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Radio is awesome. I've got a couple shortwave receivers, a scanner, and another scanner on the way. I've posted this in a few other threads, but I think it needs to come out again:  My Yaesu FRG-7 I found at a thrift store for $12.99. Works perfectly. Even came with the manual, schematics and warranty card!
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Jun 6, 2007 07:45
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Just adding a neat link before I run off to work. A chart of all of the radio frequency allocations for the U.S. Find a weird data transmission and wonder what it could be? This thing can give you some sort of an idea. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/allochrt.pdf
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Jun 6, 2007 19:10
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foobar posted:I know this thread is primarily about SW, but I've seen a few mentions of police scanners and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good police scanner for a novice. Most of the reviews of the Uniden Bearcats seem to indicate that they're too complicated for a novice. I have a Bearcat BC370CRS. I wouldn't really say it's complicated, but getting a frequency programed in is a little confusing at first until you do it right a few times. Just follow along step by step with the manual at first and you'll get it. Edit: And a random tip for scanners: If you've got an unused TV antenna on your house, you can get an adapter to connect the coax cable from the antenna to the BNC input on the scanner. Way better than the little antennas that most scanners come with. Dog Case fucked around with this message at 19:35 on Jun 7, 2007 |
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Jun 7, 2007 19:31
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Haydez posted:I'm a ham too, but I really enjoy listening to shortwave more than anything else. Unfortunately I live in an apartment complex so my antenna options are really limited. I sometimes pickup radio habanna Cuba in the evenings, which I really love to listen to the shows and music they have on. Anything more than the built in antenna will be an improvement. A length of wire attached to the antenna and strung around the window frame works. I imagine even just a couple feet hanging out the window would help quite a bit. I unwrapped the wire from one of those black plastic AM loop antennas that come with a lot of stereo receivers and put it out my kitchen window. The wire is small enough to fit through the screen and close the window on, and it works surprisingly well. You don't even have to do anything fancy to attach the wire to the radio. Just wrapping it around the antenna a bunch of times works.
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Jun 7, 2007 22:31
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Halah posted:Yeah, I pretty much said that, although I didn't go into detail. I've been sticking to North America lately - with this thread I'm gonna have to see what I can get from elsewhere. When I lived in California (just a little north of San Francisco) I was able to hear KOMO 1000 out of Seattle. Now that I live in the middle of the Puget Sound, I've tried reverse DXing California stations. I can just baaarely get KSRO 1350, but it's very faint with lots of oscillation, and is pretty much unlistenable. Right now I've got Radio Austria on 13730. Edit: This thread needs more pictures! Here's a picture of my setup now that I've got my new-old Uniden 210 XLT set up.  I do most of my SW listening on the Yaesu. I mainly use the Grundig for FM except when I drag it out to the kitchen. The tiny silver thing on top of the scanner is made by jWIN and is probably the cheapest SW receiver you can get. It's also a giant pile of crap. Edit edit: Really good reception of Radio Japan on 13630 RIGHT NOW (6:00 UTC) for anybody who wants to tune in. News right now and then music in a little while I think. Dog Case fucked around with this message at 07:09 on Jun 11, 2007 |
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Jun 11, 2007 06:55
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Sir Bobert Fishbone posted:I'll throw this in as an edit, to avoid crapping up this thread with my inanities. I have yet to find a single station that is improved by using SSB. It seems as though SSB just makes voices robotic and hard to understand, no matter how much I fine-tune. SSB doesn't do anything to regular broadcasts, it allows you to hear SSB broadcasts. Sometimes they sound like the adults from Peanuts cartoons like Zamboni said, sometimes you can barely even tell they're there without using SSB. If your radio covers it, try tuning around 4MHz in the evening and you'll probably find some HAMs. Then switch SSB on and off and you'll see how it works. Edit:  Beaten while typing!
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Jun 12, 2007 03:43
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Halah posted:I'm currently listening to ESPN radio on 380 khz. Longwave? What the hell? It's coming in clear as a bell, too. I can't find anything on Google about what station this is and they haven't ID'ed yet. Is it USB? It might be the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service. They broadcast network news and sports, but I don't know if they'd broadcast on anything other than SW.
