ABC To Close All Radio Australia HF Broadcasts On 31 Jan 2017

[Uncle Fester]

So guess the only option is to take the best sensitive AM radio you can get and experiment with various long wire aerials.

With a bit of luck there may be a fading, crackling signal from somewhere.

Long wire is no go on a metallic vehicle.

I have reasonable results with this 'scanner' antenna on my little Terrano:
using a Sony car stereo with AM including SW.
I bought this Australian made antenna well over a decade ago from Dick Smith and was astonished to find it still today on Ebay.

Despite the description (25-1300MHz) it also works well with AM and I can receive New Zealand at times(evening), however I live on the Mid north coast of NSW.
The stock antenna of my car was practically dead on AM.

Nothing beats a tuned loop for AM but you would need to find a way to rotate it if it were to be mounted on a vehicle while driving.

[mkhannah]

I try to steer clear of politics but I thought a show of support might help the cause



I just wrote a brief message of thanks on his contact page re this issue, maybe others here might consider it to show some level of support.

[gordon_s1942]

I remember seeing a Leyland Bros episode where they were crossing a desert somewhere (the Simpson?) and one of the Land Rovers broke down (universal joint?) and they set up the two way they had hired for the trip.
At the car end they stood a 2 or 3 stage bamboo rod it looked like and ran the 'Long wire' from the Transceiver up to the top of the mast and then walked out the other end and 'tied' it off there a couple of feet off the ground.
During the show they said that apart from using it in this situation, they also joined in on the Open Chat that followed most scheduled calls.
I cant remember the brand of the radio but you hired it from a company and depending on where you were going, fitted a suitable tuner to the transceiver.

Some years later I saw the identical set up at a Motor show

[Landytrack]

Thanks for the comments and should have mentioned more interested in listening to the radio when stopped and camping. Unfortunately my 4WD generates a fair amount of both acoustic noise and injector noise being a common rail.

Just not interested in the satellite option mainly due to the cost.

A active tuned loop is a good suggestion, some friends in town use these for their AM DX activities so will talk to them. Not to hard to build up.

Otherwise I have a 9M telescoping squid pole which could be set up about 20M from the car and support a length of wire.

Still some overseas S/W broadcasters still going (ignoring the chinese propaganda stations) so a bit of an option to listen to them.

Saw Bernardis site and sorry for the hapless people stuck out there.

Hope a war does not break out and the wonderful satellites get shot down.

[mkhannah]

Received this today

Thank you for your email to Nick Xenophon. I am responding on his behalf.

Thank you for your feedback on the importance of shortwave radio and for your support on this issue – I have passed your comments on to Nick and his senior advisors for their reference and consideration.

Nick is calling on the major parties to support legislation to restore shortwave radio transmission services.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Restoring Shortwave Radio) Bill 2017 was introduced this week and requires the ABC to maintain both its domestic and international shortwave transmission services so that people living in rural and remote Australia, as well as remote parts of the Pacific, have access to reliable emergency broadcasting and news.

You may be interested in Nick’s media release on the issue here:

To support Nick, I would encourage to contact your local MP (as you have done) and other NT Senators to urge them to support Nick's legislation. You can find Senators and Members details here: .

Thank you again for your feedback on this issue.

Kind regards

Anna Gordon
Electorate Officer
Office of Nick Xenophon | Independent Senator for South Australia
(Electorate Office) Lvl 2/31 Ebenezer Place, Adelaide | TEL: 08 8232 1144

[mkhannah]

More news about the service, or lack there of

[mkhannah]

Found this today and thought it was interesting. No idea of a time frame if/when the service may get reinstated, no doubt a lot of waffling to do....