Shortwave Radio

What is Shortwave?

Shortwave Listening is an interesting hobby enjoyed by many radio enthusiasts. Even today with satellite and digital communications, HF radio is still very widely used in the world, meaning there is a lot of different broadcasts that you can listen to using a shortwave radio.

To listen to shortwave you will need a receiver capable of receiving frequencies between 3 MHz and 30 MHz. If you also want to listen to Amateur, Emergency Services and other commercial stations you will also need one that receives SSB. An antenna can be simply a long wire strung between two trees or from your house to a tree. Some of the things you can listen to include:

International Broadcasters

You are no doubt familiar with AM and FM radio stations. The shortwave bands also have broadcast stations, very different to the AM and FM stations you are used to listening to.

Most countries have an international broadcasting service. In addition a number of religious groups and commercial stations broadcast on the shortwave bands. The programmes and information these broadcast can be both interesting and informative, especially if you have an interest in overseas news.

International shortwave stations broadcast a range of information, from local and regional news, to religious programmes, to information about life in their country, to learning how to speak a new language. It can also be challenging to receive some of the lower power stations, or those that only broadcast on limited occasions.

Many international stations welcome reception reports from listeners, and will often respond to a correct report with a QSL card and possibly some promotional material, such as stickers, pennants, etc., although with rising costs this may be an emailed confirmation.

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Amateur Radio and CB

Amateur Radio is a non-commercial hobbyist communications service enjoyed by many enthusiasts around the world (see my Ham Radio page). There are a number of Amateur Radio bands in the HF spectrum, and you will find many different forms of communications including voice, CW (Morse code), and data modes.

CB, or Citizen Band, is a short range hobby service found in a number of countries. It is usually very low power (12 Watts or less), so can be a challenge to listen to at any great distance. Most CB bands can be found in the 26MHz to 27MHz range (Australia and New Zealand also have a CB band in the 476-477MHz range, called the UHF CB band).

Amateur Contests

There are many Amateur Radio contests ran each year around the world, and in Australia. Many of these contests allow Shortwave Listeners to enter and not just Amateurs.

Amateur contests are aimed at encouraging communication between Amateur stations. Some contests are restricted to stations in Australia, the Oceania region, etc, whilst others are open to the whole world. You can find details of Australian contests on the WIA Contests page.

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Maritime

The HF band includes a few bands dedicated to international maritime operations. The primary frequencies of interest are:

  • International Distress, Urgency & Safety: 2182.0, 4125.0, 6215.0, 8291.0, 12290.0, 16420.0 kHz.
  • Digital Selective Calling (DSC) Distress: 4207.5, 6312, 8414.5, 12577, 16804.5 kHz.
  • Maritime safety broadcasts: 8176.0 kHz.
  • Simplex Working channel: 4146, 6227, 8294, 12353, 16534, 16537 kHz.
  • Calling & Working: 1715, 1725, 1775, 2008, 2032, 2112, 2164, 2284, 2436, 2524, 26385, 4535, 4620 kHz.

In Australia there is also a low power inshore boating service between 27.620 and 27.980 MHz (main Distress & Calling is on 27.880 MHz. Safety and supplementary distress 27.860 MHz).

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Aircraft

The Civil Aviation FLIGHTWATCH has a number of HF frequencies used to communicate with aircraft in the Australia and Oceania region. These are broken down into the Major Air Route Areas (MWARA), and Regional and Domestic Air Route Areas (RDARA).

Note: All frequencies shown below are in kilohertz (kHz). The locations listed in the third row (below the frequencies) for MWARA are the location of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) centre. As I’m a VK, I’ve made the Australian centres bold.

MWARA - Australia/New Zealand/South Pacific/Asia
South Pacific (SP-6)
3467, 5643, 8867, 8870*, 13261, 17904
Auckland, Brisbane, Nadi, Pascua (Easter Island), Port Vila, Rarotonga, San Francisco*, Tahiti, Wallis

Indian Ocean (INO-1)
3476, 5634, 8879, 13306, 17961
Antananarivo, Beira, Bombay, Brisbane, Cocos Islands, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Jeddah, Kigali, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Madras, Mahajanga, Male, Mauritius, Moroni, Nairobi, Perth, Seychelles, St.Denis, Toamasina

South-East Asia (SEA-1)
3470, 5670, 6556, 10066, 13318, 17907
Bali, Bangkok, Colombo, Calcutta, Dhaka, Guangzhou, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming, Madras, Male, Singapore, Yangon

