KHz / Status / Country / Programme / Power kW (effective ERP) / next city near transmitter / audio bandwidth / Programme type and remarks
531 Alg Radio Algérie Int. 600 Ain El Beida, ne 5.3/9.3 NB yth, n 300 kW
Rom Romania Actualitati 8 Petrosani, w NB
&Far Kringvarp Foroeya 10 Akraberg 4.5 NB
&Spa RNE R.Nacional 6 4 tx 7.5- NB, daytime : RNE5 with 2x25 +2x20 kW
540 Hng Kossuth Radio 2000 Solt, c 4.8 NB
*Spa Onda Cero Catalunia 50 Barcelona, ne Com
*Mrc Al Idaa Al-Watania 300 Sidi Bennour, c NB
*Kwt Radio Kuwait 600 Kabd NB
549 Svn Radio Koper 15 Beli Kriz PB
Alg Jil FM 300 Sidi Hamadouche, nw NB
558 Rom Radio Craiova 400 Craiova, wc PB Loc, + R.Rom.Cultural (NB)
Spa RNE R.Nacional 100 San Sebastian, Valencia 7.5
Svn Muravideki Magyar R. 10 Maribor, e 5.3 PB min
&Gbr Spectrum R. Int. 0.8 London, se Com Asian
567 Rom Romania Aktualit. 50 Brasov 9.5 NB
Spa RNE R.5 55 Murcia, Marbella NB
576 Bul Horizont 200 Vidin, nw NB, will cease soon
Spa RNE R.5 100 Barcelona, e 7.3 NB, echo by parallel wtx on Canary Isl.
585 Spa RNE R.Nacional 600 Madrid, c 10.0 NB info
&Irn Radio Qaran 600 Teheran, n 13.0 NB
&Tun R.Nationale Tunis. 200 Gafsa, w NB
594*Ita Radio Challenger 1 Milano, n Com with rebroadcasts of other services
*Sau SBA Nedaa Al-Islam 50 Makkah, w PB
595*Mrc Al Idaa Al-Watania 50 Oujda, e NB
603 Rom R.RomaniaActualitati100 4 tx 13.0/9.0 NB info min, echo (not simulcasting)
&Gbr BBC Radio 4 (LW) 0.5 Newcastle, neEng NB aff
&Gbr Smooth Radio 0.4 Maidstone, seEng Loc Com
612 Spa RNE R.Nacional 20 Lleida/Vitoria NB
Mrc SNRT Arabic 140 Meknes, c NB
621 Spa RNE R.Nacional 70 Palma + 2 tx NB echoes
Mda Voice of Russia 1000 Maiac FS 05-07 UTC
&Egy Voice of the Arabs 1000 Alexandria, ne 14.0 NB
630 Tun RTT Arabic 300 Tunis, n NB
Rom R.Timisoara / mn 400 Timisoara, w 9.3 NB, also "Maghiar German" Hungarian and German
639 Spa RNE R.Nacional 300 La Coruna, nw + 5 tx 9.5 NB info
Cze Country Radio 20 Liblice, n Com
648 Gbr Radio Caroline 4 Ipswich, eEng 7.0 Com Rock
Svn Radio Murski Val 10 Murska Sobota 5.3 PB in Hungarian, also Slowenja 1
657 Spa RNE R.5 100 Madrid, c 9.5 PB
*Irn Radio Gilan 100 Gilan, nw 4.5 PB
666 Spa SER 50 Barcelona, e Com
Irn Radio Iran 50 Shusta, nw NB
675*Qat Radio Qatar 600 Doha 4.5 NB
Ned Radio Calypso 0.1 Emmen, ne Com Polka
684 Spa RNE R.Nacional 600 Sevilla, s NB info
Tun R.Nationale Tunis. 50 Medenin, c NB
Rus R.Radonesh 10 St.Petersburg, nw 12.0 NB stronger?
