[Leica] OT Question: Any Knowledgeable Short Radio Guy's on the Lug?

[pklein at threshinc.com (Peter Klein)]

Wow, there are quite a few hams and SWLs on the LUG!

Greg, to add to what has already been said, most international 
broadcasters have a Web site with their schedule. So if a particular 
country interests you, look 'em up, it will tell you where to tune your 
dial.  A "Passport to World Band Radio" is very helpful.  Any printed 
material is by definition out of date, but many stations use the same 
frequencies for years.

If you want to listen to the BBC or Radio Netherland, and probably 
Deutche Welle, just do it on the Internet. They are hardly worth 
bothering with on SW anymore.

On the low frequency bands especially, many of the strongest signals 
will be evangelical Christian stations.

Whether a signal will reach you in from a particular place is partly 
luck. But simply knowing whether the signal path (which is simply the 
Great Circle route between your location and the desired station) is in 
daylight or darkness tells tell you when to try to listen for a 
particular place.

We are now at a low in the 11-year sunspot cycle.  This means that the 
lower frequency bands (below 10 mHz) work at night, and later in the 
evening, only the 49 and 60 meter bands will do for paths that are in 
darkness.  The bands above 10 mHz mostly work for daylight paths, with 9 
mHz having characteristics of both the higher and lower bands  During a 
sunspot low, the bands above 15 mHz don't do much good, there's not 
enough ionization in the ionosphere to propagate the higher frequency 
signals. Europe is more of a problem here in the Northwest than it is on 
the east coast, because from here, paths to most of Europe pass close to 
the north magnetic pole, which can make signals warbly or wipe them out 
altogether during periods of geomagnetic disturbance.  On the other 
hand, we can regularly hear signals from Asia, the Pacific and Hoppyland 
(Australia) that east coasters rarely can.

The SWF-77 is one of the best SW portables out there.  I have the 
ICF-2010, which is similar, but with a few less "bells and whistles."  
No portable is as good as a dedicated tabletop "communications" 
receiver, but these Sonys are about as good as the portables get.  Tip:  
The "selectivity" filters that enable you to separate adjacent stations 
are a bit looser than optimum (with the trade-off that the sound 
fidelity is a bit better for stations that are in the clear).  If you're 
troubled by interference from a strong station next to the one you want 
to here, use the "Synch" button (synchronous tuning), and tune a few 
hundred Hz in the opposite direction.  They synch function also reduces 
selective fading, which is like a slow "hole" in the frequency response 
that moves up and down the audio signal.

Do indeed string a length of wire, 15-30+ feet (not critical) between 
two supports outdoors, as high as you can get it.  That will enable you 
to hear the weaker stations, such as fascinating stuff from the Pacific 
island nations. The radio's whip will do for the stronger stations.

If you know any local ham radio operators, have a chat with them. Hams 
can sometimes be a little disparaging of shortwave listening, but a 
friendly ham can provide a wealth of information.  Look for a house with 
a large antenna with crossbeams or wire strung from trees.  Or a license 
plate that begins with the letters "VE7."

Hope this helps!
--Peter (KD7MW)
...right now remembering the old BBC going a bit batty between Christmas 
and New Years, Radio Netherland's "Happy Station Program," and Radio 
Prague during the brief "Prague Spring."