DX-390 (200-0214) Listening Hints Faxback Doc. # 15348 Shortwave listening is a hobby with thousands of participants worldwide. It requires not special knowledge or skills, but your enjoyment increases as you gain experience and develop special listening techniques. REFERENCE SOURCES Many books and magazines about shortwave 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 he conditions that make long-distance reception possible and provide up-to-date listings for shortwave broadcast in English and foreign languages. BAND ALLOCATIONS Certain portions of the radio spectrum are set aside for specific purposes. NOTE: Bands are often referred to by wavelength. For example, the 19- meter band refers to the range of frequencies whose waves are about 19 meters long. Ham Frequencies Tuning to the ham radio frequencies can be interesting and helpful, because ham operators often broadcast emergency information when other means of communications break down. Ham 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 communication, 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: 28,000 - 28,500 kHz: CW 28,500 - 29,700 kHz: SSB International Frequencies International commercial broadcasts are found in the following SW bands. These programs (often in English) usually contains news, commentaries, music, and special features reflecting the culture of the broadcasting country. You might find it easiest to hear these broadcasts between 6:00 p.m. and midnight (your time). Band Frequency 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 5.950 - 6.200 41** 7.100 - 7.300 31 9.500 - 9.900 25 11.650 - 12.050 21 13.600 - 13.800 19 15.100 - 15.600 16 17.550 - 17.900 13 21.450 - 21.850 11 25.670 - 26.100 * These bands are reserved for stations in tropical areas. ** Ham operators and international stations share 7.100 - 7.300 MHz. Interference is heavy in this range. Aircraft Frequencies Aircraft on international routes sometimes use SW. Most transmissions are in SSB, although you can still hear some AM transmissions. Here are some ranges where you might hear aircraft communications. 4,650 - 4,750 kHz 6,545 - 6,765 kHz 8,815 - 0,040 kHz 10,000 - 10,100 kHz 11,175 - 11,400 kHz 13,200 - 13,360 kHz 15,010 - 15,100 kHz 17,900 - 18,030 kHz Ships and Coastal Stations 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 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 and 12,000 kHz Longwave Band The 150 - 540 kHz range is known as the longwave band. Reception for this range is best between 6:00 p.m. and midnight (your time). Most stations in this range serve as beacons for aircraft and marine navigation by continuously transmitting their call letters. Through your local library, you can find books on air and marine navigation, which contain lists of the beacon stations and their locations. 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. FREQUENCY CONVERSION The tuning location of a station can be expressed in frequency (kHz or MHz) or in wavelength (meters). The following information can help you make the necessary conversions. To convert form MHz to KHz, multiply by 1,000. For example: 9.62 MHz x 1000 = 9620 kHz To convert form kHz to MHz, divide by 1,000. For example: 2780 kHz ────────── = 2.780 Mhz 1000 To convert from MHz to meters, divide 300 by the number of MHz. For example: 300 ──────── = 42.25 meters 7.1 MHz (ALL/all-05/24/95)