I'll start

[ButlerFord45]

I guess someone needs to start.  I'm running a Kenwood TS820, it is a hybrid, solidstate receive, tube xmit, 270' of wire at 60'.  A Kenwood TS570DG to a Gap Titan Dx and a Kenwood TS 50 to a 40m attic antenna.  In my truck I'm using a Yaesu 8800 so that I can use a Yaesu FT 60 to crossband while I'm at work.  There is a Yaesu 8900 in the shack so that I can cross band from the farm.  I have a pair of Kenwood 7400's that I love using, one is always on and it is connected to homemade 1/4 wave ground plane I made from coathangers and a 239 and put in the attic.  The Jeep has an Icom  2200H and a 2 5/8 phased antenna.  I use Kenwood MC-60's on the 570 and 50, MC-50' on the 820 and 7400 the Yaesu's and Icom' are the hand mikes that come with them.  The 820 drives an 80B and there is an 811H with the TS-50.  I use the 570 for digital modes.  I use a mfj 986 or a mfj 929 depending on where it is, with the 50, the internal on the 570, and a Palstar with the 820.  The power supply for the 570 is an Astron RS 35M, the TS 50 and TR 7400 is powered by a Jetstream 35watt with battery backup and a 205 amp deep cycle battery.  The yaesu in the shack is powered by a RadioShack 25 watt switching supply that hasnt been off except for power failures and one cleaning for three years.  I guess you've figured out that the TS 50 and TR 7400 are my foul weather/emergency radios.  I use a Signalink USB with the 570 and a RigBlaster with the TS 50 for digital work.  The second TR 7400 is going to the basement just need to build an antenna and run the coax.  Havent decided wether another jetstream or radioshack PS for it.  I intend, in the near future, to put the TS 50 mobile. They really are neat little radios.  Not all the bells and whistles of the newer mobiles, but a xmit & rec that are second to none.
Well, that should be a start, ya'll chime on in.
73
BF

[Graybeard]

Man am I out of touch with this world. I don't even have a clue what you just said Bill. I admit that if things get to the point I kinda feel they might having a means of communicating would be nice but that sure is a lot of stuff that I have no clue what it is. Reckon I'll just let Matt sort it all out as he is the techie type not me.

Did you have all that stuff when we visited with you or has it been added since?

[ButlerFord45]

LOL, some of it was here then but most has been accumulated in the last few years.  It's fun, a lot like a forum, just tune around till you find something intresting and say hello. There are enough hams in the area that lurk on our clubs repeater that if your bored and just want to chat there is normally someone else in the same boat.  We have an EXCELLENT repeater, it's at the 850-900 foot mark on an abandon TV tower.  Enough coverage that we can track storms far closer than any weather forcaster or radar that you can get on line.  It has saved the bacon for a couple of folks already. 
We're at the bottom of the 11 year solar cycle right now but on ocassion long distance is doable. North and Central America, and the Carribean most any time sometimes Australia, East Asia, Great Britan, Europe Wester Asia, Middle East.  North and West Africa is not bad, nor is South America. East Africa and areas around India has been a real problem so far but conditions should be improving soon. At least I hope they do!

BF

[jumpsteady]

I agree with GB. that was a lot of crazy stuff that i have no idea what was just said. guess i have a lot to learn.

[phalanx]

I first got into this in my early 30s , back then you have the old timers still.
That was the Late 80s , back then you had to learn Morse code in order to be able to broadcast anything.
It got to where no one was ever on the air any longer when the Internet took off ,but that is changeing again, and believe it or not, the FCC was doing all it could to encourage people to get into Short Wave again.
They announced that the Laws had changed and that you didn't have to learn Morse anymore ,but also if the Ham Bands didn't pick up again we were going to lose them to other Communication needs.

I have a General License ,i was going for a Technician but i was transferred to Alaska and i never had time to do much with  it .
Some of the guys who do not know a lot about this will want to be tutored and ButlerFord you have a wealth of knowledge that would be more than helpful in this.
I have a ICOM IC-W323A ,i use a 1/4 wave dipole for an Antenna with a Kenwood tuner , i like the dipole antenna because it has a lower profile and takes up less room.
But it is far from the best design , but that's just my opinion. I had a Texas Towers L-234 Broad Band before this and it was great ,but it took up almost a 1/2 acre of land by itself when you included its ground plain.

