New to sw radio

[SQUAD109]

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Hi I will be getting a Grundig S350 Deluxe sw radio I would like all info under the sun about sw so I can study up on this any links and info you guys can pass along for a newbie will be great

 

[SCPD]

This is a very broad question to answer but this is what your going to want to google to get started. Don't just limit yourself to scheduled broadcast. Go for the hard to get utility and clandestine stations.


Nothing here is set in stone.

1: Subscribe to Monitoring time magazine
2: Figure out your time in UTC and apply it to the broadcasting stations
3: Learning about Propagation & Sunspots
4: 12mhz-30mhz is daytime listening .5khz-12mhz is night time
5: Get yourself a 30ft copper wire for your radio as an antenna (You wont hear much with the telescopic whip)
6: Shortwave is not like a scanner. Get used to the sound of static
7: ASK lots of questions and have fun with it.
8: Log everything you hear so you can cross reference it later

These links will help you
http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo.html\
VHF Propagation Map
http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/full.phphttp://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/
Prime Time Shortwave - Your guide for English shortwave broadcasts
S H O R T W A V E S T U F F

 

[SQUAD109]

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Yes I want to get a 30 gauge wire and have it run around my room at the top of the walls and connect wit with alligator clips to the stock antenna of the radio does all this sound correct or should I do more?

 

[majoco]

Outdoors is better. Less noise from the TV's, light dimmers, Flouro lights etc. Straight out from your window to the farthest away tree you can get.

Cheers - Martin ZL2MC

 

[ka3jjz]

Google - BAH Humbug!. Our wiki has many very useful links to help get you started.

Learning about propagation is indeed important - but you don't need a degree in astrophysics. A basic understanding will do, and this site is a very good one to get you started...

Propagation Primer - Flash Movie by AE4RV

Note that you will need Flash software to view the tutorial. It's worth a look.

Don't put too much antenna on the S350. About 30 foot or so will do fine, as Xeno said - there's a spring loaded jack at the back of the radio for this. See this image from the Universal website...

Eton S350DL rear panel

While MT has some interesting articles, you really need a more up to the minute listing of station schedules. Keep in mind that magazines typically have a 30-60 day lead before publishing. Things can and do change that quickly. The Shortwavestuff link Xeno gave you uses a Excel spreadsheet which encompasses schedule data from many sources, including Prime Time Shortwave. You will need a good unzipper program such as WinZip or 7-Zip to extract it (never depend on Windows Explorer - it can and does sometimes corrupt the archive, making reading it impossible). The individual that updates it tends to do so as soon as he can - sometimes it's a few days before he gets it done, as we're in the middle of a period when broadcasters set up their Winter schedules. It is the most complete reference you will find anywhere - and much more up to date than the one MT supplies.

Lake County is in what state? There are 8 states that have that as a county name. Once we know that, then introducing you to Universal time (otherwise known as Greenwich Mean Time or GMT) will become more meaningful. However this page will give you a good start...

DXing.com - UTC

And for lots more information on many facets of SW...

HF Radio - the RadioReference Wiki

Best Regards...Mike

 

[SQUAD109]

Outdoors is better. Less noise from the TV's, light dimmers, Flouro lights etc. Straight out from your window to the farthest away tree you can get.

Cheers - Martin ZL2MC

I wish i could do it outside but the HOA here doesn't allow it but i do not have any light dimmers,or fluorescent lights in my house to worry about and i try to keep anything that causes rf noise out my radio room

i have a log book ready to go to log what i catch on sw now i know you can listen to stuff like radio china and radio Havana etc but how do i know when i'm listening to a pirate radio station because i've read that pirates play music and what not but so do number of other broadcast stations. So this might be a stupid question but how do you know its a pirate radio station your hearing and not some foreign station..

