Patrick Garner, a long-time DXer and author, has just published
Shortwave Unlocked: Antennas, Signals, Secrets & the World at Your Fingertips. The 180-page book is geared toward new listeners and anyone getting back into the hobby, and is the first comprehensive shortwave radio guidebook published in recent years. Released in April 2026, it made Amazon's best seller list at #2.
Topics include:
• How to choose and use radios old and new (including the most recent Tecsun and XHDATA, old Sonys, Drakes, Zeniths and Grundigs, the MLite-800, SDRplay, Airspy and others).
• The science of propagation, grayline magic, and the current solar cycle.
• An overview of antennas, including longwire, dipole and amplified loops.
• Numbers stations, pirates, utilities, and clandestine broadcasts, including background on the March 2026 Farsi-language V32. Thank goodness for HFUnderground!
• Propaganda’s role, regulatory realities, and international trends.
• Real-time tools, communities, and resources (SWLing, HFUnderground, NASWA, Priyom.org, VOACAP, Klingenfuss and many others).
Packed with current frequency charts, band plans, SDR comparisons, and listening strategies, this book is both a practical handbook and a love letter to shortwave’s enduring magic.
Find it on Amazon at
https://tinyurl.com/n2wcv55d.