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S 3 5 0 DL O PE RATI ON M AN UAL
21
21 WHAT ARE BANDS?
TO FULLY ENJOY SHORTWAVE
LISTENING , THIS IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT CONCEPT TO
LEARN RIGHT AWAY.
If you have ever listened to AM or FM radio, then
you already know what a band is. The AM band is
a frequency range stretching form 530 to 1600
kilohertz, the FM band is 88-108 megahertz. A
band is simply a frequency range where stations
are located.When you look for stations in these
‘bands’, you simply tune around with the tuning
knob until you find a station you like. Shortwave
is similar and the shortwave bands have names
like 25 meters, 31 meters, 49 meters, etc. These
are abbreviated 25m, 31m and 49m. Just like in
AM and FM radio, one simply gets into the
shortwave band and tunes around, looking
for stations.
For example, the 19 meter shortwave band
encompasses the frequency range of 15100 to
15600 kilohertz. On the next page is a list of
the shortwave bands used for international
shortwave broadcasts and their corresponding
frequency ranges. Since some radios show
frequency in megahertz and some in kilohertz,
both are shown here. The S350DL shows short-
wave frequencies in kilohertz, abbreviated KHz.
20
19 INTRODUCTION TO SHORTWAVE
Shortwave enables you to hear stations from
around the world. Now that you have a short-
wave radio, no doubt you’ll want to hear
worldwide stations right away. If you’re new to
shortwave, please take some time to learn the
basics outlined below. To successfully listen to
shortwave stations you must know how to find
them. They are found in the shortwave ‘bands’. If
you’re an experienced shortwave listener, you’ll
already know what bands are and how to use
them, but if you’re new, you’ll need to learn
about bands first. After that, you will have excel-
lent success. Please read on.
20 FINDING DESIRED STATIONS
HOW TO IDENTIFY WHAT
YOU’RE LISTENING TO AND
HOW TO FIND STATIONS THAT
YOU WANT TO HEAR
We recommend the use of a comprehensive
shortwave directory, especially if you want to hear
specific countries or to identify the station you’re
listening to. Such a directory will alphabetically
list the countries broadcasting on shortwave,
showing their language, target area, broadcast
time, and frequency that is used. The best short-
wave directory is PASSPORT TO WORLD BAND
RADIO, available in major bookstores. Published
by International Broadcasting Services, Ltd., Box
300, Penn's Park, Pennsylvania 18943 or available
at www.passband.com.This publication has sepa-
rate chapters for English and non-English broad-
casts, titled World-Wide Broadcasts In English and
Voices From Home.