SW Radio question
 

Hi ppl,

I am new to radio hamming although I have some experience
with electronics and I work in computing so I'm not afraid of
technical stuff :) Basically I am looking at buying a radio that
can recieve short wave and possibly setting up some sort of
aerial for it (have access to the roof where I live and I have friends
tha can help put something reasonably simple up there). The main
reason I'm doing it is to recieve Voice of Korea ( DPRK - North
Korea), I'm also interested in recieving signal from Moscow
I know they have a very powerful transmitter there so it shouldn't
be a problem but I've heard that the DPRK signal is weak. The
problem I have is mainly what sort of radio I should get
that would give me the best reception. I can maybe afford
to shell-out about a hundred pounds, maybe a bit more if I'm
really convinced. What would you recommend to a beginning radio
ham who would like a reasonably decent radio set and trying
to recieve signals from Korea ? Has anyone experience with
recieving Voice of Korea from England, or Western Europe ?
(Until recently VOK was called Radio Pyongyang)

Regards from
laura



--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'

Just consider the advice from the shortwave old timers in this room.I am
sure they will be more than happy to help you.I am not a shortwave
expert,I suppose I can be considered a casual listerner of shortwave
radio.
cuhulin

"laura fairhead" wrote in
message ...
Hi ppl,

I am new to radio hamming although I have some experience
with electronics and I work in computing so I'm not afraid of
technical stuff :) Basically I am looking at buying a radio that
can recieve short wave and possibly setting up some sort of
aerial for it

Have a look around this site:

http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/m..._choosing.html

http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/m.../rx_sort1.html

If you can stretch to 115 quid then the Sangean ATS 909 is probably the best
value decent receiver if you can get one.

http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/m...rs/ats909.html

There are loads on ebay from a German dealer brand new at the buy it now
price of 115 UKP.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...sPageName=WD2V


--
Simon Mason
Anlaby
East Yorkshire.
53°44'N 0°26'W
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net

Dear Ms. Laura,

May I recommend a Sony ICF-SW7600GR, which I regard as the finest of
all small portable short wave radios currently available new? Along
with that receiver I should recommend you purchase a Sony AN-LP1 Active
Loop Antenna, which is a perfect (indoor, window-mount) match for the
radio.

Alone among small, relatively inexpensive short wave radios, it feature
a synchronous selectable-sideband circuit (which sounds complicated but
actually is not) which allows for superb reception of somewhat
difficult signals. It can eliminate adjacent-channel interference and
also eliminate selective-fading distortion (where an announcer sounds
as though he/she has a very bad cold which renders them
unintelligible).

I live in the USA but with the Sony combination I have received North
Korea and the VOR (which is one of my favorite stations; I particularly
enjoy their show "Musical Tales" which features fine Russian classical
music; I also like their "Jazz Show").

I hope you will consider the above as it affords you a superb
receiver/antenna combination which you will never "outgrow" even if
eventually you buy a table-model short wave receiver. (It is a great
combination to take on a vacation.)

Should you wish to erect an outdoor antenna, you can attach it to the
Sony without fear of "overloading" as long as the antenna is not too
"elaborate." In high-signal-strength Europe, however, the need for an
outdoor antenna is not critical, at least at first.

Your own experience will tell you, after a while, whether you wish for
something "better" or if what you already have is satisfactory.

I own quite a number of receivers (these things do tend to accumulate)
but, even though my table-models are "better" radios and have "better"
antennas, I use my Sony ICF-7600GR (I have three of them as well as two
of its predecessor model the '7600G) every day. (I use NiMH
rechargeable batteries in the radio and the antenna; this allows
running costs to be very low in the long run.)

Should you decide to buy my recommended combination, look into buying
from a US-based company as the pound-dollar ratio is so favorable to
you. Even with shipping it might cost you less than buying in the UK.
Of course, check with your local shops as well to compare their prices.
Two US companies I can recommend are Universal Radio and AES. Both can
be found on the web, though Sony prohibits web purchases (I have
absolutely no idea why!).

Should you like what you see, you can e-mail those US-based companies
for more information about purchase.

I wish you all the very best of luck.

Joe

laura fairhead wrote:
Hi ppl,

I am new to radio hamming although I have some experience
with electronics and I work in computing so I'm not afraid of
technical stuff :) Basically I am looking at buying a radio that
can recieve short wave and possibly setting up some sort of
aerial for it (have access to the roof where I live and I have
friends
tha can help put something reasonably simple up there). The main
reason I'm doing it is to recieve Voice of Korea ( DPRK - North
Korea), I'm also interested in recieving signal from Moscow
I know they have a very powerful transmitter there so it shouldn't
be a problem but I've heard that the DPRK signal is weak. The
problem I have is mainly what sort of radio I should get
that would give me the best reception. I can maybe afford
to shell-out about a hundred pounds, maybe a bit more if I'm
really convinced. What would you recommend to a beginning radio
ham who would like a reasonably decent radio set and trying
to recieve signals from Korea ? Has anyone experience with
recieving Voice of Korea from England, or Western Europe ?
(Until recently VOK was called Radio Pyongyang)

Regards from
laura



--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'

On 9 Dec 2004 12:01:34 -0800, "Joe Analssandrini" wrote:

Hi again,

Thankyou everyone for your advice it has been most helpful :)

I think I am going to go for the Sony SW7600GR ; a few people have
recommended it to me now and I have spent some amount of time reading-up
on it and it sounds very good. What is more the actually hearing
tales of people receiving VOK on it who are about the same distance
away from Korea is just exactly what I want to hear before shelling-out
cash becasue this is the primary reason I want an SW Radio.

