Customer Reviews

Passport to World Band Radio,

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I got my Shortwave radio 2 days before I got this book. By the time the book came, I was ready to throw the radio out the window. This book REALLY saved the day. It gives you everything you need to start listening to Shortwave broadcasts. Shortwave was frustrating for me to tune around "hit and miss." This book tells you what bands work at different times of day. It gives you a "TV Guide" type listing (time,freq,and content) of broadcasters, and a chart to look up that station you just picked up, but have no idea of who/where it is. I think every listener needs one. With it's guide to getting up and listening for rookies, a novice will find it invaluable. It also has well written reviews of radios, so you might want to buy it before you buy a radio. Remember though, Shortwave covers countless types of radio transmissons, including military, goverment, and various other "utility" type stations. This book covers only the broadcasters, like Voice of America, the BBC, and countless others. You won't find listings here for the utility stations.

Shortwave is an excellent hobby, but a difficult one. Equipment cost ranges between [$$] to somewhere around [$$$$]. Schedules are easy to find for an individual radio station (on the web), but what about some opinion on the programs?

Enter Passport to World Band Radio. If you listen to shortwave, this is a must-have. For less than [$$], you get excellent radio reviews, antenna reviews and recommendations, opinion on shows, TV-Guide style program listings by the hour of the day, and schedules by broadcaster. You also have addresses of most major broadcasters if you wish to follow up with them.

Simply put, "Passport" takes the guesswork out of the hobby. So you spend less time tinkering with your radio and more time listening to the programs that it puts out.

Armed with the latest "Passport", I have listened in the past week to radio broadcasts from India, Canada, Taiwan, Germany, the UK and the good old USA. Sounds interesting? Buy the book!

I am part of a team of volunteers that are building an orphanage in the Andes of Peru. For my first six months I was isolated from the "world", except for my excursions into Cusco. I decided to get a s/w radio and hook into the news from VOA, BBC, and Voice of the Andes. Now, every morning, I wake up to a new world perspective.

This book was critical in determining my radio choice. This is the "Consumers Report" for world band radios. I bought the top rated Radio Shack (Sangean) portable and couldn't be happier. It was an excellent value and I got it on sale! If you haven't bought a world band radio yet, this book is a must read before you purchase.

The section on antennas is also superb. Though, with my simple portable, a sophisticated antenna is not feasible. The guide also helps you to find and tune into World Band stations. It pinpoints stations by time and channel. "Passport" is a first-class introduction to the world airwaves. Highly Recommended

Passport to Worldband Radio is a new book for me, as I have not seen or heard of this book prior to purchase. I own shortwave radios and antennas, and was looking for a book as a TV Guide to Worldband Radio. This book is wonderful. It is very easy to look up a particular frequency, time or station. I really like the style of this book.

Best however, are their reviews of radios and antennas. I wish that I had this book prior to purchasing an outdoor antenna - I know I could have made a better model selection for a lower price.

A great book! I look forward to yearly revisions.

I have had a shortwave radio for several months now, and usually just tune around to find what is on. After buying this book, I can find whatever I want in a matter of minutes instead of a half hour. If you own a shortwave radio, this book is an essential tool you can't be without.

This book is great, it tells you all the programs coming up and updates you on all the shortwave radio ETC. In other words it tells you everything yo need to know about shortwave radios and programs.

I use the "blue pages" of this book every time I listen to shortwave. If I scan the SW broadcast bands and hit a signal I'm not familiar with, PTWBR can tell me what it is in seconds.
No one should be without this publication if they listen to shortwave. I buy a new one every year.

If you don't live in US, simply FORGET this book! If you happen to live in Europe you'll find totally wrong frequency informations in this book. Simply, no help at all! They need to change the name of the book to: "US passport to world band radio".