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Equipment / Re: Purchased my first shortwave radio...not sure what to expect
« on: November 02, 2016, 1423 UTC »
You're welcome. Here are a couple of other things I thought of.
SW listening in North America and much of the developed world is challenging these days because of the internet. Since so many people stream radio content, there are now few international broadcasts aimed our way and few that originate in North America compared to the pre-internet era. In other words we have a lot less to hear unless we get serious about pursuing them. There are a couple of exceptions. Since you're in BC, you're in a good position to hear Asian broadcasts, and also you should be able to get Radio Australia at 9580 well, although it's possible that 12085 might be better for you. You'll be able to hear both at any rate. They can be heard most mornings starting at 09:00 UTC (get used to using UTC when listening to short wave - that time is currently 2:00am Pacific but will be 1:00am Pacific after we "fall back" this weekend) and going on well into the morning. Here in Denver I can hear it until about 11:00am locally (17:00 UTC) before the band closes. In the late afternoon they can be heard again at 17840 or 15240, though usually not as well as in the morning, and usually not until a couple of hours before sunset. YMMV.
Another good one is Radio New Zealand International, which beams up the Pacific mornings from 1300-1650 UTC on 9700, and can sometimes be heard in the late afternoon on 15720 and evening at 17675. They're intended for a South Pacific audience, not a North American one, so it can be a harder catch in the afternoon and evening, but they're pretty easy to hear in western North America in the morning. Here's a link to their schedule page. Keep an eye on it as they are known to make unscheduled changes throughout the season. (Radio Australia, OTOH, is pretty stable in that regard.)
http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/listen
A good resource for newbies is Gilles Letourneau's videos on youtube. He runs a channel called "officialSWLchannel" there and has lots of videos. Below is the first in a series of videos for shortwave beginners. I highly recommend watching the whole series as he covers just about all the things you need to be aware of regarding listening environment, antenna positioning, finding frequencies, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu2b2FMYCOo
SW listening in North America and much of the developed world is challenging these days because of the internet. Since so many people stream radio content, there are now few international broadcasts aimed our way and few that originate in North America compared to the pre-internet era. In other words we have a lot less to hear unless we get serious about pursuing them. There are a couple of exceptions. Since you're in BC, you're in a good position to hear Asian broadcasts, and also you should be able to get Radio Australia at 9580 well, although it's possible that 12085 might be better for you. You'll be able to hear both at any rate. They can be heard most mornings starting at 09:00 UTC (get used to using UTC when listening to short wave - that time is currently 2:00am Pacific but will be 1:00am Pacific after we "fall back" this weekend) and going on well into the morning. Here in Denver I can hear it until about 11:00am locally (17:00 UTC) before the band closes. In the late afternoon they can be heard again at 17840 or 15240, though usually not as well as in the morning, and usually not until a couple of hours before sunset. YMMV.
Another good one is Radio New Zealand International, which beams up the Pacific mornings from 1300-1650 UTC on 9700, and can sometimes be heard in the late afternoon on 15720 and evening at 17675. They're intended for a South Pacific audience, not a North American one, so it can be a harder catch in the afternoon and evening, but they're pretty easy to hear in western North America in the morning. Here's a link to their schedule page. Keep an eye on it as they are known to make unscheduled changes throughout the season. (Radio Australia, OTOH, is pretty stable in that regard.)
http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/listen
A good resource for newbies is Gilles Letourneau's videos on youtube. He runs a channel called "officialSWLchannel" there and has lots of videos. Below is the first in a series of videos for shortwave beginners. I highly recommend watching the whole series as he covers just about all the things you need to be aware of regarding listening environment, antenna positioning, finding frequencies, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu2b2FMYCOo