I have a slight worry that if I leave the radio to come on at a
certain time (I'm trying to automate recording a program) with
the aerial plugged in that the batteries in the aerial will run
out .... I don't know, I haven't read enough about it all to
understand but I'm a bit confused because it says the AN-LP1
draws power from the radio itself via the mini-jack but on the
other hand it has batteries inside the aerial too - I don't
understand that at all %/

Anyway now I'm trying to find a shop, hopefully local, where I
can obtain it because I can't get deliveries to my home (a real
pain !! ). Maybe I'll be lucky and get it by the weekend, if/when
I do I'll post again and tell u how it went :)

bestwishesfrom
laura


Dear Ms. Laura,

May I recommend a Sony ICF-SW7600GR, which I regard as the finest of
all small portable short wave radios currently available new? Along
with that receiver I should recommend you purchase a Sony AN-LP1 Active
Loop Antenna, which is a perfect (indoor, window-mount) match for the
radio.

Alone among small, relatively inexpensive short wave radios, it feature
a synchronous selectable-sideband circuit (which sounds complicated but
actually is not) which allows for superb reception of somewhat
difficult signals. It can eliminate adjacent-channel interference and
also eliminate selective-fading distortion (where an announcer sounds
as though he/she has a very bad cold which renders them
unintelligible).

I live in the USA but with the Sony combination I have received North
Korea and the VOR (which is one of my favorite stations; I particularly
enjoy their show "Musical Tales" which features fine Russian classical
music; I also like their "Jazz Show").

I hope you will consider the above as it affords you a superb
receiver/antenna combination which you will never "outgrow" even if
eventually you buy a table-model short wave receiver. (It is a great
combination to take on a vacation.)

Should you wish to erect an outdoor antenna, you can attach it to the
Sony without fear of "overloading" as long as the antenna is not too
"elaborate." In high-signal-strength Europe, however, the need for an
outdoor antenna is not critical, at least at first.

Your own experience will tell you, after a while, whether you wish for
something "better" or if what you already have is satisfactory.

I own quite a number of receivers (these things do tend to accumulate)
but, even though my table-models are "better" radios and have "better"
antennas, I use my Sony ICF-7600GR (I have three of them as well as two
of its predecessor model the '7600G) every day. (I use NiMH
rechargeable batteries in the radio and the antenna; this allows
running costs to be very low in the long run.)

Should you decide to buy my recommended combination, look into buying
from a US-based company as the pound-dollar ratio is so favorable to
you. Even with shipping it might cost you less than buying in the UK.
Of course, check with your local shops as well to compare their prices.
Two US companies I can recommend are Universal Radio and AES. Both can
be found on the web, though Sony prohibits web purchases (I have
absolutely no idea why!).

Should you like what you see, you can e-mail those US-based companies
for more information about purchase.

I wish you all the very best of luck.

Joe

laura fairhead wrote:
Hi ppl,

I am new to radio hamming although I have some experience
with electronics and I work in computing so I'm not afraid of
technical stuff :) Basically I am looking at buying a radio that
can recieve short wave and possibly setting up some sort of
aerial for it (have access to the roof where I live and I have
friends
tha can help put something reasonably simple up there). The main
reason I'm doing it is to recieve Voice of Korea ( DPRK - North
Korea), I'm also interested in recieving signal from Moscow
I know they have a very powerful transmitter there so it shouldn't
be a problem but I've heard that the DPRK signal is weak. The
problem I have is mainly what sort of radio I should get
that would give me the best reception. I can maybe afford
to shell-out about a hundred pounds, maybe a bit more if I'm
really convinced. What would you recommend to a beginning radio
ham who would like a reasonably decent radio set and trying
to recieve signals from Korea ? Has anyone experience with
recieving Voice of Korea from England, or Western Europe ?
(Until recently VOK was called Radio Pyongyang)

Regards from
laura



--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'


--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'

Check around in the stores over there and see if they sell some sort of
adapters thingys you can use for your shortwave radio so you won't have
to be buying batteries all the time.By the way,I know a married Irish
woman whom is married to an Irish guy (she is from Caherconlish,Ireland
[near Limerick] and he is from Fethard,Ireland www.fethard.com
Caherconlish doesn't have a website,,, yet,according to her,Maggie) and
she works in the social services department at West Sussex County
Council in Bognor Regis,England.I have known them via the internet for
over five years.
cuhulin

Good Luck to you with your shortwaving.
www.irishroots.org/aoh/soldsong1.mid
cuhulin

Dear Ms. Laura,

Universal Radio sells an AC adapter for the Sony ICF-SW7600GR which
they claim is satisfactory. Sony's adapter is of the new "switching"
kind which, though much more efficient than the older linear adapters,
introduces a lot of noise; this makes it unsuitable for SW reception.

In any case, the adapters sold here are for 110V, not 220. I do not
know anything about the AC adapters sold in England. You must make sure
that any AC adapter you purchase for the radio is a linear one as
opposed to a "switching" adapter.

I don't recommend the AC adapter because, even if it injects just a
small amount of noise, this may impact your reception of Korea. (You
should check on that with people who live in the UK; Korea's signal
strength may be well stronger in the UK than the US.)

Of course, if you wish to use a timer to turn on the radio, then, of
course, you will need an AC adapter which would plug into the timer.

However, if you use rechargeable NiMH batteries (which is what I
strongly recommend for both the radio and the antenna), these can be
charged at any time (they have little or no "memory effect" like NiCad
batteries) so you could charge them every day if you wished. There are
chargers which will recharge those batteries in one hour or less.

The radio runs a very long time on rechargeable NiMH batteries and the
antenna lasts even longer on those batteries. You need have no fear of
the batteries going flat if you maintain them properly in accordance
with your listening habits.

The myth that "the radio powers the antenna" began, I'm afraid, with an
error in PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO which is maintained even in its
latest edition. It may be an error in interpretation. The radio will
power on (and off) the antenna (in other words, when using the antenna
with the '7600, one does not need to use the power switch on the
antenna; it is turned on or off with the radio), but batteries are
required in the antenna. It will not work if there are no batteries
installed. PASSPORT's terminology is unfortunate and has led to a great
deal of confusion.

