Radio Stations

I have 2 pocket radios for emergencies. They have FM, AM, SW1 and SW2. I just grabbed one of them and see if it works. FM/AM seems to be normal.

When I was a young we used to listen SW radio stations, got a bit of nostalgia and tried unsuccessfully to find one single SW station today. Are they still around ?

a reply to: Trueman


They aren't around in any way that they were say back before the internet, but they exist:

www.shortwave.be...

a reply to: Fools

Can't catch anyone. I saw a list too.

a reply to: Trueman

you might need an antenna. for shortwave you need a really long copper cable hung like a clothes line, or up a tree

and much better at night.

If you have a storm coming in, it can be a confounding factor as well

a reply to: smkymcnugget420

I'll try it, thanks. But I remember we used to listen SW stations in the living room. No wiring or antenna. Maybe lots of interference today. Those days no wireless tech (back in the 70'). Not even 24 hours TV.

originally posted by: Trueman
a reply to: smkymcnugget420

I'll try it, thanks. But I remember we used to listen SW stations in the living room. No wiring or antenna. Maybe lots of interference today. Those days no wireless tech (back in the 70'). Not even 24 hours TV.

We're saturated with RF and all sorts of other "waves" these days, I'm surprised AM works at all.

a reply to: Trueman

Yep. Got 1 solar, hand crank, batts or outlet NOAA Emergency Weather...and I have a 4- panel foldout solar charger that will charge 2 cell phones, and the radio...but always got the hand crank!

And I have another one like it

Er radio-around $20-25 U.S.

a reply to: mysterioustranger

My other radio is hand crank. I also have 2 hand crack flashlights, one has a USB port. It charges my phone at a rate of 1% per minute. Not bad.

I bought a FM/AM/SW 12 band receiver. It's a cheap small portable I got from Amazon. It receives pretty well with the telescoping antenna, I pick up stuff on all 12 SW bands, mostly religious and Spanish language programming, some HAM stuff and some right wing talk. Pretty much all of the SW stations are independent networks. The AM works OK and I can pick up clear channel radio stations at night from all over the country if the conditions are good (the car radio is better for AM though).

It works best outdoors of course, I listen to it when I do yard work in the summer. I can put it in a window or clip an outdoor antenna to the telescoping one on the radio to get signal from inside the house. It will pick up RF interference from cell phones, computers, appliances, transformers and even the house wiring which can be useful if you are trying to locate and shield sources of emf in your house.

a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I tried again and I was able to catch 2 or 3 of stations but the signal was weak and choppy. I think the interference where I am is really strong. I need to try both radios in my next trip to the woods.

The sun spot cycle is at or close to minimum. There is less ionization in the atmosphere. There may be fewer signals to hear unless there is a bump in the sun spots.

a reply to: rhodesj2314

I'm not sure about that. The sun always had spots. I believe the interference is manmade. Nobody protest about it because everybody uses internet and cable. Also AM/FM radio stations depend of computers and electronic devices today.

I wonder if walkie-talkies are having the same interference problem.

originally posted by: Trueman
a reply to: rhodesj2314

I'm not sure about that. The sun always had spots. I believe the interference is manmade. Nobody protest about it because everybody uses internet and cable. Also AM/FM radio stations depend of computers and electronic devices today.

I wonder if walkie-talkies are having the same interference problem.

Well, interference is a problem with the cheap portable radios as they have poor signal rejection, meaning the unit won't lock in on a single frequency very well. With my cheap radio, a strong signal on the SW bands will pop up several times across a range of tuning, even though it may only be transmitting on one frequency. The AM and FM band are a lot better at locking in on the signal and rejecting the interference of other signals.

The bigger the antenna and the higher up it is will improve reception on any radio. I use to plug an old TV antenna on the roof into my home stereo's AM antenna terminal and picked up a lot of AM inside the house that way.

Also, sunspots excite the ionosphere and causes radio signals to bounce back down to earth 100s of miles away causing an effect HAM operators call "skip". At night, cosmic radiation can do the same thing, allowing signals to travel all over the world. A weather inversion will cause a more localized effect over a broader spectrum of frequencies so you can pick up distant VHF and UHF TV stations along with radio stations during an inversion.

a reply to: Trueman
Have a small solar/crank unit, can get spanish language soccer games in northern illinois. might be worth something if things go sideways.

If you want to at least get an idea of if its working you can try tuning around to 14.076 during the day time or 7.076 during the night as those are the 20m and 40m JT65 frequencies so you _should_ hear some kind of funky sounds as this is a low power digital mode used for working long range contacts (witha. computer). Or you can also try 14.078 and 7.078 for the FT8 frequencies as that is the current super popular mode. There are some real booming stations sometimes that can be picked up with a fairly simple antenna (I did it with a simple 2m whip and a SDR on my computer)

originally posted by: Trueman
a reply to: mysterioustranger

My other radio is hand crank. I also have 2 hand crack flashlights, one has a USB port. It charges my phone at a rate of 1% per minute. Not bad.

Who you gonna call with all the power lost from the cell towers? Ghostbusters?

Eaton makes a really great compact emergency radio, and it is the same one red cross gives out for disaster relief. They all have hand Crank power, USB charging for cell phones, NOAA bands for weather and a built in flashlight.

Recently I found a flashlight that has the sos flash sequence built in, and I'm hoping to never need it. But it is available.

There's a larger radio also which looks perfect for camping.

Reminded of this:

In the wee, wee hours, your mind gets hazy
Radio relay towers gon' lead me to my baby
Radio's jammed up with talk show stations
It's just talk, talk, talk, talk, till you lose your patience

Mister state trooper, please don't stop me