693 Gbr BBC 5 Live 291 11 tx 6.4 NB talk
702*Alg R.Coran/R.Laghouat 25 Laghouat, n NB, also Chaine1/R.Culture
*Oma BBC WS 800 A'Seela FS arabic
*Sau Radio Jeddah 100 Duba NB
711 Rum R.RomaniaActualitati 50 Sighet, ne 9.0 NB
&Irn Radio Ahwaz 200 Ahwaz, sw PB
720 Gbr BBC Radio 4 (LW) 11 3 tx 9.0 NB aff
Rom R.Rom.Actualitati 35 3 tx NB mix, echoes
729 Spa RNE R.Nacional 195 6 tx 9.0 NB info
Grc ERA 1 10? Athens, c NB, probably reduced power
738 Spa RNE R.Nacional 100 Barcelona, ne 9.5/5.8 NB info, reduced power estimated, nominal 600 KW
747*Irn Radio Iran 250 2 tx NB
*Spa RNE Radio 5 10 Cadiz, s NB
*Ned R.Emmeloord/Seagull 0.1 Emmeloord, n Com
756 Rom R.Rom.Actualitati 400 Sibiu, s 5.0 NB
*Gbr BBC Radio 4 2 Redruth, swEng NB
765&Sau Al-Quran 20 Qurayyat, nw NB
774 Spa RNE R.Nacional 265 7 tx 10.0/5.0 NB info
Egy Al Sharq 500 Abis NB
&Gbr BBC Radio 4 2 2 tx NB
783 Syr As-Suriyyah 1 600 Tartus, w 6.5 NB 1st arab, irregular
Spa COPE 50 Barcelona, ne 7.0 Com
792 Spa SER 20 Sevilla, s Com info
Cze Radio Dechkova 10 Hradec Kralove Com
&Irn Radio Zanjan 50 Zanjan, nw PB, 791.9 KHz
801 Spa RNE R.Nacional 55 4 tx NB
810 Gbr BBC Radio Scotland 205 3 tx 6.5 PB mix Scotland
Mac Radio Skopje 300 Skopje, c 6.5 NB, probably reduced power
819 Egy Al-Barna 1000 Alexandria, n 6.0 NB weak modulation
Ned Low Power stations 0.1
828 Rus Radiogazeta Slovo 10 St.Petersburg, nw 10.0 Loc "patriotic"
*Gbr BBC Asian Network 0.2 Wolverhampton, sEng PB
&Ned Low Power stations 0.1
837 Spa COPE 57 Burgos / Sevilla + 2 tx Loc, echoes
Gbr BBC Radio Cumbria 1 Barrow, nwEng Loc
Gbr BBC Asian Network 0.7 Leicester, wEng PB min
Ukr Persha Program UR1 130 Taraniv / Cherniv 9.0 NB, irregular
Irn Radio Esfahan 400 Esfahan, c PB
846 Ned Album AM 0.1 Uden Com Oldies
855 Rom R.RomaniaActualitati250 Bucarest 9.5 NB mix
Spa RNE R.Nacional 440 Murcia + 9tx 7.5 NB info "Radio Nacional de Espana"
864 Egy Al-Qaran 500 Santah, n 5.5 NB rel
873 Hng MR4 Nemzetisegi 40 Budapest,c / Pecs,s NB min
Gbr BBC Radio Norfolk 0.2 West Lynn, eEng Loc
Mda R.Moldova Actualid. 75 Chisinau, c NB
Spa SER 25 Zaragoza, ne 5.5 Com info
882 Gbr BBC Radio Wales 12 Cardiff, sWal 6.5 PB mix for Wales
Irn Radio Mahabad 60 Mahabad, w
&Spa COM Radio 10 Barcelona, ne Com "Catalunya Ona Municipal"
891 Alg Chaine 1 100 Algiers, n NB
Tur TRT Radio 1 100 Antalya, sw NB, 04-08 UTC
Ned Low Power stations 0.1
900 Sau Radio Riyadh 1000 Qurayyat NB
*Spa Radio Popular Herr. 1 Bilbao, n Com
909 Gbr BBC 5 Live 466 11 tx 5.0 NB talk
Rom Radio Cluj 200 Cluj, ne 7.0/4.7 PB, lso R.Bukarest, SRR Kolozsvari
Rom R.RomaniaActualitati 50 Timisoara, nw NB
918 Ned Low Power stations 0.1
927 Dnk World Music Radio 0.3 Copenhagen, e Com
Ita Power 927 0.1 Milano, n Com
936 Irn R.Urmia 300 Miandoab, nw 9.5 PB
Spa RNE Radio 5 45 Valladolid, c / Zaragoza,ne NB
945 Rom R.Romania Actualidad 14 Miercuria Ciuc, c 5.0 NB
954 Cze Country Radio 5 Ceske Budjuvice, sw 5.0 Com
Spa Onda Cero 50 Madrid, c Com News
Qua Qatar Al Doha 1500 Al Arish NB main progr.
