IS ANYONE STILL LISTENING TO SHORTWAVE RADIO ?
ShortWave Listening, or SWL for short, was once a very popular activity for people all around the world.
Today, is SWLing still as popular as it once was, is it more popular, is it less popular?
Although there are fewer shortwave broadcasters today than there were several years ago, shortwave listening is still going strong.
Many listeners have become bored with screens, screens, screens everywhere, and have found that SWLing captures
their imagination in ways that a phone/tablet/PC etc. just cannot compete with.
In the early days of radio broadcasting, radio was described as “theater of the mind,” because you can use your mind to “construct”
the scenario you are listening to. In SWLing, you can listen to radio stations in far-off lands and let your imagination travel there as you listen.
In the sections below, I have attempted to provide you with several useful resources which you can use to make SWLing more fun and engaging.
Be sure to check out the “Shortwave Radio Receiver Simulator” (below) that I designed for your listening pleasure.
So, sit back, relax, and tune in to the world as it happens in real-time.
A Simplified Version of the Shortwave Radio Receiver Simulator Above
DEFINITIONS
Before continuing with my post, I think it would be appropriate to define a few of the terms (acronyms) that I will be using.
Please refer to the table below for the definitions of some of these terms.
| IMPORTANT ACRONYMS & TERMS | ||
| ACRONYM | MEANING | DETAILS |
| AM | Amplitude Modulation | A transmission mode whereby the audio (sound) signal is used to modulate (change) the amplitude of the transmitted signal while maintaining a constant frequency. |
| CW | Continuous Wave | A transmission mode whereby the transmitted signal is switched on and off by the use of a hand key (or automatic keyer) in order to communicate using Morse Code. |
| DX | Distant Stations | In the argot of radio communication enthusiasts, the term “DX” means “distant stations.” So, the expression “SWL DXing” would mean listening to distant stations on the shortwave broadcast bands, which basically cover from 3 MHz to 30 MHz. Signal propagation (also known as “skip”) is affected by several factors, including but not limited to the time of day, the season of the year, the 11-year sunspot cycle, and on the higher frequency bands (50+ MHz) by periodic meteor showers. |
| FM | Frequency Modulation | A transmission mode whereby the audio (sound) signal is used to modulate (change) the frequency of the transmitted signal while maintaining a constant amplitude. |
| Hz | Hertz |
Hertz (or Hz) is the standard unit of frequency. 1 Hz (or 1 Hertz) = 1 cycle-per-second of an electronic signal. 1 kHz = 1000 Hertz. 1 kHz = 0.001 MHz. 1 MHz = 1000000 Hertz. 1 MHz = 1000 kHz. |
| SSB (USB / LSB) |
Single-Sideband (Upper / Lower) |
A transmission mode, which is similar to AM, except that the carrier signal and a portion of the output waveform, either above (LSB) or below (USB) the carrier frequency, is removed using critically-tuned filters, thereby leaving only one (single) sideband. To restore the audio signal on the receiving end, the carrier is injected back into the waveform. The receiver must be tuned to the exact transmission frequency, otherwise the voices sound very much like “ducks quacking.” No, seriously, it’s true. Quack Quack. |
| SWL | ShortWave Listening | This is the act of listening to radio stations in the shortwave bands. The term shortwave was coined to mean signals with a shorter wavelength, which have a higher frequency. |
LISTENING TO SHORTWAVE RADIO STATIONS OVER-THE-AIR
Click on the image for more information.
AM Broadcast Band DXing: The expression “AM Broadcast Band DXing” means listening to distant stations on the AM broadcast band, which covers from 520 kHz to 1710 kHz (or 0.520 MHz to 1.710 MHz). During daylight hours, the only stations you will be able to hear across the entire AM band will be local ones. During early evening to late night hours, you will begin to be able to hear distant stations, especially on the upper end of the AM broadcast band (usually 1200 kHz or higher), that are hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of miles away. This phenomenon, often referred to as “skip” or “propagation” by some, is due to the ionization of the atmosphere by sunlight.
