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AstroZamboni posted:Another good option is a hard drive based iPod (5th generation or newer) with an adapter for line in recording. It will throw off a lot less RF interference than a whole computer will, and yo can just transfer the file over later. Yeah, I use my Cowon X5 for that and it works pretty well. The reason I want to use my PC is because I can use a program to back-buffer the recording constantly. What I do with my scanner is run it through my PC all the time and when something interesting happens, I can hit record and it will have already included the last 60 seconds in the file.
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Nov 5, 2009 18:15
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| # ? May 16, 2024 14:47 |
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I sometimes enter this thread, and wish I was as cool as you guys and could listen to the numbers stations live because they are creepy and mysterious. Then I realize that I would probably listen for a few minutes but would get frustrated that I would never know the exact origins of the station, what they could be saying in this day and age that is so important to tell a spy, and why the phone was audible in the background, when the numbers were obviously not being read live. Here's audio of the phone ringing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-CLcxEYgM It's like they have a computer reading numbers in a live spot to a microphone. I think that the fact that nobody will probably ever have a way to translate the code is both amazing and also extremely unfair to people like me who just want to know.
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Nov 6, 2009 00:48
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Just went ahead and dropped 150 bones on a Grundig G3 from Universal. It came with the free AM antenna! Woo! I've been reading this thread for ages and have been interested for quite awhile and finally made the commitment. Next up? Who knows.
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Nov 10, 2009 10:42
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I may go ahead and get one of those G3's just for the hell of it. I'm pretty happy with my E5 but eh. I've been playing around with 300 feet of speaker wire wound around a garden hose reel (around the base, not the reel itself.) Works pretty well, all things considered.
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Nov 11, 2009 01:40
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Interesting... I just heard groups of 5 letters in CW on 9150 (135)... when I listened a little closer with my radio in CW mode, however, I heard what sounded like voices layered in underneath the signal. When I put on some headphones and tried to isolate the speaking, the CW stopped, but for a few moments I heard the unmistakable bumper music from Radio Havana Cuba. Obviously, they were using RHC transmitters (like the rest of the Cuban numbers stations), but I don't think I've ever heard them so blatantly identified as such.
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Nov 11, 2009 08:46
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nmfree posted:Interesting... That is interesting. That is pretty blatant, though I never knew they were trying to hide it. I always liked how I could listen to the end of Radio Havana's broadcast day and the moment it stopped I could change frequencies and hear, "Atencion, atencion...."
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Nov 11, 2009 16:35
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I'd really like to buy an external antenna for my Grundig G5. What's the best option? Is the DE31 compatible, and should I bother investing in a more expensive antenna like the AN-LP1 (if that's compatible either)? The other thing I was wondering was that many of the antennas have a tuner for the frequency - do I need to set my radio and the antenna to the same frequency or can I just forget my radio tuner and use the antenna? Or am I reading that completely wrong and it's nothing like that?
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Nov 12, 2009 16:28
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Both the DE31 and AN-LP1 are compatible with the G5 and you have to tune BOTH the antenna and the radio itself.
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Nov 12, 2009 16:57
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p-hop posted:I'd really like to buy an external antenna for my Grundig G5. What's the best option? Is the DE31 compatible, and should I bother investing in a more expensive antenna like the AN-LP1 (if that's compatible either)? I have an AN-LP1 for my G5 and it works fine. I shouldn't say 'fine,' it works great. It picks up things much stronger than the built in antenna. The tuning isn't a big deal. You just set it to the range you want. Put your radio on the frequency you want then select the range on the antenna. You only have to change it on the antenna when you go to a frequency in a different range. The frequency ranges are 4,5,6,7,10,12,14,16,20 mhz.
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Nov 12, 2009 17:03
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For those of you in the US who might be interested, today is Radio St. Helena day, and their broadcast is starting in about 30 minutes.quote:
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Nov 14, 2009 23:56
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nmfree posted:For those of you in the US who might be interested, today is Radio St. Helena day, and their broadcast is starting in about 30 minutes. Thanks for posting this! Just saw this post with 17 minutes left until broadcast!