South-East Asia (SEA-2)
3485, 5649, 5655, 8942, 11396, 13309, 17907
Bali, Bangkok, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, Vientianne

South-East Asia (SEA-3)
3470, 5733, 6556, 10066, 11396, 13318, 17907
Bali, Brisbane, Jakarta, Male, Singapore, Ujung Pandang

RDARA 14 - Australia Region Domestic
Southern (14A)
3461, 6565, 8822

North-West (14B)
3452, 6610, 8831

North-East (14C)
3452, 6541, 8843

More frequencies can be found on the website this information came from, Shortwave Listeners Delight.

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Outback Communications

There are a number of commercial, volunteer and government services operating on the HF bands in Australia, and in other countries too. These include:

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Reporting Reception

If you want to receive a “QSL Card” from an international broadcaster you will need to make sure your reception report contains some basic information. A QSL Card is a term from amateur radio and is simply a card that is sent by the station to confirm you have received their transmissions. They are used by keen hobbyists to collect and show to other hobbyists which stations they have received and confirmed. In general a reception report should include:

  • Date and Time of the broadcast, using UTC.
  • Frequency of the broadcast.
  • Report on the received signal, using the SINPO scale (see below).
  • Brief details of the contents of the broadcast. This is used to confirm that you were listening and should consist of at least 15 minutes, preferably 30 minutes, of received content (just note the time each segment started and something from the segment that shows you were listening).

Universal Time Coordinated (UTC)

As broadcasters are all over the world and therefore in different time zones, UTC is used . This was known as Greenwich Mean Time or GMT, and ZULU or Z, but is now universally known as Universal Time Coordinated or UTC. You may also hear this referred to as “Universal Coordinated Time” or “Coordinated Universal Time”. If you aren’t sure how to convert from your timezone to UTC, visit timeanddate.com UTC page.

Time Stations (Standard Frequency and Time Signal Service)

A great way to check your clock or radio tuning accuracy is to tune to the Time Signal Stations. These broadcast regular tones with the time given each minute in UTC. The most common stations are those run by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST):

NIST are usually happy to confirm the reception of their stations if you can prove you heard it. Both WWV and WWVH broadcast additional information on weather at regular intervals. The inclusion of this information, and any other information broadcast, will help confirm your reception report.

Other time stations to find are:

  • CHU (Canada): 3.330, 7.850 & 14.670 MHz (English & French).
  • RWM (Russia): 4.996, 9.996 & 14.996 MHz (no voice).
  • BPM (China): 2.5, 5, 10, 15 MHz (same as WWV/WWVH but uses Morse and Chinese voice ID).
  • YVTO (Venezuela): 5 MHz (only 1kW with voice ID in Spanish).

CHU are also usually happy to confirm reception of their broadcasts. Unknown if the other stations would QSL. There are many more time signal stations out there to find. DX Info Centre has a listing of the stations on each frequency, as does Wikipedia.

SINPO Scale

Whilst the RST scale is ideal for reporting the signal of an Amateur station, International shortwave broadcast stations often require more detailed information than the RST scale can provide. The SINPO scale provides a rating for Signal, Interference, Noise, Propagation and Overall merit. Note that the best report using the SINPO scale is 55555 with the worst being 11111. The SINFO scale is identical, except “Propagation” is replaced with “Fading”, which has the same meaning and values.

(S) Signal

This does not necessarily refer to the signal displayed on a signal meter, as these can vary widely in calibration.

5 Excellent signal As strong as it gets.
4 Good signal Everything is plainly audible with just a little less than the best quality.
3 Fair signal Voices plainly audible and easily understood. Music plainly audible although lacking clarity.
2 Poor signal Voices audible and sometimes understood. Most musical notes audible.
1 Terrible signal Barely detectable. Voices audible but not understood. Some musical notes audible.

(I) Interference

This refers to interference from nearby or adjacent stations (interference from lightning or electrical appliances comes under Noise).

5 No interference No nearby stations or signals.
4 Slight interference It rarely prevents you from hearing the signal you want.
3 Moderate interference The signal you want is audible around half the time.
2 Severe interference Possible to hear the signal you want only some of the time.
1 Extreme interference Impossible to tune off to the side to avoid it. You can’t hear the signal you want.

