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Catastrophe posted:Grrrr. I just picked up a G3 and opened it up to discover it's probably a 1st gen one. It comes with the old 6V 250mA power adapter and the new ones come with an 8V 200mA adapter. I'm new to this and don't really know how to tell if the sync function is working the way it should. How can I reliably test this? Only way to really know is to use it. If sync is on and the radio squeals no matter what then you probably have a lemon. Try it on all levels of signals from strong to weak to see what happens. Early models squealed even on strong signals! Adding to AstroZamboni's advice, Universal Radio guarantees the newest model when you order a G3 from them.
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Apr 18, 2010 06:47
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JammyLammy posted:I haven't had a chance to use my lately, been busy with a bunch of other crap (plus with the powerlines outside, I'm pretty limited at the moment. Moving soon, so it won't be a problem) YouTube has a pretty good example, basically what happens 40 seconds into this clip, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJiusWQZuwg Like Catastrophe said, WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
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Apr 19, 2010 02:55
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That looks pretty sweet AstroZamboni! I've been meaning to build a loop antenna since moving into this apartment but haven't motivated myself to do it yet. I'm very close though to getting out of this noise heck-hole and move into a townhouse. Alright maybe a townhouse is far from a ideal radio noise quiet-zone but it has to beat where I live now, and it's a end unit so more space for a hidden longwire! For the Grundig G3 owners in this thread here's how the sync is supposed to work, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E85T0c5Nnds I've done this numerous times on my Sony ICF-2010 where a weak'ish signal is getting clobbered from a strong station 5 KHz away so I flip on the sync and reception improves tenfold. A pretty sweet feature when it works! I noticed the wiki listing for 4625 "The Buzzer" has a interesting update. Pretty strong evidence the signal is really nothing more then a propagation monitor used for research. Someone was able to find some pages of research detailing the signal. The government organization doing it is like our HAARP. The oddities of the open mike and occasional breaks remain. Or it's all a cover! 
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Apr 28, 2010 03:25
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Automaton Empire posted:I picked up a G6 that was fairly cheap the other day. Back onto the SSB horse. How cheap and where did you get it? I've been wanting a new shortwave toy and I'm torn between the G3 and G6. Well maybe not so much torn as much as what to get first! I love the tiny size and features of the G6, I love how the G3 would be a uber upgrade of my beloved Degen 1103. I'll jump on the loop bandwagon someday. My only loop experience is that AM loop
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Apr 29, 2010 14:27
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Who wants a G3 with more knobs? Meet the Tecsun PL660 (prototype). http://bbs.tecsun.com.cn/0002.asp?open=223189
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Apr 30, 2010 15:40
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Saturday evening while my wife was in the store grabbing a few things I was sitting in the car dialing around my shortwave car stereo. I ended up listening to the "Voice of Iran". I forget the frequency but it was within the 40 Meter amateur band since there was some "alien chatter" in the background. Driving home I kept listening and my wife was quite into it. The English broadcast announcer was not what you would expect, it was a female with a very American accent. I don't remember any news specifically, I remember some headlines about the oil spill in the gulf. Pretty good signal from halfway around the world, I'd say a SIO of 434 for the 20 minute drive.
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May 3, 2010 14:54
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I REALLY want to find one of these on eBay! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOafUlUQYpk
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May 4, 2010 04:38
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Social Animal posted:So were any of those antennas from radioshack/ebay worth purchasing? I'm so bad at building stuff I just know I'll get too frustrated with building a magnetic loop. I bought RadioShack's AM loop a few years ago when it was on sale, works pretty darn well. Downside is that it only works for the AM broadcast band, not shortwave. For shortwave I bought a Degen 31 which is a amplified shortwave loop antenna and it works pretty well too. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2405978&filterName=Category <- I would not pay anywhere close to $40 for this, I only paid $15 when it was on sale. Maybe eBay offers them cheaper? http://cgi.ebay.com/DEGEN-DE31MS-MW...=item19b455d39a <- Pretty reasonable price, there use to be many more sellers on eBay but I guess these antennas are almost gone.
