When KSFO Had Shortwave Stations

[DavidKaye]

Nice furniture, makes one ponder...what if?
If SW had caught on, we might have a much more educated public today.

Well, hundreds of public radio stations in the USA run the BBC during the overnight hours. Also, some of these stations also run programming from Radio Nederland, Deutche Welle, and the CBC.

And today there are thousands of international broadcasters available via the Internet. Yet there is opposition to cable systems carrying Al Jazeera. Go figure.

 

[Ai4i]

Well, hundreds of public radio stations in the USA run the BBC during the overnight hours.
Also, some of these stations also run programming from Radio Nederland, Deutche Welle, and the CBC.

Booring...the last thing I want to hear on shortwave is pro-American news.

Name that commentator:
"Thank you and good evening"

No bites, oh come on, it was on of the biggest stations and he introduced all his "News and Commentary" features thusly!

 

[weav]

....And today there are thousands of international broadcasters available via the Internet. Yet there is opposition to cable systems carrying Al Jazeera. Go figure.

"Christendom" vs. "Mussuldom" is the new Cold War. The Military Industrial Complex has to have something to do...

 

[kenglish]

I had to look it up, but I think we're talking "V.P.." of "R.M.".
Anybody want to try and guess, now?

 

[Ai4i]

I had to look it up, but I think we're talking "V.P.." of "R.M.".

;D

 

[cd637299]

Donahue's buddy, right?

 

[Ai4i]

Yep, I read his autobiography, Parting With Illusions, many years ago.

 

[Darth_vader]

"Nice furniture; makes one ponder...what if? If SW had caught on, we might have a much more educated public today."

Emmanuel and Co. have touched upon that point several times on "Off the Hook", most notably in their first couple years (1988-1990 or so) and again in late October 2001, in a three-hour episode that aired around the time the announcement of the US invasion of Afghanistan had been made.

See also: http://mistman.pdp10.org/pub/radio/off-the-hook/off-the-hook-list.html

 

[JEREMIAH]

The reason CFCF & CFRB Montreal and Toronto carried their local programming on short wave was to reach their canadian citizens on vacation in florida.

I remember hearing CFCF in Hartford....it was cold enough in Harford but when heard CFCF say it was 4 degrees in Montreal I felt warmer.

Jerry Gordon

 

[cd637299]

The reason CFCF & CFRB Montreal and Toronto carried their local programming on short wave was to reach their canadian citizens on vacation in florida.

I remember hearing CFCF in Hartford....it was cold enough in Harford but when heard CFCF say it was 4 degrees in Montreal I felt warmer.

Jerry Gordon

Really? I live in south FL, and can tell you that CFRX/CFRB's signal is the pits, and CFCX/CFCF was ten times worse. I never received the one in Halifax until the early 90s, and it took a long distance phone call for a phone QSL!

It's quite possible that in the 30s & 40s, the SW landscape was a different animal.

The Canadian snowbirds in FL have had the program "Canada Calling" here for decades, to keep them abreast. Station list here: http://canadacalling.com/syndication/

cd

 

[kc1ih]

And of course now the snowbirds can listen to their stations from home via streaming. The streams for CBC Radio 2 are especially high quality.

 

[HHH]

Most of what you hear on shortwave today is religious programming, whack jobs like Alex Jones (great international ambassador, eh?) and the occasional disturbing white supremacist programming that sounds like it is pirate originated.

At least I hope it is. I would be shocked (but sadly, not completely surprised) if an actual licensed station broadcast such racist crap.

When I hear a show with a smooth, cultured announcer's voice intone "you know that all of our troubles in America began when we let 'negroes' become part of society", it makes me want to throw up.

 

[davideduardo]

The reason CFCF & CFRB Montreal and Toronto carried their local programming on short wave was to reach their canadian citizens on vacation in florida.

I suspect you had your tongue firmly inserted in your cheek when you wrote that... but:

If you go back to when those stations originally began shortwave broadcasting you will see that Canada had very few stations; when CFRB's SW station went on in 1937, there were only 73 stations in all of Canada and many Canadians were not in their regular reach.

In a 10th Anniversary publication issued by CFRB in 1937, the inauguration earlier in the year of the shortwave operation is heralded as reach all parts of Canada, from east to west. Only casual mention is made of the station being reported in some parts of the US.

In that period, namely the late 30's, Florida was still a multi-day trip from any part of Canada and the tourism industry, in the pre-air conditioning era, was limited. The coastal Miami area was still recovering a decade later from the 1926 hurricane and only a bunch of small hotels existed in what is now SoBe in Miami.