Job Discussion Forums

[vre]

This is kinda related since teachers and students both can benefit from short wave radio.

Last night as I was trying to get the BBC world service (which is always impossible to locate) I came across the Canadian short wave station and I really enjoyed it. Something called Maple Leaf Mail Bag followed by an interview with an expert in town planning. Then I found Radio Netherlands, which also had really enjoyable news. There was also an American religious station, whihc I didn't want to listen to.

So, do you listen or encourage your students to tune in and what is the best way to get a decent reception?

[Gordon]

What's the attraction of a short wave radio if it is easy enough to listen to almost anything you want on the net? Just curious.

[lozwich]

Hey Vre,

Take a look at this page, it gives you all the frequencies and times..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/worldservice/psims/ScheduleSDT.cgi

You also need to take into account that short wave radio reception is affected by the time of day (really long explanation of how the atmosphere affects radio waves deleted ) and also any activity on the sun, like solar flares. So, if you use the link above, and stick to the times pretty well for each frequency, you should be ok, unless the sun is doing whacky things.

Also, where I used to live in Mexico, I couldn't get BBC World at night , but I could get Radio Netherlands, provided I held the radio in my left hand, and hung off the right side of my bed with my hair in a ponytail that was angled at 32�... No matter what happens, nor where you are, it seems there is always the problem of reception fading in and out, or maybe its just my crappy radio that does that.

And, Gordon, unfortunately, not everyone has broadband access to the internet. I've only had a tv for about 2 months, and before that it was really nice to come home after a long day at work and listen to the radio while sitting in my bedroom. Internet (well, I don't even own a computer) won't be entering my house in the forseeable future.

Have a good day,
Lozwich.

[ntropy]

[basiltherat]

veering off topic just slightly, im finding it nigh impossible to get any world service reception here in damascus ,syria. i have a good model of radio - Roberts digital - but still rece[ption is, to put it mildly, extremely poor. any ideas why this might be the case. never had this trouble wen i was in asia. maybe no relay station nearby ? i dont know. maybe only way is to attach an outside antenna but dont know why this should be necessary.
any advice/ideas welcome.
basil

[ntropy]

Do you live in a concrete building?

[basiltherat]

actually, yes. the walls are pretty thick, too. mmm i suppose this cud be the reason.
thanks for that
regards
basil

[lozwich]

Part of the reason I had to sit in such a weird posture to listen to my SW when I lived in Mexico was because of the concrete walls. Someone who kept theirs at work had no problems with reception at all. Although work was on top of a small mountain, so also pointed right at the local repeater...

I'd get an outside antenna, that points in the general direction of the nearest hill, or wherever all the tv aerials point to..

Lozwich.

[ntropy]

Basil,

I've found concrete is h ell on reception. Try an outside antenna which is simple to make. Do a google search for instructions.

[basiltherat]

Thanks. Will see wat I can find out.
regards
basil