During dinner tonight, my mom and I talked about current events and the possibility of an EMP. We currently own a shortwave radio, but my mom suggested that it would be a good idea for everyone to have one. What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe that everyone should have a shortwave radio?

Jeanette Isabelle

I’m a radio nerd. I’m an active ham radio operator, have a GMRS license and train others on emergency communications regularly. Predictably I have a bunch of radios, many of them that can receive shortwave broadcasts.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a lot of shortwave broadcast radio that has been interesting to me. While I’m a fan of having a one, it would be a lower priority for me in the “communications” group than a good local AM/FM receiver and communications with your neighbors. If your space, financial or other constraints keep you from having all the radios you want, my suggestion is that shortwave be last on your list.

You can easily get a receiver that covers shortwave and local broadcast, of course. One of my favorite radios is the now-discontinued Kenwood TH-F6A, which is a VHF and UHF ham radio transceiver. It also receives AM, FM and broadcast radio. It’s small and easy to carry — I keep one in my laptop bag.

For a while I thought I could use SW radio to get news from BBC World Service when the local FM/AM stations are down. But then I learned that BBC and most broadcasters have stepped away from SW in favor of internet radio. It's not the 1960s anymore. Whodathunkit? So what I can reliably get in my region? Mostly religious stuff. So I decided not to spend the money.

If someone is going to broadcast in a desaster scenario, a shortwave radio might be useful. For the EMP scenario it should be an oldfashioned glow in the dark radio or have a shielded storage. OTOH an EMP might fry the equipment of potential braodcasters as well.
In Germany there is a government agency responsible for desaster managment and providing information about preparing for citizens. They recommend having a shortwave radio - preferably with a dynamo charger - too.
As a HAM operator I own a shortwave radio with dynamo charger and a couple of other items capable of receiving SW.

Not needed. Had one as a kid in the 90s, was a novelty for a week.

Sorry, but listening to the BBC after an earthquake in CA wasn't particularly relevant.

To stay connected in case of an EMP, shortwave radio is necessary. Local broadcasters may be affected, but those from other parts of the world will still be accessible.

Jeanette Isabelle

Did you still have access to local broadcasts?

Jeanette Isabelle

Well, I listen to BBC ***WORLD SERVICE*** not for local news, but for international news. During hurricanes & blackouts, I often have time on my hands. Since I already listen to BBC anyway, why not catch up on cricket through SW, I thought, not realizing SW is no longer supported.

I recommend international news services like Radio France, Deutsche Welle, Kyodo News, etc. for a different view of the world. For example, US news sources tend not to cover Africa, but BBC does (esp. former British colonies).

I thought BBC restarted SW broadcasts due to the Ukraine war.

Pretty sure there were no local broadcasts, even in normal times. But you're talking 30 years ago, in Los Angeles.

I guess that's something for you to figure- do your locals broadcast? What are you trying to gain from a shortwave?

I'm sorry, I didn't quite understand your initial question. Shortwave radio is used to receive broadcasts in areas where local broadcasts are not available.

Jeanette Isabelle

That depends on what "stay connected" means to you. Local broadcasters would be likely to provided information required for managing the problems at hand. An EMP would render anything unshielded using semiconductors useless. That affects large parts of infrastructure. Apart from that many broadcasters limit their power and range to avoid interference.
Anyway a working receiver could be a valueable asset. Just be aware that it could turn out it has limits.
I even have a transceiver built into an Altoids can for emergency comms. It is limited to CW. With a big antenna it has a decent range.

To prepare for emergencies, we store our shortwave radio in a Faraday bag. In the event of a local blackout caused by a major incident, international broadcasts may be the only way to stay informed. It's likely that news of the incident would spread globally if it was significant enough.

Jeanette Isabelle

you asked if I still had access to local broadcasts.

I don't recall.

But I'm not sure anyone was using shortwave locally before an earthquake either. My point is, what I DID hear wasn't useful. And local AM/FM worked just fine.

If there is a disaster, what exactly do you plan to get out of a shortwave? It's not like the radio station half a world away is going to tell you where FEMA is handing things out.

In the event of a local blackout caused by a major incident, international broadcasts may be the only way to stay informed. News of the incident would likely spread globally if it was significant enough. An international broadcast would only say what happened, not what FEMA is doing.

Jeanette Isabelle

It may be difficult to persuade someone to prepare for emergencies if recent events have not convinced them to do so. Therefore, why would someone be interested in knowing where FEMA is distributing aid?

Jeanette Isabelle

I have a shortwave receiver which is version of the Kaito Electronic Inc,
Tecsun Digital PL368 AM/FM/LW/SW Worldband Radio with Single Side Band

The #1 reason I like this radio is that it's small enough to store in a shielded can. #2 is that it can be recharged via either a USB charging cable or you can remove the battery and charge it outside the radio. I have spare batteries so can go either way.

