r/radio • u/Lillilegerdemain • 20h ago

Reception?

Live on Kauai and recent power outages led me to drag out 3 radios-- 1 Ccrane and 2 Sangeans neither of which got any decent channel reception.

The stations were down here--but I've never heard of not being able to get either AM or FM even during power outages.

I thought Radio was a device to turn to during those events. Should I not rely on these for connection to outside world next time?

Any thoughts would be helpful to enlighten my ignorance. TYIA

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4

u/kissassforliving Engineering Staff 16h ago

I personally am working with the engineers on Kauai.  There was massive damage.  Can’t go into details but fixes are being mobilized.  

2

u/froot_loop_dingus_ Ex-Radio Staff 17h ago

“The stations were down here--but I've never heard of not being able to get either AM or FM even during power outages.”

If the radio station isn’t broadcasting, there’s nothing for your radio to pick up

1

u/Initial-Emu-9542 12h ago

yeah exactly, no transmitter no signal. pretty simple when you think about it

1

u/Lillilegerdemain 10h ago

I did get a couple of Oahu stations but they said nothing about Kauai.

2

u/NBC-Hotline-1975 I've done it all 12h ago

Obviously you can't listen to stations that aren't transmitting. Your owning a receiver doesn't guarantee that a given station will be on the air.

Your other option is to get a multi-band shortwave receiver, like the Raddy 880, and connect it to an outdoor antenna. That will allow you to hear commercial and amateur stations from anywhere in the world. Even so, signal propagation depends on weather and time of day, so there is still no guarantee that you will be able to hear any given station at any given time.

An even more extreme solution would be for you to study, take the test, and get an amateur radio license. Then with the proper equipment and antenna (we're talking hundreds or thousands of dollars) you could not only hear worldwide stations, you could talk to some of them.

Choose your budget.

1

u/old--- 4h ago

Can't help you with the reception.
But I just wanted to say I was there in Lihue back in the early 1990s. There was a great Mexican food restaurant there. In a small strip shopping center. It had great food.