How much power does a shortwave station use?
Some of the regional shortwave stations intended to reach just one country or a limited distance may use only 1,000 or 5,000 watts of power. Some large government-owned stations use as much as 500,000 watts. In the United States, the privately-owned stations range from 50,000 to 500,000 watts. All of these are capable of reaching large parts of the world — even worldwide when conditions are right.