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Nov 15, 2009 00:14
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AstroZamboni posted:Thanks for posting this! Just saw this post with 17 minutes left until broadcast! Here's hoping I can actually hear anything.
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Nov 15, 2009 23:15
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Social Animal posted:Here's hoping I can actually hear anything. It was yesterday. I missed it, wanted to catch it but ended up busy =(
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Nov 15, 2009 23:18
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Wasn't able to pick up doodly squat, unfortunately.
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Nov 15, 2009 23:31
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AstroZamboni posted:Wasn't able to pick up doodly squat, unfortunately.  Same here, listened to an hour and a half of static.
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Nov 16, 2009 00:19
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nmfree posted:
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Nov 16, 2009 01:49
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Accursed posted:It was yesterday. Oops well I probably would have just heard static. 
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Nov 16, 2009 11:50
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Social Animal posted:Oops well I probably would have just heard static. Yeah, I didn't have any luck picking it up last year either. Colorado's a bit too far inland, I think =(
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Nov 16, 2009 18:15
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Accursed posted:Yeah, I didn't have any luck picking it up last year either. Colorado's a bit too far inland, I think =( quote:** SAINT HELENA. Radio Saint Helena Day, 2009y, 11092.5-USB --- I heard it, but it was totally unsatisfying, mostly inaudible. Fortunately, last year and others were much better, and QSLed, so the novelty is wearing off, anyway.
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Nov 16, 2009 23:15
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Just picked up my Grundig G6 "Aviator", "Buzz Aldrin Edition". The Radio Shack had a G3 listed for $99.99 on clearance but it turns out they hosed up and it was $149.99 and they had none in stock except the display model which they wouldn't sell me. I had heard a Cuban number station just loving with the dial for 20 min on the G3 in the store. The G6 was less sensitive, but when I got it home, I took it behind my apartment and the 6-7 MHz range was CRAWLING with stations in Spanish and English, even overlapping each other. Crazy senile preachers, news, music, the whole shebang. I'm pretty happy with this so far. One big Q: I'm going to the mountains in a coupla days to do better listening. I have a big slinky-tenna and giant spools of wire to make better antennas, but I need to know what the hell kind of port is on this thing. It looks like a headphone jack but I'm not sure about the pinout. I expect I can just adapt a mono headphone jack to the antenna feed. Don't think I need anything special on the ground line. Any ideas?  Thanks!
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Nov 24, 2009 04:55
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Epicenter posted:One big Q: I'm going to the mountains in a coupla days to do better listening. I have a big slinky-tenna and giant spools of wire to make better antennas, but I need to know what the hell kind of port is on this thing. It looks like a headphone jack but I'm not sure about the pinout. I expect I can just adapt a mono headphone jack to the antenna feed. Don't think I need anything special on the ground line.
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Nov 24, 2009 05:17
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Fiddling with the "Air" band on my G6, which I've never listened to before. Charts, and its very name, seem to indicate it's for aeronautical use. Why the hell is it full of music, talk radio and commercials? ... Example, between 131-134 MHz. Also another odd quirk; at the minimum listenable frequency, 150 KHz, I can hear a staticky mirror of an AM station around 750 KHz. Weird. The only thing I can think of is that 750 is a harmonic of 150 and I'm pretty sure harmonics go both ways on the spectrum, not just up. My theory is 150 KHz is quiet enough that you can hear even a weak harmonic on it (it IS drat quiet down there. Spanish talk radio starts showing up around the 500s.) My only other assumption is that it's just a glitch in the tuner when operated near the end of its range. Also, last night listening to 6-7 MHz the talk radio stations and crazy preachers were talking over each other. They're both understandable if you focus on one voice though. Epicenter fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Nov 24, 2009 |
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Nov 24, 2009 19:26
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Epicenter posted:Fiddling with the "Air" band on my G6, which I've never listened to before. Charts, and its very name, seem to indicate it's for aeronautical use. Why the hell is it full of music, talk radio and commercials? ... Example, between 131-134 MHz. For the first question, what you're picking up is actually bleedthrough and interference from other sources, radio & TV. As for the second one, you're precisely right. Harmonics go both ways. I pick up a really strong one of a local sports talk station in the longwave frequencies.
