Band guide How it works · 1 min
The 49-metre band
The busiest shortwave broadcast band after dark, and the easiest place to start listening across borders.
Draft. Not yet checked by an editor.
Shortwave is divided into bands named after their wavelength in metres. The 49-metre band runs from 5,900 to 6,200 kHz, and in the evening it is one of the most crowded places on the dial: international broadcasters, religious stations, regional services and the occasional number station.
When it is open
The 49-metre band works best from late afternoon through the night. In daylight the lower part of the ionosphere absorbs its signals; after sunset that absorption fades and the signals travel far, often across a continent. Listen in the hours either side of your local midnight first.
What you will hear
- International services speaking to their diaspora and neighbours.
- Domestic shortwave services in countries where it still reaches places FM does not.
- Noise, fading and overlapping stations. On shortwave that is part of the sound, not a fault.
Listening on AuralFM
Open the globe, pick a receiver near the region you want to hear, and choose 49 m. The list shows what the schedule says is on air at that moment.