I prefer the older tube type Radios ,not for any real particular reason except this is a hobby and i like to work on them.
In the 60s and 70s about every town had a store that sold Ham Gear ,i was blessed to know the owner who's name was Pete Anderson.
He had about every type of receiver /transmitters ever made ,before he passed away he gave me some of his Radios.
EH Scott ,Hammerlund ,top of the line Radios back then and they can still hang with the new stuff.
But as far as portability they bring a big ,,O ,, being heavy and fragile.
Guys here need to decide what it is they want to do ,listen to the world or even be able to talk to it.

Entry level equipment is all over the web right now ,and a Hobbyist can enter the field with a good receiver for under $100.00 or less.
An Antenna can be as simple as attaching a long wire to rain gutter  ,if you are only receiving.
Just my opinion, that an inexpensive receiver is the way to start ,that way you can see if this Hobby is really for your taste.
Digital VS Analog is a discussion i know will be coming up here , Analog is more of a Nostalgic part of this.

Digital anymore is so much of the dominate force, but it lacks the ability to ( Ferret ) out a signal like Analog can.
Tubes have a broad range of tolerance , Digital is fast ,accurate ,compact , so do not run from eiather if a good deal is found.
If you don't know where ,or what to look for ,plenty of guys on this forum will be more than happy to assist you in that.
As well as set up , licensing if your going to transmit , where to buy ,and if you go with tube types don't be afraid of parts availability.
I have over 20 places that usually have what ever you would need ,this is a great hobby and Manufactures in Japan are makeing replacement parts for about all of the older sets.
Including ones from the Transistor era , button tube era ,and on into today's equipment.
The Older Stations that have been around as far back as 1939 ,are moveing on the dials now ,this year 13 new stations are coming online soon.

Talk Radio is now the #1 money maker on the AM Dial . ANSR was the first ,GOD bless America ,we did it first.
Radio Moscow followed ,and the only reason i can think of that it was allowed to remain a non partisan voice was so it would attract other listeners to it ,and show the world the tolerance that the USSR had.
Propaganda i am sure ,but it was still even better then ,than Fox is now.
I will make an updated list of the places on the dial that all of these Stations can be heard.
The reason i haven't yet is because they are announcing they will be moveing ,so it would be old news by the time i got it to you.

They are moveing because the FCC took out some bands for Cell phone ,emergency, and other needed use.
Some of them were on these bands , and America is a large market for them.
The FCC out of all the other Government branches is the most tolerant and easy to deal with ,they are forgiving ,and they love this as much as we do.
The goal is to show them we still want our bands  for our own use ,and it has never been easier to get a license as it is right now.

[ButlerFord45]

I agree with GB. that was a lot of crazy stuff that i have no idea what was just said. guess i have a lot to learn.

Don't get wraped around the axel with these but they will give you an idea of how it works.
http://www.vwlowen.co.uk/radio/howradioworks/index.htm

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/radio1.htm

[ButlerFord45]

One last then I'll quit

http://www.21st-century-goods.com/ShortWaveGuide.pdf

[phalanx]

A sticky needs to be started on the ARRL handbook , where to get one and testing procedures.
It also covers the building and use of most all the Antennas you would need.

http://www.arrl.org/

This is a great site for about anything you would need to know in getting started.
It also has a Forum with a (For sale ) section if you want to buy or move up in your equipment.

[ButlerFord45]

A sticky needs to be started on the ARRL handbook , where to get one and testing procedures.
It also covers the building and use of most all the Antennas you would need.

http://www.arrl.org/

This is a great site for about anything you would need to know in getting started.
It also has a Forum with a (For sale ) section if you want to buy or move up in your equipment.