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Nov 24, 2009 19:29
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AstroZamboni posted:For the first question, what you're picking up is actually bleedthrough and interference from other sources, radio & TV. Ah ha; thanks. For my own personal info, where in a television or radio would a frequency around 133 MHz be generated? Seeing as AM/FM radio broadcasting stop at 108 MHz and television broadcast is 174-216 MHz. I'm pretty sure they don't even broadcst on those freqs anymore stateside, since they switched to that digital... thing.
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Nov 24, 2009 19:33
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Epicenter posted:Ah ha; thanks. For my own personal info, where in a television or radio would a frequency around 133 MHz be generated? Seeing as AM/FM radio broadcasting stop at 108 MHz and television broadcast is 174-216 MHz. I'm pretty sure they don't even broadcst on those freqs anymore stateside, since they switched to that digital... thing. Could be harmonic intercepts (133 is almost exactly 2 times ATSC channel 6 carrier) or remote feeds. Many sites feed to a remote transmitter location (you'll here them several seconds on one before they come out on their designated channel). As to the original guy, usually you pick up harmonics above the frequency not below. What you are hearing is probably direct bleed into the circuits of the radio. If you have cable, it could be bleeding from cable channels also. Around my apartment, I can receive a very static cable channels if I point my 2m/440 yagis at the wires or other apartments.
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Nov 24, 2009 22:42
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Something I came across the other day and just realized it might be interesting to this thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIKlp_rVqto Apparently the BMW Business CD head unit (and assumedly others) can be switched in to a European mode which causes their AM mode to allow access to MW and LW frequencies. I don't have a clue if there's anything interesting in those bands for those in the US (haven't tried it yet myself) and it seems to have a negative effect on FM reception, but for those who are interested and own BMWs here it is.
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Nov 28, 2009 08:30
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sellout.woot.com has a $30 eton hand-crank radio up today that does AM/FM/SW. Looks like it retails for 35-45 elsewhere, so it's not the greatest deal. It's got some bad reviews but mostly from people bitching that it won't charge their iphone/other proprietary device. I've never used one but it doesn't look like it would be that bad for a camping radio or as backup when the power goes out. Mainly it's an excuse to bump this thread, though.
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Dec 14, 2009 08:00
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Okay, I'm looking for a replacement for my G5 that got murdered by a thunderstorm a few months ago. I see the G5 isn't being made any more, so what's the go-to radio for a replacement? I've read a lot of mixed reviews about the G6, but that's as far as I've gotten research-wise.
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Dec 14, 2009 08:27
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Got a g5 i'd be willing to sell for $90 plus shipping. pm me?
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Dec 14, 2009 11:44
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wa27 posted:sellout.woot.com has a $30 eton hand-crank radio up today that does AM/FM/SW. It is a wonderful radio provided its the same as the grundig and I bet it is.
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Dec 15, 2009 00:04
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I am considering purchasing either a Grundig G3 or a Sony 7600GR sometime in the future. I regret selling my satellit.
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Dec 15, 2009 00:12
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Just found this- http://dvice.com/archives/2009/12/thanko-debuts-u.php It's a USB software-controlled shortwave radio for about $45. Software, documentation, and support appears to all be in Japanese. Does Thanko usually localize products for sale in the US? Or is this as good as it gets?
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Dec 15, 2009 23:06
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SpazRobot posted:Just found this- That is neat as hell.
