[Last modified: Mar 31 1993]



Compiled by Ralph Brandi, ralph.brandi@att.com

128 Greenoak Blvd., Middletown, NJ 07748 U.S.A.



[Note from the compiler--This article is posted monthly on the USENET groups

rec.radio.shortwave and rec.radio.info.  It is also available electronically on

CompuServe, America Online, the ANARC BBS, the WELL, from the

rec.radio.shortwave ftp archive on ftp.funet.fi, the official Usenet FAQ

library rtfm.mit.edu, and from the radio archive on ftp.cs.buffalo.edu,

and in print from the ARRL. If you find this article somewhere else and/or

find it useful, I would appreciate if you could drop me a postcard or send

me e-mail letting me know where you found it, what the Last modified date on

the copy you have is, and if you have any suggestions to make the article

more helpful.  If you don't find it useful, I'd like to hear about that as

well.]





This posting contains answers to the following questions:



o What is shortwave radio?

o Where can I find broadcasts by Radio Foobar?

o Where can I find a list of broadcasts in the English language?

o What kind of receiver should I get?

o Where can I get a shortwave radio?

o Could you explain the frequencies used?  What's the 40 meter band? etc.

o What is SINPO/SIO?

o Why can't I receive all of the broadcasts listed in Monitoring

  Times/WRTH/Passport/etc.?

o What are some books or other resources that can help me get started?

o Where can I find further information?





o What is shortwave radio?



>From a purely technical point of view, shortwave radio refers to those

frequencies between 3 and 30 MHz.  Their main characteristic is their ability

to "propagate" for long distances, making possible such worldwide

communications as international broadcasting and coordination of long-distance

shipping.



>From a social point of view, shortwave radio is a way to find out what

the rest of the world thinks is important.  Many countries broadcast to the

world in English, making it easy to find out what a given country's position is

on those things it finds important.  Shortwave radio can also provide a way to

eavesdrop on the everyday workings of international politics and commerce.





o Where can I find broadcasts by Radio Foobar?



The World Radio TV Handbook is the standard reference for this sort of

information.  The WRTH provides SWLs (shortwave listeners) and DXers (listeners

specializing in distant [DX] and weak stations) worldwide with virtually

everything they need on frequencies, schedules and addresses.  It comes out

annually, right about the first of the year.  It covers virtually every

shortwave station in the world, and many of the medium wave (AM), FM, and

television stations as well.  The body of the book is a listing of stations by

country, with a cross-reference in the back by frequency.  It's available from

any radio store dealing in shortwave.  You can also contact the WRTH through

their publishers, Billboard.



World Radio TV Handbook 1993

ISBN 0-8230-5924-3



The past several years have seen competition of a sort for the WRTH, in the

form of Passport to World Band Radio.  Passport's main section is a graph/table

of what's on the air, by frequency.  The beginning of the book is filled with

articles of interest to the beginner.  There is also a comprehensive review

section of shortwave receivers currently available, one of the few places all

this information can be found in one place.  The book is more useful for

identifying a station you've already tuned in than for searching out a

particular transmission; the WRTH is useful at both, however, rendering the

purchase of this book not essential.  It can still be worthwhile, though,

especially for beginners who won't be put off by the "gee whiz, look what we

can listen to" tone of some of the articles.  The book is unabashedly an

advocate of making the hobby of "World Band Radio" accessible to people who

wouldn't have participated before the advent of good, cheap portables.  There

also seem to be efforts being made to address some of the shortcomings of the

book, such as a comprehensive address section (finally!) that also contains

useful information on how stations respond to correspondence, based on the

experience of other hobbyists.  Much of this information has been difficult or

impossible for hobbyists to obtain outside of a small elite group, and provides

a useful addition to the hobby.  It does tend to weaken the focus of the book,

which has previously seemed aimed at mainly beginners.



For utility band (non-broadcast transmissions) listeners, there are a few 

books that perform much the same function as the above two books, although due

to the nature of such point-to-point communication, not with the same sense of

definitiveness.



Confidential Frequency List

Published by Gilfer Shortwave



The Shortwave Directory

Published by Grove Enterprises



Klingenfuss Guide to Utility Stations

Published by Klingenfuss Publications





o Where can I find a list of broadcasts in the English language?



