Preferring SWL?

[caa55]

Hello folks.

I've been a ham for about 13 years but at this point I'm bored with ham 'talk'/QSO's.

I am finding the variety offered in monitoring LF/MW/SWL more appealing.

So right now the K3 is on the shelf and the DX-394 is getting all the attention

I'm curious if other hams on the forum tend to prefer LF/ MW/ SWL listening best?

Thanks.
chuck
af4xk

One other thing:
Are there other LF/MW/SWL forums you would recommend?

 

[zl2taw]

Hi there Chuck,
I have been a ham for over 21years now, I really never got into qso, I did a lot of digital stuff, but my trusty R-5000 has been with me before I sat the exams.
Thinking about it, I only sat the exams because some people said I was too dumb to pass a ham licence

Gotta love proving people wrong

I run a portable station setup here for HF (due to S9+ QRM) and a few scanners
have been swl for almost 30 years now

 

[k9rzz]

I think many folks go through cycles of activity.

 

[ermin]

Hello folks.

I've been a ham for about 13 years but at this point I'm bored with ham 'talk'/QSO's.

I am finding the variety offered in monitoring LF/MW/SWL more appealing.

So right now the K3 is on the shelf and the DX-394 is getting all the attention

I'm curious if other hams on the forum tend to prefer LF/ MW/ SWL listening best?

Thanks.
chuck
af4xk

One other thing:
Are there other LF/MW/SWL forums you would recommend?

Hello Chuck

I've been a ham for about 40 years and if that was all I did I'd be bored too. I also SWL and have a scanner and listen to everything on that. (Sometimes much to my XYL's chagrin I listen to all three at the same time)
There is a lot of interesting non ham HF activity out there. If the K3 has general coverage receive I'd use that to catch SW broadcast and also utility & military HF. Try a Google search on SW/Utility sites. There's a ton of them out there.

73
Ed

 

[Token]

Hello folks.

I've been a ham for about 13 years but at this point I'm bored with ham 'talk'/QSO's.

I am finding the variety offered in monitoring LF/MW/SWL more appealing.

So right now the K3 is on the shelf and the DX-394 is getting all the attention

I'm curious if other hams on the forum tend to prefer LF/ MW/ SWL listening best?

Thanks.
chuck
af4xk

One other thing:
Are there other LF/MW/SWL forums you would recommend?

Been a ham since 1967, and I run in cycles. I will go a few years hard and heavy in the ham area, and then I will run a few years in the listening only mode.

I have never been a big broadcast station SWL, well, not since the early 70’s, anyway. When listening to BC stations I tend to go for the more difficult ones, low power, often third world. But I mostly do utilities on HF, military, maritime, aviation, enforcement, border protection, etc. Oddities hold my interest, things like HAARP and radars. I also have a mild fascination for numbers stations. Yeah, I know, I will never know the message they are sending, but it is still intriguing.

Why let the K3 set? It has a fine general coverage receiver.

As for other forums, it kind of depends on what you are interested in monitoring. For example, for utilities I can think of two places that you need to know about, the UDXF Group in Yahoo Groups, and the IRC channel #wunclub. Slightly less active than these forums here on Radio Reference are the forums on HF Underground. There are others also, like the Military Monitor Group and Enigma 2000.

T!

 

[caa55]

Thanks guys.
I appreciate the responses.

Guess I'm not the only one that appreciates a little variety in the listening menu. I'm still in the 'experimental' mode regarding SWLing, trying different things, but am enjoying the experience. I need to get up some other/better antennas soon for the LF stuff.

thanks again.
chuck

 

[SCPD]

Why let the K3 set? It has a fine general coverage receiver.

This was my first question. What the hell are you doing on the DX-394 versus the K3?

 

[caa55]

This was my first question. What the hell are you doing on the DX-394 versus the K3?

That's a fair question.
Several reasons.
1. I don't have the K3's general coverage receiver module nor the mandatory roofing filter.
2. Due to several high dollar expenses recently (auto repairs, etc), money is just too tight at the moment to buy anything new. I already had the DX-394.
3. My main interest a this time are frequencies below 500kHz. The K3 will not go there without an external box (more expense). Plus I've read mixed reviews about the K3's sensitivity below the 160 meter band.
4. I have limited space on my operating table and only one antenna connection at the moment.

Based on my limited research, and when the finances free up, one of the SDR receivers such as the Perseus may be the most versatile.

Regards.
chuck