For those of you who listen to shortwave not for the content but just
because you can, move along. There is nothing for you in here.

I have spent countless hours for many years putting up with the quirks
of shortwave reception. The fading, the static, the finicky broadcast
schedules in all hours of the day only to hear a short half or one
hour propaganda program from some far away Socialist government.
Buying expensive magazines and shortwave books and spending half my
time every spring and fall searching for and updating my personal
shortwave broadcast schedule in the languages I understand. Only to
be disappointed by the poor conditions or the boring program content.
By the 1980's, about the time that President Reagan vetoed the
Fairness Doctrine, domestic radio programming began to blossom and
shortwave radio consumed less, and less of my time. Thank goodness.

Today, thanks to the internet (and President Reagan - God bless him.)
I can listen to ANY radio station any time of day - FOR FREE!

And I do mean FREE. Let me explain.

I listen to the John Bachelor Show every weekend. Right after Sept.
11th, when his show first began airing, I remember being glued to my
brand spanking new, expensive little Sony ICF-SW7600GR with its
awesome sync-detector trying desperately to hear every word from WABC
AM in New York City. Thank goodness nightfall came early and night
time reception was improving for that fall-winter season.. Afghanistan
was invaded one month later... Once springtime conditions arrived WABC
was useless to receive. Ah, but what about the internet?

Well, to make a long story short, I don't enjoy falling asleep in bed
with a laptop balanced on my chest. Enter the Internet Clock Radio -
specifically http://aluratek.com/product_info.php?products_id=54

Finally, crystal clear reception (better than HD Radio) from any
station in the world, including WABC and the BBC, that’s streaming
their content onto the internet. Did I mention for FREE?

Now you may say, "It's not free because you need a broadband internet
connection". Here is a little secret I have found - WiFi. This
little gem of a clock radio will connect to any unsecured WiFi router
in your neighborhood. You probably will find one of your neighbor's
unsecured WiFi when scanning with your Internet Radio. Latch on to it
and presto! FREE Wireless Internet Radio!

Of course you can also connect to the internet via your own secured
WiFi or wired ethernet connection.

Did I mention the front mounted USB port...

Shortwave is doomed - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_blJzon-hA