The Trawler Band

So it appeared on the radios of my youth. Gone now. All, or at least, most Marine Comms has gone to satellite. Bonjour, matelot...

So have the great romantic radio names like Daventry and Hilversum but as we leave the medium wave, radio takes a professional stance and assumes the first traces of industry jargon. Long-wave becomes LF, medium wave becomes MF and short wave, HF. Wavelength gives way to Frequency; Low, Medium or High.

The X Band

This is the name of the extended US AM Band. Stations overheard here are a real DX catch in the UK. Try in the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. Main interference sources are TV and cordless phones. Dutch pirates like it here...

1810KHz
160m Amateur Band lower limit. Local calls on lower sideband but to a writer who had a Codar CR70A receiver with the matching AT5 transmitter, it's good to hear AM again. Do they still do The 1930 Net?

Your penman was in the ham radio business for more years than was good for him during which time he sold many rigs. All these sets produced 100 watts at the push of a button, yet a very small number of users asked for advice on reducing the power out to the maximum allowed on this band - a mere tenth of what the transceiver was capable of...

Today, Top Band contains a sub-band to allow "full power" operation.

2300KHz
The lower limit of the 120m Tropical Band. Allocated for broadcasting as a quieter equivalent to our standard AM band only in the Third World.

3200KHz
The lower limit of the 90m Tropical Band. Used in the equatorial regions hoping to miss the worst of the storm static that plagues the standard AM Band.

3366KHz
Ghana Broadcasting. This is an excellent test station to see if this classic DX band is open. Try around dusk. As we slowly creep up the HF spectrum, signals penetrate the E Layer only to be reflected down again by the F Layer. As this layer is twice the height of the E Layer, the reflected signal comes to your antenna from a much greater distance. This effect is what gives 80m its European coverage by night. By day it remains The Great UK Natter-band.

3500KHz
80m Amateur Band lower limit. A fine example of a shared band, the primary users being coastal radio on the upper sideband, the amateurs a secondary consideration on the lower. And never the twain should meet.

3650KHz
Allocated frequency for GB2RS RSGB UK News. Costing over £5000 a year to run, the future of the RSGB News is under constant review. For the writer, the first sideband station he resolved, for the new generation of radio ham something of an anachronism. Stalwarts only need listen for useful reports of solar activity - if you can understand them - details of Club Events and radio rallies in the summer. The writer has been out of Ham Radio for years but still finds himself listening on Sundays at 0930z. We miss you, Fred G2CVV..

3900KHz
The lower limit of the 75m European Broadcast Band. Early mornings and overnight are the best times for this under-used band. This may be due to it being left off many budget portables.

The 4Mhz Land/Marine Mobile Band

A heady brew of Search-and-Rescue (SAR), out-of-band broadcasters, the RAF speaking peace unto the nation and the shipping forecast. Includes:

4125KHz: Marine Distress International.

4138KHz: Arctic Seas Distress

4138KHz: Arctic Seas Distress.

4220KHz: Arctic Seas Supplementary.

4594KHz
Numbers station. After years of speculation as to what the endlessly repeated chains of numbers mean, it can now be revealed that the codes are for the benefit of "agents in the field", the decode coming from a "one-time" pad, no doubt to be got rid of in the time-honoured fashion;

"Tell me, Control, would you like your pad off the bone with a little salad and a pert white wine?"

The return of the number stations may have a lot to do with conditions, but the routines suggest mere testing of old equipment, a lot of transmissions being in AM.

4742KHz
RAF Flight Watch: "Architect listening out."

Architect is the Flight Watch callsign. Despite all the new technology, the main enemy to operations is the weather. This code is given at fixed times and upon request to pilots preparing to fly between British airbases. From this we will learn that a Wattisham Blue has little to do with being an all-round good egg while up at University, but "Forever Amber" is a good status for most of my holidays in Wales. Serious HF airband operation will need one of the better receivers with a stable sideband operation and a large number of memories to allow rapid channel hopping.

4750KHz
The lower limit of the 60m Tropical Band. Allocated only in the tropics, this band gives up some musical treats in the late evenings. And it's getting better;

4770KHz
Radio Nigeria. Long today's dance trends set the nations feet to dance to the urgent guitars of World Music via BBC Radio 3, those of us blessed with short-wave could hear the opium of the people on The Tropical Band without the need for mosquito nets and funny injections...

4882KHz
Letter Station. Just as the reviewer sharpens his pencil to have a go at the endless entries for so-called "number stations", the ionosphere rings the changes with a station sending five letter groups.

This one sends IOBMJ, "India/Oscar/Bravo/Mike/Juliet" ad nauseam. Or did...

5080KHz
East Coast Control.

