Hi there

Firstly, I apologise if this is the wrong place to be asking this
question.

My brother is about to travel from England to Thailand for a year. He
has been before and misses UK radio while he is away. He has asked me
to try to find out if / how he can receive BBC radio stations in
Thailand - what he needs to buy etc. He doesn't have access to the
internet.

Can anyone give me any advice in words that a girl like me, with no
technical knowledge whatsoever, can understand! Or point me in the
right direction?

Many thanks
Alee

Never been to Asia, but any small Sangean portable would be able to
pick up the BBC and other strong powerhouses in English. Try the
Sangean 606A. It's a pocket portable that is extremely sensitive which
costs less than $100. I travel to South America a lot and I always
take it with me in my travel pack. Good luck.

I have a Sony SW55 multiband (AM-FM-SW) which I will be taking with me when
I visit India next year. I bought it used here in Canada, and paid C$130 for
it. Here in Canada prices range from C$50 to C$500

In general, buy a radio with at least 25 memories(the more the better). Keep
it small in size. Make sure it will work with the voltage in Thailand (you
can always get an adapter). It is an advantage to also have AM and FM,
because SW reception conditions fluctuate, and your brother may also want a
bit of local flavor.

If his flight stops for a while (2 hrs) in Singapore, he can 'probably' get
a set there (not much choice, in my experience 7 years ago)....

A typical UK link, from Google
http://www.ogormans.co.uk/Shortwave.htm
A Canadian link to give you an idea of prices and models is:
http://www.radioworld.ca/swscan/swsc.php
For an excellent site that has reviews of SW radios, go to:
http://www.vectorbd.com/sw_review.html

If I can be of further help, let me know

Neville

VA2ND
SWLer
======================
If you have any
"annalee" wrote in message
om...
Hi there

Firstly, I apologise if this is the wrong place to be asking this
question.

My brother is about to travel from England to Thailand for a year. He
has been before and misses UK radio while he is away. He has asked me
to try to find out if / how he can receive BBC radio stations in
Thailand - what he needs to buy etc. He doesn't have access to the
internet.

Can anyone give me any advice in words that a girl like me, with no
technical knowledge whatsoever, can understand! Or point me in the
right direction?

Many thanks
Alee

Alee
Ditto:
Sangean 606A;
GREAT portable for program listening

( one reliable site for buying it in USA below..)

http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...able/3319.html

I have one, and take it Everywhere ( Caribbean, Conneticut, Europe ( twice !!)
)

If you can, try to get a portable antenna (that would be a Plus

- And headphones ( good for keeping battery life long)

- Is he going to be in the Big Cities, or out in the Country?

Buy Ziplock Baggies for keeping things DRY...

And a few extra batteries ( I assume he will have access to AA Size batteries)

and a copy of " Passport to Worldband Radio" ( Book)

Dan


In article ,
(Caribbean Listener) writes:



Never been to Asia, but any small Sangean portable would be able to
pick up the BBC and other strong powerhouses in English. Try the
Sangean 606A. It's a pocket portable that is extremely sensitive which
costs less than $100. I travel to South America a lot and I always
take it with me in my travel pack. Good luck.

"Diverd4777" wrote in message
...
Alee
Ditto:
Sangean 606A;
GREAT portable for program listening

( one reliable site for buying it in USA below..)

http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...able/3319.html

I have one, and take it Everywhere ( Caribbean, Conneticut, Europe ( twice
!!)
)

If you can, try to get a portable antenna (that would be a Plus

- And headphones ( good for keeping battery life long)

- Is he going to be in the Big Cities, or out in the Country?

Buy Ziplock Baggies for keeping things DRY...

And a few extra batteries ( I assume he will have access to AA Size
batteries)

and a copy of " Passport to Worldband Radio" ( Book)

Dan


In article ,
(Caribbean Listener) writes:


I've been to Thailand twice (Phuket, via Bangkok), and took my YB400. No
problem receiving BBC and dozens of other English language broadcasts (they
even have the VOA on FM in Phuket!) No shortage of AA batteries there,
either, Thailand is quite progressive commercially (though the way they live
is very old in many cases.. but then, they like it that way.) There are a
large variety of American products available there (though you will find
that sodas taste different, as they use a different sugar for sweetening).

Be prepared for some very friendly people, but watch out for the drivers..
LOL.. they don't even know what side of the road to drive on (well, maybe
they do, if your from Beebland), and don't hold much truck for traffic
laws..

Thanks for your replies - I'll pass them on to my brother. Don't know
why I'm being so helpful, he's going to sunny Thailand, while I'm
stuck in rainy England!

