Shortwave radio

CW seems to have been all but phased out, yet if nothing else can get through, CW is the fallback position. I think we become too dependent on technology that isn't really failsafe but works quite well under conditions suitable for it.

Tony
 

Pecos said:
I am very leery of the rush to completely abandon the old systems and techniques every time a new technology arrives. Satellite communications are vulnerable to jamming. 10,000 ham radio operators are not. I will grant that modern modulation modes have a lot of processing gain and can be very resistant to intrusion. But count me among those who want to keep proven backup systems.
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I agree. I am an ARC DAT volunteer and just can't believe the American Red Cross HQ in Washington failed miserably in maintaining it's nationwide dedicated low band analog disaster response radio system on 47.42 MHz. Many branches in Florida have migrated to county public safety trunked systems which are pretty much P25 TDMA and FDMA exclusively. FLDOT reversed course and built a statewide low band network. Only thing is the road supervisors rarely use it and reverted back to using cellphones. Unfortunately unlike the existing analog protocol with digital protocols it's all or nothing. that's why VHF aviation will remain analog AM except certain digital modes like ACARS. UHF aviation too except for certain NATO military digital modes and the long outdated 6 frequency Have-Quick platform which was defeated using six scanners. What's really embarrassing is the cadre of South American pirates who have hacked the DOD UHF/UFO Satellite system and ignore the node controllers when they warn them off.
 

tbeltrans said:
CW seems to have been all but phased out, yet if nothing else can get through, CW is the fallback position. I think we become too dependent on technology that isn't really failsafe but works quite well under conditions suitable for it.

Tony
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I tried learning CW. Just couldn't get it to work for me. I decode CW and RTTY on WEBSDR with their own software programs.
 
FastTrax said:
I tried learning CW. Just couldn't get it to work for me. I decode CW and RTTY on WEBSDR with their own software programs.
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When I had my ham license, my interest was in QRP (low power operation) using rigs that I built. My primary mode of operation was CW. I was more interested in building stuff than in chatting on the air. We called those who bought ready-made equipment "appliance operators", but that was when rigs were simple enough to build at home. A kit, such as a Heathkit, was not considered appliance operation because the person built it. I can't imagine building an SSB rig from scratch, so Heathkit to the rescue. :)

Tony
 
You've awakened old memories, oh Furryone! I was living in Cyprus during my teenage years and spent a lot of time twindling with a short wave radio. My father was a 'Radio Ham' and set up his equipment in the airing cupboard. That of course, was Morse Code stuff but he got very excited when he made contact with someone in some remote location. It inspired me to get interested in listening to the radio.
 
Amazing what I started...but Shortwave is still out there and it’s still a thrill listening to a crackly signal from thousands of miles away.....I won’t listen to crystal clear World Radio Network on the web even though most of what I’ve listened to down the years is still there.
 
Furryanimal said:
Amazing what I started...but Shortwave is still out there and it’s still a thrill listening to a crackly signal from thousands of miles away.....I won’t listen to crystal clear World Radio Network on the web even though most of what I’ve listened to down the years is still there.
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Yessir Mr. Furball you most surely did. So now do you wish to keep the existing thread going or do you want to sponsor a separate thread dedicated to to all things radio? Obviously you have 100% backing here. I'm sure oldman with his aviation communications knowledge will be an asset. Probably a whole host of other "still in the radio closet" SF members here will jump in also. I just jumped in here to post an unsolved crime case for Auntie M's thread which became quite successful and just wanted to dovetail this proposition for giggles and grins. I am going to pick up my new Flightradar yellow VHF/Aviation stick and an HP laptop to monitor KMCO and run the Broadcastify KMCO tower, approach and departure or LiveATC KMCO Tower East/West live stream for realism. TTFN.
 
FastTrax said:
Yessir Mr. Furball you most surely did. So now do you wish to keep the existing thread going or do you want to sponsor a separate thread dedicated to to all things radio? Obviously you have 100% backing here. I'm sure oldman with his aviation communications knowledge will be an asset. Probably a whole host of other "still in the radio closet" SF members here will jump in also. I just jumped in here to post an unsolved crime case for Auntie M's thread which became quite successful and just wanted to dovetail this proposition for giggles and grins. I am going to pick up my new Flightradar yellow VHF/Aviation stick and an HP laptop to monitor KMCO and run the Broadcastify KMCO tower, approach and departure or LiveATC KMCO Tower East/West live stream for realism. TTFN.
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All things radio suits me...Won’t understand the technical stuff but great.
i am listening to Nostagie Extra(a Dutch station) playing sixties and seventies music as i type this,
Admittedly on the worldwideweb-i like being able to listen to domestic foreign stations.
I used to be an avid listener of AFRTS for the American sport back in the day.Now i can watch those sports thanks to multi channel TV.
Mr.Furball....like that...😀
just keep it going here..
 
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fuzzybuddy said:
My dad had a short wave radio. What amazed me was some signal came in so clear and strong, and it was from Europe. But the guy in the next town was all faded out. I wanted to get into armature radio, but you needed to use Morse code. I'm dyslexia. Ain't no way for me.
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I was always amazed that Radio Australia sounded as if they were broadcasting from the next street.
I think they still have a limited shortwave service but their news jingle hasn’t changed since i was a kid.
ABC Australia are the one broadcaster i do use the web extensively for...lots of sport for me!







