Shortwavers...great sites re: current reception conditions!!!

[Gloria]

Current solar xray/geomagnetic conditions.
http://www.n3kl.org/sun/noaa.html

This one is really great: The T-Index map, which shows how crappy or good conditions are relative to the predicted monthly levels. Right now the entire Northern Hemisphere over the US is RED, meaning we're having depressed conditions.....no kidding!!!!! There's lots of other cool stuff at this site also.....for all regions, too.

http://www.ips.gov.au/Main.php?CatID=6&SecID=4&SecName=North%20America&SubSecID=2&SubSecName=T%20Index%20Map

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Oh jeez...

I so wish I had a good shortwave receiver. Not a great one, just good. Many a fascinated hour was spent in front of a shortwave receiver, ferreting out obscure signals from the QRM.

I heard a lot of history, too. Raw history.

Then, there was my quarter-mile long wire, from the top of the chateau, to the tree, in the south of France. ;-)

[Gloria]

2. The South of France is where I want to go....my desperate

attempts to recapture my French are meeting roadblocks...in the form of 3 doggies. I can't seem to spend as much time as I want to on it...

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. South of France.

Back then, it was wonderful. The people still liked Americans. I cannot imagine what it might be like now.

[HereSince1628]

3. Wow, that's what I call a LONG wire antenna!

I had an old Health Kit something or other that I bought from a friend for $5 back before the days of SSB.


Several times it went into the trash because of what my father heard come out of the speakers. Ultimately I wizend up and bought a dreadful set of headphones that had inflatible cushions.

I last saw it in my nephew's bedroom...he said he collects antique radios!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

4. I would kill, maim and destroy...

For one of those old Heathkits. As long as it had a BFO on it. ;-)

Yeah, that was one long antenna. I was given a 1200 ft spool of Belkin wire. So I just ran that sucker out and hooked it up to the radio. Ghod only knows what frequency it resonated at.

I was able to pick up broadcasts from Ulan Bator(a rare catch) and Albania, along with many other interesting stations and traffic.

Good stuff. Great fun. Someday I want to get a WinRadio.

[Gloria]

6. Did you blow out anything from static electricity???

Or overload the radio?

I want to ground mine. I'm afraid of blowing out the little microcircuits....