The antenna has no input for an AC adapter, but, as it turns on and off
with the radio, there would be no problem with leaving the antenna
powered unnecessarily. (The Sony AN-LP1 has the "automatic" operation
only with the '7600 radio. It, of course, works with other SW radios,
but the power switch must be turned on and off manually. Note also that
the AN-LP1 is strictly for SW. It must be physically disconnected from
the radio when listening to MW or LW.)

I hope the above is of some use to you and, again, I wish you the very
best of luck.

Joe

laura fairhead wrote:
On 9 Dec 2004 12:01:34 -0800, "Joe Analssandrini"
wrote:

Hi again,

Thankyou everyone for your advice it has been most helpful :)

I think I am going to go for the Sony SW7600GR ; a few people have
recommended it to me now and I have spent some amount of time
reading-up
on it and it sounds very good. What is more the actually hearing
tales of people receiving VOK on it who are about the same distance
away from Korea is just exactly what I want to hear before
shelling-out
cash becasue this is the primary reason I want an SW Radio.

I have a slight worry that if I leave the radio to come on at a
certain time (I'm trying to automate recording a program) with
the aerial plugged in that the batteries in the aerial will run
out .... I don't know, I haven't read enough about it all to
understand but I'm a bit confused because it says the AN-LP1
draws power from the radio itself via the mini-jack but on the
other hand it has batteries inside the aerial too - I don't
understand that at all %/

Anyway now I'm trying to find a shop, hopefully local, where I
can obtain it because I can't get deliveries to my home (a real
pain !! ). Maybe I'll be lucky and get it by the weekend, if/when
I do I'll post again and tell u how it went :)

bestwishesfrom
laura


Dear Ms. Laura,

May I recommend a Sony ICF-SW7600GR, which I regard as the finest of
all small portable short wave radios currently available new? Along
with that receiver I should recommend you purchase a Sony AN-LP1
Active
Loop Antenna, which is a perfect (indoor, window-mount) match for
the
radio.

Alone among small, relatively inexpensive short wave radios, it
feature
a synchronous selectable-sideband circuit (which sounds complicated
but
actually is not) which allows for superb reception of somewhat
difficult signals. It can eliminate adjacent-channel interference
and
also eliminate selective-fading distortion (where an announcer
sounds
as though he/she has a very bad cold which renders them
unintelligible).

I live in the USA but with the Sony combination I have received
North
Korea and the VOR (which is one of my favorite stations; I
particularly
enjoy their show "Musical Tales" which features fine Russian
classical
music; I also like their "Jazz Show").

I hope you will consider the above as it affords you a superb
receiver/antenna combination which you will never "outgrow" even if
eventually you buy a table-model short wave receiver. (It is a great
combination to take on a vacation.)

Should you wish to erect an outdoor antenna, you can attach it to
the
Sony without fear of "overloading" as long as the antenna is not too
"elaborate." In high-signal-strength Europe, however, the need for
an
outdoor antenna is not critical, at least at first.

Your own experience will tell you, after a while, whether you wish
for
something "better" or if what you already have is satisfactory.

I own quite a number of receivers (these things do tend to
accumulate)
but, even though my table-models are "better" radios and have
"better"
antennas, I use my Sony ICF-7600GR (I have three of them as well as
two
of its predecessor model the '7600G) every day. (I use NiMH
rechargeable batteries in the radio and the antenna; this allows
running costs to be very low in the long run.)

Should you decide to buy my recommended combination, look into
buying
from a US-based company as the pound-dollar ratio is so favorable to
you. Even with shipping it might cost you less than buying in the
UK.
Of course, check with your local shops as well to compare their
prices.
Two US companies I can recommend are Universal Radio and AES. Both
can
be found on the web, though Sony prohibits web purchases (I have
absolutely no idea why!).

Should you like what you see, you can e-mail those US-based
companies
for more information about purchase.

I wish you all the very best of luck.

Joe

laura fairhead wrote:
Hi ppl,

I am new to radio hamming although I have some experience
with electronics and I work in computing so I'm not afraid of
technical stuff :) Basically I am looking at buying a radio that
can recieve short wave and possibly setting up some sort of
aerial for it (have access to the roof where I live and I have
friends
tha can help put something reasonably simple up there). The main
reason I'm doing it is to recieve Voice of Korea ( DPRK - North
Korea), I'm also interested in recieving signal from Moscow
I know they have a very powerful transmitter there so it shouldn't
be a problem but I've heard that the DPRK signal is weak. The
problem I have is mainly what sort of radio I should get
that would give me the best reception. I can maybe afford
to shell-out about a hundred pounds, maybe a bit more if I'm
really convinced. What would you recommend to a beginning radio
ham who would like a reasonably decent radio set and trying
to recieve signals from Korea ? Has anyone experience with
recieving Voice of Korea from England, or Western Europe ?
(Until recently VOK was called Radio Pyongyang)

Regards from
laura



--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'


--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'

fOn 10 Dec 2004 06:40:32 -0800, "Joe Analssandrini" wrote:


Hi Joe,

I was an impatient child in the end and went and bought a Roberts R861.
They actually retail for quite a bit more than the Sony but I'm not
sure I did the right thing :O Its difficult for me because I can't
get deliveries where I live so I checked the local stores and to my
surprise the local electronics shop he had a Roberts R861 (2nd hand but
VGC) and was only asking £120 for everything including mains adapter.
I'm happy because the Sony was going to cost more than that and
the Xmas squeeze is on - I think I'm going to get so much into this
I will end up getting the Sony soon AS WELL anyway :) First thing we realised
is reception is rubbish here (right next door to a huge apartment block
and lots of buildings on all sides we think are blocking the signals)

The funny thing is that having the mains adapter plugged in seesm to
improve the signal rather than degrade it (maybe it uses it as an aerial?)
I understand that the telescopic aerial is for FM ? I plugged in the 'whip'
(long wire thing) and put it as high as I could (not very much!) but
we think it will be much better if we put an aerial up on the roof.
Should I just put a long length of wire up there ? Is it alright to
just dangle that down the side of the house to connect it or do we
need to use a special shielded cable to do that? I want to have the
computer running at the same time and it seems to interfer, maybe
it would interfer with the aerial lead coming in ? (I don't know
being inexperienced but that is what my hunch is...)

