Why should I listen to Shortwave?

[kb2vxa]

"I only said I had been -- to this point -- unable to find anything interesting to listen to there."

What's the big deal? All I said is since you are unable (Bad receiver, no antenna, what?) to find anything interesting then don't listen. If there's nothing interesting on TV do you sit and watch it anyway? Only simple logic, no need to get all upset.

"Why do some of you have this paranoid conspiracy theory that I came here with an agenda?"

Not me, I only find your question illogical so perhaps others are suspicious of your motives?

"It just feels like a secret world out there on SW, in reality it is more the red-headed stepchild of broadcast where in NA 90% of anything listenable is already in Spanish or is Dr. Gene Scott bible thumpers."

That crap is enough to turn anybody off unless the Spanish is from Radio Habana and it's music. Yeppers, there's a whole HF spectrum out there so unless Mike has a crap receiver (not likely for a General class ham) I don't understand his problem. Try the 75M AM window, now THAT'S entertainment! (;->)

 

[ka3jjz]

Everybody to their own, Warren. I like looking for the low-powered stuff in between and sometimes outside the standard SWBC bands. We're moving into the summer season now, with all the thunderstorm static and noise, so now's the time to try for these kinds of stations.

Finding something that interest you to listen to is a matter of choice - there's so much that sometimes it overwhelms a newcomer. I would start off by making a list of things - perhaps countries - you want to hear. Then start checking things like the World Radio TV Handbook to see where to look. This is where a basic understanding of HF propagation is really important - If you are on the east coast of North America, it's unlikely you are going to hear a Euro broadcaster on 6 mhz in the middle of the day, but at night, it's very likely.

New schedules are being discovered almost daily as the new broadcasting season has begun. Subscribing to the DX Listening Digest yahoo group is a great way to keep abreast of this. You will also find out when the newest World of Radio program has been posted on the web. In between the somewhat pendantic MW local stuff, there's a ton of new schedules presented. There are also lists of countries and frequencies on the web (as listed in our wiki), but be aware of when they are updated.

73 Mike

 

[ind224]

Most of my equipment was bought used and/or throw aways. I scan, listen to HF, and have decided now is the time to get a General to (legally) really enjoy the Kenwood I've used for receive for 10 years and also join Skywarn and be useful with storm spotting. Wish I'd had the pockets 20 years ago to have been a C bander!!! Now the HD K band feeds are the stuff....

 

[Zaratsu]

Most of my equipment was bought used and/or throw aways. I scan, listen to HF, and have decided now is the time to get a General to (legally) really enjoy the Kenwood I've used for receive for 10 years and also join Skywarn and be useful with storm spotting. Wish I'd had the pockets 20 years ago to have been a C bander!!! Now the HD K band feeds are the stuff....

hah, I remember back in the 80s, only the 'really rich' had giant C-band dishes on their lawns. Now they are considered an eyesore. I still want one

 

[n8emr]

Pick any real new story from network news. Now listen to the same story from the BBC or another international broadcaster. You will see why SWL is good.

 

[ridgescan]

Ive come across that numbers station a few times and it's creepy man "cinco cinco seis dos nueve....uno uno seis nueve dos...etc" I learned it's probably a spy station from Cuba HAH! Figures- any time you tune in to radio havana they're constantly dogging the US about something!

 

[kb2vxa]

And who's transmitters are broadcasting numbers during "off hours"? ('->)

 

[mtindor]

hah, I remember back in the 80s, only the 'really rich' had giant C-band dishes on their lawns. Now they are considered an eyesore. I still want one

Ahh yeah, I remember those days. Had a typical 9 footer and then a 12 footer on a horizon to horizon mount. Those were the days of Doug Denhart (of the Sky Store), Shawn Kinney (of greensheet), before scrambling and then after (and chipping videociphers) -- and of course American XXXtasy. The latter was literally a geek's wet dream.

Mike

 

[Michael-SATX]

Has anyone compiled a short list of interesting SW listenning ?

Has anyone compiled a short list of interesting SW listenning ?

5.070 Khz and 12.160 khz freqs I can hear the Alex Jones conspiracy character :~)

I have been putting off getting an informed SW list together for years now ....

Soooo, what 4 NA freqs is the BBC on again .... I usually just grab it on NPR - FM here.
Also, just for grins ... what is Radio Havana's freq ? ( is it 6.000 khz ? )

Thanks All,

ps ~ Please ... go ahead and make my day and chime in on Sir Alex Jones's show ... lol

 

[ka3jjz]

Mike, the term 'interesting' is simply too vague. There's a wealth of programming out there from the major broadcasters, however, none of them beam directly into the SE US specifically. Interestingly, they tend to beam to the East Coast or West Coast, and depend on propagation (which sucks right now) to carry their signal further inland.

As for lists - even the lists we have in our SWBC wiki article have to be updated from time to time, as schedules are in flux (we just started a new broadcast season). I would suggest subscribing to the DXLD (DX Listening Digest) Yahoo group, run by Glenn Hauser (a very well known name in the hobby); you will receive regular updates on schedule changes, programming notes and a lot of other things as well.
Glenn is an Oklahoman, so it's right in your back yard (so to speak)

I can't stress this enough; understanding the basics of how propagation moves a signal from point a to b is going to be very important, particularly in light of where you are.