The World Radio TV Handbook has a list of English Language Broadcasts, starting

on page 566 of the 1993 edition.  Unfortunately, since the WRTH only comes out

once a year the data tend to go out of date fairly quickly. There are a number

of sources for current lists:



-Monitoring Times magazine carries a listing every month, one of the best

arguments I know of for subscribing.



-The North American Shortwave Association (NASWA) periodically publishes a

complete listing in their bulletin, The Journal, sent to all members monthly;

each month there are updates to the list.  See the address at the end of this

article.



-Tom Sundstrom, W2XQ, offers custom IBM PC-compatible software and a

subscription service with constantly updated electronic versions of his data

files (which are also the source for the NASWA listings, as well as forming

part of the listing in the WRTH).  The data files are in the standard dBASE III

format, capable of being imported into any software that reads DBF files, and

are distributed in a compressed self-extracting file for IBM PC users and .ARC

format for those using other operating systems. The data files are available on

the Pics OnLine BBS in Atco, New Jersey, U.S.A. (+1 609 753-2540 US Robotics

HST, +1 609 753 1549 V.32 9600 baud), or by special arrangement with Tom on the

commercial GEnie service. See the address for TRS Consultants at the end of

this file, including e-mail addresses.



-Jim Frimmel offers a HyperCard program for the Apple Macintosh that offers

both frequency schedules and program schedules for international English

language broadcasts.  Jim also offers an updating service over a simple BBS

which you get access to when you register.  The program, called Shortwave

Navigator, also offers computer control of a number of radios.  See the

address for DX Computing at the end of this file, including e-mail.



If you are interested in finding out what programs are on the air at a given

time, there are a couple of recent publications that attempt to provide

semi-comprehensive information:



-Grove Enterprises publishes *The 1993 Guide to Shortwave Programs* edited by

the Program Manager of its "Shortwave Guide" section of *Monitoring Times*,

Kannon Shanmugam along with the programming staff.



-One-man dynamo John Figliozzi produces *The Shortwave Radio Guide* each

year, for sale through the Ontario DX Association (ODXA), who do the actual

production on the book, and NASWA.





o What kind of receiver should I get?



That depends largely on what kind of listening you expect to do.  There are two

or three basic kinds of radios.  The first is the travel portable.  These

usually cost between US$30 and US$250.  Their main characteristic is their

extremely small size, making them most suitable for the person who spends a lot

of time on airplanes.  They do an adequate job of receiving the major

broadcasters, such as the BBC, the Voice of America, Radio Nederland, etc. They

are generally not capable of receiving hams, or utility transmissions, and they

do not do a good job on weak stations.  They may, therefore, not be the best

choice for expatriates wishing to listen to their home stations, for instance,

especially the less expensive radios.  Many of them also lack frequency

coverage beyond the major international broadcasting bands.  As such, they

cannot receive the channels outside the defined bands that often provide

clearer reception (due to lessened interference) of such stations as the BBC,

Kol Israel, and the Voice of Iran.



There are a few very low cost (under US$50) SW receivers that are the subject

of frequent inquiries in rec.radio.shortwave: the DAK MR-101s, and a Chinese-

built unit that is sold under (at least) the names Pomtrex, MCE, TEK, Windsor,

and Citizen.  The DAK, despite its digital tuning, has received generally

negative reviews. The Pomtrex, which is an analog unit, has had much greater

acceptance by users.  Unfortunately, the radio seems to have virtually

disappeared from the market.  A recent radio that has garnered attention is the

Casio PR-100.  Initial evidence indicates that this radio is similar to the DAK

radio.  In general, radios in this price range can be expected to perform

poorly, but may provide an inexpensive introduction to the world of shortwave

and acceptable reception of the strongest international stations.