 
Furryanimal said:
I was an avid SW listener and still have an SW radio where stations still broadcast.Amazingly.
And I came across this.....


......thanks to Radio Mi Amigo I discovered this...it’s SW on your device

Wide-band WebSDR
On this page you can listen to and control a short-wave receiver located at the amateur radio club ETGD at the University of Twente. In contrast to other web-controlled receivers, this receiver can be tuned by multiple users simultaneously, thanks to the use of Software-Defined Radio.

This site, which in 2008 was the very first WebSDR site ever, was finally reactivated in July 2012 after an interruption of more than 1.5 years; .Use the link below(copy and paste).

websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/?tune=6085am

Using this this morning I have listened to Voice of America and the Voice of Turkey.Fascinating.Use the +++ or —-buttons to move the cursor.Or manually enter a frequency.Use AM lock once listening to a station.

websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/?tune=6085am
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This thread is now open for discussion of all things radio.
 
Furryanimal said:
This thread is now open for discussion of all things radio.
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Good morning or evening depending on UTC or GMT and seeing that you are in Wales it would be GMT, I think. I see you are into Shortwave Broadcast radio so as a starter I'll focus on the most popular aspect of the communications industry. I cut my teeth on it starting with www.radioreference.com which is a massive compilation website of every aspect of the global communications infrastructure. It contains a myriad of subforums a number of which cover shortwave. I'll start adding content starting tomorrow. If you or you other Radioheads have a specific request feel free to get with me. However I am also here to learn a whole lot that I don't know and broaden my horizons on all things radio. Speaking of has anybody heard from oldman? His up close and personal knowledge of the aviation industries communications network would be invaluable to say the least. Now it's off to bed with me.
 
FastTrax said:
Good morning or evening depending on UTC or GMT and seeing that you are in Wales it would be GMT, I think. I see you are into Shortwave Broadcast radio so as a starter I'll focus on the most popular aspect of the communications industry. I cut my teeth on it starting with www.radioreference.com which is a massive compilation website of every aspect of the global communications infrastructure. It contains a myriad of subforums a number of which cover shortwave. I'll start adding content starting tomorrow. If you or you other Radioheads have a specific request feel free to get with me. However I am also here to learn a whole lot that I don't know and broaden my horizons on all things radio. Speaking of has anybody heard from oldman? His up close and personal knowledge of the aviation industries communications network would be invaluable to say the least. Now it's off to bed with me.
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Yes..GMT or UTC until March.Then +1.SW radio gave me an encyclopaedic knowledge of time zones
 
This is a favourite topic of mine
still a Radio Caroline listener.Sadly not on DAB radio in my area but great to have a radio station not dedicated to Top 40.
And love their monthly broadcasts from the ship...
for the technically minded

http://www.rossrevenge.co.uk/tx/txroom.htm

http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk/#home.html
North American Streams available


http://www.radiomiamigo.international/english/news.html
the station that started this thread

The Voice of America puts in a good signal on 6080khz in Europe in the mornings
 
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Pecos said:
I still have my old HF receiver, but it hasn't been turned on for at least 10 years. It is still connected to an antenna in my attic via an impedance matching device. I used to listen to English News broadcasts from Europe. They saw things a lot different than we did, and they still do.

Back in the 1960's when I took the radio to sea with me, I listened to BBC and enjoyed their entertainment. There was something quite charming about a cowboy story being told by someone with a strong British accent. This was all back in the days before satellites and the internet. Sailors today have it easy, but they will never know what it is like to understand long haul HF transmission with all its various interesting skywave issues.
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I used a S/W (it had been left behind in the house that we had rented) on two occasions...the first was when living in Germany in the 1960s and I loved listening to BBC. I would also play with the radio and found myself listening to a German broadcast. Right at that moment, a soldier, friend of my husband who used to check on me when my husband was away on schemes, knocked at my door and when he heard what I had on, ran to it right after ordering me to go underneath the coffee table and not listen. Then he told me never to do that again. I was scared out of my nut! I was in Germany during the Berlin crisis and the Canadian Military took it very seriously. I took a course in German before I left Canada but couldn't really make out much...too much static. The other occasion was when my husband was sent to Ellesmere Island (I was left behind) and we chatted once a week. One of my neighbours had a S/ in house.
 
This tread caught my interest, and reminded me that I had/have a small SW radio and antennae in my trusty old 1997 Dodge Dakota. I've had it under the rear seat for 23+ years, and bought it in case I had car troubles on the road....this was well before cell phones became the norm. I went down in the garage this morning, and lifted the rear seat, and it's still there. I plugged it in, and it seems to still work....amazing.
 
Don M. said:
This tread caught my interest, and reminded me that I had/have a small SW radio and antennae in my trusty old 1997 Dodge Dakota. I've had it under the rear seat for 23+ years, and bought it in case I had car troubles on the road....this was well before cell phones became the norm. I went down in the garage this morning, and lifted the rear seat, and it's still there. I plugged it in, and it seems to still work....amazing.
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Glad the thread caught your eye Don M. What type of radio do you have?
 
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