When Something Goes Wrong On Shortwave...

[CTListener]

Shortwave, ham radio, hunting and fishing, cooking your own food, building furniture, repairing and restoring an old car.....
Lots of things bring joy in the process of "doing" it, not just in the final result.

I got online in 1997, having resisted for a couple of years but finally needing to do so because of work requirements. Shortwave was still relatively healthy then, yet it became of less interest to me almost immediately as I found all the information and entertainment from distant lands I'd been getting by radio since I was a kid suddenly available at the click of a mouse.

About a month into my new obsession, I recall looking over at my shortwave receiver on the other side of the room and feeling nostalgic, almost sad, as I realized I hadn't even turned it on since plugging in my new toy. There really was something special about hearing familiar programs and voices carried wirelessly over thousands of miles, even with the summer static crashes that would ruin the punchlines of a BBC World Service comedy program and the fading during a Radio Sofia newscast that would leave me wondering just whom President Todor Zhivkov had met with that day. And yet I never went back to shortwave to any great extent, figuring it would always be there.

The hams, the hunters and anglers, the chefs, the do-it-yourselfers, the gearheads ... they still have their old pastimes, those old feelings, waiting for them, pretty much just as they used to be. We former shortwave listeners don't. That's the difference.

 

[tomservo]

People don't listen because there's nothing to listen to; there's nothing to listen to because people don't listen. Seems like a chicken and egg situation.

Maybe brokered programming is one avenue of survival. WRMI, WBCQ, WINB and possibly KVOH (which is back after an absence on 9975) are all available for those with money and a desire to play DJ.

 

[SWL_Observer]

Maybe brokered programming is one avenue of survival. WRMI, WBCQ, WINB and possibly KVOH (which is back after an absence on 9975) are all available for those with money and a desire to play DJ.

I think that the brokered programming model will continue for the foreseeable future. There is a pretty high turnover rate in terms of programs - I've seen radio shows buy airtime, broadcast for a few weeks and then cancel more times than I can count. I have to assume that the airtime rates might be tough for some independent producers and lack of response is another limiting factor. It's nice to have the brokered stations though, they serve as an avenue for regular folks to throw their hat in the ring and see what happens.

 

[KeithE4]

I got online in 1997, having resisted for a couple of years but finally needing to do so because of work requirements. Shortwave was still relatively healthy then, yet it became of less interest to me almost immediately as I found all the information and entertainment from distant lands I'd been getting by radio since I was a kid suddenly available at the click of a mouse.

The demise of the USSR in 1991 was the beginning of the end for shortwave listening, at least in the US and western Europe. That event marked the end of the Cold War, which was the main reason for shortwave broadcasting to exist, once WW2 ended.

The Age of Shortwave was roughly 1936 or '37 (when modern communications receivers first became available, coinciding with the rise of Nazi Germany as a military power) through 1991 (when the Warsaw Pact ended with the USSR's collapse). Shortwave broadcasting isn't completely dead yet, but it is speaking mostly Chinese.

The hams, the hunters and anglers, the chefs, the do-it-yourselfers, the gearheads ... they still have their old pastimes, those old feelings, waiting for them, pretty much just as they used to be. We former shortwave listeners don't. That's the difference.

Those hobbyists you mention are active users of their desired/available resources. SWLs are/were passive users, just like those who prefer to ride a bus rather than drive a car or ride a bike.

 

[MichaelTheZ]

I listened to shortwave radio in high school in the late 80s. I then went to college where I had a pretty demanding courseload. I didn't really have time for hobbies and my interest sort fell by the wayside. I somewhat randomly started AM DXing again a few years ago, and then went to see what was going on with shortwave. I was rather disappointed in how few stations there were, but there was another issue too... I was much more naive in high school and I didn't recognize propaganda for what it was. I think in general people were much less aware of what we now call "fake news" and (at least for me) this was another thing that made it hard for me to rekindle my interest in shortwave... as an adult I find there's really no "magic" in hearing government-run stations trying to pitch their views.

 

[cyberdad]

I bought a rural AM/SW station in Ecuador in about '67 to move into Quito. It was on the 90 meter band around 3.3 mH/z... you could hear the groundwave for maybe two or three km or so at its 200 watt output, but it had daytime coverage for about 200 km starting maybe 20 km from the station. The AM, on 590 also with 200 watts into an inverted L longwire, got out about 30 km, so the two complemented each other in covering a lot of sparsely populated Andean highlands.

Those SW stations have miserable groundwave, and they are surrounded by a zone that has no skywave, either. I made the SW go away, and saved about $8 in monthly license fees by doing that.

Great story. I think the coverage situation you described was similar to what CKWX was trying to accomplish with their shortwave station. According to an article I read years ago, the idea was to provide coverage on the windward side of Vancouver island as well as remote interior areas of mainland British Coloumbia that were out of range of CKWX's signal....even at 50kw. I presume that was also the idea behind CFRX. Plenty of remote "back country" in northern Ontario.

Then there's the question of what did did you do with the eight bucks you saved by shutting down your shortwave station? When I was in college radio in the 60s, that kind of money would've gone straight into our "kegger fund"/

 

[tomservo]

Shortwave broadcasting isn't completely dead yet, but it is speaking mostly Chinese.

