10
Front Panel Functions
1-800-773- 7931 W W W .PALST AR.CO M
The bandwidth automatically switches to the width appropriate for
the reception mode selected by the MODE button, but the oppo-
site bandwidth can be selected by pushing the BW button once.
Pressing BW again will return to the previous setting.
8. AGC (Automatic Gain Control) Button -
Switches between
Fast and Slow AGC response time.
The indicator is lit when AGC
responses time is FAST. For most normal reception, AGC re-
sponse time should be SLOW. The primary use for the FAST re-
sponse time is when listening to CW (Morse code) stations.
9. ATTenuator Button
-
Switches in 10 dB of attenuation to pre-
vent overloading of the receiver by strong local stations.
The indi-
cator is lit when attenuation is ON. For most normal reception, at-
tenuation should be OFF.
10. Headphone Jack
- A standard 1/4” monaural phone plug (2
conductor) is provided to enable listening without disturbing oth-
ers. The headphone jack is designed for use with 8 ohm monaural
headphones. If stereo headphones are used, the sound will only
be heard in one ear. When headphones are plugged in, the inter-
nal speaker (of external speaker, if one is in use) is disabled.
World Time
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1-800-773- 7931 W W W .PALST AR.CO M
The Amateur Radio bands are as follows:
Frequency in kHz
Band Name
3500-4000
80 Meters
7000-7300
40 Meters
10100-10150
30 Meters (CW/Data only)
14000-14350
20 Meters
18068-18168
17 Meters
21000-21450
15 Meters
24890-24990
12 Meters (Shared with Fixed Service)
28000-29700
10 Meters
Other Services
The Shortwave spectrum is also home to many other radio ser-
vices, including ship-to-shore, transoceanic airlines, government,
military, and others. Often called “Utility Stations” or “Utes” for
short, their transmission modes include CW, AM voice, SSB voice,
radio teletype and data. The monitoring of Utes is a specialized
and rapidly changing area of the SWL hobby. It is beyond the
scope of this guide to provide more details, but there are books,
magazine columns, newsletters, and internet webpages if you
want more information.
World Time
Let’s say you want to listen to a BBC newscast at 5pm. But, is that
5pm in London where the program originates, 5pm in Southeast
Asia where the BBC relay transmitter is located, or 5pm in New
Zealand, where the intended audience lives?
To eliminate such problems, shortwave broadcast schedules are
kept in World Time. World Time is the local time at the Prime
Meridian, zero degrees of longitude, which runs through
Greenwich, England.
In the past, World Time was known as Greenwich Mean Time,
today it is usually called Coordinated Universal Time, abbreviated
as UTC. The military designates UTC with the letter “Z” and refers
to it as “Zulu”, which is the phonetic pronouncer for “Z.” UTC is a
24 hour clock and the times are written in four digits with no punc-
tuation. Thus, midnight is 0000 hours, 1pm is 1300 hours, and so
on.