Yep, you're right, but it isn't necessary to get the latest and greatest either, they change annually with new articles so you can go anywhere you find older books and get used ones for a lot less money and still be getting great information.
 Ham and radio information is easy to find on the net once you find a starting place. www.qrz.com has the tests on line that you can practice on.  DXZone has tons of information, hamuniversity is another good info spot.
The best thing you can do for swl is get up more wire and just start tuning, even radio China has english speaking times during the week.
I'd bet in this day and age that 2/3'x of the people on graybeards forums don't have an AM radio.  That's the best Place to start an education.  Not worth a hoot for DX (distant communication) during the day but a couple of hours after the sun sets, propogation changes and the big am stations start comming in.  Start at "540 on your AM dial" and check every 10 kz, there is a major station there that with wire in the air you should be able to receive at least one night out of the week.  Los Angeles, San Fransisco Seattle Huston Chicago, New York Atlanta Miami New Orleans Huston,  The whole country.
Spend some of your computer time on a radio instead, it's a whole new world.

[jumpsteady]

Ok, so im hooked on trying this out. here do I go to start trying to find some equipment. Will Radio Shack have stuff? Or do I need to go to a more detailed, radio oriented store?

[ButlerFord45]

Probably isn't what you want to hear but the hobby, like shooting, can get really expensive really quick.  In an attempt to save you money and prevent you get something that fill your needs I suggest that you learn a little about it before you make purchases.
Let me show you what I'm talking about:
1.  I have 2 of these and made my 4 children buy one for their homes:  http://universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/2200.html

2.  I'd love to have one of these but it ain't gonna happen in this lifetime:  http://universal-radio.com/catalog/commrxvr/nrd630.html

The one recomendation that I'd make is what ever Short Wave radio you get, make sure it has an external antenna connection.  The antenna is the single most important item, and the easiest and least expensive improvement you can make.

There are some websites that allow you to tune through a band or two.  I don't remember where they are but tomorrow should be a slow day at work and I'll see if I can find them.

If you want to talk as well as listen then we're talking about Ham Radio or CB or some other service.  If I could sit here and tell you everything I know, you'd get bored, I'd get tired and you still wouldn't know much.

If you won the door prize at a gunshow and the prize was pick any gun at the show...what you'd pick is probably gonna be different than what I'd pick and I'm willing to bet that neither of us would make an uninformed selection.  Same here. Learn a little about it first. Figure what you want/need then spend your money.
You can have a good time on a spool of wire, an oatmeal box and a soda can, which really isn't a bad idea!  I think I can fine a tutorial, gimme a minute........yeah, here we go:  http://www.crystalradio.net/beginners/index.shtml
Remembered this while I was looking:  http://support.radioshack.com/support_electronics/doc66/66356.htm

I'd love to talk guns and radio all night but I have to be at work at 5 so I'll leave you with this, If there is anything I can do to help, I'll be glad to.

BF

[ButlerFord45]

Just my opinion, that an inexpensive receiver is the way to start ,that way you can see if this Hobby is really for your taste.

This is where we differ just a little, the really inexpensive radios have such poor receivers and antennas and no easy way to attach an external antenna, could easily cause some one to loose intrest quickly.  I don't mean to suggest that some one would need a Japan Radio, TenTec or Palstar to start but a decent radio is a lot like an accurate gun, it keeps one intrested.

[phalanx]

Radio Shack is nothing now,to what it once was.
Good Deals show up a lot on Ebay , if you have questions just post the link here and we can tell you if it is what you need.
Getting started you most likely will not want all the features some Transceivers have , so there is no need to pay for all of that.

http://www.hamradiohut.com/

This is a good link to find deals on a lot of new and used Equipment , they not to get to complicated to fast so you don't get burn out from trying to figure this all out.
Ive seen a lot of guys do that and they walked away from a great hobby.
A good receiver is not only cheap ,but a good place to start and get used to the individual bands and their locations.
I dont know of any Ma & Pa Radio stores anymore , the Internet killed a lot of that stuff off.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Kenwood-TS-520SE-Tranceiver_W0QQitemZ130272850577QQcmdZViewItemQQssPageNameZRSS:B:SRCH:US:101
This is a great radio for that kind of money ,i had one of these and traded it at a Ham show and i wish i hadn't.
Its simple and it had everything i needed to step into a Transceiver.

