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19 INTRODUCTION TO SHORTWAVE
Shortwave enables you to hear stations from
around the world. Now that you have a short-
wave radio, no doubt you’ll want to hear
worldwide stations right away. If you’re new to
shortwave, please take some time to learn the
basics outlined below. To successfully listen to
shortwave stations you must know how to find
them. They are found in the shortwave ‘bands’.
If you’re an experienced shortwave listener, you’ll
already know what bands are and how to use
them, but if you’re new, you’ll need to learn
about bands first. After that, you will have excel-
lent success. Please read on.
HOW TO IDENTIFY WHAT YOU’RE LISTENING
TO AND HOW TO FIND STATIONS THAT YOU
WANT TO HEAR
We recommend the use of a comprehensive
shortwave directory, especially if you want to
hear specific countries or to identify the sta-
tion you’re listening to. Such a directory will
alphabetically list the countries broadcasting on
shortwave, showing their language, target area,
broadcast time, and frequency that is used. The
best shortwave directory is PASSPORT TO WORLD
BAND RADIO, available in major bookstores.
Published by International Broadcasting Services,
Ltd., Box 300, Penn’s Park, Pennsylvania 18943 or
available at www.passband.com. This publication
has separate chapters for English and non-Eng-
lish broadcasts, titled World-Wide Broadcasts In
English and Voices From Home.
20 FINDING DESIRED STATIONS
TO FULLY ENJOY SHORTWAVE LISTENING,
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CONCEPT TO
LEARN RIGHT AWAY.
If you have ever listened to AM or FM radio, then
you already know what a band is. The AM band
is a frequency range stretching form 530 to 1600
kilohertz, the FM band is 88-108 megahertz. A
band is simply a frequency range where stations
are located. When you look for stations in these
‘bands’, you simply tune around with the tuning
knob until you find a station you like. Shortwave
is similar and the shortwave bands have names
like 25 meters, 31 meters, 49 meters, etc. These
are abbreviated 25m, 31m and 49m. Just like in
AM and FM radio, one simply gets into the short-
wave band and tunes around, looking for stations.
For example, the 19 meter shortwave band
encompasses the frequency range of 15100 to
15600 kilohertz. On the next page is a list of the
shortwave bands used for international shortwave
broadcasts and their corresponding frequency
ranges. Since some radios show frequency in
megahertz and some in kilohertz, both are shown
here. The S350DL shows short
21 WHAT ARE BANDS?
GS350DL OWNER’S MANUAL
GS350DL OWNER’S MANUAL
13