A short glossary of shortwave listening
Terms used across the Bandplan log, explained the way we'd explain them to someone new to the desk — plainly, and without assuming prior gear knowledge.
The narrow band circling the earth along the dawn and dusk terminator, where propagation on lower frequencies tends to favor long-distance paths for a short stretch of time.
A radio signal that travels by reflecting off the ionosphere rather than following the ground, allowing shortwave stations to be heard well beyond the horizon.
A signal that travels close to the earth's surface rather than bouncing off the ionosphere, useful mainly for shorter, more local distances.
A rise and fall in signal strength over seconds to minutes, caused by changing conditions along the skywave path. Logged as "QSB" in older shorthand.
A patchy, short-lived form of propagation caused by dense ionized clouds in the E-layer, which can briefly open higher frequency bands that are otherwise closed.
The background level of electrical noise a receiver picks up at a given frequency, against which a weak signal has to be distinguished before it can be logged.
The signal-strength meter on a receiver, graduated in S-units, giving a rough relative read of how strong an incoming signal is compared to the noise around it.
A printed or digital card sent by a station to confirm that a listener's reception report matched what was actually being broadcast at that time.
A written account sent to a station describing when, on what frequency, and how well it was heard — the basis on which a QSL card is usually issued.
A non-broadcast shortwave transmission — maritime, aeronautical, time-signal, or similar — logged separately from broadcast stations in most logbooks.
The general hobby of seeking out distant or hard-to-hear stations, whether on shortwave, mediumwave, or other bands.
A simple wire antenna fed at one end rather than the middle, popular for informal setups because it needs only one support point and a run of wire.
A small transformer placed between an antenna and its feedline to match impedance and reduce feedline radiation, often mentioned in antenna build notes.
A measure of how well an antenna is matched to its feedline; a lower number generally means more of the signal is getting where it's meant to go.
A form of fading where different parts of a signal's frequency spread fade independently, which can distort audio even while the overall signal stays audible.
The highest frequency that will reliably reflect off the ionosphere for a given path at a given time, above which a signal tends to pass straight through into space.
The roughly eleven-year rise and fall in solar activity that influences how well higher shortwave bands propagate from one year to the next.
A single dated record of what was heard, including at minimum the time, frequency, and a short note — the basic unit every logbook is built from.
The identifying label a station announces or transmits, used to confirm exactly which transmitter was heard when writing up a reception report.
One of the specific shortwave frequency ranges set aside for broadcast use, such as the 49 metre or 31 metre bands listed in the table on the home page.