The second category of radios overlaps with the first, and consists of slightly

larger portables.  Common among this category are radios like the Sangean

ATS-803A, (also sold around the world as the Realistic DX-440, Emerson 803A,

Siemens RK 651, and many other names), a fine starter radio with many

capabilities for the inexpensive price of US$200.  These radios often have

digital readout, making it easier to know which frequency you are tuned to, and

such features as dual conversion (which decreases the possibility of your radio

receiving spurious signals from other frequencies), audio filters (which allow

you to decrease interference from stations on adjacent frequencies) and beat

frequency oscillators (which allow you to decode morse code and single sideband

(SSB) transmissions on the ham and utility bands).  The top range of this kind

of radio includes technically sophisticated radios like the Sony ICF-2010, Sony

ICF-SW77, and Grundig Satellit 700, which contain innovative circuitry to lock

on to a given signal and allow you to choose the portion of the signal you want

to listen to, depending on which part gets the least interference. If you

follow the newsgroup for any amount of time, you're bound to notice some

discussion of the relative merit of these features versus their cost (about

double that of the Sangean radio.)  Many of these radios can be and have been

used to receive distant and weak stations from a number of countries, and can

provide a cost-effective way for expatriates to receive programs from their

native countries; they're also suitable for listening to programs from the

major broadcasters.



The third category of receivers is the tabletop receiver.  These receivers cost

from  US$600 upward, with a concentration of radios around  US$1000.  These

radios naturally contain many more features than the portables, and are used by

serious hobbyists who specialize in rare and weak stations.  Current radios in

this group include the ICOM R-71A, the Kenwood R-5000, the Japan Radio

Corporation NRD-535 and NRD-535D, the Lowe 150 and 225, and the Drake R-8. 

These radios can be very complex to operate, and are generally not recommended

for the beginner. Radios from the first two categories can give a beginner a

very good idea of what's on the air and where their interests lie, at which

point one of these radios may be an appropriate acquisition.  Strangely enough,

not all of these radios contain the kind of innovative circuitry that are part

of less expensive portables like the Sony 2010 mentioned above.  Newer radios,

such as the NRD-535D, the Lowe radios, and the R-8 are starting to include such

capabilities.



There are many sources for detailed information on specific radios, most of it

provided by two groups.  Larry Magne, who publishes the Passport to World Band

Radio, includes a review of virtually all shortwave radios currently available

in that publication.  For more extensive reviews of selected receivers, he

offers detailed "white papers", which run between ten and twenty pages or so.

Magne also contributes a monthly review column to Monitoring Times.



The other main source for equipment reviews is a group centered around Radio

Nederland and the WRTH in Holland.  The WRTH, as mentioned above, has a review

section covering mainly new receivers, but also contains a table with ratings

of most currently available radios.  Radio Nederland also offers a free booklet

with receiver reviews.  The WRTH has also released a new book, *The WRTH

Equipment Buyers Guide*, available from the end of 1992. The book contains

extended versions of the reports available in the past five years of the WRTH,

as well as new and updated reports.  It also contains information on

accessories and antennas, as well as a fairly technical tutorial on receivers.



There are also two books published by Gilfer Shortwave in New Jersey that cover

the subject of receivers, called *Radio Receivers, Chance or Choice*, and *More

Radio Receivers, Chance or Choice*.  These books are fairly out of date now.



The Sony ICF-2010 and the Drake R-8 have Internet mailing lists devoted to

discussions of their features among users.  Joining these mailing lists can be

a good way to keep up on modifications or workarounds for your radio.  You can

join the mailing lists with requests to the following addresses:



Sony ICF-2010: icf-2010-request@cup.hp.com

Drake R-8: DrakeR8-request@hpsesuka.pwd.hp.com





o Where can I get a shortwave radio?



Many stereo stores and discount chains carry the Sony and Panasonic lines of

receivers; the people there, however, generally don't know much about

shortwave, and you're not likely to find many accessories there.  Mail order

stereo sources like J&R Music or 47th Street Photo in New York generally give

the cheapest prices, but have the same problem.  There are lists available on

the photography newsgroups that can indicate whether a given store of this type

is reliable and provides acceptable service.  More knowledgeable, and falling

roughly between the two in price, are the mail order houses that specialize in

ham and/or shortwave radio.  Many of them offer catalogs that contain useful

tips for the beginner.  Addresses for some of the better-known and respected

businesses in the U.S. can be found at the end of this article.





o Could you explain the frequencies used?  What's the 49 meter band? etc.



