Learn About Shortwave Listening (SWL) for Beginners (

Here's a beginner's guide to shortwave listening (SWL), including a bit of history, how to use a shortwave radio (HF radio), and where to find information on what's out there to listen to.
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[@STOLSPEED]

Brings back so many happy memories. I was raised in the 50's on a farm on the Alberta prairies, with no grid power, no TV, few books and very isolated. Very boring for a curious and innovative mind, driving tractors and heaving hay bales just didn't do it. Fortunately I had two uncles who were ham operators and radio repairmen for their communities in the days of big tube-type radios that could be repaired. They handed on to me old radios that couldn't be repaired and junk discarded from their hobby, including a 30's version of the ARRL Handbook. I studied that book 'til my head hurt, but learned enough to get going. I couldn't build a transmitter due to no grid power, but I built a single stage regenerative receiver with a single type 30 tube. That was the most basic triode you could imagine. Could easily see the filament glowing and the grid and the plate and could even imagine the electrons crossing the grid. Scavenged those discarded radios for the components, and wound my own crude coils. Powered the filament with discarded 1.5v cells from the party line telephone, but the 'B' battery was a problem. Those 90v batteries cost a fortune at a time when money was very scarce, but I finally saved up and bought one. Fortunately the receiver drew very little power to feed the old headphones so that battery lasted for years. By carefully adjusting the feedback to just below oscillation, the gain from that regenerative circuit was enormous! and at the same time the selectivity became extremely sharp, so I could pick out weak signals from a very crowded band. There was no powerlines for miles and in the wintertime there was no lightening anywhere and so no static. A 200' aerial from the windmill to a tall homemade tower gave access to the world. This was the late 50's so the 31m band was full of interesting broadcasts from all over the world. Some of them, like Radio Moscow, BBC, HCLB and WWV fairly boomed in and acted as frequency markers to calibrate the dial. The chassis wasn't well shielded so body capacitance made big effects, which was very useful in that I could control the feedback to that very critical peak just by slightly moving my knee under the desk, while I took program notes to send away with an International Reply Coupon for a QSL card. Got 22 of them. The biggest thrill of all was at 3am one night tuning in to Radio Australia just in time to hear the announcer read my letter on air, and they were amazed that I could receive their station with such a basic receiver! Never had near as much fun with any hi-tech receiver since.

[@bryanhollyfield3948]

Very cool story. I loved getting QSL cards. I think that I received more stuff from China than from the US. Hahaha.

[@HughJarse1968]

Fantastic story! Life seemed so much more interesting back then

[@stevengill1736]

So you used "body English" for capacitative tuning! Niice. I'm a little younger than you, and didn't get into radio 'till the 80s, so I had all the advantages. We live on a ranch too, but these days there's solar panels, so it's a lot easier for isolated homesteads to be electrified....

[@hotjazzbaby]

@@bryanhollyfield3948 I got stuff from China too like beautiful wall calendars

[@hotjazzbaby]

Great story!

[@Janika-xj2bv]

Brings back fond memories. As a teenager in the early 80s we had a club of SWLs in high school. One day I recorded the Deutsche Welle, sent the cassete to Germany and they replied with a thank you letter and a t-shirt. May sound silly today but I loved it. A few years later I went to sea as a Merchant Mariner. Radio was vital there. Today I'm in my mid 50s, self employed, I roam Europe on my motorcycle. Radio Monte Carlo and the news on Romanian SW keep me company, as I camp. Radio has been with me all my life and will always be.

[@billgao8267]

I remember assembling a 3-tube shortwave radio in the 70s in China to learn English from Voice of America. It was banned so I had to use a headset. Shortwave radio changed my life and turned me into an American!

[@davecasler]

Thanks for sharing your story!

[@SteverRob]

I recently restored a 1953 Zenith Transoceanic radio. On battery power, late at night, I’m hearing Hong Kong loud and clear. For a few minutes, I was a kid again, sitting in the dark, amazed at what I was hearing.

[@marinvidovic763]

I saw you , already 50 years ago, from .... my grandmother's Attic ... You had a Black earphones and some coppar whierings allover the table. World's atlas, map, - a pan and paper, a candle ... a soldering rood ... Parts, ... Remember how excited you were once a smell of a soldering reason hit your brain... and slowly spread into the darkness of the" Lab"/room. ... 🥴🤔😜🤪🤕🤯😂

[@daytonfox8418]

@SteverRob Yo! I have a 1950 zenith transoceanic that I'm restoring, and I'm trying to figure out what the alignment procedure is. How did you align yours?

[@edpickering8075]

Thank you friend...

[@willoughby1888]

In 1980's Glendale, CA, I had a friend and neighbor named Mr. Bill Kopp. He would invite me and my other friend Jim inside his back yard shed where he had his ham radio set up, a large antenna right outside. Well, you resemble him somewhat in appearance but he did look an older age than you probably might be. He's long gone, a Vietnam War disabled veteran who used a wheelchair and drove a hand-controlled locksmith van. I'm thankful I saw your video. I learned some things. The first one being not to buy too quickly if and when I go to purchase a shortwave radio. Maine says "Hello" and thank you for sharing things you know that are time saving and helpful. Thanks for letting me recall my friend Bill Kopp.(RIP)

[@bobhayett2376]

Brings back so many happy memories. My brother (RIP) bought an outstanding SWR in the early 1960's. We listened for HOURS at all times of the day and night. Between broadcasts the stations had short call signals, usually brief little segments of tunes. I learned many of these signals. Yes, the communist countries broadcast propaganda during the Cold War. It was fascinating and obviously very different from AM and FM radio stations. I wish I still had that old radio and watching this video I'd love to buy another new one...so I could pretend my brother was still with me so we could listen together again.