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May 10, 2010 03:54
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Here's a cool recording, time stations from China, Hawaii, Australia, Japan, and Colorado all on 5.0 MHz being heard at once! http://dodgeblog.nfshost.com/wordpress/?p=769
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May 10, 2010 04:46
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Wow, I'm not sure if this was common knowledge but you can tune the Degen 1103 below 100 KHz through some simple button pushing. The same button pushing also allows broadcast AM reception through the ariel whip rather then the internal ferrite antenna. Basically hit 1 - 7 - 1 - 1 'band+' then hold 'Band -' for 2 seconds and from there you can either use the tuning knob or just let it scan. I don't think there's much below 100 KHz beyond time signals (WWVB 60 KHz sets atomic clocks) and digital submarine communcations. There's also a way to button push your way above 30 MHz to 35 MHz but since most transmissions there are FM that isn't too useful. Video sample of reception in the 'radio basement' -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWNsWR5CZ1Q Radio Nowhere fucked around with this message at 15:24 on May 14, 2010 |
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May 14, 2010 15:21
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onoj posted:if she gets any more interested it may be a good excuse for another radio! If you got her interested you just doubled the number of female shortwave listeners! If you've ever been to a SWLfest or hamfest you know what I mean.
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May 14, 2010 19:26
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According to this news piece the BBC World Service radio shortwave audience has dropped 9% just in the last year, from 177 million to 161 million. That's 16 million! Countries with the biggest shortwave audience loss include Bangladesh, India and Nigeria. All this while BBC's audience is growing online and growing in areas where there are local FM relays. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0337712a-666f-11df-aeb1-00144feab49a.html
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May 26, 2010 05:15
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Catastrophe posted:I don't understand now they know this. You can't track reception of radio waves. Or can they! Really though the BBC can do a statistical survey on an area to see how their broadcasts are being received. It's no different then how Arbitron does it here for AM/FM broadcasts. They won't have concrete numbers but they can see a trend.
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May 26, 2010 22:09
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ifire posted:Welp, I am another victim of this thread. I picked up a Grundig G3 yesterday and some spools of wire/alligator clips/soldering iron from Radio Shack today. I'm going to try and go back through as much of the thread as possible to avoid "stupid questions." If it's not in the op ask away! I'll admit I'm a nerd and read this whole thread before I posted, it was awesome to find other shortwave nerds under 50 
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May 27, 2010 03:19
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ifire posted:Haha, right on. I'm just glad to have found a hobby that isn't too ridiculously expensive to start on. (Unfortunately for my wallet, I see a ham radio/amatuer radio license in my not-too-distant future.) Like I said, I hit up Radio Shack today for wire. I put a 75m spool of wire up on the stairway from my basement to enhance reception. I also bought a 55m spool of wire for a "whenever else I need it" antenna. Just trying to figure out other ways of getting better reception in the basement townhouse. Try putting the wire outside with the end up in a tree. Get it outside and up high to improve reception. emjayelle posted:Sweet radio! Is there a socket or screw terminal to attach a wire antenna? Radio Nowhere fucked around with this message at 00:33 on May 29, 2010 |
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May 29, 2010 00:26
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Catastrophe posted:Seems like a boatload of ham contesting is going on right now. I've just picked up CW from Germany, Connecticut, Belarus, Aruba, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia within a few minutes. This weekend is some CW (Morse code) contest among amateur radio operators (or hams). The goal is to make as many contacts as possible so communications are uber short and sweet. Basically a station throws out their callsign, someone responds, callsigns and locations are exchanged and everyone moves on to the next station. A contact may last no longer then 10 seconds. The distances you can hear during a contest is amazing but interesting conversations are non-existent.
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May 29, 2010 06:23
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My wife and I have finally moved from the apartment to a townhouse and WOW what a difference in reception! What use to be bars of noise all across the shortwave spectrum is now barely a bar of noise on my Degen 1103. When a signal dips it no longer disappears behind hash but gets quieter. My shortwave listening has just improved threefold, almost makes the mortgage worth it! Helps I have a end unit which means I'll be stringing wires/verticals/loops soon enough!
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Jun 3, 2010 17:22
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Anyone wanting a Grundig G5 really should call Radio Shack right now, they are clearing them out for $40. I called the local store and they ordered one for me from a different store. I should have it by Wednesday!
