Shortwave Radio Station Frequencies List [USA & Europe] (2024)

FAQs

Do countries still broadcast shortwave? ›

At the moment the major shortwave broadcasters are BBC, Voice of America, All India Radio, China Radio International, Radio Japan, Radio Romania, KBS Korea and Voice of Turkey and many more. Twenty years after the first big blow to shortwave, this frequency band and its potential is being revisited.

Specialized interests of shortwave listeners may include listening for shortwave utility, or "ute", transmissions such as shipping, sailing, naval, aviation, or military signals, listening for intelligence signals (numbers stations), or tuning in amateur radio stations.

shortwave radio, transmission and reception of information by means of electromagnetic waves about 10 to 80 m (33 to 262 feet) in length having frequencies of approximately 29.7 to 3.5 megahertz.

On a digital radio, simply input the frequency on the radio keypad or tune up/down to the frequency. Every digital radio is different, so consult your owner's manual for instructions. On an analog radio, make sure you have the appropriate shortwave frequency band selected, then tune to the station frequency.

We report in 27 languages and engage with audiences in 23 countries including Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, and the former Soviet republics of Central Asia. In FY2021, RFE/RL had an unduplicated weekly radio, television, and Internet audience of 37.1 million.

Among the options you can tune in on shortwave radio include music and news from other countries, strange political propaganda, and broadcasts from random amateurs (well, random licensed HAM operators) attempting to make contact with each other.

Shortwave broadcasts can be easily transmitted over a distance of several thousand miles, including from one continent to another.

Skywave Schedules

Here's another excellent shortwave radio app for Android users. Skywave schedules give you an easy way to track down the broadcasts that you most want to listen to.

Short waves direct at an angle into the sky can reflect back to earth at massive distances, often going beyond the horizon. This makes shortwave radio an excellent choice for long-distance communication. Shortwave isn't restricted by the straight lines that other radio waves often travel in.

How many shortwave bands are there? ›

And SSB is still the main transmit mode choice by a huge population of amateur radio operators. And most shortwave (SW) broadcasting is still AM.

When you have your own shortwave radio license, you can dive head-first into the incredible world of shortwave and make new friends with people across the globe. You will receive your own allocated callsign and be able to join in on those ham radio transmissions you have been listening to!

Nope. Police and other services are usually on VHF (2m) and UHF (70cm) bands and using FM modulation. PL-660's coverage of VHF is limited by broadcasting frequencies (87-108 MHz) and aviation band (118-137 MHz). VHF is everything from 30 to 300MHz and UHF is everything from 300MHz to 3GHz.

Evenings and weekends tend to be the best times to listen. There is more to learn by searching the web for "ham radio". Generally higher frequencies work better during the day and lower frequencies at night.

OSLO — Norway opened a chapter in telecommunications history on Wednesday, becoming the first country to cease FM radio broadcasting.

There's no confirmed timeline for analog radio to die out completely. In fact, there are plenty of reasons to keep it operational in some capacity. Especially since analog radio is more useful in an emergency situation. But a mainstream shift to digital radio is already taking place.

Thanks to a page called Radio Garden, you can listen to radio stations all over the world thanks to an interactive Earth. Click anywhere on the globe, and the page will let you listen for free to any radio station for that state or country.

“Shortwave audiences have been in decline since then.” “AM broadcasting is expensive, and, since the end of the Cold War, many Western governments don't see the need to spend large amounts on transmitting their output on shortwave,” said Sennitt. “As a result, some have closed down their shortwave services altogether.

Plasma televisions, WiFi routers, badly designed switching power adapters and Ethernet Over Powerlines (also known as powerline network technology, or PLT) all severely pollute the shortwave part of the radio spectrum.

How do I get the best shortwave reception? ›

Shortwave radio listening at home improve signal with a simple wire ...

The 5 watt radio can reach up to 12 miles or more. Some handheld radios have 6 watts which can reach up to 20 miles in the right conditions.

Transmitter power is limited to 4 watts in the US and the EU. CB radios have a range of about 3 miles (4.8 km) to 20 miles (32 km) depending on terrain, for line of sight communication; however, various radio propagation conditions may intermittently allow communication over much greater distances.

Most airband radios are 5 - 8 watts and typically have a range of around 200 miles.

Software developers have to eat too, so Shortwave is a paid service — it can access the past 90 days of your Gmail messages for free, but if you want to access older messages, you'll need to pay up.

But as radio technology developed, along with the mass adoption of online news, shortwave fell out of favour around the world. After 76 years, the BBC World Service ended its shortwave broadcast to Europe in 2008. This article was updated on 5 March 2022, to correct the local times of the BBC broadcast.