[@stevelittle8404]

I am an airline pilot who uses HF radio frequently; I enjoyed your video a ton. Thank you for sharing your information with the rest of us. All the very best to you.

[@robertlyon8876]

Ask any of the kids that fly with you to get the weather with VOLMET and watch their heads explode

[@leonvanderlinde5580]

Embassies went Satelite and then one day the Satelites failed. Now they have HF radio as back-up. It was a wake-up call.

[@Steve211Ucdhihifvshi]

The days of HF/SW are long gone, sad to say as i love all things radio related, yes its another backup can be useful, but with simple interference you can block SW. Its far easier to interfere with SW than interfere with a bird miles up. Even just inadvertent interference from insulators on powerlines.

[@JosephNoussair]

Thank you, David. I'm a lifelong shortwave radio listener, and found your presentation to be very clear and comprehensive. Well done.

[@jeanyvesfourrier3668]

Excellent tutoriel, congratulation from France

[@chris8383]

What SW radio to recommend?

[@chris8383]

@@JosephNoussair Thank you Joseph!

[@xDR1TeK]

73 from byblos Lebanon. I don't have a license to broadcast so I satisfy my radio frenzy by sweeping to much of the spectrum, from AM to way up in the UHF. It's a whole world apart from the average everyday life we live. Busy with transmissions which we would be oblivious to their existence. There's is a certain beauty to radio which I can't describe, I love it. I love the level of dexterity one must achieve in order to master it. The science of it is also mesmerizing. As an engineer, I can't stop fiddling with oscillators and antenna parts. I should get that amateur license at least to play with transmissions on the amateur bands. I did learn Morse for the fun of it. I'm a kid who got a Christmas toy when it comes to RF. Built a Morse to serial transceiver on a pic10f206. Built an AM ASK, an fm tone transmitter using a 2n2222 and LC tank. Built a dual band patch antenna from scratch doing all the math. Got some weather satellite pictures using just a dipole and no amplifier. My senior project was a wild one, blind signal detection. Frankly, I think I over did it on that one. But, what a ride! In my view, there is nothing that competes with noise. The fact that it's there is amazing.

[@kennethv5250]

when i was a kid i used to get on an am radio at night, i lived in Tn and would listen to WGN radio in chicago all the time. i was always amazed at how far away i could hear a station.

[@cosmic7785]

Am so gratified to see someone talking about short wave radio in this day. It was one of my biggest hobbies as a kid and teenager. Now, the majority of this new generation have never heard of it, which saddens me. Nothing compared to hearing a station on the opposite side of the globe and actually receiving a qsl card months later from an obscure country, that your family had most likely not even heard of. And while you were excited to actually listen to radio from India or Yugoslavia before the days of the internet, it was maddening when those you knew couldn't have cared less....lol.

[@josem.4312]

I've had a SW radio for the better part of a year and it has sat, gathering dust because of not knowing where to start. Thank you for an incredibly informative video on a much needed subject! 73!

[@James_Bowie]

Excellent overview. With Internet censorship going gangbusters, SWL remains vital for many regions of the world.

[@bioskahabinivous9906]

There something called "VPN" that can be used to bypass the gov's-blocked websites. Internet and shortwave radio rules!

[@user-ut9ln4vd5m]

@@bioskahabinivous9906 vpn won't help when the sites & people speaking on them have been removed completely

[@bioskahabinivous9906]

@@user-ut9ln4vd5m it depends, some VPN are crap some are not and some doesnt mask your IP nor encrypt your data either. The authorities has blocked many radio stations from Europe recently but I can use Warp to bypass the block and restream Radio 4 and DW (and other German stations) to a low-power FM/AM transmitter so the locals could pick them up 24/7!

[@bakatoroi]

@@user-ut9ln4vd5m To add, "have been removed completely" doesn't necessarily mean your cities are burning. It could be something like a national law blocking access to VPNs and jailing you if they catch you using them. Most people would stop using them. SWL can help loads in this case.

[@ispysaidmylittleeye3489]

Good point

[@rodclark4485]

This hobby has enthralled me since elementary school. Both sets of grandparents had multiband broadcast receivers, those tall floor models with waterfall fronts. Time passed, neighbours gave me SW radios. One grandpa worked for an electrical distributor, gave me a huge spool of AWG10 insulated, which i have used for every longwire (& groundwire) since the 1960s. This hobby sowed the seeds to enter Ham radio but I was in my 40s before i achieved VA3ROD.

[@leenaright3949]

Wow Dave ! I wish I'd had someone like you to teach me back when I was trying to grasp geometry and algebra in school. I'm a retired nurse, a night owl, and am thrilled to have discovered you and the world of swl and ham radio. Thank you and may God Bless 🌷

[@davecasler]

Glad to help

[@willoughby1888]

I consider 'nurses' alongside of 'veterans' and so I honestly "thank you for your service'. You truly must have experienced very much. Maine says "hello". It's mostly only been saying "Brrr" lately though.