963 Tun R.Tunis Int. 100 Jedeida, n 7.0 FS
Gbr Sunrise Radio 1 East London Com Asian
972 Gbr Sunrise Radio 1 London 6.5 Com Asian
&Irn Radio Ilam 100 Ilam, w PB
981 Cze Radio Czesky Impuls 1 Praha, c 5.2 Com
Alg Chaine 2 Thakafiyah 100 Alger, c 4.8 NB in Berber, n: 300 kW
Ita RAI R.Filo/Trieste 10 Trieste, n NB / Loc in Slowenian
990 Spa SER Radio Bilbao 15 Bilbao, n / Radio Cadiz,s Com info
Gbr BBC Radio 5 live 1 Tywyn NB talk
999 Mda Voice of Russia 300 Grigoriopol, e 5.2 FS, also BBC and Deutsche Welle and Radio Pridnistroya
Ita RAI Radio 1 50 Torino, nw 9.0 NB
Spa COPE R.Pop.Madrid 50 Madrid, c 9.0 Com info "Radio Popular de Madrid"
&Gbr BBC Solent/5live/WS 1 Southampton, s Loc / NB
1008 Spa SER 20 Girona, Badajoz, Alicante Com info
Ned Low Power stations 0.1
1017 Spa RNE Radio 5 20 Granada / Burgos NB
Gbr Absolute Classic Rock 0.6 Shrewsbury, wEng Com
1026 Irn Radio Tabriz 200 Tabriz, nw PB
Gbr BBC Radio Jersey 1 Jersey, s Loc / NB
Spa SER 24 Reus + 5 tx 9.0 Com Loc
1035:Est Radio Eli 100 Tartu, c 4.5 Com Rel in Russian
Gbr Lyca Gold 3 London 6.3 Com Asian
1044 Spa SER 35 San Sebastian,n / Valladol. 9.0 Com Loc
1053 Gbr Talk Sport 950 12 tx 5.5 Com talk, echoes
Rom R.Iasi/Rom.Actual. 400 Iasi, ne PB
1062 Irn Radio Kerman 50 Kerman, c 5.5 PB
1071 Gbr Talk Sport 2.5 Newcastle + 2 tx Com talk, echoes
1080 Spa SER 20 5 tx 9.0 Loc: Granada, Palma, La Coruna, Huesca
1089 Gbr Talk Sport 314 7 tx 5.5 NB talk, echoes
1098 Spa RNE 5 30 5 tx NB/Loc
1107 Spa RNE Radio 5 95 5 tx 7.5 NB / Loc
Gbr Talk Sport 6.5 6 tx Com talk
1116 Hng Danko Radio 20 Miskolc, ne / Mosonm.,nw 4.8 NB
Spa SER 5 3 tx Com R.Albacete / R.Pontevedra / R.Tarrasa
Gbr BBC R.Derby / 5live 1.2 Derby, w Loc / NB
Gbr BBC R.Guernsey 0.5 Guernsey Isl., s Loc
1125 Spa RNE Radio 5 52 5 tx 7.5 NB
1134 Spa COPE 30 5 tx 10.0 Com news/loc, echoes
Ned low power stations 0.1
Kwt Radio Kuwait 100 Kabd NB
1143*Spa COPE 10 Ourense, nw / Jaen, s Com info
1152 Rom R.Rom.Aktualitati 950 Cluj, w / Kupavna 9.3 NB, mix
Spa RNE Radio 5 69 6 tx NB
Gbr LBC 23 London Com Loc, soon Sky News Radio
1161 Irn IRIB World Service 300 Qasr, w FS arab
1170 Cro Radio Capodistria 15 Rijeka, w 4.8 PB mix in Italian, also R.Slowenija
&Gbr Smooth Radio 0.1 Portsmouth 6.5 Com
1179 Rom R.RomaniaActualitati207 Bacau, e / Vascau 5.0 NB mix
Spa SER 50 Valencia, e 9.5 Com
1188:Hng MR 4 Nemzetiseg 400 Marcali/Szolnok 5.0 min, only daytime
Irn Radio Payam 300 Teheran, n PB
Ita Radio Studio X 5 Livorno, n Com
1197 Rom R.Cluj/R.Neumarkt 14 Brasov PB min (Radio Targu Mures)
1206 pirates Ned/Grc
1215 Spa COPE 20 Leon / Cordoba Com
Ita Radio Z100 5 Milano area, n pirate? power estimated, 80s soul music
1224 Spa COPE 40 7 tx 15.0 Com/Loc
&Ned low power stations 0.1
1242 Irn Radio Iran 50 Zanjan, nw NB
1251 Hng Danko Radio 25 Nyiregyhaza/Szombathely NB, Loc "Nyiregihazi Regionalis Studio", mn "Nemzetisegi Adasok", echoes, 05-21 UTC
*Irn Radio Iran 100 Kiashar, n NB
&Ned low power stations 0.1
1260 Spa SER 10 Murcia / Algeciras, s 8.0 Com
Gbr Smooth Radio 0.6 Farndon, nWal Com
Gbr Sabras Radio 0.3 Leicester, nwEng Loc Com Asian
Cze Radio Dechkova 0.1 Praha, c Com Czech brass music, active?
