band conditions this morning

    We departed the port of Hong Kong harbor and am now enroute to Subic Bay Philippines, as usual I was up early and tuned to the shortwave bands. On the airwaves the one I heard was as usual strong like 9790 khz Radio Romania International, it signals in SINPO was 45555 many of the usual ones were good like VOA and BBC and Radio Australia on 6195 khz, but the 2 stations on AFN 4318 khz and 13362 khz were silent. I have a copy of Passport 2009 and will look up the frequencies of other stations to see if they can be heard. We will be off Batangas for a few days and then back to subic. Later to Cambodia and do my usual listening off the coast.

  There is a book produced by ARRL which is a must for those getting into Ham or shortwave or even electronics its called ARRL Ham Radio Handbook, rather expensive compared to others but worth the price, and worth reading. Many of the things we do in radio or electronics can be studied in these books.

   If you listen to a Ham and want to show the person you heard him either as a shortwave listener or Ham buff send him a QSL card, these are usually a post card style that can be exchanged by the parties involved, it also shows an appreciation to the person and way of letting him know you heard him. Ham and shortwave are a fun hobby but can also lead to a life of electronics or excitement. Give it a try. Check out the ARRL web site for a club nearests you and ask can I attend any meetings and how do I get licensed, Many hams will jump at the chance of helping you do so.

  If your into shortwave or want to get into the Hobby and have been curious how to get started check out the website of monitoring times magazine. There is a great magazine that shows what we radio buffs have enjoyed for years,not just scanners or CB but the other half. Digital modes can also be heard on shortwave and you can even probably work stations all over the world just in the listening mode.

  Enjoy this and let others know what you hear.