At 52, I'm just getting back into SWL. Sadly, there's not as much as there used to be. When I was a kid in the 70s, I would listen to my dad's sw. It was so magical to me to pickup obscure and far away broadcasts!! Although now the internet communicates a cross the world with ease, it doesn't have the same effect as finding something on sw. Thanks for the video!!!

@Gen_Kael

9 ай бұрын

It'll make a come back.

@richardgarno6591

6 ай бұрын

A family friend gave me an old radio in the 70’s. I didn’t listen often, until I picked up what I think was a Russian guy one night. Then I listened almost every night.

@siatonto420

2 ай бұрын

@@Gen_Kaelwhen the internet is taken back away from us it certainly will

@geraldscott4302

2 ай бұрын

The internet can be shut down and/or censored by the government anytime. It's a lot more difficult to stop radio signals from coming in, because they have no control of the source.

You have definitely brought back a lot of memories. In the late 50s, early 60s my friends and I would go to the Army Navy surplus and buy ww2 field radios. Then string wire down fence lines (there was definatly a different neighborly mind set then) crank the handle and talk to each other. We thought we were so cool then. Our buddy's dad installed a ham radio tower in his backyard (couldn't do it now for someone would have a hissy fit) WOW it was great talking to Australia. For some reason I can still remember his call letters. Anyway now that I'm retired the interest is back and am starting a new/old hobby.

@jacianmcgurk7424

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Charlie,read your name and thought you were just up the road from myself,then as i read your story i realise you must be in the USA , lol Any way into the same stuff myself with all the wires it entails 😃 You take care and all the best from Scotland my friend CHEERS Ian

@televisionarchivestudios1130

2 жыл бұрын

Same here. The only issue now is that you can't pick up many quality Shortwave stations

@Scufdavid12

Жыл бұрын

im 14 year old just got interested in shortwave i wish i lived that experiences seems so fun!

@avflyguy

Жыл бұрын

Wow.. Charlie, Must be around same age. As pre-teens (early 60's), Me and my neighorhood friend would stay up half the night in our 'club house' as we called it as kids. Around an 8x12 wooden shack we built in the back yard and ran a long wire antenna. Heard all kinds of stuff. VOA was always loud and clear and tons of stuff in foreign language. Skip played a big part in what we could hear all over the world. Late night/early morning seems best cause the noise would be less to hear more + time zones played a part too. I'd like to dabble in it again, but in huge metroplitan area with cell towers, microwave, and so many commercial bands, I just wonder what I could really hear anymore?

@jml11158

Жыл бұрын

Great times, long live SW radio.

I loved listening to Greenwich meantime and random Eurupean stations back during the Cold War. Made me feel like I was an espionage agent.

@FarpointFarms

6 ай бұрын

ha, I think I would feel the same way

As a Radio Shack manager for 13 years in the late 70’s to 90’s , I picked up a DX-440 shortwave radio. It is a portable unit , so I can use it with battery or ac. A lot of times we used the larger desktop units on Saturday with the rooftop antennas to pickup the English football (soccer) matches while we worked.

My dearly departed Dad was a radio nut. He had a rather interesting collection. He had an old Yaesu FT-401D and used a D-104 mic and had it all connected to a huge Moonraker beam antenna on a 30 ft tower. I remember listening to him talking to his friend in Australia a few times a week. He had CB radios and not all of his equipment and mods were legal. This was back in the mid 1970's when I was a young teen. And he did all the work on them himself. He was quite the radio nerd.

I'm totally with you on the SW fade in/out being pleasurable to listen to. It's funny how some people just don't like it. I find it very pleasing and dream like...and relaxing. Long may it continue...

@1neAdam12

7 ай бұрын

Can't be any worse than a Livestream podcast buffering.

@hombre1965

5 ай бұрын

Yes! Nothing gives you that feeling of exotic distance like the fading in and out. Its just adds to the mysterious atmosphere of SW.

I am 80 years old and I lived in England and I remember listening on SW to voice of America for the Apollo space flights and the moon landings also to Russian radio for their space flights as well as many other stations around the world .And as you said what we are told by our domestic radio /tv can be totally different from other countries and is not always the true story. Example I now live in France and the history of France I learnt in England is very different to the history I now know about France

@FarpointFarms

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for commenting on this. You are so correct about history from other perspectives.

