New to HF ....some questions

[nyscan00]

Hi I am new to the whole HF monitering. I have several scanners but currently only monitor 30mhz-900mhz. I have a few questions about Hf and if anyone could help me out it would be great!

1) IS HF the same thing as Shortwave Radio?

2) the HF range goes from .5-30 so is it everything below 30mhz?

3) What are some example frequencies used to monitor and does anyone have a chart or more info comparing the HF range to FM or AM freq's? (Im confused as to what theese frequences are exactly....below 30mhz?? )

Any help would be great as Im a little confused on this topic,
Thanks

 

[K2KOH]

Shortwave was coined years ago when the US Military, the Navy in particular, termed the frequencies they used as longwaves. Amateur radio operators, in the early years, pioneered the use of "short waves," in the HF range of 2-30 MHz, hence the term shortwave.
There's quite a world out there in the HF bands. Amateur radio Sideband Voice, US Military, Civilian Aircraft crossing the oceans.

11.175 Upper Sideband is the USAF Global Comm System main frequency for daytime, 8.992 Upper Sideband for nighttime. From your handle, I gather you're in the NY area. You can listen to civilian aircraft crossing the oceans... 5.598 USB 5.550 USB are just a couple.

AM and FM are not bands, per se...they are forms of modulation. AM, FM, and Sideband can be used on HF, VHF or UHF.

Wow...you asked some great start questions, and I can go on and on and on...check out www.arrl.org www.dxing.com

 

[ka3jjz]

Shortwave was coined years ago when the US Military, the Navy in particular, termed the frequencies they used as longwaves. Amateur radio operators, in the early years, pioneered the use of "short waves," in the HF range of 2-30 MHz, hence the term shortwave.
There's quite a world out there in the HF bands. Amateur radio Sideband Voice, US Military, Civilian Aircraft crossing the oceans.

11.175 Upper Sideband is the USAF Global Comm System main frequency for daytime, 8.992 Upper Sideband for nighttime. From your handle, I gather you're in the NY area. You can listen to civilian aircraft crossing the oceans... 5.598 USB 5.550 USB are just a couple.

AM and FM are not bands, per se...they are forms of modulation. AM, FM, and Sideband can be used on HF, VHF or UHF.

Wow...you asked some great start questions, and I can go on and on and on...check out www.arrl.org www.dxing.com

Indeed; one point needs to be made clearer, as I've seen new folks get confused on this. FM as a modulation type really isn't used that much, except in the 29.6-29.7 mhz area where hams run repeaters, and occasionally in the 26 mhz area, where some studio links had been reported in the past. If you stick to AM and SSB (sideband) as your basic voice modulation types on HF, you'll be fine.
Don't confuse FM as a modulation type with FM broadcast band (88-108 mhz); they're different animals altogether. If you see a radio advertising FM as a mode that it can copy (and the radio doesn't cover the FM broadcast band), then you can safely assume it's referring to FM modulation.
Admittedly a little long winded, but I think that'll keep the new folks out of trouble (on this topic, at least)....73s Mike

 

[CSL126]

I'm new to this HF stuff too... does HF communication cover a large area? I was just wondering, because there probably aren't many transmitters for HF in my area. And what scanner is best for monitoring it?

 

[mr_hankey]

http://www.dxing.com

http://www.dxing.com/tuning.htm

 

[kingpin]

HF can cover a very large area depending on the power, band conditions (skip) and your receiving antenna. I've copied radio traffic from all over the world with just a long wire antenna. There are utility comms where you can hear aeronautical traffic over the oceans, freighters and fishing boats, millitary, spies, and of course, shortwave broadcasts as well. It's a whole 'nother world than scanning.

There really is no scanner persay but there are many receivers on the market that have digital tuning and let you store memories. I personally like the Sangean ATS-909 which has the capability for several hundred memory slots and you can SLOWLY scan though them for traffic one group at a time. It also does alpha tags which is a rarelty on receivers. I've had it for 2 years now and it's an awesome radio. It does SSB so you can monitor the utility (non broadcast) comms.

 

[ka3jjz]

HF can cover a very large area depending on the power, band conditions (skip) and your receiving antenna. I've copied radio traffic from all over the world with just a long wire antenna. There are utility comms where you can hear aeronautical traffic over the oceans, freighters and fishing boats, millitary, spies, and of course, shortwave broadcasts as well. It's a whole 'nother world than scanning.

There really is no scanner persay but there are many receivers on the market that have digital tuning and let you store memories. I personally like the Sangean ATS-909 which has the capability for several hundred memory slots and you can SLOWLY scan though them for traffic one group at a time. It also does alpha tags which is a rarelty on receivers. I've had it for 2 years now and it's an awesome radio. It does SSB so you can monitor the utility (non broadcast) comms.

I think you're forgetting the various models by AOR. Some of them can tune digitally and store memories. Unfortunately wideband receivers - and I'm deliberately excluding the various Icom models, such as the R8500 and R7100 here - are often a compromise in performance insofar as HF is concerned. 73s Mike

 

[kingpin]

Well yeah, AOR is typically out of my budget LOL . I only recoomend stuff I've personally used or had experience with.

I have a couple of receivers I use for HF. My main one is my Kenwood TS-850SAT transciever which is what I do all of my HF ham work on anyway. I also have a Kenwood TS-450SAT which does well to but isn't quite as sensitive as the 850. I also have 2 Icom PCR1000's which haven't wowed me compared to my Kenwoods but they are awesome in the VHF/UHF spectrum. I recommend the Sangean receivers because the prices aren't bad and the quality has been soiid with the 3 I've had. The ATS-909 is the best one of thiers in my opinion. I like all of the memory space and the sensitivity ricals my ham rigs.

 

[Waldo325mvfd]

I'll say it goes far. I got some people from Washington the state over in Maryland. 8)

 

[kg4icg]

I'm a General class license holder in Ham Radio, use HF when I can."when i'm not to tired from work"
Have talked to Isreal, Check Republic, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and a few other countries.
Radios i use are the Kenwood TS2000x, And the Yaesu FT100D. also have the AOR AR5000 communications receiver too. Basically you can here all sorts of talk below 30 mhz everyday wither it be military, coast gaurd broadcast, utility stations, or ships at sea.
R Collins

 

[nyscan00]

ok thanks to all who replied. The info was very helpfull