Category Archives: Ham Radio

Ham Radio

The Sickness That is Short Wave Radio

I just took a little inventory of my short wave radios.  It shakes out like this:

  • Tecsun PL-660
  • Tecsun PL-880
  • Sangean ATS-909X
  • Kaito KA1103
  • Majestic El Cheapo Italian Radio
  • Tivdio V-115
  • C Crane SSB
  • Tecsun PL-365
  • Tecsun PL-380
  • Tecsun S2000
  • Tecsun PL-310ET
  • XHDATA D-808
  • Grundig Eton Satellit
Okay, you’re probably not reading this unless you are a Ham or an ShortWave Listener (SWL).  I probably seem like a rank amateur compared to many guys you’ve seen who have possibly dozens of more radios than I have.

Impressions of Kaito KA1103 Short Wave Radio

I have the shortwave radio bug.  It seems that it isn’t enough to own a shortwave radio and enjoy Short Wave Listening (SWL).  It seems one must own MANY radios to enjoy SWL.

One of my acquisitions was the Kaito KA1103.  I purchased mine from eBay from kaito-electronics for $60 as a used radio which I assume to mean “a returned radio” or a “refurbished radio”.

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Sangean ATS-909X Short Wave Radio

As I find myself getting into Short Wave Radio again I find myself picking up more radios to play around with and assess.  The latest acquisition is a Sangean ATS-909X.  $205!  OUCH!  But lets see what we have before we pass judgement.

First of all in the batch of current model short wave portable radios this is by far the most attractive of the bunch (in my opinion).  Attractive is good but sound, sensitivity, and selectivity are really what matters with a radio of this caliber.

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A Blog on Short Wave Radio

Here’s something you haven’t heard about in a while.  Short Wave Radio.  Heck, walk around Walmart, Best Buy, Target, wherever and you CAN’T EVEN FIND A SHORTWAVE RADIO IN THE STORES ANYMORE.  It seems like a dead medium.  And yet it isn’t.

When I was a young boy I had a great big tube Short Wave receiver that a friend of my fathers gave to me, and that’s the way it worked back then.  The old hams would happily teach the up and coming hams.  Anyway I spent untold hours listening to that thing and was always stunned and amazed at how much content and how varying it was.   And of course back then the prize was listening to a station as far away as possible.

Well, Short Wave sure has changed.  There aren’t nearly as many stations, even less high power stations and most of Short Wave seems to be mostly Christian content, and political propaganda. Also you’ll find a healthy dose of Patriot and Prepper community folks and alternative news sources.  And when I mean alternative, I mean alternative.  Out there stuff.   Also you’ll hear hams talking, morse code (CW) and various types of data, some of it critical such as NOAA Weather Fax (WEFAX), Radio Teletype (RTTY), and real life spies transmit coded messages called “Numbers Stations” on Short Wave as well.   Short Wave is very much still alive and well but clearly not as active as when I was a kid in the 60’s and 70’s.

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Tecsun PL-880 Line Out Recording Short Wave

The Tecsun PL-880 is one of the finer Short Wave table top radios being made today.  One of the best features of it is that it has a Line Out feature which means you can plug it into a computer and record.  Well………..sorta.  If you plug it into a computer it is full blast line out which overloads and distorts awfully.  There are no instructions in the manual for turning down the Line Out volume however there is a super top-secret page of firmware hidden features that tells you how to turn down every band EXCEPT short wave.  Here’s the entry:

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