On Jan 10, 8:37*pm, wgregt wrote:
Hey guys-
Complete & total SW rookie here. Today I was given a rarely-used GE
shortwave radio model 7-2990A today from a neighbor who was cleaning
out his mother-in-law's house to sell. It's in perfect shape and I'm
excited to have it.

I know nothing about this radio, or how to operate it, or SW at all.
I'm all over the www reading about SW in general, but I would love to
get a copy (or a PDF?) of the original manual so I can figure out the
knobs, etc. Would also love to know more about this radio's shortfalls,
things to improve, etc.

I'm in SoCal. You can reach me directly (probably the best way) at:
forsaleinfl at aol dot com

Thanks for any info/tips/advice!

-greg

--
wgregt

Hi, WGregT - Strongly recommend this website:

http://www.eibi.de.vu/

It has frequenty updated extensive lists by time and frequency of
shortwave stations that can be heard, ranging from tint flea-powered
stations in third world nations to powerhouses that blaze away in the
US, China, Europe and elsewhere. Note that most stations are on
frequencies that fall into distinct MHz "bands" -

3.6-4,
4.7-5.1,
5.8-6.2,
7.1 - 7.5,
9.3-10,
11.5 - 12.1,
13.5- 13.9
15-15.5, and
17.6-17.9 MHz. A few other bands too, typically hard to hear.

Usually the lower freqs are better at night, and then the higher freqs
become more prominent during the day. The 7, 9, 11 and 15 MHz bands
are generally excellent at sunrise and sunset too, and lingering good
results can be had after those times, especially on 11 and 15 MHz.

Have fun!

Bruce Jensen