@benhur563

6 ай бұрын

@daciamcv1026 Oh yes ! I remember listening to the Voice of America for the 2nd launch of Space Shuttle Columbia. Wiki has it that it was on the 12th of november, 1981. 42 years ago !

After I picked up CB radio i came across Shortwave radio listening. And I believe to support shortwave radio you have to support the makers of shortwave radio. I now am a proud owner of some shortwave radios like the Qodosen SR-286 XHDATA D808 Tecsun PL330 Tecdsun PL990x Sangean ATS 909x2 so if you want to support shortwave radio or CB radio buy the products like CB radios or shortwave radios. Greetings from the Netherlands!

@FarpointFarms

Ай бұрын

Good point. I really like the XHdata radios.

As a ham for the last 40 years, it was back in the late 1970’s I walked into an electronics store and asked the guy if he could order this Kenwood transceiver and he said..” well, you’re better off with CB etc. Etc. “. Took another 2 years before I took my tests at a military base and upgraded at 201 Varick St. in Manhattan. The nostalgic presentation you’ve provided here stirs up so many great memories. I had a friend, long gone, who as a kid, copied code from the Carpathia to the Titanic. OTher friend stationed in Alaska during WWII powered the filaments of huge transmitting tubes to generate heat and stay warm.... these were older guys at the time but their stories inspired me to learn code and take the exams

This seems like something that would come in handy during the apocalypse

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

I was thinking the same thing.

@g4okt

3 жыл бұрын

Not really to be honest, who will you talk to? What type of apocalypse? Nuclear?

@tonyk8592

3 жыл бұрын

@@g4okt It's not about 'talking" to anyone. It's about gathering anecdotal info on what's going on "out there", without making yourself "known".

@g4okt

3 жыл бұрын

@@tonyk8592 In the case of an EMP issue, you won't be hearing much, '...without making yourself known? What's all that about?

@tonyk8592

3 жыл бұрын

@@g4okt Agreed on the EMP, but EMP is only one of many scenarios. Almost every other scenario will have power available, and people will be talking. Stealth, is what all the other stuff is about. Some people prefer it, particularly in a case of societal upheaval. You only need to Observe Seattle, Portland, Kenosha as examples.

Growing up in India, I was introduced to DXing and shortwave listening. Gettting mail from Radio Netherland or Swiss Broadcasting Corporation was like hitting the jackpot. Getting QAL cards...I can really get nostalgic. Now I have the money to buy the best Shortwave listening instrument but no time. Sooooo sad. Thank you for the talk though.

I got interested into shortwave when my uncle showed me his basement lab back in the mid 70's. After hearing radio Australia on a vintage Halicrafters and I was hooked. The first radio I bought with my own money as teen was the DX100. The radio lasted about a year until some static electricity killed it with a $150 repair bill back in 1982. Luckily my mon was able to get the store manager to do the repair for free and the radio ran great for the next 10 years.

I remember as a kid my scoutmaster had a 48 Buick with a factory shortwave radio.

@FarpointFarms

Жыл бұрын

How cool that it came with a factory Shortwave

Fifty years ago I listen to either Radio Russia, BBC or DW (Germany) while stationed in Vietnam. At nights, there where many musical programs. I was based at a remote observation post and without this SW radio, I would have died of boredom!

Wow, this brought back a lot of memories. I've been a ham for over 40 years but before that I was a SWL (Short Wave Listener). I used to listen to a Canadian program called "As It Happens" at 5960 kHz. One night, in early 1979, they were interviewing, by telephone and through an interpreter, an Iranian religious leader living in exile in Paris, France. He stated that he was returning to Iran to lead a revolution and get rid of the current government. He was the Ayatollah Khomeini.

@fattymatty5380

11 ай бұрын

Wow..that is amazing. I'm 62 and my Dad was an amateur radio enthusiast. I never got into amateur radio when I was a kid despite his desire for me to be but I had a similar interest in AM radio. I grew up in a small city in Indiana and I loved being able to hear radio from such exotic locales as Pittsburgh, Nashville, Cleveland and Detroit with my little transistor radio tucked under my pillow. Well here I am 50 years later and I now have an interest in shortwave. A buddy of mine is a life long amateur radio nerd and he's really excited for me to take up this hobby so he's going to offer all the help I need (and sending me a radio for free). He asked what I wanted to hear and I told him "weird stuff." The YTer referred to weird stuff as well and your story about hearing the Ayatollah Khomeini would have been of great interest to me. I actually was sort of taken by Brother STair years ago when he broadcasted on WLAC Nashville which eventually beame a Clear Channel station but just the idea that this apocalyptic preacher in South Carolina could have this world wide presence on short wave was fascinating to me. The numbers stations fascinate me too but I can't imagine listening to them for more than a few minutes.

