Eton E10 Understanding Shortwave Bands, UNDERSTANDING SHORTWAVE BANDS continued, What Are Bands?

E 1 0 O P E R AT I O N M A N U A L

12 UNDERSTANDING SHORTWAVE BANDS

UNDERSTANDING SHORTWAVE BANDS continued

THE KEY TO ENJOYING YOUR

SHORTWAVE RADIO

Now that you have a shortwave radio, no doubt you’ll want to hear worldwide stations right away. If you’re new to shortwave, please take some time to learn the basics outlined below. Even if you are an experienced shortwave listener, you may find this a useful refresher.

For example, the 19 meter shortwave band encom- passes the frequency range of 15100 to 15600 kilohertz. In the chart below is a list of the short- wave bands used for international shortwave broadcasts and their corresponding frequency ranges. Since some radios show frequency in mega- hertz and some in kilohertz, both are shown here. The E10 shows shortwave radio frequencies in kilo- hertz, KHz.

A HELPFUL ANALOGY:

A SHORTWAVE BAND IS LIKE A STREET WITH MANY INDIVIDUAL ADDRESSES ON IT.

Think of a shortwave band as you would a street with a full range of individual addresses on it, each address is a specific frequency. The 19 meter band could be called 19 Meter Street. As on any street, we have a range of addresses encompassing

individual house numbers such as 15100, 15105, 15110, etc., each of these house numbers representing an individual house that you could visit on the street. In the 19 meter shortwave band, these ‘addresses’ or ‘house numbers’ are called frequencies and on each frequency you might visit a different shortwave radio station.

WHAT ARE BANDS?

To fully enjoy shortwave listening, this is the most important concept to learn right away.

To successfully listen to shortwave stations you must know how to find them. They are found in the short- wave bands. If you have ever listened to AM or FM radio, then you already know what a band is. The AM band is a frequency range stretching form 530 to 1600 kilohertz, the FM band is 66-108 megahertz. A band is simply a frequency range where stations are located. When you look for stations in these “bands”, you simply tune around with your tuning buttons (or the tuning knob on an analog radio) until you find a station you like. Shortwave is similar and the shortwave bands have names like 25 meters, 31 meters, 49 meters, etc. These are abbre- viated 25m, 31m and 49m. Just like in AM and FM radio, one simply gets into the shortwave band and tunes around, looking for stations.

The following information can be used with any shortwave radio. Look at your radio’s tuning scale or digital display (or owner’s manual) to determine which frequency designation it uses in shortwave. Most radios use the abbreviations KHz or MHz. On some shortwave radios these frequencies will look like 15100 KHz, 15105 KHz or 15110 KHz, but on other radios they might look like this: 15.1 MHz, 15.105 MHz or 15.11 MHz. That’s because some radios show frequencies as kilohertz and others show the frequencies as megahertz, as in the accompanying table. The exact frequency ranges for these bands may vary somewhat from one radio model to another. This is perfectly OK. On some radios the bands are clearly marked, on others they are not marked at all. If it is not apparent how to get into a band on your radio, consult the owner’s manual, the etón Corporation web site (www.eton- corp.com) or contact etón Corporation and we’ll show you how this is done for your model.

THE GENERAL SHORTWAVE BAND CHART, SHOWN BELOW, SHOWS ALL OFFICIALLY ALLOCATED SHORTWAVE BANDS.

BAND	MEGAHERTZ (MHz)	KILOHERTZ (KHz)
120m	2.300-2.500MHz	2300-2500 KHz
90m	3.20-3.40 MHz	3200-3400 KHz
75m	3.90-4.00 MHz	3900-4000 KHz
60m	4.750-5.060 MHz	4750-5060 KHz
49m	5.950-6.20 MHz	5950-6200 KHz
41m	7.10-7.60 MHz	7100-7600 KHz
31m	9.20-9.90 MHz	9200-9900 KHz
25m	11.600-12.200 MHz	11600-12100 KHz
22m	13.570-13.870 MHz	13570-13870 KHz
19m	15.10-15.80 MHz	15100-15800 KHz
16m	17.480-17.90 MHz	17480-17900 KHz
13m	21.450-21.850 MHz	21450-21850 KHz
11m	25.60-26.10 MHz	25600-26100 KHz

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