Thank you very much. Learn a bit every day
Eph
"Rick Frazier" wrote in message
...
Eph:

Short wave listening (SWL) lets you listen on frequencies from other
countries.
Some of the content is beamed toward specific audiences on high power
shortwave
stations. To receive this, a decent "general coverage" receiver is
usually in
order, along with some sort of external antenna. You can get started
with a
portable and the supplied whip antenna, but they tend to receive only the
strongest stations due to limitations of the antenna. There are numerous
web
sites that detail listening frequencies and times for specific broadcasts,
or
you can just tune the dial to se what's out there at a given time. Doing
a
Google search for "short wave listening" or "short wave frequencies"
should
result in some places to start reading. If you are interested in knowing
what
you are listening to, you should probably get a radio with digital
frequency
display. For portable, carry around operation, I use a Sangean ATS-909
(same as
a Radio Shack DX-398).

If you want to talk, you will need to become a general class ham (Amateur
Radio
Operator) (if you are in the US, other countries have similar radio
licensing
requirements), and acquire a transceiver. The General Class license will
allow
you to transmit on specific bands to communicate with other hams around
the
world. Antennas are generally more critical for transmitting, either cut
to a
specific band or built in a manner to cover multiple bands. You can talk
around
the world with 5 or 10 watts output if the conditions are right. Most
Amateur
Radios have variable output to 100 watts, with a few available with higher
output. For those that think they have to have the strongest signal out
there,
Linear amplifiers allow increasing the power output, but generally, they
are not
needed. You can purchase a new bare bones transceiver starting at about
$600 or
so, or pick up a very good used one from $300 or so. Many Ham
Transceivers also
have "general coverage" receivers and can receive from below the US AM
radio
band to 30Mhz, the limit of the standard HF ham bands. US Hams work 10m
12m 15m
20m 40m 80m and 160m bands. (10m is 10 meters). If you find you are
interested
in becoming a Ham, you may want to purchase a transceiver to use as a SWL
receiver, so you don't have to buy another radio down the road. So long
as you
don't transmit on it until you get your license, it is legal to own. One
transceiver I own that is good is the Icom-751 or Icom 751a. Both
versions are
easy to use, with sensitive general coverage receivers and reasonable
filtering
built in. They are often seen on eBay selling between $350 and $550. To
really
"do it right" you will also need a good antenna (which could be as simple
as a
wire strung through the trees), an antenna tuner, and SWR/Power meter.
Many
transceivers (like the 751) have the metering built in, but I prefer an
external
meter. If you were using the transceiver as an SWL radio, you could just
unplug the microphone, hook the radio up to a power supply and connect an
antenna and you are ready to listen...

As an Amateur Extra class ham, I began with SWL, and have owned a bunch of
different radios over the years. Currently I operate with an Icom 746Pro
into
an x-9 beam on a 48 foot tower, and when mobile I use a Yaesu FT-857 into
an
Atas-120 antenna mounted at the back edge of the cab of my pickup. In the
mobile rig, I listen to SWL stations as much as I operate as a ham. Due
to the
noise of the truck ignition and computer systems, the radio is not nearly
a
sensitive under way as when I'm sitting still, and the Atas-120 antenna is
a
significant compromise compared to a half wave dipole or beam antenna like
I use
on the home station.

Good luck
--Rick AH7H

Ephraim wrote:

I'm less than a newbie. I have no radio or experience and am wondering
what
the ins and outs are. The idea of conversing with people all over the
place sounds very interested.

Can someone give me some feedback on how it works, what kind of range
there
is, general ideas about the $$ involved, and a few things I'm too
ignorant
to ask? I know there is a broad range but I have to start somewhere.

Thanks
Eph