02 Where can I find broadcasts by Radio Foobar? (Shortwave radio)
Description
This article is from the Shortwave radio FAQ, by Ralph Brandi rbrandi@lucent.com with numerous contributions by others.
02 Where can I find broadcasts by Radio Foobar? (Shortwave radio)
The World Radio TV Handbook is the standard reference for this sort of
information. The WRTH provides SWLs (shortwave listeners) and DXers
(listeners specializing in distant [DX] and weak stations) worldwide with
virtually everything they need on frequencies, schedules and addresses. It
comes out annually, right about the first of the year. It covers virtually
every shortwave station in the world, and many of the medium wave (AM), FM,
and television stations as well. The body of the book is a listing of
stations by country, with a cross-reference in the back by frequency. It's
available from any radio store dealing in shortwave. You can also contact the
WRTH through their publishers, Billboard.
World Radio TV Handbook 1995
ISBN 0-8230-5926-X
The past several years have seen competition of a sort for the WRTH, in the
form of Passport to World Band Radio. Passport's main section is a
graph/table of what's on the air, by frequency. The beginning of the book is
filled with articles of interest to the beginner. There is also a
comprehensive review section of shortwave receivers currently available, one
of the few places all this information can be found in one place. The book is
more useful for identifying a station you've already tuned in than for
searching out a particular transmission; the WRTH is useful at both, however,
rendering the purchase of this book not essential. It can still be
worthwhile, though, especially for beginners who won't be put off by the "gee
whiz, look what we can listen to" tone of some of the articles. The book is
unabashedly an advocate of making the hobby of "World Band Radio" accessible
to people who wouldn't have participated before the advent of good, cheap
portables. There also seem to be efforts being made to address some of the
shortcomings of the book, such as a comprehensive address section (finally!)
that also contains useful information on how stations respond to
correspondence, based on the experience of other hobbyists. Much of this
information has been difficult or impossible for hobbyists to obtain outside
of a small elite group, and provides a useful addition to the hobby. It does
tend to weaken the focus of the book, which has previously seemed aimed at
mainly beginners.
For utility band (non-broadcast transmissions) listeners, there are a few
books that perform much the same function as the above two books, although due
to the nature of such point-to-point communication, not with the same sense of
definitiveness.
Confidential Frequency List
Published by Gilfer Shortwave
The Shortwave Directory
Published by Grove Enterprises
Klingenfuss Guide to Utility Stations
Published by Klingenfuss Publications
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