DX-398 All-Band Shortwave Receiver
(200-0228) Frequencies Faxback Doc. # 45679
Frequency Conversion
A band is a group of frequencies. Sometimes, bands are grouped according
to their wavelengths, in meters. The tuning locations of a station can be expressed as a frequency (kHz or MHz) or a wavelength (meters).
Amateur radio operates generally refer to the frequencies they operate on using the frequency's wavelength. For example, the 19-meter band refers to the range of frequencies with waves about 19 meters long.
Use the following equations to convert kHz, MHz, and meters.
To convert MHz to kHz, multiply by 1,000. For example:
9.62 MHz x 1000 - 9.620 kHz
To convert kHz to MHz, divide by 1,000. For example:
2780 kHz divide 1000 = 2.780 MHz
To convert MHz to meters, divide 300 by the number of MHz. For example:
300 divide 7.1 MHz = 42.25 meters
To convert meters to MHz, divide 300 by the number of meters. For
example:
300 divide 42.25 meters = 7.1 MHz
Band Allocation
Certain bands are set aside for specific purposes.
Amateur Radio Frequencies
Tuning to the amateur radio Frequencies can be interesting and helpful,
because amateur radio Operators often broadcast emergency information
when other means of communication break down.
Amateur radio operators use the following bands. Portions of these
bands are set aside for continuous wave (CW) Morse code communication
or for single sideband (SSB) voice communications, as shown below.
160 meters:
1,800 - 2,000 kHz: SSB
80 meters:
3,500 - 3.800 kHz: CW
3,800 - 4,000 kHz: SSB
40 meters:
7,000 - 7,150 kHz: CW
7,150 - 7,300 kHz: SSB
20 meters:
14,000 - 14,200 kHz: CW
14,200 - 14,350 kHz: SSB
15 meters:
21,000 - 21,250 kHz: CW
21,250 - 21,450 kHz: SSB
10 meters:
25,000 - 28,500 kHz: CW
28,500 - 29,700 kHz: SSB
Note: These ranges are not precisely observed everywhere in the world.
International Frequencies
International commercial broadcasts are found in the following shortwave
bands. Programs (often in English) usually contain news, commentaries,
music, and special features reflecting the culture of the broadcasting
country. Reception for this range is best between 6:00 PM and midnight
(your time).
Frequency
Band Range
(in meters) (in MHz)
120* 2.300-2.495
90* 3.200-3.400
75* 3.900-4.000
60* 4.750-5.060
49 5.900-6.200
41** 7.100-7.350
31 9.400-9.990
25 11.600-12.100
21 13.500-13.870
19 15.100-15.800
16 17.480-17.900
13 21.450-21.750
11 25.600-26.100
* These bands are reserved for stations in topical areas.
** Interference is heavy in the 41m band (7.100-7.300 MHs) because
amateur radio operators and international stations share this range.
Aircraft Frequencies
Aircraft on international routes sometimes use SW. Most transmissions
are in SSB, although you can still hear some MW transmissions. Here
are some bands where you might hear aircraft communications.
4,650-4,750 kHz
6,545-6,765 kHz
8,815-9,040 kHz
11,175-11,400 kHz
13,200-13,360 kHz
15,010-15,100 kHz
17,900-18,030 kHz
Ship and Coastal Station Frequencies
Most transmissions from ships and coastal stations are in SSB and CW.
You can hear these transmissions in the following bands:
2,000-2,300 kHz
4,063-4,139 kHz
4,361-4,438 kHz
8,195-8,181 kHz
12,330-12,420 kHz
13,107-13,200 kHz
16,460-16,565 kHz
* The Coast Guard and small boats use this band, with 2,182 kHz set aside
as the international distress and emergency channel.
Time Standard Frequencies
The following frequencies announces the exact time of day at specified
intervals.
WWV in Fort Collins, Colorado:
2,500 kHz
5,000 kHz
10,000 kHz
15,000 kHz
20,000 kHz
CHU in Canada: 7,335 kHz
VGN in Australia:
4,500 and 12,000 kHz
Longwave Band
The 150-519 kHz range is known as the longwave band. Most stations in
this range serve as beacons for aircraft and marine navigation by con-
tinuously transmitting their call letters. Reception for this range is
best between 6:00 PM and midnight (your time).