Anyway I have been glued to the thing all night and wonder if I'll ever
get to bed :-)) My first exciting discovery (I have been scanning and
writing down the channels or a description) was "All Indian Radio"
on 7.409Mhz. Also I think I got something from Nigeria on 7.382Mhz.
I couldn't get Voice of Korea at all, not one iota. Do you think the
Sony would fend better at that? Or is it just my aerial I need to set-up?
What frequency did you get VOK on?

Thanxs again, your post was very informative :)

bestwishes
laura

Dear Ms. Laura,

Universal Radio sells an AC adapter for the Sony ICF-SW7600GR which
they claim is satisfactory. Sony's adapter is of the new "switching"
kind which, though much more efficient than the older linear adapters,
introduces a lot of noise; this makes it unsuitable for SW reception.

In any case, the adapters sold here are for 110V, not 220. I do not
know anything about the AC adapters sold in England. You must make sure
that any AC adapter you purchase for the radio is a linear one as
opposed to a "switching" adapter.

I don't recommend the AC adapter because, even if it injects just a
small amount of noise, this may impact your reception of Korea. (You
should check on that with people who live in the UK; Korea's signal
strength may be well stronger in the UK than the US.)

Of course, if you wish to use a timer to turn on the radio, then, of
course, you will need an AC adapter which would plug into the timer.

However, if you use rechargeable NiMH batteries (which is what I
strongly recommend for both the radio and the antenna), these can be
charged at any time (they have little or no "memory effect" like NiCad
batteries) so you could charge them every day if you wished. There are
chargers which will recharge those batteries in one hour or less.

The radio runs a very long time on rechargeable NiMH batteries and the
antenna lasts even longer on those batteries. You need have no fear of
the batteries going flat if you maintain them properly in accordance
with your listening habits.

The myth that "the radio powers the antenna" began, I'm afraid, with an
error in PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO which is maintained even in its
latest edition. It may be an error in interpretation. The radio will
power on (and off) the antenna (in other words, when using the antenna
with the '7600, one does not need to use the power switch on the
antenna; it is turned on or off with the radio), but batteries are
required in the antenna. It will not work if there are no batteries
installed. PASSPORT's terminology is unfortunate and has led to a great
deal of confusion.

The antenna has no input for an AC adapter, but, as it turns on and off
with the radio, there would be no problem with leaving the antenna
powered unnecessarily. (The Sony AN-LP1 has the "automatic" operation
only with the '7600 radio. It, of course, works with other SW radios,
but the power switch must be turned on and off manually. Note also that
the AN-LP1 is strictly for SW. It must be physically disconnected from
the radio when listening to MW or LW.)

I hope the above is of some use to you and, again, I wish you the very
best of luck.

Joe

--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'

"laura fairhead" wrote in message
...
fOn 10 Dec 2004 06:40:32 -0800, "Joe Analssandrini" wrote:


Hi Joe,

I was an impatient child in the end and went and bought a Roberts R861.
They actually retail for quite a bit more than the Sony but I'm not
sure I did the right thing :O Its difficult for me because I can't
get deliveries where I live so I checked the local stores and to my
surprise the local electronics shop he had a Roberts R861 (2nd hand but
VGC) and was only asking £120 for everything including mains adapter.
[snip]

Hi Laura.

You got a good radio in the 861. It's the same as the Sangean ATS-505
Good sound from the speaker, very sensitive off the whip, and acceptable SSB.
You'll hear plenty with it.

I'd be interested in knowing what Longwave stations you can hear. I'm pretty
sure there are still some LW broadcast stations in Europe.

Here are links to English language schedules by country and time
http://www.primetimeshortwave.com/country.txt
http://www.primetimeshortwave.com/time.txt

Another good place for schedules is
http://www.eibi.de.vu
click the "DX page" link, then find bc-b04.txt

Dear Ms. Laura,

Contrary to a post above, the Roberts R861 is equivalent to the Sangean
ATS 909, a radio which is superior to the '505. It is a good (not
great) short wave portable radio. However, it does not feaure the
synchronous selectable sideband circuitry which the Sony features and
which, in my opinion, makes all the difference in pleasant listening.

I habe never owned a Sangean ATS 909 nor do I know anyone who does.
According to PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO, the Sangean/Roberts works
BEST off its AC adapter as it "eats" batteries. An external antenna is
necessary also, as it lacks sensitivity with its whip (according to
them).

A long wire, or loop antenna, mounted on your roof would be ideal. Try
buying a length of insulated wire, two ceramic or equivalent stand-off
insulators (to isolate the antenna from whatever support you use) and
some lead-in wire; attach the appropriate plug to the lead-in to attach
to the radio and you're in business. No separate ground is necessary,
but make sure you DISCONNECT the antenna whenever the radio is not in
use and, especially, during local thunderstorms. (NEVER use ANY
electronic appliance during a thunderstorm; storms only last a
half-hour or so.)

Do NOT let your antenna proper or the lead-in touch anything metallic;
that will degrade the signal.

Tall buildings don't impact short wave signals; electrical "noise" from
computers, fluorescent lights, light dimmers, and other such modern
accoutrements do, however, and it is best to turn these off if
possible. Especially turn off such items one by one to see if the
particular item is causing interference. (Of course, you can do nothing
about your neighbors.) I have a very bad situation at my location with
local electrical noise and I have been able to find a solution, but it
would not be appropriate for you as it cost a great deal of money.

