Welcome to the English language section of the updated website www.shortwaveradio.ch, I first concentrated on the German language section and try to find some time to gradually translate the content.
www.shortwaveradio.ch was developed from the receiver section of my earlier website www.dr-boesch.ch; it had to undergo a major overhaul as search engines assign less impact to websites which are not responsive. So I changed it to a Wiki structure using Dokuwiki. In the moment, I do not yet have plans to offer the possibility to register as User. You are invited to check page content as guest, but you will find yourself without rights to alter pages, to add new pages or do upload media. Maybe I will create user accounts for contributors to www.shortwaveradio.ch later.
As English is not my mother tongue, it will take me a while for that job to be done, you might still encounter some typos (You are invited to keep them, if you find one…)
What can you expect from the radio pages? In the section Portable receivers, you find brief portraits of popular portable shortwave receivers. Some of the receivers can be found in the second hand market in good condition; a present only a few sets which appeared after year 2000 as the golden age of shortwave broadcasting and shortwave „world band“ radios is over.
The section Travel portables is dedicated to portable short wave radios. The size, weight and also the technical possibilities of portable receivers have changed radically in the past 30 years; Irecommended to check for certain models also within the communication receivers section.
In the chapter Boatanchors, you similarly find portraits of „hollow state receivers“ which operate with radio valves (or tubes). Older communication receivers were called Boatanchors, because they are usually very heavy, due to their tube or so called „hollow state“ technology. Using these kind of sets can give you very decent shortwave reception with a sufficient length of an antenna for a reasonable amount of money. You might miss some of the goodies of modern sets, that facilitate operation such as programmable memories, a clock, and so on.
Most of the information about military receiving and wireless equipment has been transferred to my updated website www.armyradio.wiki dealing with wireless communications equipment used by the Swiss Army.
In the time line You may get an overview of the development of short wave receivers. In case you are looking for information about a distinctive receiver model, please consult the alphabetical receiver list.
In the section shortwave reception, I try to give an overview about the operation of a contemporary communications receiver with the all the possibilities of signal improvement, using the receiver NRD-535 with its possibilities like passband tuning, ECSS reception, notch filter, etc. as an example.
I abstain from giving you prices for used receivers and I don't have any commercial interests, the enthusiasm for a special receiver model or a manufacturer should be understood as my completely personal opinion.
I must ask for your patience for a response to questions, short wave reception is only my hobby, my time resources are very limited. I will only exceptionally reply to questions in English, writing answers in German is a bit easier for me…
When You want to make a choice for a receiver, I con only recommend you to try a receiver personally, and better at home and not in a busy and noisy exhibition site or a radio flea market. Spend some time listening to a set in calm environment with appropriate antennas and at a favorable time of day (respectable night).
There might be the possibility to visit my military equipment collection, I now have an „museum“ display room in a private home, so consider it like visiting a radio friend, arranging an appointment is mandatory. I'm happy to welcome you on a trip to Switzerland, but leave me some time to find the time for a meeting.