Some ships also use this range, wit 500 kHz set aside as an international
distress and emergency station.
Most stations in this range use CW (Morse code), although some use AM
voice transmission for weather broadcasts.
Listening Guide
The following list contains some of the more frequently heard stations.
All stations broadcast in English unless otherwise specified. You can
hear these stations throughout North America. However, reception varies
bases on the season, time of day, and a number of other conditions.
This information can change at any time. For sources of yearly, up-to-
date listings, see "Reference Sources" in Faxback Doc. # 45678.
kHz Station Location Remarks
3,223 Radio SR Swaziland
3,265 Radio Mozambique Maputo, Mozambique
3,300 Radio Cultural Guatemala City, Religious
Programs
Guatemala
3,380 Radio Iris Esmeraldas, Ecuador Program in
Spanish
3,285 FR3 Cayenne, Programs
in French
French Guiana
3,396 Radio Kaduna Kaduna, Nigeria
4,750 Radio Bertoua Bertoua, Cameroon
4,755 Imo Regional Imo, Nigeria
Radio
4,777 Radio/TV Gabon Libreville, Gabon Programs in
French
4,795 Radio Nueva La Paz, Bolivia Programs in
America Spanish
4,820 Radio Paz y Bien Ambala, Ecuador Programs in
Spanish
4,832 Radio Reloj San Jose, Costa Rica Programs in
Spanish
4,855 Radio Clube do Belem, Brazil Programs in
Para Portugese
4,890 National Papua New Guinea
Broadcasting
Commission
4,915 Voice Kenya Nairobi, Kenya
4,920 Australian Brisbane, Australia
Broadcasting
Commission
4,945 Radio Colosal Neiva, Colombia Programs in
Spanish
4,965 Radio Santa Fe Bogota, Colombia Programs in
Spanish
4,980 Ecos del Torbes San Cristobal, Programs in
Venezuela Spanish
5,020 Solomon Islands Honiara, Solomon
Broadcasting Islands
Service
5,057 Radio Gjirokaster Gjirokaster, Albania Programs in
Albanian
5,950 Guyana Georgetown, Guyana
Broadcasting
Service
5,954 Radio Casino Puerto Limon,
Costa Rica
5,960 Radio Canada Montreal, Canada
International
5,980 Radio RSA Johannesburg, South
Africa
6,005 CFCX Montreal, Canada
6,025 Radio Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Programs in
Malaysia Chinese
6,045 Radio Australia Lyndhurst, Australia
6,055 Nihon Shortwave Tokyo, Japan Programs in
Broadcasting Japanese
Company
6,060 Radio Nacional Buenos Aires, Programs in
Argentina Spanish
6,075 Radio Sutatenza Bogota Colombia Programs in
Spanish
6,090 Radio Ville Louvigny,
Luxembourg Luxembourg
6,095 Polskie Radio Warsaw, Poland
6,105 Radio New Zealand Wellington, New
Zealand
7,140 Trans World Monte Carlo, Monaco
Radio
7,170 Radio Noumea Noumea, New Programs in
Caledonia French
7,300 Radio Noumea Tirana, Albania
9,475 Radio Cairo Cairo, Egypt
9,515 Voice of Greece Athens, Greece
9,525 Radio Korea Seoul, South Korea
9,530 Spanish Foreign Madrid, Spain
Radio
9,535 Swiss Radio Berne, Switzerland
International
9,540 Radio Prague Prague,
Czech Republic
9,570 Radio Bucharest Bucharest, Romania
9,575 Italian Radio and Rome, Italy
Television Service
9,610 Radio-TV Algeria Algiers, Algeria Programs in
Arabic
9,620 Radio Berlin Berlin, Germany
International
9,645 Radio Norway Oslo, Norway
9,720 Radio Iran Tehran, Iran Programs in
Farsi
9,745 HCJB Quita, Ecuador
9,770 Austrian Radio Vienna, Austria
9,800 Radio Kiev Kiev, Ukraine
9,835 Radio Budapest Budapest, Hungary
10,040 Voice of Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam
11,655 Israel Radio Jerusalem, Israel
11,690 Radio Kuwait Kuwait City, Kuwait
11,705 Radio Sweden Stockholm, Sweden
11,720 Radio Moscow Moscow, Russia
11,725 Radio Sofia Sofia, Bulgaria
11,745 Voice of Free Taipel, Taiwan