I received VOK several weeks ago at about 0130 on 15180 kHz (actually a
"hair" off that frequency). I haven't heard it since, but, frankly,
have not tried either. Perhaps in the next couple of days I'll listen
for it again.

Do you know about Prime Time Shortwave? Just enter that in Google and
it will take you to one of the best short wave schedule programs on the
web (it's free!). There you can find the latest information on any
station you might desire - its time and frequency and the "target area"
to which it is transmitting. This often lets you have a "fighting
chance" of picking up the signal.

All the best, and the best of luck with your new radio,

Joe

laura fairhead wrote:
fOn 10 Dec 2004 06:40:32 -0800, "Joe Analssandrini"
wrote:


Hi Joe,

I was an impatient child in the end and went and bought a Roberts
R861.
They actually retail for quite a bit more than the Sony but I'm not
sure I did the right thing :O Its difficult for me because I can't
get deliveries where I live so I checked the local stores and to my
surprise the local electronics shop he had a Roberts R861 (2nd hand
but
VGC) and was only asking =A3120 for everything including mains
adapter.
I'm happy because the Sony was going to cost more than that and
the Xmas squeeze is on - I think I'm going to get so much into this
I will end up getting the Sony soon AS WELL anyway :) First thing we
realised
is reception is rubbish here (right next door to a huge apartment
block
and lots of buildings on all sides we think are blocking the signals)

The funny thing is that having the mains adapter plugged in seesm to
improve the signal rather than degrade it (maybe it uses it as an
aerial?)
I understand that the telescopic aerial is for FM ? I plugged in the
'whip'
(long wire thing) and put it as high as I could (not very much!) but
we think it will be much better if we put an aerial up on the roof.
Should I just put a long length of wire up there ? Is it alright to
just dangle that down the side of the house to connect it or do we
need to use a special shielded cable to do that? I want to have the
computer running at the same time and it seems to interfer, maybe
it would interfer with the aerial lead coming in ? (I don't know
being inexperienced but that is what my hunch is...)

Anyway I have been glued to the thing all night and wonder if I'll
ever
get to bed :-)) My first exciting discovery (I have been scanning and
writing down the channels or a description) was "All Indian Radio"
on 7.409Mhz. Also I think I got something from Nigeria on 7.382Mhz.
I couldn't get Voice of Korea at all, not one iota. Do you think the
Sony would fend better at that? Or is it just my aerial I need to
set-up?
What frequency did you get VOK on?

Thanxs again, your post was very informative :)

bestwishes
laura

Dear Ms. Laura,

Universal Radio sells an AC adapter for the Sony ICF-SW7600GR which
they claim is satisfactory. Sony's adapter is of the new "switching"
kind which, though much more efficient than the older linear
adapters,
introduces a lot of noise; this makes it unsuitable for SW
reception.

In any case, the adapters sold here are for 110V, not 220. I do not
know anything about the AC adapters sold in England. You must make
sure
that any AC adapter you purchase for the radio is a linear one as
opposed to a "switching" adapter.

I don't recommend the AC adapter because, even if it injects just a
small amount of noise, this may impact your reception of Korea. (You
should check on that with people who live in the UK; Korea's signal
strength may be well stronger in the UK than the US.)

Of course, if you wish to use a timer to turn on the radio, then, of
course, you will need an AC adapter which would plug into the timer.

However, if you use rechargeable NiMH batteries (which is what I
strongly recommend for both the radio and the antenna), these can be
charged at any time (they have little or no "memory effect" like
NiCad
batteries) so you could charge them every day if you wished. There
are
chargers which will recharge those batteries in one hour or less.

The radio runs a very long time on rechargeable NiMH batteries and
the
antenna lasts even longer on those batteries. You need have no fear
of
the batteries going flat if you maintain them properly in accordance
with your listening habits.

The myth that "the radio powers the antenna" began, I'm afraid, with
an
error in PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO which is maintained even in
its
latest edition. It may be an error in interpretation. The radio will
power on (and off) the antenna (in other words, when using the
antenna
with the '7600, one does not need to use the power switch on the
antenna; it is turned on or off with the radio), but batteries are
required in the antenna. It will not work if there are no batteries
installed. PASSPORT's terminology is unfortunate and has led to a
great
deal of confusion.

The antenna has no input for an AC adapter, but, as it turns on and
off
with the radio, there would be no problem with leaving the antenna
powered unnecessarily. (The Sony AN-LP1 has the "automatic"
operation
only with the '7600 radio. It, of course, works with other SW
radios,
but the power switch must be turned on and off manually. Note also
that
the AN-LP1 is strictly for SW. It must be physically disconnected
from
the radio when listening to MW or LW.)

I hope the above is of some use to you and, again, I wish you the
very
best of luck.

Joe
=20
--=20
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'

"Joe Analssandrini" wrote in message
ups.com...
Dear Ms. Laura,

Contrary to a post above, the Roberts R861 is equivalent to the Sangean
ATS 909, a radio which is superior to the '505.
[snip]

Apologies for confusing the two models.

I owned a Sangean ATS 909 in 1998.(I reckon ccrane company might still
have some hard paper and or electronic data in their computers of whom
bought what from them before.I bought it from ccrane company in
Fortuna,California.That was right after I bought one of them ccrane
radios that has AM/FM/a couple of tv channels/stations and the weather
station thingy that them kooks,Art Bell and George Noory on
www.coasttocoastam.com The KOOK show,tout so much.Those ccrane radios
didn't show me jack shyte! I sent them back to Fortuna.ccrane company
sells over priced JUNK!
cuhulin

And just as Bad,them snake oil pedars at ccrane still charge Greatly!
over priced prices for their plastic JUNK too.And them Full Blown KOOKS!
Art Bell and George Noory are still touting their ccrane JUNK too! EFF
Them!!!
cuhulin

A few weeks ago I read an article by a guy in England and he and his
wife live in an apartment building.He was talking about the woes they
have concerning their wireless computers on Wi-Fi.Different parts of
their rooms in their apartment,their computers might work ok or then
again their computers might not work or somebody else in the same
apartment building or behind their home or up and down the street or
accross the street might be hijacking their computers.
cuhulin

Sorry for a 'top post', but I'm rushed and just wanted to say I also own a
Sony ICF-SW7600GR receiver and it's 'sync' feature is worth every penny. (Or
do you British still have 'farthings'? LOL.)

