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08-09-2012, 06:44 PM | #1 | ||
Pity the fool
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Been thinking lately about getting a shortwave radio. Not for any particular reason, just for sh*ts and giggles.
When I was a kid, my old man had an old school National Panasonic transistor radio with a shortwave function on it, and I used to sit outside at night listening with the antenna resting against the Hills hoist, thinking it would boost its range Anyone got one, if so, any features in particular one should keep in mind when looking at shortwave radios? As an aside, is there any point to them these days in this digital age or do they still have their place in this tech-focused world? I see most of the ones on ebay and for sale online are oddball brands I've nver heard of - seems the mainstream radio and electronics manufacturers abandoned them years ago.
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Fords I own or have owned: 1970 XW Falcon GT replica | 1970 XW Falcon | 1971 XY Fairmont | 1973 ZG Fairlane | 1986 XF Falcon panel van | 1987 XFII Falcon S-Pack | 1988 XF Falcon GLS ute | 1993 EBII Fairmont V8 | 1996 XG Falcon ute | 2000 AU Falcon wagon | 2004 BA Falcon XT | 2012 SZ Territory Titanium AWD Proud to buy Australian and support Ford Australia through thick and thin |
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08-09-2012, 06:58 PM | #2 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 12,077
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You can get one that will run on USB or sit in a PCI bus and give you more features and sensitivity than a $100,000 receiver of 30 years ago.
Google it there are squillions of them. |
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08-09-2012, 07:04 PM | #3 | ||
Pity the fool
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I was thinking of just a radio-like one that we could take with us on trips.
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Fords I own or have owned: 1970 XW Falcon GT replica | 1970 XW Falcon | 1971 XY Fairmont | 1973 ZG Fairlane | 1986 XF Falcon panel van | 1987 XFII Falcon S-Pack | 1988 XF Falcon GLS ute | 1993 EBII Fairmont V8 | 1996 XG Falcon ute | 2000 AU Falcon wagon | 2004 BA Falcon XT | 2012 SZ Territory Titanium AWD Proud to buy Australian and support Ford Australia through thick and thin |
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08-09-2012, 07:33 PM | #4 | ||
Regular Member
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Location: Country Vic.
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What's your budget?
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08-09-2012, 09:02 PM | #5 | |||
Pity the fool
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Quote:
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Fords I own or have owned: 1970 XW Falcon GT replica | 1970 XW Falcon | 1971 XY Fairmont | 1973 ZG Fairlane | 1986 XF Falcon panel van | 1987 XFII Falcon S-Pack | 1988 XF Falcon GLS ute | 1993 EBII Fairmont V8 | 1996 XG Falcon ute | 2000 AU Falcon wagon | 2004 BA Falcon XT | 2012 SZ Territory Titanium AWD Proud to buy Australian and support Ford Australia through thick and thin |
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08-09-2012, 09:07 PM | #6 | ||
Regular Member
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Location: Country Vic.
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http://www.aurfscan.com.au/forum.php
Go and have a look here and have a look through their short-wave sections. They reckon some of these Chinese units are OK. They are around 100 - 150 bucks, so you should get what your after. |
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08-09-2012, 09:13 PM | #7 | ||
Pity the fool
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Thanks Barnaby. Lots of info there (and jargon to decipher). If I bought a US-spec one off ebay for example, it would still work in Australia right? I.e. be able to receive and not be "region specific" like some electronics are (X-box, DVD players etc)
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Fords I own or have owned: 1970 XW Falcon GT replica | 1970 XW Falcon | 1971 XY Fairmont | 1973 ZG Fairlane | 1986 XF Falcon panel van | 1987 XFII Falcon S-Pack | 1988 XF Falcon GLS ute | 1993 EBII Fairmont V8 | 1996 XG Falcon ute | 2000 AU Falcon wagon | 2004 BA Falcon XT | 2012 SZ Territory Titanium AWD Proud to buy Australian and support Ford Australia through thick and thin |
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08-09-2012, 10:46 PM | #8 | ||
FG XR6T trayback
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: N-W NSW
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Ahhh. The joy of listening to another ABC station that is a long way-a-way.
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08-09-2012, 10:50 PM | #9 | |||
Regular Member
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Quote:
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08-09-2012, 10:57 PM | #10 | |||
Thailand Specials
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Centrefold Lounge
Posts: 49,487
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Quote:
https://robogroup.com/winradio/cgi-b...vers!Receivers What is generally broadcasted across short wave radio? As I'm quite interested. |
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08-09-2012, 10:59 PM | #11 | ||
Regular Member
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I just read your original post a bit more carefully and had a think about it a bit more...how old are you? the Short wave bands have changed a lot over the last 10 - 15 years or so...the internet has killed it.
