NASWA Journal Columns · 1996 · July

Technical Topics, July 1996

Does Weather Affect Shortwave Reception?

This question was posed by someone on the rec.radio.shortwave internet newsgroup last year. He never got an answer to my recollection. The question started me thinking and doing some research. Now I can report the results of that work. Now without the slightest doubt or hesitation I can safely answer that question. Possibly.

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Listener’s Notebook, July 1996

Ladies And Gennemum

of the SW community, we have a monster on our hands. Or at least I do. It’s called the Internet, and it’s so crammed with, er, stuff of all sorts that it’s darned near overwhelming. I’ve never waded through so much info to assemble a column as I’ve done this month. This in itself wouldn’t be so bad, but for every net posting containing useful data, there are fifty about how the Antichrist has a show on WWCR and “where can I get a decent shortwave radio for $39.95?”

Why do I continue to wrestle with this nuttiness every month? Beats me. Must be some kind of Zen thing, a self-imposed trial at the end of which I’ll have this big revelation or something.

Hmmm. Maybe not. But that’s the wonder of it all. As the Zen master said to the hotdog vendor, “Make me one with everything.”

Thanks, as usual, to our extremely enlightened contributors for showing us the true path to DX.

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Equipment Reviews, July 1996

Sony ICF-SW40

NASWAn Koji Yamada of Tokyo sent me a copy of the instruction manual for the new travel portable from Sony. It measures 6 3/4 x 4 1/4 x 1 7/16 inches and weighs 14.5 ounces, including batteries. Shortwave frequency coverage is from 3850 to 26100 kHz and tuning is via a side mounted knob in either 5 or 1 kHz steps on SW. There are twenty frequency presets and, as I read the instructions, all twenty presets can be used for SW, if desired. There are timers for two “On” events–the radio shuts off after 60 minutes. According to Koji, the price in Japan is 22,000 Yen or about $230. I would expect the price in the North American market to be lower.

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