1269 Spa COPE 15 Zamora / Badajoz Com news
1278:Ukr Persha Program UR1 100 Petrivka, s 9.5 NB 18-21
Irn Radio Kermanshah 200 Karmanshah, w PB
&Gbr Pulse 2 0.4 Bradford, cEng 6.5 Loc Com
1287 Spa SER 14 R.Lerida / R.Lugo /R.Burgos 7.0 Com news, long echo
Ned Low Power stations 0.1
1296 Spa COPE Valencia 20 Valencia, e 8.0 Com
&Gbr Radio XL 6 Birmingham, wEng 6.5 Loc Asian
1305 Gbr Premier Radio 1 London 6.5 Com relg
Spa RNE Radio 5 55 5 tx 9.0 NB
1314 Rom Antena Satelor 44 Timisoara,nw/Constanza,se 5.0 NB folklore
Rom SRR Radio Oltenia 10 Craiova, s 4.8 PB, after 22UTC
Spa RNE Radio 5 55 4 tx 10.0 NB
1323 Rom R.Cluj/R.Neumarkt 7 Targu Mures 4.9 PB + German minority service
1332 Rom R.RomaniaActualitati 50 Galati, e NB
Ned Low Power stations 0.1
1341 Spa Onda Cero 15 Ciudad Real / Almeria Com News
Egy Radio Quran 100 Cairo, n NB
1350 Ita Radio Z100 1 Milano, n licenced?
Hng MR4 Nemeszetegi 5 Györ, nw 5.0 NB min, 07-19 UTC
:Arm Trans World Radio 1000 Gavar Rel 18-1915 UTC Trans World Radio in Kurd/Turk/Hebr/Rus
1359 Ita low power stations 0.3
1368 Gbr Manx Radio 20 Isle of Man 8.5 PB sen, off at night
1377:Arm Trans World Radio 50 Gavar Rel in Farsi/Arab/Kurd 18-21 UTC
Chn CNR 1 600 Xingyang, w 10.0 NB
1386:Ltu R.Baltic Waves Int. 75 Viesintos, ne FS relays R.Poland, NHK Japan, RFE/R.Liberty
1395 Ned Radio Seabreeze 0.1 Grouw Com Oldies
Ned Low Power stations 0.1
1404 Rom Radio Cluj 50 Sighet, n 10.0 PB loc & min
Rom R.Romania Actualid. 7 Sibiu, c 9.7 NB
Grc ERT Komotinis 50 Komotini, n 4.1 PB
1413 Oma BBC WS / Arabic 1000 A'Seela, e FS
Gbr Premier Radio 1 London (2 tx) Com relg
Gbr BBR R.5/Gloucetersh. 0.5 Berkeley, wEng 6.1 Loc
Spa RNE R.5 20 Jaen,s/Girona,ne/Vigo,nw NB/ Loc
1422 Rom R.Romania Actualitati 7 Ramnicu Valcea, c 9.0 NB
Alg Radio Coran/Culture 50 Algiers, n NB
1431:Ukr R.Ukraine Internat. 800 Mykolayev, e 6.0 FS in Rus 16-20 UTC
*Dji Radio Sawa 600 Djibouti 7.5 FS arab-pop (USA)
