But yes, satellite and internet are going to replace shortwave. It's
inevitable. BBC is available on many cable TV systems already.
Noisy, static filled, fading, garbled shortwave is about as interesting
to today's digital satellite TV watching, MP3 player toting, cable modem
equipped PC "digital consumer" as smoke signals were to us 40 years ago.
I myself sometimes stream BBC over my cable modem. It's the only way I
listen to Australia.

There's something to be said for the more personal touch of amaetur
radio, to actually be reaching out to make communication, not merely
placate victim to it. although the general point of the digital
consumer age is to mock spending effort, to bring us maximal convenience
and laziness, there'something to be said for doing so. Particularly
with short wave because it is an art itself.

having said that, the way things are going, we have a lot of signals and
systems evolution to do before ham radio as a technology can mature past
perhaps deserving maybe some of the of the smoke signals jokes.

Permit the quote:
"97.1(b) Contiunation and extension of the amateur's proven ability to
contribute to the advancement of the radio art."

although modes like PSK31 provide an easy entry point; just plug in your
sound card; i'm sure amateurs will start cooking up more advanced direct
sampling systems which we can then digitally process and optimize
signals. mixed signal silicon will advance and be made more integrable,
hopefully, and we can use these to design more efficient and further
advanced networks. to advance the art.

The corporations are done; they've achieved perfection in the cell phone
network and will dole out improvement one wireless .5 generations at a
time. the consumer cant imagine demanding any more. they built their
wireless networks and they're tied to that infrasturcture. Aside from
some bandwidth tweaking for 3G, 3.5G, 4G, they're happy and static.
they'll just dump a boatload of cash into refining the existing network
and never design something better. Call me cynical; hell, I could just
be talking about Intel and the x86/Pentium story, but I cant help but
feel the same corporate game applies to radio.

that leaves amateurs to evolve radio, not because we need it, but for
the sake of advancing the art.

It may seem a sad state of affairs to us, but the day is surely coming
when all you will hear on a shortwave radio is static.

although i have absolute faith that noise will not be unwasted, i do
worry you are right. this aspect could have a more tragic fate.

i cannot speak for amateur's radio role as a raw communications element
yet. ( still cant afford that first rig to be able to comment better).
still, i cannot help but imagine it will always have a place. in
todays slightly more heated world, people will again seek supranational
communication. a large part of the reason i seek to become a ham is to
connect with a nationality outside my own:
97.1(d) "Contination and extension of the amateu's unique abiliuty to
enhance international goodwill", as the party line goes.

please pity some 97.1(c) on me while I try and join you guys and catch up:
"Encouragement and improvement of the amatuer service through rules
which proivde for advancing skills in both the communications and
technical phases of the art".

I'm trying to learn FPGA's now in hopes of future application within
amateur radio. I'll be lurking till then.

-myren