# So . . . I finished my shortwave reciever today. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 23, 2007, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228 "2007-09-23T21:55:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/1 "2007-09-23T21:55:14Z")
I am officially A Nerd™. Today, I finished a nine-band shortwave radio reciever–and _it worked_!! I bought a kit, with discrete parts and pre-printed circuit boards. The instruction booklet was _awesome_: it went step-by-step and even recommended you didn’t get ahead of yourself. Just about the only thing negative about the whole thing is that my tinning/cleaning compound for my soldering iron reeks of ammonia and gave me a headache (so make sure you’ve got a fan running somewhere). But I got to the last page, was soldering the last connections, and called the wife (a fellow nerd). I said, “Hey honey, check this out! I’m about to fire up the radio! Wanna listen?” And I did, and lo and behold, I got some call-in political show from somewhere European-sounding (they sounded British). I can’t wait for tonight to try to get some better reception! My lovely wife tells me that I’ll be hamming in five years or less. Tripler I even wired up a ground connection with speaker wire and a 16d nail. I am the Über Nerd. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/2 "2007-09-23T22:03:20Z")
Cool! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/3 "2007-09-23T22:18:28Z")
Would you be able to post a link to the kit that you used? ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/4 "2007-09-23T22:19:12Z")
Way cool. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/5 "2007-09-23T23:40:29Z")
**Amp** , here ya go: [Ten Tec recievers.](http://radio.tentec.com/kits/Receiver) I got #1253–second from the bottom. The sun is setting here now, so in about a half-hour from now, I’m going to see if I can get any Nazi signals from Antarctica. Or maybe some signals from the Space Shuttle. . . 😃 Tripler . . . or Nazi Astronauts from Antarctica. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/6 "2007-09-24T00:05:16Z")
Oh man oh man oh man! I just heard . . . “at the tone, zero hours, zero minutes, Universal Coordinated Time. . . ::beep::” Then I heard the station identification through the static: [WWV in Fort Collins, CO.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWV_%28radio_station%29) Dude, this is too cool! 🆒 Tripler Yep, I’m a Nerd™. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/7 "2007-09-24T00:19:46Z")
Just think! With that new toy, you can hear people from all around the world! Just like the SDMB. But unlike the SDMB, you can’t talk back. That’s a good thing for the rest of the world. 🙂 Seriously, I didn’t know that kits were still available for electronic products, except for some experimental ones. As one who made every electronic gadget I ever had as a child & teenager from scratch or a kit, I can share your joy. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/8 "2007-09-25T01:08:22Z")
Sweet! I got _Radio Venezuela_ today. . . and then some chatter on a lower band that I couldn’t isolate–got close, but no cigar. Methinks tomorrow I’ll string some long antenna wire up in the attic when the wife is at work. Tripler ::cough cough NERD! cough:: ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/9 "2007-09-25T15:47:23Z")
A Kit? Please - if you were a REAL Nerd you’d have built one from stuff you garbage picked 😛 Just kiddin! Seriously though, well done! That is way cool! ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/10 "2007-09-25T23:17:43Z")
Next stop: [Ham Radio](http://www.hello-radio.org/). And we will welcome you with open Nerd[sub]TM[/sub] arms. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/11 "2007-09-25T23:45:17Z")
You could try and find one of the mysterious [numbers stations](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_station)! ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/12 "2007-10-03T00:35:03Z")
Resurrecting a thread: Holy crap! I just got the _Voice of Russia!_ I confirmed it by firing up their website and hearing a delayed signal on my box. . . complete with the same theme music! Man alive, this is the coolest, dorkiest thing I’ve ever heard. 😃 Oh, and on that note, happy birthday [Sputnik!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik) Tripler Tonight I’d heard “information Zulu” from some random airfield down in the Carribean, and this. NERD ALERT! ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/13 "2007-10-03T01:24:21Z")
My last short wave receiver klunked out on me a couple of years ago. I like the idea of building one. I’ve been keeping several Quaker Oat tubes around to wind a coil on for the day I finally get around to it. I really want a commercial single side band receiver, though. So many of those signals you “just can’t quite make out” are SSB. It’s always gave me a kick to happen to tune in Radio Cuba which is bona-fide commie propaganda. I never really had much luck finding pirate broadcasters though. Always wanted to find one. Now and then I would listen in on the local Hams chatting on UHF frequencies. But that was my scanner not shortwave. If only I had the money to sink into this hobby. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2007, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-finished-my-shortwave-reciever-today/420228/14 "2007-10-03T04:13:06Z")
[QUOTE=Tripler] Holy crap! I just got the _Voice of Russia!_ I confirmed it by firing up their website and hearing a delayed signal on my box. . . complete with the same theme music! Man alive, this is the coolest, dorkiest thing I’ve ever heard. 😃 Oh, and on that note, happy birthday [Sputnik!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik) [/quote] Color me unimpressed. I listened to the _original_ Sputnik (boring) and Radio Moscow was a common intruder to my shortwave in the 1950’s and 60’s. 🙂