Shortwave Overview

Option C is about the magic of hearing voices from the other side of the world using nothing more than a receiver and an antenna. You’ll spend at least six hours listening to shortwave and medium-wave stations at different times of day, log what you hear, map the stations geographically, and discover how propagation changes between day and night.

What You’ll Complete

• Req 8c1 — Shortwave Listening Sessions: Four one-hour shortwave listening sessions (day and night), properly logged and mapped.
• Req 8c2 — Medium-Wave Listening: Two one-hour medium-wave (AM) listening sessions, logged and mapped.
• Req 8c3 — Compare Day & Night Logs: Analyze frequency and signal strength differences between day and night.
• Req 8c4 — Why Distant Stations Appear at Night: Explain the propagation science behind nighttime medium-wave DX.
• Req 8c5 — Smartphone Listening: Demonstrate listening to domestic and international broadcasts on a phone.

Equipment Options

You don’t need expensive equipment. Any of these will work:

• Dedicated shortwave receiver (portable models from manufacturers like Tecsun, Sangean, or C. Crane)
• Software-defined radio (SDR) — a $25 RTL-SDR USB dongle connected to a laptop
• WebSDR — free online receivers you can tune from your browser (try websdr.org or kiwisdr.com)

For medium-wave, any AM radio (including a car radio) works.