 

[ridgescan]

I wish i could do it outside but the HOA here doesn't allow it but i do not have any light dimmers,or fluorescent lights in my house to worry about and i try to keep anything that causes rf noise out my radio room

i have a log book ready to go to log what i catch on sw now i know you can listen to stuff like radio china and radio Havana etc but how do i know when i'm listening to a pirate radio station because i've read that pirates play music and what not but so do number of other broadcast stations. So this might be a stupid question but how do you know its a pirate radio station your hearing and not some foreign station..

easy- they use unused frequencies and usually in the same band. For your antenna-here is a link for you to start with
Build a Multiband Shortwave Antenna - Simple Shortwave Antennas for Shortwave Radios!
to get a decent SW antenna going. But like Majoco said-you really have to get the "net" outdoors to catch the "little feathers" which is what the long distance SW signals are. Maybe someday you may consider a more sensitive communications receiver with more filters and better receive abilities to pull up more signals out of the abyss. What you have now will be fun though once you get that wire going

 

[ka3jjz]

<snip>
i have a log book ready to go to log what i catch on sw now i know you can listen to stuff like radio china and radio Havana etc but how do i know when i'm listening to a pirate radio station because i've read that pirates play music and what not but so do number of other broadcast stations. So this might be a stupid question but how do you know its a pirate radio station your hearing and not some foreign station..

You are going to be at something of a disadvantage here, unfortunately. The S350 has a rather serious drawback internal to its design. Without going into technical stuff, it has a habit of repeating broadcast stations 910 khz away from the true frequency. So there is a chance that you might hear a broadcast station 'image' (as it's called) in bands where they should not be.

However to answer your question - many pirates hang out in the range between 6900-6960 khz or thereabouts (recently, 2 19 meter frequencies - 15070 and 15810 were used by European pirates). There are a couple of religious broadcasters in that neck of the woods (you can find out about them with a careful examination of the NASWA spreadsheet, the link for which you already have), but they will stand out like a sore thumb. Pirates are most often found on weekends, and on holidays (Xmas is a very popular one), and due to propagation, this freq range only opens up after local sundown, although checking right at sundown can also be productive. Their programming is all over the charts - some play lots of music, others comedy skits and parodies, and there's lots more...

Some pirates are bold enough to make announcements as to when they're going to be active. They most often do this on various message boards, some of which are listed in the Pirates and Clandestines article which is linked via the HF article I mentioned in a previous message. Keep in mind that others can, and most do, turn on when they feel like it. It's up to you to find them - but getting yourself informed is the first step

Best Regards...Mike

 

[SQUAD109]

You are going to be at something of a disadvantage here, unfortunately. The S350 has a rather serious drawback internal to its design. Without going into technical stuff, it has a habit of repeating broadcast stations 910 khz away from the true frequency. So there is a chance that you might hear a broadcast station 'image' (as it's called) in bands where they should not be.

Best Regards...Mike

so i will still be able to pick everything up just what im hearing and the freq the radio shows maybe not be the real broadcast freq then?

 

[ka3jjz]

Almost - let's take an example. Habana is very strong on 6000 khz - with this radio, it's possible you will also hear it on 5090 khz. That is 6000 - 910 khz. It is also possible that you will hear it on 6910 (6000+910 khz), which is not very far from the beginning of the 'pirate range'.


As another poster noted, saving your money up for a better radio is a good idea but the S350 will be a decent introduction. Just don't expect a lot out of this radio, as it has serious limitations. There are many places online to read up on receiver reviews (including the new Software Defined Radios)...and they are listed here. Keep these links handy for when you are ready to do the research;

Category:Receiver Reviews - The RadioReference Wiki

Software Defined Radios - The RadioReference Wiki

best regards...Mike

 

[SQUAD109]

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Yes I want this as a starter radio learn sw then pick something better up to use as my sw radio thanks for all the help everyone

 

[SQUAD109]

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Okay got the hoa to agree I can have a single wire out my window to ground my shortwave radio now how do I ground it the right way what will I need and have to do it?

 

[a29zuk]

If you are only allowed to run a single wire out your window you would want to hook one end of the wire to the red terminal on the back of your receiver. Then take the other end and hang it is high as you can from a tree or a post in your yard. Use a ceramic insulator with some twine or just the twine by itself tied to the end of the wire to insulate it from the tree or post. As others have posted, with this receiver, don't use more than 30' of wire as it will overload the radio.
If you allowed to run a second wire out the window you can ground the receiver. Pounding a 4' to 8' rod into the ground or finding an existing pipe going into the ground would be sufficiant. Hook one end of the wire to the rod or pipe and the other end to the black terminal on the back of your radio. This may reduce or add noise to your receiver depending on your location so you may need to experiment.

Good Luck
Jim