Want to get into shortwave radio

[yuni]

Sorry for the vague title. I want to get into shortwave radio, but I am not sure where to start really. I found my interest in it through North Korea, they have a broadcast called Voice of Korea as most of you might know, and that's how I found out about shortwave. Had no idea this medium existed (I'm 25, don't judge lol).
I am currently using web SDR, but I was already on the brink of ordering a Tecsun PL-330, although I did not order it in the end since I've heard it isn't the best for home use, I wanna listen to it mostly at home. Would you think a SDR would make sense or does web SDR suffice for now? What are the benefits of setting up SDR at home? I am from Germany if that matters. Sorry if my thread is nonsensical, I don't really know where to start and found this forum, so thought I might as well ask you guys.

 

[vagrant]

A setup at home will have costs and may not provide the audio quality you get now via an online SDR.

1. SDR dongle - From $40 on up to hundreds of U.S. dollars for improved receivers.
2. Coaxial cable from receiver to outdoor antenna
3. 9:1 balun
4. 14 meters of wire and the room to string it up. Alternatively there are loop antennas.
5. You may also need a filter to block nearby AM broadcast stations that can overload a receiver.

I spent the money as I like to experiment. For me, that is half of the fun. Plus, the independence of not relying on the Internet as well as someone’s SDR feed.

 

[K4EET]

Hi @yuni and welcome to Radio Reference! 😃

Shortwave Listening (SWLing) is covered at various websites such as:

Searching the Radio Reference forums to start with. Search with “Shortwave Listening”.

And some other websites such as:

Shortwave Radio Listening Quick Start Guide - SWLing.com

Here you will find a Quick Guide to getting on the air with your shortwave radio. You can print this page and keep the Guide by your radio for quick reference until you get the hang of SWLing. SWLing in four easy steps!

swling.com

Introduction to Shortwave Listening

Shortwave listening - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The hobby is a lot of fun and what you hear can be really interesting. I prefer a general coverage receiver, like the higher-end Tecsuns. If you do a search here on Radio Reference for the word “Tecsun”, you will find a bunch of threads that compare various Tecsun models with other brands.

Feel free to ask questions and remember, there are no dumb questions!

 

[EAFrizzle]

There's lots of ways to get into SW, but to target something as specific as North Korea webSDRs are going to be the quickest way to get a good signal.

That'll get you started. There's lots of information here about all sorts of SW setups. First question is how much space do you have for the antenna. Various types can be used to work in most places.

If you have a good antenna system, you'll be happier with any radio you hook to it.

 

[K4EET]

<snip> If you have a good antenna system, you'll be happier with any radio you hook to it.

As @EAFrizzle stated, it is the antenna system that makes or breaks a radio system. You’ll see that theme stated in many posts here where a radio system of any type is being discussed.

That being said, you don’t need to start out with a 100 foot tower and a log periodic beam on top. You can start with just the telescoping antenna on the back of a receiver sitting on your desk. From there, you can make the antenna system better by running a long piece of wire around the inside walls at ceiling height. If you are in a HOA environment where you can’t put up an outside antenna, the inside “long wire” antenna is better than nothing and doesn’t cost very much. Going a bit more expensive would be an indoor or balcony mounted “magnetic loop” receive-only antenna. Finally , if you ever can put up an outside antenna, the sky is the limit only constrained by the amount of real estate you have. But you get the idea, experiment with different antennas over time based on what you have available.

WebSDRs are great fun although you don’t have complete control of the assets. And WebSDRs that have good antenna(s) connected to the receiver can be awesome receptors. Eventually, some WebSDR users will get their own receiver(s) to be in complete control. Your receiving station will be your pride and joy. It’s all part of the SWLing hobby. Start out within your means and grow your receiving station over time as you become more familiar with what equipment is available and the almost infinite combinations of what is included with your pride and joy.

Viel Spaß beim SWLing! Ja, ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch. Guten Tag, mein Freund.

 

[n2pqq]

Take a look at

http://kiwisdr.com/.public/

Then look at the store if you decide to purchase a radio .
For a antenna get yourself a loop antenna .
This is a good site if you want to know what is on a frequency for broadcast stations .

Search for Short Wave Radio Broadcasting Schedules

Short-Wave.Info is a simple, handy, graphical way to search for and display Short Wave radio broadcasting frequency schedules. You can search by frequency, language, broadcaster, time and short-wave band.

www.short-wave.info

 

[ditto1958]

The most important thing you probably need is an antenna. Which can cost between $0 (depending on what you have on hand at home) and $10 for a wire. The 23’ retractable wires are less than 10’ and work well.

If you stick to the hobby, you will likely improve your antennas, but a simple wire really help over the retractable whip antenna.

As for radios? There are a lot of really good ones available. The Tecsun PL-330 is very popular and would be an excellent choice. The XHData D-808 is also a stellar choice, and so is the Eton Elite Executive (which looks completely different on the outside, but is supposed to be the D-808’s twin on the inside. C. Crane CC Skywave is top notch, as are the Qodosen DX-286 and the Sihuadon R-108.

