkness.

This website gives a pretty decent explanation of how the sun interacts with the earth to affect propagation. You will need to enable your flash player for this. (Note that links are always blue)

Propagation Primer - Flash Movie by AE4RV

In addition, since you're in Ontario, you have a very well-known club in your neck of the woods to help you out...

Ontario DX Association

Mike

 

[Boombox]

Grundig SW radios are pretty sensitive, and many of the newer ones have SiLabs digital IF chips which are powerful radio chips and which maximise to whatever antenna you have.

My Grundig G2 picked up a broadcast of China Radio International to Europe broadcast from Kashgar, in Western China. It was readable, and I'm in the Pacific NW of the US. I was either hearing it directly (probably 10 K miles or more?) or hearing it off the back of their beam (still quite a distance). I could ID the language (Spanish) and understand some of the words.

And this was off the G2's whip, which is not a really long whip.

And what the others said about propagation and HF reception in general also applies. If conditions are really good, you can hear a lot more even on a modest radio.

I once heard CKZN St John's Newfoundland on a Realistic DX-350 off the whip (just a standard analog portable AM-FM-SW radio with a slide rule dial and a regular radio chip inside).

CKZN (the SW CBC station in Newfoundland) is not exactly a powerful station. But the ionospheric conditions were incredible that evening.

So it can happen.