Im trying to keep you guys cost down because Money is tight these days.
But a lot of Radios in this Era and price range are great starters ,and they are good for just useing it as a receiver also.

[phalanx]

Butler i agree with that , i meant something like the Kenwood i posted.
That site has a lot of Radios in about anyone's price range ,and to get into this a Transceiver like that is a great starter.
Then move up from there once you know what your doing.
Parts for a  Kenwood are readily available and the Radios are fairly rugged and forgiving.

[Graybeard]

2.  I'd love to have one of these but it ain't gonna happen in this lifetime:  http://universal-radio.com/catalog/commrxvr/nrd630.html

Wal Bill after checking out the price I sure see why you'll never own that one. Are there really folks out there so into this as a hobby to actually pay that kinda money for a radio? What in the world can it possibly do to make it worth that kinda money?

I've never really taken the radio hobby beyond CB in the long ago early days of it or of it for me at least back in the late 50s early 60s time frame. Back then you were at least legally required to have a license which of course not everyone had. I did get one but never really got into the hobby.

I've not looked into the ham radios and other bands or radio types at all. I assume all of them other than CB still do require a license. I guess to be honest tho I don't exactly understand that requirement other than as a means to raise revenue for the government. How seriously do they enforce the need for a license?

I seem to recall back in the day they did try to enforce the CB license thing and crack down on those who boosted power too high tho if you remained mobile it was pretty much impossible to catch you and only base units were likely to be caught regardless of how badly you ignored the rules. Since these units are I guess mostly base type not mobile I guess catching you would be easier for them.

What is the attraction or draw they have for you? Is it what you can hear on them or the sharing of information via them in the manner of the internet?

[ButlerFord45]

Yep, Bill there's a pretty good market for the high dollar radios.  They have extreamly sensitive receivers and filters that will pick out the weakest signals and make them clear as a bell.
  There was a gentelman that until July of this year was in charge of the enforcement of the rules and he was "hard but fair" and went after offenders, he is already being missed, to the best of my knowledge they haven't named his replacement
  The attraction is a lot of things, just making a station work then trying to make it work better.  Talking with people all over the world!  Pick a clear frequency and call "CQ CQ CQ then your call sign"  CQ being ham for Hello!? Wether your banging it out in morse code, voice or any of several modes, you never know who is going to be on the other end.  I'm sure you remember hearing the old teletype in the background on the older news cast??  I can do that.  Send pictures or television, yep that too. or sit here at work and when things are slow can have a chat with some one just passing by on one of the interstate.  Can do that with Citizens Band as well but being unregulated, cb is "legally" limited to 5 watts on AM or 12 watts on single side band and 40 channels (frequencies).  Hams have large chunks of bandwidth throughout the entire spectrum.  Normal Ham starts just above the AM band on the car radio 1.8mhz through 1200gigahz and are allowed 1500 watts.
Building receivers and transmitters is not overly difficult, fun specially when you make a contact half a world away on a 1/2 watt tranmitter that you built.
Short Wave will get you news and information that doesn't have the liberal CNN slant to it.  Some times you get to hear what people in other countrys REALLY think about the US. 
It seems the more you learn and try the more you want to find out.

[phalanx]

There is also some things you wish you hadn't heard , like when CNN tells you one thing ,and the rest of the world is reporting it totally different.
It isnt very often but i have picked up the Royal Navy saying things they observed, that our news was eiather not reporting or putting a real spin on it.
Winston Churchill said that Radio was the freedom that could never be silenced ,as long as the Free wish to use it.

It is often called the original Internet , i haven't heard the activity like it is experiencing now in several years.
People over seas seem to be wanting to talk to Americans right now , and they always ask our opinion about our last election.

[lrs]

I have had a little interest in a SW radio myself.  I went into a radio shack about a month ago, they had a radio for about $100, and it was set up so that you could add an external antannae. 
There were 2 employees in the store that day.  One did not know what a SW radio even was, the other ended up being some kind of SW guru, genius type.  He was describing homemade antennaes and all manners of things I have never heard of.
My motivation is that I think we are in for some difficult times, coming soon, and I want to be able to rely on more than just what the current media puts out.