Good Shortwave Stations?

[NewGround]

I ordered a shortwave receiver as an alternate information source. What stations have you guys found to be reliable news sources? Appreciate any recommendations you have...

[woodsy_gardener]

I was a SWL 50 years ago; many good places to go, BBC North America being the best and Radio Moscow being the most interesting. Both are gone now along with many others. I recently got a shortwave radio and was very disappointed. It has great AM and FM reception and that's where I spend the most time. The best SW news seems to be Australia and the most interesting being Cuba and Peking. I'm glad to have it tho as things could change when TSHTF.

Go to www.primetimeshortwave.com and click on the "time" button. This will give you a listing of shortwave broadcasts, in english, by Universal coordinated time.

To find out what time it is tune your radio to 5000Kh, 10000Kh, 15000Kh. or 20000Kh and you will get a beep every second and a verbal mention of the time every minute.

Woodsey is correct in that there are not as many broadcasts as there used to be. The listing I just printed does show Voice of Russia but I have never recieved it. A lot of broadcasts are through repeaters in other countries. Sackville Canada is a popular repeater and usually comes in clear here. I listen to Tiawan, China, Cuba, and Canada mostly.

There are supposed to be massive solar flares next year. There is even concern they will bring the electrical grid down, disrupt radio broadcasts, and fry electric components. I will keep my radio in a Faraday cage if that happens so it will still work. Shortwave may once again be an important source of news but for now it's fun.

An outside antenna will improve your reception a lot. Go to www.hamuniverse.com and click on "shortwave listening" and then on "build an antenna". Keep telling yourself, " I have a thousand feet of 14 guage and I'm not afraid to use it".

[Gary in ohio]

Keep in mind that MOST of the powerful signal from other countries are not coming from the country of the programming origin. Many of the European signals come out of the Caribbean and relay European signals. Sadly many of the old time SWL stations have stopped broadcasting over the air and only broadcast on the internet.

[NewGround]

I remember our old Grundig Majestic from my childhood. Use to listen to stations from the world over... Maybe there will be something left broadcasting...

[Cabin Fever]

When I first got our SW radio, I thought the Voice of America would be good listening. Then I found out that VOA is only broadcast to foreign countries and not to the USA.

[radiofish]

Well I tend to listen to the 'Commies' such as Moscow, Havana, Peking - for a different view of the news. You can still find the BBC, and others from their relay stations.

Along with many other stations listed at the links here:

http://www.ac6v.com/swl.htm

But a high quality receiver with a gain antenna, will let you listen to stations that a portable radio and a whip antenna would never hear.

[DavisHillFarm]

Shortwave is a great resource for worldwide news and news that local radio just will not carry. A couple of good stations to listen to would be WBCQ 7.415, and WWCR 12.160. Go to their websites to see what program suits your needs.

I have a couple of shortwave radios, as well as a couple of Ham rigs for talking and listening (I'm a licensed ham). One sw radio is the Kaito KA1102, and the other is a Tecsun PL-390. My favorite is the Tecsun, nice a little portable...I liked it so much I bought another which is stored in a Faraday cage along with some other electronic "toys". Whether it's an EMP or a solar storm, or some other catastrophic event, being able to get some sort of info will be a must.

I'd advise everyone to have a good quality SW radio on hand, and an antenna to go with it.

[GlenArden]

I can't find anything on my shortwave but Spanish speaking stations!