DX-350  (200-0209)            Listening Guides         Faxback Doc. # 3582

Worldwide, there are thousands of shortwave listeners.  The shortwave
hobby can be very exciting.  Newscasts of a country where important events
are taking place give you a sense of immediacy and participation that
reports on local stations can never deliver.

Being a shortwave listener requires no special knowledge.  Random tuning
is a good way to become acquainted with various bands and stations.  But
as you gain expertise, you will probably acquire special listening
techniques.

Radio Shack's Shortwave Listening Guide (Cat. No. 62-1084) is an excellent
introduction to this entertaining hobby.

BAND ALLOCATION

Certain portions of the radio frequency spectrum are set aside for
specific purposes.  Each range of frequencies is called a radio band.  The
following charts list some of the most interesting band allocations.

Ham Radio Frequencies

Ham radio operators often broadcast emergency information when other means
of communication break down.  Hams use Morse code (called continuous wave)
and single sideband.  The following chart shows the continuous wave
frequencies you can receive on the DX-350.  The DX-350 cannot receive
single sideband signals.

        Continuous Wave                   Single Sideband

        3,500 -  3,800 kHz               3,800 -  4,000 kHz
        7,000 -  7,150 kHz               7,150 -  7,300 kHz
       14,000 - 14,200 kHz              14,200 - 14,350 kHz
       21,000 - 21,250 kHz              21,250 - 21,450 kHz
       28,000 - 28,500 kHz              28,500 - 29,700 kHz

Time Standard Frequencies

The National Bureau of Standards operates station WWV in Fort Collins,
Colorado on 2,500, 5,000, 10,000, 15,000, and 20,000 kHz.  These stations
give out the exact time of day at specified intervals.

You can pick up Canada's station CHU on 7,335 kHz.
You can pick up Australia's station VNG on 12,000 kHz.

International Radio Station

International commercial broadcast stations are found in the following
bands.  You can hear these most often during the evening hours between
6:00 pm and midnight-your time.  Programming (often in English) usually
contains the news, commentaries, music, and special features reflecting
the culture of the specific country.

European stations often refer to the wavelength of bands in meters instead
of frequencies.  For example, you hear, "the 19-meter band."  The
following list shows some of the most popular bands.

                  49 meters =  5,800 -  6,200 kHz
                  41 meters =  7,100 -  7,500 kHz
                  31 meters =  9,500 -  9,900 kHz
                  25 meters = 11,650 - 12,050 kHz
                  19 meters = 15,100 - 15,600 kHz
                  16 meters = 17,500 - 17,900 kHz
                  13 meters = 21,450 - 21,850 kHz
                  11 meters = 25,600 - 26,100 kHz

NOTE:  The 7,100 kHz to 7,300 kHz range is shared by both hams and
       international radio stations.  You can expect a lot of interference
       in this band.

Frequency Conversion

To find your way around international broadcasts, it is helpful to be able
to convert frequencies from MHz to kHz to MHz, and MHz to meters.

       1 MHz (million) = 1,000 kHz (thousand)

       To convert MHz to kHz, multiply to 1,000:
       9.62 Mhz x 1000 = 9620 kHz

       To convert from kHz to MHz, divide by 1,000:
       2780 kHz 
       ──────── = 2.780 MHz
         1000

       To convert 7.1 MHz to meters, divide the megahertz into 300.
          300
        ─────── = 42.25 meters
        7.1 MHz

(ALL-12/12/94)