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Jun 6, 2010 03:47
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I picked up my Grundig G5 last night for $40 from Radio Shack. I'll throw it out there again a steal if you can get it. The radio I got was obviously a floor model since the screen had a few scratches but otherwise works awesome. I compared it to my Degen 1103 and I would say it works 20% better, both in ergonomics and performance. I went in the backyard where the noisefloor is uber low and heard the usual cascade of foreign languages and music mixed with Christian kooks from the US stations. Trying out single sideband I caugh some amateur radio nets (I recommend the Maritime net on 14.300 evenings) and some transoceanic flight communications.
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Jun 16, 2010 16:04
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sh1fty posted:Pretty much the answer I expected but it's good justification. Without getting too technical sync is a radio tool that will help bring in a AM signal more clearly. An AM signal is 3 parts, the carrier and two sidebands. Sync replaces one of the sidebands with a internal "radio made" sideband so the radio only needs one sideband and the carrier for reception. This can useful when one of the sidebands is bad, like nearby stations splashing over onto the signal you want to hear. Or a weak signal can be made "stronger" using the strongest sideband. It's not a fix-all for reception but can take it can take a lovely signal and make it very listenable. What happens when a sync radio is "not in sync" is the radio-made sideband is off causing a squealing when it's activated. When this happenes the sync is beyond useless so you don't want to spend the money on that feature and have it squeal on everything.
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Jun 30, 2010 19:05
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The factory that's pumping out the Grundig G3 has lately been pumping out another similar model, the Degen 1106. Looks like at the moment you can only get them on eBay and there have been some early reviews. In short the sync feature works better on the 1106, the display is a little bigger the buttons have backlight. The downsides are poorer sound quality and the radio is less sensitive. I wouldn't be surprised is those downsides are early bugs much like the earlier models of the G3. http://herculodge.typepad.com/herculodge/2010/07/jay-allen-compares-and-contrasts-the-grundig-g3-and-the-degen-de1106.html Some crossposting from the numbers station thread, if you want a 24/7 live stream of "The Buzzer" (4625 KHz) I've discovered this, http://www.uvb-76.net/
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Jul 19, 2010 05:16
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AstroZamboni posted:Just so everybody knows, episode 2 of the new USA Network spy thriller series "Covert Affairs" is all about Number Stations, and they did their loving homework. It is decidedly badass. It centers on an IRA station which is very evocative of The Lincolnshire Poacher. DVR set!
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Jul 22, 2010 23:14
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EDIT: /\/\ Very common. Signal checks probably account for 90% of ham traffic. Prove me wrong! __________________ UVB-76 (4625 KHz) is acting up again, see Numbers Thread and yet another UVB-76 thread in GBS. I figure I'd mention it here to keep this thread from dying(much like the shortwave hobby itself!). I've tried in vain to hear "The Buzzer" just once here in Maryland. Has anyone had any luck in the states, and if so what time? I check when I can on my shortwave car stereo but nada. I can't emphasize how awesome it is to cruise the craziness of shortwave while driving or just chilling in a parking lot while the wife shops. Alex Jones on 12160 KHz at lunch makes me laugh harder then the comedy channel on XM. I still haven't fully set up my rigs at my new house yet, need to get my Icom 706MIIG fixed and hooked to a dipole soon. At the moment I'm still using portables (Degen 1103, Grundig G5, or Sangean 909) hooked to either a loop (Degen 31) or a random longwire. My last catch was probably a Cuban numbers station around 1 am (EST). Radio Nowhere fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Aug 25, 2010 |
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Aug 25, 2010 19:52
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ASSTASTIC posted:I've always been interested in short wave radio and listening to stuff, and now I am interested in getting into it. Depends on how cheap you're getting it for, that radio is a big step above the portables addressed in the op. I don't think there's "too big too fast" in shortwave radio and that Eton will make most of us envious! But if you think this is a passing interest then make sure any money spent is money you could part with if you move on. Then again a radio can be sold!
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Aug 26, 2010 20:05
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ASSTASTIC posted:Like $180.00 cheap. When I got my clearance $40 G5 radio a few months ago they were down to floor models, I'm sure they are gone at Radio Shack. At $30 more then a new Grundig G3 that 750 is an awesome deal! Like all Grundig/Eton/Degen products there always seems to be an issue with quality control sometimes so just make sure you can return/swap/warranty if something is wrong with it. The only thing you loose with a 750 is portability if that's even an issue.
