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Worldbandradioisyourunfilteredconnectiontowhat’sgoingon,butitdiffersfromconventionalradio.Herearethree“must”tipstogetstarted.“Must”#1:WorldTimeandDayWorldbandschedulesuseasingletime,WorldTime.Afterall,worldbandradioisglobal,withstationsbroadcastingaround-the-clockfromvirtuallyeverytimezone.Imaginethechaosifeachstationuseditsownlocaltimeforsched-uling.InEngland,9:00PMisdiffer-entfromnineintheeveninginJapanorCanada.Howwouldanybodyknowwhentotunein?WorldTime,orCoordinatedUniver-salTime(UTC),isalsoknownasGreenwichMeanTime(GMT)or,inthemilitary,“Zulu.”ItisannouncedCompleatIdiot’sGuidetoGettingStartedThree“Must”TipstoCatchtheWorldin24-hourformat,so2PMis1400(“fourteenhundred”)hours.TherearefoureasywaystoknowWorldTime.First,aroundNorthAmericatunetooneofthestandardtimestations,suchasWWVinColoradoandWWVHinHawaiiorCHUinOttawa.WWVandWWVHareon5000,10000and15000kHz,withWWValsoon2500and20000kHz;CHUison3330,7335and14670kHz.Second,tunetoamajorinternationalbroadcaster,suchastheBBCWorldServiceorVoiceofAmerica.MostannounceWorldTimeatthehour.Third,ontheInternetyoucanaccessWorldTimeatvarioussites,includingtycho.usno.navy.mil/what.htmland(fourhourssummer)toyourlocaltimetogetWorldTime.So,ifitis8PMEST(the20thhouroftheday)inNewYork,itis0100hoursWorldTime.OnceyouknowthecorrectWorldTime,adjustyourradio’s24-hourclock.Noclock?Getonenowunlessyouenjoydoingweirdcompu-tationsinyourhead(it’s6:00PMhere,soaddfivehourstomakeit11:00PM,whichona24-hourclockconvertsto23:00WorldTime—but,whoops,it’ssummersoIshouldhaveaddedfourhoursinsteadoffive...).Itwillbethebestmoneyyou’veeverspent.RememberthatatmidnightanewWorldDayarrives.Thiscantripupevenexperiencedlisteners—sometimesradiostations,too.Soifitis9PMESTWednesdayinNewYork,itis0200hoursWorldTimeThursday.Don’tforgetto“windyourcalendar”!PASSPORT’STHREE-MINUTESTARTNotime?Trythis:1.Nighttimeistherighttime,sowaituntileveningwhensignalsarestrongest.Inaconcrete-and-steelbuildingputyourradiobyawindoworbalcony.2.Makesureyourradioispluggedinorhasfreshbatteries.Extendthetelescopicantennafullyandvertically.SettheDX/localswitch(ifthereisone)to“DX,”butotherwiseleavethecontrolsthewaytheycamefromthefactory.3.Turnonyourradio.Setitto5900kHzandbegintuningslowlytoward6200kHz;youcanalsotry9400-9900kHz.Youshouldhearstationsfromaroundtheworld.Othertimes?Read“BestTimesandFrequenciesfor2001.”Whathappensatmidnight,WorldTime?AnewWorldDayarrives,aswell.COMPLEATIDIOT’SGUIDETOGETTINGSTARTED2“Must”#2:HowtoFindStationsPASSPORTprovidesstationschedulesthreeways:bycountry,timeofdayandfrequency.By-countryisbesttohearagivenstation.“What’sOnTonight,”thetime-of-daysection,islikeTVGuideandincludesprogramdescriptionsfromourlisteningpanel.Theby-frequencyBluePagesareidealforwhenyou’redialingaroundthebands.Worldbandfrequenciesareusuallygiveninkilohertz(kHz),butafewstationsuseMegahertz(MHz).Forgetallthetechno-babble—themaindifferenceisthreedecimalplaces,so6170kHzisthesameas6.17MHz,6175kHzidenticalto6.175MHz,andsoon.Allyouneedtoknowisthat,eitherway,itreferstoacertainspotonyourradio’sdial.You’realreadyusedtohearingFMandSETTINGYOURWORLDTIMECLOCKPASSPORT’s“AddressesPLUS”letsyouarriveatthelocaltimeinanothercountrybyaddingorsubtractingfromWorldTime.Usethatsectiontodeterminethetimewithinacountryyouarelisteningto.Thisbox,however,givesitfromtheotherdirection—thatis,whattoaddorsubtractfromyourlocaltimetodetermineWorldTimeatyourlocation.UsethistosetyourWorldTimeclock.Whereverintheworldyoulive,youcanalsouseAddressesPLUS,insteadofthissidebar,todetermineWorldTimesimplybyreversingthetimedifference.Forexample,AddressesPLUSstatesthatBurundi’slocaltimeis“WorldTime+2.”Soifyou’reinBurundi,tosetyourWorldTimeclockyouwouldtakeBurunditimeminustwohours.WHEREYOUAREuTODETERMINEWORLDTIMEPNorthAmericaNewfoundlandAdd31⁄2hourswinter,21⁄2hourssummerSt.John’sNF,St.AnthonyNFAtlanticAdd4hourswinter,3hourssummerSt.JohnNB,BattleHarbourNFEasternAdd5hourswinter,4hourssummerNewYork,Atlanta,TorontoCentralAdd6hourswinter,5hourssummerChicago,Nashville,WinnipegMountainAdd7hourswinter,6hourssummerDenver,SaltLakeCity,CalgaryPacificAdd8hourswinter,7hourssummerSanFrancisco,VancouverAlaskaAdd9hourswinter,8hourssummerHawaiiAdd10hoursyearround3PASSPORTTOWORLDBANDRADIOmediumwaveAMstationsatthesamespotonthedial,dayandnight,orWebcastsatthesameURLs.Butthingsarealotdifferentwhenyouroamtheinternationalairwaves.Worldbandradioislikeaglobalbazaarwhereavarietyofmerchantscomeandgoatdifferenttimes.Similarly,stationsroutinelyenterandleaveagivenspot—frequency—onthedialthroughoutthedayandnight.Whereyouoncetunedin,say,aFrenchstation,hourslateryoumightfindaRussianorChinesebroadcasterroostingonthatsamespot.Oronanearbyperch.Ifyousuddenlyhearinterferencefromastationonanadjacentchannel,itdoesn’tmeansomethingiswrongwithyourradio;itprobablymeansanotherstationhasbegunbroadcastingonanearbyfrequency.TherearemorestationsontheairthanthereisspaceforEuropeUnitedKingdom,IrelandandPortu