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Post by rrogers40 on Nov 20, 2008 21:34:52 GMT -5
Hey I just picked up a Kenwood R-600 to replace that little crappy thing that I had. It gets good reception (especially after 10 o'clock) with only a little wire antenna. I can even pick up the CBers on occasion (although if I really care to listen in I'll just go out to my truck).
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Post by dgriffin on Nov 20, 2008 21:55:02 GMT -5
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Post by dgriffin on Nov 20, 2008 22:10:44 GMT -5
Here's a nice shot. (Trio was Kenwood's original name.) The R-600 Kurzwellenempfänger (short wave receiver).  |
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Post by rrogers40 on Nov 20, 2008 22:14:32 GMT -5
The guy I got it from (off ebay) was nice enough to send me the user manual in English!- I've been feeling so lucky ever since.- I didn't know that he was sending it- the funny thing was that even the Manual was Wrapped in Bubble Wrap.
The antenna I have now runs about 40 feet around the base board of my bedroom on the outside wall. And on occasion I throw a wire antenna out the window which gives it some (but not much) improvement.
I was thinking about getting something like a R-2000 but I didn't want to pay twice as much, yea its worth it but I just want to see if I really get into it before I sink a lot of money in. Right now I still listen to Medium Wave (AM Band to everyone else) than the actual Shortwave Bands.
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Post by dgriffin on Nov 20, 2008 23:07:16 GMT -5
Propagation is picking up. I've been noticing much improved shortwave reception in the afternoons on 11.6 and 15 MHz. That's a sign it's coming back. Right now we're in the trough of the solar cycle, but just starting back up. I'm also hearing more beacons just below the MW band. Listen for the experimental (ham) beacons in CW between 505 and 515 KHz, and the NAVTEX radioteletype (a warlbling sound) at 520. You can hook the speaker of the radio to the input of your PC sound card and start decoding all sorts of stuff with free software.
Right now, the Navtex station's radioteletype is "printing",
"OTHER T WILL MOVE OFF THE SE U.S. COAST LATE TONIGHT AND
EXTEND FROM 31CW TO 29N80W FRI MORNING...31N71W TO S
FL FRI NIGHT...29N65W TO CENTRAL BAHAMAS SAT...24N65W TO
SE BAHAMAS SUN MORNING AND MAINLY E OF THE AREA MON. STRONG
HIGH PRES BUILDS E BEHIND THE FRONT. "
I won't be there, but it's fun to imagine.
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Post by dgriffin on Nov 20, 2008 23:11:47 GMT -5
By the way, if you can do Skype on the Internet, there's a Medium Wave Cluster where you hear folks call in what they're hearing on the medium wave band, from all over. Try this: tinyurl.com/64o7hhI think most of the chat members are in the UK, but it's fun (and useful) to know what they're hearing from the US over there. Guglielmo would have loved it! |
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Post by rrogers40 on Nov 28, 2008 23:37:38 GMT -5
Hey I can hear the BBC on 7255 right now- Its coming in Pretty Good for a stations that's not supposed to be broadcast to America.  |
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Post by dgriffin on Nov 29, 2008 8:36:32 GMT -5
Could have been from their transmitter in the UK (Skelton) or from any of their relay stations, of which there are many, including in this hemisphere Guiana to the south of us, and Ascension Island. And I hear the BBC from Cyprus in the Mediterranean from time to time. Actually, Seychelles off east Africa comes in pretty well from time to time, too.
The "not broadcast to America," came from when the BBC canceled their relay through the CBC's transmitter at Sackville in New Brunswick a few years ago. Back then, you could listen to the BBC peg your meter on 5975. But anyone with a decent radio, like yours, should have no problem copying them directly from Skelton or from their many relays. Especially now as the solar cycle begins to come up.
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Post by chris on Apr 3, 2009 11:39:21 GMT -5
There is a German lady I know from the beach. Her husband taught her to do morse code and she is an avid short wave user. She is phenominal. In her eighties and up till last year when she didn't show up last summer we found out she was now in a nursing home....not due to health but she was afraid of living alone. They let her keep her radio. I guess you need a special antenae and that seemed to be an issue living at a NH. She use to go up till then to conventions around the world and met all the folks she would meet on the radio.
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Post by frankcor on Apr 3, 2009 11:49:46 GMT -5
Everyone needs something to keep them young. Good for her!
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Post by dgriffin on Apr 3, 2009 19:02:33 GMT -5
It can be a lifelong hobby, and so it has been for me.
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Post by frankcor on Apr 3, 2009 19:22:07 GMT -5
Something that Swimmy wrote today about the shooting tragedy in Binghamton stuck out in my mind. It appears the government is able to shut down cell communications whenever they choose to do so.
Maybe it's the domestic terrorist in me that is hopeful that there are many ham operators still around. When the tea starts hitting the harbor, hams may be our only ability to communicate.
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Post by dgriffin on Apr 3, 2009 20:28:48 GMT -5
Deep Solar Minimum. Keep in mind regarding short wave conditions. digg.com/d1ni6E |
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Post by dgriffin on Apr 3, 2009 20:39:19 GMT -5
Something that Swimmy wrote today about the shooting tragedy in Binghamton stuck out in my mind. It appears the government is able to shut down cell communications whenever they choose to do so. Maybe it's the domestic terrorist in me that is hopeful that there are many ham operators still around. When the tea starts hitting the harbor, hams may be our only ability to communicate. Hams often play quite a role in emergency communications. For one reason, land lines and cell phone traffic exceeds each system's capacity during a typical emergency. I remember some years ago a friend who worked for what is now Verizon told me the land line system was designed to handle only about 10 percent of subscribers at one time. Based on my experience with cell phones today, I'd be willing to bet the figure for that phone service is even less. And, of course, that doesn't take into account damage to the equipment from the disaster. Hams are licensed and regulated by the FCC, of course, who could shut down operations. They did just that during the two World Wars. Here's the post card each amateur radio operator received in early 1942.  |
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Post by frankcor on Apr 3, 2009 23:10:05 GMT -5
Amateur radio operations were ceased during WWII? I never knew that.
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