I finally got a shortwave radio

[gar hi]

I have a question for anyone here who may own a Grundig G8.

For some reason, it automatically turns off after it's been on for a minute or so. I kept turning it on again and it goes off again. This only started the last time I used it.

I don't know if I set something by accident but I can't find the owners manual either.

Anyone know how to fix this?

 

[Tincap]

I have a question for anyone here who may own a Grundig G8.

For some reason, it automatically turns off after it's been on for a minute or so. I kept turning it on again and it goes off again. This only started the last time I used it.

I don't know if I set something by accident but I can't find the owners manual either.

Anyone know how to fix this?

Manual here ~> http://www.etoncorp.com/upload/contents/307/G8_Manual_052009.pdf

Manual for Tecsun version ~> http://www.resumedesign.com/kratoville/jackjr/docs/PL-300WT_Manual.pdf

Hope that helps!

~BG

 

[pianoplayer88key]

Hold the power button when you first turn it on, and rotate the tuning knob until it shows "On" in the display. Hopefully that should cure it.

 

[gar hi]

Thanks, tfcwings. That fixed it!

And Tincap, thanks for going to the trouble to find those online manuals. I appreciate it.

The G8 is such a nice little solid radio. Just looking at it, holding it, and tuning it is so nice.

I notice the SW band is dead tonight compared to last night. I wish there were more interesting obscure stations I could find.

What is the shortwave band like in the summer? I don't remember because it's been more than 30 years that I listened to shortwave until late last year.

Aren't there parts of the band that are actually better in summer than in winter?

 

[cyberdad]

What is the shortwave band like in the summer? I don't remember because it's been more than 30 years that I listened to shortwave until late last year.

Aren't there parts of the band that are actually better in summer than in winter?

The upper bands....13 and 16 meters could be considered better during summer daylight hours. Although I think it's more of a case of them being open longer as opposed to actually being "better". Still, you won't hear anywhere near as much stuff as you can find on the lower bands on a winter night. No shortage or preachers the last time I checked it.

 

[gar hi]

One big difference I noticed right away with shortwave now as opposed to the past is all the angry preachers. :-\

 

[pianoplayer88key]

Yeah, and one of them, spewing his ____ from Oakland, CA, RF-polluted via Okeechobee, FL, says we won't even be around come summer to experience shortwave - come May 21, it's pretty much over. Blech. I do believe the end is soon, probably within my lifetime (unless I die early for some other reason), but I also believe what the Bible says about not setting an exact date. (Also I'm OK with preachers, as long as they're true to the Bible. In my very limited listening, the vast majority are not on some topics.)

Also I'm curious - what are the indicated signal strengths of a few of your strongest local stations, using only the G8's internal ferrite antenna? Here, my PL-606 (which is a few dB more sensitive) indicates about 73dB on 760 daytime (82dB night), 68dB on 910 day (71dB night), 73-76dB on 1130 (day/night, haven't consistently measured this one much), 81dB on 1170 day (mid 60s night), just to name a few. The strongest night skywave signal, 1580 KMIK, has been known to hit 70dB. Also how well does it do for bringing in stations across the gulf at noon using only the built-in antenna?

 

[gar hi]

I've never used my G8 for AM DXing because it's not as sensitive for AM as my Sangean PR-D5.

The FM, however, is just as sensitive and it's a great radio for shortwave considering it's size, which is the reason I got it.


How do I know the signal strengths? If there's a function for it, I never discovered it. :-[

 

[Tincap]

Thanks, tfcwings. That fixed it!

And Tincap, thanks for going to the trouble to find those online manuals. I appreciate it.



I notice the SW band is dead tonight compared to last night. I wish there were more interesting obscure stations I could find.

You're welcome, gar fla.

And as for the SW, it's certainly not dead, you've just got to know where to look for stuff. I've been rockin' out to , Radio Cairo's 'El-Bernameg Al-Aam' service on 9305 kHz (just kidding...it's Arabic talk and traditional Egyptian music). It's one of the few that operates 24/7 on a frequency.