As you tune around, you'll notice certain kinds of signals tend to be

concentrated together.  Different services are allocated different frequency

ranges.  International broadcasters, for instance, are assigned to ten

frequency bands up and down the dial.  These are:



3900-4000 kHz (75 meter band)         13600-13800 kHz (22 meter band)

5950-6200 kHz (49 meter band)         15100-15600 kHz (19 meter band)

7100-7300 kHz (41 meter band)         17550-17900 kHz (16 meter band)

9500-9900 kHz (31 meter band)         21450-21850 kHz (13 meter band)

11650-12050 kHz (25 meter band)       25600-26100 kHz (11 meter band)



In general, lower frequencies (below 10000 kHz) are better received at night

and for a few hours surrounding dawn and dusk, and higher frequencies (15000

kHz and up) are better received during the day.  The frequencies in between are

transitional, with reception being possible at most times.  In practice, these

guidelines are not absolute, with reception on high frequencies being possible

at night, and lower frequencies can provide decent medium-distance reception

during the day.



Hams (who have their own newsgroups, rec.radio.amateur.*) and point-to-point,

or utility communications, fill most of the rest of the frequencies.  The

Confidential Frequency List and The Shortwave Guide mentioned above can provide

more information on what can be heard in these areas, as can utility loggings

in magazines like Monitoring Times and Popular Communications, and in club

bulletins.





o What is SINPO/SIO?



The SINPO code is a way of quantifying reception conditions in a five-digit

code, especially for use in reception reports to broadcasters.  The code covers

Signal strength, Interference (from other stations), Noise (from atmospheric

conditions), Propagation disturbance (or Fading, in the SINFO code),

andOverall.  The code is as follows:



(S)ignal       (I)nterference   (N)oise        (P)ropagation   (O)verall

 5 excellent    5 none           5 none         5 none          5 excellent

 4 good         4 slight         4 slight       4 slight        4 good

 3 fair         3 moderate       3 moderate     3 moderate      3 fair

 2 poor         2 severe         2 severe       2 severe        2 poor

 1 barely aud.  1 extreme        1 extreme      1 extreme       1 unusable



In recent years, many broadcasters have tried to steer listeners away from the

SINPO code and toward the simpler SIO code.  SIO deletes the extremes (1 and 5)

and the noise and propagation categories, which were confusing to too many

people to be useful.  In sending reports to stations other than large

international broadcasters who are likely to understand the codes, it is better

to simply describe reception conditions in words.





o Why can't I receive all of the broadcasts listed in Monitoring

  Times/WRTH/Passport/etc.?



This is a fact of life on shortwave.  Because of propagation, antenna headings,

the kind of radio you have, your local environment, etc., you're never going to

be able to hear all the things you find in a list.  The lists in Monitoring

Times, etc., aren't lists of what's being heard in a general location.  They're

lists of everything that you could possibly hear, from a daily powerhouse like

the BBC to a once or twice a year rarity like Bhutan.  They're listed because

you *might* hear them, depending on where you are and the given circumstances,

not because they're necessarily being heard outside of their immediate target

area.



If you want lists of what is actually being heard in something roughly

analogous to "your area", the best source for these are the logging sections of

the bulletins of the SWL/DX clubs.  You might want to sample a few club

bulletins to see if they'll help.  The bulletins also offer articles from

experts on many facets of the hobby.





o What are some books or other resources that can help me get started?



There are a number of books dealing with the basics of the hobby.  The most

recent book, one that has been getting good reviews, is *The Shortwave

Listening Guidebook* by Harry Helms.  The book should be easily available from

most shortwave specialty outlets.  It is also being published directly by Mr.

Helms, and is therefore likely to stay in print for a while.





o Where can I find further information?



There are a number of hobby publications available.  Two glossy magazines which

cover the hobby are Monitoring Times and Popular Communications.  They both

cover a number of aspects of the hobby, including international broadcasts,

scanning, pirate radio, QSLing, and Utility broadcasting.  Monitoring Times

also contains listings of broadcasts and programs in English, which gives it a

slight edge.  PopComm is the one you're more likely to find on your local

newsstand, although Monitoring Times is starting to show up in some larger

book stores such as Barnes & Noble.



There are many clubs catering to the hobbyist, many of which publish bulletins.

Many of these groups are part of an all-encompassing group known as ANARC, the

Association of North American Radio Clubs.  ANARC has a list available of its

constituent clubs, listing addresses, what the focus of each club is, club

publications, and current dues.  You can contact them by writing to ANARC, 2216

Burkey Dr., Wyomissing, PA 19610, USA.  You should include some form of return

postage when asking for the club list.  The WRTH contains contact addresses for

the clubs that constitute ANARC.



