S350DL OWNER’S MANUAL
23 DAY BANDS / NIGHT BANDS
DAY BANDS / NIGHT BANDS – THE DIFFERENCE IS VERY IMPORTANT
Because shortwave signals depend on such factors as the sun, the ionosphere and interaction with the earth itself, signals cannot be heard on all bands throughout the day. Some bands are best during the daylight hours, and some are best at night. Here are some good ‘rules of thumb’.
•In general, the bands with frequencies below 13000 KHz are better at night and the bands with frequencies above 13000 KHz are best during the day. This guideline is not ‘cast in concrete’ but is a useful general rule of thumb.
•Around sunrise and sunset, both the day and night bands might be good, sometimes
exceptionally good.
•In the summer time, the day bands often are good into the early night.
•While most shortwave stations are found within the frequency limits of these defined bands, some are found outside of them. It pays to take the time to tune
•These guidelines can be used worldwide and are not dependent on location.
Listed on the next page are the characteristics of the major shortwave bands. Follow these guidelines for best listening results.
24 DAYTIME LISTENING
Shortwave listening is generally at its poorest during the daylight hours of about two hours after sunrise until about two hours before sunset. The major reason for this is that the broadcasters are not transmitting to North America at this time, assuming that we are all either at work or at school and are not able to listen during the day. If you want to try daytime listening, use the guidelines below. Typically, daytime shortwave tends to be better in Eastern North America than in Western North America.
DAY BANDS | CHARACTERISTICS |
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13meters | Results vary. Worth trying. Sometimes extremely good around sunrise and sunset. |
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16meters | Similar to 19m. |
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19meters | The best overall daytime band. May also be good at night in the summer months. |
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| Sometimes extremely good around sunrise and sunset. Sometimes good at night in the summer. |
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22meters | Similar to 19m. |
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