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Dec 20, 2009 07:08
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So, I got a free Grundig YB 400 PE from a grandparent. They apparently bought it to listen to the radio while on a cruise near Greece, and never used again. Managed to pick up Radio Havana (barely) last night, but I was also inside near fluorescent lighting. A couple questions, though: 1) What can I do to pick up aircraft communications. I'm only a few miles from a major airport, and can find online what purports to be the tower frequency. The site I found lists it as 118.7, which is obviously not AM/SW. Help? 2) Any good frequencies that the Phoenix goons in here have had good luck picking up? I'm going to buy a some cheapo antenna stuff later, but I'd still like to get some stuff with the attached antenna.
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Dec 20, 2009 18:48
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Doc Faustus posted:1) What can I do to pick up aircraft communications. I'm only a few miles from a major airport, and can find online what purports to be the tower frequency. The site I found lists it as 118.7, which is obviously not AM/SW. Help? You would need a radio that receives airband (118-137 MHz), such as the G3, G6, or various other radios. There are some other interesting things that can be picked up with a regular short wave that has SSB though, such as military transmissions and aviation weather.
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Dec 20, 2009 18:58
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Oh god I think I'm addicted. Just using the built-in antenna and the "auto tuning" feature, I've picked up Cuba, NHK Japan, and China Radio International. Tomorrow I'm hitting up Radio Shack for speaker wire and a crimp. Any pitfalls to avoid when making a basic loop antenna? NHK says to be sure the antenna doesn't touch the building, but I was kinda hoping to be able to leave it on the roof or some such. EDIT: Radio Taiwan International! EDIT 2: EVERY station has a loud "hum" on it for me. Is this local interference, or something I can adjust for? Doc Faustus fucked around with this message at 07:02 on Dec 21, 2009 |
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Dec 21, 2009 06:43
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Double post! Is nobody else trying to listen to stuff over the Holidays? China Radio was playing Christmas Carols! No new radios for Christmas? So, I've decided I can either pay good money for a professional antenna, or else pay less money and annoy my girlfriend with some slinky-based contraption. Given how much she already puts up with, I'd prefer the professional option. My radio has a 3.5mm antenna input, so all I need to find is an antenna with 3.5mm output. If it's on Amazon I've got about $100-$150 to spend, otherwise I'd have to keep it closer to $50. Any ideas?
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Dec 27, 2009 03:08
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I'm thinking about picking up the Grundig G6 as a foray into the mysterious world of shortwave radio. It's $92 right now on Amazon, and $75 from L.L. Bean. My main concern is interference. I live very close to a Cox Radio building, and they broadcast 5 FM and 2 AM stations in my city. There's a broadcast antenna 235 feet from my bedroom. It's a tapered metal structure with a big white dish at the top, and about 200-300 feet tall. Would being so close to this thing thwart my plans of listening to shortwave broadcasts? When I'm at school, there's no giant antenna in my back yard, but I still don't know what constitutes a worrisome amount of possible interference. Would problems arise from having the radio in the same small room as my computer? What if I took it to a classroom in a 4-story building with about 800 workstations? Finally, a simple question: is shortwave dead? This article probably isn't doing much for shortwave radio sales. wasabimilkshake fucked around with this message at 07:31 on Dec 31, 2009 |
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Dec 31, 2009 06:04
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Down in Antarctica for a month, and had to do survival training in case I get stuck out while I'm out sampling in the field. Got to use a nice HF radio to get South Pole Station to copy and reply, and had to set up a nice dipole antenna to do it. Awesome!
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Jan 1, 2010 07:59
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Accursed posted:Down in Antarctica for a month, and had to do survival training in case I get stuck out while I'm out sampling in the field. Got to use a nice HF radio to get South Pole Station to copy and reply, and had to set up a nice dipole antenna to do it. Awesome! Hey, how did the ANLP antenna end up working for you?
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Jan 1, 2010 19:14
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