Shortwave radio

Some of us old timers will remember the old Zeniths short wave radios and all they had was a pull up aerial.

My grandmother’s living room radio had broadcast and three short wave bands with a built-in loop antenna and it was built in 1935.

So enjoy the hobby, people have been at it for a long time.

If you have the Internet, you might be happy with a free service called "WebSDR" or software defined radio. Dozens of websites out there re-broadcasting shortwave bands from all over the world, and you control the tuner.

http://websdr.org

KD4UPL wrote:
I forget what stations they were but they were from various countries around the globe. I think the BBC was one of them.

LOL!! You better be fluent in Spanish or want to hear the gospel preached.

Teach

x2
There is nothing wrong with portable SW radios, and you don't need a military class Rhombic antenna to make them work. You are working stations running 15kw and up, not a QRP station on the ham bands. Its nice, but simply not needed.

I don't use it much, but carry a portable Short Wave in the RV and it works just fine. Along with it I also have a small roll of wire to toss over a tree to up the reception IF needed, but we're usually at the beach so I have no trouble at all DX'ing the world (and no trees either).

There is nowhere near the traffic on the bands there was when I was a kid, but its fun nevertheless.

Short wave listening SWL can be fun, I did a lot of that when I was young before I got my Ham license.

As mentioned, many ham band transceivers cover all the frequencies from below the AM broadcast band to 30 MHz or the 10 meter band. It is true that the bigger and higher the antenna the better the reception.

However, you will find lots of stuff with even a modest piece of wire.

Be forewarned, like many hobbies this can be addictive and you may find yourself seeking that one more improvement. :B

Good Luck

My mother in law bought a tiny little portable shortwave receiver with a telescoping whip antenna. Being a ham operator, I was really skeptical. It actually picked up several stations really well with just that little antenna. I forget what stations they were but they were from various countries around the globe. I think the BBC was one of them.
I wish I could remember the model of the radio. I researched it for her to help her pick out a good one. I think it was a Sony.

It will depend partly on what frequencies you want to listen to. Unless you have a long antenna oriented in the right direction and well above the ground, you may not be able to get much. I have two 40' towers at home with a long horizontal wire over 100' long. Not practical in a CG! Not saying it won't work at all - you'll get some signals but I think you will be disappointed. It has less to do with how good the receiver is and more to do with the antenna. You would want the antenna at least above the height of other RVs. If you have a receiver at home, can't hurt to try it at a CG but I wouldn't go spend a lot of money on one just for CG use. The higher the frequencies, the shorter the length of the antenna has to be but more of the fun is at lower frequencies. If you want to tune in stations that are far away, you need to have a really good antenna. I can get stations in Australia and Europe but it also depends on atmospheric conditions and time of day.

You could see if there is a local HAM radio club and see if someone can give you advice. I've always thought it would be fun to have a police, fire and emergency medical band scanner but at the high frequencies they operate at you won't get signals very far away.

When I was a kid back in the olden days, I had a basic Heathkit tube SW receiver and used to listen to stations all over the place. When I could positively identify a station, I would mail them a request for a QSL card which is a confirmation that you were able to receive their signal. I had some from pretty far away. I now have a vintage 70s transistorized Yaesu receiver.

Lots of SW radio broadcasts are available over the internet. Takes the fun of it away though....

Pool wrote:
Learn more about listening to shortwave radio not really communicate by HAM radio

Sounds like your interest is more in being a SWL (shortwave listener).
There are many small compact transceivers out there today that are excellent for the SWL. Many at very good prices in the used market. Yes I said transceivers (able to transmit and receive) I think the transceivers have better receivers in them than most shortwave only receivers. Just make sure you get a general coverage transceiver as it will cover more frequency range than a ham bands only. You can own and listen, just don't talk on it unless you have a license. Check this site: SWL INFO out, I think it will help you.

Learn more about listening to shortwave radio not really communicate by HAM radio

Pool,

Are you talking about communications or hobby? Lots of amateur radio operators like to operate from remote locations.

What are you trying to do?