[@loulockwood2864]

Hi Leena Right After going active in the US Navy I soon learned I lucked out in having a high school Math Teacher that took a personal interest in all his students taking college prep (even though I had no chance to go further). The teacher had been a Radioman in the WW II Navy and taught those so inclinded in electonics proior to that word's existance, yes tybe-types. He also taught us code and how to study for a ham license test. [50 years later I determined my problem had been I am ADHD.] I did get my ham license my last year of high school and later did pass 28 wpm on my Navy Radioman qualifiations, and sorry I did not go further on my ham ticket! A later duty had 24 nice Hammerland DSB Receivers at my fingertips!! Also in reception prone areas found out a whip antenna worked better than a long wire when working "low night-time freqs" during daytime ( I know, against all odds, but my prevous SWL habits came into play!). My chief's comment - if it works do it!! Now with less hobbies may be time to get back into it?.. Thanks

[@leenaright3949]

@@willoughby1888 thank you ! It has been an honor

[@leenaright3949]

@@loulockwood2864 indeed ! Such a great skill to have.

[@AaronHuber]

SWL was my into to radio as a youth. Still a lot of fun especially with all the public SDR recievers online.

[@Chris_at_Home]

When i was in high school I put together a hearth kit Ham radio for one of the IA teachers and he gave me an old 5 band silvertone radio with the green tuning eye tube. Many years later I worked a job where I did multi week shifts at the job site and then had some weeks off. When I was off I lived at my off road off grid cabin way out in the woods with the nearest neighbors miles away and ShortWave was all i could get for radio. I have a little Sangean ATS 909X. It is a great little radio. most of my working life was as a communications tech working on everything from HF on drill,ships, VHF C band satellite and microwave and K band satellite. I have just a third class and General license.

[@AllenCavedo]

Heathkit maybe?

[@peterhume3474]

What a great video. I grew up on SW. We were an English family living in Spain in the 60-70's. Dad would ask me to "get the news", which meant from him, that I could go up and down the band's to find nearly any station. Like the BBC/VOA/Radio Moscow/ABC Australia, Radio Lagos/RSA. I worked after primary school hours for a year to earn the 1795 pesetas to buy my first transistor radio SW set. BOY, what a day...! Last year I bought a Tecsun PL310ET SW set and was amazed at the sensitivity and selectivity. I couple my SW DX'ing with an app called Shortwave schedules, which not only allow me to see who is transmitting where, but also allows me to listen through an SDR post and I can compare the reception of what the SDR is getting and my little Tecsun. Really fun stuff....

[@centuryrox]

I first started getting into SWL in the late 80s when I picked up a small portable from Radio Shack. I first started listening to Allan Weiner's "Radio New York International" which at that time I believe was broadcasting out of Tennessee. One night though, while flipping through the bands, I picked up Radio Tahiti at 15170 mHz. Amazing, since I live on the US East Coast! Well, I was hooked at that point! Unfortunately, events in my life since have made me forget about SWLing over the past 30 years. I just started thinking about those days last week, and decided to buy another SW radio. I bought the Eton Elite 750, and it was delivered 4 days ago. I had forgotten how much fun SWLing was! One of my first stations on my new radio turned out to be broadcasting from Madagascar! Now, all I need is an antenna to string outside to avoid a lot of interference I'm getting inside the house. My next project! But anyway, this is a very interesting hobby that I highly recommend!

[@stevelacy316]

I actually got a qsl card from a swl a couple weeks ago he heard me talking to a station in Scotland and sent me a card pretty cool .

[@UDX4570PalmSprings-yh1mv]

What frequency were you on. A couple of days ago in the morning, I heard a guy transmitting from Victoria, South Africa, this was on 27,385 LSB (11 meters) in my nearly 50 years of listening to SW or working on 10 and 11 meters, this was the first time I ever heard someone transmitting on the air.

[@Jeff-sp7bg]

How is it possible to listen to those bands and yhat's the first time you heard someone transmit? 27.385 is ch 38 cb in the US and 38 lsb calling channel. In the daylight it's almost always open. Not sure how you never heard a transmission before the south African one? That's a pretty impressive signal though

[@UDX4570PalmSprings-yh1mv]

@@Jeff-sp7bg I meant from South Africa, first time I've heard a station from south Africa, now on 20m it's a little different, Dad used to live on 20 meters, I've heard all sorts of stations and locations

[@robinmariejohnson7783]

Love it! My dad was a ham radio operator in West Africa for over 20 years and kept it up when we returned to the United States. I’m now following in his footsteps with my first ham radio at 59 years old! I’m working on getting my tech license. In the meantime I’m excited to just listen in and learn. Your short video gave me some much needed insight. Thank you - Robin Marie

[@samgraham6355]

Welcome to the hobby! De AG7ZC

[@SteverRob]

You’re smart to do some listening prior to that first time you transmit as a new amateur radio operator. I wish everyone would. You learn a lot about the hobby just listening. I also joined late, at age 52, although I was an SWL as a kid. I’m now an Extra. I’m attracted to hard to reach DX, or just a good conversation with someone on the other side of the earth 🌍.

[@joannem3568]

58 just started to learn about Ham Radio Michigan gets cold 🥶 and stays cold for a good long while, and I just find it darn interesting.

[@josephshulman4330]

I'm almost 58 and will be buying one lol 😂

[@7YBzzz4nbyte]

​@@josephshulman4330I'm the same age, and haven't heard shortwave since listening on my dad's radio in the 1970's... 😂

[@t.j.vandeven3378]

I'm a ham and didn't know there was that much to listen to on Shortwave Radio. Thanks Dave! You always make it easy to understand. 73

[@SandlapperSam]

Whats there to listen to on amature radio? I'm trying to figure out if I want to get into the hobby or not

[@t.j.vandeven3378]

@@SandlapperSam everyone's reasons for being a ham are different. Some people's motivations are: to communicate if conventional means fail, participate in local nets, public service, emcom, ragchew, contesting, long distance (dx) and international contacting, equipment/antenna building, and technical experimentation.

