Medium Wave Radio (MW / MF)

Medium wave (MW) is a radio band that is intermediate between long and short waves. Different designations are used in different languages ​​and contexts.

• MW (Medium Wave) – English designation
• СВ – Russian designation (“средние волны”)
• MF (Medium Frequency) – official designation of the band according to the ITU classification
• PO (Petites Ondes) – French designation

In technical documentation, MF is most often used, in household radio receivers – MW or AM. In medium wave broadcasting, AM (amplitude modulation) is usually used.

Technical Characteristics

• Frequency range: 300–3000 kHz (0.3–3 MHz)
• Wavelength: 1000 m to 100 m

You can calculate frequency (kHz) wavelength (meters) using a simple formula:

Wavelength (meters) = 300,000 / Frequency (kHz)

For example:

• 500 kHz → 600 meters
• 1500 kHz → 200 meters

The medium wave radio broadcasting range in Europe, Asia and Africa is 531–1602 kHz.
In America, medium wave radio broadcasting is carried out in the frequency range of 530–1710 kHz.

During the day, the MW signal propagates along the Earth’s surface. And at night, the signal is reflected from the ionosphere. And the signal propagation range increases significantly compared to daytime broadcasting. At night, reception is possible for thousands of kilometers. This is an important difference from long waves, where the time of day does not have such an effect.

Approximate range values

Daytime

At night

normal reception: 500-1500 km
in good conditions: up to 2000–3000 km

By power, transmitters can be divided into 3 groups

• local stations: 1-10 kW
• regional: 10-50 kW
• large: 100-500 kW

The usual height of a radio tower for medium wave broadcasting is 50-200 m. Towers with a height of 1/4 wavelength are often used. Directional antenna arrays are sometimes used. Unlike LW, the requirements for antenna dimensions are less extreme.

The power consumption of medium wave transmitters is significantly lower than that of LW. But it is still high compared to the FM band.

Medium waves are the main range of radio broadcasting in the 20th century. Radio programs in this range can be of completely different formats, news, music, sports, talk shows. Now mainly on medium waves radio stations have survived, the content of which is news and talk shows. But there are also music radio stations, usually regional stations.

Since medium waves are capable of transmitting over long distances, there are radio stations that are focused on broadcasting for diasporas in neighboring countries and religious radio stations in different languages. But in addition to international broadcasting, the medium wave range remains relevant for regional broadcasting in countries with a large territory. Although the share of medium waves has been constantly falling over the years, both in regional and international broadcasting.

The listener is mostly switching to more modern formats. Such as the FM band and streaming radio programs on the Internet. This is primarily due to the sound quality. Since the medium wave band is sensitive to interference, the sound quality is low. Interference especially clogs the airwaves in cities. If you can listen to medium waves during the day outside the city, then in a big city it is usually difficult to catch a signal during the day. Plus, medium wave broadcasts are conducted in mono. Unlike the same FM, where broadcasting is usually conducted in stereo. If for a talk radio station this is not very important, then for a music station it is a big difference.

In addition, not all modern radios that are produced have a built-in medium wave range. The bulk of receivers are produced only with the FM range.

I have a relatively modern household multi-band radio receiver “Golon” RX-9933. And medium waves are still in it. And they are marked with the abbreviation AM. Long waves are no longer in this radio receiver.

And what about medium waves in Ukraine? In Ukraine, only one radio station broadcasts on medium waves. And that’s “Ukrainian Radio”. Broadcasting is conducted around the clock at a frequency of 1278 kHz. The coverage area is the center and south of Ukraine (including the occupied territories). Other regions partially. During the day, I never managed to catch the signal of Ukrainian Radio on medium waves. In the evening, sometimes a weak signal would break through. But in the south of Ukraine, reception is better. Because the broadcast is conducted from the Odessa region.

The Ukrainian Radio website says that there is also broadcasting on the frequency 1386 kHz from midnight to 6:30 am. This is broadcast by a transmitter from Lithuania. But I have not had a chance to catch broadcasting on this frequency. It is probably possible in the western regions of Ukraine.

Depending on the region of Ukraine, you can catch various foreign radio stations on medium waves.