Anyone familiar with Short Wave radio?

Johnny Vinyl

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amirm

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"Clear" won't be the word that comes to mind with respect to short-wave radio :). We are talking about reception of stations thousands of miles away. It will require fiddling with antenna, and knowing the frequency of the stations and even then, unless the station is quite strong, she will be straining to hear them.

Is she not computer savvy at all? Because if she is, and internet access is available, same station streaming online would be a much better bet.

Back to short-wave, reception would probably be limited to nighttime when stratosphere lowers. Test the radio here and store the frequencies of her choice in memory for easy recall.

Last short-wave radio I bought was in 1970s (a Yaesu). So no experience with portable low cost units like that. I suspect the sensitivity will be rather poor on the Sony so only the strongest stations would come in clearly.
 

Johnny Vinyl

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I was thinking Internet radio myself, but never thought of it. She's great with a laptop....she's emailing right now....LOL! I'll show her how to stream......
 

Johnny Vinyl

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Speedskater

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I have read good things about the The Tecsun PL380, PL660 and PL880
portable radios.

But the real question is 'will it be ease of use'?
 
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prerich

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My Mom is looking for a short wave radio for when she goes back to Oman so she can tune in to some European and North American stations.

I saw a Sony on Amazon for $169. Would something like this work for her? Is there anything else she would need?

She's not concerned about sound quality, as long as its clear (she's 87).

http://www.amazon.ca/Sony-ICF-SW760...540546&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=short+wane+radio
I'm only skilled with the military variety. The old R390 receiver, and the ones that followed... with a big FRD-10 antenna array. However I am skilled a radio wave propagation. ;)

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prerich

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I was thinking Internet radio myself, but never thought of it. She's great with a laptop....she's emailing right now....LOL! I'll show her how to stream......
:D Thumbs up +1!!!!
 

amirm

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I'm only skilled with the military variety. The old R390 receiver, and the ones that followed... with a big FRD-10 antenna array. However I am skilled a radio wave propagation. ;)

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I can just see his mother with an antenna array next to her house.



Or circuling it with FRD-10:



:D :D
 

Ronm1

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Keeps rodents away, I suspect. ;)
 

Ron Resnick

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I agree with Amir. My tertiary hobby is amateur radio. Real amateur radio HF (short wave) receivers are very high quality and effective -- and expensive. Small Sony and Grundig receivers probably will be annoying to use and to listen to, unless one is simply trying to receive something like BBC transmissions. And even then I am pretty sure some exterior antenna will be required.
 

MtnHam

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As another "Ham" operator, I can attest to the nature of short wave radio- it is a relic of another age when the only way to listen to foreign or distant stations was radio, and the listener was willing to fiddle with the gear for marginal results. Internet radio fullfills easily what most people really want, with better results and less effort. With radio, the antenna is most important and a big factor. With internet radio, all you need is a computer, which everyone already has, an internet connection and a list of broadcasters. Better fidelity, consistent results, and worldwide choices of all kinds of music and commentary, without technical challenges.

I still get a thrill from having a conversation with another ham 1/2 way around the globe where knowledge, skill and an excellent antenna make it possible without anything but the ethernet (the atmospheric strata 100+ miles out, circling the earth) involved, unlike the multiple servers and transoceanic cables that the internet relies upon.
 
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