[@dcolb121]

My first shortwave radio was a Knight Kit Star Roamer that I built from a kit. In time I added an active detector circuit that I gotten from Radio Electronics to take the place of the 1N34 diode it had. Made a huge difference. Like others have said, the shortwave bands were alive with activity in the 60's and 70's. Radio Moscow, HCLB, Radio Netherlands (they read my letter on the air), Radio Habana, BBC, VOA, China, South Africa, Japan and lots of others. In 1970 I got my ham license and built a Heathkit DX-60 transmitter with matching VFO. Also built the matching HR-10 but quickly replaced it with a Hammarlund HQ-160. I fondly remember the smell of tube radios as they heated up. Nothing else like it. Talked all over the world and scared my siblings by making the upstairs hall light to glow dimly with each transmission. They thought it was a ghost.

[@davidhess6593]

The Star Roamer was my second SW radio. I was a SWL for almost 50 years before getting my ticket, and have been an Extra Class operator for almost 20 years now. Favorite radio: Yaesu FT991.

[@michaelpriest6242]

I am anticipating delivery of a SW receiver within a couple of hours and am eager to apply some of the information that I have been learning from YT for the past few days. Thank you for contributing greatly to my learning.

[@mikeoswald8053]

Great info for all! My dad gave me a Hallicrafters World Wide radio he'd won in the early 50's. From our small home in Eastern Washington state the world opened to me. I still have the radio ;it needs new caps but I'll get to that when I finish moving to the new station location in the house. May you feel better Dave and real soon!.

[@philmininni5981]

Yes, Memories. I had a 5 or 6 tube radio called the World Traveler, WT something in the mid 60s. When I went into the Navy I used our Radio room R-390 and R-1051 HF radio receivers to listen to short wave. Now I have been using the RS DX-398. Though all of a sudden I am having issues with it and I believe I lost an RF amplifier circuit and sensitivity sucks. Can't complain much, I got this radio in the 90s. I have been considering getting a new SW radio. Thoroughly enjoyed your video.

[@emilg1000]

It's worth noting that, on any given frequency, programming is often not broadcast 24/7, as we are accustomed to in the states and elsewhere. That's why having a good broadcast frequency guide/schedule is important. The frequency is likely to be dead before and after the scheduled broadcast. It also makes station hunting a lot less frustrating. Thanks for the video, Dave! 73, W3OL

[@LeRoy313]

Where would one find a a good broadcast frequency guide/schedule?

[@mynorthernlife]

@@LeRoy313 i hope someone provides an answer

[@alisonmike2912]

Very informative and useful video Back in the year 1982 i purchased a Shortwave receiver after a friend's recommendation. Grundig Satellit 3400 Professional. I haven't used it for about 14 years, but yesterday April 24th 22 i got it out and started using it again and it was fun to get back into that. Your video was a great refresher course for me. Thank you

[@cheifreal]

Grand father turned me on to swling very early on. He listened often as did i. I infat got my sdrplay2 to have a decent recever to get back to it. Finaly got ham license a few years back that reminded me about shortwave.

[@tylerwalker7322]

I've been trying to get into ham in general, this is one of the best just basic explanation of radio I have seen. Thank you great lesson

[@BG101UK]

Excellent, clear and concise video. It's actually revived some memories for me. I first got in to shortwave listening in the 1980s with a Russian radio-cassette a mate gave me. Standard compact cassettes didn't quite fit in the compartment and the short-wave tuning was very sensitive and fiddly as it had no SW band selection, just one scale covering several bands, but opened up the world of SWL to me. My Grandma's old radiogram also had SW but at the time I didn't know it needed an external antenna/aerial hence didn't pick anything up on SW on that. In reality it's what inspired me to see what SW had to offer. I later bought a radio from Dixons for the princely sum of £25. I listened to whatever I could find during the latter part of the Cold War (Radio Moscow etc.) and later the Gulf War whilst Kuwait was still broadcasting and that radio later accompanied me on my world travels. Interesting to be able to receive BBC Radio 4 Long Wave (198KHz) from halfway up a 10-storey building in the middle of Barcelona, albeit with some interference from I think a Moroccan transmitter if the radio was re-oriented! That and my Roberts R809 both have pretty good SW reception; I was after a R909 which has a BFO but these were significantly more expensive and harder to find, however the R809 does have direct frequency entry via its keypad plus a number of presets. I'll be going through the bands again over the next week or so to see what is out there now. I should also compare the radios side-by-side. As for Long Wave, Germany has shut down (most if not all of) its LW stations. Here in the UK and Ireland we have BBC Radio 4 on 198KHz and RTÉ-1 on 252KHz - the latter was formerly a music station (Atlantic 252). I don't know why the US didn't use Long Wave as it would have been better suited to regional stations than Medium Wave.

[@brianarbenz1329]

I was a nightly shortwave radio listener in the late 1970s and early '80s. Loved it. It was a whole different world, and it widened my perspective on the world. Before the Internet or GPS, shortwave was everything. It's still crucial.

[@hayseed5467]

You've rekindled my interest, David. And now my daughter-in-law is interested as well. I started SWL in 1968 when I was going on 11. Also, I will have been a ham 50 years on 2/22/21. Thank you for the excellent video. - WBØDVM.

[@justinpoirier5285]

Excellent video, Dave! You helped me upgrade to my general license 2 years ago, and now this video is helping me get my young kids (8-10 years old) interested in listening to shortwave. (With my motive being getting them interested in getting their license one day!) Huge thank you!

[@lesjones7019]

Very interesting.

