[GregL]

Does anyone broadcast anything anymore on the short wave, long wave or police bands?

[mikethedruid]

Broadcast band is what is commonly called "AM radio" Yes, there are many stations on that band. It runs from 550 KC to 1600 KC, and is mostly talk radio these days, but there are a few music stations too. The shortwave bands are still used and there are many stations from around the world that broadcast programs of news from their nation and their nation's point of view, local culture and music. You can find stations in the range of 5 MC to about 8 MC with ham bands just above 7 MC, more international stations between 9 MC and 10 MC, and still more between 11 MC and 12 MC. You can find listings of the frequencies and times of these broadcasts on the net.here is a link to one site  http://www.primetimeshortwave.com/  . The police band that falls between these areas, 1600 KC to 5 MC is pretty much dead for general listening. You can find the u. S. National Bureau of Standards time signal at 5.00 MC and 10.00 MC it is a good standard to check your alignment.

[GregL]

Thanks Mike, yes I was aware of the AM broadcast. I assumed it was the band labeled "Standard Broadcast". It was the other three I wasn't sure about.
I also have another radio with the four bands on the dial, but instead of the band labeled "Police" it is labeled "Amateur". Would this be the same or more for the ham radio operator type of thing?

[Radioroslyn]

The police band on these old set haven't been used by the police since before wwII. Nowadays it's all vhf and uhf fm. LW band is pretty useless short of a small ham band and a couple of navigational signals that are transmitted in Morse code. Bands that have Amateur markings still are ham bands and since the 80's a few more have been added.
These days there are a lot of modern devices that generate a lot of interference in the lw/mw/sw bands. Phone and laptop chargers are some of the worst offenders. They use what known as switch mode power supplies. They make buzzy noises all over the spectrum.

[GregL]

Got it. Thank you.

[mikethedruid]

in the old Police band you will now find some Amateur frequencies, you can find a listing of them here, http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations . You will also find the amateur frequencies for bands in the longwave spectrum, and in the shortwave spectrum above the old "police band".

[GregL]

Thanks Mike. I will search them out.

[brianbbs67]

Thanks for asking this question, I , too, wondered the same.