Thanks
Alee


"Brenda Ann" wrote in message ...
"Diverd4777" wrote in message
...
Alee
Ditto:
Sangean 606A;
GREAT portable for program listening

( one reliable site for buying it in USA below..)

http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...able/3319.html

I have one, and take it Everywhere ( Caribbean, Conneticut, Europe ( twice
!!)
)

If you can, try to get a portable antenna (that would be a Plus

- And headphones ( good for keeping battery life long)

- Is he going to be in the Big Cities, or out in the Country?

Buy Ziplock Baggies for keeping things DRY...

And a few extra batteries ( I assume he will have access to AA Size
batteries)

and a copy of " Passport to Worldband Radio" ( Book)

Dan


In article ,
(Caribbean Listener) writes:


I've been to Thailand twice (Phuket, via Bangkok), and took my YB400. No
problem receiving BBC and dozens of other English language broadcasts (they
even have the VOA on FM in Phuket!) No shortage of AA batteries there,
either, Thailand is quite progressive commercially (though the way they live
is very old in many cases.. but then, they like it that way.) There are a
large variety of American products available there (though you will find
that sodas taste different, as they use a different sugar for sweetening).

Be prepared for some very friendly people, but watch out for the drivers..
LOL.. they don't even know what side of the road to drive on (well, maybe
they do, if your from Beebland), and don't hold much truck for traffic
laws..

On wrote:
large variety of American products available there (though you will find
that sodas taste different, as they use a different sugar for sweetening).


OT -- the reason that the sodas taste different is that they actually use
sugar, rather than corn syrup

(Diverd4777) wrote in message ...
Alee
Ditto:
Sangean 606A;
GREAT portable for program listening

I have used this model in Southeast Asia as well with great success
for BBC. But I wonder for my next month long trip coming up soon
about buying a model with single side band capability. Would this
give me reception of AFRTS SW broadcasts? Can those broadcasts be
picked up in Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam? It looks like the main voice
channel has NPR and lots of interesting programming.

John wrote:

(Diverd4777) wrote in message
...
Alee
Ditto:
Sangean 606A;
GREAT portable for program listening

I have used this model in Southeast Asia as well with great success
for BBC. But I wonder for my next month long trip coming up soon
about buying a model with single side band capability. Would this
give me reception of AFRTS SW broadcasts? Can those broadcasts be
picked up in Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam? It looks like the main voice
channel has NPR and lots of interesting programming.

There is an AFRTS relay at Diego Garcia; that will probably be the
stream you hear best. AFRTS feeders are always in SSB but they're on odd
freqs (including some that end in .5 khz) so check to see if the radio
you're considering covers them.

(John) wrote in message . com...
(Diverd4777) wrote in message ...
Alee
Ditto:
Sangean 606A;
GREAT portable for program listening

I have used this model in Southeast Asia as well with great success
for BBC. But I wonder for my next month long trip coming up soon
about buying a model with single side band capability. Would this
give me reception of AFRTS SW broadcasts? Can those broadcasts be
picked up in Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam? It looks like the main voice
channel has NPR and lots of interesting programming.

Yes, a portable with SSB capability would allow you to receive AFRTS
broadcasts, assuming those broadcasts are beamed to that area of the
world (check Passport to find out AFRTS coverage). I would suggest
you purchase a model with a clarifying control, one which will permit
you to resolve the signal received exactly. For instance, the RS
DX-398/Sangean 909 does not have a clarifying control. It resolves
SSB signals in 40Hz steps, which although not bad does sound somewhat
unnatural. As your intent is to listen to what amounts to broadcast
programming for hours on end, I think you would become fatigued
listening to the 398/909's slightly distorted SSB audio. The Sony
7600GR on the other hand has this control and SSB signals can be
resolved precisely such that the signals received sound totally
natural. The 7600GR's speaker is a little harsh to listen to, but
this shortcoming can be worked around either through the use of
headphones or by running the audio through a pair of unamplified
walkman or computer speakers. You might also look into the Degen
DE1102/Kaito KA1102, a new model which the 2004 Passport has given
high marks to. For one hundred smackers, this model sounds hard to
beat. As Passport says, nothing "...else under $100 with
single-sideband capability even comes close." This model is smaller
than the Sangean 606A, has a three inch speaker which has better than
average audio for its class, comes with a power adaptor, three
rechargeable batteries which recharge inside the radio, and very
clever, has a backlit display and keypad for nighttime operation. The
Kaito version comes with a 120V adaptor, the Degen with a 220V
adaptor. I'm mighty tempted to purchase one of these myself.

Regards,

Grumpus