[@barnabywilde374]

years ago we used to enjoy listening to SW at night while camping. Getting ready to resume that old tradition, we built a dipole and quick ground stake. This video was VERY helpful in getting us back into it. Thank You!

[@AndrejaKostic]

A point which was not mentioned in the video, but is quite important, are the 30 minute time slots which are used for frequency and time coordination on HF. When frequency assignments are being negotiated for a broadcast season (which lasts half of a year), a station can receive one or more of those 30 minute blocks for the frequency it uses. Therefore, the program of a station will start at either a full UTC hour or a half hour mark, and then last for usually 30 or 60 minutes, but sometimes also more. After that, the station might switch to program in another language, or it might sign off, and another station might take the frequency, or the frequency might remain unused. Before start of a program, a station will usually play its interval signal, which is a short tune used to identify station (say Yankee Doodle for Voice of America, or March of the volunteers for China Radio International), so if you're going through a band at the start of the 30 minute period, you can quickly identify the station. Also, if the station program is shorter than the 30 minute slot (sometimes it happens that it's say 28 minutes or similar), then stations will often fill the rest of the slot with the interval signal.

[@MexicoDigDoctor]

Wow, that was fabulous! Thank you so so much! I just got one of those Kaito emergency radios for my preparedness kit, and I wanted to find out exactly what you could hear on short wave radio and how to find the stations. You covered everything perfectly and now I am very excited about it! I have lived in Mexico for 42 years (Teotihuacán), and even though in my small town we don’t get shaken much by even the biggest earthquakes due to the type of bedrock we are on, we are about 30 km from our huge, active volcano (the Popocatépetl). So as I say, I was really just expecting to use my new toy when the electricity goes out, but thanks to you and your great video, I think I’m going to be using it way more than I ever expected, ha ha. Muchas Gracias!! 🇲🇽👷🏻‍♀️

[@beekeeper8474]

One of the things that got me started was the memories of setting with my grandpa listing to SW on his tube radio. He always says real radios glow

[@hooXpoo]

Thank you for your info. Sadly there are not as many SWR radio stations as there was years ago. SWR was a big help to people in Texas just recently.

[@clivedavies3]

Best explanation to use shortwave I've heard not to in depth but enough info to get your teeth into, I was an swl from 13 I'm now 65 and this year made the step into ham radio and took my foundation it's amazing what you can do with 10w of power, keep up the good work ,when ever I need to know anything I look up your old vids cheers.

[@TheAdwatson]

Marconi's first transatlantic transmission was from Poldhu in Cornwall, England, NOT from "the United Kingdom in Wales". It was received in Newfoundland, Canada.

[@Strickland_Propane]

This video was the best intro to radio I’ve come across so far, the dozen or so I tried before just didn’t present it clearly. Thank you sir!

[@cwebs1000]

Very informative Dave, Thank you. Radio waves are MAGIC! No other way to describe them. We can hear them from Spacecraft from BILLIONS of miles away and use little power. Stars lightyears away! I have been a ham for 45 years and it never ceases to amaze me how well it works. I listen in to SWL often. 73 Dave and again thanks, Carl AB1ZI

[@cvshooter61]

Hi, just bought mt very 1st SW radio, in fact it arrived this morning. I am so new to this. Love this video, lots of great and informative info. I'll have to watch it a few times, just to let it all sink in. I subscribed. 73, and I'll see you later! Thank you!

[@jacquespicotte8886]

Awesome course on shortwave! Thank you, prof David, for your time, your patience and the complete info. I am your new subscriber.

[@rontiemens2553]

Excellent presentation. I’ve listened to shortwave off and on for decades and learned a TON from this. Thank you! 73!

[@lordofelectrons4513]

Almost had forgotten this stuff when I was a kid I got my hands on a old SW radio I had been learning about electronics and managed to get the radio working, I was amazed by all the unusual programs. My sixth grade teacher permitted me to set it up in the class room even during the day time there were interesting broadcasts and so for a few days I and my class mates explore the air waves after lunch time.

[@rikjohnson120]

Hi, I'm currently working on my Technician's License here in Northern Colorado, and SWL is one of my interests, so thank you for this thorough introduction.

[@skychief399]

Just a thought… If you don’t have your Tech license yet I suggest you get a copy of “Ham Radio For Dummies”. It’s written by Ward Silver, he’s a guru on the topic of Ham Radio. He’s written several books on ham radio. I’ve got the 1st and 3rd editions. Very educational!!! 73.

[@stridermt2k]

I'm a active ham operator and still enjoy doing some SWL! As a ham I like utilizing my technical knowledge to get the most from using radios I'm using too. I recently had a brief flirtation with 20-dollar SWL radios and yeah they are fiddly and can be frustrating with stations not being heard or the thing is overloaded by adding even a short wire. Thanks for the encouragement to do SWL! as a ham, one always can't bring an entire HF station along (Although the latest radios are making that more and more possible) and one still likes to listen. The latest SDR radios and compact antenna designs make it possible to access SWL stations and digital modes where it wasn't practical previously. 73 de N2NLQ

[@hdguppies]

Thanks for this David. There's really a lot of info crammed into this short video for a beginner and pretty much all they would need to get started. I'm an old SWL and I enjoyed it all the same. Keep it up! Subbed and liked!

[@fon9365]

David, you're a good teacher, so for a novice in learnig short wave stuff, like me, it was easy to understand. Thanks. 👍👍👍

[@leoluck68]

Thanks so much for your time. I'm a newbie and have taken copious notes. You've been a great resource.