One of my favorite shortwave radio books was Passport to world band radio, Great video thanks😊

That old radio is so cool.Just imagining a family sitting around listening to their favorite radio shows on that thing.Very nice looking radio.

I spent my teenage years listening to HF radio stations around the world. VOA, Russia, Arab stations, European , even south American and Australia. Also loved listening to aviation Comms around the world.

I grew up in the Cape Town suburb of Sea Point, in an apartment above a laundry with static so my shortwave limited to night time. It was great hearing the Voice of America and BBC that was 55 years ago. I built my own 3 valve radio using valves from ex army radios sold for pennies. Later in 1975 I bought an early transistor Radio Shack shortwave and tool it on business trips with me ( by car ) to an area called the great Karoo. Fantastic reception area

@FarpointFarms

5 ай бұрын

Sounds like a great adventure into radio for sure.

Three years late to the party here……… The ‘TV Sound’ function was REALLY helpful here in Arkansas when tornados were on the way & the power had gone out. At least we could get local Wx information. The NWS radio signal here back then (80s) was prone to being garbled. No one to my knowledge ever figured out ‘why’ that was, and it’s been solved since, but the local TV stations had the most current Wx updates. Tuning in to ‘TV Sound’ & the local Wx man saved our bacon a few times.

@FarpointFarms

7 ай бұрын

Hey- better late than never- Tornados are very scary in my book, the power of mother nature is unreal

I have had that hobby since I was 12. I'm 54 now and still doing it.

@bill-2018

3 жыл бұрын

13 for me with a one valve kit: the H.A.C., Hear All Continents. 65 now. Amateur radio at 19. G4GHB. .

Great stuff. Fascinating to me who really doesn’t know much about this but has always been interested.

Brings so much nostalgia. Excellent presentation

You do great videos. I have bin into listening to anything for many years now. shortwave and CB and ham, Police scanner. Very good you mentioned the single side band feature makes a shortwave radio listening into a ham radio listening radio also. That was a must have feature that I needed to have on my radio. Thank you for your great video keeps people entertained during these crazy times with the virus.

I came to the right place! Thanks for sharing your valuable info. And that bit about perpective. By the time your video was over I had already bought one : )

My dad had a friend when I was very young who had an old Hallicrafters S-40. I always loved to play with it when we would go visit him. I went from there to an Extra class ham radio license, a First Class FCC Commercial license and a life long career in television broadcasting. That was probably my earliest interest in radio communications.

@FarpointFarms

6 ай бұрын

The spark certainly seems to have turned in to a wild fire for you!

In the 60s I used old clock radios as a source of long single strand copper wire for an antenna. They had a motor run clock which was easy to get the wire bobbin off the motor core. IIRC it was 20 AWG solid wire. Nowadays curbside junk picks for these types of motors might be weedeaters and vacuum cleaners. Big appliances have a lot of intricacies that prevent easy unwinding.

I have Tecsun 660 - probably best portable shortwave radio today. I am using it during breaks in work in my garden. Listening for SW outside house is even better because noise of modern electronics is lower there.

@FarpointFarms

Жыл бұрын

Agreed. The farther you get from power, the better the reception.

While stationed in Germany in early 90s, I owned a portable dual cassette/AM/FM/SW(shortwave) radio (think small boombox) which I used to listen to BBC, and other short-wave English stations, along with the German FM stations.

I just bought a SW radio on Amazon but I need this one! Awesome.

I just found your channel, I absolutely love all your videos on radio, especially CB!

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

Awesome, thank you!

Long live radio shack! Excellent presentation too

Beginning around 40 years ago in my youth, DXing - complete with the outdoor wire antenna - was my hobby and marveled at listening to radio stations all over the world. Now I can do the same with internet radio. In fact, I still listen to my favorite BBC World Service online now as I used to listen to it on short wave and on local AM and FM in a good number of cities and countries around the world then.