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Jun 12, 2007 06:42
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Olrich posted:Does anyone have an opinion on the Degen/Kaito 1102. I'm not quite ready to shell out $150 for an E5 like you guys, and it seems like a decent alternative that doesn't have some of the probelms of the 1103. I haven't used one, but Passport to World Band Radio likes it. The only thing that's turned me away from one (and I'm sooo close to changing my mind) is that SSB only works while the ninth memory preset "page" is selected, or while you hold down the SSB button.
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Jun 16, 2007 00:40
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So I was out and about today, and, well, this happened again. Found it at Value Village for $2.99 in the box with the case, manual, earbud headphones and rollup antenna. Sorry I'm not really adding much to your financial drain tally 
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Jun 16, 2007 05:47
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AstroZamboni posted:Jesus merciful crap, that is one HELL of a find! Good work! Today when my girlfriend and I were out doing errands, we ALMOST skipped Value Village since it's usually pretty well picked over and we hardly ever find anything good there. Also it kind of smells like pee.
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Jun 16, 2007 07:45
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AstroZamboni posted:Am I correct in thinking the YB400 has SSB? I have a neighbor who has one and loves it. Yep, it does. Value Village is a chain thrift store kind of thing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_Village
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Jun 16, 2007 08:35
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blugu64 posted:I'm calling the store in austin tomorrow and seeing if they have any....I'll bribe an employee if I have to. Haha. They get some stuff in quantity that I'm sure you can find at more than one store, but it's mostly just random junk people donate. My radio was a little dusty; I imagine somebody bought it, tried it out and couldn't get anything right away, let it sit around unused for a while and then it got donated.
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Jun 16, 2007 08:54
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Here's a page with some antenna ideas for people with limited space (apartments etc.) http://www.angelfire.com/mb/amandx/limitant.html It's on angelfire so hopefully we don't kill it.
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Jun 17, 2007 21:03
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Anybody else getting crap reception tonight?
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Jun 19, 2007 07:07
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SoundMonkey posted:Also, hmm, I wonder why I'm getting poo poo reception... with the radio sitting three inches from a laptop using wifi and bluetooth. Problem solved.  Also my LCD monitor seems to give off interference around 13.6MHz.
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Jun 19, 2007 07:42
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Okay, here's a mini-listening guide of programs I've found easy to hear, taken from Passport to World Band Radio. All times are UTC: Radio Habana Cuba 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00. 6000, 6060, 9550, 9820, 11760kHz. Radio Japan 5:00, 6:00 6110, 13630kHz China Radio International 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00. 6020, 6080, 6190, 9690, 9790kHz. Radio Australia 3:00, 5:00, 6:00, 7:00, 8:00. 9580, 9590, 13630, 15160, 15515kHz. Radio Taiwan International 2:00, 3:00, 7:00 5950, 9680kHz. Bold are times/frequencies that I normally get good reception of on the west coast.
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Jun 19, 2007 09:47
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Halah posted:I'll have you know that at 3 am last night I was out on my balcony rewiring my antenna around the siding and adding some length to it (pro tip - grab some phone cord. It's cheap and long.) I'm sure my neighbors thought I was nuts, but whatever. I'm sure I've only reinforced the neighbors idea that we're crazy by standing tippy-toe on the top step of a rickety, chest-high, wooden ladder while trying to push the mid-point of the antenna higher up the antenna pole with a broken rake. EDIT: Anybody else able to get the New York VOLMET on 6604kHz USB? EDIT EDIT: Possible number station on 8992kHz SSB right now, 8:08UTC. First a male, and now female voice reading strings of numbers and phonetic alphabet letters. Then at the end "This completes this (something). Stand by for (something something)." Lots of static so it's hard to make out. Dog Case fucked around with this message at 09:12 on Jun 21, 2007 |
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Jun 21, 2007 08:05
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Halah posted:I wouldn't discount a cheap scanner as a spiffy time waster either Yeah, scanners are completely different but still tons of fun. I have three  Just the other day I was listening in to the Wendy's drive thru while I was eating lunch. Oh god, I don't know why there aren't more fast food related suicides. Listening to some people struggle to place an order was excruciating.