73 Mike

[edit] By the way, I hear via the NASWA mailing list that the World Radio TV Handbook has just issued their first set of updates, available in PDF format from their website (which is also in the wiki linked above)

 

[Michael-SATX]

Hello Mike,
Thanks for your reply to my question about short wave listening.
I went to Glen woradio.com website and found yet another haystack to trudge through.
He posts schedules ( times of day ) and the 4 letter station call signs ... but leaves
out the simple frequency ... dang it ... he comes so close but falls short that HUGE detail !
I sent him an email a week ago for 10 to 20 SWL freqs and have not ehard back from him.
I DO realize I need to probably PAY him to ask him a simple question it would seem ?
Heck I really figured it would be no big deal to have and post a garden variety of freqs !
You know when it comes to public safety freqs, the info it so easy to find out in a snap.

Mike, can you or anybody BUST OUT say 10 shortwave freqs that you know RX in the USA?
I could care less about what times the shows are ... I can scan them on my own time

I wish that the RRDatabase could have a tab under each state that good ol' boys like us could Submit info and keep it real ) What do you think of this simple idea ?

 

[Shortwavewave]

I wish that the RRDatabase could have a tab under each state that good ol' boys like us could Submit info and keep it real ) What do you think of this simple idea ?

Actually that doesnt seem like a bad idea, but theres not very meny SW stations in the USA, there are a few, and some repeaters, like one that I know of in Okeechobee, FL has quite a few broadcast from there.

 

[ka3jjz]

The amount of work that would require would be enormous; keeping up with all the schedule changes in even a week is a huge undertaking (remember we're talking about worldwide broadcasts, not just nationwide). That's why the Aoki list is rather valuable, as the folks that update that list do update it nearly daily.

Mike SATX, be more specific about your interests - broadcast, Utility, ect. I'm sure Glenn would agree, if he were watching this, that what I might find interesting (and easy to hear on the East Coast), might not be so easy in Texas. As mentioned before, no broadcaster actually sends directly to the Plains states - they depend on propagation to get the signal from wherever to Texas. It's not a matter of being paid to do anything - he's not paid for his almost 30+ years of doing this - it's simply too broad a question to answer.

Right now propagation is pxxx poor, so it's going to take a bit before things get better on a regular basis. Me, when I listen to HF (and right now, my shack is dismantled, awaiting getting new carpeting...) I tend to listen to stuff that's nowhere near local - Thailand, Japan, certainly listing to China Radio (with the recent earthquakes) and Taiwan is going to be interesting in the short term. Listening to Iran's news broadcasts is often hilarious - they tend to describe people that die in the Iraq war as 'martyrs'.

If you are looking for topics for SWBC listening, you need go no further than the national news, which often has topics describing things happening in other countries (however biased that might be, and that's a topic for another forum...). Use the lists in the wiki, along with the DXLD group, and get the most current schedules for those countries. Evaluate which frequencies/times would be possible from Texas- that should narrow down your list to a small handful of frequencies. Remember, understanding the basics of propagation is going to be a big help...

Of course, Cuba is practically at your doorstep....

73 Mike

 

[eorange]

Listening to SWL broadcast stations, to me, is boring.

So is listening to most hams. (Exception: propagation opens up and I hear a ham from far away. I'm not interested in what they have to say; it's more about knowing prop is delivering a far-away signal to me. To me, that's neat.)

What I like: listening to the Coast Guard on 5696 USB, and the Air Force on 11175 USB (and other assorted utility freqs). To me, that's neat because I am hearing military comms from just about anywhere, with no more than a whip antenna on a cheapo Sony 7600GR radio.

 

[Thaellar]

What I like: listening to the Coast Guard on 5696 USB, and the Air Force on 11175 USB (and other assorted utility freqs). To me, that's neat because I am hearing military comms from just about anywhere, with no more than a whip antenna on a cheapo Sony 7600GR radio.

This is the part I find intriguing and I am thinkng about getting a 7600GR. But, how easy is it hear the aircraft and ships? Do you just hear little tidbits every now and then or can you find the traffic easily and hear it often? And is there a chance of satellite communication making this a thing of the past?

Thaellar

 

[eorange]

It's pretty easy to hear comms on these 2 freqs. A radio like the 7600GR can do it with no problem.

On weeknights, I turn on 5696 after 7:00pm EST and regularly hear CAMSLANT (Coast Guard eastern HQ in Va.) boom in. I can faintly hear the helos they're talking to, which usually seem to be in Florida or the southern east coast. Sometimes I can really hear what they're saying, sometimes not. But you can always hear something.

Same thing with 11175 - when they broadcast an Emergency Action Message, it usually booms in. You have to park on that freq and be a little patient.

 

[trimmerj]

Utilities, Pirates, Numbers are cool. I get burned out, then rediscover HF every couple of years. Listening to a pirate on 6925 usb as I type

 

[Michael-SATX]

Seeking Interesting SWL ?

TrimmerJ, do yo live in Pasadena CA or TX ?

In SWL, what do you consider a Utility, Pirate and Numbers ? ie briefly describe ~ plz

SWL Question to all : Does the BBC transmit or have repeaters in the USA ? no right ?

OK, off to search throught the RR WIKI for any lists of interesting SWL freqs to check out.

 

[DPD1]

I think BBC pulled it's transmitters aimed at most of North America a while back.

I've always thought about going a step further and setting up a part 15 rules low power beacon. I think that would be kind of interesting, to see who can pick it up and how far.

Dave
www.DPDProductions.com
Antennas & Accessories for the RF Professional & Radio Hobbyist

 

[trimmerj]

Pasadena MD

>In SWL, what do you consider a Utility, Pirate and Numbers ? ie briefly describe ~ plz

Utility is any non broadcast type transmission not intended for the general public. Examples Military, Aircraft, Marine etc

Pirates-Unlicensed Broadcasters with music and comedy programming. 6925 khz is popular at the moment.

Numbers-Are Voice Broadcasts with repetative strings of numbers and letters (lots of speculation over sources and reasons for broadcasts)