SDR (Software-Defined Radio) One of the most exciting advances in shortwave listening technology is a new class of radio receivers which is known as SDR (Software-Defined Radio). These SDR receivers use software to perform most of the tasks usually done by hardware circuitry in conventional receivers. Some of the software, which is used in this system, resides on the physical receiver in the form of “firmware” (semi-permanent software). The rest of the software is located on a host machine such as a PC, a mini-PC, or a Raspberry Pi computer. Apparently, the most common SDR system in use today is the RX888 Mk II – SDR Receiver (hardware), and software from UberSDR.ORG.
USEFUL TIP: To help improve reception, you can clip a jumper wire to your radio’s antenna and clip the other end to an UNPOWERED stationary object. You can also clip multiple jumper wires together end-to-end to increase the effective length of your makeshift antenna.
RF (Radio Frequency) Spectrum Bands
The classifications of the full range of frequencies in the RF (Radio Frequency) spectrum are listed in the table below.
Standard AM radio broadcasts are located from 520kHz to 1710 kHz (or 0.520 MHz to 1.710 MHz) in the MW (Medium Wave) band.
Standard FM radio broadcasts are located from 87.9 MHz to 107.9 MHz in the VHF (Very High Frequency) band.
Standard SW (shortwave) radio broadcasts are located from 2.3 MHz to 26.1 MHz in the HF (High Frequency) band.
| RF (Radio Frequency) Spectrum Bands | |
| ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) | 3 Hz – 30Hz |
| SLF (Super Low Frequency) | 30 Hz – 300 Hz |
| ULF (Ultra Low Frequency) | 300 Hz – 3 kHz |
| VLF (Very Low Frequency) | 3 kHz – 30 kHz |
| LF (Low Frequency) | 30 kHz – 300 kHz |
| MW (Medium Wave) | 300 kHz – 3 MHz |
| HF (High Frequency) | 3 MHz – 30 MHz |
| VHF (Very High Frequency) | 30 Mhz – 300 MHz |
| UHF (Ultra High Frequency) | 300 Mhz – 3 GHz |
| SHF (Super High Frequency) | 3 Ghz – 30 GHz |
| EHF (Extremely High Frequency) | 30 Ghz – 300 GHz |
| THF (Tremendously High Frequency) | 300 GHz – 3 THz |
| Click HERE for more information | |
| Engineering Unit Prefixes | |||
| 1 kHz = 1 kilohertz = 1,000 Hz | 1 MHz = 1 megahertz = 1,000,000 Hz | 1 GHz = 1 gigahertz = 1,000,000,000 Hz | 1 THz = 1 terahertz = 1,000,000,000,000 Hz |
Shortwave / Amateur (Ham) Radio – Band and Frequency Tables
A very important part of shortwave listening is knowing where on the radio dial to look for stations to listen to. Below, you will see two tables, “Amateur (Ham) Radio Bands” on the left, and “Shortwave Radio Bands” on the right.
Using the table on the left, you can listen to lots of person-to-person conversations. Using the table on the right, you can listen to lots of broadcasters who transmit all types of content, such as music, sports, news, talk, etc.
I like listening to the regional music from different countries which is very prevalent on the shortwave bands. To sum it up, HAVE FUN!
There is an inverse relationship between frequency and wavelength, such that as the frequency increases, the wavelength decreases, and vice-versa.
Let’s examine this inverse relationship in more detail by first defining some of the quantities involved, and then by taking a look at the equations which quantitize this inverse relationship.
On the right side of the first equation (f * λ), if one quantity increases, the other quantity must decrease by the same ratio to maintain a constant value of C, thereby demonstrating
the inverse relationship between the frequency and wavelength.
C is the speed of light (3×108 meters-per-second).
f is the frequency in Hertz (or Hz), where 1 Hz is equal to 1 cycle-per-second.
λ (the Greek letter “lambda”) is the wavelength (in meters). Asterisk (*) means multiplication. Slash (/) means division.
λ (the Greek letter “lambda”) is the wavelength (in meters). Asterisk (*) means multiplication. Slash (/) means division.
| C = f * λ | f = C / λ | λ = C / f |
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** SPECIAL NOTE: The 60-meter amateur (ham) radio band consists of four discrete frequencies,
5.3305, 5.3465, 5.3715, and 5.4035 MHz, and a spectrum slice from 5.3515 MHz to 5.3665 MHz.