[@MrVasile]

Dave...you are a treasure! Thank you so much for such great, comprehensive, understandable information! 73 Tony KB9A

[@dougtaylor7724]

We had a local guy who had a tower with a 20 meter beam and several other antennas. Had his ham license for 40 years and never transmitted a single word. He would listen for many hours a week but never transmitted.

[@Steve211Ucdhihifvshi]

same with me have a lot of gear, but have no interest in talking on a radio, (thats for work)

[@bsuyono]

Absolutely correct.. So do I... I have many ham radio. But only want to hear/monitoring only.. Don't want to talk..

[@dougtaylor7724]

I have a friend who only uses the digital portion. His job is talking to people all day. He loves ham radio, but when he comes home does not want to talk to anyone.

[@mikeZL3XD7029]

Brilliant run-down Dave. I must remember, back in 1988, we were in the midst of solar cycle 22, this was a great time to be a young fella with an interest in radio and a shortwave radio gifted to me by my parents for Christmas. You could conceivably hear anything from any point on the planet at night-time here in New Zealand. This is what lead me to become a radio ham a couple of years later. 73, ZL3XD.

[@russellsalsman8425]

I’ve been an SWL guy since the early 90s. This was by far the best primer on swl I’ve ever seen. Well done sir. One thing for those who don’t want to or cannot spend $300 for a Receiver, you can get a very good portable for under that. Some of the better ones aren’t the most expensive. The Tecsun PL series are all good radios. The PL660 is probably a ten year old model, and is as good as any out there in terms of it being sensitive to weaker stations. Cost is 125-150 USD. There are more recent radios in that series, PL880 at about $175 and the upcoming PL990x at $275 or so. All excellent radios. There are a few others to look at too. Eton/Grundig, Sangean; and even Sony makes a good shortwave. Try those if you just want to try it out before you spend a lot more. And as Dave said, a nice 20 foot copper wire antenna helps your signal a lot.

[@marktwain368]

Got a Tecsun97000X for just under $70 on Amazon with FM/MW/SW 12 band reception and it weighs just one pound with 6AA batteries loaded.

[@delorespickles4708]

David, I am so thankful for this video. Perfect timing - I just bought my first shortwave radio! Your presentation was enjoyable, easy to listen to, and super informative. I appreciate your content.

[@LoftechUK]

Best video I’ve seen explaining the difference between time in other continents and GMT. Brilliant work fella. The next is I’m an avid user of radio and just this video covers so much I didn’t know. Your a clever man. Thank you 🙏

[@awizardalso]

I have a CB radio base station in my basement here in Canton, Ohio. In the early morning just before sunrise, I got to talk to someone in Dublin Ireland due to what we call 'skip'. On another occasion just before sunset, I got to talk to someone in Anchorage Alaska.

[@robinstewart6510]

Okay, lets get real. Even with ideal skip conditions, such communications is extremely rare and unpredictable. CB radio is for local communications, not distant communications. There's no benefit to these distant communications anyway beyond saying you got lucky (not through anything you did) once or twice.

[@stevebrockway459]

@@robinstewart6510 actually, these frequencies are just below the ham 10m band and during the peak of the sunspot cycle, world wide communications are possible routinely. During the bottom of the cycle, it may not be possible to contact/listen to someone across town.

[@robinstewart6510]

@@stevebrockway459 .. Nonsense. I've been a CB'er for over forty years and stand by what I said earlier.

[@stevebrockway459]

@@robinstewart6510 well, I guess that I'll have to quit using 10m FM repeaters and listening to stations all around the world on those frequencies and higher. Just because you have never done it in your 40 years as CBer doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Pick up a book and read about propagation and how radio works.

[@robinstewart6510]

@@stevebrockway459 .. Okay, let my put it more bluntly. You cannot do what you say legally, with a legal CB radio. With such equipment, such contacts are very sporadic at best. Now, if you're using illegal radio equipment, you're not a CB'er. You're an illegal radio operator intruding on that band. Dishonesty, not skill or knowledge, involved.

[@opticalman1jeffkeokro741]

Great job with the SWL presentation always nice to get more people to enjoy the wonder of radio!

[@rickvia8435]

SWL was my 1st passion, then CB then licensed Amateur Operator (20 year evolution).

[@SteverRob]

Same here

[@sklegg]

Fun video. It's a topic I'm pretty familiar with but it excites me to remember when I first started building antennas for my SWL habit. I'm a ham now so I don't spend as much time listening to the SW broadcasts but it was so much fun DXing shortwave stations from my apartment.

[@robertbruner7429]

Thanks for the excellent explanation. I've never owned a shortwave radio, but was always curious about what people listened to and now I have an idea.

[@emilg1000]

Deutsche Welle (VEL a) means "German Wave." Too bad a lot of these broadcasters cut back dramatically on their SW schedules as they moved to "Internet Radio."

[@stridermt2k]

Agreed. Many of those stations fired my interest in radio as a very young person.

[@jack002tuber]

I used to hear them all the time. I miss it.

[@SteverRob]

Internet radio is about as romantic as boxed wine.

[@bill-2018]

I started listening on m.w. to their shipping forecast about three years ago and was getting to understand it, then they stopped broadcasting on m.w.

[@SteverRob]

@@Gg1118dieo Yet the airwaves will always be used and always be there. Two people can communicate across the globe with no dependence on anyone or anything else. The internet relies on a lot of infrastructure technology.

[@K6TJO]

I shared this with my Dad and bought him a PlaySDR so he could listen. Great overview Dave thanks. 73 de K6TJO

[@MiseryFarm]

Thanks, this is just what I was looking for! Full of information! I can't wait for my radio to be delivered.

