On Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 6:05:04 PM UTC-8, mc wrote:
Sony makes a car stereo system that includes shortwave radio. How well does
it perform? Would I actually be able to hear at least the major
international outlets (BBC, RCI, etc.) while driving across town?

I'm a ham and have been an avid SWL in the past -- away from it recently --
but am also a linguist and would like to hear various languages regularly
(including something in Spanish with more intellectual content than the
local hit parade, or whatever it is). I understand that this radio would
not be for serious DXing.

Any experiences? Thanks.

I have the 2 band Sony xplod but SW is just static.
Can I put antenna inFront input jack or what do I do?
Ignoramus about SW

On Tuesday, September 3, 2019 at 3:10:34 PM UTC-7, wrote:

I have the 2 band Sony xplod but SW is just static.
Can I put antenna inFront input jack or what do I do?

I had a DC777 in my previous car. I found that the most important thing for reducing ignition noise was to make sure the coax was well-grounded to the car chassis where it connected to the exterior antenna. This was not necessary to receive the local stations on the AM and FM bands, but it was absolutely required for SW reception. The antenna was mounted on the rear fender, so this may have helped since it was as far away from the engine as possible.

I was able to get all the usual powerhouse broadcasters (BBC, RHC, VoA) from my QTH in the SF bay area, and even some of the less common broadcasters like Radio Singapore, VOA Trincomalee, and BBC Ascension Island. As usual, the time of day and the propagation conditions were important. I never tried to go for real exotic DX while I was driving.

I don’t think you need to worry too much about sensitivity because the car will have a high electronic noise floor (making it harder to receive weak signals) and because of the high acoustic noise. My guess is that your Sony will be more limited by your installation rather than its intrinsic technical capabilities.

On Tue, 03 Sep 2019 15:10:32 -0700, nornornorman wrote:

+AD4 I have the 2 band Sony xplod but SW is just static.
+AD4 Can I put antenna inFront input jack or what do I do? Ignoramus about SW

There really isn't much SW broadcasting anymore. You can try scanning the bands with the car not running. The usual thing to try is lower frequencies, say below 9 Mhz during the evening and higher frequencies during the day. There can be local exceptions, such as Toronto's CFRB, at 6.something Mhz frequently makes it to the Chicago area in the afternoons. If your radio can receive 5, 10, 15 and/or 20 Mhz, try tuning in the time station WWV. They broadcast 24/7 on those frequencies.

Try the radio with the key in the accessory position and the car parked as far from buildings and power lines as reasonably possible.

I'm assuming the existing antenna is OK. During the evenings, you should be able to hear many out of town AM stations in between the local powerhouse AM stations, if the antenna is OK.