China
11,815 Radio Japan Tokyo, Japan
11,825 Radio Tahiti Papeete, Tahiti Programs in
Tahitian
11,835 4VEH Cap Haitien, Haiti
11,845 Radio Canada Montreal, Canada
11,850 Deutsche Welle Cologne, Germany
11,890 Voice of Chile Santiago, Chile
11,900 Radio RSA Johannesburg, South
Africa
11,910 BBC London, England
11,930 Radio Havana Havana, Cuba
Cuba
11,935 Radio Portugal Lisbon, Portugal
11,945 Radio Beijing Beijing, China
11,955 Voice of Turkey Ankara, Turkey
11,980 Radio Moscow Moscow, Russia
15,038 Saudi Arabian Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Programs in
Broadcasting Arabic
Service
15,084 Voice of Iran Tehran, Iran Programs in
Farsi
15,135 Radio Moscow Moscow, Russia
15,165 HCJB Quito, Ecuador
15,190 ORU Brussels, Belgium
15,205 All India Radio New Delhi, India
15,260 BBC London, England
15,265 Finish Radio Helsinki, Finland
15,275 Radio Sweden Stockholm, Sweden
15,305 Swiss Radio Berne, Switzerland
International
15,310 Radio Japan Tokyo, Japan
15,320 Radio Australia Melbourne, Australia
14,400 BBC London, England
15,430 Radio Mexico Mexico City, Mexico Programs in
Spanish
15,465 Radio Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan Program in
Urdu
17,720 Radio France Paris, France
International
17,825 Vatican Radio Valican City
17,860 Austrian Radio Vienna, Austria
21,495 Israel Radio Jerusalem, Israel
21,525 Radio Australia Melbourne, Australia
21,625 Israel Radio Jerusalem, Israel
21,645 Radio France Paris, France
International
21,735 Radio-TV Morocco Rabat, Morocco Programs in
Arabic
25,790 Radio RSA Johannesburg, South
Africa
Birdies
Birdies are the products of internally generated signal that make some
frequencies difficult or impossible to receive. If you program a birdie
frequency, you hear only noise on that frequency. The most common birdies
to watch for on this receiver are:
450 kHz 3,844 kHz 9,000 kHz 10,250 kHz
18,000 kHz 20,490 kHz 21,835 kHz 21,868 kHz
Notes: See "Storing SW Frequencies in Memory" on Page 28 for more
information about using the shortwave page 29.
Interference from devices such as dimmer switches and motors and
atmospheric conditions can disrupt shortwave listening. You can
minimize interference by moving the receiver away from the source
of noise, or tuning off the offending device. Shortwave stations
sometimes change their operating frequency to avoid interfering
with other stations, to improve reception during different
seasons, or to take advantage of signal propagation changes due
to sun spots. For this reason, a given station might not be
found on the frequency listed in memory. Reception of these
stations can also be affected by rapid changes in the ionosphere.
Sometimes the station you are listening to might fade out in the
ionosphere. Sometimes the station you are listening to might
fade out completely. These occurrences are normal shortwave
listening conditions.
Amateur Shortwave bands in the US
Amateur radio operators in the U.S.A. are found in the bands listed here.
They operate mostly in LSB (Lower Side Band) mode. Morse code operators
are generally found in the lower areas of each band. The amateur radio
operators with the most advanced classification are found in the upper
areas of each band.
Amateur Shortwave Bands (in MHz)
3.500 - 4.000 MHz 80 Meters 7.000 - 7.300 MHz 40 Meters
10.100 - 10.150 MHz 30 Meters 14.0 - 14.350 MHz 20 Meters
18.068 - 18.168 MHz 17 Meters 21.000 - 21.450 MHz 15 Meters
24.890 - 21.990 MHz 12 Meters 28.000 - 29.700 MHz 10 Meters
(LB/SM 12/03/97)
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