I'm also tuning in to VOIRI's (Iran) Azeri service, with snippets of PBS Xizang sneaking in from underneath, on 6200 kHz. This Chinese PBS station is broadcasting in Tibetan, from Tibet...

On 6195 there's RNWO, which is just wrapping up as I type, in Dutch (which I understand).

On 6190, an old friend, BBC World Service, transmitting from Meyeton, South Africa, can be heard underneath CRI's Sackville relay.

There's no sign of the Voice of Vietnam, which should be relaying its Spanish program, on 6175 kHz, from Sackville, right now (0400 UTC/ 11 pm EST). I am however, getting accented English (very weak signal, just above audible threshold), which is presumed Voice of Malaysia, operating at 100 kW from Kajang.

These I'm picking up on my DX-440, with (better) and with out my external long wire. There's lots more out there, but I have to hit the showers.

Happy hunting!

~BG

 

[gar hi]

On 6190, an old friend, BBC World Service, transmitting from Meyeton, South Africa, can be heard underneath CRI's Sackville relay.

I just tuned to 6190 and it sounds like I'm hearing what you describe!

The station with the British guy speaking sounds louder than the other one.

 

[gar hi]

OMG!

I just tuned to 10,000 khz thinking it was WWV and at the top of the minute, it was a woman's voice! Is that WWVH from Hawaii?

Now a couple minutes later, it's a man's voice which sounds like WWV.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

I've never used my G8 for AM DXing because it's not as sensitive for AM as my Sangean PR-D5.

The FM, however, is just as sensitive and it's a great radio for shortwave considering it's size, which is the reason I got it.


How do I know the signal strengths? If there's a function for it, I never discovered it. :-[

Here's a photo of a G8 showing the signal display. It's on the upper right - 98,25 is the highest it will go, and the radio was overloading on a 23kW station 1/3 mile from my grandma's house. Pressing the "display" button should cycle through the various display options there, including temperature, time, alarm time and signal strength (not sure if they're in that order though). The manual should also mention it, too.

Also, how much better is the PR-D5 for sensitivity? Is it better by itself than the G8 with a tuned loop?

 

[cd637299]

@gar:

You must have heard WWVH! WWVH uses a female voice, to distinguish from the WWV male. And, you will never hear the 2 voices simultaneously. I believe that the TOH ID for WWVH is the minute between :59 and :00, while that for WWV is :00 to :01.

Listen between :59 & :00 again, especially around sunrise if you can. But I am sure you caught it.

Oh yeah....each minute you will hear the female voice between about :45 & :52 in the minute, and the male between :52 and :00.

cd

 

[gar hi]

Yes I sure did!

I heard the official ID and location description at the top of the hour. (59 minutes actually)

I've been listening to see if I could get it again the past hour but it's now very weak and barely audible.

As to tfcwings question.

The PR-D5 has a 200 mm ferrite antenna and has even picked up stations my car radio can not.

I've never compared the G8 with a loop to the PR-D5 without. Where I am, WFLA and WHNZ which are only a couple miles away can be heard on pretty much of the AM band during the day on any radio so this isn't a good place for daytime DXing.

The loop helps even more on some stations but only during the day. I don't notice any difference using a loop at night.

 

[cd637299]

gar,

I have a small SW radio with a 1/8" jack---Kaito 1102. The "antenna" I use is not the greatest for SW---I simply use my outdoor FM antenna's F-cable converted to male 1/8"....but I heard the faint female voice about 5 minutes ago.

When I was stationed in Alaska (Elmendorf AFB to be exact), they actually had a direct telephone line which apparently was a speaker in front of a SW radio, for WWV. You could call anytime to hear it. Funny thing was, it was a mix of WWV, WWVH and JJY Japan (which no longer is on SW)....what a mess that was! BTW JJY had a female announcer speaking out "J-J-Y....J-J-Y" (in English, as Japan does not have our alphabet) each minute.