I think this is part of their efforts to expand their sphere of influence to anywhere where western powers have pulled back. In other words, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. There is large amount of CRI programming aimed at these regions now, to go along with all the railroads, highways, ports and mining operations that China has build (with strings attached, of course). They recently rebuilt the Bamako II transmission facility in Mali and are now using it to broadcast CRI programming on-continent, for example. Radio Mali uses it as well, so they are technically "back" on HF thanks to China.

It's actually been kind of fascinating to watch this happen on shortwave. With the communist party's unlimited checkbook and lack of any regulation/dissent, they have grown their SW presence not so much because it's viable, but just because they can afford to spend ungodly amounts of money to reach even a few ears with their ideals. There's just no way VOA/RFE/R. Free Asia can keep up.

 

[davideduardo]

Then there's the question of what did did you do with the eight bucks you saved by shutting down your shortwave station? When I was in college radio in the 60s, that kind of money would've gone straight into our "kegger fund"/

I actually traded the license for another FM which I used to simulcast the AM once it had moved into Quito. That became my 5th FM in the city. That was my "kegger fund" as I was only about 20 or 21 at the time.

And I forgot to mention that the station I bought in a very rural town did not have wood or cement "paved" floors in its building... the floor was compacted earth and clay. If you spilled your coffee, you got a mud puddle.

 

[KeithE4]

But I want to cry when I notice all the dead space on 31 meters nowadays. In the mid-2000s this band was packed full at 0200z. In the early 2020s, it is nearly empty at 0200z besides for a Cuban, a couple of wacko religious folks, China, and WWV.

Right now (0425 UTC on 6/24), the BBC relay in Madagascar is blasting 10-over-9 into Phoenix on 9915 kHz. It's only a two hour broadcast, with the first hour aimed at 315 degrees, which puts the US in its path, and the 2nd hour more toward South America at 265 degrees. Why? I have no idea. How many English speakers and/or British expatriates are in Argentina and Chile?

 

[CTListener]

Right now (0425 UTC on 6/24), the BBC relay in Madagascar is blasting 10-over-9 into Phoenix on 9915 kHz. It's only a two hour broadcast, with the first hour aimed at 315 degrees, which puts the US in its path, and the 2nd hour more toward South America at 265 degrees. Why? I have no idea. How many English speakers and/or British expatriates are in Argentina and Chile?

Las Malvinas ... I mean the Falklands ... say hi!

 

[KeithE4]

Las Malvinas ... I mean the Falklands ... say hi!

I take it there are more than 4 listeners, most being hams, there?

 

[KeithE4]

Las Malvinas ... I mean the Falklands ... say hi!

The switch from 315 to 265 degrees just happened (0500 UTC). The BBC now fades between S3 and S7 here in AZ. But it's 2 AM in the Falkland Islands (UTC-3). Who's listening?

 

[davideduardo]

The demise of the USSR in 1991 was the beginning of the end for shortwave listening, at least in the US and western Europe. That event marked the end of the Cold War, which was the main reason for shortwave broadcasting to exist, once WW2 ended.

But in much of the underdeveloped world, the death of SW began when SW became unnecessary with a profusion of local AMs in much of the free world in the 60's and then the FM explosion most places starting in the 70's. Stations that had operated local area short wave wanted FM instead. And SW stations had new local competition in much of its coverage area with better, more consistent signals.

The Age of Shortwave was roughly 1936 or '37 (when modern communications receivers first became available, coinciding with the rise of Nazi Germany as a military power) through 1991 (when the Warsaw Pact ended with the USSR's collapse). Shortwave broadcasting isn't completely dead yet, but it is speaking mostly Chinese.

I've mentioned before that when a national radio survey was done in Ecuador in the later 60's even in predominantly rural areas, no significant international short wave listening was found and even the regional national services were well diminished. There is no reason to believe that that was not rather typical of most underdeveloped nations at that time.

 

[Schroedingers Cat]

CFRB was on a Canadian Class I-A Channel, 690 kHz, until the Canadian government nationalized nearly all the Clear Channels. They gave CFRB 1010 as a Class I-B as a consolation to try to make up for their loss, but for many reasons, not the least of which was/is WINS 1010 a few hundred miles away, it wasn't enough. They needed CFRX to reach areas they could no longer reach on 1010. I can remember when CFRX used to boom in on 6070 around Sunset, and I was surprised because it came in so well with just 1 kW, as well as many other 49 meter International services. But now, it's just barely there for some reason.

 

[KeithE4]

CFRB was on a Canadian Class I-A Channel, 690 kHz, until the Canadian government nationalized nearly all the Clear Channels. They gave CFRB 1010 as a Class I-B as a consolation to try to make up for their loss, but for many reasons, not the least of which was/is WINS 1010 a few hundred miles away, it wasn't enough. They needed CFRX to reach areas they could no longer reach on 1010. I can remember when CFRX used to boom in on 6070 around Sunset, and I was surprised because it came in so well with just 1 kW, as well as many other 49 meter International services. But now, it's just barely there for some reason.