1440 Dnk Radio 208 0.5 Copenhagen, e 6.3 Com
Sau Radio Riyadh 1600 Dammam, e NB, weak mod
1449 Gbr BBC Radio 4 (LW) 2 Aberdeen, eSco 5.2 NB aff
&Sau Radio Riyadh 100 Jeddah, w PB
1458 Gbr Lyca Radio 50 London 6.7 Com Asian
Rom R.RomaniaActualitati 50 Constanza, e NB
1467 Fra Trans World Radio 1000 Roumoules, se 5.2 Rel 20-23 UTC
*Irn Radio Qom 100 Qom, w NB, on 1467.3
*Sau Radio Riyadh 50 Riyadh, c PB
1476 Gbr Radio Seagull 0.3 Coalville, se Com (from NL) 20-04 UTC / Carillon Wellbeing Radio 04-20 UTC
*Egy Al-Quran 20 Al-Minya,c / Sohag,c NB
*Irn Radio Kordestan 20 Marivan, nw PB, on 1476.25
1485 Spa SER 26 4 tx 5.0 Com, Alcoy, Santander, Zamora, Melilla
Gbr BBC Radio 4 0.8 Carlisle, nwEng PB
Ger Campusradio Erlangen 0.1 Erlangen, s College, transmitter project Joe / Funklust
& low power stations all over Europe & NL
1494 Mda Radio Moldova Act 60 2 tx NB, Moldova channel 2, one transmitter 70 Hz below
Swe Asfalttelegrafen 0.3 Borås, sw Com Rock-Oldies
Irl Radio Rock Revolution 1 Sligo, n Pirate
1503 Ita Radio Metropolis 5 Trieste, ne Com
Spa RNE Radio 5 16 Monfort, La Linea NB
Irn Radio Iran 200 Bushehr, sw NB arab
Bih Radio Zavidovici 1 Zavidovici, c Com
1512 Irn Radio Ardabil 50 Ardabil, nw PB
1521 Spa SER 2 Castellon Com info
Chn China R.Int. 500 Xingjiang, w 10.0 FS in Russian 11-20 / 00-02 UTC
1530 Rom R.RomaniaActualitati 50 Nanauti, n 4.8 NB, power estimated, nominally 14 KW
Gbr Pulse 2 0.7 Huddersfield, cEng Com Loc old
1539 Spa SER 11 Elche-Elx / Manresa Com info echoes
Uae Pravasi Bharathi 200 Abu Dhabi Com
*Irn Radio Golestan 50 Gorgan, n PB
1548:Mol VoRussia/China R.I. 500 Maiac, c 5.5 FS
1557 Gbr Smooth Radio 0.5 Southampton, sEng Com
1566 Ned Vahon Hindustani 0.06Den Haag, w Ethnic Com
Gbr Premier Christian R. 0.8 Guildford, se Rel
Gbr BBC R.Somerset/5live 1 Bristol area, sw Loc / NB
1575 Gbr Radio Seerah 0.003 Leicester Rel Islam
Ita Radio Centrale 1 Milano, n liecenced?
