Shortwave Listening Guidebook: The Complete Guide to Hearing the World (Paperback)

by Harry L. Helms (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Join the listeners of shortwave radio. This new edition of "Shortwave Listening Guidebook" is a ticket to the world in direct, non-technical language and helps in selecting the right shortwave radio, how reception conditions vary throughout the day and year, how to correctly operate the radio, and provides information on frequencies used by stations around the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 333 pages
• Publisher: HighText Publications; 2 Sub edition (August 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1878707116
• ISBN-13: 978-1878707116
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #703,537 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction to Shortwave listening, March 24, 1999

By A Customer

As a newcomer to Shortwave listening, I found that Harry Helms' "Shortwave Listening Guidebook" has been the perfect introduction. It covers the technical aspects (such as the different parts of a shortwave receiver and how to use them, radio wave propagation, and antennas) in enough (but not too much) detail to be of use to the casual listener. There's an overview of the various shortwave bands, as well as what you may find between the bands. The many aspects of shortwave listening are covered, from listening to major broadcasters such as the BBC to such specialities as trying to hear distant stations, "pirate" broadcasters, and so on.

All in all, armed with both this book and "Passport to Worldband Radio", anyone should be able to enjoy shortwave listening.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific introduction to the shortwave hobby., November 8, 1998

By	Gatton (Charlotte, NC) - See all my reviews

I picked up the first edition of this book when I first became interested in shortwave radio about five years ago. Even now I still love going back to it. Harry Helms writes in such a clear and readable style, it's easy to find yourself breezing through chapter after chapter. Harry presents just enough technical information to give you a good understanding of the principles, without putting you to sleep with lots of equations and theory. This book is a great resource for those casually interested in short wave as a hobby and are looking for a book that will just "tell it like it is"...in a no-nonsense fashion. If you're interested in ham radio at all...I can also highly recommend All About Ham Radio by the same author...written in the same informal and easily readable style. Thanks for getting me on my way Harry!

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superbly-written, thoughtful, and comprehensive guide, August 4, 1999

By	Ross Archer ([e-mail]) (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This is the ultimate hybrid of reference book and page-turner, thanks to Harry Helms' superb writing style. Prose is liquid, even in the sections that have a lot of reference information. Absolutely recommended.