Stephanie Weil wrote:
RHF wrote:

June 5, 2006: Since World War II, the U.S. Armed Forces Radio (AFR) has
broadcast to the troops, no matter where they are. But declining
ratings, caused by iPods and changing tastes, has resulted in massive
changes in what will be heard.

The damned I-Pods sound better than AFRTS's product. At least the
Korean AFN-Korea stations!!!

The AFRTS station in Anjong-Ri (Camp Humphries) on 1440 AM sounds all
overmodulated. It's still listenable on better-quality radios, but
only just.

The FM station on 88.3 is worse - it sounds like a buzz-saw. And no,
it's got nothing to do with the hard-rock that they play.

Who the hell can listen to that tripe for a prolonged period of time.
It hurts the skull.

Also gone is most of the talk radio (NPR, as well as more conservative
shows). Talk just never caught on big with the troops, and many were
turned off by the strident anti-war attitudes found on many NPR shows.

The last thing you want to hear after a long day of shooting at
unknown people is some loud-mouth back home sitting in his
air-conditioned studio and talking bull through a tin-horn.

You clearly don't listen to NPR. Not only is it fair and balanced, but
they treat the war dead with respect.

The AFN shortwave sounds very good. As I've mentioned before, the
sideband sounds to me like it is wider than your run of the mill
communication sideband. I generally use a 4Khz filter on AFN.


Varied music, with periodic HONEST news updates and balanced commentary
is the best way to go, in my opinion. Of course, don't neglect the
sports events.

I wonder what's going to happen to the Uninterrupted Voice Channel
that's broadcast on SSB Shortwave. Figures that as soon as I
contemplate a portable SSB radio, they'll probably take it off the air.