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]

Good on you

[Wilhelm Tell]

I also remember how weird Radio Moscow got right after the Soviet Union collapsed...

Oh yes, I remember that! I remember listening to Radio Moscow a lot during the coup aganst Gorbachev, and afterwards. And I remember listening to a Romanian broadcast announcing they had executed their dictator.

[Red_Devil 232]

Thanks for the info. Another Freeper contacted me by FreepMail asking about the Collins and this is what I told him about what I have:

I also have the PM-2 AC Power Supply and two complete sets of the crystals plus the original manuals. Just a little history of why I have this radio.

My Father retires from USMC in 1963 after 25yrs. Recruited by U.S. State Dept. to go to Laos, with others, as a team to supply the Laotian Government with military aid. We stay in Laos until 1973. Only communications was the KWM-2a SSB Radio, no phones. This KWM-2a was a back up and never used. It was mistakenly packed up with my family's household items and shipped back to the States. My Father passed away 2 years ago and I found these two boxes in his storage area still unopened. The MIL-Spec wrapper still sealed with a KWM-2a and the original instruction books and logbooks.

It is in pristine condition - candy! The only thing I have done with it is to remove it from its packaging and take a couple of pictures. It has not been powered up so I can't vouch for its operation.

[Wilhelm Tell]

www.eham.net has reviews for many receivers, transceivers, you name it. It also has many forums. A lot of ham-related material but also things useful for shortwave listening in general.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Now its all homogenized Mc Crap

Amen and BUMP! I really wish local/indy TV and radio would make a comeback.

I think - I certainly hope - that that will all show up on the internet in its next incarnation. Maybe the video isn't there yet, but there's no reason IMHO that local independent radio can't just be "podcasting."

[bikerman]

My first shortwave receiver was the Hallicrafters S38-E spent many hours listening to foreign broadcasts still have many QSL cards from them days when I was in my early teens. I still listen on my Ham equipment at times.My parents backyard looked like a trolley line with all the wire antenna's strung about.

[bikerman]

My first shortwave receiver was the Hallicrafters S38-E spent many hours listening to foreign broadcasts still have many QSL cards from them days when I was in my early teens. I still listen on my Ham equipment at times.My parents backyard looked like a trolley line with all the wire antenna's strung about.

[Erasmus]

HCJB

[Erasmus]

Listen online: University of Twente multi-band multi-access SW receiver

[Future Snake Eater]

Idol should be approved by conservatives because it is about America at a very basic level...... personal responsibility, desire to suceed and excellence.

Kinda...the name "Fantasia" keeps popping into my head as the antithesis of all of that.

[Erasmus]

My main RX is an R-390A.

It also heats the shack. :)

And it'll keep the shack from being blown away in a tornado.

[Erasmus]

It’s been rewired as a CW key.

Somebody should write a Windoze Morse driver so you can use it instead of a keyboard.

≤}B^)

[Erasmus]

Ya know, that one has just about enough buttons & knobs.

(What I tell gawkers about my sound boards.)

≤}B^)

[bert]

.....the name “Fantasia” keeps popping into my head as the antithesis of all of that. ......

Har har....says someone named “Future Snake Eater”

Rebuttal....

The comments relating to a single individual or a single program are made at a micro level. To be understood, Idol must be taken as a process that unfolds over a period of five months. That is, Idol is about a progression from massive numbers ( in excess of 100,000) of auditions to a single final performance. To be understood, Idol must be taken on a macrolevel.

As with many things, the journey is the important part, not just the ending destination.

The comments to my post are the equivalent of a close examination of tree leaves while the grandeur of the forest is unseen. Or final thought.... a trip across America ie...to Hollywood via Kansan City and Louisville might include some spectacular views in Arizona at the Grand Canyon, but the miles also include some prairie in Kansas or miles of cornfields in Iowa.

[antisocial]

Here is some used equipment

http://www.w9wze.net/Sell/SaleSwap.php

[seatrout]

—HCJB—

Thank you. I’m just glad I got the “CJB” part right!

[seatrout]

I remember listening to Radio Moscow right around the time Ceaucescu (the ousted Romanaian dictator) was “lamin’ it”, but hadn’t yet been caught. There was speculation he fled to the USSR. The Radio Moscow announcer, Joe Adamov (who probably spoke better English than most of us here!) had nothing good to say about the despot, and said in effect, “we don’t want him.”

[NCjim]

This thread has made my day, helping me recall Burstein Applebee, Allied Radio, Lafayette Radio, Heathkit, Hallicrafters, Hammarlund, Drake, Collins - names that bring back pleasant memories.

[seatrout]

I think Sangean made quite a few radios that bear the “Realistic” brand. I know mine (called ATS-909 by Sangean) was one of them.

[NCjim]

And listen to the old farts talk about how cool things are if the ionosphere is cooperating.

Hey you - be nice! :-)