Thanks for your video! As I have said before, you and I have a lot of the same hobbies. I’m an ASE master auto instructor, outdoorsman, gardener, and a CB and ham operator. I have been looking into shortwave lately and now you post this video. I’m thinking I might pick up a SSB radio soon in the $100ish range. I remember shortwave radios in my grandparents houses when I was little and I was drawn to them. It’s a shame SW and CB have declined over the years. Ham seems to be doing better attracting younger people after accepting new digital technologies. If we all get on the radio and participate, maybe things will turn around again. I look forward to all of your videos from the farm.

What memories! The Radio Shack rig in your thumbnail was my pride and joy way back in 1983.

I still have my DX-160 that my daddy bought me in 1976. It's still hooked up to a long wire antenna.

@FarpointFarms

2 ай бұрын

how cool is that. Glad to hear that you kept it

I can recommend the software defined radios available today! They have up converters to allow you to listen to very low frequency broadcasts, all the way to microwave aircraft and space communications! When I started, you only had VHF and up, which was still educational, and you could use mapping software to show where aircraft were flying in the area, as well as satellites overhead! But the software and hardware allows you to hear ham radio CW or Morse code, SSB, Single Side Band, as well as Teletype and digital communications! All for less than $200 for new hardware! Add your computer and antennas, and you can listen in on the world! Or you can buy an old, but working, shortwave receiver, and just listen to the many stations still working, but many of the old AM radio stations are shutting down as the technology makes them obsolete. The thing is, you have many things to do, it never gets old as you discover other methods of communicating!

@FarpointFarms

8 ай бұрын

I do like SDR for playing around with the strange stuff, but prefer old school dial operated radios for real listening.

Great memories for me as well. I had a ham licence in the 70’s and had an HRO 1- 30 MHz ? Forgotten now…world war 2 valve receiver ! Super set. I strung up a long dipole antenna and rigged up an electrical tuner. I could listen to the world from Public broadcasts to ham to police… great fun! After I took up career at sea I always used a Sony Multi band to get news out on the ocean. I guess the seafaring lot are among the only lot still interested in SW!!

I had a Heathkit SW-717 back in the 80s and heard a lot on it. When I got my ham ticket, I started using my Kenwood TS-140S ham transceiver. There was a lot of stuff to listen to back in the day, but not much now.

Great video. The late Art Bell had the antenna! 5 acres of it. Thanks for sharing.

Nice presentation. I became enchanted by shortwave radio at about 10 years old.... Got an advanced class Ham ticket and still have my Hammarlund HQ-180 and Hallicrafters HT-37 in perfect shape. Just kinda sad that the bands are not nearly as alive as they used to be, but times change, and as you said, there's still interesting stuff there.

Thanks for the explanation. Love listening to radios and ham. I’ll have to see if I can find a shorty. New sub.

In the 60s 70s 80s my dad in New Jersey would listen to Brazilian Radio stations on short wave especially to hear soccer games from brazil. It would go in and out and would only work at soecific times. I rem he told me at some point a russian station would play over the brazilian one at a certain time. My dads favorite brand was Grundig.

@FarpointFarms

Жыл бұрын

Love that fading effect!

To expand on what I commented on regarding police/fire communications, the signals can still be heard, but since they are digital, it will sound like noise, not people talking. Good that you mentioned that too.

Nice video, brought back memories when i used to hook up a long wire and listen to distant stations and get QSL cards as acknowledgement. Sad those days are gone!

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing

Quality journalism. That's really informative. Thanks 👍. Paul, UK England 🙂🇬🇧

That's a great dial on that old radio. As soon as you see it, it makes sense. Thanks for taking the time to make and share the video!

@FarpointFarms

6 ай бұрын

I do love the looks of this one.

I still enjoy listening to shortwave and in my collection have a Realistic DX 160, a Yaesu FRG7 or a Frog 7 and both of those radios while from the 70's are still fully functional. Lastly a newer Crane "CC Radio SW", a newer digital radio. Enjoy, David W5DPV

You provoked my nostalgia. I loved listening to SW stations mostly because of the magic of long distance radio> As a radio engineering student I had the chance to visit the biggest Soviet SW radio transmission station close to Moscow back in the seventies. The output power was around 1MW. Boy that was something I still remember: the huge fountain in the front yard which turned to be part of the water cooling system, the huge tubes much higher than me, the anode coil with water running inside to cool>>everything was huge. And then the vast nearby antenna field!

