European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 28, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine tuning the shortwave bands to bring the world into any household. Tuning in the world on shortwave is photos and text by Dave Didio in the wee hours of the night Long after everyone else in the City is asleep a propaganda War is heating up. From a dimly lit room in a nondescript House voices carry out into the hallway. The British speak of soviet violations of International Law and the soviets won t talk about it. Israel vows to track Down terrorists who undermine their peace efforts in the Middle East while the United states elaborates on the need for continued dialog on nuclear disarmament. Turkey and Greece Are there too but heard less often. And occasionally a heavily accented though unidentified voice is sprinkled throughout the discussion. But there is nothing special about this House. It could be any House in any City or Village. And the participants in this debate never meet face to face because they Are Only voices carried through the Ether on the shortwave radio bands. The world of shortwave listening is a fascinating one crammed with music news broadcasts from every nation on Earth messages from ships at sea Ham radio transmissions and even communications relayed from astronauts orbiting the planet. While most people Are Content to listen to their favorite am or pm radio station they Are unaware that tuning the frequencies Between those bands from 2 to 30 Megahertz can expand the horizons of listening pleasure. All it takes is a shortwave receiver. And even an inexpensive one will do if the budget is tight. It helps to have a Little background information about How the radio bands Are structured and How frequencies Are allocated. The am radio in your car or in your Home usually reads from 550 to 1600 Kilohertz or perhaps an abbreviated form of this 55 to 160. Imagine that you could turn the tuning Knob from 550 to 1600, and then keep right on tuning past 1600. You would tune through 2000, 5000, 10000, and right up to 30000, or even higher if you so desired. That of course would require a sizeable radio dial so manufacturers either produce a radio with a continuous tuning digital readout or break up the frequency spectrum with several frequency bands shown on the dial selectable from a front panel switch. And instead of saying 2000 Kilohertz to 30000 Kilohertz they say 2 Megahertz to 30 Megahertz or Mhz 1000 Kilohertz = 1 Megahertz. Radio frequencies throughout most of the world Are hammered out by International agreement through the International telecommunications Union Ithan Agency of the United nations situated at Geneva Switzerland. Approximately 150 nations Are members of the Itu and member representatives meet periodically to determine who gets what share of the frequency pie. Radio signals Are temperamental being affected by weather terrain time of Day or year and other natural Phenomena. Because of this certain frequencies Are More desirable than others for Long Range communication. As a result the frequencies Between 5 Mhz and 15 Mhz Are most favored by International broadcasters beaming their programs to other countries. That s where you will find the majority of stations from around the world. Programming on the shortwave bands varies from country to country. Two of the most Active broadcasters Are the bbl and radio Moscow. Both employ a multitude of High powered transmitters on a variety of frequencies broadcasting 24 hours a Day in dozens of languages including English. The bbl is reputed to have one of the finest news gathering systems in the world and its presentation of world events is very thorough. It s interesting to listen to a bbl news broadcast and then tune to radio Moscow and listen to their version of the same events. Both stations offer in depth news analysis programs on current events. But shortwave broadcasters offer More than just news. Many countries feature language laboratories Over the airwaves for an Opportunity to learn the language of the country being listened to. And there is music to suit every taste from african tribal dance music to the latest in Rock or jazz. Part of the excitement in shortwave listening comes from tuning slowly through the bands trying to pick out that elusive rare station buried beneath the big Guys. Radio Andorra radio Vatican and trans world radio Monaco Are hard to find but Worth the Effort. Radio Vatican broadcasts a Fine selection of classical music As Well As other programs of general interest. Of special interest to americans living in Europe is Voa the voice of America. Although it broadcasts in several languages it is Strong in English language programs featuring portraits of the american lifestyle. If you Are homesick this is the one to listen to. And it s a unique Opportunity to eavesdrop on the kind of image the . Is presenting to listeners around the world. To make it easier to find selected stations it s Handy to have a Good shortwave guide such As the world radio to handbook available at certain English language bookstores. This particular handbook lists stations by country time of broadcasts language and frequency. In addition virtually All of the broadcasters offer programming listings in brochures mailed free upon request. The handbook gives addresses of broadcasters and tells How to get the program listings. To give you a Start though the accompanying text Box lists some of the stronger stations heard in Central Europe broadcasting in English. Whatever your taste in programming you can find it on the shortwave bands. And if you re the adventurous Type shortwave listening is an enjoyable educational economical Way to travel the world every night without leaving your easy chair. All it takes is a shortwave radio and a Little curiosity. Some stations heard in Europe station frequency bbl 3955,9759,9749,6015,9759,11820 Voa 9769,17789,6040 9435,9370,9440 7440,9490,7345,12009,15135 9560 Israel radio Moscow voice of Turkey radio Afghanistan radio Yugoslavia radio France radio India Der Berlin Tirana Albania radio Luxembourg radio Netherlands radio Switzerland radio Canada radio Prague radio Bucharest 9667 6100 6175 9375,11620 9730,7183 7065 1439 am radio dial 5956 6165 29130 5930 5992 Friday March 28, 1986 the stars and stripes page13