Guides
Listen better.
Practical guides for radio listeners.
This week: Oct 2-6, 2026How to receive pictures from the space station this weekFrom Friday, October 2 to Tuesday, October 6, 2026, the International Space Station sends slow-scan TV pictures on 437.550 MHz. How to find passes…Field methodHow to identify a radio signal by earA step-by-step field method for naming the strange sounds on your radio: rhythm, tones, width, timing and where you heard it.Noise and interferenceWhy is my radio buzzing? The noises in your radio, explainedBuzzing, hissing, ticking or whining on your radio? How to tell power-line noise, LED and charger noise, solar inverters, TVs, broadband and electric…LearningHow to read FT8 messages: what CQ, the numbers and RR73 meanFT8 messages look like code: CQ AC9ZZZ FN42, -15, R-12, RR73. A plain guide to reading them, from the first call to the last 73, and what the dB, DT…LearningWhat can you hear on a shortwave radio? A listener's map of 3 to 30 MHzBroadcasters, ham operators, time stations, weather maps for ships, aircraft data, numbers stations and radar: what's on shortwave today, where to…LearningHam radio digital modes explained: the families, and how to tell them apartFT8, RTTY, PSK31, Olivia, SSTV, APRS, DMR: dozens of digital modes, sorted into a few families by how they sound, with what each is for.Printable · JOTA weekend Oct 16-18, 2026Radio listening log and signal bingo for scouts (printable)A free printable shortwave listening log laid out for the Radio merit badge's listening option, plus a signal bingo card for Jamboree on the Air…