@nextellcup8

3 жыл бұрын

that would have been awesome to see

@Ind421

2 жыл бұрын

You didn't mention RF burns.

@robertfoster6070

2 жыл бұрын

Спасибо!

Found a 70's era Realistic Dx 160 at a local hamfest. Works great on AM. Drifts on sideband. Needs some TLC but sounds pretty good. A fan of shortwave since the late 70's.-N4TCM

@FarpointFarms

4 ай бұрын

Wonderful old school radio for sure.

Thank you for your show that I'm interested in

My grandpa is a radio enthusiast because my great grandpa ran a radio shop. Recently he gave me one of his old radio and it’s exciting to see how much you could do with it.

Interesting discussion. I have listened to a lot of foreign broadcasts over the years on old radios since I was a kid. Living in the Philippines for many years now it would be interesting to see what I could pick up here.

Thanks for another awesome video!

Excellent video! I still use my first shortwave radio from the late 90’s, MFJ 8100 kit that I assembled, with a 12 foot piece of wire for an antenna. Still gets the job done.

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

Very cool!

I used to listen to Radio Moscow in the 1970s and 1980s, some of the broadcasts were a hoot.

@Camman010

3 жыл бұрын

I use to listen to them and Radio Cuba English news as well as The Voice of America, Radio Canada and the BBC. I would hate it when the US would jam Radio Moscow and Radio Cuba. If you were listening back then you might remember the, "Russian Woodpecker" over the horizon radar that would move through the shortwave band with that distinctive clicking?

@bill-2018

3 жыл бұрын

Another one: Radio Tirana made it sound like the best country in the World.

@joesmoe71

3 жыл бұрын

We've got plenty of domestic equivalents to Soviet radio now, no need to turn to SW.

@johnkimbalb

3 жыл бұрын

@@joesmoe71 just about all of them

So thrilled to happen upon your channel. My fiance is into sw & feel I need to understand it.😎 Thanks.👍

@PepperandCaseysRV

3 жыл бұрын

What an awesome woman.

I still have some portable shortwave radios. I had a little Sony very small multi and Shortwave radio I used when I worked in the jungles of West Africa to get VOA, BBC and Radio Moscow to get the news. The Africans used them to get daily gold price as there were many artisan gold miners.

@FarpointFarms

Жыл бұрын

Cool! I can imagine the importance of daily prices for those workers.

Thank you for keeping this exciting passtime alive, long live SW radio and all broadcast radio stations.

@FarpointFarms

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoy it!

Growing up in the 70s, short wave was amazing. Most countries had a shortwave presence. Unfortunately they have switched to having internet streaming which is much cheaper then running 250KW to 500KW transmitters. But if you do get a SW Receiver, get a good one with SSB as there are plenty of ham radio activity and we are coming up on good radio conditions. You may even get the bug to get your own license and the code requirement for a license was dropped a long time ago. There are still a handful of broadcasters left to hear also, but way to many religious ones!

@ronalddaub7965

3 жыл бұрын

Love 40 m SSB and others Have realistic 160

@AdamosDad

3 жыл бұрын

🎙73's kd9oam

@RJDA.Dakota

3 жыл бұрын

Which is unfortunate because the internet can go down, shut off or censored in one way or the other. Shortwave can cover the world. An XHData 808 or a Tecsun 330 is an excellent beginner radio. As they shut off the analogue it seems like they’re trying on purpose to keep us in the dark.

I have listened to sw stations since I was a kid. I enjoy listening on my Drake R8(what a great receiver) with a 200 or so ft random wire antenna.

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

With 200 feet I'll be you can hear nearly every station!

@RJDA.Dakota

3 жыл бұрын

200’ ! That’s one heck of a long wire antenna. Should get all kinds of stations. Hams and utilities are a great time.

Great review and some cool radios Erik , I haven’t listened to shortwave in a few years but I’m itching to get back into it .

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

You should! It's really neat tuning in all those distant stations. I spend about 30 minutes a night playing with the old tube radio I have setup.

