BACKGROUND ON SHORTWAVE RADIO

Note from USA: this Grundig Yachtboy 400 is what we have in our emergency kit
 

OCTOBER 15, 2001

Affordable shortwave radios give listeners a portal into how other nations see world events

By Avery Comarow

Shortwave radio is an old technology with new relevance since the September 11 terrorist attacks. John Figliozzi listened in from Clifton Park, N.Y., as the Voice of Iran first expressed sympathy--and then added an increasingly strident insistence that the United States shouldn't head up an international antiterrorist effort because of its anti-Islam, pro-Israel bias. He heard Pakistan's politicians and military leaders take Radio Pakistan's microphone to applaud President Pervez Musharraf's decision to help extract Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan. For a larger, more objective picture, he turned to the BBC World Service.

More than 70 nations use shortwave--radio signals that can carry for thousands of miles--to send their point of view abroad, often in English. "You start to see nuances," says Figliozzi, 48, a cable TV consultant. "It was clear that all of the sympathetic countries also had their own interests and wanted their own say, and with shortwave you very often heard those things before they were reported in the press."

Unedited. "What you're getting is material firsthand that's not predigested," adds Lawrence Magne, editor in chief of Passport to World Band Radio, a $19.95 annual guide. Listeners quickly discern the broadcasting services' personalities. Germany's giant Deutsche Welle is to the point; Radio Netherlands is enterprising and a bit liberal; the BBC World Service is the standard for depth and breadth.

Interest in shortwave ebbs and flows with conflict. Sales of shortwave radios spiked 30 to 40 percent after September 11, says Fred Osterman of Universal Radio in Reynoldsburg, Ohio (800-431-3939), which stocks dozens of models.

Passport reviews just about every radio on the market and posts evaluations on its Web site (www.passband.com). You can spend less than $50, or thousands of dollars for an elaborate CIA-quality set. Radios in the $150 to $500 range, where the usual features include a digital display and a memory that holds settings for favorite stations, are enough for all but weak or elusive stations. Those may require a pricey radio, an outside antenna, patience, and luck. At home, the $500 Grundig Satellit 800 is a 15-pound pseudo-portable that sounds wonderful and is a snap to use, with jumbo-size display and knobs. For travelers willing to pay $420, Sony's ICF-SW07 is tiny, sensitive, and as sexy as the latest laptop, with a screen that opens out like a clamshell. And the ICF-SW7600GR, also from Sony, is a fine performer, portable enough to stash in a suitcase, and a bargain at $170.

Want to make someone in the military happy? A gift of a shortwave radio will keep a bivouacked soldier plugged into foreign broadcasts and music and entertainment from Armed Forces Radio. Be sure to toss in lots of batteries. They're tough to find in the middle of nowhere.

The listening post

A SHORTWAVE GUIDE

These shortwave broadcasting services can usually be heard in part or all of the United States on one or more of the frequencies listed (in kilohertz, or kHz).

SERVICE FREQUENCIES

BBC 5975, 11835, 15220

Deutsche Welle 6040, 9640, 11985

Radio Canada Intl. 6175, 9755, 13670

Radio Netherlands 5965, 6165, 9590

Voice of America 6130, 7405, 9455

Voice of Russia 7180, 11825, 17595

Kol Israel 9435, 11605, 15640

Radio Cairo 9475, 9900

Radio Pakistan* 17520, 21465

Voice of Iran 9022, 9835, 11970

Source: IBS Ltd.

*Around 7 a.m. ET; weak signal