I wonder if their "direct line" (907 area code) still exists.....this was > 30 yearsa go.

cd

 

[pianoplayer88key]

How good is the PR-D5 at combining sensitivity, selectivity, and audio quality? For example, is daytime reception possible, using only the internal 200mm ferrite antenna, from 980s WDVH or WRNE, 1240s WCZZ or WFSX, or 1260 WFTW, with audio comparable to my crystal-set reception of 760 KFMB, 1470 XERCN and 1700 XEPE, even when WFLA and WHNZ are broadcasting with comparable audio, without any trace of splatter or blocking/desense from the local pests? Also is anything possible on 960? I was checking FCC and radio-locator, but the closest seems to be at least 2-3x past the 0.15mV/m predicted contour.

Disclaimer: the stations I suggested for reception tests will usually not work if WFLA and WHNZ run IBOC. On the other hand, I have received 594 JOAK from Tokyo, Japan, in spite of being only 7.7 miles east of 5kW IBOC-spewing 600 KOGO (albeit with my PL-380 + SAT set to a MUCH narrower audio bandwidth than a crystal set has), so I guess anything may be possible?

Also, I thought someone recently was wondering what the current callsign of 690 in Rosarito, Baja California is. I can't remember which board/topic it was in, and am having trouble finding the post now, but this recording from yesterday afternoon should remove all doubt as to their current callsign.

Also, according to Wikipedia, WWV is available by calling (303) 499-7111, and WWVH is at (808) 335-4363.

 

[gar hi]

How good is the PR-D5 at combining sensitivity, selectivity, and audio quality? For example, is daytime reception possible, using only the internal 200mm ferrite antenna, from 980s WDVH or WRNE, 1240s WCZZ or WFSX, or 1260 WFTW, with audio comparable to my crystal-set reception of 760 KFMB, 1470 XERCN and 1700 XEPE, even when WFLA and WHNZ are broadcasting with comparable audio, without any trace of splatter or blocking/desense from the local pests? Also is anything possible on 960? I was checking FCC and radio-locator, but the closest seems to be at least 2-3x past the 0.15mV/m predicted contour.

During the day with all the IBOC hiss, nothing can be heard on 950, 960, 980, and 990. Even the stations next to them have the splatter and the voice of WFLA. The same goes for the frequencies surrounding WHNZ.

Both stations share the same set of towers which are only a couple miles from me.

In fact, every empty or weak frequency on the AM band has some traces of splatter from the two stations during the day. On my Walkman, it's not splatter that covers the dial but the weak audible sound of the stations themselves on empty and weak frequencies.

When the IBOC goes off at night, it's a completely different story with no splatter on the AM dial and I can hear something on 950 and 990 and 1320 and 1270
though I haven't IDed them.

 

[trusty]

Quick side note.....

Where I am, WFLA and WHNZ which are only a couple miles away can be heard on pretty much of the AM band during the day on any radio so this isn't a good place for daytime DXing.

GarFla, we may have something here from the "Small World" category:

I just called up a Google map on WFLA/WHNZ (WDAE when I lived there in the '60's.). I didn't realize the towers were so close to where I lived. You are not in Bay Crest Park, are you???

 

[Tincap]

The D5 is pretty good, although not quite up there with my DX-440. I did bag Saudi on 1521 with it earlier this year. One draw back is that it lacks SW bands...

Currently, (1630 UTC/11:30 am EST) AIR's domestic Vividh Bharati service (music, commercials and all) in Hindi, is fighting its way through the background noise, on 9870 kHz. AIR's domestic services can come in quite strong (on other frequencies here, later in the afternoon) and since AIR does not stream online, this is still the only way to catch 'em.

~BG

 

[Tincap]

As I continue to work from home, this afternoon, I'm currently tuned into the Arabic service of RTV Marocaine (Morocco) on 15345 kHz. A local hip-hop outfit is being interviewed in studio. What's interesting is that there's enough French in the conversation (Morocco having a heavy French influence, including in their local Arab dialect), to gather that these guys are doing a form of Islamic hip-hop...

Generally, at this time of the afternoon, into the early evening, is when the transmissions from Middle East start making their presence felt. The Europeans are also kicking in, with their 'evening' programing to Africa.

~BG