Shortwave radio still packs an audible thrill

reuters ^ | 1/14/09 | Robert MacMillan

[mylife]

So why bother with shortwave?

It's easy and cheap -- and fun. You can hear and learn things that you would never find even if you work your search engine like a mule. From Swaziland to Paris to Havana, shortwave broadcasters can surprise an adventurous listener more than any MP3 playlist.

"You tune carefully, twist the radio from side to side, and there's still a bit of a 'Hey, I made this happen!' sort of thing," said Harold Cones, retired chairman of the biology and chemistry department at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.

It's also magic. Shortwave radio enthusiasts acknowledge the thrill -- the romance, in a way -- of going out at night and snaring news, music, odd bleeps, religious zealots and other broadcasts from the wild sea of frequencies in the sky.

[mylife]

I heard about this article on the shortwave.

[mylife]

Ping

[MamaB]

I have had a Drake SW8 for many years and enjoy it.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

I inherited my Dad’s SW. Don’t know what to do with it. I assume that I would have to erect some sort of external antenna to make it useful......

[aMorePerfectUnion]

listener ping

[mylife]

It beats watching American Idol L0L

[brushcop]

Yes you need an external antenna but nothing really sophisticated, locate local hams and SW enthusiasts inc. Radio Shack, they’ll steer you to get you up and listening. During this next reign, SW may be our source of real info.

[Army Air Corps]

When I was a kid, one of the teachers at school (a retired Navy Korean War vet) was a shortwave enthusiast. He lived down the road from me, so I would visit him and his wife. She made cookies while he explained how signals reflected off the ionosphere and told me about all the people he had met all over the world via shortwave radio. It was a blast to hear him chat with friends in Europe or South America or Asia.

A few years ago, I bought a little Grundig portable multi-band receiver and I enjoy listening to music, news, and general chatter from around the world.

[mylife]

I very simple effective antenna
http://www.grove-ent.com/ANT8.html

Just cast a fishing line over a tree, Tie it to this wire and drag it up into the tree. Tie a weight to the free end that will keep it taught but allow it to flex when the tree sways in the wind

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Thanks. I believe he bought it at Radio Shack, so I’ll head over there, one of these days.

[Evil Slayer]

Shortwave, the only method of communication when all others fail during the ultimate meltdown of this country.

[engrpat]

My wife got me a SW radio for Christmas 2 years ago and I took it on our last Caribbean cruise. It was neat setting balcony and listening to radio from all over the world. A real hoot.

[M Kehoe]

Methinks, in about two years, all of us will need short wave radio...I hope I'm wrong.

5.56mm

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

I suppose that I should investigate what he was using for an antenna, as well....

Guess I’ll have to crawl around in the rafters over at Mom’s......

;-)

[MamaB]

I have the Drake SW8 plus 2 portable ones. I use to listen to them a whole lot more than I do now. I found an internet site which plays old cowboy western music so have that on most of the time.

[mylife]

It is a fun hobby. And yes, you meet nice people.

I find the Kaito 1103 http://www.radiolabs.com/products/radio/Kaito/kaito-1103.php along with a Pars end fedz antenna(link posted up thread) to be an excellent little rig.

I run the audio into the compter and use some 15 dollar altec lansing speakers.

I very impressive set up with SSB for less that 200 bucks

[EyeGuy]

“Shortwave radio enthusiasts acknowledge the thrill...of going out at night and snaring news, music....religious zealots....”

####

Yeah those ignorant, superstitious religious zealots sure can be entertaining.

Any chance of snaring some secular zealots expounding on their religion of say environmentalism, diversity or socialism?

Oh wait, they can get that in a more conventional manner, through a mainstream propaganda organ like.....Reuters.

[mylife]

True enough.

We are becoming very dependent on our channels of communication.

[mylife]

Well, there is a load of religious programing on shortwave.

[seatrout]

I loved listening to shortwave during the 1970s-80s. Those were Cold War years, and the bands were full of strong broadcasts from all sides. Radio Moscow’s signal would “break your windows” as the CBers would say, the BBC and Deutsche Welle were at their best, and even stations like Radio Nederlands and Radio RSA (the Voice of South Africa) were fun to listen too. I could list plenty of others too; even poor Eastern Bloc nations were in on it.
VOA was strutting its stuff, too, in about 100 languages.
Now, the bands seem empty, even at night; much of the programming, at least in English, is of the evangelical Christian persuasion, and the signals are weak. Internet radio may be the next best thing; it’s big in Europe, and the reception is always great, so long as your WiFi is good.