EchoLink. Available on both iOS and Android for free, the EchoLink app turns your smartphone into a HT, and allows you to access a network from your phone. You use the app to connect to the EchoLink system from a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, and then you can track your Ham connections wherever you like.

Like Freeview TV received over an aerial, traditional broadcast radio services don't require you to transmit anything to be able to receive a service. It's transmitted once, and anyone with a receiver can listen or watch. When someone uses a shortwave radio receiver, there's no lasting trace of them using it.

The shortwaves–which is to say, the high-frequency portion of the radio spectrum–will never disappear, even though international broadcasters may eventually fade into history.

Prohibition on use of the 700 MHz band

In 2010, the FCC prohibited the use of wireless mics and devices on unused broadcast channels on the 600 MHz service band and on the 700 MHz band – specifically the frequencies between 698 and 806 MHz.

What frequency does FBI use? ›

The primary communications mode is narrowband FM, but some AM is used by air units of the various services for tactical air-to-air comms. The military has a BIG (175 MHz) military aircraft band in the 225-400 MHz range. Basic spacing between channels is 25 kHz.

A shortwave radio listening hobby is quite different from the ham radio. Often, ham radio is compared to another communication radio device, the cb radio as they have the same purpose. While CB radio users don't need license, ham radio users are required to get ham radio license to operate.

Certain radio stations, however, especially the short-wave and AM bands, can travel much farther. Short-wave can circle the globe, and AM stations transmit hundreds of miles at night. This extended transmission is possible is because of the ionosphere -- one of the layers of the atmosphere.

Single Side Band uses High Frequency (HF) from 3 to 30 Mhz, with wavelengths of 10 to 100 meters (30 to 330 feet). These longer wavelength, low frequency signals will bounce off things, including the upper atmosphere.

Night hours are best for shortwave reception. You could also need an external antenna depending on how far you are listening from.

Shortwave listening

WWCR claims that there are 1.5 billion shortwave receivers worldwide. Many hobbyists listen to shortwave broadcasters.

But as radio technology developed, along with the mass adoption of online news, shortwave fell out of favour around the world. After 76 years, the BBC World Service ended its shortwave broadcast to Europe in 2008. This article was updated on 5 March 2022, to correct the local times of the BBC broadcast.

Today Voice of America is still broadcast around the world by shortwave radio from Greenville, North Carolina, along with other federally-produced programs aimed, especially, at Cuba. The facility called VOA Site B, also known as the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station, has been operating since 1963.

Does shortwave radio have a future? ›

The shortwaves–which is to say, the high-frequency portion of the radio spectrum–will never disappear, even though international broadcasters may eventually fade into history.

“Shortwave is still significant in much of Africa, South Asia and parts of Latin America.”

Nope. Police and other services are usually on VHF (2m) and UHF (70cm) bands and using FM modulation. PL-660's coverage of VHF is limited by broadcasting frequencies (87-108 MHz) and aviation band (118-137 MHz). VHF is everything from 30 to 300MHz and UHF is everything from 300MHz to 3GHz.

As a ham or amateur radio operator, you are allowed to operate in the internationally allocated Amateur Radio Bands, and you'll be able to communicate with other hams in those bands. However, to start communicating over any of those shortwavefrequencies, you'll need a license.

And SSB is still the main transmit mode choice by a huge population of amateur radio operators. And most shortwave (SW) broadcasting is still AM.

It is the “numbers station,” a shortwave radio station that broadcasts seemingly random number sequences – only the numbers reveal a code that spies use to receive messages from their governments.

Shortwave radio is a frequency that operates somewhere between the FM and AM bands on your standard radio set. Shortwave can travel exceptionally long distances, which makes it an excellent option for anyone hoping to reach a wide audience. In Canada, the US, and Europe, local FM/AM broadcasting is freely available.

Shortwave broadcasting can transmit radio signals more than 10,000 miles by bouncing high frequency waves off of the Earth's ionosphere.

Evenings and weekends tend to be the best times to listen. There is more to learn by searching the web for "ham radio". Generally higher frequencies work better during the day and lower frequencies at night.

Does weather affect shortwave radio? ›

Space weather impacts radio communication in a number of ways. At frequencies in the 1 to 30 mega Hertz range (known as “High Frequency” or HF radio), the changes in ionospheric density and structure modify the transmission path and even block transmission of HF radio signals completely.

You should have at least one radio that can receive NOAA weather alerts. A shortwave radio can pick up signals around the world, but only a shortwave radio with SSB capabilities can let you listen to all of them.