5095KHz
Buchan Control. Examples of Air Defence Radar Units.

5800KHz
The lower limit of the 49m Broadcast Band. The major European broadcast band. Good during the day, the darkness hours should see reducing interference as those used to higher frequencies move back up the bands as conditions improve as we approach the sunspot maximum.

5955KHz: Radio Netherlands Network Europa.

5995KHz: Radio Canada from BBC Skelton, UK.

6035KHz
The Voice of America. This may be just another anecdote, but the boys at VOA assure me there is a sign on the wall of the transmission planning department that reads,

"I shot a signal in the air, where it landed we know not where."

6065KHz: Radio Sweden.

6155KHz: Radio Austria.

6165KHz: Swiss Radio International.

6175KHz
Radio France International. Innovation is alive and well and living in France. The new RFI transmitters at Allouis are sited underground, directly below the antennas they feed. So, very low feeder loss to the very directional rotatable antennas. A future for short wave?

6195KHz
BBC World Service from Skelton/Rampisham. From 1800. Recent correspondence with BBC Transmission Planning shows they have all but given up on frequencies to recommend for the UK.

Take heart, mon brave, this is some use to us - although in the winter months, the evenings bring a curious echo as delayed signals arrive from Antigua or even Kranji.

6200-6500KHz
Hobby Pirates. Looking back over previous paper editions of The HF Guide, we always found it necessary to mention radio piracy. If there was any real fun in being a threat to nearby Distress frequencies, then new Europe-wide laws have put paid to all that. With new radio services filling the gap left by Radio Caroline and the like, hobby pirates spend their Sundays lost in nostalgia for a cause already lost. Perhaps we are older and wiser now. My only trace of rebellion these days is to sit meekly in restaurants wearing a small badge that reads:

"Red wine with fish"

Some examples of stations affected by pirate activity:

6211KHz: Northern Seas Supplementary Distress.

6215KHz: Marine Distress.

6224KHz: Thames Control.

Many Sunday Pirates have moved to the 75 Metre band.

6300KHz
Russian number station. "Golly, Control, you don't think they are at it again?"

No, we don't. The modulation quality suggests some very old plant is just being given an airing. They tell us the price of freedom is eternal vigilance, so you never can tell...

6622KHz
Shannon ATC. Secondary calling on 8831. A cause for concern and a sad reflection on amateur radio. The average modern ham radio set is so highly developed it can be installed and forgotten about. This lack of intervention from the user was supposed to free him from technical responsibilities to enjoy open communication. Not so.

Modifications to allow equipment to work outside the ham bands are the new currency with dire consequences for other users. This new allocation for air traffic control sits in the middle of a range of frequencies "taken over" by European pirates using modified and therefore illegal, ham gear.

7000KHz
40m Amateur Band lower limit. Another ham radio tradition. The lower part of the allocation is CW, these days including AMTOR and computer packet modes, the upper part being telephony albeit on the lower sideband.

As this band gets you into Europe, watch out for some undiagnosed cases of acute xenophobia as night falls.

7100KHz
The lower limit of the 41m Broadcast Band. Across Europe and into the States in the early mornings.

7860.5KHz

Army Signals. "That man there! Absolute shower!"

The 8Mhz Mobile Band

Including:

8228KHz: Ostende Radio.

8291KHz: Marine Distress.

8634KHz: Ships Survival Craft.

8737KHz: Cyprus Maritime Radio Service.

8825KHz: North Atlantic Control.

8846KHz: New York Radio. Secondary calling on 6577.

8864KHz: Shannon ATC.

8879KHz: Shannon ATC.

8891KHz: Shannon ATC.

8957KHz: Shannon Volmet.

9031KHz: RAF Flight Watch and Gibraltar Forward Relay.

9251KHz: "The Lincolnshire Poacher". Classic English number station.

9400KHz
The WRAC 92 lower limit of the 31m Broadcast Band. Granted a recent extension to allow the out-of-band broadcasters above some protection, this band is the great all-rounder;

9410KHz: BBC World Service from Skelton, Rampisham and Woofferton.

9535KHz: Swiss Radio International. Remember Swiss Short Wave Merry-go-round?

9575KHz: Radio Medi 1, Morocco. East meets west in this excellent commercial venture.

9830KHz: Croatian Radio. News heard at 0800.

10000.0KHz
Calibration Beacon. Many countries compete to provide a Reference Standard, so much so that 10000 is merely the middle of a standard's sub-band. The one you find could be up to 5KHz away from what you take to be 10000 leaving you to question the accuracy of your radio. Chances are that if it was made in the last decade of synthesizer design, then all will be well. Standards can confuse as well as assist...