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Jun 25, 2007 01:22
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My trusty Pro-2006 has been going strong for years.
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I've got too many radios! If anybody's interested in a black Grundig S350DL with the original box and everything let me know. Also it's a nice 68 degrees today. EDIT: I'll post it up in SA Mart later so I don't get in trouble for making GBS threads this thread up with wheeling and dealing. Right now I've got to get going though! Dog Case fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Jul 1, 2007 |
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Jul 1, 2007 18:41
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Okay, I posted my Grundig S350DL up in SA Mart: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2545921 Also, I'm getting terrible reception tonight. I can barely tell that Radio Japan is even there, while normally I get it loud and clear.
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Jul 4, 2007 07:20
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Capnbigboobies posted:so i was playing around with the new E10 I got and was not getting much. I threw the external antenna it came with on the roof to see if i could improve my reception. Seemed to help a little, so I cracked open a beer and started to tune around. I hear theselittle foot steps outside of the garage, but I ignored them. (I had the garage door open to throw that antenna on the roof.) All the sudden a fuckin' family of raccoons show up and start watching me play with the radio! Scared the poo poo out of me! I had to shoo the little bastards off. I'm thinking those roll up antennas just don't work very well for some reason. I tried putting the one that came with my YB-400 out the front door and it didn't really do much at all. A shorter length of wire out my kitchen window and wrapped around the antenna on the radio works a lot better for me. Try suspending it somehow so it's not resting on or close to a surface like the ground or roof. Might help.
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Jul 6, 2007 20:55
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blugu64 posted:However if you just walk outside and get in a fairly open area a portable will work decently. This is what I usually do. (My neighbors must love me) Really. If you don't have anywhere to put an antenna outside, this is the best thing you can do. Just holding my radio a couple feet out the back door, I can get a nice strong signal where as soon as I pull it just a foot back inside you can't even tell there is a station there.
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Jul 12, 2007 02:47
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I've got San Francisco ARINC at 6673kHz on SSB for anybody that wants to try and listen. Lots of dead air in between transmissions. Makes me wish my radio had squelch like a scanner. http://www.faa.gov/ats/aat/ifim/ifim0109.htm EDIT: And now it's gone. Dog Case fucked around with this message at 06:24 on Jul 12, 2007 |
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Jul 12, 2007 05:33
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Stuntman Mike posted:Do any of you guys have experience with the Grundig GS350DL? I did notice in the first post that a few people bought it. The 350 also doesn't have memory presets. It's basically an analog radio with a digital frequency display. It does sound really nice though. EDIT: It also gets crazy battery life out of the 4 D cells. I had one for about 8 months (just sold it in SA Mart!) and the first set of batteries lasted that entire time, with about an hours use almost EVERY DAY of that 8 months. Dog Case fucked around with this message at 23:25 on Jul 16, 2007 |
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Jul 16, 2007 23:21
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Danton posted:Got the radio last thursday, works great. The manual was in english and so are the buttons, so go Degen if you're looking at the 1103 and save yourself $30. The wire antenna that came with it isn't much better than the whip in my apartment, although up on the roof I was pulling in a bunch of carribean stations (Cuba, RTI from Okeechobee, presumably Radio Netherlands was coming from the Antilles). A few questions though: The bars might affect the signal. You know the stereotypical TV antenna with all of the little rods sticking out? Most of those don't actually receive anything, they reflect the signal to the part of the antenna that does pick up the signal. Maybe just try touching the whip antenna to the grate and see what effect is has. I know I've read about hams using all sorts of weird junk as antennas; bedsprings, aluminum ladders, fences, etc. As far as a wire antenna, when you used the included wire, did you run it outside or inside? Definitely try it outside if you haven't. The Degen antenna might be a better choice, it all really just depends on the circumstances. I think it has a built in antenna tuner, which can help reduce some noise and interference. A big longwire antenna can give you better reception of signals, but it will also give you better reception of noise, too.
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Jul 23, 2007 21:06
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I just got off work and now I'm about to go see a movie, but I'll add some info on what bands are what for scanners later!
