By Tim Lemmon, WK4U
Article 2 in a series of 5
People ask, is it possible to hear anything interesting on short wave radio at lunchtime? Does short wave radio even work during the daytime? Actually yes and yes. Lunch time is about the worst time to hear programming material on short wave radio. Why? Because world-wide broadcasters are beaming their signals to parts of the world that are currently in their evening hours. The thought is more people listen at home after work. They don't listen as much during the day. Especially at lunch time. But can we hear what is beamed towards Europe and Africa during our lunch time hours? YES! Don't worry, our time in the sun (ha) in North America will be here in about 5-6 hours. So here's a random pick of interesting stations we can hear around noontime in Atlanta on HF radio:
Starting at 11:00am:
- Hear the DX Partyline on 9955 from WRMI in Miami, Florida (Sun, Mon, Tue & Wed only).
- On Thursdays from 11:00 – 11:55am, you can hear a replay of the Happy Station (remember them!?) on 9955.
Starting at noon:
- 9800 is digital short wave radio from Sackville, Canada. You need a Free program on your computer (DReaM) to decode it, and an AM receiver with a bandwidth of 10 KHz. Outstanding audio quality!
- 9885 is our own VOA beaming to Africa. Signals are usually very good here (currently +20 dB at my house). Hear what our government wants others to know.
- 13590 is CVC religious programming in English from Zambia to Western Africa. Quite different from religious programming we normally hear on short wave! Hear it for yourself.
- 17640 is the BBC World Service from Ascension island to South Africa. Good signals in Atlanta. Probably best BBC signals to Atlanta now that they never beam to North America. Announcers have heavy African accent to help connect with their listeners.
- 17830 is the same BBC program beamed to West Africa.
- 6070 is a short wave relay of local AM 1010 CFRB in Toronto, Canada. Much the same format as our local AM 750 WSB. I think this transmitter is on 24/7.
- 9515 is Radio Canada International in English (with Canadian accent of course)!
Starting at 1:00pm:
- 15120 hosts the Voice of Nigeria in English. Broadcasts until 5:00pm with strong signals in Atlanta. Information from this country can be very interesting at times!
Next month, we'll move into the late afternoon hours and find some interesting things to hear on HF radio. Remember, HF radio signals are not reliable! If you don't hear one of these stations, try again the next day. You'll likely be pleasantly surprised.
Do you have any questions? Wonder where to tune for a particular country, or what you might be hearing? I'd love to hear from you. tim_lemmon@yahoo.com
Ahh the heat of Summer is finally here. Time for a siesta, hammock, cool drink, hot radio and overhead fan! Best of DX till next month.
Tim, WK4U.