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I got a portable shortwave radio receiver that takes 4 AA batteries. Mine is a Sangean but there are many different makes & models.

I extend the whip antenna and use alligator clips to attach it to a 100' wire I ran perpendicular to my house. That's it.

From just before dusk to several hours after dusk, I can pick up stations worldwide. I have listened to english broadcasts coming out of asia & europe. Cuba broadcasts all day long on 31 and 25 meters. In a log book I'm recording what frequencies and times I'm picking up stations so I can refer to it all later.

In addition to these worldwide broadcasts, ham radio operators sometimes talk to each other in a modulation called "SSB" - think of it like a trucker CB type of person-to-person communication, but can reach from florida to alaska. With a ham radio, you can flip to single sideband (SSB) mode and listen for these individual communications. Transmitting / talking at these frequencies requires a license. However anyone can pick up a receive-only radio and listen.

So a ham radio provides access to a global network of what are essentially AM radio stations, as well as ability to eavesdrop on individual person to person SSB communications.

Moreover, many ham radio operators are registered to assist in the event of an emergency. So while the other ham operators are responding to the emergency, you'll have exactly the right equipment to listen to all the information & chatter firsthand, without it being filtered through other sources.

In a grid down or SHTF sitauation, it is access to worldwide information without any infrastructure required except some batteries and a long wire.

Small investment, big payoff.

I got a portable shortwave radio receiver that takes 4 AA batteries. Mine is a Sangean but there are many different makes & models. I extend the whip antenna and use alligator clips to attach it to a 100' wire I ran perpendicular to my house. That's it. From just before dusk to several hours after dusk, I can pick up stations worldwide. I have listened to english broadcasts coming out of asia & europe. Cuba broadcasts all day long on 31 and 25 meters. In a log book I'm recording what frequencies and times I'm picking up stations so I can refer to it all later. In addition to these worldwide broadcasts, ham radio operators sometimes talk to each other in a modulation called "SSB" - think of it like a trucker CB type of person-to-person communication, but can reach from florida to alaska. With a ham radio, you can flip to single sideband (SSB) mode and listen for these individual communications. Transmitting / talking at these frequencies requires a license. However anyone can pick up a receive-only radio and listen. So a ham radio provides access to a global network of what are essentially AM radio stations, as well as ability to eavesdrop on individual person to person SSB communications. Moreover, many ham radio operators are registered to assist in the event of an emergency. So while the other ham operators are responding to the emergency, you'll have exactly the right equipment to listen to all the information & chatter firsthand, without it being filtered through other sources. In a grid down or SHTF sitauation, it is access to worldwide information without any infrastructure required except some batteries and a long wire. Small investment, big payoff.

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[–] • 0 pt

Tell me more

[–] • 0 pt (edited )

Okay.

I downloaded an app called "Shortwave Broadcast Schedules" from Black Cat Systems. It connects to the net and maintains a gargantuan list of what stations broadcast at what frequency, and in what language, targeting what regions.

So I can pick a band (a range of frequencies) and scan the band on my radio. If I get hit(s), I can type them in to the app to see who it could be. I can also log/save the frequency and info, for later referral.

Here is a sample:

9.690 Radio Espana Cuba

9.535 Havana Cuba

5.935 WWCR Nashville TN

5.920 World Harvest Radio

7.315 Voice of Vietnam

5.990 PBS Qinghai English

11.760 Havana Cuba

4.840 WWCR Nashville TN

6.180 China Radio Intl English

9.950 WRMI Miami

9.420 Voice of Greece

6.165 Thazin Radio

7.505 WRNO New Orleans

13.670 WMV African Pathways Radio

5.960 Mighty KBC Netherlands

That's a small sample but you get the idea.

I'm also getting better at picking up SSB communications. I listened to a guy from Indiana talking to a guy from North Carolina, and another guy really distant but not sure where he was at. I couldn't hardly hear him. I think somewhere in Florida based on the conversation. It's pretty fun picking up these conversations out of the ether, and (I think) is a skill worth developing.

A person on another site observed "So you can use this radio as another way to get Fake News". True, newscasts can be slanted. But in a SHTF situation, just knowing who is broadcasting and who isn't broadcasting may be very important information, let alone what they are saying.

[–] • 0 pt

Oh not to go on too much, but I also programmed my radio to the lower and upper frequencies of CB/Trucker radios, channels 1-40. I recently was listening to truckers driving the I-75, then can flip a few buttons and listen to China. Pretty remarkable.