(N) Noise

This refers to noise from atmospheric or man-made sources.

5 No noise Clear signal, absolutely no noise detectable.
4 Slight noise The program is plainly audible.
3 Moderate noise Some of the program audible or plainly audible with notable noise.
2 Severe noise Ruins most of the reception.
1 Extreme noise Hearing the program is impossible.

(P) Propagation / (F) Fading

Propagation refers to the fading in and out of the signal.

5 No fading Signal strength steady.
4 Slight fading Mostly steady signal. Minor fading, almost always audible.
3 Moderate fading Shaky signal. Sometimes not audible, sometimes just weaker.
2 Severe fading Fades a lot, but not always beyond audibility.
1 Extreme fading Signal is faded out much more than it's faded in.

(O) Overall merit

5 Excellent Enjoyable and useful reception free of trouble.
4 Good Generally good. Occasional problem moments or a slight constant problem.
3 Fair Useful or enjoyable much of the time but with something to be desired.
2 Poor Occasional moments when the signal is useful but generally not of enjoyable quality.
1 Very Poor Not enjoyable or useful.

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Shortwave Bands

The following comes from Wikipedia:

Band Frequency Range Remarks
120 m 2300 - 2495 kHz Tropical (regional) band
90 m 3200 - 3400 kHz Tropical band
75 m 3900 - 4000 kHz Shared with the North American amateur radio 80 m band
60 m 4750 - 5060 kHz Tropical band
49 m 5900 - 6200 kHz  
41 m 7200 - 7450 kHz Shared with the amateur radio 40 m band
31 m 9400 - 9900 kHz Most heavily used band
25 m 11,600 - 12,100 kHz  
22 m 13,570 - 13,870 kHz Substantially used in Eurasia
19 m 15,100 - 15,800 kHz  
16 m 17,480 - 17,900 kHz  
15 m 18,900 - 19,020 kHz Lightly utilized; may become DRM band in future
13 m 21,450 - 21,850 kHz  
11 m 25,600 - 26,100 kHz May be used for local DRM broadcasting
  • 120 m band: Mostly used locally in tropical regions, with time stations at 2500 kHz. Although this is regarded as shortwave, it is in the MF band.
  • 90 m band: Mostly used locally in tropical regions, with limited long-distance reception at night
  • 75 m band: Mostly used in the Eastern Hemisphere; not widely received in North and South America
  • 60 m band: Mostly used locally in tropical regions, although widely usable at night. Time stations use 5000 kHz.
  • 49 m band: Good year-round night band; daytime reception poor
  • 41 m band: Reception varies by region - reasonably good night reception, but few transmitters in this band target North America. According to the WRC-03 Decisions on HF broadcasting, in International Telecommunication Union regions 1 and 3, the segment 7100 - 7200 kHz is reserved for amateur radio use and there are no new broadcasting allocations in this portion of the band. 7350 - 7400 kHz is newly allocated; in Regions 1 and 3, 7400 - 7450 kHz was also allocated effective March 29, 2009.
  • 31 m band: Good year-round night band; seasonal during the day, with best reception in winter. Time stations are clustered around 10 MHz.
  • 25 m band: Generally best during summer and the period before and after sunset year-round
  • 22 m band: Similar to the 19 m band; best in summer
  • 19 m band: Day reception good, night reception variable; best during summer. Time stations such as WWV use 15 MHz.
  • 16 m band: Day reception good; night reception varies seasonally, with summer best.
  • 15 m band: Seldom used
  • 13 m band: Erratic daytime reception, with very little night reception. Similar to 11 metres, but long-distance daytime broadcasting keeps this band active in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • 11 m band: Seldom used. Daytime reception poor low in the solar cycle, but potentially excellent when the solar cycle (generally indicated by the number of sunspots) is high. Night time reception nonexistent, except for local groundwave propagation. Digital Radio Mondiale has proposed that this band be used for local digital shortwave broadcasts, testing the concept in Mexico City in 2005. The Citizens' Band allocation in most countries is within this band.

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Shortwave Logging Software

Although you can use a simple paper log (and many do), an electronic logging program can greatly enhance your hobby. Here are just a couple of logging programs for shortwave listeners:

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Below are links to the websites of popular shortwave broadcasters. Unless otherwise noted, links are to English language pages. Links marked with * are direct to the station frequency schedule, all others are links to the main website. If you know of a link not here, or find a link that needs changing, use my email address.

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