On Dec 29, 4:17*pm, SC Dxing wrote:
Yup Ric, it really has declined. Even the mighty "Radio Moscow world
service" that was on 20 different freqs 24 hours a day 20 years ago is
now down to a few hours a day with one hour of original programming
via the Voice of Russia. The BBC no longer targets North America. VOA
has never targeted North America by law but they have also cut back
and have turned to more local broadcasting for their information in
foreign countries.

You can still get the BBC or VOA, especially in the afternoon on
shortwave, but it's questionable quality at best, and almost anyone
who really wants to listen to those will just listen on their
computer.

The Chinese are probably the only ones who even attempt to target
North America most of the day and night in English via relay in
Sackville in Canada. Radio Havana out of Cuba you can catch from
around 8pm local until 2am local.

Now with that being said, there still is some good ones out there but
not on 24 hours a day. I enjoy Radio Romania the best myself and they
come in several times a night in 30 minute segments.

The Hams are less but still there, especially on 3700-4000mhz and
7000-7250mhz, usually in lower sideband.

The lack of sunspots makes daytime listening almost a waste now.

But yea, the Harold Camping's, Brother Stair's, Melissa Scott, and
countless other non-traditional preachers dominate the airwaves.

But the golden days of shortwave are long gone....

What's funny is, in the 1970s people would talk about how the golden
age of shortwave was over precisely BECAUSE the bands were so crowded
with weird, cold war political broadcasts and cultural programming. My
guess is that shortwave will be lingering on its deathbed long after
your grandchildren (if you have any) have left this world, though the
diagnosis will probably change three or four more times in the
interim.

Most of the best SW listening nowadays isn't in the form of broadcasts
but rather the many "utilities" you hear on SSB. That's where I'd be
looking now if hamming weren't taking up all my time.

Ever consider getting your ham license and learning CW? CW is really
where the fun is!

Steve wrote:
On Dec 29, 4:17 pm, SC wrote:
Yup Ric, it really has declined. Even the mighty "Radio Moscow world
service" that was on 20 different freqs 24 hours a day 20 years ago is
now down to a few hours a day with one hour of original programming
via the Voice of Russia. The BBC no longer targets North America. VOA
has never targeted North America by law but they have also cut back
and have turned to more local broadcasting for their information in
foreign countries.

You can still get the BBC or VOA, especially in the afternoon on
shortwave, but it's questionable quality at best, and almost anyone
who really wants to listen to those will just listen on their
computer.

The Chinese are probably the only ones who even attempt to target
North America most of the day and night in English via relay in
Sackville in Canada. Radio Havana out of Cuba you can catch from
around 8pm local until 2am local.

Now with that being said, there still is some good ones out there but
not on 24 hours a day. I enjoy Radio Romania the best myself and they
come in several times a night in 30 minute segments.

The Hams are less but still there, especially on 3700-4000mhz and
7000-7250mhz, usually in lower sideband.

The lack of sunspots makes daytime listening almost a waste now.

But yea, the Harold Camping's, Brother Stair's, Melissa Scott, and
countless other non-traditional preachers dominate the airwaves.

But the golden days of shortwave are long gone....

What's funny is, in the 1970s people would talk about how the golden
age of shortwave was over precisely BECAUSE the bands were so crowded
with weird, cold war political broadcasts and cultural programming. My
guess is that shortwave will be lingering on its deathbed long after
your grandchildren (if you have any) have left this world, though the
diagnosis will probably change three or four more times in the
interim.

Most of the best SW listening nowadays isn't in the form of broadcasts
but rather the many "utilities" you hear on SSB. That's where I'd be
looking now if hamming weren't taking up all my time.

Ever consider getting your ham license and learning CW? CW is really
where the fun is!

You don't need to actually "learn" CW to monitor it. There are several
FREE programs which decode via your computer sound card.

All amateurs are listed in various databases, complete with mailing
address. You're way more likely to get a QSL card from a Ham than you
are from a commercial station these days, as most broadcasters don't
even have an engineering department any more.

www.pskreporter.info

Hils wrote:
dave wrote:
Ever consider getting your ham license and learning CW? CW is really
where the fun is!

You don't need to actually "learn" CW to monitor it. There are several
FREE programs which decode via your computer sound card.

Are you thinking of any programs in particular? I've tried a number of
free software decoders (and a KAM+) and none of them are anywhere near
as good as my ears and brain.

I use fldigi. Not frequently for CW. It's kind of fun to watch W1AW
code practice. Maybe if I stare long enough I'll be facile in code
(probably not...)

Hils wrote:

On a more philosophical point, the development of computers has
encouraged people to think of morse as a digital mode. I've always
thought of morse more as a kind of music, with different operators
phrasing their morse much as different piano players might phrase a Bach
prelude. A good, experienced "fist" doesn't sound mechanical at all, and
can very quickly adapt to changing conditions or the skills of the
person at the other end, in ways I wonder if computer programmers have
even tried. Computer-sent morse is the equivalent of MIDI. :-)

I learned it wrong when I was a kid. I am totally charmed by its
elegant simplicity and may relearn it some day.

In the meantime I make plenty of music with the BPSK31.