Doug Brandon wrote:
I was heavily into shortwave back in the late 70s and up through the
early 90s. While looking around on the internet, I came across some
pages dealing with shortwave. This resparked an interest.

Back in the day I used an old Hammarlund HQ100 along with numerous
digital portables. I am thinking about getting back into it again. My
question is this: With most stations streaming on the Web is it really
that long before there's not much to listen to on SW? From what I've
read, most stations have either left SW or cut their schedules way back.

What do you all think? Is it worth buying new equipment or is the hobby
dying?

On a good night, there seems to me to be plenty to listen
to...sometimes too much and things seem sort of crowded. That said,
there are easily fewer big international broadcasters now than decades
ago. Are the "big boys" all you want to listen to, or are you
interested in some sideband listening? If the latter, then there's
plenty to hear and you should plunk for a new receiver. There's my two
cents.

There is a tremendous amout to listen to on shortwave.

--James-

James wrote:
There is a tremendous amout to listen to on shortwave.

--James-

You're right. I guess my position on this is that it makes just as much
sense to buy a high end receiver now as it ever did. Bandwidth is
bandwidth. Ten years from now, SW might not be used the way it's being
used now....by the same parties, for the same purposes, etc. However,
you can bank on the fact that someone is going to use it to broadcast
something (assuming that BPL hasn't destroyed it). Bandwidth *never*
goes to waste.

The question, then, is really: Will I want to listen to anything on SW
other than big international broadcasters and the kinds of things we're
all "used to hearing" on SW. I'm pretty sure I will--largely because I
don't spend most of my time NOW listening to the Big Boys. But others
might feel differently.

The real threat to SW, at least IMO, is not the decreasing number of
big broadcasters but things like BPL.

Steve