Talk:Shortwave
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[edit] Note
This is a good summary on Shortwave and how it's used.
An annual conference dedicated to shortwave listening is the Winter SWL Fest, located outside of Philadelphia in the USA. Its URL is http://www.swlfest.com
[edit] Number of receivers
- "The Asia-Pacific Telecommunity estimates that there are approximately 600,000,000 shortwave radio receivers in use in 2002."
I know there are a lot about but the figure seems extremely high, especially if we're talking about receivers actually in use as opposed to the total number ever produced or something. This works out at about one shortwave radio for every ten people in the world. Can anyone confirm it? — Trilobite (Talk) 04:24, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)
- I can confirm that I personally own 11 shortwave radios. :) bneely 19:27, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Add Section on PC-Controlled Receivers and Software?
Suggestion: Anyone think it's a good idea to include a section on PC-controlled shortwave receivers (and software)? (I am not the prospective author, as no experience with this setup.) I didn't find any reference to it in Wikipedia.--Kibbitzer 07:11, 14 July 2005 (UTC)
- Only in conjunction with a general discussion of shortwave and amateur radio hardware, and a mention of Digital Radio Mondiale (which pretty much requires a computer anyway). Not a bad idea though, just needs a fair amount of background to go with it. Haikupoet 06:00, 15 July 2005 (UTC)
- Yes. Perhaps zealot will contribute. Also, this is the first I heard of DMR. Perhaps the Wikipedia article on that could be appropriately linked? Again, I am not qualified to know where to work it into the existing shortwave article.--Kibbitzer 06:22, 15 July 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Better band descriptions?
This page needs better descriptions of the meter bands. For starters, I dispute the "not in the americas" label for the 41 meter band. I have other descriptions for these bands but I believe it is under copyright (from radio manuals). bneely 19:29, 26 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Ionosphere refraction?
I was reading the article and this part was unclear to me:
Shortwave frequencies are capable of reaching the other side of the planet because they can be refracted by the ionosphere. Are radio waves refracted (bent) or reflected? . User:Rjairam
- They are actually refracted since the waves enter the ionosphere and their direction of propagation is gradually changed by interaction with the free electrons therein. However, for practical purposes, the interaction can be characterized as a reflection from a thin, conductive surface at a single virtual height above the earth. Jim, K7JEB 02:27, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Merger with High Frequency?
The shortwave and high frequency articles seem to be about the same subject:
- Shortwave radio operates between the frequencies of 3,000 kHz and 30 MHz (30,000 kHz) and came to be referred to as such in the early days of radio because the wavelengths associated with this frequency range were shorter than those commonly in use at that time. An alternate name is HF, or high frequency.
- High frequency (HF) radio frequencies are between 3 and 30 MHz. This range is often called shortwave.
Shouldn't these be merged? If so, which title should be the "main" article title? — Johan the Ghost seance 14:12, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
- I'm making this a formal proposal. Please comment at Talk:high frequency. — Johan the Ghost seance 10:35, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Needs Improvement
This article fails. Lacks date when shortwave was invented and/or came into practical use. --68.190.117.179 00:15, 18 June 2006 (UTC)
- You're absolutely right; although there is an article called History of radio, and there is another called Shortwave listening, this would be a GOOD place to start a history of shortwave broadcasting ... although that's a very large subject in it's own right. Twang 02:18, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Note on HF
The term "HF" is not misapplied; it's historical and has been in use for many, many decades -- particularly before VHF and UHF (which are no longer VERY or ULTRA) transmitting became commonplace. In fact the HF amateur radio bands were allocated to amateurs (like reservations were allocated to indians) precisely because it was once thought they would be of little use to broadcasting. Twang 02:03, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
