Shortwave Radio: Links

Here are some shortwave radio links. I'm serious, folks, it's really cool.

Wikipedia: Shortwave

Wikipedia: Numbers stations

Clandestine Radio

Passport to World Band Radio

Build a Crystal Shortwave Radio

Build Your Own Crystal Shortwave Receiver

Shortwave Crystal Receiver

Build a Multiband Shortwave Antenna

Shortwave Radio: The Listening Log

Posted below is a list of some of the stations I've tuned in over the last few years.

Description	Frequency	Time	Date	Location
Arabic broadcast	9.55 mhz	8:27 PST	5-Nov-06	NTC
Radio Australia	9.59 mhz	9:07 PST	5-Nov-06	NTC
Radio Japan	9.58 mhz	9:18 PST	7-Nov-06	NTC
French broadcast	17.9 mhz	10:07 PST	7-Nov-06	NTC
Voice of America	12.0 mhz	11:05 PST	7-Nov-06	NTC
Radio Deutsche Welle	15.4/11.7 mhz	16:00 PST	5-Dec-06	NTC
China Radio International	11.6 mhz	16:50 PST	5-Dec-06	NTC
BBC Caribbean	11.69 mhz	13:25 PST	24-Jan-07	NTC
Radio Netherlands	11.63 mhz	13:07 PST	13-Feb-07	NTC
Radio New Zealand	17.65 mhz	12:00 PST	21-Feb-07	NTC
BBC World Service	9.75/9.5 mhz	7:53 PDT	28-Mar-07	NTC
Arabic music	9.55 mhz	9:55 PDT	5-Apr-07	NTC
DW Arabic	17.9 mhz	11:30 PDT	5-Apr-07	NTC
Radio Netherlands	9.9 mhz	17:30 PDT	7-Apr-07	Barstow, CA
EWTN	5.81 mhz	21:00 PDT	27-May-07	Barstow, CA
Spanish numbers station	17.8 mhz	10:30 PDT	30-May-07	NTC
Radio Taiwan	9.68 mhz	19:45 PDT	30-May-07	Barstow, CA
Radio New Zealand International	13.73 mhz	21:15 PDT	30-May-07	Barstow, CA
Voice of Croatia	9.925 mhz	21:00 PDT	1-Jun-07	Barstow, CA
Radio Havana	11.76 mhz	21:05 PDT	1-Jun-07	Barstow, CA
BBC Arabic	9.915 mhz	21:20 PDT	1-Jun-07	Barstow, CA
Korean broadcast	5.956 mhz	20:00 PDT	2-Jun-07	Barstow, CA
Voice of Russia	9.515 mhz	20:45 PDT	17-Jun-07	Barstow, CA
Voice of Justice (Iran)	6.120 mhz	21:45 EDT	22-Aug-07	Hampton Roads, VA
Radio Thailand	5.0 mhz	20:40 EDT	24-Aug-07	Hampton Roads, VA
Radio Bulgaria	7.4 mhz	20:10 EDT	31-Oct-07	Hampton Roads, VA
Radio Sweden	9.4 mhz	20:20 EDT	31-Oct-07	Hampton Roads, VA
Radio Exterior de España	6.055 mhz	18:55 EST	13-Nov-07	Hampton Roads, VA
Radio Australia International	7.325 mhz	19:20 EST	13-Nov-07	Hampton Roads, VA
Radio Havana Cuba	6.100 mhz	21:30 EST	27-Nov-07	Hampton Roads, VA
Radio Romania	6.145 mhz	20:20 EST	2-Dec-08	Hampton Roads, VA

Oh, yeah, and I've tuned in the Voice of Russia and Radio Havana Cuba a lot.

Topic: Shortwave Radio

Technically speaking, I was introduced to shortwave radio as a middle schooler, through a program at the university I would eventually attend as an undergrad. In 2006, my friend Father Time reintroduced me to shortwave, also known as world band radio, as a hobby that I could enjoy while working long shifts at Fort Irwin National Training Center in the Mojave Desert.

Father Time advised me to purchase a Grundig Mini100PE, which was marked down from $30 to $10 to make way for the new Grundig Mini300PE. All of my early experiences with shortwave were in the Mojave Desert, listening to the 100PE.

In May of 2007, I purchased two additional shortwave sets: a Grundig FR200, and a Grundig S350. In my experience, the S350 has better reception capability, but the FR200 and MINI100PE have the advantage of lacking automatic tuning correction. Automatic tuning is advantageous for some stations, but it tends to wander when receiving weak transmissions. Because of this, I ended up purchasing two more Mini100PE units in 2009 to use backups. They're great, but they do tend to develop shorts in the speaker wires after awhile, and I haven't been able to figure out how to fix the flaw.

I've been able to tune in a number of interesting stations over the last few years, but my two favorite stations to listen to are the "Voice of Justice" program (1, 2) from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and Radio Havana Cuba. I find propaganda broadcasts to be extremely entertaining. In the case of the so-called "Voice of Justice", it's also a great way of keeping up on what the Iranian regime's current party line is. (I'm not positive that you can even tune the Voice of Justice in anymore, but you can download it here.)

There are some great advantages to shortwave. In areas where no AM or FM band signals are available, you can usually find something on shortwave. It's a great form of entertainment when you're out camping, or living or working in remote areas. In this globally connected age, it's also a great way to learn about other regions and distant cultures without spending more time staring at a computer screen than you already have to.