Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Shortwave broadcast bands

Both Passport to World Band Radio and World Radio and TV Handbook publish schedules of international broadcasters that broadcast in English or in any other language of the world. There are, of course, also free Internet resources that help you to locate interesting shortwave transmissions on the wide spectrum of shortwaves.

It is important to note that only part of the shortwave spectrum is used for broadcasting. Other part of the radio frequencies are used by amateur radio operators and many kinds of utility stations. The following list gives an overview of the frequencies used by broadcasters around the world.

11 meters – 25.67–26.10 MHz – Very few stations are active in this band

13 meters – 21.45–21.85 MHz – This band can be used for long distance reception during the daylight hours

15 meters – 18.90–19.02 MHz – Rarely used.

16 meters – 17.48–17.90 MHz – Good for daytime reception, and seasonally in the night.

19 meters –15.00–15.825 MHz – Day reception good, night reception best during summer

22 meters – 13.57–13.87 MHz – Similar to 19 meters; best in summer.

25 meters – 11.50–12.16 MHz – Generally best during summer; and ideal during the period before and after sunset.

31 meters – 9250–9995 kHz – Good year-round night band for long distances; seasonal during the day, with best reception in winter.

41 meters – 7100–7600 kHz – Reception varies by region – reasonably good night reception, but few transmitters in this band are targeted to North America. Good reception for daytime in Europe.

49 meters – 5800–6300 kHz – Good year-round night band; local daytime reception

60 meters – 4400–5100 kHz – Mostly used locally in tropical regions (Asia, Latin America, Africa, Pacific Area), though usable at night also for long distance reception.

75 meters – 3900–4050 kHz – Mostly used in Eastern Hemisphere including Europe

90 meters – 3200–3400 kHz – Mostly used locally in tropical regions (Asia, South America, Africa)

120 meters – 2300–2495 kHz – Mostly used locally in tropical regions (Asia and South America)

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