An example: Callsign RWM from Moscow is the strongest SFS station in Europe and can be heard on 4996, 9996 or 14996kHz throughout the 24 hours. It sends five minutes of unmodulated carrier, five minutes of one second pulses and five minutes of one tenth second pulses. The latter have to be unfiltered with a sharp leading edge for precision purposes, which results in key click splatter being heard around the world. For frequency calibration and propagation checking purposes these SFS stations are ideal, but don't forget that radio signals take around one seventh of a second to travel around the world. The timing is, however, sufficiently precise for meteor scatter schedules.

10051KHz: New York Radio.

10100KHz: WRAC Amateur Band lower limit. From here to 29700KHz, upper sideband takes over for Ham radio.

10150KHz: WRAC Amateur Band upper limit.

11175KHz: USAF Operations Net.

11234KHz: RAF Control.

11600KHz
The WRAC 92 lower limit of the 25m Broadcast Band. One of the bands tipped to be the most crowded as the major powers, both political and radiated, fight for frequencies.

11620KHz: All India Radio.

11990KHz: Radio Prague.

12095KHz: BBC World Service from Skelton and Woofferton.

12290KHz: Marine Distress.

12392KHz: Marine World-wide Calling and Distress.

The 13Mhz Long Distance Mobile Band

The major world-wide mobile communications band;

13146KHz: Portishead Radio. Traffic and Weather on the hour.

13270KHz: New York/Gander Radio.

13570KHz
The WRAC 92 lower limit of the 22m Broadcast Band. Reflecting in the upper regions of the F Layer, this band will get you as far as we can go. Now extended, this world-wide band proves its worth as conditions improve, the broadcasters have yet to realize it is only included on the more expensive radios like the AR7030. This means the poorer nations who have the greatest need for uncorrupted news will never hear;

13620KHz: Radio Kuwait

13635KHz: Swiss Radio International

13710KHz: VOA Africa from Botswana Relay.

13730KHz: Radio Austria.

13830KHz: Zagreb Radio. Croatian Radio News at 2100-2110.

14000KHz 20m Amateur Band lower limit.

15100KHz: The WRAC 92 lower limit of the 19m Broadcast Band.

15205KHz: VOA, Tangier, Morocco.

15225KHz: VOA, Ascension Island Relay.

15325KHz: Radio Canada International.

15395KHz: UAE Radio, Dubai. Worth it for the weather reports...

15400KHz: BBC World Service from Ascension.

15450KHz: Radio Austria.

15575KHz

BBC World Service. This sender in Cyprus is suggested by Bush House as good for the UK during the day. Good around mid-day, subject to deep fades.

15800KHz
The WRAC 92 upper limit of the 19m Broadcast Band. Something to bear in mind if you have yet to buy your radio. Some budget sets tend to "leave out" the out-of-band sections of these higher broadcast bands, the same frequencies now being developed by newer voices to short-wave. There is nothing more frustrating to find the new channel announced by your favourite station is 75KHz above the cut-off frequency of your shiny new wireless. Check yours is general coverage....

16420KHz: Marine Distress.

17480KHz: The WRAC 92 lower limit of the 16m Broadcast Band.

17640KHz: BBC World Service from Ascension.

17875KHz: Radio Canada.

18068KHz: WRAC Amateur Band lower limit.

18168KHz: WRAC Amateur Band upper limit.

18900KHz
The WRAC 92 lower limit of the new 15m Broadcast Band. Coming on-line at the best possible time for reception, at a frequency not available on many a budget radio, it yields up but one brave broadcaster;

18930KHz: WEWN.

19020KHz: The WRAC 92 upper limit of the new 15m Broadcast Band.

21000KHz: 15m Amateur Band lower limit.

21450KHz: 15m Amateur Band upper limit.

21450KHz
The lower limit of the 13m Broadcast Band. Very variable and prone to sudden ionospheric disturbance, best when the sun is at its highest;

21605KHz: UAE Radio

21660KHz: BBC World Service from Ascension.

24890KHz: WRAC Amateur Band lower limit.

24990KHz: WRAC Amateur Band upper limit.

25600KHz
The lower limit of the 11m Broadcast Band. The real engineers band. Propagation only on the North/South path even in the best conditions, this was the easy way to get into South Africa and back again. Low usage meant engineers could send studio quality without interference. If they use it this season, a real chance to enjoy real radio. But economics and new media dictate this band will remain silent.

26100KHz: The upper limit or the 11m Broadcast Band.

27600KHz

The lower limit of the UK CB Band. Whatever happened to the great white hope of personal communications?

If you have an FM button, try it here.

28000KHz: The upper limit of the UK CB Band.

28000KHz: 10m Amateur Band lower limit.

29700KHz: 10m Amateur Band upper limit.