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The Ready Brief #223
Practical preparedness for uncertain times
FROM THE DESK
This issue is about shortwave radio, a receiver that needs no internet, no cell tower and no subscription. This week's news shows why that kind of independence matters. In France, attackers reached connected refrigeration controllers over the internet and spoiled food without touching the power grid. More of what we rely on is online by default, including the freezer. A battery radio works the same way it did before any of that was connected.
THE BRIEF
Shortwave Radio Basics
When people talk about emergency communication, they usually mean ham radio, GMRS, or keeping a phone charged. All of those are about transmitting. Shortwave is about receiving. When local information is unreliable or unavailable, being able to listen to international broadcasts is one of the more useful preparedness skills you can have.
Shortwave radio, also called HF (high frequency) radio, operates in the 3 to 30 MHz range. FM radio reaches roughly 50 to 100 miles. Shortwave signals bounce off the ionosphere and can travel thousands of miles, so a listener in Kansas can sometimes pick up a broadcaster on another continent with a basic receiver and a length of wire.
You don't need a license to listen. No registration. No equipment beyond a basic receiver. You just turn it on and tune.
Who is on the air? Wikipedia's list of shortwave broadcasters (last updated June 2024) shows Radio Taiwan International, Radio Romania International, NHK World Radio Japan, KBS World Radio, China Radio International, Deutsche Welle and WRMI in Florida as active. Schedules and languages change, and some broadcasters have left the band: Radio Australia ended shortwave in 2017 and Radio Canada International in 2012. Several of these stations are state-run, so treat them as one source among several. Because they transmit from outside your area, they don't depend on your local cell towers, internet providers or power grid.
During normal times, shortwave is a curiosity. If local news is offline and internet and cell service are down, it can tell you what is happening beyond your immediate area, from sources that do not depend on your local infrastructure.
Getting started is simple. A dedicated receiver like the Tecsun PL-330 (about $85) or the PL-320 (about $65) covers AM, FM, longwave and shortwave. For better reception, extend the built-in antenna or attach a length of insulated wire. Twenty to 30 feet strung along a wall or out a window often improves what you can hear.
Listening takes some patience. Shortwave reception varies by time of day, season, and atmospheric conditions. Nighttime is generally better for long-distance reception. Frequencies shift as stations adjust to propagation conditions. A current broadcast schedule from sources like short-wave.info helps you know where to tune and when.
The real value is a second and third source. During a regional disaster, local media focuses on the local angle and national media on the national one. Broadcasts from outside the country give you another view to compare against, which helps you check what you hear before making decisions about your own situation.
A receiver with single side band (SSB), like the PL-330, can also pick up amateur radio operators on HF frequencies, where some emergency nets operate.
For under $100 and no ongoing cost, shortwave radio gives you a receive-only capability that works independently of internet, cellular and the power grid. That is a rare combination of cheap, simple and useful.
ONE THING THIS WEEK
Look up shortwave broadcast schedules for your time zone.
Visit short-wave.info or swling.com and find three stations you can receive in your area. Note the frequencies and broadcast times. If you already own a shortwave radio, try tuning in tonight. If not, this gives you a reason to pick one up.
ON THE RADAR
Yemen Cholera: 8,034 Suspected Cases, Weekly Counts Nearly Tripled
WHO reports 8,034 suspected cholera cases and 27 deaths in Yemen this year, about a quarter of them in the last four weeks. Weekly suspected cases rose from 217 (Sept 6 to 12) to 647 (Sept 27 to Oct 3). Renewed fighting since July has displaced more than 200,000 people into crowded camps, and five southwestern governorates account for 92% of cases. WHO has secured $3.78 million of the $31 million it needs for a 90-day response. The count was nearly 5,000 in July and about 7,800 on Sept 28. Cholera spreads through contaminated water, so stored and treated drinking water matters in any displacement or outage. We will keep tracking the weekly number.
LESSON FROM: JOHN HUDSON
John Hudson, Chief Survival Instructor to the UK military, wrote How To Survive (paperback, about $18). According to its publisher, the book applies military survival principles to everyday decisions under pressure, using first-hand accounts of near disasters and survival stories from around the world.
Our takeaway: a shortwave receiver is a tool for listening, not talking. Knowing what is happening beyond your street gives you more to base decisions on when local channels are down.
Source: Pan Macmillan
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Hackers Heat Fridges to 122°F at Hundreds of French Supermarkets
Overnight Sunday, attackers remotely raised refrigerator and freezer temperatures at French supermarkets to 50°C (122°F), causing fires and spoiled food. Intermarché says about 150 of its stores ran that hot for six hours and all affected food was thrown out. Carrefour reported 80 stores hit, Monoprix about 5% of its roughly 490 stores, and Cooperative U said it was also targeted. Intermarché's CEO told BFM TV losses could reach tens of millions of euros in one day. A source close to the prime minister says France's cyber agency found a flaw in software from Danish maker Danfoss, which says the affected units ran outdated firmware. For your own freezer: keep a thermometer in each unit (FoodSafety.gov lists 40°F or below for the fridge, 0°F or below for the freezer) and check it after any odd alarm.
WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING
About $85. This handheld receiver covers AM, FM, longwave and shortwave, with a single side band receiver for amateur radio. Amazon lists 850 station memories, an external antenna input, an alarm clock and a headphone jack.
We recommend it as a starting point because the external antenna input lets you improve reception later without replacing the radio.
Budget alternative: Retekess V115 (about $21). AM, FM and shortwave with a rechargeable battery. Amazon's listing does not mention single side band.
OVERRATED / UNDERRATED
Overrated: Fancy SDR (software-defined radio) setups for beginners. They're powerful but require a computer, software knowledge, and antenna work. A basic portable receiver gets you listening in minutes.
Underrated: A 20-foot length of wire as an antenna. Clip it to your radio's telescoping antenna and hang it along a wall or out a window. Reception often improves noticeably, and it costs almost nothing.
THE LINK DUMP
SWLing.com: A long-running shortwave listening blog covering radio reviews, broadcasting news and community posts.
Short-wave.info: Search shortwave broadcast schedules by frequency, language, broadcaster and time.
ARRL.org: American Radio Relay League. Gateway to ham radio if shortwave listening sparks interest.
RadioReference.com: Radio frequency database for all bands including shortwave.
Broadcastify.com: Live public safety, aircraft, rail and marine radio feeds for local monitoring alongside shortwave.
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center: Solar activity affects shortwave propagation. Worth checking.
COMING UP
Wildfire evacuation planning. When to go, what to take, and the mistakes that cost people everything.
How was today's issue? Tap one below. If you pick "Could be better," tell us what to fix.
How was today's issue?
PS: A battery radio and a length of wire work without internet or cell service. Which of those would you miss first in an outage?
THE READY BRIEF is published for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing here is professional legal, medical, financial, or tactical advice. Preparedness looks different for every household. Use your own judgment, consult qualified professionals when the stakes are high, and adapt what you read here to your actual situation.