Tutorial Tutorials · 1 min
Listen to shortwave through someone else's antenna
Tune a real receiver on the other side of the world from your Mac, without buying a radio.
Draft. Not yet checked by an editor.
Volunteers around the world run software-defined receivers called KiwiSDRs and share them over the internet. Each one is a real antenna in a real place. AuralFM puts them on the globe.
You need
- The AuralFM app for Mac (receivers cannot be reached from a web page).
- Headphones help: shortwave is quiet in places and noisy in others.
Steps
- Open the globe and turn on the receivers layer. Amber dots are receivers.
- Pick one near the part of the world you want to hear. A receiver hears best what is near it and what the ionosphere carries to it.
- Choose a band. In the evening start with 49 m or 41 m; in daytime try 25 m, 19 m or 16 m.
- Pick a broadcast from the list. The list is the published schedule, ordered by whether the path is likely open now.
- Listen for a minute before deciding. Signals fade in and out.
- When you are done, stop. Each receiver has a few listening slots, and leaving one open keeps someone else out.
Be a good guest
These receivers are paid for by the people who run them. AuralFM connects only when you ask, one receiver at a time, and never retries a receiver that refuses.