Messages

1

Equipment / Re: Gear required to take the step

« on: June 20, 2014, 1323 UTC »

So the antenna is probably the most important part then. I've seen a lot of videos and reviews on HF receivers starting at $50. From what I understand, as long as you have an antenna setup that is high enough to receive, it doesn't matter as much about the receiver. How accurate is that? What makes one receiver better than another besides antenna?

Basically I just want to make sure that the receiver I get will be able to receive from very long distances, with the proper antenna setup of course.

2

Equipment / Re: Gear required to take the step

« on: June 18, 2014, 2222 UTC »

Thanks for the help everyone. Will the Ultra wide-band SDR receiver receive sideband? It may be a common sense answer but it didn't say on the page.

Whatever radio you get, don't skimp on the antenna.  Right now I'm using a 140 ft. random wire fed through a 9:1 balun and it's one of the best antennas I've ever used.  If the trees on my property were situated differently, I'd convert it into a horizontal loop.

The antenna is the most important part of your listening setup, because without a good antenna that fancy radio will be little more than a paperweight.  And generally speaking, the more wire you can get up high outside, the better.  It doesn't have to be expensive, either.  Just spend a few bucks on a roll of wire and get it up high between a couple trees and you'll be in business.

This is one thing I was wondering about. I certainly am not as educated on the ins and outs of antenna systems as I'd like to be. You mentioned a 9:1 balun, what exactly are you referring to? And what kind of wire works best for this situation?

3

Equipment / Gear required to take the step

« on: June 17, 2014, 1618 UTC »

Hello, all. I'm new to these forums, so apologies if this isn't the correct place to post this.

I am heavily interested in getting into shortwave listening, specifically for pirate and numbers stations around the globe. I'm a licensed General class amateur radio operator, but I have only done local communications since I've got my license. While it's kept me busy and learning, the bands in my area aren't exactly 'exciting'.

I've always had a huge interest in radio, specifically the oddities and other things you can find on the shortwave, HF areas, which is how I found this forum.

My question is, what are some good pieces of equipment to get me into shortwave listening all over the world? Is it a very expensive investment to get up and running, and what all is required/recommended? Keep in mind that I really only have background with local (VHF and UHF) communications.
A simple $50 HT with a rubber ducky ant will suffice in listening and talking on many of those bands, but obviously not for what I am looking for here. I have heard people getting a basic station for listening up for $100 or less, but I am just wondering what the limitations are to a setup like that, or if that is actually a plausible thing for someone in my position.