# Shortwave radios in emergency situations



## Fetthunter

We have a Grundig S350 AM/FM/SW radio. Great for local broadcasts, and if there ARE no local broadcasts (due to disaster), you can hit the shortwave bands and listen to broadcasts from further away (domestically and internationally). 

What do you have for gathering information in the event of an emergency?


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## justsayno

do you have a power source for it? I hear that they sell crank powered ones? I am not sure though


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## Denny

At home, we just got a battery operated AM/FM radio. I plan on getting one of those crank radios with shortwave capabilities and a handheld CB.


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## Denny

justsayno said:


> do you have a power source for it? I hear that they sell crank powered ones? I am not sure though


I saw some crank ones online. I think it was like www.newegg.com or something. I'll try and find it. I also saw one for sale on www.woot.com , but who knows what they'll have up for sale next...


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## OldTXCop

County Comm has some small shortwave radios that run on batteries. I thought they looked pretty interesting, but wasn't sure what I could use them for. Check them out.

www.countycomm.com


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## bkt

Got a crank/battery/mains am/fm/sw radio.

Does anyone have a list of channels/stations on the sw band that might be good to try to tune into? That would be handy to keep with the radio.


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## Fetthunter

Before buying a radio, check Amazon.com for customer reviews on it. That's what I did with my S350. Read the reviews, then bought on from an estate sale for $40 off eBay. 

For power, right now it's just AC and battery powered. I have a LiION battery charger and lots of LiION AA batteries. I'd like to get a solar charger to power the battery charger so that I can use the radio at night, too, with the batteries. It's a future plan.


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## Fetthunter

bkt said:


> Got a crank/battery/mains am/fm/sw radio.
> 
> Does anyone have a list of channels/stations on the sw band that might be good to try to tune into? That would be handy to keep with the radio.


They sell annual books with SW frequencies in them ("Passport to World Band Radio") on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Passport-Worl...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224019108&sr=8-2 . I don't have one, but just listening around, I've been able to find broadcasts on these frequencies. These are at NIGHT U.S. TIME:

3215	Nashville
3490	?
3760	?
5840	?
5955	Radio Taiwan?
5980	BBC
5995	Voice of America (Armed Forces radio)
6006	English speaking
6026	Japan?
6066	Spanish?
6160	polka?
6180	Radio Havana
6185	Caribbean music
6400	World Harvest Radio, South Bend, Indiana
7315	Radio Liberty, California
7410	Maine
7490	WHRI World Harvest Radio 
11570	?
11835	?
13575	?
14675	?
15000	Coast Guard
15590	?

It doesn't seem like an extensive list, and it's not, but I have stations in California and Maine - on both coasts, as well as Indiana and Nashville, Havana, the Coast Guard, England, and Taiwan. That at least covers a decent section of the world. If something BIG were to happen, by listening to these stations and using the process of elimination, you'd at least (hopefully) be able to determine what area(s) of the world were affected by the incident(s) by which stations were/weren't still broadcasting.


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## Fetthunter

Denny said:


> I saw some crank ones online. I think it was like www.newegg.com or something. I'll try and find it. I also saw one for sale on www.woot.com , but who knows what they'll have up for sale next...


These are AWESOME crank radios with great reception and play times: http://www.amazon.com/Eton-FR400-Cr...4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1224019306&sr=8-4 Many crank radios either won't pull in signals (what good is THAT?), or only play a few minutes on a cranking. These will run about 45 minutes per cranking session (about 1 minute), and are great. They have a built-in light, weather band, and a cell phone charger too!

Amazon was clearing out their PINK ones for $29, so we snagged a few. Who cares what color it is if it saves your life? Besides, hot pink makes it easy to find in our emergency kit!


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## groundhogsniper23

check out www.cabelas.com they have some crank radios from eaton and other companys.


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## Fetthunter

groundhogsniper23 said:


> crank radios from eaton.


Eton is a good brand.

Eton and Grundig are the same company, and often you'll see the same radios with the same model numbers on them, with different brand names on them. For instance, you might see an "Eton S350" and a "Grundig S350" on different websites. Same radio, though.


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## groundhogsniper23

oooo thanks fetthunter


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## kc5fm

*Shortwave and Disasters*



Fetthunter said:


> What do you have for gathering information in the event of an emergency?


