Beginners Guide to the World of Shortwave Radio

Version 2

Shortwave radio is the medium used by many international broadcasters to
transmit their programming to the World. Shortwave Radio is similar to the
local Mediumwave (AM) stations you can hear nearby except that shortwave
signals travel globally.

Shortwave broadcasters are found in the 2.3Mhz to 30Mhz band of the radio
spectrum. Despite what some think, you don't need some sort of super radio to
hear these broadcasts from across the world. All you need is a normal radio
which can also receive the shortwave radio band. Such radios can be very cheap,
but remember, you get what you pay for. If you go to your local Sony Centre or
similar you can get a very decent radio that will give good performance and
satisfy your needs for years for around L150.

To hear International Broadcasters you can just use the telescopic antenna as
are found on many FM radios. However for reception of more exotic international
broadcasts you should simply attach a length of wire to your radio's antenna or
antenna jack. Further details can be found on some programmes on shortwave, in
magazines such as ShortWave Magazine (SWM), or often on the shortwave dedicated
newsgroup "rec.radio.shortwave".

Another Frequently Asked Question is how you can understand broadcasters from
all over the world due to the multitude of languages. Well fear not. The Vast
majority of international broadcasters have programmes in English, many
extensively, such as the Voice of Russia (Russia's government run shortwave
broadcaster) which has a 24hr English Service.

Yet another question is to why you haven't heard of shortwave before. The
chances are you probably have. Heard of the BBC World Service? Well their
primary means of broadcast is on Shortwave Radio.

What's the state of Shortwave Broadcasting today? Well the bands are still full
of stations, despite many saying that the medium of shortwave medium is on the
decline, to be eventually replaced by Satellite delivered programming. However
given ShortWave's varied audience, with many living in areas where satellite
dishes are not even a pipe-dream, and with a strong, undwindelling audience in
the developed world, it is likely shortwave will remain an important broadcast
medium for many years to come.

What should I expect when listening to shortwave? Well the audio isn't FM
quality by any means, but don't let this put you off, as the programming more
than makes up for the audio shortcomings. In several cases shortwave audio is
as good as, if not better than Mediumwave (AM) broadcasters (especially if
you've listened to Virgin 1215 or Talk Radio in the UK!) On other occasions
interference from other stations and not varying signal strength can cause
listening difficulties. Unlike the FM radio band, the shortwave frequencies are
not as well ordered. For example, stations can only be heard on part of the
shortwave band during certain hours of the day so they must make regular
frequency changes. This ineviably causes frequency clashes and interferece
between stations. The good news is that many International Broadcasters use
several frequencies at once, to ensure at least one or more frequencies are
free from interference and have a strong signal.

What countries will I be able to hear? Well take your pick. Due to the way
shortwave signals travel around the Earth, you may be able to hear a station on
the other side of the world, but are unable to hear a station well nearby. As
an unwritten rule though, more local stations, that is stations on the same
continent as yourself, are likely to bring in stronger, more stable signals.
Most countries of any size have a shortwave station, and the size of the
station is often reflective of the wealth of a nation, but not always. That is,
stations in Europe are likely to have more extensive broadcasts than say
stations in Africa, which may be simply providing a domestic radio service.

If you live in Europe then be sure to check out my listing of BDXC's listings
of English broadcasts to Europe, which should contain all the station and
frequency information you require for listening to dozens of stations from just
about all continents. No matter where you live check out the station frequency
schedules on my easy to hear stations page. This page lists both large
broadcasters as well as stations which are off the beaten path. All a worth a
listen to see how different countries go about broadcasting to foreign lands.

Government funded stations tend to be forced to have extensive transmissions in
the native language(s) of the country, which other language services often come
a more distant second in the priorities of broadcasting. Fear not though, as
English is the most favoured of languages, especially as it is regarded as the
international language. Obviously stations tend to broadcast languages to where
that language is spoken most, so English is broadcast most to North America,
Europe, Oceania and also to Africa. It will be more difficult to receive some
English broadcasts outside of these areas, but far from impossible. Some
stations, such as BBC, Voice of Russia etc. broadcast English to just about
everywhere in the world. Other stations broadcast the native language of their
country in such a way, often to places where the audience for that language
must be very small, but their government sees it as a priority. So don't be
suprised to hear languages such as German in places like North America or even
Africa.

As for programming of international broadcasts, well it contains a very varied
selection. News is often the most favourite. The news service can also alter
depending on where you listen. In the developed world, the news broadcast will
be a mix of international news and news from the broadcasting country. The
mixture between the two can vary dramatically. In poorer countries, where
information is rather scarce, there are also news broadcasts about the
listener's area, such as Asia or Africa.

Other popular genres of programming include music. Shortwave is not the best
medium for music transmission, but is popular nontheless. Classical music seems
to be quite prevalent on the schedules of several broadcasters, which can be
irritating if you are not a fan of the genre. Perhaps it reflects the average
age of the listener. More modern music can be heard too. Pop music features
heavily in Radio Kuwait's schedule, which is basically an ex-pat station.
Traditional Folk music can often be found from stations in Europe and parts of
Asia, while ethnic and cultural music arer often found in broadcasts from the
Middle East and Africa, although the language of the broadcast may not
necessarily be English.

By Daniel Atkinson 15/2/97.

              Please feel free to distibute this guide so long as:

                1: You do not alter it's content in any way, and

            2: You credit it to me and preferably mention this site

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