1584 Rom R.Vocea Spirantein 4 4tx Rel
several low power stns all over EU
1593 Fra Bretagne 5 5 St.Brieuc, nw 7.0 Com Jazz/Chanson
Rom Radio Cluj 9 Sibiu, s + Oradea, nw 04-19 /Antena Siuliu (only Sibiu)/ min
Rom R.Targu Mures/mn 14 Harghita, c 04-19 /mn "Neumarktner Rundfunk" in German
Rom R.RomaniaActualitati 14 Calarasi, se weaker than Cluj/Targu Mures
1602 Spa SER / Loc 20 Linares/Segovia/Cartagena/Ontinyent Com
Lva R.Tsentr 1 Riga Com Russian
&Ned Radio0511 0.1 Ternaard, ne
several low power stns all over EU
1610 - 1700 pirate stations, mostly from the Netherlands (typical powers 0.01 - 2 kW)
1610 - 1800 pirate stations from Greece and the Balcan (some also operate in the regular MW range, powers up to 25 KW)
Long Wave Radio
153 Rou Antena Satelor/RA 200 Brasov, c NB folklore, 22-05 R.Romania Actualitati
171*Mrc Medi 1 2000 Nador, ne 9.0 Com
189*Isl RAS 1 300 Gufuskalar, nw 9.8 NB
198 Gbr BBC Radio 4 (LW) 600 Birmingham, wEng + 2 tx Sco 4.7 NB aff
225 Pol Polskie Radio 1 600 Warszawa, e 6.3 NB mix
252 Alg RTA 1/3/4 1500 Alger, n 10.5 NB arab, Arabic, French and Int. Sces.
Introduction
Surf the Medium Wave ! You can travel the world in front of your speaker.
This list originally was for people who want to start exploring
the medium wave. When it was first pubshed on the internet in 1997, there was much more variety but also a lot of strong interference. More and more stations especially in Central Europe are now switching their transmitters off. Weaker stations from the UK and Spain, even from the Middle East and Iran suddenly appear if you have a good antenna. The list has become more and more comprehensive, also including these weaker stations. The strong ones you'll notice first are bold.
Receivers
Affordable portables for a start
The little
Tecsun PL606 offers impressive quality and abilities for only 35 €. It contains a DSP chip that processes the signals like a little computer. FM and SW reception is decent, too. So you can even adjust the bandwidth- a feature usually limited to more expensive communication receivers.
I was also very satisfied with the
Grundig Yacht Boy 400- the one with knobs sold in the late 1990s for an equivalent of 140 €. Used models are available on e-bay for about 35 € if you're lucky. Two bandwidths, also LW and even SSB mode (single side band reception for amateur radio and some utility reception). In my short test it beat the
Sony ICF7600. The Grundig had better results on MW and a better sound quality.
The Sangean PR3L (€ 90 without shortwave) wasn't tested too bad too. In the USA the solid "GE Super Radio" seems to have a good reputation (about 40 $). You can be lucky with car radios, depending on the antenna and interference by the car's electronics, which is a real issue.
Modern hifi tuners usually dissapoint as far as AM is concerned. Walkmen are not bad. Some radios from the 70ies or older even ones with valves if they still work offer surprising qualities. Maybe your grandma has got one in the attic.