Anyway, should your current set-up not satisfy, do look into the Sony. Some
would call it pricy, but in Canada it's pretty reasonable compared to the
really high-end stuff.

All the best and good luck,
Mike T.

"laura fairhead" wrote in
message ...
fOn 10 Dec 2004 06:40:32 -0800, "Joe Analssandrini"
wrote:


Hi Joe,

I was an impatient child in the end and went and bought a Roberts R861.
They actually retail for quite a bit more than the Sony but I'm not
sure I did the right thing :O Its difficult for me because I can't
get deliveries where I live so I checked the local stores and to my
surprise the local electronics shop he had a Roberts R861 (2nd hand but
VGC) and was only asking £120 for everything including mains adapter.
I'm happy because the Sony was going to cost more than that and
the Xmas squeeze is on - I think I'm going to get so much into this
I will end up getting the Sony soon AS WELL anyway :) First thing we
realised
is reception is rubbish here (right next door to a huge apartment block
and lots of buildings on all sides we think are blocking the signals)

The funny thing is that having the mains adapter plugged in seesm to
improve the signal rather than degrade it (maybe it uses it as an aerial?)
I understand that the telescopic aerial is for FM ? I plugged in the
'whip'
(long wire thing) and put it as high as I could (not very much!) but
we think it will be much better if we put an aerial up on the roof.
Should I just put a long length of wire up there ? Is it alright to
just dangle that down the side of the house to connect it or do we
need to use a special shielded cable to do that? I want to have the
computer running at the same time and it seems to interfer, maybe
it would interfer with the aerial lead coming in ? (I don't know
being inexperienced but that is what my hunch is...)

Anyway I have been glued to the thing all night and wonder if I'll ever
get to bed :-)) My first exciting discovery (I have been scanning and
writing down the channels or a description) was "All Indian Radio"
on 7.409Mhz. Also I think I got something from Nigeria on 7.382Mhz.
I couldn't get Voice of Korea at all, not one iota. Do you think the
Sony would fend better at that? Or is it just my aerial I need to set-up?
What frequency did you get VOK on?

Thanxs again, your post was very informative :)

bestwishes
laura

Dear Ms. Laura,

Universal Radio sells an AC adapter for the Sony ICF-SW7600GR which
they claim is satisfactory. Sony's adapter is of the new "switching"
kind which, though much more efficient than the older linear adapters,
introduces a lot of noise; this makes it unsuitable for SW reception.

In any case, the adapters sold here are for 110V, not 220. I do not
know anything about the AC adapters sold in England. You must make sure
that any AC adapter you purchase for the radio is a linear one as
opposed to a "switching" adapter.

I don't recommend the AC adapter because, even if it injects just a
small amount of noise, this may impact your reception of Korea. (You
should check on that with people who live in the UK; Korea's signal
strength may be well stronger in the UK than the US.)

Of course, if you wish to use a timer to turn on the radio, then, of
course, you will need an AC adapter which would plug into the timer.

However, if you use rechargeable NiMH batteries (which is what I
strongly recommend for both the radio and the antenna), these can be
charged at any time (they have little or no "memory effect" like NiCad
batteries) so you could charge them every day if you wished. There are
chargers which will recharge those batteries in one hour or less.

The radio runs a very long time on rechargeable NiMH batteries and the
antenna lasts even longer on those batteries. You need have no fear of
the batteries going flat if you maintain them properly in accordance
with your listening habits.

The myth that "the radio powers the antenna" began, I'm afraid, with an
error in PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO which is maintained even in its
latest edition. It may be an error in interpretation. The radio will
power on (and off) the antenna (in other words, when using the antenna
with the '7600, one does not need to use the power switch on the
antenna; it is turned on or off with the radio), but batteries are
required in the antenna. It will not work if there are no batteries
installed. PASSPORT's terminology is unfortunate and has led to a great
deal of confusion.

The antenna has no input for an AC adapter, but, as it turns on and off
with the radio, there would be no problem with leaving the antenna
powered unnecessarily. (The Sony AN-LP1 has the "automatic" operation
only with the '7600 radio. It, of course, works with other SW radios,
but the power switch must be turned on and off manually. Note also that
the AN-LP1 is strictly for SW. It must be physically disconnected from
the radio when listening to MW or LW.)

I hope the above is of some use to you and, again, I wish you the very
best of luck.

Joe

--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'

On 11 Dec 2004 14:48:08 -0800, "Joe Analssandrini" wrote:

Hi Joe,

When I bought the Roberts I did check it had SSB and you can switch
it too USB or LSB instead of AM - is that what you meant? Anyway
I had quite an exciting reception the other day because I was scanning
around 41m on LSB and found some local radio hams having a good chitty-chat.
I know they were local because they mentionned some places around town
where people in their group came from. One day I wanna get a transmitter
too... :-) Also since I last posted I have received Iran (Voice of the
Islamic Republic of Iran), Vietnam, China (China radio international), Albania,
the U.S , Voice of Russia (World service), Brussels. I'm going to send
off for my first QSL card from Brussels (Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal - www.rvi.be).

