Why listen to shortwave?

I get asked this question quite frequently. People tell me that I can listen to any station in the world online. That's not true, there are many stations that are not online. And what if the Internet fails one day? It takes a lot of energy and technology to run the Internet that might not be around in the future. Who knows.

I do listen to radio on the Internet but I enjoy being able to turn the tuning knob and happen upon a programme by accident. You can't do that online, you have to know what you are looking and then type in an address. There is excitement from finding something new online.

There is a lot more going on in shortwave. You can listen in as radio hams talk about everyday things, something you can't do online unless you are invited into an online chat. You can listen to the strange world of espionage through number stations and listen to their lists of numbers and call-signs. There are people sending fax and teletype messages. Diplomats sending encrypted messages. Weather stations sending reports. You can practice learning a new language. Many stations have language lessons. There is a lot going on in the shortwave and it is a joy to happen upon it during an evening.

Shortwave equipment is a lot more approachable, a lot more simple and a lot cheaper than computing equipment. You are reliant on yourself and can make a lot of equipment yourself. With a computer you are dependent on others to connect you to the Internet. In many countries, governments restrict access to the Internet but can't jam every of shortwave band.

In areas of the world where computers and the Internet have not reached you can be sure there is a shortwave radio. There will be a need for shortwave for many years to come.

What is shortwave radio?

Shortwave radio was so-called during the early days of radio because the wavelengths used were shorter than the prevalent longer wavelengths used at the time. Such wavelengths can travel much further than FM, MW and LW by bouncing off the ionosphere.
This permits the listener to pick up radio stations beyond the horizon and from across the globe.

Shortwave radio is used for international broadcasting with many governments using it as a way of putting forward their view on world affairs. Amateurs or Radio Hams can often be heard chatting on wavebands reserved for amateur use. There are utility stations broadcasting weather reports and coded diplomatic messages between embassies. Number stations can also be heard on shortwave. These stations broadcast numbers or NATO call-signs at regular points during the day and are believed to be coded messages broadcast to spies on active service in foreign lands.

Shortwave radio can be heard on frequencies between 1612 and 30000 KHz. A radio with continuous tuning between those frequencies is desirable so that all bands, including amateur and utility bands can be received. Also, you will need Single Side Band (SSB) capabilities for those broadcasting (usually Radio Hams) on this variation of AM broadcasting.