DX-390 (200-0214) Additional Features Faxback Doc. # 3611 CONNECTING HEADPHONES WARNING: To prevent possible hearing loss, set VOLUME to 0 before you put on the headphones. After you put on the headphones, adjust VOLUME. For private listening and for stereo sound during FM stereo broadcasts, connect optional stereo headphones with a 1/8-inch plug. Your local Radio Shack store sells a wide selection of stereo headphones. Insert the headphones' plug into the receiver's headphone jack. This disconnects the receiver's internal speaker. When you connect stereo headphones and tune to a stereo broadcast, ST appears on the display. For best reception, fine tune the receiver until ST remains steady. Hearing Comfort and Your Health Do not listen to your receiver at extremely high volume levels, especially when listening through headphones. Extended high-volume listening can cause permanent hearing loss. LIGHTING THE DISPLAY Press LIGHT to light the display. The display light automatically turns off about 15 seconds after you release LIGHT. LOCKING THE CONTROLS The lock feature helps prevent you from accidentally turning the receiver on or off, changing the band or frequency, or changing other front-panel controls. Set the lock switch to LOCK to lock the front-panel buttons. Set the switch to the other position to unlock the buttons. NOTE: This locks the ROTARY TUNING dial and the front-panel buttons. You can still adjust VOLUME, TONE, and other controls. USING THE TIME ZONE MAP Most shortwave stations announce broadcast times in UTC (universal time coordinate). The time zone map on the back of the receiver shows the difference between UTC and each time zone. To determine your local time, add or subtract the specified number from UTC. During daylight savings time, subtract 1 more hour. USING THE FOLDING STAND You can position the receiver more securely and possibly improve the sound by resting the receiver on its stand. Lift the latch on the back of the receiver to open the stand. LISTENING HINTS Shortwave 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 listening time. 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 Time, 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 shortwave broadcasts in English and in 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 communication 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 NOTE: These ranges are not precisely observed everywhere in the world. 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 reversed 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 - 9,040 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 from MHz to kHz, multiply by 1,000. For example: 9.62 MHz x 1000 = 9620 kHz To convert from 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 LISTENING GUIDE The following list contains some of the more frequently head stations. All stations operate 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" under "Listening Hints." 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 Programs in Spanish 3,385 FR3 Cayenne, Programs in French French Guiana 3,396 Radio Kaduna Kaduna, Nigeria 4,750 Radio Bertuoa Bertoua, Cameroon 4,755 Imo Regional Radio Imo, Nigeria 4,777 Radio-TV Gabon Liberville, Gabon Programs in French 4,795 Radio Nueva La Paz, Bolivia Programs in Spanish America 4,820 Radio Paz y Bien Ambala, Ecuador Programs in Spanish 4,832 Radio Reloj San Jose, Costa Rica Programs in Spanish kHz Station Location Remarks 4,855 Radio Clube Belem, Brazil Programs in do Para Portuguese 4,890 National Broad- Papua, New Guinea ing Commission 4,915 Voice Kenya Nairobi, Kenya 4,920 Australian Broad- Brisbane, Australia casting 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 Spanish Venezuela 5,020 Solomon Islands Honiara, Solomon Broadcasting Service Islands 5,057 Radio Gjirokaster Gjirokaster, Albania Programs in Albanian 5,950 Guyana Broadcasting Georgetown, 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 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Programs in Chinese Malaysia 6,045 Radio Australia Lyndhurst, Australia 6,055 Nihon Shortwave Tokyo, Japan Programs in Japanese Broadcasting Company 6,060 Radio Nacional Buenos Aires, Programs in Spanish Argentina 6,075 Radio Satatenza Bogota, Colombia Programs in Spanish 6,090 Radio Luxembourg Ville Louvigny, Luxembourg kHz Station Location Remarks 6,095 Polskie Radio Warsaw, Poland 6,105 Radio New Zealand Wellington, New Zealand 7,140 Trans World Radio Monte Carlo, Monaco 7,170 Radio Noumea Noumea, New Caledonia Programs in French 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 Foreign Madrid, Spain Radio 9,535 Swiss Radio Berne, Switzerland International 9,540 Radio Prague Prague, Czechoslovakia 9,570 Radio Bucharest Bucharest, Rumania 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 Quito, Ecuador 9,770 Austrian Radio Vienna, Austria 9,800 Radio Kiev Kiev, USSR 9,835 Radio Budapest Budapest, Hungary 10,040 Voice of Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam 11,655 Israel Radio Jerusalem, Israel 11,690 Radio Kuwait Kuwait, Kuwait kHz Station Location Remarks 11,705 Radio Sweden Stockholm, Sweden 11,720 Radio Moscow Moscow, USSR 11,735 Radio Sofia Sofia, Bulgaria 11,745 Voice of Free China Taipei, 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 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 Cuba Havana, Cuba 11,935 Radio Portugal Lisbon, Portugal 11,945 Radio Peking Peking, China 11,955 Voice of Turkey Ankara, Turkey 11,980 Radio Moscow Moscow, USSR 15,038 Saudi Arabian Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Programs in Arabic Broadcasting Service 15,135 Radio Moscow Moscow, USSR 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 kHz Station Location Remarks 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 Islamad, 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 Morocco Rabat, Morocco Programs in Arabic 25,790 Radio RSA Johannesburg, South Africa (ALL-12/13/94)