CFRX was faint but audible here in metro Phoenix tonight, about an hour ago. 49 meters is usually better during the winter than summer.

 

[boombox4]

There on it as much as theyve ever been. Theyve always sounded like under modulated muddy dog crap shoved through a paper towel tube that then got microwaved too long

No. Not always. In the earlier part of the 2010's they had good, clear modulation on 6000 and a nearby frequency which they used for programs in English to the US & Canada. Listening through headphones on a decent fidelity SW radio made it seem as if they were in the room.

 

[boombox4]

I think this is part of their efforts to expand their sphere of influence to anywhere where western powers have pulled back. In other words, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. There is large amount of CRI programming aimed at these regions now, to go along with all the railroads, highways, ports and mining operations that China has build (with strings attached, of course). They recently rebuilt the Bamako II transmission facility in Mali and are now using it to broadcast CRI programming on-continent, for example. Radio Mali uses it as well, so they are technically "back" on HF thanks to China.

It's actually been kind of fascinating to watch this happen on shortwave. With the communist party's unlimited checkbook and lack of any regulation/dissent, they have grown their SW presence not so much because it's viable, but just because they can afford to spend ungodly amounts of money to reach even a few ears with their ideals. There's just no way VOA/RFE/R. Free Asia can keep up.

The Chinese government is not populated by stupid people. If they are broadcasting in shortwave, they are obviously doing it for a reason. It is probably viewed as one arm of their 'soft power', and 'soft power' isn't always readily measurable.

In much of Africa there are regions where there probably is little to no internet (Mali would be an example of that) and FM mainly reaches the big cities. In Chad, for example, the majority of the FMs are in the capital, and the rest of the FMs are religious.

In Africa there are many, highly populated cities, but there are also huge swaths of rural areas that are also populated. Perhaps those rural areas are the targets the Chinese see for their SW services. Of course, one would have to have an inside look at the operations of the Chinese government to truly understand their reasoning or motives behind their SW services.

 

[tomservo]

Right now (0425 UTC on 6/24), the BBC relay in Madagascar is blasting 10-over-9 into Phoenix on 9915 kHz. It's only a two hour broadcast, with the first hour aimed at 315 degrees, which puts the US in its path, and the 2nd hour more toward South America at 265 degrees. Why? I have no idea. How many English speakers and/or British expatriates are in Argentina and Chile?

The target area is listed as Eastern Africa for both areas. Your question of "how many English speakers?" is certainly still valid, though.

I think if they wanted to target the Americas, they'd use their relays at Ascension Island or Woofferton, since they are a bit better suited to reaching this side of the world. Not sure what relays that had in our hemisphere back in the day.

 

[davideduardo]

The Chinese government is not populated by stupid people. If they are broadcasting in shortwave, they are obviously doing it for a reason. It is probably viewed as one arm of their 'soft power', and 'soft power' isn't always readily measurable.

In much of Africa there are regions where there probably is little to no internet (Mali would be an example of that) and FM mainly reaches the big cities. In Chad, for example, the majority of the FMs are in the capital, and the rest of the FMs are religious.

In Africa there are many, highly populated cities, but there are also huge swaths of rural areas that are also populated. Perhaps those rural areas are the targets the Chinese see for their SW services. Of course, one would have to have an inside look at the operations of the Chinese government to truly understand their reasoning or motives behind their SW services.

The data on FMs in smaller towns is inadequate. But if you look at a typical less developed nation like Burkina Faso, deeper investigation shows that even smaller towns as well as all cities have more stations than a similarly sized town in the US would have. The rural areas are served by those town and city stations.

And in much of Africa, the Internet skipped a generation or two. In most nations, people "bank" and pay with phone services that have substituted the need for traditional banks and financial institutions.

The more significant issue is that Africa has hundreds of languages and tribal dialects, making communication via shortwave difficult. Yes, there are nations with colonial heritage languages like Portuguese, Spanish, French and English and there are Arabic and Swahili as lingua franca tongues but local populations, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, are going to prefer their own primary language for radio.

When I was with Radio Express, the clients in Africa for our World Chart Show took the work parts and did dozens of local versions in different nations to have their message heard in the "right" language.

I think the Chinese do the short wave thing "because they can". In most places, short wave radios are no longer even available.

 

[SWL_Observer]

I think the Chinese do the short wave thing "because they can". In most places, short wave radios are no longer even available.

I'm inclined to believe that considering a recent experience I had with CRI. Despite their extensive shortwave presence, their coverage to North America is surprisingly poor. They closed down their main relay station to North America (it was a site in Albania with 300 kW transmitters) in late 2019 after it was damaged by an earthquake. The only substitution were a few broadcasts from Cuba on the most god awful transmitters imaginable, horrible undermodulated audio etc.

I sent them an email in 2020 wondering about the state of the North American broadcasts... no response. I sent another email a few weeks ago only for it to bounce back because their "inbox is full". If their station doesn't even care about listener correspondence or the quality of their broadcasts (from a technical perspective) that tells me a lot anyway.

Anecdotal evidence though.