Does shortwave radio still exist in today's time? Do any countries
still broadcast to the U.S.?

I can get all those countries I listened to in the 1990's on podcasts
now on itunes. I wouldn't mind a new
shortwave to play around with but... I think the fun factor would fade
quickly. It's not old technology, it's really
really really old technology.

I read Passport to World Band Radio closed shop. Sad but, sign of the
times.

On Nov 9, 11:58*pm, "Von Fourche"
wrote:
* * Does shortwave radio still exist in today's time? *Do any countries
still broadcast to the U.S.?

* * I can get all those countries I listened to in the 1990's on podcasts
now on itunes. *I wouldn't mind a new
shortwave to play around with but... * I think the fun factor would fade
quickly. *It's not old technology, it's really
really really old technology.

* I read Passport to World Band Radio closed shop. *Sad but, sign of the
times.

Passport became a victim of several negative trends: poor sales/
circulation of printed periodicals/books everywhere due to IT, poor /
inferior propagation time period , general interest of SW hobby
nowhere near it was just 10 years ago . Plus the current
globaleconomic crisis . Plus loss of interest in manufacture of
good / decent hardware . Most of the current production is a myriad of
extremely low-end portables from PRC . But, we have to remember, that
SW is the only mass medium in the world that cannot be shut down /
controlled 100% by anyone . Other than nature itself !

On Nov 10, 3:29*am, "Geoffrey S. Mendelson"
wrote:

- - Von Fourche wrote:
- - Does shortwave radio still exist in today's time?
- - Do any countries still broadcast to the U.S.?

China [CRI] and Russia [VOR] both still Broadcast
via the Shortwave Radio Bands to the USA in English.

CRI = China Radio International
http://english.cri.cn/
http://www.bclnews.it/a10schedules/china.htm

On Nov 9, 8:58*pm, "Von Fourche"
wrote:
* * Does shortwave radio still exist in today's time? *Do any countries
still broadcast to the U.S.?

Yes and yes, though it's declining, it's not yet obsolete. There still
is no acceptable substitute which can reach populations whose
governments don't allow certain views to be broadcast domestically.

And even when there is, the ionosphere and the laws of physics will
remain. *Some* use will continue to be mad of the ability to bounce
signals off the ionosphere (free of any satellite transponder rental
charges). It's just too convenient to be ignored. It may be a very
different mix of uses than what exists today, but (absent a total
collapse of technological society) I really don't see shortwave being
completely abandoned.

* * I can get all those countries I listened to in the 1990's on podcasts
now on itunes. *I wouldn't mind a new
shortwave to play around with but... * I think the fun factor would fade
quickly. *It's not old technology, it's really
really really old technology.

It's not even 100 years old! How can it be considered "old", yet alone
"really old"? Stone knives and axes, now there's a really really old
technology!

* I read Passport to World Band Radio closed shop. *Sad but, sign of the
times.

One publication going out of business does not mean shortwave has
completely disappeared.

--
David Barts
Portland, OR

On Nov 10, 7:01*am, dave wrote:
Von Fourche wrote:
* * *Does shortwave radio still exist in today's time? *Do any countries
still broadcast to the U.S.?

* * *I can get all those countries I listened to in the 1990's on podcasts
now on itunes. *I wouldn't mind a new
shortwave to play around with but... * I think the fun factor would fade
quickly. *It's not old technology, it's really
really really old technology.

* *I read Passport to World Band Radio closed shop. *Sad but, sign of the
times.

- The true lovers of the technology remain.
- The stamp collectors have moved on.

Dave,

The International News & Info Listeners* have
mostly 'migrated' to the Internet and to Cable
TV and Satellite TV and Satellite Radio.
* This applies to Ex-Pats too wanting current
News and Info from back home.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex-pat

Just like the many who used to use Amateur[HAM]
Radio and CB Radio : Now simply use a Cellphone.

When "4G" becomes fully implemented nation-wide
in the USA the Desk-Top PC will be 'passe' for
many/most people under the age of 25.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4G

Beyond the basic Cellphone other Stand-A-Lone
4G Devices all Billed by One Provider :
1 - 4G Net-Tablet & Net-Book & Net{Lap}Top
2 - 4G HDTV {Videos} -no-cable-or-dish-
3 - 4G Radio {Audio} -no-sat-radio-
4 - 4G Home Phone {The Second Phone in a
Family Plan for Singles and Families too.}
-no-at&t-land-line-phone-

technology* evolves and people adapt ~ RHF
* technology a driving force of social change

On 11/10/2010 1:22 PM, Steve wrote:
On Nov 9, 11:58 pm, "Von
wrote:
Does shortwave radio still exist in today's time? Do any countries
still broadcast to the U.S.?