[@alanlangford4667]

In the 60’s I used to listen to ham radios on the am band. When they switched to sub I grabbed another short wave radio and when it was tuned slightly off frequency to the other radio I could understand what was being said. :) This brings back good memories of past QSO’s.

[@oldnerdreviews]

Great information and you made it so easy to understand. Thank you!

[@Boondoxatron]

A really nice and concise video there, David. I'm exactly at the 'total beginner' stage with short wave (using an old Icom IC R70), and you have helped me a lot. I really appreciate all the work you put in. Excellent! I shall subscribe.

[@DM-wy5hy]

Back in the 60s and 70s I spent a lot of time listening to SWL. Many enjoyable hours. Listening to history as it happened. I still have my collection of QSL cards.

[@will2071]

I fell in love with radio as a kid spending summers with my grandparents out in the west Texas desert. When everyone else was watching television or talking at night I was back in the bedroom listening to the radio. Today I enjoy getting my Panasonic RF2200 out when the sun starts to go down, putting up my long wire antenna, and tuning around to see what's out there on shortwave (I wish BBC would resume broadcasting to the states). On AM I've picked up stations like WGN in Chicago, WLAC in Nashville and lots of others. Every radio I buy these days has to have shortwave, be analogue (to me they're more reliable) and self powered. I have a Grundig FR-200 that's my everyday radio.

[@shandybrandy5407]

Hi Dave, it was such a lovely presentation and so much of learning too. You have explained complex tech terms in the most simple and story telling manner. Really appreciate all your harwork in creating such videos. Greetings from Bangalore, India VU3TQT 73

[@johnedgar9817]

I always tune into the SW bands on my Grundig Yacht Boy 235 . You never know what you can pick up.

[@davidincalifornia3711]

Thanks so much, David! I've been a ham for 45 years and never knew anything about SWL. I'm looking forward to trying it!

[@DrCrabfingers]

Mr Casler what a fab video! You are a great teacher...this has been like sitting in on a college class. Thanks for taking the time to make this video...

[@cindyvincent6356]

Thanks for the information. Just getting started so trying to learn all I can. When I was in my 20s, I ran across a numbers station on a shortwave radio that my dad had. Never forgot that experience and the mystery that surrounded it. Nearly 70 now and have the time to really get into it. Just bought an Eton Elite Executive from Amazon and learning how to use it. Love your KZbin channel.

[@FindTheSeven]

I just bought one of those this past week am looking forward to digging in and really learning how to use it. I came across some strange sounding broadcasts yesterday and I'm curious to find out what they are.

[@victortristani2052]

Terrific job. You sound like a great teacher. I have subscribed. Keep those videos coming. Thanks

[@PvtSenba]

I'm a complete beginner, and I don't know how many beginner videos I've watched, but I found this one much easier to understand than any of the others. Thanks.

[@david_W5QDF]

Brings back memories of my childhood in the early 1960’s and my father telling me of his childhood during WWII in the early 1940’s and getting military surplus radios listening to the world. RIP Pop

[@daniell8387]

SWL is how I got into the hobby. I liked looking out for pirates, super far away stations and that one weirdo religious guy that broadcasts all the time.

[@billtheslink4541]

Brother Stairs. LOL. It hasn't been long ago they were afraid he was going to have the flock go out with the Kool Aid. He went up a while back for a sex crime with a church member. He denied it but was found guilty. I seem to recall she was a minor when she claimed it happened, but don't quote me on that. He's been on the air since the early 90s that I know of. If you think he's interesting look up the Bayside Prophecies. It was a Catholic movement that went rouge and every week she broadcasted her visions of the Virgin Mary and messages live as they happened. The movement was quite large and broadcast on stations around the country including super stations like WLW, but the Catholic Church had a meltdown over it and denounced it all the time.

[@tribulationprepper787]

@@billtheslink4541 Yeah, There are bad apples in every church but PLEASE don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Stay away from man's apostate churches for sure but always trust in God's word.

[@KevinFraser411]

Thanks for this video, Dave. Many do not grasp the excitement of receiving a DX station via shortwave radio. My interest in radio started as a very impressionable eleven year old in 1969. My dad and and I sat around a shortwave radio listening to the Voice of America (VOA) live broadcast of the first moon landing. To say that I was in awe would be an under statement. My love of radio, sometimes referred to as the theatre of the mind, continued for decades and I still have a keed interest despite many shortwave stations going off the air. During this time I collected a number of radios - including some of my favourites: the Barlow Wadley, (the circuit of which was designed by a South African engineer), a Yaesu FRG7 (I believe it used a copy of the circuit from the Barlow Wadley design) and few others including the Kenwood R2000. My interest later moved to Utility stations and this is where most of the really interesting stuff is. Its a little more difficult as, unlike broadcast stations, they generally don't have set schedules.Ferrell's Confidential Frequency List (no longer in publication) was useful for identifying these stations. Just a small correction, at about 09:48 in the video, you say that the Titanic made a SOS distress transmission. This is not entirely accurate. They still used CQD, the standard at the time. SOS format had been ratified but most marine vessels were still using CQD. It is understood that their transmission changed to SOS just before the ship sank. jamescameronstitanic.fandom.com/wiki/CQD and www.nationalgeographic.com/history/reference/modern-history/why-titanic-first-call-help-not-sos-signal/ Thanks again for another great video. 73 Kevin ZS6KB

[@michaellaplant9543]

That's a marvelous story ! Thank you so much for sharing it !! 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽☮️

[@chrissowden4203]

I used a Barlow wadley for years. Recently gave it to a museum in Sydney. It is a straight forward away band radio with a BFO oscillator, upper and lower sidebands and a antenna tuner. I had to clean up the Antenna tuner switch’s on two occasions but no problem with that! A straightforward radio to tune in. I used a long wire up into a tree. Also had a self calibration circuit.

