Shortwave radio

Discussion in 'OnBoard Electronics & Controls' started by rfleet1066, Mar 21, 2022.

  1. rfleet1066
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    rfleet1066 rfleet1066

    Can someone recommend a make and model of a good 12 volt shortwave radio capable of receiving overseas news casts?

    Ryland
     
  2. BMcF
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    BMcF Senior Member

  3. TheyCallMeTrinity
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    TheyCallMeTrinity Junior Member

    There are so many answers to this question. What region in the world are you in? Remember on the shortwave an antenna makes all the difference. You can have a $500 radio with a poor antenna and it will perform terrible. On my shortwave receiver I run a Dipole, but this could get tricky depending on your boat.

    I have an older model DX 394. it runs on 120v or 12vdc. You could take this radio out when your not using your boat and it will work well in your home as well. These can be had fairly reasonable. Just remember, depending on band, only certain bands will work certain times of the day.

    Shortwave has a lot less traffic nowadays
     
  4. gonzo
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    gonzo Senior Member

  5. Ike
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    Ike Senior Member

    Not to divert this thread, but have you ever heard of Numbers Stations. They were used rather extensively during WWII and received primarily on Short Wave radios. They were used to send a carrier wave continuously, interrupted at a specific time to transmit a string of numbers, which was a coded message, only decipherable with a one time code pad. Spy stuff. With modern technology they have lost their use, but there are still a few. Russia has one at 4625 Khz. The US military is taking a renewed interest because our modern satellite comms are so vulnerable. Anyway, all you need to hear them is a shortwave radio and a good antenna. And as someone pointed out you can get a shortwave radio fairly cheap. I haven't listened in a long while (I used to listen to short wave a lot when I was on Coast Guard Ships) but I have heard that HCJB in Quito Ecuador (the Voice Of the Andes) is still on the air (and on the net) . So shortwave is still alive, but not as abundant as it used to be.
     
  6. Bruce Woods
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    Bruce Woods Senior Member

    I have a Sangean ATS multi band receiver with SSB capability.
    Very reliable, used primarily for remote area weather forecast reception.
    Excellent reliability.
     
  7. TheyCallMeTrinity
    Joined: Oct 2022
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    TheyCallMeTrinity Junior Member


    I play with ham radios and shortwave. It is a fun hobby. I am by no means an expert. Most of the cheaper shortwave radios won't pickup overseas broadcasts very well. They used to, but most of the powerful stations have been disabled in Europe.

    I live in the central part of the US, and I have barely picked up 4625 "the buzzer" on my shortwave, the signal was so faint all you really do is see the meter moving. On a cheaper radio you won't pick it u at all. If you want to listen to the buzzer, youtube broadcasts it 24/7.

    I think shortwave could actually come back someday. These hand held Boafeng radios that are 30 dollars work very well on 2 meter, and have got a lot of people interested in radio again. I also think with the internet being censored like it has, you could see more pirate broadcasting on the shortwave. It is a fun hobby, and I think if someone was at sea it would be real nice to have, since you can pick up far away transmissions.

    I got into listening to shortwave back in the 1980s when the space shuttle exploded. Back then shortwave was very popular .
     
  8. Will Gilmore
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    Will Gilmore Senior Member

  9. TheyCallMeTrinity
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    TheyCallMeTrinity Junior Member

    If you are at sea I would get an ICOM 718. You can listen to all of the shortwave bands on it, and it does transmit. Now to transmit, you do need a license(which is cheap and easy to get), but even if you chose to just listen, you could transmit without a license in emergencies. These are awesome radios that pick up world wide. With simple mods they can really reach out. Now they are not cheap(really they are if you price high end ham radios), but Break Out Another Thousand-for radio and antenna! Could save your life!
     
  10. Ike
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    Ike Senior Member

    I saw the other day a news item that said the BBC is bringing back their Shortwave broadcasts to Ukraine because of the war. So you should be able to pick those up. It didn't say what freq they were using.
     
  11. TheyCallMeTrinity
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    TheyCallMeTrinity Junior Member

    I think you will wind up seeing a lot of stations come back eventually. Shortwave is still real active in central and south america
     
  12. rfleet1066
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    rfleet1066 rfleet1066

    Any suffix on that model 718? Where would one find an appropriate antenna?
     
  13. TheyCallMeTrinity
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    TheyCallMeTrinity Junior Member

    The Icom 718 is model IC-718. Antennas! Ha! There are book written about them. I have a 6btv antenna at my house for the Icom, i also have a separate shortwave receiver that runs a wire called a dipole. You have to get creative for the antenna, but if you only intend to receive signals a dipole would work fine. It really depends on where you are putting the antenna. A lot of mobile hams run what is called a "loop" antenna.

    If you are at sea in a ship, you should get a hand held ham radio to go with the Icom. Most of these run on 2 meter bands. They are cheap, 30-40 dollars. Get a baofeng, these radios work great. Now you won't hear Europe on these, but you can reach out 75-100 miles fairly easy out on the water. You can communicate to other boats or shorelines, these are awesome. These radios have an antenna, transmitter, and receiver all in one. You can also pick up FM channels, weather bands, they are very handy
     

  14. DonavanSoto
    Joined: Feb 2024
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    DonavanSoto New Member

    If you're on the lookout for a solid 12-volt shortwave radio for catching overseas news casts, you might want to consider checking out the Xiegu G106 SDR HF Transceiver. It's got some cool features and could be just what you need for staying tuned in.
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2024
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