Shortwave Radio Blues
October 18, 2017 10:55 AM Subscribe
Is my new shortwave radio defective or I am doing something wrong?
I recently purchased this Sangean shortwave radio for my son for his birthday. I bought it because he was so interested in my stories about listening to SW stations when I was a kid - pulling in Radio Moscow, random numbers stations, ships at sea, etc. But when I set it all up in his room and started scanning the bands, it has been almost a total bust. For 9 out of 10 or so SW bands, absolutely nothing comes in - a scan just loops with silence. In one band (49m, I think), we can get 2-3 stations, one of which is Radio Havana at 6000 khz and is decently clear and the other two are religious. I haven't been able to turn up even a time signal from the Navy or NIST or whatever.
The radio has a big whip antenna and also a long plug-in wire on a spool that we have tried in different configurations with very little improvement. I have turned off squelch and messed around with gain, with no improvement.
Perhaps it's a combination of: (1) there aren't as many stations as there used to be (I have read that BBC and others have cut back); (2) we live in a big city and there may be a lot of noise; and (3) maybe I am remembering things more fondly than they really were. But I also wonder if there is just something wrong with the set. Even given 1-3, I think I should be able to get something in more than 1 band.
What say you, DXers?
I recently purchased this Sangean shortwave radio for my son for his birthday. I bought it because he was so interested in my stories about listening to SW stations when I was a kid - pulling in Radio Moscow, random numbers stations, ships at sea, etc. But when I set it all up in his room and started scanning the bands, it has been almost a total bust. For 9 out of 10 or so SW bands, absolutely nothing comes in - a scan just loops with silence. In one band (49m, I think), we can get 2-3 stations, one of which is Radio Havana at 6000 khz and is decently clear and the other two are religious. I haven't been able to turn up even a time signal from the Navy or NIST or whatever.
The radio has a big whip antenna and also a long plug-in wire on a spool that we have tried in different configurations with very little improvement. I have turned off squelch and messed around with gain, with no improvement.
Perhaps it's a combination of: (1) there aren't as many stations as there used to be (I have read that BBC and others have cut back); (2) we live in a big city and there may be a lot of noise; and (3) maybe I am remembering things more fondly than they really were. But I also wonder if there is just something wrong with the set. Even given 1-3, I think I should be able to get something in more than 1 band.
What say you, DXers?
Have you taken it outside? Tried it at night? According to the reviews you should be hearing more activity, at the very least on the ham and CB bands. The reviews also mention good local AM and FM reception. Are you hearing local AM/FM stations?
posted by JimN2TAW at 11:11 AM on October 18, 2017
posted by JimN2TAW at 11:11 AM on October 18, 2017
As an old ham, I blame it on the lack of sunspots! The trough in the sunspot cycle continues at its bottom level.
Also everything that jkent says.
posted by lungtaworld at 11:12 AM on October 18, 2017
Also everything that jkent says.
posted by lungtaworld at 11:12 AM on October 18, 2017
I haven't been able to turn up even a time signal from the Navy or NIST or whatever.It's been a while, and I may be out of touch. . . but spending a little time looking for WWV on all of its broadcast frequencies is a classic "is this receiver broken" excercise and a solid first step in troubleshooting. I'd suggest turning off the scanning feature and just dialing in the frequency by hand, just to rule out a station-finding problem rather than a reception problem. If you're in the western hemisphere, I'd expect every WWV signal above 10 MHz to be absolutely booming during the day and the lower frequency stuff should usually be quite strong at night. If you can't hear at least a few of the WWV stations very clearly, then I'd seriously consider that you might have either a very bad antenna, or a broken front-end amplifier, or a connection between the two that isn't actually connected.
posted by eotvos at 11:14 AM on October 18, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks for ideas so far. Local AM/FM is just ok, not stellar, but I haven't spent much time on those bands as compared to the SW stuff.
posted by Mid at 11:35 AM on October 18, 2017
posted by Mid at 11:35 AM on October 18, 2017
If you're only concerned about the experience, http://websdr.org/ is very useful!
posted by arimathea at 1:54 PM on October 18, 2017
posted by arimathea at 1:54 PM on October 18, 2017
Best answer: I've owned & reviewed that radio; while on shortwave it's a little bit deaf on the internal whip antenna compared to most others at that price/quality level, it's also better than many when using the supplied longwire. While it's not my personal favourite portable radio, it's a good all-rounder.
A couple of thoughts:
posted by Pinback at 5:28 PM on October 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
A couple of thoughts:
- Definitely take it outside, or at least string up the longwire outside. Not only does having the antenna inside a building significantly reduce wanted signals (especially if there's any metal framing or brick/concrete construction), it'll also tend to 'trap' local noise (from lights/appliances/etc) inside.
- As an extreme example: right now, I'm sitting in the lounge room of my brick & concrete slab unit; about 8' away is a full height/width glass door facing directly at New Zealand ~2500km away, and I can't even begin to hear RNZI on any portable. If I walk over to the glass door, I can hear it OK, but noisily; if I step onto the verandah away from the shadow of the internal walls I get full, almost noise-free signal. That's the sort of difference simply going outside can make.
- The 909X seems particularly susceptible to those & similar effects - not because it's a lame radio, but because it has …
- A fast AGC. This means that it tends to respond to noise (by reducing gain / apparent signal level) much more than other SW radios, and
- A proper RF gain control (vs a simple "Local-DX" switched attenuator). To counter the fast AGC, you need to ride the RF gain control to keep the signal in the 'sweet spot' between "too little gain" meaning no reception, and "too much fast AGC" also reducing the gain. That runs counter to what most people believe ("more signal on the meter = better signal").
- That isn't too different to how you should operate a full-blown communications receiver - basically, adjust RF gain for highest S/N ratio (= best reception), not highest S-meter reading. Even many experienced people don't know that.
- Pick your times & frequencies. In general, frequencies >9MHz will be best during the day, frequencies <12MHz will be best at night.
- A useful tip for newbies is "follow the terminator" - that is, go looking for stations where the line of sunrise or sunset is between you and them. If you're in the US, that means you've got a better chance of getting European stations in the few hours before sunset or sunrise; conversely, you've got a better chance of receiving Asian stations in the few hours after sunset or sunrise.
- As mentioned above, sites like shortwaveschedule.com, short-wave.info, and the apps based around them are handy. In particular, the apps (and sites like the 'official' HFCC Schedule) can lead you to those broadcasters that are targetting your particular area, giving you the best chance of reception.
- Yes, receiving CRI should almost be a given anywhere on earth these days… :)
posted by Pinback at 5:28 PM on October 18, 2017 [4 favorites]
You should at least be able to pick up WWV on 5, 10 & 15MHz - if you can't manage that, you definitely have antenna issues.
posted by HiroProtagonist at 6:23 PM on October 18, 2017
posted by HiroProtagonist at 6:23 PM on October 18, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jkent at 11:06 AM on October 18, 2017 [1 favorite]