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Aug 26, 2010 20:21
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TC the Giant posted:My understanding is that VLF comms are usually reserved for the most basic messages. Beacons for navigation, simple instructions, stuff like that. The antennas for transmitting on those freqs are enormous, which really limits their uses. Pretty much this. Not normally one to push Wikipedia but this page actually does a good job breaking down longwave. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longwave The VLF comms with submarines do take enormous antennas (like 20 miles long!) and they are data transmitted extremely slowly because of the super narrow bandwidth used make it through. They don't use VLF for fun, those super long wavelengths are what it takes to get a signal deep underwater.
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Aug 29, 2010 06:28
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JammyLammy posted:So if one want to start getting into QSLing. What the proper information does one need? That was actually China Radio International being relayed by Okeechobee, Florida's WYFR (Family Radio). CRI leases some time from WYFR for the stronger signal in the United States.
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Sep 4, 2010 20:37
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JammyLammy posted:That explains why it was coming in with a strong signal. I guess googling frequency isn't the best way of getting station id's. How do you figure out stuff like that? That frequency I just knew from experience, it is either Family Radio or CRI coming from that transmitter in Florida. Here's one I like, http://www.geocities.jp/binewsjp/bia10.txt @ http://www.worldofradio.com/ Glenn Hauser does that "World of Radio" program many shortwave stations carry. His on-air presentation is dry but it's crammed full of shortwave information and changes. Just F3 your frequency on that list and narrow it down to the time (in GMT) and language you're hearing. Nothing is 100% in shortwave but this comes pretty close since it's constantly updated.
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Sep 5, 2010 00:00
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The
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Sep 15, 2010 18:41
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BigHustle posted:Looks like Alex Jones has hit GBS. I put a link to this thread in there in case anyone else wants to join the frivolity. I remember in the mid-to-late 90's how crazy the conspiracy crap was on U.S. shortwave. There was a whole station, WWFV "World Wide Voice of Freedom!"(today WWRB) dedicated to the "Patriot Movement" and was only broadcast in USB since that's the future of shortwave broadcasting damnit! All fine and dandy except anyone without SSB heard donald duck on their frequency and these patriot broadcasters never paid their bills. Abruptly the station poo poo-dropped the programming and went all-religious and today is pretty much the home of Brother Stair 24/7 (because he pays). Honestly outside of Alex Jones I don't find many dedicated conspiracy broadcasts, just Christian nonsense. I hear the ocasional show on WBCQ and maybe an amateur radio conversation of Obama hate on 80 meters. The pirates aren't often political (unless WBNY "Bunny Radio" is running for President) usually just doing music and humor. Still those reasons enough for us to run wires everywhere to improve that signal and buy better radios. Long live shortwave wierdness!
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Oct 14, 2010 18:41
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dv6speed posted:So I was scanning some UHF frequencies the other day, I discovered a local FM broadcast station (WSTW 93.7FM) being rebroadcast on 455.4125 Mhz. I thought this was weird and placed a call to the radio station but they haven't responded yet. Is it likely that the station is rebroadcasting on that frequency for some internal use, or is it more likely that a 3rd party is doing it illegally for whatever reason? Ah, the Marti system. That's how radio stations do remote broadcasts. What you heard was the station-to-remote side, more interesting is the remote-to-station side when a DJ isn't broadcasting and it just bantering amongst themselves off-air. The FM station I worked for had this, 1 VHF frequency and 2 UHF frequencies. The UHF frequencies are a little wider bandwidth for better broadcast audio quality on-air, on a scanner it sounds clipped but it's really not. The VHF was straight 2-way comms ranging from a talk countdown to cordinating a station event. All of this is perfectly legal, the frequencies are likely licensed as 2-way frequencies to the company who owns WSTW. Many radio and TV stations have systems like this in the 450-470 MHz range, scan through when the local newscasters are on talking to traffic copters or covering a crime scene. It's usually pretty easy to hear the station-to-remote side since those transmitters are usually on the same tower as the actual station (750+ ft up on a tower).