All are sensitive radios, and you can’t go wrong with any of them. But they are different in size, operation and features.

73!

 

[spongella]

As an old salt who's been an SWL since the early '60s, check out the Airspy HF+ Discovery. You'll need a computer to run the program though. I've had more shortwave radios than shoes and in my opinion it's one of the best receivers I've ever owned. You'll need an outside antenna for optimal results.

 

[kc2asb]

I recommend sticking with a radio from Sangean, Tecsun, C. Crane or Eton. They have been around a long time and offer a good selection of models from entry level and up. Sangean in particular was around when I got into the hobby in my high school days back in the late 80's.

Most of us got into the hobby with simple set ups, and later got more sophisticated with better antennas and receivers as our interest grew. I started with a 6-band portable from Radio Shack that had a shortwave band. I used the built-in whip antenna and then later ran a wire around the room.

A couple of years later (1988), I received a Realistic DX-440 from Radio Shack as an Xmas gift, which was also known as the Sangean ATS-803A. With a simple wire antenna in the attic, I was able to listen to shortwave broadcast stations, ham radio, and aircraft, marine, and military utility stations around the world. I was able to listen to the US military on shortwave during the Gulf War in 1991! As time went on, I upgraded to higher end radios and experimented with various types of wire antennas.

The great aspect of your location in Germany is that there are still many regional shortwave broadcasters on the air, including many pirate (unlicensed) stations. Plenty of variety to listen to!

 

[Boombox]

Get a Tecsun, a decent Tecsun. Modern SW portable radios are really good off their whip antenna. You can also clip a wire to the whip (or plug it into the external antenna jack) and boost signals that way. I use a Tecsun PL-398 and PL-330 with an 8 meter indoor, second story wire and hear a lot on just that.

Once you get into the hobby a bit, then expand your antenna and receiver choices.

But with today's DSP portables (DSP = Digital Signal Processing), you really are getting a radio that will pull in and filter a lot of signal that portable radios in past decades couldn't do with the same, minimal antennas.

As for hearing North Korea, they broadcast to Europe at various times during the day. There are SW schedule websites that help you find SW schedules. Eibispace.de is one site that is used by a lot of SW listeners, and short-wave.info is another one.

 

[Slippery999]

You can check out my radio show VOSR International, The Voice of Shortwave Radio. It's a Shortwave Radio show a out Shortwave radio. There is a rebroadcast in about 3 hours on 9455 kHz. 🤙🏻

VOSR International

VOSR International, The Voice of Shortwave Radio is a monthly shortwave radio broadcast that covers all things Shortwave Radio. The show will be broadcast on WRMI from their transmitters in Okeechobee

vosrinternational.com

 

[merlin]

First, you need a decent receiver. I should havve good sesitivity, good bandpass, good dynamic range, and good selectivity ranges.
Many stand alone can run a couple hundred dollares, (cheaper used) to a few grand. (Collins, AOR).
Second is your antenna system, that can run a hundred bucks for a good loop, or several thousand plus real estate for rhombic types.
You can't skimp there, as noted above, it can make or break your setup.
In the economy world, there are some SDRs like Airspy HF+ discovery, the best bang for the buck.
A few receivers I have had are Collins R390, Watkins Johnson, Collins s75s1.(the latter run you 3 grand plus)
Those teamed up with a 240 foot T3FD antenna, you can tune in the world.
Today, also, you may want some digital type decoders, Much of HF, MF, LF, there is more digital today.
Welcom to the hobby.

The SWLing Post

Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more

swling.com

 

[ditto1958]

Those who are thinking of getting into SW do probably need to think about whether they want a desktop receiver, a portable receiver, or even and SDR setup.

I didn’t know for sure if I would stick with it, so I went with an inexpensive, but good performing, portable.

 

[Scan125]

Those who are thinking of getting into SW do probably need to think about whether they want a desktop receiver, a portable receiver, or even and SDR setup.

I didn’t know for sure if I would stick with it, so I went with an inexpensive, but good performing, portable.

Being a hardware engineer there is nothing like nice clear displays, knobs, buttons, lights, i.e all the touchy feely things.

Real hardware be that bigger rigs, or portables offer a nice traditional approach compared to SDRs and PCs. That said there are some hardware based SDR receivers out their that require no PC.

I have both an Alinco DX-R8 and RSPduo SDR receivers. What SDRs offer cheaply are the band-scope / waterfall display which are great for seeing activity across a wide range of frequencies. Only the very much more expensive hardware rigs come with this facility and then the displays can be a limiting factor compared to a full PC display.

I like both of my pieces of kit and one can use a simple SDR as a band-scope to then allow you to drive your main rig.

When I get a chance I want to software integrate an SDR band-scope into my DriveR8 software for my DX-R8. Then I can get the best of both worlds