Can I use a shortwave radio or a ham transceiver to listen to Jupiter and the Sun?
Yes — however, you must be able to turn off the automatic gain control circuit (AGC). Many ham radio transceivers have an AGC mode switch (slow, medium and fast), as well as AGC off. In the AGC off position the receiver gain may be manually adjusted with the RF gain control. High gain settings may limit the dynamic range of the receiver causing it to clip the tops off strong bursts. The proper gain setting may take some experimentation. If your transceiver operates only in the ham bands then try either the 15 or 17 meter band for Jupiter. Solar bursts may be stronger in the 10 meter band where ionospheric attenuation is less. Of course you must use an antenna cut for the frequency of operation. A ham antenna such as a Yagi, or a quad can be used when Jupiter or the Sun is relatively close to the horizon. A general coverage shortwave receiver could operate with the JOVE antenna at 20.1 MHz. One of the few new general coverage shortwave receivers with an AGC off switch is the ICOM R-75.
