How to start shortwave listening with a borrowed radio

What you need to know

A shortwave receiver

Borrow a working portable radio with an SW band; an AM/FM-only radio cannot tune this exercise.

Manual, antenna and power

Locate the radio's SW controls and units, extend its built-in antenna, and use working batteries or its usual safe power source.

Current schedule and UTC clock

Use a phone or computer to check today's broadcasts and UTC time; UTC may differ from your local clock.

Notebook and a quiet seat

Prepare space for UTC date and time, frequency with units, listening location and what you actually hear.

In 20–30 minutes, try two scheduled broadcasts and write down what reaches your radio. Noise or an unidentified signal still belongs in the log.

Pick two broadcasts to try

At Short-Wave.info, choose a language and leave the “NOW” box selected. Pick two listed transmissions whose days and start/end times include your listening time. Skip entries marked digital or DRM; this exercise uses ordinary AM broadcasts. The form says GMT; its results use UTC, Coordinated Universal Time. A schedule offers candidates, not a promise that either signal will reach your room.

The site’s instructions list frequencies in kilohertz (kHz). If your radio displays megahertz (MHz), divide the listed number by 1,000: 1 MHz equals 1,000 kHz. Check that both frequencies fall within your receiver’s SW range.

Tune and record both attempts

Select the SW band on your receiver. If it has a mode control, choose AM for these broadcasts. SW names the frequency band; AM here names the receiving mode, not the domestic medium-wave AM band. Start at a comfortable low volume. Enter the first frequency, or move the dial slowly around it using the manual. A dial marking is approximate, so record an approximate frequency if that is all you can read.

Listen for a minute or two. Adjust in small steps for clearer speech or music, then write the UTC date and time, frequency and units, your listening location, and what was audible. “Speech with fading” or “noise only” is useful. Record a station name as confirmed only if you hear a clear identification; a schedule match alone is tentative. Jock Elliott’s listening-post guide also uses a clock and simple logbook.

If little is clear, check the band, mode and units. Try another indoor spot away from chargers or computers, and battery power if your radio permits it. Nearby electrical noise can mask signals, as The SWLing Post explains. Make the second scheduled attempt and log it even if neither signal becomes intelligible. At another time, check the schedule again and compare your entries before deciding you need different equipment.