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MsMusicRadio
Guest
Online stations offer a clear sound and most of the country is there at a click of a mouse. So why was DX'ing AM radio in the Sixties just so much more exciting? Actually a lot more.
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Online is not listening to a radio that receives something "transmitted". It only depends on how good a connection your computer has. DXing radio AM or FM, but especially AM, is becoming a lost art except for us oldtimers who remember doing it as kids many of us with transistor radios tuned to under the covers while our parents thought we were asleep. Takes great skill to decipher competing signals on a given frequency and that challenge is not relevant to clicking a Listen Live link. Good memories!! 
When online radio streaming was new, I was fascinated with the convenience of being able to hear such distant stations and so clear but like many other things, it's become so much the norm that it's nothing to get excited about anymore.
The internet will never beat DXing right off the air, THE REAL THING!
The internet will never beat DXing right off the air, THE REAL THING!
gar fla said:
The thrill of receiving a radio signal from a far away place via the radio doesn't compare to listening online.
Listening online is a nice convenience if you want to hear a particular station in the clear, but nothing beats true DXing.
Well, for domestic stations, you're hearing a different feed when you're streaming (versus what's on the air). Most of the ads are blocked out and substituted with either internet-only ads or PSAs. Not to mention that the streams occasionally freeze up for a second or two - so you're on a bit of a delay. Personally, I find some of the audio on internet streams to sound a bit "artificial" at times, though that depends on the station.
To get the true "feel" of the station, nothing beats listening over the air.
That being said, I am really happy that we have the ability to stream stations from wherever we want. It gives one an almost infinite variety of radio choices to enjoy.
To get the true "feel" of the station, nothing beats listening over the air.
That being said, I am really happy that we have the ability to stream stations from wherever we want. It gives one an almost infinite variety of radio choices to enjoy.
BRNout said:
I'll go along with that. When WRLL in Chicago had their True Oldies format a few years ago I had to listen online because their local signal was so terrible.
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MsMusicRadio
Guest
catching a DX from a really distant place was like a kid finding their first box turtle at summer camp!
Here in Louisville KY, I enjoy listening to AM 740 from Toronto at night. I enjoy their replay of old time radio shows like "Jack Benny" and "Gunsmoke" that are played at 10pm eastern. But some nights, KRMG from Tulsa comes in here, battling out the 50K signal with 25K! I tend to listen to the internet stream from www.am740.ca but as others have said, it lacks the excitement of the drifting signal.
cyberdad said:
Yeah but you can't hear Tommy & Larry in the morning which is the main reason I listened. The music was good too.
I don't know, there's just something like "discovery" when you're listening through the ether for a legal ID or an ad with a phone number or a business name or a city that you miss out on in streaming. Even though more often than not, my radios seem to fade in and out right about that microsecond when the call letters come out.
Online streaming may be convenient to many people, but I sometimes prefer hearing both DX and local on both AM and FM. Hearing a station online, sometime I call it...I can't think of the right words to describe it.. artificial...cheating...not natural, not by mother nature, not talking about cable TV or satellite TV/radio. Kind of like artificial flavors in foods, cheating on a test in school...
quadraphonic said:I don't know, there's just something like "discovery" when you're listening through the ether for a legal ID or an ad with a phone number or a business name or a city that you miss out on in streaming. Even though more often than not, my radios seem to fade in and out right about that microsecond when the call letters come out.
And that seems to be the way it always works. Just when you need the ID the station fades.
radioman148 said:
True....and Clear Channel (or whomever) sometimes gets sloppy with the stream. Sometimes it runs without the jingles, bumpers, etc. Also repeating songs from time to time. But mostly it sounds pretty good and the audio/processing at 128k is very nice.
Of course I also agree with those who make their points about the audio that's typical of DX. I guess you could compromise by putting Toni Fisher's "The Big Hurt" on your iPod.
cyberdad said:radioman148 said:
True....and Clear Channel (or whomever) sometimes gets sloppy with the stream. Sometimes it runs without the jingles, bumpers, etc. Also repeating songs from time to time. But mostly it sounds pretty good and the audio/processing at 128k is very nice.
Of course I also agree with those who make their points about the audio that's typical of DX. I guess you could compromise by putting Toni Fisher's "The Big Hurt" on your iPod.
Good idea. "The Big Hurt" gives you the best of both worlds.
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rbrucecarter5
Guest
I don't know. With me it was always about getting the format I wanted and not the thrill of listening to distant stations. Admittedly that was a bit of a rush, but had the format I wanted been available locally, I doubt I would have bothered. Still -I can't complain, it led to a career in engineering. Today, I stream more than DX. But I still have satellite in the car. When you think about it, satellite is DX. You may have direct line of sight with the transmitter (i.e. satellite), but it is a long way away at 22300 miles, and the transmitter is very weak. Just because the sat rad radio manufacturer has made it really easy and reliable doesn't change the fact it is DX. Now, tinkering with the antenna to still get it under overpasses - now THAT is a challenge because the "antenna" is a fractal and contains a powered LNA.
DX'ing still happens when I re-transmit my stream through an FM modulator and pick it up 70 feet away in my yard. And DX'ing modulators in other people's cars on 87.9 is really interesting on the freeway.
DX'ing still happens when I re-transmit my stream through an FM modulator and pick it up 70 feet away in my yard. And DX'ing modulators in other people's cars on 87.9 is really interesting on the freeway.
gar fla said:
True, back in the 60s near Chicago I used to regularly listen at night to WABC, KAAY, WBZ, and many other Top 40s.
Those were great days.
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