Years back I had a scanner thingy, now long gone, which had shortwave on it. I used to toodle up and down and pick up some stuff that amused me briefly - bits of morse to practise, disembodied voices that might have been the VOA or might have been the local taxi rank.
Anyway.
I fancied seeing if there was anything out there still, but I have no kit. I don't really want to spend any real money of course - is there an online "shortwave emulator" that would allow me to press a button on screen and hear real time shortwave? I googled but couldn't find such a thing.
If not I guess I could be persuaded to see if there are shortwave transistor radios on eBay for tuppence, or some such? No idea, not looked at this point.
And I suppose the second question is - is there actually anything still broadcasting to listen to anyway, or is it all dead now?
Last edited by: Crankcase on Fri 31 Dec 21 at 15:50
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I wonder if there are still numbers stations?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24910397
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>> I wonder if there are still numbers stations?
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>> www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24910397
No, mostly not. I have a very good recording of the Lincolnshire poacher as my ring tone.
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Try searching software defined radio.
There is kit out there ranging from pen drive like devices originally designed for TV reception priced in tens of pounds to sophisticated professional standard kit in the thousands of pounds category. Loads of different flavours of decoding software.
I have an SDR Play RSP DX bought a couple of years ago for my 60th.
Plenty of shortwave broadcast activity still plus utilities like long range ATC or nav beacons. Aerial is a long wire strung down the garden.
I've never got enough time to really get to grips with all its facilities.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Fri 31 Dec 21 at 16:06
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Not Shortwave but Airband.
Ages ago I bought a Yupiteru MVT 8000 on ebay. Unfortunately it seems to have a dead PSU back up capacitor and loses memory quickly when turned off. At the time layout of my study bedroom didn't make keeping it on mains a simple proposition and it was relegated to its box at the back of a cupboard with other stuff to Ebay when I get around to it.
Over the last few weeks I've been restraining myself from looking for an airband base receiver for monitoring local traffic but cannot justify spend to Mrs B when I'm nagging her over her Harris Tweed handbag habit!!
Then I remembered the Yupi! Found a 12v supply, plugged in, connected it to the discone in the loft then programmed the Dav sector frequencies, including UHF Mil, and it's brill.
ISTR somebody else (Zero?) having the MVT 7000 which I think was the handheld version.
Still have my handheld 225 as well but for trips out I prefer the (replaceable) Uniden 75XLT.
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No my handheld scanner is the UBC-125XLT
Checkout this beastie. www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2QkOP4IsFg
£275
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The link doesn't though :-)
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This does. The Dutch Web SDR is pretty good, used by many
websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/
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How many others have tried both those links and found neither work, said nah, I've no SW interest and can't be bothered?
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Yes, it says “nothing here, go to” websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/m.html for me, which if you copy and paste, works on this iPad.
Cool, it made some nice hissing sounds. Needs exploring more.
Edit. Clicking my own link in this post now says “file not available” in my Brave browser, but pasting it into Chrome works, so there is some browser differences.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Wed 25 Oct 23 at 06:52
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Its weird, I checked the link after I posted it on both my browsers, both worked, now one doesent.
It takes a lot of patience to use SW, its various modes of use (USB / LSB / CW / Data / AM) Then some research to know what bands are active with what, hams, propaganda, jammers, buzzers, pirates. But at the end of the day SW radio is a mere shadow of what it was in the late 60's early 70's, when it was a source of awe wonder mystery and excitement.
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Only way to get BBC World Service when we lived in SW Africa.
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Looking at the so called waterfall in that site, you see patterns that travel diagonally back and forth, ie they traverse up and down a range of frequencies in a regular manner. Might that be something astronomical or is that a bonkers idea?
Last edited by: Crankcase on Wed 25 Oct 23 at 11:28
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There are astronomical anomalies around for sure. They vary by weather, astronomical calendar, sunspot activities, stuff like that. Most of them are not. Majority are harmonics - a harmonic of a strong transmission somewhere else on the band (they are regularly spaced from the main, decreasing in Db from the main - you can actually calculate where they will be) or generated inside the receiver (again you can calculate them they are called "birdies"). Some however will be data, forms of OTH radar, or a holding noise to keep that bit of the band free for "stuff". All of those are interesting and usually logged and known. Of course there is just noise, all your electronics in the home is generating them.
Last edited by: Zero on Wed 25 Oct 23 at 12:08
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Had a quick play.
Able to tune it to Shannon Volmet on 5505 USB and 10khz filter with a readable message. That or RAF Volmet on 5450 USB are my go to frx for checking what's audible and settings for SSB reception.
What sounded like a Dutch language broadcast station a little further up on AM.
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Shortwave radio - Manatee