I can get all those countries I listened to in the 1990's on podcasts
now on itunes. I wouldn't mind a new
shortwave to play around with but... I think the fun factor would fade
quickly. It's not old technology, it's really
really really old technology.

I read Passport to World Band Radio closed shop. Sad but, sign of the
times.

A lot of people don't use SW radios primarily for listening to AM
broadcast stations. Some people like to hunt beacons, monitor military
frequencies, listen to aeronautical comms, amateur radio operators,
etc. Broadcast listening is only one slice of a large pie.



There's a growing number of amateur operators, experimenters really,
using the AM mode on shortwave, too. You can find them on 3700-3735
kHz, 3860-3890 kHz, 7285-7295 kHz, and a few other spots too.

What's interesting about them is that some are real experimenters
and run transmitters with superb fidelity, some sounding better than
commercial broadcast stations.


With all good wishes,


Kevin, WB4AIO.
--
http://nationalvanguard.org/
http://kevinalfredstrom.com/

On Nov 10, 10:02*am, dave wrote:
wrote:
extremely low-end portables from PRC . But, we have to remember, that
SW is the only mass medium in the world that cannot be shut down /
controlled 100% by anyone . Other than nature itself !

Ever heard of a HARM missile?

HARM is a weapon designed to home in on radio emission, mostly
radars .

Kevin Alfred Strom wrote:


There's a growing number of amateur operators, experimenters really,
using the AM mode on shortwave, too. You can find them on 3700-3735 kHz,
3860-3890 kHz, 7285-7295 kHz, and a few other spots too.

What's interesting about them is that some are real experimenters and
run transmitters with superb fidelity, some sounding better than
commercial broadcast stations.


With all good wishes,


Kevin, WB4AIO.

What's experimental about A3 emission?

On 11/11/2010 10:21 AM, dave wrote:
Kevin Alfred Strom wrote:


There's a growing number of amateur operators, experimenters really,
using the AM mode on shortwave, too. You can find them on
3700-3735 kHz,
3860-3890 kHz, 7285-7295 kHz, and a few other spots too.

What's interesting about them is that some are real experimenters and
run transmitters with superb fidelity, some sounding better than
commercial broadcast stations.


With all good wishes,


Kevin, WB4AIO.

What's experimental about A3 emission?



That's like asking "What's experimental about audio?" The answer is:
an almost infinite number of things.

Some things with which I or my friends have been personally involved
that relate to AM experimentation:

1. Building new kinds of AM/DSB detectors, including ultra-low
distortion detectors, synchronous detectors, stereo (I/Q and U/L)
synchronous detectors, autocorrelation detectors, et cetera.

2. Refining and extending the state of the art in AM transmission,
including Class E and Class D transmitters, pulse-duration
modulation, multiphase pulse duration modulation, I/Q multichannel
modulation, outphasing modulation, use of mathematical transforms
for AM/DSB generation, et cetera.

3. Study of the effectiveness of wider-bandwidth modes with varying
degrees of information redundancy in varying communications
conditions, including AM/DSB versus SSB (the late John Costas,
W2CRR, an amateur AM operator and experimenter, was the pioneer
here, with his "Poisson, Shannon, and the Radio Amateur" in
_Proceedings of the IRE_).

4. Experimentation with audio processing, including multiband AGC,
compressors, distortion-cancelled clipping, audio phase rotators, et
cetera (one of the pioneers in this field, Mike Dorrough, is an
amateur AM operator).

I am sure there are many more examples of AM experimentation than I
am even aware of. It's a mode that seems to attract those with an
experimental bent. Very few AM hams are running stock commercial
gear; usually, at the very least, it is modified for better quality
audio.

Hearing the best of these operators on a receiver with superb audio
-- say, an SP-600 in the 13 kHz bandwidth, with the detector output
fed into a high-fidelity amplifier driving a pair of AR-3ax speakers
-- brings you the true magic of radio in a way that must be heard to
be believed.


With all good wishes,


Kevin.
--
http://nationalvanguard.org/
http://kevinalfredstrom.com/

On Nov 11, 9:56*am, Bob Dobbs wrote:
Kevin Alfred Strom wrote:

What's interesting about them is that some are real experimenters
and run transmitters with superb fidelity, some sounding better than
commercial broadcast stations.

When are HAMs going to start hacking the iBiquity codec
and going HD-IBOC?
Would be more interesting than some of the ego power trips on 80m.

I would think that HAMs would try an adapt
to and use DRM Transmission versus IBOC.

DRM is Direct Digital and more efficient for
one-to-one direct communications.

IBOC is a Hybrid Analog/Digital and is only
valuable as a backwardly compatible System
for Transitioning from Analog to Digital.

~ RHF