Great video! This exact Realistic DX-302 is what got me hooked on SW. Heard and still hear oddities over the air. This radio also got me to get my ham license as well.

@RJDA.Dakota

3 жыл бұрын

My very first experience with shortwave was my uncle’s Sears branded Sangean shortwave radio. I originally bought an Astronaut 4 by Realistic.

Bought a Sony ICF-2002 shortwave with side band years ago. I take good care of it and it still looks and runs like brand new. Also bought at great little radio called the Kaito KA1102. Full coverage plus side band. Much smaller than my Sony. I loved it so much I bought a second one for backup and found great protective mil-spec cases for them that fit like a glove with room for an extra length of wire to boost signal. Used to have a Panasonic RF-2200 and had a long wire outside for it and my Sony. Great table radio. But my Kaito KA1102 are much smaller and more compact for putting in my backpack for travel in the world. And they work great. Love ‘em. 👍🏼😃

I frequently pick up Radio Romania on my IC-718 with the long wire.

@bill-2018

3 жыл бұрын

I find R.R. very interesting.

Hey I had that black portable radio with the handles when I was a kid (now 44)- its actually the reason I'm looking into radio options again.

I love to fall asleep to coast to coast am on a station 400 miles from my home. I love the signal fading. It actually helps me to fall asleep. I love AM radio and shortwave am and single side and radio!

Cool video. I did pick up a Patrolman SW 60 from a antique shop in PA for $20 about six months ago. It works great and the only thing that doesn’t work is the switch for the light. (The dial light is on all the time.) It also has marked on the dial where to find the weather station which is pretty cool. Best twenty bucks I spent in a very long time.

@FarpointFarms

2 жыл бұрын

Very cool!

Greetings from México.i listen sw radio.

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for listening

Another excellent video I have a couple of multiband radios and I always enjoy listening to am and sw dx at night.

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

AM DXing is also very fun. I'm going to make a video on that soon.

Watching this video reminded me of one of my 4th grade buddies whose dad was from the PI and had a large Sony shortwave multi-mode that he allowed us to listen to at night on the weekends. Great memories as I'm 61 now. All those foreign stations, well, looking back at those days now it is obvious that listening to those signals and finding new ones, is what got the spark ignited in me and I still enjoy The MAGIC that is RADIO today. Also wanted to add, that I got the idea that I wanted an automobile shortwave radio for my truck, that it would make waiting to pick up my youngest son in the school's pickup line more tolerable so I started searching and found there are many automotive sized vehicle radios available on the market so check them out as well, if ya so inclined.

I have a dx 302 like the one in your video. Great radio. I've had it for over 20 years. I listen to WRMI out of Florida. I wish there was more programs on. Sadly though it's getting slim out there. Keep up the good videos

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

This is a GREAT radio!! I use it mostly for AM clear channels, but it's great as shortwave as well.

My first SW radio was a Realistic DX100, when they cost $100! I was getting better news from Radio Moscow than I was from the TV news!

@ALSmith-zz4yy

3 жыл бұрын

That was my first SW radio too. I also remember listening to Radio Moscow. It was quite amusing.

Terrific Video. What a blast from the past. 60 years ago the short wave bands were full of interesting stations to listen to, today most of them are gone as they switched to streaming services online. What's left are mostly religious stations, and Radio Cuba of course. Still, this video brought back fond memories.

Awesome! Great info👍

In my early teens, I started out with a Realistic (Radio Shack) DX 160. That was in the late '70s. I climbed many trees to run long wire antennas then created some diapol antennas. Eventually, I had a Kenwood R5000. It was a fun hobby, I didn't die falling from a tree and there was a lot to hear, remember those number stations? I would like to pick up a radio and experiment again, mostly for ham bands and whatever else is left to hear.

@JohnL1950

3 жыл бұрын

So did I. Back in the 60s. All nighter's dxing.

@Hidden_Destinations

6 ай бұрын

So did I! DX-160, I was so proud to have that radio.

@user-xf3en8ih3d

2 ай бұрын

Great show learned a lot.

Just a note to add that two other older but pretty good radios to consider are the Grundig YB-400 'Yacht Boy' series and the more recent Grundig G5. The latter is a very nice radio with the one exception that sometimes the surfaces of the radio can get sticky with age. Mine has not done that and I use it everyday.

