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Shortwave Listening | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Shortwave Listening | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduction to Shortwave Listening | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Shortwave
listening
(abbreviated
SWLing) is
tuning for
stations
located on
short-wave
frequencies,
usually
thought of
as those
from 1700
kHz (the
upper
limit of
the AM
broadcasting
band) to
30 MHz
(the lower
limit of
the tuning
range of
most
scanner
radio). In
between
those two
frequencies,
a simple,
low cost
shortwave
radio is
capable of
letting
you hear
news,
music,
commentaries,
and other
feature
programs
in English
from
stations
located
round the
world.
Most of the larger nations of the world broadcast programs in English especially for North American audiences, and transmit them on times and frequencies for best reception in North America. But why bother listening to short-wave in this era of communications satellites and cable television news channels? Perhaps the biggest reason why is that SWLing can give you a unique perspective on events that you simply cannot get from American media. If you watch coverage of an event in Moscow from CCN or CBS News, you get the American perspective on what is happening from an American journalist. If you listen to the Voice of Russia, you get the Russian perspective from a Russian journalist. As you might expect, the two interpretations of the same news event can be quite different. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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While no
one knows
the exact
number of
short-wave
listeners
(SWLs) in
the United
States,
most
estimates
place the
number in
the
millions.
SWLs range
from
teenagers
to retired
persons to
David
Letterman,
who has
mentioned
on several
occasions
how much
he enjoys
listening
to
short-wave,
particularly
broadcasts
by the
British
Broadcasting
Corporation
(BBC).
Of course, not all short-wave stations broadcast in English. If you’re studying a foreign language—or want to maintain your proficiency in one—short-wave radio will offer you an unlimited supply of contemporary practice material. If you enjoy music, short-wave will let you hear sounds you probably can’t find in the even the most specialized record and CD shops. Ever heard a lagu melayu song? It sounds like a cross between Indian-style instrumentals and an Arabic vocal style, and it’s very popular in Indonesia. You can hear such songs over the various short-wave outlets of Radio Republic Indonesia. The so-called "world beat" popular with young people had its origins in the "high life" music broadcast by short-wave stations in Africa. Other SWLs arise before dawn to catch the haunting huayno melodies coming from stations in Bolivia and Peru. Some SWL music fans have compiled tape-recorded libraries of folk and indigenous music from shortwave broadcasts that many college and university music departments would envy! | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Another
specialty
within
SWLing is
"DXing,"
in which
the goal
is to
receive
faint,
distant,
and
otherwise
hard-to-hear
stations. DXing
on
shortwave
is like
panning
for gold;
DXers
patiently
work
through
noise,
interference,
and fading
to hear a
low
powered
station
deep in
the
Amazonian
basin of
Brazil or
somewhere
in the
Indonesian
archipelago.
DXing is a manifestation of shortwave’s biggest weakness—the fact that short-wave reception is highly variable compared to the AM and FM broadcasting bands. Reception of a short-wave station on a given frequency will usually vary greatly with the time of day and season of the year. Short-wave reception is heavily influenced by solar activity as indicated by the number of sunspots visible on the Sun. Solar flares and storms can disrupt short-wave reception for hours and even days. Fading is also common on the short-wave bands. While short-wave can offer you listening you cannot find on your local AM and FM stations, it unfortunately cannot offer you the same reliable reception or audio quality. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Many
short-wave
stations
welcome
correspondence
from
listeners,
especially
reports on
how well
the
station is
being
received
and
comments
on their
programming.
Stations
often
respond to
such
letters by
sending
out
colorful
souvenir
cards,
known as
QSL cards,
for
correct
reports of
reception.
Some
station
reply with
QSL
letters
instead of
cards, and
a few send
other
items,
like
pennants
with the
station’s
name or
call
letters,
to lucky
SWLs.
A blast from the past! Colombia's Radio Mira sent out this pennant in 1974 to mark their "new image." For years, the parrot was the symbol of Colombia's TODELAR broadcasting network. It is difficult to imagine anyone interested in what’s happening beyond the borders of their home nation not owning a short-wave radio. No other tool can provide you with such a wide array of news, music, and culture for such modest investment. Even in this age of satellite television and the Web, there are significant portions of the world that can only be accessed via short-wave radio. The whole world is talking on short-wave radio. Why not give a listen? | ||||||||||||||||||||
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