Jim wrote:

On Sun, 20 Mar 2005 20:43:43 GMT, Telamon
wrote:

Jim is a Troll.

I am? Really? Why, because my opinion differs from yours?

Telamon calls everybody a troll. And dxAce calls everybody a tard. You'd
think these people who apparently have no jobs would have something
better to do, like some actual DXing.

Yes that's decades!

And it's been dying for decades. Young people these days don't see
the thrill of listening to fading, static-filled, muffled-sounding
gibberish on old fashioned, analog radios. These are people born
into a digital world. If it's not crystal clear at the push of a
button, they're not interested. And frankly, I'm losing interest
also. The faster these broadcasters get on the net, the better
AFAIC.

Unfortunately, you're right. Back in the 60s, anybody could buy a TO and
listen to the Cold War raging LIVE over the radio. Today the thrill is
gone. Most of the countries central to the new wars either don't have SW
services, don't broadcast in English and/or can't be heard in North
America on a regular basis with the English they DO broadcast. The
action is all on the internet. Try entering something like "jihad" into
Google and see what you come up with.

Case in point - I'm listening to Radio Australia right now. They're
nowhere to be found on the air at this time where I live, but there it
is, crystal clear on the net. This is called Progress, folks.
Given the choice of *maybe* catching RA for a couple of hours in the
morning (depending on propagation and all that crap), or having them
available 24 hours a day on the net, well, it's an easy choice to
make.

And as more people get broadband connections and shed dialup, they'll be
able to do the same.

When the old farts (like me and, I suspect, you) disappear, that's
basically going to be it. Hams and SWLs numbers are definitely
falling. It would be madness for the BBC to maintain broadcasts to
North America just so a few hundred people can post about it here and
compare reception reports.

I figure that it will take something big for the situation to change,
like Bush suspending the Constitution after another big terrorist attack
and clamping down on the net and other services like satellite and FM
relays. Hey, the Nepalese never imagined that the king would cancel
democracy and put the country under his direct rule. There have been
rumors swirling for three years that after the next 9-11 martial law
will be declared and the Constitution suspended indefinitely (they'll
never say abolished, but in effect that's what will happen). All
people's digital goodies will broadcast only rap music and government
propaganda, sort of like Radio Sawa but in English. Can you imagine the
news becoming just the latest "victories in the war to defend freedom",
sort of like Voice of Korea, American style? In that case, the few who
still have shortwave radios will become necessary links to reality.

Here's my RA reception report SINPO: 5,5,5,5,5! It will be the same
an hour from now, next week and next year.

Not counting buffering due to network overload which can cut off the
signal abruptly and completely for a few seconds at a time, and signal
degradation which can make the signal sound like ball bearings rattling
around in a soup can. Yes, SW has fades and interference, but right now
the internet isn't much better, especially if you only have dialup. I
wish people would stop being so dazzled by technology and realize that
no one method of listening is superior or perfect.


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