@FarpointFarms

Жыл бұрын

I'll keep an eye out for them!

That patrolman. I had one just like it when I was young. It died when my mum took it out to sunbathe and it warped bad in the sun ending it's life. I missed it for a long time.

@FarpointFarms

Жыл бұрын

What a shame that she ruined it like that- not intentional of course, but still

Back when California had the earth quake . Phone lines went to no incoming calls. You could call out but people couldn’t call you . This one ham operator was taking calls from the radio and the using his phone to call for people so see if they were ok . He did it for 3 days with rest no sleep. He was amazing.

The no-name one you have there is the same as my Radioshack SW100.

Been listening to Shortwave since the mid 1960s. Lots of changes but overall there is still a lot of interesting stations and countries of origin. I have a few of the new radios which I really don't use. I still prefer my Dx-160-DX200-Dx302 Realistic's and a star roamer. Shortwave is far from dead. Mid Wave is one of my favorites and at night stations jump in and out from many hundreds of miles away. A good antenna is a must and a good ground and then the bands open up. I use a 200ft end-fed copper wire antenna and a few shorter runs for the higher bands. Great channel and a very interesting hobby with rewards.

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

I can't wait to get this antenna project done so I can really hear the world!

@cbradioghosttalk1986

3 жыл бұрын

@@FarpointFarms I Know the feeling. Always excited about Antenna projects etc. Yesterday at about 5:45pm EST. I Tuned in a numbers station. The station was in Spanish but clearly a numbers station. 13 Mhz. Hadn't heard a spy station in a good while but they are there. Was using Realistic DX-200.

Good Day & Very Well Presented, As Always. I started listening to SW about 1961, with a long wire out door antenna. Great listening in those days. Much less today. I have a 100 foot outdoor wire antenna connected to a TECSUN PL-880 that I bought two years ago. It does serve my purpose pretty well. I listen to SW & HAM mostly. Thanks & Best Regards.

@FarpointFarms

Ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing, take care my friend

Great video! i got my first shortwave radio in 1985. A Sony ICF-2010 portable unit that still work great to this day. i also own a Realistic DX375 wich is my lower end SWR. Finally i have a Grundig YB 300PE A small portable unit that deliver good result. In the 90's i made a hobby following aircraft coming from europe and heading to Montreal. I got the signal for the north atlantic route infos Nat-A, Nat-B...on the lower sideband and using an active SW antenna since i did'nt have the space for a long wire antenna. A message would last 10 to 15 seconds. During that small period of time you got a string of infos giving you all the details about the flight. When the flight came close to Montréal, i would switch to my Realistic pro-2006 scanner to follow the flignt till landing. With radios, even today you can have a good hobby listening to whatever you like.

This is great, thank you for explaining this. I want to show this to all the people that think the little chinese hand held is the do all end all radio. I tell them there is so much more out there but they don't seem to want to hear it. Go figure

My love for DXing began in the mid 1950's with Hallicrafters S38-B that my father purchased. I've listened to Castro in 1959, the Kennedy assassination coverage, November 22,1963, the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and MLK in 1968. I miss the late Joe Adamov on Radio Moscow and I also miss Radio Netherlands. Joe Adamov, on his talk show " Moscow Mailbag" would always end with a joke about Communist Russia. A favorite one went along similar to these words: " Comrade is a country the size of Israel big enough to hold the Soviet Union? No Comrade a country the size of Israel is too small to hold the Soviet Union! What about Italy? Again Comrade, Italy is too small to hold the Soviet Union! What about France? Comrade a country the size of France is too small to hold the Soviet Union! What about the Sahara Desert? Yes Comrade the Sahara Desert is big enough to hold the Soviet Union! But I must warn you Comrade, eventually there will be a shortage of sand!"

Great video. Super interesting. Thank you.

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

We may need shortwave to get news. We seem to be getting very little from local and national outlets.

@j.d.schultzsr.9215

3 жыл бұрын

Dennis Blass, Why do you need shortwave when your president gives you tweets 5X/day???