[@chrissowden4203]

Second thought! I also gave the museum paperwork on circuit diagram and tune up procedures! Kariong museum near river behind Sydney. Bells mountain pass. For anyone that might need this I think it will be invaluable!

[@phildurall7466]

Mice coverage Dave! When I was in elementary school, I got hooked on SWLing. Popular Electronics have call designations for shortwave listeners if you wanted to join their SWL club. I was WPE6GGM. Hearing things that others did not know about was demonstrated by my report about acupuncture that I heard about from radio Peking. My teacher gave me a failing grade, saying that I made it up. I often wondered if she ever remembered that in the 70s when it became popular in the Western world. 73, phil - KF6IF

[@reym1000]

Brought back many good memories of my days at sea. My first radio was the bulkier Sony ICF 2001D followed by the Sony ICF 7600 which I have to this day. I have a modest collection of QSL cards from various radio stations. I am now a HAM and look back to 50 glorious years of Radio. Thanks Dave!!

[@davecasler]

Thanks for sharing your story!

[@lpark8]

Excellent introduction. Thank you! Very informative as always 🙏😎

[@billyzwiener1380]

Love this video and resource. I used to think SWL was the same as HAM radio. Thanks for clarifying.

[@mbatson13]

Brother Casler... served in Cordoba, Argentina from '87-'89. I appreciate your channel! I've needed to get more active in radio. Just feels like that may come in handy sometime down the road.

[@flybyairplane3528]

DAVID, hello, I was born in JAMAICA BWI, back in the 40 ALL radios were multi and, as well as CAR RADIOS, dads was a brand you probably never heard of ,, BUSH. he had to go to HRH POST OFFICE to pay a radio use TAX there was NO radio station there , so we listened to MIAMI & North as the weather went, you could get NYC easily, but if you lived in the NORTH side , you got them really clear. but there was NO ELECTRICITY, Uncle had a great radio, powered bu I believe a 6 volt battery, & stations came in all day .Enter the 50s boarding school 5 senior dorm boys took radios to school great tonal quality, 6” speakers were the norm, VOA JAZZ HOUR w/Willis CONNOVER, then 10 pm changed frequency to get what you missedI still listen to SW here in NJ, English , only yes lots. Have changed, just as the really great radio companies have gone HALLICRAFTERS, NATIONAL, , ZENITH TRANS OCEANIC OH WELL, CHEERS 🇯🇲🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇩🇪🇺🇸

[@CarlosAguila]

I served in Mexico and now live where I served.. with SDRPLAY and MLA30 - long wire antennas and a few portables SW radios.

[@dannyshortwave]

Very good explanation and presentation of Shortwave radio.

[@JakobMusick]

Thank you so much for this! You are a wonderful teacher!! The shortwave station that I can get most reliably, that is not sermons, is Radio Havana Cuba! I like it.

[@3henry214]

Swl'ing is what got me into Ham radio. I got hooked with SWL'ing in my teens, and I'll never forget the experience that hooked me. I was tuning through the bands on a little Panasonic multi-band radio I got for my birthday, and picked up a news broadcast in mid story. A reporter in San Francisco covering a story that I hadn't seen sight or sound of on any of our local San Francisco TV/Radio news stations that day. The reporter finished the story and signed off "This is so and so (don't remember the name), reporting from San Francisco for Radio Havana. I was stunned... this was in the mid 70's... long before relations thawed out somewhat between the US and Cuba and in the midst of Cold War. I was intrigued, and began to search for more English language foreign broadcasts. I wanted see how we (the U.S.) was being portrayed abroad... I quickly discovered that many things here were being "screened out" by our news broadcasts for what ever reasons, whereas many of the foreign news broadcast didn't pull any punches.

[@vingotaq777]

Thanks David , great explanation of SWL for an amateur like me 👍

[@mickerdoodle51]

Thank you. This is a very good place for some one interested in ham radio.

[@Bigbadwhitecracker]

Yeah, I"m studying for my tech licence now.

[@The_SunDog]

By far, the best radio crash course. Well done!

[@bluestar2253]

When I was a kid I used to listen to SW MW and LW broadcasts on my german Grundig radio. I remember listening to BBC especially the Jolly Good show (which they sent me a T-shirt!), VOA, Radio Australia, and many others. Love that radio!

[@granttaylor3697]

Very well put together video on shortwave listing, I am sure it will help out a lot of people to get started. Just one correction DRM does not provide high quality audio as it uses a lossy audio encoder (AAC / AAC+) any where between 12kb/s to 21 kb/s which sounds very poor, as you will need to be up as high as 64 kb/s for it to sound more like FM radio quality. The best sounding audio you can get on AM radio is with C-QuAM (AM stereo), as it only has analog compression that can be reversed with aligned expander. As AM is a very efficient way to send information within a limited bandwidth, where digital modulation has a lot of difficulty sending enough useful data with the amount data correction required, this is why AM is still used widely today.

[@sergehoek8532]

Great vlog for me like a starter. Greetz from the Netherlands.

[@markwilliams8702]

What a great video. Very informational and interesting. I have been a keen SWLer for several years. I have collected several radios and antennas so i have learnt a lot thru using the equipment. This has been the best informational video out there. Except maybe for Gilles. Thanks again.

[@maikerumine]

This is the best intro vid on the subject I have ever seen! Great job!