I still haven't heard anything of V.O.K and I've tried every different
frequency I have and at different times. I think there is a lot of
interference around here (it sounds like electrical noise). I tried
turning off everything I have electrical in my flat (and also the
fluorescent light in the hall outside my apartment) but to no avail
it doesn't seem the noise is coming from here. My friend told me
to try connecting an aerial we already have on the roof to the radio
which I wouldn't have tried usually because it is a satellite dish
(and I thought they were for receiving microwaves) but anyway we tried
taking the thick middle cable of the lead (the aerial rather than the
earth shielding around it) and wrapping it around the FM aerial of
the radio. That seemed to increase the signal coming in which is odd
but it also gives something if I put it into the TV so I gather sometimes
the wrong aerial type can be bette than none at all. Anyhow I suppose
it would be even better to make up a jack and plugh it into the AM aerial
socket but rather than waste time messing around with that I think building
a real aerial is my next move.

The way I understand it I need to get a length of normal insulated
wire, single core (does the gauge matter or will any do?) lay it on
the roof in more or less a straight line (I am thinking to put
weights at certain intervals to stop it blowing around) then connect
that to some radio co-ax at one end and trail that down the side of
the house and into the window to plug in the radio? The questions
I have is (i) where should I plug the earth of the radio co-ax?
(the outer layer shielding thingie) (ii) are these "ceramic stand-off
insulators" capacitors or what ? if they are what values should I
use ? I can understand the risks during a storm but people never
unplug a TV aerial when they finished using it - why is that?
Is it because there is some protection or is it because the risk
is very low?

I will take a look at prime-time shortwave when I get time. Can
you recommend me any good URLs for reading and learning about things?
A lot of it seems to assume you already know all the basic stuff
which I don't (I know more than average but I'm regularly left
misty-eyed reading radio-ham pages after a couple of KOVAs, QOLs
and DXes ;-)

bestwishesfrom
laura



Dear Ms. Laura,

Contrary to a post above, the Roberts R861 is equivalent to the Sangean
ATS 909, a radio which is superior to the '505. It is a good (not
great) short wave portable radio. However, it does not feaure the
synchronous selectable sideband circuitry which the Sony features and
which, in my opinion, makes all the difference in pleasant listening.

I habe never owned a Sangean ATS 909 nor do I know anyone who does.
According to PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO, the Sangean/Roberts works
BEST off its AC adapter as it "eats" batteries. An external antenna is
necessary also, as it lacks sensitivity with its whip (according to
them).

A long wire, or loop antenna, mounted on your roof would be ideal. Try
buying a length of insulated wire, two ceramic or equivalent stand-off
insulators (to isolate the antenna from whatever support you use) and
some lead-in wire; attach the appropriate plug to the lead-in to attach
to the radio and you're in business. No separate ground is necessary,
but make sure you DISCONNECT the antenna whenever the radio is not in
use and, especially, during local thunderstorms. (NEVER use ANY
electronic appliance during a thunderstorm; storms only last a
half-hour or so.)

Do NOT let your antenna proper or the lead-in touch anything metallic;
that will degrade the signal.

Tall buildings don't impact short wave signals; electrical "noise" from
computers, fluorescent lights, light dimmers, and other such modern
accoutrements do, however, and it is best to turn these off if
possible. Especially turn off such items one by one to see if the
particular item is causing interference. (Of course, you can do nothing
about your neighbors.) I have a very bad situation at my location with
local electrical noise and I have been able to find a solution, but it
would not be appropriate for you as it cost a great deal of money.

I received VOK several weeks ago at about 0130 on 15180 kHz (actually a
"hair" off that frequency). I haven't heard it since, but, frankly,
have not tried either. Perhaps in the next couple of days I'll listen
for it again.

Do you know about Prime Time Shortwave? Just enter that in Google and
it will take you to one of the best short wave schedule programs on the
web (it's free!). There you can find the latest information on any
station you might desire - its time and frequency and the "target area"
to which it is transmitting. This often lets you have a "fighting
chance" of picking up the signal.

All the best, and the best of luck with your new radio,

Joe

laura fairhead wrote:
fOn 10 Dec 2004 06:40:32 -0800, "Joe Analssandrini"
wrote:


Hi Joe,

I was an impatient child in the end and went and bought a Roberts
R861.
They actually retail for quite a bit more than the Sony but I'm not
sure I did the right thing :O Its difficult for me because I can't
get deliveries where I live so I checked the local stores and to my
surprise the local electronics shop he had a Roberts R861 (2nd hand
but
VGC) and was only asking =A3120 for everything including mains
adapter.
I'm happy because the Sony was going to cost more than that and
the Xmas squeeze is on - I think I'm going to get so much into this
I will end up getting the Sony soon AS WELL anyway :) First thing we
realised
is reception is rubbish here (right next door to a huge apartment
block
and lots of buildings on all sides we think are blocking the signals)

The funny thing is that having the mains adapter plugged in seesm to
improve the signal rather than degrade it (maybe it uses it as an
aerial?)
I understand that the telescopic aerial is for FM ? I plugged in the
'whip'
(long wire thing) and put it as high as I could (not very much!) but
we think it will be much better if we put an aerial up on the roof.
Should I just put a long length of wire up there ? Is it alright to
just dangle that down the side of the house to connect it or do we
need to use a special shielded cable to do that? I want to have the
computer running at the same time and it seems to interfer, maybe
it would interfer with the aerial lead coming in ? (I don't know
being inexperienced but that is what my hunch is...)

Anyway I have been glued to the thing all night and wonder if I'll
ever
get to bed :-)) My first exciting discovery (I have been scanning and
writing down the channels or a description) was "All Indian Radio"
on 7.409Mhz. Also I think I got something from Nigeria on 7.382Mhz.
I couldn't get Voice of Korea at all, not one iota. Do you think the
Sony would fend better at that? Or is it just my aerial I need to
set-up?
What frequency did you get VOK on?

Thanxs again, your post was very informative :)

bestwishes
laura


--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 16:15:14 -0500, "Mike Tschel." wrote:

Hi Mike,

I didn't get the Sony because I wanted a radio NOW heheh and it was
last thing on a Saturday and it was in my hands and it was either that
or wait for a while (another stupid week) and then I would have to pay
more for the Sony here (I got the R861 for 120 and the Sony would have
been more than 150 over here).