I find the really cheap entry level sets are fun but are missing some of the bands where commercial shortwave now live. My suggestion is to try and get one of the mid priced sets. . You;ll be glad you did. Far better selectivity, sensitivity and you'll get all the bands. The Tecsun PL-310 is affordable at about $40 and will get you there with 4 IF filters built in. If you have a flair for vintage, keep your eye on ebay and the Radio Shack DX-200 or 300 model. A little further up scale is Eaton/Grundig's S-350 or S350DL. Fantastic radio big full sound and Full coverage including stereo FM. The cheepies are not half the fun not to mention the aenemic performance as ones just a bit up the price scale and you'll find twice the signals to listen to. Take it from an old ham/sw person with a big collection. Oh and if you can find one that has usb/lsb modes..you'll also get to hear all the ham radio signals too. And that'll open wide the doors of shortwave listening.

Absolutely spot on Steve Brian.❤️

@FarpointFarms

6 ай бұрын

Thank you kindly

Quite simply....I enjoyed this video, looking forward to the Longwire.

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

You and me both!

"It's weird...and I love weird!" Right on, brother!

@patrickbodine1300

3 жыл бұрын

"Normal" is boring.😁👍

@stevenredman1582

3 жыл бұрын

Go Bucks..!!

@morganrussman

3 жыл бұрын

@@patrickbodine1300 huza to that. What is normal anyway? 🙂🤠😄

My dad once told me that at the beginning of WW2, people in my birth town disabled short wave receivers of folks who were German immigrants. They apparently feared they would receive info from overseas and act on it. It should have never happened IMHO!

@hokep61

2 жыл бұрын

At that time, it was illegal for stores to sell radios with working shortwave bands. That applied to everyone, not just certain groups. The SW portion of the radio had to be disabled. After the war, it was ok to reconnect that portion. I've restored a couple of radios from that period that still had the shortwave bands disconnected.

Shortwave listening is wonderful hobby..I love it since child..nice to hear sounds of people from strange lands ..love it love it till the day I die.

Excellent video/s, great information. A please to watch! Thank you!!

@FarpointFarms

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! Thank for watching

Hello, good morning, thanks for the video, that reminded me a lot of my dad who already died when we were kids, he had a tube radio and had several short-band frequencies and in the afternoon he spread out a Mundi map to see where the station we were listening to was and We with my brother were amazed at how far we could hear and they were very rare languages ​​for us at that time, thanks for the explanations, God bless you.

@FarpointFarms

3 жыл бұрын

Sounds like some neat memories!

Building my own HF receivers in the 1950s and 1960s was what started me on a great electronics career. REAL electronics, not computers.

@Gogogordy1

2 жыл бұрын

Now you're carbon-dating yourself! LOL

@joewoodchuck3824

2 жыл бұрын

@@Gogogordy1 Yup.

@joaovitormatos8147

2 жыл бұрын

That's probably the most "ok boomer" comment ever

@Marg1312

2 жыл бұрын

I hate to say it, but yes. Computers are the future of electronics, so they must be incorporated wherever they can be useful! I should note also that computers and HF are not at odds - quite the contrary! Digital HF modes allow for secure messages to be quickly sent, either in the form of voice or data. I should finally add that computers can enhance “real” electronics. Computer chips like arduinos create an interface between digital and analog, giving the opportunity to correct the operation of the analog system. There are lots of possibilities thanks to computers, especially with radios! They’re not that bad ;)

@tresfingeros

2 жыл бұрын

@@Gogogordy1 guess I fall under that statement too👍😂🤣 in the late 70s I built a dish and receiver before dish was around and cable was pretty new..but they got their signals from towers as they do today. I could pick up channels from England, France and Japan as well.

Just retired and bought a second home in Canton N c, had my license 35 years ago and let it laps, studying the ARRL manual now, hope to get back on the air. Great video, thanks!

Straight to the point, covering all bases. Excellent explanation, thank you. Regards from NZ.

@FarpointFarms

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching- take care my friend

Digital alone won't guarantee "no drift". Even phase locked loops are only as good as the stability of the oscillator driving them.

@acoustic61

2 жыл бұрын

Virtually any crystal oscillator reference used for PLL would outperform a tuning capacitor. I'd be more concerned with sensitivity and selectivity when searching for a good radio.

Look up "radio garden" for radio stations around the world.

@paulpearce1161

3 жыл бұрын

Many thanks for the info Keith much appreciated.

@RJDA.Dakota

3 жыл бұрын

A better choice is tune-in or shoutcast.