Shortwave Question

[The Unknown Copywriter]

I have a little bit of fun money...thinking of grabbing a Grundig G8 from The Source...they're clearing them out.

Question...

Is there any good shortwavin' to be had in the Lower Mainland (Pitt Meadows)...with this unit, and perhaps an antenna...or am I wasting my fun money?

[Tape Splicer]

I've lived in the lower main land all my adult life and have been able to tune in many international broadcasters -
The BBC World Service, Radio Netherlands, NHK Japan, Radio Australia, Radio New Zealand Deutsche Welle Radio Cuba, HCJB... to name just a few. Listening to the Ham frequencies are also very interesting.
Living in an apartment will make the tuning a bit more of a challenge, but if you are in a house you should have no problems.
The library near you should hav a book titled; The World Radio TV handbook, you will find a great deal of information about what stations can be heard in this area.

[Neumann Sennheiser]

There is also the mysterious Russian signal known as UVB 76, now of DXer "cult" status and written of in an article in the current issue of Wired magazine.
UVB 76 is the call sign of a shortwave radio station located north of Moscow that, since 1982, broadcasts on the frequency 4625 kHz (AM suppressed lower sideband). It is known among radio listeners by the nickname The Buzzer and features a short, monotonous buzz tone repeating at a rate of approximately 25 tones per minute, 24 hours per day. On rare occasions, the buzzer signal has been heard interrupted by a voice transmission in Russian. Despite much speculation, the actual purpose of this station remains unknown.
The magazine piece is an interesting read (sorry, not available on-line yet, you'll have to buy or borrow an issue) but here's a site dedicated to the subject.
http://uvb-76.net

[andysradio]

Many SW stations have reduced broadcasting to North America or stopped all together . Thankfully, Radio Australia, Radio New Zealand and others are still going but you will need a quite RF location as the signals are weaker than in the good 'ol days.
Take BBC World Service: They closed their North American transmissions some 10 years ago. If you want to catch them in BC, your best chances are the Singapore relay on 9740 and other transmissions beamed to Asia.