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Jul 27, 2007 03:25
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Here's a page with some "Stupid Radio Tricks". A lot of them are just that (lol use HAM radio to fry hard drive), but there are some interesting things in there. Somewhere in there it tells how to use a scanner's internal operating frequencies (Sennheiser, the manual for that scanner you bought lists the internal freqs.) to be able to pick up frequencies the scanner doesn't directly receive. I think it was simply multiplying or dividing the frequency you want to hear with/by the internal frequencies to find a result that falls within a frequency that can be programmed into the scanner. The "Search" function is also nice to have. The only scanners I've personally seen that don't have it are pretty old. If you know what type of frequency you're looking for {i.e. police, aeronautical, etc.) you put in the upper and lower limits of that band and it scans through the entire rang rather than the present channels. Set the scanner to delay so you have a chance to look at the thing when it stops on a transmission. That's how I found the local Wendy's drive-through. I personally have more fun finding random junk than listening to the cops. "traffic stop, 5 and 20, lincoln 0 lincoln whiskey tango foxtrot" every 10 minutes all day while you wait hoping to hear something interesting gets boring pretty fast. Also, as far as I know with the older scanners that don't only have three decimal places, the bandwidth of the scanner is wide enough to cover that extra variation that a fourth decimal provides. I think the only problem would be two very close frequencies that are only separated by that extra decimal overlapping. EDIT: Whoops, I was way off. quote:To listen to frequencies that you know exist, but are unable to program, simply find the IF frequency of the scanner and double the number. now whip out the calculator and add or subtract this number to/from the frequency (or band) you want to hear untill the result is in a band you CAN get. If the signal is strong enough (there is some loss) magically, it is now within your reach!! This also works when you find a new frequency that is not listed, but you can hear it OR if you get interference from someplace that is not listed for a frequency you are trying to hear, you can find out where it really comes from. You may be looking in the wrong place. Dog Case fucked around with this message at 10:18 on Jul 27, 2007 |
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Jul 27, 2007 10:14
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Here are a ton of mostly non-region specific UHF and VHF frequencies: http://www.freqofnature.com/frequencies/common/ EDIT: Also saw Transformers last night. Did anybody else notice that the "shortwave radios" they took from the pawn shop were really just old CB handhelds, and that they used them without the antennas extended? Dog Case fucked around with this message at 21:21 on Jul 27, 2007 |
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Jul 27, 2007 21:17
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AstroZamboni posted:Slinkies on Amazon: American Science and Surplus has the Original Slinky on their real site for $3.75. Also you'll get their awesome catalog! http://www.sciplus.com/singleItem.cfm?terms=9132&cartLogFrom=Search vvv I was just pointing out that it's less than half the price directly from them than from them through Amazon. Also their site says it's stainless. Dog Case fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Aug 2, 2007 |
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Aug 2, 2007 18:25
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I'd been neglecting shortwave for a while, and then BAM, I turn on my YB-400 and I've got Voice of Russia coming in like crazy right now. I've never gotten very good reception with VOR, but tonight it's maxing out the signal strength meter like it's a local station or something. Edit: on 13635kHz.
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Aug 18, 2007 03:44
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bad mutant vibes posted:And the second part of that question, I suppose, what if you have a valid HAM license? At that point, you're not even a pirate station, are you? You're just a HAM guy that likes to play music and has a strong transmitter. Or is a matter of transmitter power being capped? HAM's are only allowed certain bands to play in. It's just as illegal for them to transmit on other frequencies as it is for everybody else. Also, one way communications, ie broadcasting music, aren't allowed. The FCC posted:An amateur station shall not engage in any form of broadcasting, nor may an amateur station transmit one-way communications except as specifically provided in these rules; nor shall an amateur station engage in any activity related to program production or news gathering for broadcasting purposes, except that communications directly related to the immediate safety of human life or the protection of property may be provided by amateur stations to broadcasters for dissemination to the public where no other means of communication is reasonably available before or at the time of the event.
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Sep 4, 2007 20:37
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nmfree posted:You're not supposed to discuss commercial interests over ham radio, please surrender your license quietly when Uncle Charlie rings your doorbell next week. He can sell and trade his burgers occasionally as long as they're radio-burgers.
