"Fred" wrote in message
om...
I have read that SW is really only good in the North East of the USA
and in Europe.

I am in Kansas, does this mean I will need super high
quailty/expensive equipment if I want to listen to SW?

I am in Kansas, too, and can state that you will not have any problem
hearing SW stations with even a cheap, portable receiver. You might hear
different stations than people on the east or west coasts, but you'll hear
them.

I think what you read probably refers to trying to hear European stations,
which logically would be heard best in Europe & on the east coast of North
America.

However, the east coast isn't as good for trying to hear stations in the
Pacific.

What stations you hear depends largely on where you're located, but you
should be able to hear shortwave signals at any spot on earth.

--
Tom Sevart N2UHC
Frontenac, KS
http://www.geocities.com/n2uhc

Thanks Tony! That was great info!!

Fred

"Tony Meloche" wrote in message
...


Fred wrote:

Among other places.. I read on the Passport to world band radio site:
http://www.passband.com/

"Location. Signals tend to be strongest in and around Europe,
next-strongest
in eastern North America. Elsewhere in the Americas, or in Hawaii or
Australasia, you'll need a receiver that's unusually sensitive to weak
signals.."

The key phrase that jumps out to me is " unusually sensitive to weak
signals" which would seem to me that I am in a bad area for SW and that
I
will need a high end "Unusual radio" to actually get anything...


Well, for starters, Passport is talking in rather general terms
there.
It could be read or interpreted to mean: "To hear anything in Kansas,
you'll need a Drake R8b and a 200' antenna". Believe me, it doesn't
mean that, at least that literally. Yes, it is easy to make an argument
that Virginia Beach, VA is a better location for listening than where
you are - basically true, most of the time.
Yes, a better receiver and antenna improves your odds *no matter where
you are*.
But I did some quick math. For purposes of the example, I assumed you
to be smack-dab in the middle of Kansas (the Great Bend/Ellington
area). As the crow
flies, you are 685 miles SW of me. Shortwaves signals travel around the
world easily (12,500 miles, in this example) and beyond that, even. A
third of the loggings I have made, based on the transmitting stations
antenna directionality, were signals I received from the other side of
the world over the North Pole.
Using a vector that travels due west of me, the North/South difference
between us drops to 325 miles with a polar route signal. If such a
signal is readable where I am, odds are *excellent* it's readable where
you are. And then you add "skip" and "prop" which are impossible to
calculate, but really make the hobby interesting! Some nights, a signal
from, say, the Dominican Republic will reach me quite readably, where it
cannot be heard in Georgia (much closer to the D.R.) because of "skip".
There are many other variables, too.

Passports article would also lead one to believe that California is
not a good place for SW DX. *Several* posters to this group get
excellent results in California. Admittedly, these people are using
good receiver and antenna setups,
but with the $125 investment I spoke of earlier, you can still fill a
small book with basic loggings.

You have one other advantage: You are CLOSER (overall, "better") to
the Central and South American stations, some of my favorite DX!

Hope this was some (encouraging) help to you.

Tony


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In article ,
says...
Passports article would also lead one to believe that California is
not a good place for SW DX. *Several* posters to this group get
excellent results in California. Admittedly, these people are using
good receiver and antenna setups,
but with the $125 investment I spoke of earlier, you can still fill a
small book with basic loggings.

I regularly take a $30 handheld to the park at lunch here in Southern
California and pull in 30 to 40 listenable signals using just the built-
in 18" whip. I have to admit most of those signals are in languages I
don't speak, but they're coming in strong and clear. Of course, I'm
sure this doesn't qualify as DXing.

-- Jay

If you read that, you need to find a different source of information. I live
in Seattle and shorwave reception is just fine here.

"Fred" wrote in message
om...
I have read that SW is really only good in the North East of the USA
and in Europe.

I am in Kansas, does this mean I will need super high
quailty/expensive equipment if I want to listen to SW?

I just ordered the jWIN - JX-M14 el-cheapo $12 radio to try and get an
idea of what I can hear...

I guess I thought SW was available everywhere, even to me out in the
boonies of Kansas..

Thanks!!

I agree with what Tony has said---I am up in the SE area of Macomb
County on a frequent basis and the reception several weeks ago was
fantastic.



Newbie question.. Listening to shortwave in East US and Europe
only??

Group: rec.radio.shortwave Date: Wed, Mar 17, 2004, 7:40pm From:
(Tony=A0Meloche)
King Pineapple wrote:
"Fred" wrote in message
om...
I have read that SW is really only good in the North East of the USA and
in Europe.
Not correct. Those are the places where you can get SW with a cheap
radio. You'll be able to get plenty in Kansas, but not with a $12 radio.
If you decide to get serious, spend a couple of hundred dollars on a
decent portable. Your location is good for getting stuff from your
south, for example (Central and South America and the Caribbean), and
you should be able to get a decent number of stations from Europe as
well.
Craig, WPE1HNS
=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0I basically agree. I get excellent results
in Michigan, and in the world of SW, there is precious little difference
between Michigan USA and Kansas, USA.
But Craig makes a good point. You won't hear much on a $12 radio, and
even a great antenna setup wouldn't help it much - just overload it with
the strongest signals. With careful shopping, for about $125 you can get
a good portable and a 25 - 50' length of wire hooked to it might amaze
you with what you can get (as opposed to the jWin). But I'd stay in that
price range unless and until you are sure you want to continue with the
hobby.
Tony
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