ANARC has counterpart organizations in Europe and the south Pacific.  The

European organization is the European DX Council (EDXC).  More information on

their constituent clubs is available for 2 International Reply Coupons from

P.O. Box 4, St. Ives, Huntingdon, PE17 4FE, England.  In the south Pacific, the

organization is the South Pacific Association of Radio Clubs, or SPARC.  They

offer information from P.O. Box 1313, Invercargill, New Zealand.



And, naturally, listening to the radio can provide you with excellent

information on radio.  There are a number of excellent "DX" programs on the air

for the radio hobbyist.  The WRTH contains a comprehensive list of such shows;

Tom Sundstrom also has a list as part of his Shortwave Database subscription

service.  Different shows have different strengths.  DX Party Line on Ecuador's

HCJB is directed toward the beginner.  Sweden Calling DXers on Radio Sweden is

a compendium of news about shortwave and satellites, including frequency

changes, station reactivations and deactivations, and such. Radio Nederland's

Media Network is a slickly produced general-coverage program.  Radio Havana

Cuba's "DXers Unlimited" often offers construction tips for people who like to

do things themselves, especially for antennas.  And Glenn Hauser's World of

Radio, which covers mostly DX tips, is available on an ever-shifting number

of stations and times.





o Addresses



Billboard Publications      Billboard Ltd.        WRTH

1515 Broadway               23 Ridgmount St.      Soliljevej 44

New York, NY  10036         London WC1E 7AH       DK-2650 Hvidovre

United States               United Kingdom        Denmark



Radio Nederland Receiver Guide         Passport to World Band Radio

Engineering Department                 International Broadcast Services, Ltd.

PO Box 222                             Box 300

1200 JG Hilversum                      Penn's Park, PA  18943 USA

The Netherlands



Electronic Equipment Bank              Gilfer Shortwave

137 Church St. N.W.                    52 Park Ave

Vienna, VA  22180 USA                  Park Ridge, NJ  07656 USA

800 368 3270 (orders)                  800 GILFER-1 (445-3371) (orders)

+1 703 938-3350 (local and             +1 201 391-7887 (New Jersey, business

   technical information)                 and technical)

+1 703 938-6911 (FAX)                   Free Catalog

Free catalog



Grove Enterprises                      Radio West

(also Monitoring Times)                850 Anns Way Drive

P.O. Box 98                            Vista, CA  92083 USA

Brasstown, NC 28902 USA                +1 619 726-3910

800 438-8155 (toll free N. America)    Price list:  US$1

+1 704 837-9200

Free Catalog



Universal Radio                        Popular Communications

6830 Americana Pkwy.                   76 North Broadway

Reynoldsburg, Ohio  43068 USA          Hicksville, NY  11801 USA

800 431-3939 (toll free N. America)

+1 614 866-4267

SWL Catalog:  US$1.00



NASWA                                  TRS Consultants

45 Wildflower Road                     PO Box 2275

Levittown, PA 19057                    Vincentown, NJ 08088-2275

Membership costs:  US$25/yr;           +1 609 859-2447

sample issue  US$2                     +1 609 859-3226 (FAX)

                                       E-mail: 2446376@mcimail.com

                                       GEnie E-mail: T.SUNDSTROM

                                       Free catalog.



SPEEDX                                 Canadian International DX Club

P.O. Box 196                           79 Kipps Street

DuBois, PA 15801-0196                  Greenfield Park, PQ

(US$23/yr to USA, C$25/yr to Canada    CANADA J4V 3B1

 others inquire)                       (C$26/yr to Canada, US$25/yr to USA

                                        others inquire)



Klingenfuss Publications               Ontario DX Association

Hagenloker str. 14                     P.O. Box 161, Station A

D-740 00 Tuebingen                     Willowdale, ON

Germany                                CANADA M2N 5S8

+49 7071 62830                         +1 416 853-3169 (phone and FAX)

                                       (C$30.76/yr to Canada, US$26/yr to USA

                                        C$41/yr or US$34/yr elsewhere)



DX Computing

232 Squaw Creek Road

Willow Park, TX 76087

+1 817 441-9188

+1 817 441-5555 (FAX)

America Online: DX Comp

E-mail: dxcomp@aol.com