Shortwave Broadcaster Schedules
It would be nice if all shortwave radio stations transmitted on their ONE assigned frequency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year, but such is not the case.
For various reasons, broadcasters change the times, days of the week, frequencies, and even the languages used in their broadcasts in order to reach a wider global audience.
In the table below, you will find the web addresses of sites which are dedicated to informing the public (you and me) about the schedules of specific shortwave radio stations.
| Schedules for Shortwave Radio Broadcasters | |
|
BBC World Service Shortwave.AM ShortwaveDB.ORG Short-Wave.INFO |
Shortwave.LIVE ShortwaveSchedule.COM VOA (Voice Of America) |
Online Web-Based Shortwave Radio Receivers
Online web-based shortwave radio receivers provide a viable alternative for listening to radio broadcasts on the shortwave radio bands, and other bands as well.
Instead of using a physical shortwave radio, the only requirement for listening is a web browser on any device. The really great thing about these online receivers
is that listeners can, in most cases, actually select the frequencies they want to listen to. Bear in mind that you will be listening to signals that are being
received in the place where the receiver is physically located. The larger table below has direct links to online receivers which are located in a myriad of places
around the world. The smaller table has LISTS of these online receivers. Enjoy!
| Lists of Online Web-Based Shortwave Radio Receivers | ||||
|
Global Tuners Ham Radio Secrets |
KFS WebSDR KiwiSDR |
OE3MZC Receiver Book |
UberSDR.ORG WebSDR.ORG | |
| NOTE: UberSDR.ORG is the best of these lists. | ||||
Individual Shortwave Radio Station Websites
The list below has links to the websites of several shortwave radio broadcast stations. These websites can provide information about the stations, their broadcast schedules,
and other important and interesting information that is not available anywhere else. NOTE: Some websites are in languages other than English, so you might need to use a
website translation service like Google Translate in order to read the contents of the website. NOTE: Not all of the stations listed here broadcast on the shortwave bands.
Some of them broadcast locally, but they are located in the countries they are listed under.
Individual Shortwave Radio Station Websites
Clandestine, Covert, Numbers, Pirate, Spy, and Utility Stations
Welcome to the mysterious and shadowy world of clandestine, covert, numbers, pirate, spy, and utility stations. if you listen around on the shortwave radio bands long enough, you will
undoubtedly hear some very strange sounds. These weird sounds will run the gamut from sounding like a woodpecker pecking a steel post to a piano falling down a flight of stairs.
Let’s delve into some definitions in the title of this section. Clandestine and covert mean roughly the same thing, which is anything that is purposely kept secret or hidden.
Numbers stations will broadcast a lot of seemingly random numbers in Morse Code, or a computer-generated voice will read a list of these random numbers in various languages.
Pirate stations are simply unlicensed stations with no authorization to broadcast on the shortwave bands. Spy stations are … well, you know. Utility stations make up the rest of
this group, but they usually serve a worthwhile purpose.
Clandestine, Covert, Numbers, Pirate, Spy, and Utility Stations
Social Media Resources
The “Social Media” links below can be useful in becoming acclimated to the world of Shortwave Listening, along with its argot and other aspects
of this extremely enjoyable hobby. Hopefully, the experiences of other SWLers will allow you to make informed decisions as to the selection and
use of the shortwave radio which will fit your needs perfectly.
Social Media Resources
Facebook
* FB: Search for “shortwave”* FB: Shortwave Radio Listeners Club
* FB: Shortwave Radio Users Group
* FB: Short-wave Fan
* FB: Shortwave/LW/MW Listeners Group
* FB: Shortwave Radio Listening
* FB: Virtual Shortwave Radio Lovers
X (Formerly Known As TWITTER)
* X: Shortwave Pirate Radio* X: Shortwave Radio Passion
YouTube
* YT: Search for “shortwave listening” Channels* YT: Search for “shortwave listening” Videos
IN CONCLUSION
Shortwave Listening is STILL Awesome!…THE END…
