DX-390 (200-0214) Additional Features Faxback Doc. # 3611
CONNECTING HEADPHONES
WARNING: To prevent possible hearing loss, set VOLUME to 0 before you put
on the headphones. After you put on the headphones, adjust
VOLUME.
For private listening and for stereo sound during FM stereo broadcasts,
connect optional stereo headphones with a 1/8-inch plug. Your local Radio
Shack store sells a wide selection of stereo headphones.
Insert the headphones' plug into the receiver's headphone jack. This
disconnects the receiver's internal speaker.
When you connect stereo headphones and tune to a stereo broadcast, ST
appears on the display. For best reception, fine tune the receiver until
ST remains steady.
Hearing Comfort and Your Health
Do not listen to your receiver at extremely high volume levels, especially
when listening through headphones. Extended high-volume listening can
cause permanent hearing loss.
LIGHTING THE DISPLAY
Press LIGHT to light the display. The display light automatically turns
off about 15 seconds after you release LIGHT.
LOCKING THE CONTROLS
The lock feature helps prevent you from accidentally turning the receiver
on or off, changing the band or frequency, or changing other front-panel
controls.
Set the lock switch to LOCK to lock the front-panel buttons. Set the
switch to the other position to unlock the buttons.
NOTE: This locks the ROTARY TUNING dial and the front-panel buttons. You
can still adjust VOLUME, TONE, and other controls.
USING THE TIME ZONE MAP
Most shortwave stations announce broadcast times in UTC (universal time
coordinate). The time zone map on the back of the receiver shows the
difference between UTC and each time zone.
To determine your local time, add or subtract the specified number from
UTC. During daylight savings time, subtract 1 more hour.
USING THE FOLDING STAND
You can position the receiver more securely and possibly improve the sound
by resting the receiver on its stand. Lift the latch on the back of the
receiver to open the stand.
LISTENING HINTS
Shortwave listening is a hobby with thousands of participants worldwide.
It requires no special knowledge or skills, but your enjoyment increases
as you gain experience and develop special listening techniques.
The information in this section can help you make the most of your
listening time.
REFERENCE SOURCES
Many books and magazines about shortwave listening are available through
your local library or newsstand. Consult sources such as the World Radio
Handbook, Radio Amateur's Handbook, Passport to World Band Radio,
Monitoring Time, and Popular Communications. These publications can help
you learn about the conditions that make long-distance reception possible
and provide up-to-date listings for shortwave broadcasts in English and in
foreign languages.
BAND ALLOCATIONS
Certain portions of the radio spectrum are set aside for specific
purposes.
NOTE: Bands are often referred to by wavelength. For example, the 19-
meter band refers to the range of frequencies whose waves are about
19 meters long.
Ham Frequencies
Tuning to the ham radio frequencies can be interesting and helpful,
because ham operators often broadcast emergency information when other
means of communication break down.
Ham radio operators use the following bands. Portions of these bands are
set aside for continuous wave (CW) Morse code communication or for single
sideband (SSB) voice communication, as shown below.
160 meters: 1,800 - 2,000 kHz: SSB
80 meters: 3,500 - 3,800 kHz: CW
3,800 - 4,000 kHz: SSB
40 meters: 7,000 - 7,150 kHz: CW
7,150 - 7,300 kHz: SSB
20 meters: 14,000 - 14,200 kHz: CW
14,200 - 14,350 kHz: SSB
15 meters: 21,000 - 21,250 kHz: CW
21,250 - 21,450 kHz: SSB
10 meters: 28,000 - 28,500 kHz: CW
28,500 - 29,700 kHz: SSB
NOTE: These ranges are not precisely observed everywhere in the world.
International Frequencies
International commercial broadcasts are found in the following SW bands.
These programs (often in English) usually contains news, commentaries,
music, and special features reflecting the culture of the broadcasting
country. You might find it easiest to hear these broadcasts between 6:00
p.m. and midnight (your time).
Band Frequency Range
(in meters) (in MHZ)
120 * 2.300 - 2.495
90 * 3.200 - 3.400
75 * 3.900 - 4.000
60 * 4.750 - 5.060
49 5.950 - 6.200
41 ** 7.100 - 7.300
31 9.500 - 9.900
25 11.650 - 12.050
21 13.600 - 13.800
19 15.100 - 15.600
16 17.550 - 17.900
13 21.450 - 21.850
11 25.670 - 26.100
* These bands are reversed for stations in tropical areas.