Please remember that ALL disasters start locally and end locally.

Your LOCAL public information officers will be using communications streams to get the word to broadcasters and other media outlets closer to you that the British Broadcasting Company (which, by the way, has suspended shortwave broadcasts to the USA).

Therefore, I'd invest in a scanner to monitor the local public safety channels and consider getting an amateur radio license. Your friends at the American Radio Relay League will be happy to provide you a name of a local club and test session.

If you really WANT to monitor shortwave for emergency messages, here's the current list of broadcasters with programming to the USA.


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## Fetthunter

kc5fm said:


> British Broadcasting Company[/URL] (which, by the way, has suspended shortwave broadcasts to the USA).


While they have suspended broadcasts to the US, you CAN still pick up the local BBC UK broadcasts (I picked them up on the frequency I listed previously). They still discuss lots of news and information, and I've heard things on there about the US that I haven't heard on US news broadcasts. That might be useful in times of need... 



> Therefore, I'd invest in a scanner to monitor the local public safety channels


I have a trunk-tracking handheld Bearcat scanner to monitor the most local fire/police/EMS frequencies, but we are so rural that in the event of a "situation", we're basically on our own. A call to the state police results in a 1 hour response time, for example. In a widespread emergency, I expect much worse. Another reason for self-sufficiency!


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## Fetthunter

Fetthunter said:


> These are AWESOME crank radios with great reception and play times: http://www.amazon.com/Eton-FR400-Cr...4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1224019306&sr=8-4 Many crank radios either won't pull in signals (what good is THAT?), or only play a few minutes on a cranking. These will run about 45 minutes per cranking session (about 1 minute), and are great. They have a built-in light, weather band, and a cell phone charger too!
> 
> Amazon was clearing out their PINK ones for $29, so we snagged a few. Who cares what color it is if it saves your life? Besides, hot pink makes it easy to find in our emergency kit!


:::UPDATE:::

Althought the $29 sale is long gone, my wife noticed last night that Amazon has the CAMO FR400 radios on sale for $34.99! For a radio/light/cell phone charger, that's dynamo powered, it's tough to beat! These are normally $80.

http://www.amazon.com/Eton-FR400-Se...5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1224271552&sr=8-5

Hope it helps!


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## mtnscout

*Shortwave solutions*

I have a crank shortwave and it's great fun on camping trips as well as being ready for any emergencies. But you can get tired of cranking fairly quickly, it's boring! Also the internal battery doesn't last as long as rechargable batteries do. I bought a solar charger that does all types of batteries and AA's charge very quickly so I have a set in the radio and another ready to go.

Here is a website that lists english shortwave broadcasts,
http://www.primetimeshortwave.com/
As far as the BBC goes it's to the left of NPR and can't be considered a reliable news source.

Midland sells a radio base station with am/fm/GMRS/Noaa that has a crank and is a good compliment to the shortwave and it also takes AA batteries.

A good idea is to take a ammo can and line it with high density foam to store your radios in for traveling. Both of these radios fit just fine.


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## Pioneerboy

Here is the best radio I have found: The Best Solar and Crank Radio. AM/FM, shortwave, weather bands, cell phone and iPod/MP3 charger. NOAA Weather Alert. Flashlight, reading light, AC/DC adapter.


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## N8EPE

While I don't personally own one, I've heard very good things about the Kaito KA1102 radio.

Shortwave radio with side Band, SSB Radio, Kaito KA1102

It's a few more dollars (a quick google search showed one place selling them for $69.00 us) than some of the do all, hand crank, flashlight, siren, compass, etc radios out there, but personally, I've already got a few good flashlights and a compass. If it's purpose is to be a radio, it should do that job well.

What sets the Kaito KA1102 apart from most portables is the ability to receive SSB (single side band) stations, along with the usual AM / FM & shortwave broadcast stations. If there is a broader event than city / county VHF range, such as a statewide, regional, or national event, an excellent source of info and updates are going to be available on the HF ham bands. You'll need the ability to receive SSB to understand the transmissions.

As KC5FM said, the first line of info should be local VHF sources, that still stands. Everyone wants to know what might affect me first, and that's what VHF does. But, if you want the ability to reach out further, and are considering a radio with short wave capabilities, why not go the extra $20 - $30 and get one that does that well. While there is some entertainment value to the short wave broadcast stations, while you're sitting around the fireplace, they are still going to be doing their agenda format. Useful info will be rare. However, buried among all those shortwave bands, are ham bands. Those are the folks like you and me. They will be passing info and traffic from city to city and state to state. For a few more bucks, why not be able to tap into that radio network and get some real time info?