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Oct 21, 2010 16:53
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Guess I need to get an outdoor shortwave antenna set up soon before winter sets in. I'm in a townhouse, end unit, yet there's no way to really do a dipole that won't be obvious and also won't be too close to the house to pick up every electrical device I own. Portables (Grundig G5, Sangean 909) work pretty well in the house near the outside wall, but I tried a very simple 50 ft wire to antenna tuner to my Icom 706 MIIG and all that reall accomplishes is increased signals and increased noise (zero sum game). I'm not really that surprised, I need to run coax to place the antenna somewhere quiet. My best bet might be a par-endz antenna off my back deck to a tree in the back. That will get me 50 ft of antenna about 15 feet off the ground. Anyone have any luck with the par-enz? I'm thinking the 40 meter model which should also receive quite well.
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Oct 27, 2010 14:28
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jarv posted:My Grundig G6 is awesome. Are you a European goon? If not getting UVB-76 in the U.S. is a helluva catch! I've been trying to hear it for some time in vain. jarv posted:Picking up my first numbers station on 5883 right now! Just what are those Cubans up to !? I'm picturing someone crouched over their small shortwave radio, probably a Grundig G6, decoding the uber secret message for "Agent Juan". Maybe a message as benign as happy birthday, or slightly more sinister like "initiate operation Lucy".
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Oct 28, 2010 15:19
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I wish there were more webSDRs that covered outside the amateur radio frequencies. So much cool utility and even broadcast stations to listen to.
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Nov 18, 2010 15:26
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Despite the fact my amateur radio/shortwave setup is only 15 meters of wire hung out my townhouse window I'm able to hear 4625 KHz "The Buzzer" UVB-76 live for the first time ever! I have my Icom 706MIIG tuned in, mode USB, and it's actually coming in just above a S7 level of noise. Either conditions are really awesome to hear this in central Maryland or UVB-76 really boosted its power! My evening has been made  Edit: Video proof. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWtFSwepAaU Edit Edit: Video proof on Sony ICF-2010 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2i1AlPHUD0 Radio Nowhere fucked around with this message at 01:58 on Nov 23, 2010 |
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Nov 23, 2010 01:26
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Shortwave goons, do me a favor and tune to 4625 KHz and let me know what you hear. Best mode is USB but AM may yield some results. I'm getting "The Buzzer" again and I could hear it most of last night. For years it was rare to hear it in the US, possible but not often. Now even on my portable radios (Grundig G6, Degen 1103, Sony 2010) I can listen to it all night long. That crazy Russian transmitter must have really boosted its power! What I'm hearing does not sound like 10 Kw from Russia. Thoughts?
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Nov 23, 2010 23:36
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JacquelineDempsey posted:I'm in Virginia, so somewhat close to your neck of the woods. I'll break out the SW tonight and see if I can't find it; I've never caught The Buzzer and would love to. I'm using a G6, just the whip, though I've had luck clipping it to a pair of TV rabbit ears and getting better reception. (Seriously, everyone, if you see a set in a thrift store for a buck, go ahead and try it!) Any particular times you're getting good reception? The last 2 evenings I've been hearing it as soon as I get home from work around 5:30. I keep my Icom on in the background and it seems to hold the same strength, maybe a little stronger, when I go to bed at 11. I haven't thought to check it in the morning so I'll say anytime after sunset should get you good reception.
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Nov 24, 2010 18:39
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Night 4 of picking up UVB-76 here in Maryland, slightly weaker but definitely there. I've read the station has suppressed its lower side-band since coming back and the buzzer 'tone' is a little different. Maybe that tied with improved winter conditions has improved its coverage enough that I can hear it here regularly on the east coast. I still think a power boost was involved, there's domestic European shortwave stations running like 10-50 Kw that don't come in this good. The magic of shortwave, I'll enjoy 4625 while it's coming in 
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Nov 26, 2010 03:48
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BigHustle posted:I went thrift store shopping today and ended up walking out with a Realistic SW-100 multi-band radio. I wanted one of these when I worked for RadioShack, but couldn't afford one. I believe the list price at the time was $200. I got this one for the princely sum of $3.53. That was my first shortwave radio way back in middle school. I have it somewhere, still works. Nice find.
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Dec 9, 2010 00:10
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So this morning I'm doing some random shortwave tuning on my car stereo and landed on one of the funniest advice programs I've ever heard. The hostess was literally selling people on the idea of shoving garlic sticks up your rear end to cure tumors. It ended on slathering some garlic and herb paste on your taint (well she phrased it "between your testicles and rectum") to rid your body of toxins. Who says content on shortwave is dead these days, this was comedy gold!
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Dec 10, 2010 18:13
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