My Shortwave Radio Questions and Discussion

Thread Starter

Yanerth

Joined Jan 11, 2022
10
Hello everyone! I'm Yanerth, a student with no qualifications. I am interested in getting into shortwave radio, both building my own transceivers to use with my friends and one day setting up my own shortwave broadcasting station (passion project, not commercial). I have a little experience with electronics, only consisting of using Snap Circuits and Python Microbit/moto:bit.

Firstly, I would like to know how to build a simple transmitter, receiver and transceiver. This'll be for playing with and learning the basics.

Secondly, I'm interested in setting up two (or more) transceivers (with a range of 1km - 2km), this will be for messing around with friends and setting up my own communications network just in case.

Lastly, my goal is to set up my own shortwave broadcasting station.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post, I look forward to reading the replies!
 

crutschow

Joined Mar 14, 2008
34,280
Is this all legal to do where you are located?
Most countries have significant restrictions on the frequency and power allowed for amateur radio transmitters.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,706
Welcome to AAC!

All countries have regulations on radio frequency transmissions. You will need a license to do what you have in mind.

If you seriously want to experiment with radio transmissions then I would suggest that you start by getting a ham (amateur radio) license.

As for building your own radio receiver I would start with experimenting with building a crystal radio.
 

Thread Starter

Yanerth

Joined Jan 11, 2022
10
Is this all legal to do where you are located?
Most countries have significant restrictions on the frequency and power allowed for amateur radio transmitters.
I have not checked the regulations yet, but I will sometime tomorrow (past 10pm over here).

All countries have regulations on radio frequency transmissions. You will need a license to do what you have in mind.

If you seriously want to experiment with radio transmissions then I would suggest that you start by getting a ham (amateur radio) license.

As for building your own radio receiver I would start with experimenting with building a crystal radio.
I will look into obtaining a license once I have figured out how to in my country.
As for the crystal radio, what exactly is it?
 

dendad

Joined Feb 20, 2016
4,451
You need to look into Amateur Radio and get a license.
It is illegal to transmit on short wave without a license.
A reference....
http://www.arrl.org/
There is a lot of info on line, BUT!!! a license is required. You may get into a lot of trouble otherwise. For instance, years ago, some of my school mates were doing just what you intend. They got a visit from the radio inspectors and were lucky to just get a stern warning, as well as having all their electronic equipment of any sort seized.
Ham radio is fun, join a local ham radio club and get trained.
I have had my ham radio license for over 50 years.
 

Thread Starter

Yanerth

Joined Jan 11, 2022
10
You need to look into Amateur Radio and get a license.
It is illegal to transmit on short wave without a license.
A reference....
http://www.arrl.org/
There is a lot of info on line, BUT!!! a license is required. You may get into a lot of trouble otherwise. For instance, years ago, some of my school mates were doing just what you intend. They got a visit from the radio inspectors and were lucky to just get a stern warning, as well as having all their electronic equipment of any sort seized.
Ham radio is fun, join a local ham radio club and get trained.
I have had my ham radio license for over 50 years.
Do you have to renew the license every year?
 

dendad

Joined Feb 20, 2016
4,451
(This will vary depending on the country involved.)
Yes, it is a yearly thing, at least here in Australia.
But, it is just a fee.
There is no need to sit the exams again, unless you have a low class of license and want to upgrade, then just the bridging exam needs to be passed.
The exams involve one of regulations and a theory exam, and that exam may have various levels.
Some places may still require Morse code for some levels, but thta has been dropped in Australia. You will need to look into it depending on where you live. That is why it is a good idea to join your local ham radio club. There you will get help.
 

Thread Starter

Yanerth

Joined Jan 11, 2022
10
(This will vary depending on the country involved.)
Yes, it is a yearly thing, at least here in Australia.
But, it is just a fee.
There is no need to sit the exams again, unless you have a low class of license and want to upgrade, then just the bridging exam needs to be passed.
The exams involve one of regulations and a theory exam, and that exam may have various levels.
Some places may still require Morse code for some levels, but thta has been dropped in Australia. You will need to look into it depending on where you live. That is why it is a good idea to join your local ham radio club. There you will get help.
Thank you for informing me on this. I am currently figuring out how to obtain a license and will also look for HAM radio clubs in my area.
 

Thread Starter

Yanerth

Joined Jan 11, 2022
10
After doing some reading on obtaining a license and all the things that you have to learn in order to obtain it, I've concluded that for now I will just try to build a simple crystal radio. All advice is welcome.
 

DickCappels

Joined Aug 21, 2008
10,153
We're glad to see you want to stay legal.

It looks like you are from Canada and can probably do some things with low power that will not cause problems. The American Radio Relay league supports amateur radio operators internationally, and its a great organization to belong to.

You can find some pretty interesting what I call "short attention span" project on Alan Yate's Lab electronics web page.
Some of his projects are receivers and low power transmitters like his 1 transistor transceiver that you might get a kick out of.
 

MrChips

Joined Oct 2, 2009
30,706
The ARRL Handbook is a must have for any budding amateur radio and electronics enthusiast.

The ARRL Handbook 2022 Edition is greatly expanded from previous years and is worth every penny.

However, you can pick up earlier editions for less money and they are still worth it.
 

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,031
Secondly, I'm interested in setting up two (or more) transceivers (with a range of 1km - 2km), this will be for messing around with friends and setting up my own communications network just in case.
This is about as cheap as you can go and still be legal. You could not build anything like this for their price. Range is purported to be 16 miles but I'm sure that is pushing it. Certainly good for several miles on flat land. Quite useful on road trips with 2 vehicles plus handheld portability. I've not used these particular ones but Motorola makes good radios and the ones I have used were quite handy. If not for cell phones these days they would be very popular.
1641949093487.png
 

Thread Starter

Yanerth

Joined Jan 11, 2022
10
This is about as cheap as you can go and still be legal. You could not build anything like this for their price. Range is purported to be 16 miles but I'm sure that is pushing it. Certainly good for several miles on flat land. Quite useful on road trips with 2 vehicles plus handheld portability. I've not used these particular ones but Motorola makes good radios and the ones I have used were quite handy. If not for cell phones these days they would be very popular.
View attachment 257435
This'll be something I will also take a look at. All though in time, I intend to obtain my Amateur Radio Operator License.

Also, aside from Amazon, where can I get a Germanium Diode, found here, as well as packs of different kinds of resistors and capacitors? Ideally, it would be a kit full of all sorts of electronic related things, such as the aforementioned, and battery packs/battery clips and a mini amplifier. Essentially, everything I would need to buy to create a crystal radio in one kit.
 

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,031
There are a LOT of fake germanium diodes. The old ones can still be had but at a price. You can go modern and get a radio on a chip.
CXA1619BS SONY FM/AM Radio on a chip
MK484 AM RADIO IC one chip radio (actually TO-92 IC)
 
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