DX Report - May 9th 2008

19:30 / Radio Kuwait / Kuwait City, Kuwait / 11990 / English / History of Art

19:40 / Voice of Nigeria / Lagos, Nigeria / 15120 / English / Nigerian popular music

Grundig Satellit 500

My own receiver is a Grundig Satellit 500, which was produced from 1989-1991. Though it was improved upon by later models I find it more than adequate for listening to shortwave broadcasts.

There are a few variants to the model. If you buy one then make sure it is the international version with full coverage from 1612-30000 KHz. The radio also covers LW, MW and FM. There is also an SSB mode for listening to those broadcasts using it.

The radio comes with a continuous digital tuner so that all amateur and utility bands are covered. Frequencies can either be entered on a keypad or an analogue style knob can be rotated for rapidly scanning through a band. An LCD readout tells you exactly which frequency you are tuned to. There is a memory function for storing up to 42 frequencies.

There is a switch to chose between the telescoping aerial inside the radio or an external antenna. I made my own antenna, which is permanently connected to the radio.

Though the radio is no longer manufactured, fine examples are often sold on eBay. Expect to pay about £80 ($160), which will give you a cheaper and better radio than many of the new shortwave radios that have lesser capabilities.

Shortwave listening equipment

As with any hobby, you can spend as little or as much as you want. Needless to say, the more you spend on shortwave equipment the more you will hear. However, even with quite modest equipment from second-hand sources you can get good results.

Here is my set-up, all of which was either bought second-hand on eBay or made by myself.

The radio is a Grundig Satellit 500 bought on eBay for less than £80. It's most important feature is the digital tuner. You can get cheaper radios with analogue dials. The problem with an analogue dial is that you have no idea what the exact frequency is.

If you want to be able to be able to log your listening sessions and revisit favourite stations then you will need a digital tuner with an LCD readout.

Shortwave can be heard on frequencies between 1612 and 30000 KHz. A radio with continuous tuning between those frequencies is desirable so that all bands, including amateur and utility bands can be received. Also, you will need Single Side Band (SSB) capabilities for those broadcasting (usually Radio Hams) on this variation of AM broadcasting.

This is an example of a cheap radio with an analogue tuner. There is no continuous tuning through the shortwave bands so you can't receive any utility or amateur signals. Even if you could pick up amateur signals they would be unintelligible because there is no SSB mode. I bought this radio because I knew to see if shortwave listening was for me. It was £30 ($60) not well spent. Still, it is fine for packing a small FM receiver for camping.

These two pieces of equipment are not essential but enhance your shortwave listening greatly. The lowermost is an antenna tuner. I built it myself from plans I found on the Internet. It cost me about £30 to buy the parts, some of which were bought second-hand on eBay. A tuner helps you to get the most from your antenna.

Sitting on top of the tuner is a digital signal processor (DSP). If a signal is very weak or there is a lot of interference then it will be hard to understand what you are hearing. The DSP provides various filters for removing noise.

My antenna is an indoor loop, made from a 25-feet long piece of telephone cable. The cable consists of the usual four cores. By using a terminal block I linked each of the four cores together to create a 100-feet long loop. Look carefully at the terminal block and you will see that the black wire is joined to the red wire, which is connected to the green wire, which is connected to the yellow wire. The light green wire at top right leads to my antenna tuner.

What is shortwave radio?

Shortwave radio was so-called during the early days of radio because the wavelengths used were shorter than the prevalent longer wavelengths used at the time. Such wavelengths can travel much further than FM, MW and LW by bouncing off the ionosphere.
This permits the listener to pick up radio stations beyond the horizon and from across the globe.

Shortwave radio is used for international broadcasting with many governments using it as a way of putting forward their view on world affairs. Amateurs or Radio Hams can often be heard chatting on wavebands reserved for amateur use. There are utility stations broadcasting weather reports and coded diplomatic messages between embassies. Number stations can also be heard on shortwave. These stations broadcast numbers or NATO call-signs at regular points during the day and are believed to be coded messages broadcast to spies on active service in foreign lands.

Shortwave radio can be heard on frequencies between 1612 and 30000 KHz. A radio with continuous tuning between those frequencies is desirable so that all bands, including amateur and utility bands can be received. Also, you will need Single Side Band (SSB) capabilities for those broadcasting (usually Radio Hams) on this variation of AM broadcasting.