Messages

1

General Radio Discussion / Re: Following NWS / local EMA Freqs on a Tecsun PL-660?

« on: September 13, 2014, 1623 UTC »

BoomboxDX: I think that's what I may end up doing then. What would be some good models for scanners in that case? I've never gotten a scanner before so I don't know what's good or bad on the market.

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General Radio Discussion / Re: Following NWS / local EMA Freqs on a Tecsun PL-660?

« on: September 12, 2014, 1502 UTC »

Pigmeat: I've actually never known a ham before in my life, I tried getting in touch with a local amateur radio club but no dice. I think I'm gonna return the Tecsun and next time get a portable shortwave that can definitely pick up the NOAA band along with the international freqs the Tecsun could. Only thing is, I'm not sure which radio models could do that.

3

General Radio Discussion / Re: Following NWS / local EMA Freqs on a Tecsun PL-660?

« on: September 12, 2014, 0242 UTC »

BoomboxDX: I live in Alabama, and have in the past picked up the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (EMA) in order to follow damage and casualty reports. I want to have a shortwave ready to pick up this freq again, along with the NOAA weather band and the international stations I've been picking up with the Tecsun (amazing what I discovered in a short amount of time!). You've pretty much answered one of the bigger parts of my question though.

Pigmeat covered the other part of my main questions though. The only thing I'm wondering then is, what could I buy instead then? Again, I'm looking for something portable like the Tecsun (or at least something remotely portable) and that can cover the same types of shortwave bands but including the NOAA and Alabama EMS band (the Alabama EMS freq is around the 453 range. Don't remember which one exactly I'd follow off the top of my head since it's been a while).

Thanks again guys!

4

General Radio Discussion / Following NWS / local EMA Freqs on a Tecsun PL-660?

« on: September 11, 2014, 1552 UTC »

Hi all,

I have been interested in shortwave radio since I was a child, both local and international. However, I've never really found anybody else to talk to about it and I have a burning question I was hoping you guys could answer:

My old shortwave radio broke about a year ago, and I recently purchased a Tecsun PL-660. I am amazed by the number of international frequencies I can receive on it, but I'm having a hard time picking up local frequencies (local EMA, National Weather Service, etc.) on it. Am I missing something while trying to use it? Or does it just not cover the appropriate frequencies? The frequency coverage is:

FM：76-108MHz；
AM: 520-1710 KHz with step 1 KHz/10 KHz（North America）
LW: 100-519 KHz
SW: 1711-29999 KHz
Aviation band：118-137 MHz

Do these frequencies cover local channels? If so, how could I pick them up? If I can't, I've still got a small amount of time to return the radio if it cannot pick up our local frequencies.

Finally, if I cannot pick up local frequencies on here, could you recommend a good, portable (would really prefer portable because I'm military and travel a lot) shortwave radio that would cover both local freqs as well as the same amount of international channels as the PL-660?

Thanks!