Multi Band Radio Receiver

a reply to: Phage

Tank circuits will definitely tank you...

Listening to it, I basically heard the cold war unfold. It was pleasurable until the 70's when the Russians started playing with over the horizon RADAR, Otherwise known as "the Woodpecker".

I had modified the radio so much it wasn't worth anything as a collector. I sold it in '82.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Hello
I bought a software defined radio for my PC.
www.rtl-sdr.com...
Not so portable but the range is good.

The Ham Chatter is worth it by itself eh?
Listening to a US Op about some mask you guys are buying, but the cartridge cover is failing. Hes doing them on a home 3D printeras I hear it. Not going to hear that on teevee are we?
Also good to hear 'other' views on whats happening across the world .

Bill 2M0 WFN Uk/Scotland
Kenwood TS-450S Phone/QRS CW

a reply to: Phage

a reply to: NightFlight

I thought I was picking Martians on some bands. I realize now it was likely data transmission, analog, but data.

Good luck on finding one NOT made by the CHicoms

I have a Zenith Royal 7000 series Trans-Oceanic which still works quite well and a Tecsun PL880 for a more modern vibe

This guy makes fantastic antennas in England twitter.com... I just ordered one for my Bearcat

a reply to: CraftyArrow

I ran a 100 foot 12 gauge wire from my shop to an oak tree, but I was only receiving 500 kilocycles (kilohertz) to 29.999 megacycles (megahertz).

Most SWLs (Short Wave Listeners) these days will connect several antennas to their rigs and use an antenna switch to change to the antenna best suited for the frequencies they will listen to. Discone antennas are pretty good from 25 MHz to 1300 MHz. They will have a long wire for the lower frequencies and the discone for the higher ones.

A good website to go to is Radio Reference. Lots of information. Radio Reference

a reply to: Tie No Bows!
I have an "uncle" who has been a ham for 60 years or so, and I've listened in. Yes, the chatter is informative.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: NightFlight

I learned at about age 11 what a capacitor is. Capacitors hurt.

LOL!

That's around the time I was taking tube radios apart and messing with - er, learning how electronics worked. I built a color organ when I was 13, that was a trip. 1978.

Great info guys.... I think tonight I'll be shopping for a shortwave radio.

Meanwhile I found this site: internet shortwave, ham radio... www.websdr.org...

I was going to watch a movie tonight.... now I have something better to do : )

originally posted by: Nzg17
a reply to: LookingAtMars

Hello
I bought a software defined radio for my PC.
www.rtl-sdr.com...
Not so portable but the range is good.

Thanks, that is really cool.

I had a TV card once for my PC. Never knew that made something like that for radio.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Desktops don't work when the power is out and laptops don't for long.

OP, something to remember is buying radios is like buying cameras...your best money is spent on buying antennas (like lenses for cameras). You can have the best radio receiver in the world, but without a good antenna, or series of antennae, your radio is nothing more than a good paperweight. And, unless you can design and build your own antennas, a good rule of thumb is to plan on spending as much on your antennae as you do on your radios.

A lot of people think once they have a decent radio the hard part is behind them, and unfortunately this is just the beginning. And, antennas for the really long range bands are pretty big (like 60-80 feet or more), and to really work properly they need to be as high off the ground as possible (as in on a tower).

I'm just a small time DX'er and use an ICOM IC-R75 receiver and an Alpha Delta DX Ultra 80 foot antenna on a 30' tower. The radio is an older model (now) and doesn't have a waterfall display, but it works great. The antenna itself wasn't too expensive, but when you add in the tower, the lightning protection, mounting and all the hardware, it probably cost 3x what my radio did.

Get a good one. The cheap portable multi-band receivers can be pretty crappy. If you intend to monitor the bands from home, get a good HAM receiver and antenna. For the BOB, get one that is sturdy and waterproof. You will get less freqs to monitor on a portable, so figure out which ones will serve you best when bugging out.