** Ham operators and international stations share 7.100 - 7.300 MHz.
Interference is heavy in this range.
Aircraft Frequencies
Aircraft on international routes sometimes use SW. Most transmissions are
in SSB, although you can still hear some AM transmissions. Here are some
ranges where you might hear aircraft communications.
4,650 - 4,750 kHz
6,545 - 6,765 kHz
8,815 - 9,040 kHz
10,000 - 10,100 kHz
11,175 - 11,400 kHz
13,200 - 13,360 kHz
15,010 - 15,100 kHz
17,900 - 18,030 kHz
Ships and Coastal Stations
Most transmissions from ships and coastal stations are in SSB and CW. You
can hear these transmissions in the following bands.
2,000 - 2,300 kHz *
4,063 - 4,139 kHz
4,361 - 4,438 kHz
8,195 - 8,181 kHz
12,330 - 12,420 kHz
13,107 - 13,200 kHz
16,460 - 16,565 kHz
* The Coast Guard and small boats use this band, with 2,182 kHz set aside
as the international distress and emergency channel.
Time Standard Frequencies
The following frequencies announce the exact time of day at specified
intervals.
WWV in Fort Collins, Colorado:
2,500 kHz
5,000 kHz
10,000 kHz
15,000 kHz
20,000 kHz
CHU in Canada: 7,335 kHz
VNG in Australia: 4,500 and 12,000 kHz
Longwave Band
The 150 - 540 kHz range is known as the longwave band. Reception for this
range is best between 6:00 p.m. and midnight (your time). Most stations
in this range serve as beacons for aircraft and marine navigation by
continuously transmitting their call letters. Through your local library,
you can find books on air and marine navigation, which contain lists of
the beacon stations and their locations.
Some ships also use this range, with 500 kHz set aside as an international
distress and emergency station.
Most stations in this range use CW (Morse code), although some use AM
voice transmission for weather broadcasts.
FREQUENCY CONVERSION
The tuning location of a station can be expressed in frequency (kHz or
MHz) or in wavelength (meters). The following information can help you
make the necessary conversions.
To convert from MHz to kHz, multiply by 1,000. For example:
9.62 MHz x 1000 = 9620 kHz
To convert from kHz to MHz, divide by 1,000. For example:
2780 kHz
---------- = 2.780 MHz
1000
To convert from MHz to meters, divide 300 by the number of MHz. For
example:
300
---------- = 42.25 meters
7.1 MHz
LISTENING GUIDE
The following list contains some of the more frequently head stations.
All stations operate in English unless otherwise specified.
You can hear these stations, throughout North America. However, reception
varies based on the season, time of day, and a number of other conditions.
This information can change at any time. For sources of yearly, up-to-
date listings, see "Reference Sources" under "Listening Hints."
kHz Station Location Remarks
3,223 Radio SR Swaziland
3,265 Radio Mozambique Maputo, Mozambique
3,300 Radio Cultural Guatemala City, Religious Programs
Guatemala
3,380 Radio Iris Esmeraldas, Ecuador Programs in Spanish
3,385 FR3 Cayenne, Programs in French
French Guiana
3,396 Radio Kaduna Kaduna, Nigeria
4,750 Radio Bertuoa Bertoua, Cameroon
4,755 Imo Regional Radio Imo, Nigeria
4,777 Radio-TV Gabon Liberville, Gabon Programs in French
4,795 Radio Nueva La Paz, Bolivia Programs in Spanish
America
4,820 Radio Paz y Bien Ambala, Ecuador Programs in Spanish
4,832 Radio Reloj San Jose, Costa Rica Programs in Spanish
kHz Station Location Remarks
4,855 Radio Clube Belem, Brazil Programs in
do Para Portuguese
4,890 National Broad- Papua, New Guinea
ing Commission
4,915 Voice Kenya Nairobi, Kenya
4,920 Australian Broad- Brisbane, Australia
casting Commission
4,945 Radio Colosal Neiva, Colombia Programs in Spanish
4,965 Radio Santa Fe Bogota, Colombia Programs in Spanish
4,980 Ecos del Torbes San Cristobal, Programs in Spanish
Venezuela
5,020 Solomon Islands Honiara, Solomon
Broadcasting Service Islands
5,057 Radio Gjirokaster Gjirokaster, Albania Programs in Albanian
5,950 Guyana Broadcasting Georgetown, Guyana
Service
5,954 Radio Casino Puerto Limon,
Costa Rica
5,960 Radio Canada Montreal, Canada
International
5,980 Radio RSA Johannesburg,
South Africa
6,005 CFCX Montreal, Canada
6,025 Radio Malaysia Kuala Lumpur, Programs in Chinese
Malaysia
6,045 Radio Australia Lyndhurst, Australia
6,055 Nihon Shortwave Tokyo, Japan Programs in Japanese
Broadcasting Company
6,060 Radio Nacional Buenos Aires, Programs in Spanish
Argentina
6,075 Radio Satatenza Bogota, Colombia Programs in Spanish
6,090 Radio Luxembourg Ville Louvigny,
Luxembourg
kHz Station Location Remarks
6,095 Polskie Radio Warsaw, Poland
6,105 Radio New Zealand Wellington, New Zealand
7,140 Trans World Radio Monte Carlo, Monaco
7,170 Radio Noumea Noumea, New Caledonia Programs in French
7,300 Radio Tirana Tirana, Albania
9,475 Radio Cairo Cairo, Egypt
9,515 Voice of Greece Athens, Greece
9,525 Radio Korea Seoul, South Korea
9,530 Spanish Foreign Madrid, Spain
Radio
9,535 Swiss Radio Berne, Switzerland
International
9,540 Radio Prague Prague, Czechoslovakia
9,570 Radio Bucharest Bucharest, Rumania
9,575 Italian Radio and Rome, Italy
Television Service
9,610 Radio-TV Algeria Algiers, Algeria Programs in Arabic
9,620 Radio Berlin Berlin, Germany
International
9,645 Radio Norway Oslo, Norway
9,720 Radio Iran Tehran, Iran Programs in Farsi
9,745 HCJB Quito, Ecuador
9,770 Austrian Radio Vienna, Austria
9,800 Radio Kiev Kiev, USSR
9,835 Radio Budapest Budapest, Hungary
10,040 Voice of Vietnam Hanoi, Vietnam
11,655 Israel Radio Jerusalem, Israel
11,690 Radio Kuwait Kuwait, Kuwait
kHz Station Location Remarks
11,705 Radio Sweden Stockholm, Sweden
11,720 Radio Moscow Moscow, USSR
11,735 Radio Sofia Sofia, Bulgaria
11,745 Voice of Free China Taipei, China
11,815 Radio Japan Tokyo, Japan
11,825 Radio Tahiti Papeete, Tahiti Programs in Tahitian
11,835 4VEH Cap Haitien, Haiti
11,845 Radio Canada Montreal, Canada
International
11,850 Deutsche Welle Cologne, Germany
11,890 Voice of Chile Santiago, Chile
11,900 Radio RSA Johannesburg,
South Africa
11,910 BBC London, England
11,930 Radio Havana Cuba Havana, Cuba
11,935 Radio Portugal Lisbon, Portugal
11,945 Radio Peking Peking, China
11,955 Voice of Turkey Ankara, Turkey
11,980 Radio Moscow Moscow, USSR
15,038 Saudi Arabian Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Programs in Arabic
Broadcasting Service
15,135 Radio Moscow Moscow, USSR
15,165 HCJB Quito, Ecuador
15,190 ORU Brussels, Belgium
15,205 All India Radio New Delhi, India
15,260 BBC London, England
15,265 Finnish Radio Helsinki, Finland
15,275 Radio Sweden Stockholm, Sweden
kHz Station Location Remarks
15,305 Swiss Radio Berne, Switzerland
International
15,310 Radio Japan Tokyo, Japan
15,320 Radio Australia Melbourne, Australia
15,400 BBC London, England
15,430 Radio Mexico Mexico City, Mexico Programs in Spanish
15,465 Radio Pakistan Islamad, Pakistan Programs in Urdu
17,720 Radio France Paris, France
International
17,825 Vatican Radio Vatican City
17,860 Austrian Radio Vienna, Austria
21,495 Israel Radio Jerusalem, Israel
21,525 Radio Australia Melbourne, Australia
21,625 Israel Radio Jerusalem, Israel
21,645 Radio France Paris, France
International
21,735 Radio-TV Morocco Rabat, Morocco Programs in Arabic
25,790 Radio RSA Johannesburg,
South Africa
(ALL-12/13/94)