Receiver bands:
-FM: 64.0 – 108 MHz (4 ranges selectable)
-AM: 520 – 1710 kHz (Tuning step 9/10 KHz selectable)
-LW: 153 KHz to 513 KHz
-SW: 1711 HHz to 29999 KHz

I use it primarily for AM broadcast. It has an internal AM antenna but it also has an AM antenna jack on the top of the radio and a removable external coil antenna which rotates. That small antenna is able to reduce noise and clean up an AM signal quite well by simply rotating to align with the strongest/cleanest signal.

A shortwave long wire antenna clips to the FM antenna if you prefer SW.

FM broadcast is very local, but while some AM stations I've heard are in the state, they aren't necessarily local; AM Clear-Channel stations have lots of power and can have very long range. The SW I've received here seems irrelevant to any emergency and receiving is too dependent on skywaves and such. IMO it's not reliable enough and AM is a better option.

Do a google on "North American ClearChannel AM Radio Stations" and one of the links you'll find is at wikipedia -- Clear-channel_station That wiki-page has a list of "Class A (former I-A/I-B) stations". Since in an emergency the internet may not be available, I compiled station data from different sources (including wiki) and have it stored on my laptop and tablets. I can recharge all electronics using solar panels and power banks.

Transceivers here are all GMRS. I recommend you get a licence, easy and not expensive. It's another good to have option; better to have and not need.

FYI: I did a post about portable solar panels so yeah, I also recommend solar to recharge small devices. YMMV

Like Chaosmagnet, I'm also a radio nerd, licensed on ham radio, GMRS and a lot of other things. I agree 100% with the "SW is last on the list" view.

I've always been at a loss to understand the "we need a SW radio in case of an EMP which will devastate all electronics, so you better get some...electronics...to listen to the SW broadcasts that require...electronics...to function.

Let's skip over that part and go into all the reasons why SW radio is the least optimal choice for almost everyone:

1) It's finicky. That signal you heard just fine 15 minutes ago just faded away. Why? Because (insert long list of reasons).

2) To cover a large area, it requires a HUGE antenna connected to a powerful transmitter to be of any use on the TRANSMIT side, that is unless you DON'T want to cover a large area, in which case atmospheric conditions will align so your signal is skipping through the ionosphere from Washington CD to Florida, but you can't reach the person 5 miles away.

3) When it does work, it's prone to noise from any number of things, like LED lights, lightning that is far far away, and so many other things.

There are more reasons, but these are my majors.

Here's some relevant information about SHARES and how it might intersect SW radio:

https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/resources/shares-documents

From whom do you expect to get "local" SW "broadcasts" ?

To be clear: It's not like NBC and ABC have the equipment needed to get onto SW frequencies.

I am licensed as well (Extra). What most overlook about shortwave/HF comms for preparedness is that the real value is in single sideband (SSB) transmissions. Yes, broadcast shortwave isn't what it was 30 years ago. But being able to hear SSB from amateur/pirate/emergency transmitters is valuable. In a regional emergency, amateur radio operators will utilize NVIS antenna arrangements to mitigate the skip effect and send info much closer to home.

When shopping for a shortwave receiver, get one that handles SSB, such as the TecSun PL-660 or the amazingly compact Crane Skywave SSB2.



Buy a radio like the C.Crane Skywave SSB2 and you'll get FM/AM/NOAA weather/aviation/shortwave SSB in a superbly compact package with it's own longwire antenna for the shortwave. It will be perfectly at home in your EDC or get-home bag, and it runs on a couple of AA batteries. It will be a better radio than most for the common bands, and you'll have access to SSB shortwave. Easy.

Hand a person who knows nothing about radio, SSB, AM, FM, whatever, a SW radio or an FM Radio.

Tell them to find a broadcast. I’ll wait.

Look, I’ve messed with HF, and the term hams use “working” a band or mode is 100% true. It’s work. Yes, you can dial around and hear something with ordinary SW, but I’ll go to the evidence in the case of recent and real major widespread emergencies (Hurricane Sandy, West Coast Wildfires, Blackout in Puerto Rico) and I can’t find anything where SW radio as a broadcast medium was used to communicate with the general populace.

Hand a person who knows nothing about a fire lay, how to prep tinder, how to find natural tinder, how to shield a fire from wind, etc a ferro rod, Bic, or propane torch.

Tell them to start an effective fire. I'll wait.

You know the rest.

Learn something about a skill, or God forbid practice that skill by working it?! Heaven forfend! Too much effort.

It's easier to just read posts on internet survival forums and call it good.

The problem with the SW radio is that it is not that obvious that you may need some knowledge and actual practice for operation. The expectation is that the radio is basically plug and play. For many it is just throw in your BOB and call it prepared. I am willing to help people in real live on that topic. Some do not need help. Those how would are mostly in he line of "It´s a radio. Turn a knob and it makes a sound. How hard can that be?".