What does radio-portal offer?
For what target group is radio-portal meant to be?
Which are the differences to other search engines?
What is a "Phrase Search" and what can it do?
What is a "Category Search" and what can it do?
What is a "Advanced Search" and what can it do?
Which meaning do Operators have?
Results pages - how can I use them?
What is a "Result Search"?
What else?

The database contains the following areas of worldwide wireless communication: Broadcasting, Amateur Radio, Commercial Services (Aero-, Weather-, Maritime-, Military-, Time Signal Stations) on all frequency ranges from VLF, LW, AM, SW, FM to VHF/UHF/SHF, as terrestrial broadcast as well as via satellite.
Beside station's homepages also the relevant organizations and clubs are covered, databases for addresses, frequencies, formats, software, audio and photo archives and technical background information are listed as well.

1.) Selectivity: The database only lists pages which offer a close relation to the complex of themes. Have you also been annoyed by result pages, most of their "results" did not have any connection to your search in question?
Private Homepages are listed only if offering information of general interest.

2.) Completeness: We are concentrating on an area of interest we know well. For more than 25 years. As shortwave listener, radio amateur, as an editor, journalist and publisher of SWL literature, as manufacturer of antennas and author of database software.

3.) Validity: Each link has been checked manually, the content was categorized and described. Dead links are marked, and the statuscodes may give you an additional information whether the error is a longer lasting one.
Of course all links which have been unavailable for a longer time, will be deleted from the database - links with a changed content which is no longer radio related (like redirections to "Sex and Co.") will be deleted immediately.

4.) Topicality: radio-portal is part of the worldwide network of mailing lists and newsgroups which radio amateurs and short wave listeners have been using for years, as an addition to their world spanning activities. Just in time - information will be permanently added, with hundreds of new links every week!

5.) Intuitive Operation: Choose your language English or German, and you will find a clear layout and easy to operate search functions which have been especially designed:
a) Phrase Search b) Category Search c) Advanced Search

6.) This free service has been made possible only by the assistance of companies which offer products or services for radio amateurs, broadcasters and shortwave listeners. On their pages most of them are offering not only products of the communications sector but also valuable information and hints.

A search for "TAS" will give you information on the "Telescope-Antenna-System".

Search "TAS" + Category "Reviews" will lead you to opinions on the "Telescope-Antenna-System".

Back to the Mainpage

Your question covers a spectrum rather than a detail.
You want to get an overview on a field of interest without looking for a specific product or expression. For this option you will not have to use a term to search for, you do not have to know the name of a particular item or product. You just combine two categories, like "Pictures" of "Antique Electronic", or "Reviews" of "Receivers". Be sure to use the operator "and" to combine the categories this way.
Products (Antennas, Receivers, Transmitters, Accessories, Software etc) as well as applications (Modes, Frequency Ranges, Wireless Services) or sources (Distributors, Manufacturers) are categorized. This is true also for wireless services (Domestic Broadcasting, International Broadcasting, TV, Amateur Radio, CB Radio, Aero/Maritime/Weather Stations, Military Stations, Pirate Stations) and the way of distribution (Longwave, Mediumwave, Shortwave, FM, VHF/UHF, Satellite) - all categories may be combined in a way that you get results that make sense.
How to combine categories, you can read under the topic Operators.

You want to get general explanations about amateur radio. Choose the category "Amateur Radio", in the second field "FAQs/Guides and Explanations". You will get the desired information on all the varieties of amateur radio.

You want to get an impression how the offshore broadcasters sounded in the 70ies. Choose the category "Offshore", then "Audio". You will get links to audio documents.

Back to the Mainpage

This routine gives you a wide range of options:
You may combine all search options of the previously described routines.
The first field has to contain a search string. All other fields and menues are optional. To illustrate the powerful and flexible search routines, here are some examples:

You are looking for information on the Voice of America, the US Foreign Service. Type "Voice of America" in the first field and choose the operator EXACT. (You might also use the default value AND, but not the value OR: The latter would give you a huge list of URLs, as the expression "Voice of" is included in a lot of descriptions).

Now you want to get information on Radio Canada International, additionally to the links you got in the previous example.
The first field remains unchanged; you choose the operator AND in the second line. Type "Radio Canada International" in the second field and choose the operator EXACT. (You might again use the default value AND, but not the value OR for the same reason as described above).

Now you want to limit the results from above to pictures of the two stations.
The first two lines remain unchanged; change the operator in the third line to ONLY IN. Then choose the category "Pictures" in the third line.

Finally you decide that some audio samples of the stations mentioned above would be nice. You can add audio links to the results of example 3 quite easily:
The first three lines remain unchanged; change the operator in the third line to OR. Then choose the category "Audio" in the last line.

With example No 4 you are getting URLs from/about:
Radio Canada Int. AND the Voice of America,
reduced to links that offer pictures OR audio files from these station.

Back to the Advanced Search

The categories "Databases and Search Engines" and "Linklists" will lead you to other specialised directories, which you may limit to a specific field of interest by the second category.

You may go to the shown links directly by clicking the "WWW" symbol. The "Back"-function of your browsers will bring you back to the result page of radio-portal. You may save result pages to get a personal directory of your fields of interest, and read it offline.
Beside the link description you will find information about the languages a URL is available in, as well as the date of the last check radio-portal did on that particular link.

On the result pages there are search options for a phrase or a category - both choices will search within the results already found.
So you can precize the search once again, reducing the number of shown URLs to a sensible value.
(We are currently working on that feature)

The button "Remote" will offer links related to remote operation and world maps with real-time information.
The button "Starter's Info" will lead you to several hundred FAQs, which should answer most questions regarding the various aspects of the hobbies, from the secrets of AM DXing to Slow Scan Television.
The button "Audio" offers a convenient search function to audio data on the Internet: Audio Archives, Live-Webstreams, Internet Radio, remotely controlled Web Receivers and much more is available by only few mouse clicks.

radio-portal is your search engine.
Your comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
If you encounter any problems on your quest for information regarding
"Wireless Communication", please drop us a line.