Communications receivers
...are the choice for a bit more dedicated approach to MW. Good receivers usually cost at least about 500 €.
Overseas reception on MW will become only possible with the exprensive ones, in combination with an outdoor antenna in an environment free of electric noise.
Software Defined Receivers (SDR)
are even better. They work in combination with a PC or notebook and offer features serious MW listeres must have dreamt about in all these years. You can connect to other receivers around the world via the internet and tune the band there. There is almost no latency. It appears as if the remote antenna was connected to your own device.
The SDR hardware market is rapidly expanding. Look at the
Wikipedia list of SDR receivers. You can combine most SDRs with a number of different software solutions. You can start remote listening with the free
SDRSpace Console.
My choice is the
Perseus receiver with superior audio. There is a trial version of its unique software without hardware: You can also connect to remote Perseus receivers using it. Adjust to any bandwidth and play with sidebands to optimize the results. No filter hardware can reach the capability and flexibility of digital signal processing. Sensitivity can be driven to extremes to detect the weakest carriers from the other side of the world. It is even possible to record the whole MW at once (creating a WAV file with 2 MHz bandwidth). Enthusiasts exchange their files via the internet. So you can get an impression what it is like to listen to MW in America or Australia.
Antennas
Walkmen and transistor radios often have
built-in antannas. You can
focus the reception directions by
turning the whole receiver.
If your receiver has an AM antenna plug, connect it with a wire (5 m is good, 100 m is better). If possible, lead that wire through a window
to the outside. Sometimes
radiators are amazingly good antennas. Put the receiver close to it or connect the wire with it.
If you want to go further I recommend magnetic loop antennas. They cope with noisy environments because they de-emphasize signals which are only a few metres away. And they do not require too much space. The
Wellbrook ALA1530 is a loop
with 1 m diametre. The results are excellent. Pricing is about 300 €. If the ALA1530 is too large for your indoor setup, AOR has a tinier magnetic loop out: the
LA380. Haven't tested it yet. There are many alternatives.
Avoid electric interference
Switch off the PC (if your receiver is no SDR), the TV and the cell phone,
and plug off external power supplies because they cause heavy
interference.
The
sound quality on MW practically never reaches FM-sound (though some stations deliver adequate results with an extended bandwidth).
When two or more AM-stations (standing for Amplitude Modulation)
occupy the same channel, they will be heard simultanously. So listen for the background.
This is one major difference to FM where only the superior signal will be heard.
Many stations pause with their transmissions in the night.
Listening to the clear frequencies can be really exciting then because weaker
stations can get through suddenly.
Evening and Nighttime Reception
Darkness leads to strong signals up to 1500 km. So in the night all Europe can be heard.
On some channels up to 4 stations appear all at once.
Very interesting are the hours around sundown and sunrise.
- Sunrise: stations from the west can be heard better.
- Sunset: stations from the east can be heard better.
sometimes it is amazing how strong stations from one direction suddenly are.
- in the winter season it remains rather dark daytime reception improves because it remains rather
dark all the time
- about half of the stations listed here have a break of transmission in the
night. Then, the weaker stations suddenly appear
- with very good equipment distances of up to 10.000 km can be taken, but
too often it is impossible because of interference.
The local stations in a destination up to 50 km remain the strongest ones anyway. Between
50 and 200 km there is a "skip zone" with weaker signals.
Daytime reception
In the daytime, only local reception is possible.
Transmitter coverage in accordance to power (kw) during light hours
with an average receiver, built-in antenna or 1 m wire in the summer
kW Long Wave 700 1500 KHz
--------------------------------------------------
0.1 60 30 20 kilometres
1 100 50 30
10 200 100 70
100 500 300 150
1000 1000 500 300
Over the sea reception is much better.
Very interesting is also
short wave. There you can hear all
the continents of the world with their foreign services, most of them with
English programmes for some hours of the day. On MW you get the
national domesic services.
Related links: