What Equipment Do I Need


To get started, you really only need three things.
1.  A receiver that tunes 200 to 530 KHz, preferably having the ability to receive Morse Code and/or SSB (commonly called a BFO).  If you have a ham transceiver OR general coverage shortwave receiver you may already have what you need.  More details in the receiver section below.

2.  Some sort of suitable antenna to receive "Longwave" on.  A long wire antenna will get you started, but you should consider other alternatives.  Again, more details in the antenna section below.

3.  Ears, and preferably at least a rudimentary knowledge of the Morse Code.  But Beacon ID's are constantly repeated and usually only consist of 1-3 letters/numbers.  This allows the beginner to write down the characters he hears and look at a "cheat sheet".  


More Details
RECEIVERS:
There are any number of suitable receivers out there, I will only list a couple that I'm either personally familiar with,  or which other Beaconeer's have found to be suitable.  Often you may need to bypass an internal Medium Wave attenuator to achieve maximum sensitivity.  Any receiver that is "AM" only, with no CW or SSB modes, will greatly cripple your ability to hear weak beacons. 

1.  Icom R-75 receiver, with or without the Kiwa mods.  This is one of the most popular receivers and is a very good performer at LF (low frequencies), especially if fitted with dual Narrow CW filters.

2.  The Kenwood TS-430 and TS-440 transceivers.  A couple older models that, if you bypass an internal MW attenuator and enable the 10 Hz digit (by default displays to 100 Hz only) are quite effective.  Again, a narow CW filter helps.

ANTENNAS:
I mentioned that you could get started with a long wire antenna, and that is true.  HOWEVER, unless they are very long, they are usually poor performers in the 200-530KHz frequency range. They're electrically short and have a high impedance, providing a poor match to the receiver.  And, it has been proven that there are better and much more compact answers out there.  Lets look at a couple different choices.
1. THE ACTIVE WHIP. These can provide very high performance in a compact package.  Roelof in Holland builds a unit he calls the "Mini-Whip".  If properly mounted in the open, preferably fairly high, this little marvel can pull in beacons from thousands of miles away.  I've built and use two of them that are oversized and have integral Low Pass Filters to remove Broadcast Band Interference.  
Steve Ratzlaff also makes a very good amplified whip.  These folks frequent the Yahoo NDB Email group and may be reached there.  There are also many plans for active whips on the Internet, some good, some rather poor designs. 

2.  TUNED LOOP ANTENNAS. These may be built in sizes ranging from 3 feet in diameter to over 10 feet in diameter, and be used with or without an integral pre-amp.  Some may be remotely tuned while others may be set on a table and require the user to tune a variable capacitor like he's tuning a radio.  They have the GREAT advantage of being highly directional and can null out interfering beacons and noise.  If you MUST use an indoor antenna these are your best and  probably only choice.
Again, there are plans for various loops on the internet.  Nearly everybody builds their own, though there is one very good unit on the market, made by Wellbrook in the UK.  The Wellbrook is wide-band and requires no tuning, but still has the advantage of being directive in nature.  Other listeners have reported that Wellbrook has very good product support should problems arise,I have no personal experience with them.

3.  FLAGS AND K9AY ANTENNAS.  These are two forms of large loop antenna, designed to be used outdoors, both are highly directional and sensitive.  They can remotely "null" out an interfering beacon or noise.  Search the web for "Flag Antenna" and "K9AY antenna".  Their construction is beyond the scope of this article.       

4.  THE BEVERAGE ANTENNA.  These are VERY long wire antennas, typically a thousand or more feet in length.  They are usually mounted just a few feet above the ground and "terminated" with a resistor at the far end.  They are highly directional and will receive best off the terminated (far) end of the wire.  If not terminated they are bi-directional, receiving in the direction of the two ends of the wire (unlike a dipole that receives off the sides of the wire).  They are ungainly and "fixed" in direction.  
Listeners with many acres of land often string up Beverages radiating out in many different directions, like the spokes of a wheel.  These are the same folks who usually "open and close" the band when listening for distant beacons.  If they can't hear it, it's unlikely that anyone else in their area will either!     
OPTIONAL FILTERS:
 After you've been in the hobby awhile you may decide you want to upgrade the performance of your equipment. Optional filters fall into two categories.  Many if not most serious listeners use a combination of both types of filters.
1.  IF filters that are installed inside the receiver.  One axiom is true.  The narrower (sharper) the bandwidth of your receiver, the lower your noise floor (received noise) will be.  This will translate directly into how weak of a beacon you may hear.  In addition, they will eliminate/reduce interference from an adjacent beacon.  A 500 Hz CW filter is better than a 2.3KHz SSB filter.  A 125 Hz filter such as Inrad sells is about as narrow as you can get from "Add-on" or optional IF filters.  
Some modern high dollar Ham Transceivers with DSP IF's may actually go down to 50 Hz or less!  I'm now lucky enough to own one, the Yaesu FT-2000 transceiver with a maximum selectivity of 25 Hz!  For the "financially challenged" listener who is fortunate enough to own a receiver having a 455KHz IF frequency, there are instructions for a "poor-boy's" filter in my hombrew pages.  "Poor-Boy IF filter".

2.  Audio filters may either be external to the receiver or part of the sets design.  Older ones were analog in design and can offer good value for the dollars spent.  Some like the Autek QF-1A will go VERY narrow, but will also ring (almost like a howl) when set extremely narrow.  
Newer DSP audio filters like the Timewave DSP-59+, Timewave DSP-599zx, MFJ DSP etc. will all go down to 30 Hz bandwidth or less,with minimal/no ringing.  If you spend a lot of time chasing NDB's they are a very good investment.