Shortwave receivers

Last updated Jan 24 2006

Below is a raw compilation of published specifications and sales blurbs from manufacturers and dealers, supplemented with information from independent sources where available. I have also included reviews of the Sony ICF-2010, Grundig 100 PE, AOR AR8600 Mark2, the Sony ICF-SW100S, and the LF H800 Skymatch Active Antenna. Some tests on the Winradio software are also included.

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What is shortwave radio?

Shortwave is another name for high frequency (HF), which is the portion of the frequency spectrum between 3 and 30 MHz. Signals in this frequency range can bounce off the ionosphere, making it possible to receive stations from extreme distances without the use of a satellite. For this reason, most countries have one or more official shortwave broadcast stations that broadcast news, entertainment, and propaganda to other countries. Their time schedules are much more fluid than standard AM and FM broadcasts. Typically they configure their antennas to broadcast to a specific continent for one or two hours per day, and each program may be in a different language. There are also a few pirate stations that turn up from time to time and a number of people broadcasting who are clearly crazy. Many broadcasters operate transmitters in or near the host country they are broadcasting to. For example, Taiwan has transmitters in Florida, and Japan broadcasts to the USA from Canada. During the Cold War, the USSR beamed very strong signals to the USA from Cuba, using announcers with perfect American accents. Thus, it is often difficult to tell where a signal is coming from.

Amateur radio operators also account for much of the radio traffic in the HF band. These transmitters rarely use AM; most amateur signals are either single sideband (SSB), continuous wave (CW), or some form of digital modulation. In addition, many of these signals are non-voice signals such as FAXes or video signals. While CB radio has, thankfully, all but disappeared, shortwave has experienced a revival in recent years because of the introduction of digital technology, which has the ability to overcome the disadvantages of HF reception, such as signal fading, poor sound quality, low channel bandwidth, and susceptibility to noise generated from human and natural activity. The advent of software radios makes it possible for the average person to use sophisticated digital signal processing to analyze radio signals. However, receiver technology has not kept up with these changes, and very few receivers can handle FAX, frequency-shift keying (FSK) modulation, spread-spectrum, slow-scan TV signals, or any of the numerous digital modes.

The SLF frequencies (30-300 Hz) and ELF (3-30 Hz) are also useful for studying natural phenomena such as earthquakes and lightning. However, most commercially available receivers also have great difficulty handling these low frequency signals. They're also difficult to detect in the typical urban environment surrounded by power transformers. Even in the VLF (3-30 kHz), noise-free reception in urban areas is usually only obtained during those times, all too rare these days, when there is a power blackout.

Who needs a shortwave radio?

Persons living in a foreign country who need news about their homeland, or people who wish to hear alternative viewpoints about current events, or detailed information about a particular country. This information can give you an insight into what they're thinking. Occasionally, some of the information being broadcast may even be accurate.
Persons studying foreign languages. There's a huge amount of programming in Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, several dialects of Chinese, and of course English on shortwave, as well as many other languages. Unlike dialogue on TV, speech on shortwave radio is most often grammatically correct and spoken clearly. Often, they speak extremely slowly to make themselves easy to understand. The lack of foreign-language TV and radio broadcasts in some countries (such as the USA) makes shortwave radio one of the few options for many people who need to brush up on a language.
Engineers and scientists interested in signal processing, radio wave propagation, radio astronomy, or geoelectrical and atmospheric phenomena.
Computer network administrators and others who need to check for signal leakage or rogue wireless routers.
Ham radio operators. Ham operators talk mostly about (1) their transmitter, (2) other ham operators, or (3) the problems they are having with Microsoft Outlook Express. In this regard it's a lot like Usenet, except that unlike conversations on the Internet, conversations among ham operators don't usually end with each party calling the other a Nazi. Obviously, this takes time to get used to. It is not uncommon for one or both of the parties to die of old age during a ham radio conversation.
People in the intelligence community who need to know what people are saying who don't want you to know what they know (as Donald Rumsfeld would say).
Shortwave is also ideal for people in areas not covered by broadcast signals.

Shortwave is also closer to nature than VHF and UHF. On HF, you can hear the effects of the upper atmosphere on the signal, which fades in and out and undergoes phase shifts in response to the movement of a vast cloud of ions hundreds of miles above in space. During a thunderstorm, you can clearly hear the electrical signature of each thunderstroke, mixed in with weird noises from passing cars and a jungle of other unidentifiable sounds. This is what makes it so fascinating to listen to, despite the inane banter, insipid music, and lunatic propaganda that foreigners broadcast to us.

Many people who use shortwave radios to listen to manmade signals use them in conjunction with a computer to decode digital and FAX signals. The future of radio is digital. In UHF, it's safe to say that most of the interesting manmade signals are digital. Indeed, medium wave AM radio is switching to a digital system known as IBOC, or "HD radio". Unfortunately, it produces interference, and the content is still mostly commercials.

Click here for reviews of the Sony ICF-2010, the Sony ICF-SW100, the Grundig 100 PE , the AOR AR8600 Mark 2, the LF H800 Skymatch Active Antenna, and the results of some tests on WinRadio software.

Compilation of specifications of shortwave radios from various manufacturers (long)

Information sources
http://www.eham.net/reviews/
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/8
reviews of shortwave receivers
http://www.dxing.com
http://www.dxing.info
http://www.rldrake.com/
http://www.icomreceivers.com/
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/index2.html
www.grove-ent.com
www.aorusa.com/products.html
www.shortwavestore.com (Canadä)
http://usa.shortwavestore.com/
http://www.radio-forum.com Back