When I got it home I thought I might have made a bad decision but since
we have found that the R861 is very good radio. The only problem I have
with it during operation is that I can only tune AM in 1Khz steps and
not finer. This is pretty annoying but everything else is good.
Now it's christmas I can't spend much more money right away but anyway
the most important thing for me is to learn more things about all this
and to build my first aerial. If I can get a signal for Voice of Korea
with the aerial then I will almost certainly get a Sony as well to see what it
can do (and it has +/- 1.5Khz fine tuning on the dial as far as I could
tell) but I don't think it will perform miracles if the Roberts can't
get anything at all and it would be awfully dissappointing to spend another
150 and find I still couldn't tune into Pyongyang ! I hope you understand
what I mean :)

bestwishes
laura


Sorry for a 'top post', but I'm rushed and just wanted to say I also own a
Sony ICF-SW7600GR receiver and it's 'sync' feature is worth every penny. (Or
do you British still have 'farthings'? LOL.)

Anyway, should your current set-up not satisfy, do look into the Sony. Some
would call it pricy, but in Canada it's pretty reasonable compared to the
really high-end stuff.

All the best and good luck,
Mike T.

"laura fairhead" wrote in
message ...
fOn 10 Dec 2004 06:40:32 -0800, "Joe Analssandrini"
wrote:


Hi Joe,

I was an impatient child in the end and went and bought a Roberts R861.
They actually retail for quite a bit more than the Sony but I'm not
sure I did the right thing :O Its difficult for me because I can't
get deliveries where I live so I checked the local stores and to my
surprise the local electronics shop he had a Roberts R861 (2nd hand but
VGC) and was only asking £120 for everything including mains adapter.
I'm happy because the Sony was going to cost more than that and
the Xmas squeeze is on - I think I'm going to get so much into this
I will end up getting the Sony soon AS WELL anyway :) First thing we
realised
is reception is rubbish here (right next door to a huge apartment block
and lots of buildings on all sides we think are blocking the signals)

The funny thing is that having the mains adapter plugged in seesm to
improve the signal rather than degrade it (maybe it uses it as an aerial?)
I understand that the telescopic aerial is for FM ? I plugged in the
'whip'
(long wire thing) and put it as high as I could (not very much!) but
we think it will be much better if we put an aerial up on the roof.
Should I just put a long length of wire up there ? Is it alright to
just dangle that down the side of the house to connect it or do we
need to use a special shielded cable to do that? I want to have the
computer running at the same time and it seems to interfer, maybe
it would interfer with the aerial lead coming in ? (I don't know
being inexperienced but that is what my hunch is...)

Anyway I have been glued to the thing all night and wonder if I'll ever
get to bed :-)) My first exciting discovery (I have been scanning and
writing down the channels or a description) was "All Indian Radio"
on 7.409Mhz. Also I think I got something from Nigeria on 7.382Mhz.
I couldn't get Voice of Korea at all, not one iota. Do you think the
Sony would fend better at that? Or is it just my aerial I need to set-up?
What frequency did you get VOK on?

Thanxs again, your post was very informative :)

bestwishes
laura

Dear Ms. Laura,

Universal Radio sells an AC adapter for the Sony ICF-SW7600GR which
they claim is satisfactory. Sony's adapter is of the new "switching"
kind which, though much more efficient than the older linear adapters,
introduces a lot of noise; this makes it unsuitable for SW reception.

In any case, the adapters sold here are for 110V, not 220. I do not
know anything about the AC adapters sold in England. You must make sure
that any AC adapter you purchase for the radio is a linear one as
opposed to a "switching" adapter.

I don't recommend the AC adapter because, even if it injects just a
small amount of noise, this may impact your reception of Korea. (You
should check on that with people who live in the UK; Korea's signal
strength may be well stronger in the UK than the US.)

Of course, if you wish to use a timer to turn on the radio, then, of
course, you will need an AC adapter which would plug into the timer.

However, if you use rechargeable NiMH batteries (which is what I
strongly recommend for both the radio and the antenna), these can be
charged at any time (they have little or no "memory effect" like NiCad
batteries) so you could charge them every day if you wished. There are
chargers which will recharge those batteries in one hour or less.

The radio runs a very long time on rechargeable NiMH batteries and the
antenna lasts even longer on those batteries. You need have no fear of
the batteries going flat if you maintain them properly in accordance
with your listening habits.

The myth that "the radio powers the antenna" began, I'm afraid, with an
error in PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND RADIO which is maintained even in its
latest edition. It may be an error in interpretation. The radio will
power on (and off) the antenna (in other words, when using the antenna
with the '7600, one does not need to use the power switch on the
antenna; it is turned on or off with the radio), but batteries are
required in the antenna. It will not work if there are no batteries
installed. PASSPORT's terminology is unfortunate and has led to a great
deal of confusion.

The antenna has no input for an AC adapter, but, as it turns on and off
with the radio, there would be no problem with leaving the antenna
powered unnecessarily. (The Sony AN-LP1 has the "automatic" operation
only with the '7600 radio. It, of course, works with other SW radios,
but the power switch must be turned on and off manually. Note also that
the AN-LP1 is strictly for SW. It must be physically disconnected from
the radio when listening to MW or LW.)

I hope the above is of some use to you and, again, I wish you the very
best of luck.

Joe

--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'



--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'

On Thu, 16 Dec 2004 00:29:28 GMT, (laura fairhead) wrote:

On 11 Dec 2004 14:48:08 -0800, "Joe Analssandrini" wrote:


PS: In case you didn't get my URL's in my header info try

http://dprk.1accesshost.com

It's my website about Korea - if you like Korean music there
are some links there to hundreds of songs :)

seeya
laura
--
echo |sed 's/\(.\)\(.\)/\2\1/g'