DX-399 Shortwave Receiver
(200-0229) Hints and Tips Faxback Doc. # 57598
Listening Hints
Short-wave listening is a hobby with thousands of participants worldwide.
It requires no special knowledge or skills, but your enjoyment increases
as you gain experience and develop special listening techniques. The
information in this section can help you make the most of your DX-399.
Reference Sources
Many books and magazines about short-wave listening are available through
your local library or newsstand. Consult sources such as the World Radio
Handbook, Radio Amateur's Handbook, Passport to World Band Radio,
Monitoring Times and Popular Communications. These publications can help
you learn about the conditions that make long-distance reception possible
and provide up-to-date listings for short-wave broadcasts in English and
in other languages.
Frequency Conversion
A band is a group of frequencies. Bands are grouped according to their
wavelengths and measured in meters. A station's tuning location can be
expressed as a frequency (kHz or MHz) or in wavelength (meters).
Amateur radio operators 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.
1 MHz (million) = 1,000 kHz (thousand)
To convert MHz to kHz, multiply the number of MHz by 1,000.
9.62 MHz x 1000 = 9,620 kHz
To convert kHz to MHz, divide the number of kHz by 1,000.
2780 kHz / 1000 = 2.780 MHz
To convert MHz to meters, divide 300 by the number of MHz.
300 / 7.1 MHz = 42.25 meters
To convert meters to MHz, divide 300 by the number of meters.
300 / 42.25 meters = 7.1 MHz
Band Allocations
Certain bands are set aside for specific purposes. Commercial broadcasts
are found in the following short-wave 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).
Band (in meters) Frequency Range (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 - 9.900
25 11.600 - 12.100
21 13.570 - 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 tropical areas.
** Interference is heavy in the 41m band (7.00 - 7.300 MHz) because
amateur radio operators and international stations share this range.
Time Standard Frequencies
The following frequencies announce 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
VNG in Australia 4,500 kHz
12,000 kHz
Longwave Band
The 150 - 540 kHz range is known as the longwave band. Most stations in
this range serve as beacons for aircraft and marine navigation by
continuously transmitting their call letters. Reception for this range is
best between 6:00 PM and midnight (your time). Some ships also use this
range, with 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 most popular stations. All
stations broadcast in English unless otherwise specified. You can hear
these stations throughout North America. However, reception varies based
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" above.
kHz Station Location Remarks
3,223 Radio SR Swaziland
3,265 Radio Maputo,
Mozambique Mozambique
3,300 Radio Cultural Guatemala City, Religious Programs
Guatemala
3,380 Radio Iris Esmeraldas, Programs in Spanish
Ecuador
3,385 FR3 Cayenne, French Programs in French
Guiana
3,396 Radio Kaduna Kaduna, Nigeri
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 Spanish
America
4,820 Radio Paz y Ambala, Ecuador Programs in Spanish
Bien
4,832 Radio Reloj San Jose, Programs in Spanish
Costa Rica
4,855 Radio Clube do Belem, Brazil Programs in Portuguese
Para
4,890 National Papua New Guinea
Broadcasting
Commission
4,915 Voice Kenya Nairobi, Kenya
4,920 Australian Brisbane,
Broadcasting Australia
Commission
4,945 Radio Colossal Neiva, Columbia Programs in Spanish
4,965 Radio Santa Fe Bogota, Columbia Programs in Spanish
4,980 Ecos del Torbes San Cristobal, Programs in Spanish
Venezuela
5,020 Solomon Islands Honiara,
Broadcasting Solomon Islands
Service
5,057 Radio Gjirokaster, Programs in Albanian
Gjirokaster Albania
5,950 Guyana Georgetown,
Broadcasting Guyana
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 Kuala Lumpur, Programs in Chinese
Malaysia Malaysia
6,045 Radio Lyndhurst
Australia Australia
6,055 Nihon Tokyo, Japan Programs in Japanese
Shortwave
Broadcasting
Company
6,060 Radio Buenos Aires, Programs in Spanish
Nacional Argentina
6,075 Radio Bogota, Programs in Spanish
Sutatenza Colombia
6,090 Radio Ville Louvigny,
Luxembourg Luxembourg
6,095 Polskie Warsaw, Poland
Radio
6,105 Radio New Wellington,
Zealand New Zealand
7,140 Trans World Monte Carlo,
Radio Monaco
7,170 Radio Noumea Noumea, Programs in French
New Caledonia
7,300 Radio Tirana 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 Madrid, Spain
Foreign 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 Rome, Italy
and Television
Service
9,610 Radio-TV Algiers, Algeria Programs in Arabic
Algeria
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 Quito, Ecuador
9,770 Austrian Radio Vienna, Austria
9,800 Radio Kiev Kiev, Ukraine
9,835 Radio Budapest Budapest, Hungary
10,040 Voice of Hanoi, Vietnam
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
11,735 Radio Sofia Sofia, Bulgaria
11,745 Voice of Free Taipei, Taiwan
China
11,815 Radio Japan Tokyo, Japan
11,825 Radio Tahiti Papeete, Tahiti Programs in Tahitian
11,835 4VEH Cap Haitian, Haiti
11,845 Radio Canada Montreal, Canada
International
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 Programs in Arabic
Broadcasting Arabia
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 Finnish 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
15,400 BBC London, England
15,430 Radio Mexico Mexico City, Mexico Programs in Spanish
15,465 Radio Pakistan Islamabad, Pakistan Programs in Urdu
17,720 Radio France Paris, France
International
17,825 Vatican Radio Vatican 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 Rabat, Morocco Programs in Arabic
Morocco
25-790 Radio RSA Johannesburg,
South Africa
Birdies
Birdies are the products of internally generated signals that make some
frequencies difficult or impossible to receive. If you program one of
these frequencies, you hear only noise on that frequency. The most common
birdies to watch for are listed below.
450 kHz 18,000 kHz 3,844 kHz 20,490 kHz
9,000 kHz 21,835 kHz 10,250 kHz 21,868 kHz
Amateur Short-wave Bands In The USA
Amateur radio operators in the USA are found in the following bands. They
operate mostly in LSB (Lower Side Band) mode. Morse code operators are
generally found in the lower areas of each band. The ham operators with
the most advanced classification are found in the upper areas of each band
Amateur Short-wave Bands (in MHz)
Frequency (in megahertz) Wavelength (in meters)
3.500-4.000 MHz 80 m
10.100-10.150 MHz 30 m
18.068-18.168 MHz 17 m
24.890-24.990 MHz 12 m
7.000-7.300 MHz 40 m
14.0-14.350 MHz 20 m
21.000-21.450 MHz 15 m
28.000-29.700 MHz 10 m
(BR-EB 11/22/99)
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