The Kaito KA 1102 also has a connection for an external, random length wire antenna. That's a plus. That's going to beat the pants off of any built in whip antenna. The radio is sensitive, meaning it has the ability to receive a weaker signal and not just the big gun broadcast stations. It's also selective, which means it does a decent job of separating signals and makes it easier to pick one out of the pile, if other stations are close by.

Here's a link to a review of the radio, done by hams that are pretty darned picky about the performance of their gear. There's very very few $70, portable receivers out there that will cut the mustard with these guys. This one gets a lot of 5/5 ratings (5 out of a possible 5 stars or thumbs ups).

Kaito KA1102 Product Reviews

Hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving

Doug


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## ke4sky

*Link To Find English Language Shortwave Broadcasts*

This is a useful site and lets you know what stations are on the air right now.

Shortwave Radio Listening (SWL and High Frequency Radio)


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## gysgtdchsr7292

*Radios*

This is a good website for unique items of interest, radios ant', led lighting and what not. Check it out.
C. Crane Company, Inc.


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## kc5fm

*Ham Radio Nets*



N8EPE said:


> What sets the Kaito KA1102 apart from most portables is the ability to receive SSB (single side band) stations, along with the usual AM / FM & shortwave broadcast stations. If there is a broader event than city / county VHF range, such as a statewide, regional, or national event, an excellent source of info and updates are going to be available on the HF ham bands. You'll need the ability to receive SSB to understand the transmissions.


Very True!

Amateur radio really shines during disasters of the extreme kind, ex. hurricanes, etc.

While we have HF radio in the Emergency Operations Center, most of our voice communication is done on VHF and UHF through linked systems that allow coverage over half the State.

Our HF communications allows more of a national presence. We also monitor HF around the State using networks. One of the nets we regularly monitor is on 14.300 mHz in the 20 meter band. During the day, it's one of the more beneficial nets. It's operational during the day.

Save yourself some time and use the ARRL Net Directory Search to learn where the nets in your State are located.

If you are really going to get serious about investing in communications receivers to tune the shortwave ham bands, consider getting an amateur radio license. Again, the ARRL has a resource or two to help you.


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## kc5fm

*Shortwave Resource*

One of the *best * resources on the Internet for Shortwave radio Information is Glen Hauser's World of Radio.

He's been doing this for several years. It's almost perfect now.


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## wd4nyl

My Helpful Hints would be:

1. Don't focus on a "shortwave" radio, focus on a digital "communications receiver" instead. There is an inherent difference in quality. SW radios primarily are geared towards AM Short Wave broadcasts, even the ones with a BFO for Sideband reception. Where a good communication receiver - Icom, Kenwood, Yaesu, etc, will give you excellant SSB coverage as well as AM.

2. Digital recievers are more selective (can seperate signals in a crowded band) than a dial analog type.

3. SSB reception will allow you to monitor ham, aircraft, marine & military operations. 

4. Military & aeronautical "utility station" Frequencies you can get from Monitoring Times or Popular Communications.


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## Tim

Just wondering, what is the feasiblity of setting up a network, an intranet maybe, by using Ham radio frequencies or other bands? The intenet could be rendered non-functional in the event of TEOTWAWKI, war, terrorists, hackers. It would be good to have a back up network. Does any such network now exist?


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## kc5fm

*Winlink*



Tim said:


> Just wondering, what is the feasiblity of setting up a network, an intranet maybe, by using Ham radio frequencies or other bands? The intenet could be rendered non-functional in the event of TEOTWAWKI, war, terrorists, hackers. It would be good to have a back up network. Does any such network now exist?


If I understand what you are asking, yes, the network now exists.

Winlink 2000 offers email over radio (mostly Military Affiliate Radio System users).

Store and Forward Bulletin Board Systems have been around for what seems like EONS now. I remember working the Russian Space Station MIR on packet in the 90s.

Speaking of packet, if you can connect to one of the nodes, you can telnet around the planet.

Hope that helps.


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## Tim

Lloyd,
It does help, thanks!


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