Steve wrote:
gil wrote:
As much as I hate to say it, there is a decline in shortwave stations.
I go back to the 60's and 70's when the tropical stations were lots of
fun to log and verify, I have many QSL cards from many low power south
and central American statons and from Africa as well from that era.
But I wont bet that we will see the bands go dead in our lifetime.
At the moment we are at the bottom of a solar cycle and there are days
when certain bands are almost dead, especially on the ham bands and
even so, being a ham myself there is not a day that I get on the air
that I dont make a QSO and when Im not hamming I still have lots of fun
listening on my little R-600 and my listening consists of anything from
SW stations to utilities and hams on SSB, CW or AM so there is plenty
to listen to.

Gil


True. I'm listening right now and the bands are bursting at the seams.

Mostly, garbage is being broadcast now - religion and boring news.
Shortwave is
nothing like it used to be. Listening to hams and ultilities is also
boring. More and
more broadcasters are dropping shortwave and going to either the
Internet, or AM.
Once "Voice of the Andes", which I regularly listened to, back in the
1960s and
1970s stopped broadcasting, and the BBC stopped broadcasting to the US,
I knew
shortwave was dead. So, what is the point of plopping down hundreds of
dollars
for new receivers - most receivers are basically the same and get the
same stations.
Why spend $500 for an Eaton **** E1, when one can spend $65 for a Degen
1103.

wrote:
Mostly, garbage is being broadcast now - religion and boring news.
Shortwave is
nothing like it used to be. Listening to hams and ultilities is also
boring. More and
more broadcasters are dropping shortwave and going to either the
Internet, or AM.
Once "Voice of the Andes", which I regularly listened to, back in the
1960s and
1970s stopped broadcasting, and the BBC stopped broadcasting to the US,
I knew
shortwave was dead. So, what is the point of plopping down hundreds of
dollars
for new receivers - most receivers are basically the same and get the
same stations.
Why spend $500 for an Eaton **** E1, when one can spend $65 for a Degen
1103.

Some of us are news junkies and enjoy listening to utilitites. To us
they're not boring at all. Like you, I wouldn't spend $500 for an E1,
but I would happily spend that much or more for a tabletop receiver.