In article , FireArm44
@hotmail.com says...
Hi, i own a IC-R5 scanner and if i scan in the 150Khz - 20Mhz area on
AM i can pick up shortwave radio, however its not very clear the
clearest ive got is The Voice Of Russia World Service which i can
recive on 6.160 AM, i was wondering if a bigger antenna will improve
my reception, or as my scanner is not really designed for shortwave
listening i shouldnt bother, im in the UK and would be prepared to
fork out some cash for a shortwave reciver but i dont really know
anywhere in the UK that sells them!, also i was wondering where i
could find a list of frequencys for shortwave stations for the UK.

I can't help you much regarding sources in the UK for receivers.
However, on the antenna aspect of your question....

By and large, the longer the wire you can put up, and the higher you can
get it, the better. And you want to get it outside if at all possible.
You MAY also want to spend a few bucks and get an amplified antenna, but
better to start with just stringing up a wire outside the house and see
how much of an improvement you can get.

Also, it helps to know who is transmitting, when they're on the air and
where they're beaming (directing) their signal. My #1 favorite tool for
getting that information is a magazine called "Monitoring Times." It's
published here in the US but carries information about broadcasters
beaming anywhere on the planet. An electronic version, distributed in
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format as "MT Express," is available for downloading
each month as it's published, so you wouldn't have to worry about
overseas postage costs. Visit www.monitoringtimes.com for details.

I also recommend picking up a copy of the book, "Passport to World Band
Radio." You should be able to find a copy through any bookstore, or you
can order via www.passband.com direct from the publisher. It contains a
wealth of information about shortwave listening in general, plus contact
information for most shortwave broadcasters -- so you know how to get
their schedules, send in your reception reports, etc.

For SWL information specific to your area, you may want to search for
some regional discussion groups on Yahoo! Groups
(http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/) that address your specific needs. And
please consider this an invitation to visit the two radio monitoring
groups listed in my signature.

Hope this helps! Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help.

--

-- //Steve//

Steve Silverwood, KB6OJS
Fountain Valley, CA
Email:

Please visit the following sites:

American Shortwave Listening Club (ASWLC)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aswlc

Southern California Area DXers
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scads