Most of the services have closed...BBC world service is a shadow of its former self, as is the voice of America and all the cold war propaganda stuff. There is a lot of Christian radio stuff that will bore you senseless! Maybe you should have a hunt around the web and see if you can listen to any on-line stuff (people have hooked their receivers up so you can listen over the web). A lot of people follow the military stuff on short wave but even most of that is encrypted so its not much fun. I would sign up to Aurfscan and ask some questions in there...you might find that what you remember about the field is gone now... |
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08-09-2012, 11:08 PM | #12 | |||
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Quote:
This might be more what people are thinking of - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DBM-HF-Co...item27cacf9dbe And - http://www.dealextreme.com/p/dvb-t-d...-dab-dab-44326 Software defined radio - SDR http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0hEquzLsWU You need to have a bit of knowledge to have a crack at this stuff though. All the info is out there if you want to have a go and its cheap with amazing capability! |
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08-09-2012, 11:13 PM | #13 | |||
Pity the fool
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Quote:
I WAS looking at this one: But from what you're saying it may not be worth it at all.
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Fords I own or have owned: 1970 XW Falcon GT replica | 1970 XW Falcon | 1971 XY Fairmont | 1973 ZG Fairlane | 1986 XF Falcon panel van | 1987 XFII Falcon S-Pack | 1988 XF Falcon GLS ute | 1993 EBII Fairmont V8 | 1996 XG Falcon ute | 2000 AU Falcon wagon | 2004 BA Falcon XT | 2012 SZ Territory Titanium AWD Proud to buy Australian and support Ford Australia through thick and thin |
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09-09-2012, 09:32 AM | #14 | ||
Regular Member
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What the hell, give it a crack. You can always ping it on Ebay if it flops for you.
I am of the same generation as you and can tell you right now it aint what it used to be. Don't take my word for it though - look into it a bit more... |
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09-09-2012, 06:47 PM | #15 | ||
64 Deluxe 4 door
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This is (one of ) my Shortwave radio. Also does normal AM
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XM Deluxe FG XR50 BA Pursuit Ute |
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09-09-2012, 11:26 PM | #16 | ||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
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i do recall having sw on a ghetto blaster type thing years ago, i used to like the bbc.
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10-09-2012, 12:41 AM | #17 | ||
Mot Adv-NSW
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lake Macquarie, NSW
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Don't forget digital radio (DAB, DAB+, Mondial - Digital via shortwave).
I load a few internet stations and listen to those via LAN.
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ORDER FORD AUSTRALIA PART NO: AM6U7J19G329AA. This is a European-UN/AS3790B Spec safety-warning triangle used to give advanced warning to approaching traffic of a vehicle breakdown, or crash scene (to prevent secondary). Stow in the boot area. See your Ford dealer for this $35.95 safety item & when you buy a new Ford, please insist on it! See Page 83, part 4.4.1 http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/media...eSafePart4.pdf |
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11-09-2012, 03:19 PM | #18 | |||
Pity the fool
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Quote:
http://www.sangean.com/products/product_spec.asp?mid=73
__________________
Fords I own or have owned: 1970 XW Falcon GT replica | 1970 XW Falcon | 1971 XY Fairmont | 1973 ZG Fairlane | 1986 XF Falcon panel van | 1987 XFII Falcon S-Pack | 1988 XF Falcon GLS ute | 1993 EBII Fairmont V8 | 1996 XG Falcon ute | 2000 AU Falcon wagon | 2004 BA Falcon XT | 2012 SZ Territory Titanium AWD Proud to buy Australian and support Ford Australia through thick and thin |
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12-09-2012, 09:48 AM | #19 | |||
Mot Adv-NSW
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lake Macquarie, NSW
Posts: 2,153
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Quote:
__________________
ORDER FORD AUSTRALIA PART NO: AM6U7J19G329AA. This is a European-UN/AS3790B Spec safety-warning triangle used to give advanced warning to approaching traffic of a vehicle breakdown, or crash scene (to prevent secondary). Stow in the boot area. See your Ford dealer for this $35.95 safety item & when you buy a new Ford, please insist on it! See Page 83, part 4.4.1 http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/media...eSafePart4.pdf |
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21-09-2012, 09:51 AM | #20 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
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Quote:
it's a dying hobby since it's mostly redundant since you can stream it over the internet.
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03-10-2012, 07:44 PM | #21 | ||
Pity the fool
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Well my radio turned up this afternoon, having a play with it at the moment. Very well made bit of gear with a lot of features, still trying to get my head around how the whole MW/SW/everything else works as there are a multitude of buttons. The instruction manual is 10mm thick!
__________________
Fords I own or have owned: 1970 XW Falcon GT replica | 1970 XW Falcon | 1971 XY Fairmont | 1973 ZG Fairlane | 1986 XF Falcon panel van | 1987 XFII Falcon S-Pack | 1988 XF Falcon GLS ute | 1993 EBII Fairmont V8 | 1996 XG Falcon ute | 2000 AU Falcon wagon | 2004 BA Falcon XT | 2012 SZ Territory Titanium AWD Proud to buy Australian and support Ford Australia through thick and thin |
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03-10-2012, 08:51 PM | #22 | |||
FF.Com.Au Hardcore
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Quote:
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