OP,

If you're interested in getting involved with amateur radio, here are a some things which might be helpful.

1. Try it out first - Do a little research into band structure on the internet and decide what things you might be interested in, and then get an inexpensive radio and try it out. Not broadcasting yourself mind you, but just listening. There's a lot of different stuff out there, but some of it is specialized (i.e. types of signals, modes of operation, data, morse, etc.). Pick out some of the ones which interest you and listen. Soon you will gain an appreciation for what things you like to do and listen to vs. things which you may not be interested in.

I know for myself, I got all geared up to get licensed in Amateur Radio and then realized I actually liked listening (aka. DX'ing) better than talking/communicating with someone else (at least this is where I'm at now). I was very interested (and still am) in very long range radio (the lower bands), foreign countries and all that kind of thing. To transmit on these frequencies requires the highest licenses and the most expensive equipment. So, even though I was ready to test at the entry level, I decided to just spend some time listening and learning, rather than diving in head-first.

2. Look up the ARRL - If you're interested in getting into the transmitting side, definitely look up the American Radio Relay League, or ARRL (assuming you are in the USA), or other equivalent organization in your country. They are a wealth of information on how to get into the hobby, and they have lots of people who will trip over themselves to help you.

There are basically (3) types of licenses today; Technician, General and Extra. Technician and General have some fairly significant restrictions. The big dogs with the really long distance gear are all Extras for the most part, and to attain an Extra license requires a thorough understanding of electronics, RF design, signal propagation and antenna design with a bunch of regulatory stuff thrown in also. In other words, it's not something you're going to get overnight, and will almost certainly require some expert guidance (in person) and classroom time.

One thing you will discover pretty quickly about any serious radio pursuits is, it isn't very 'neighbor' friendly. An entry level hobbyist can get a cheap radio and listen to it from the confines inside his house, but really anything more serious than this is going to involve some things the neighbors aren't going to like (particularly HOA's and those sorts). Things like large antennas and towers. So, depending on where you live, your location might dictate how much you can get involved in the hobby. If you live in the country then there's no issue, but if you live in a confined neighborhood you might find there are restrictions to what you can do. There are ways you can work around these things with creative wire antennas, but to do this you'll need to understand what you're doing. Again, to the learning thing. Sadly, this one factor probably put a dent in the Amateur Radio hobby more so than any other single factor.

Once you start understanding the license and band structure you will see why the licenses are structured the way they are. Basically they're structured based on the notion that the less you know the more dangerous you are (to the spectrum), so your entry level licenses pretty much start out with line of sight transmissions, and you work up from there. The big boys who are skipping signals around the planet have the capability to screw up large portions of the radio spectrum across the globe if they don't know what they're doing. Plus, there's a lot more power involved too which ups the personal danger factor.

So, best advice I could give would be to just start small, see what you like and go from there. So, what does "small" mean really? Well, honestly, it's probably not just a $69 dollar radio. All you're probably going to hear with one of these is mostly static and the occasional distant signal at night under perfect conditions. So, 'small' is probably a little bit more investment than $69 bucks (maybe a couple hundred).

Bottom line - It's a lot of fun, very educational on a variety of levels both technical and world events.

Hope this helps.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I think I will spend about $150 - $200 for a receiver and antenna and see what I can pick up.

No HOA here! I live on a hill and have a few trees so I can string a wire if I need to.

Thanks to everyone for all that great info and the suggestions.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

You might take a look on ebay. Not much out there in the $150-200 range, but for a little more you might be able to pick up a Drake SW-2, SW-8 or R8-A. I picked up my ICOM on ebay, but I lucked out and got a screamin' deal which was basically NIB. I hunted around for a while for it though.

Truth be told, I actually started out with a little Radio Shack DX-396, and upgraded to a DX-398...after that I was hooked. I experimented around with some wire antennas which worked surprisingly well. Then I just had to get a more precise receiver with better tuning and more filters. Now I can pick up signals from around the globe with no issues.