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Sep 12, 2007 08:02
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Capnbigboobies posted:Is anybody using a tabletop receiver in this thread? They are so much out of my price range it isn't even funny. There is such a huge price jump from a decent portable to a tabletop...
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Sep 23, 2007 01:20
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Capnbigboobies posted:Nice! What is the price of a older used tabletop with SSB these days? I think those (FRG-7) usually go for $200-$250. If you're interested in one, definitely get the later version with a fine-tuning knob. Trying to tune in SSB with the giant tuning knob is a pain in the rear end. The only real advantage it has over my Yacht Boy (gayest radio name ever) is that being analog, it's easier to hear signals while you're tuning around without the muting while tuning, and it has a couple more options for cleaning up a signal for better reception.
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Sep 23, 2007 07:43
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Identity Thief posted:Recommend the equipment that I would need in order to listen directly to the Space Shuttle and the ISS - instead of listening to that bogus sterilized crap they play o n NASA tv. AstroZamboni posted:Any SSB capable radio with a good antenna will do you just fine. A DE1103 or E5 with a magnetic loop will probably be enough. What? Shuttle and ISS are on VHF and above. He needs a scanner. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sarex/shutfreq.html
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Sep 30, 2007 03:24
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Paratus posted:I did not know that. A lot of stuff is going to be there in the future, but for right now it really depends on where you're at. Where I live, there's NOTHING on 800 and 900 MHz. Everybody still uses vhf and uhf. I heard some construction workers on 800 and one side of a phone conversation in spanish on 900mhz once, and that's it. But if I drive down towards Seattle there's tons of stuff there, including police and fire/medical.
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Nov 3, 2007 03:36
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Needs more pictures. Left to right it's my $3 Grundig YB-400, Radioshack Pro-97, Yaesu VX-1R with Diamond SRH77CA antenna, Radioshack Pro-82 and Uniden BC370CRS.
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Dec 3, 2007 01:04
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AstroZamboni posted:Can you give a description of what function each of those serves that the others don't? How's that $3 Grundig working out for you? The Pro-97 I just picked up on Black Friday for $129. It covers from 25-1300MHz in FM and AM with the usual gaps. It has the Signal Stalker feature which is kind of neat, but not entirely useful. It scans through its' entire range in 1MHz steps, and when it detects a signal it scans in smaller steps within that 1MHz range until it locks on to the signal. In use, though, it takes a really strong, nearby signal for it to lock on to anything. The Pro-82 is a super-basic handheld scanner. It misses out on anything above 512MHz, and is redundant now that I have the Pro-97. It does have ridiculous battery life, though. The Yaesu VX-1R is a 2Meter/440MHz HAM transceiver that also receives the AM broadcast band and 76-999MHz in FM and AM. In its' standard memory setup, it has about 50 memory banks which can store a transmit and receive frequency for duplex and repeater operation. It also has a second mode where it can have about 200 memory banks with one frequency, which allows it to be used like a scanner. BUT, it's limited to only scanning within its' pre-defined bands; for example "AIR" is from 108-137MHz and "Action 2" is from 222-420MHz. It's really amazing just how much is crammed into such a tiny, tiny radio. The Uniden is a basic non-trunking scanner that covers 25-956MHz. It's my always-on scanner for at home. Apparently it's also good for scaring my girlfriend when she's at home alone and the weather alert alarm goes off. Edit: Sorry this is mainly VHF/UHF. I've been scanning alot more than listening to Shortwave recently. Also, there's a big storm blowing in, and I'm getting lots of interference that sounds like power lines flopping around. If the power goes out I'll definitely do some SW listening. Dog Case fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Dec 3, 2007 |
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Dec 3, 2007 02:01
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I've been playing around with radiofax tonight! I installed HamFax and plugged my Grundig YB-400 into my soundcard, and, well: Pretty fun. You can find a schedule for National Weather Service broadcasts here: http://www.weather.gov/om/marine/rfax.pdf
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Dec 20, 2007 04:24
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 01:36 |
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That didn't last long. HamFax crashes with some sort of memory error as soon as I try to receive anything now
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Dec 20, 2007 16:55
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