Shortwave May In Fact Be Dead

Recently I bought a wi-fi radio. I’d been thinking about it for a while, mostly because I wanted a way to be able easily hear what has become my favorite radio station, an eclectic-format 250-watt daytimer, KBRD in Lacey, Washington. I partially justified the expense by convincing myself that being a radio guy, I needed to experience what is bound to be the next big thing in radio. So, I bought a Sangean WFR-20 wi-fi tabletop radio.

I’ll post a detailed review of the radio in a while. For now, all I can say is: Oh My God. In more than 30 years as a shortwave buff, I have never had access to international radio like I do now. Yes, I have been listening to streaming radio for years. I can hardly be in my office without Radio New Zealand, BBC, Radio Australia, or a dozen other favorites coming over my computer speaker. But the Sangean – it’s, well, a radio.

Now, streaming audio and web radio is untethered from my PC. The Sangean lets me listen to internet radio more conveniently. Over the years I have recorded over the air broadcasts on tape, downloaded podcasts, rigged up FM transmitters to allow me to listen to shortwave away from the listening post or computer. Now I can. It’s just like regular radio. Only ten million times better. I can hear all flavors of the BBC while I do the dishes. Sit in my living room while listening to Africa Number 1. Cook dinner to Irish traditional music live from Dublin. Domestic AM and FM stations from everywhere, beyond anything a mediumwave of VHF DXer could imagine. Hundreds of domestic AM and FM radio beyond anything the best DX set up could ever deliver.

I’ve been stunned at the depth of what I can now hear, and the ease with which I can tune it. I’ve actually been spending time sitting on a chair in front of it, doing what only can be termed “DXing” – spinning the dial, seeing which feeds I can hear, trying to identify them by their sound, and the sometimes cryptic IDs that the scrolling display provides.

It isn’t perfect. Sometimes the feeds don’t connect. Once in a while the thing locks up. The audio can be a bit tinny, on the robotic side. (This from someone who has spent three decades listening to static-filled, fading, buzzy signals. Believe me, wi-fi audio is better quality than anything you are going to get over your shortwave set. For what I’ve paid for many a middle-quality portable radio, I now truly have access to music, news, perspectives and ideas from all around the world – all the shtick they used to use to hawk what is in fact (and it pains me to say it) an inferior form of radio.

I’ve read people on the radio-related internet forum that wi-fi is not “real radio.” Bullshit. It is real radio. Radio you won’t be able to get enough of, radio you’ll wonder why you waited so long to get.

Trust me, get yourself one of these things. Go here to find out more. Keep one of your old portable shortwave radios, for power outages, earthquakes or whatever end-of-the world scenario you are preparing for. But for the 99.999% of the days when alien spacecraft are not landing or nuclear bombs are not going off, find out what international radio is really supposed to be like.

Maybe The Best Web Radio Site Ever

One of the oft-overlooked gems of the web radio world, Public Radio Fan provides links to thousands of audio streams put out by public stations all over the world. On-demand and live streams from U.S. public stations, the major international broadcasters, local stations and college stations from around the world are here. All the BBC services? Here. Regional CBC (Canada) stations? Here. Deutche Welle, Voice of America, Radio Japan, RAI, and the other international stations that have virtually disappeared from shortwave? Here. Non-English stations from Africa, the Middle East, the Far East? All here.

You can search for stations by name, location, format and language. You can also search for specific programs, by name and genre. The front page shows the major programs and stations that are on at the current hour. Users can do a fair amount of customization of what stations, programs or other features appear on the page.

Browsing this site and sampling the streams reminds of me of my first nights with a shortwave radio - you can hop all over the world, sampling news, music, drama, all the wonderful things shortwave radio used to be. With one distinct advantage over the old days: you'll actually be able to follow what's going on without signal fading, interference, and noise. (These things were, of course, partially what gave shortwave its charm and intrigue, but I have to admit I do like actually being able hear what's being said or sung.)

The site is easy to navigate, and through years of heavy use I've had very few occurrences of feeds not working or dropping out. You'll want to make sure you have all the major audio players installed: Real Player, Windows Media Player, and Winamp.

There are other Internet radio portals out there, many with their unique qualities, but for sheer ease of use, reliability, and variety, Public Radio Fan can't be beat.

You'll spend hours and hours hear, sampling the offerings, and deciding on your favorites.

Wither Shortwave?

I recently moved to a new home. While packing my possessions, I came across some old shortwave logbooks from the early 1990s, the period of the first Persian Gulf war. Looking through the logs, I marveled at all of the stations and countries that were regularly heard at my location then that are rare visitors, or not heard at all: BBC World Service, Deutche Welle, the Voice of America. When I think back over my whole time as a shortwave listener, I certainly come to the conclusion that as a medium, over-the-air shortwave radio has fallen on hard times.

Although radio enthusiasts will hotly deny (or at least lament) the fact, shortwave radio has in large part been replaced by other delivery systems, at least in the technologically-developed countries. Local placement (on domestic AM and FM stations) satellite and especially internet radio have become the preferred means to deliver international programming to western ears.

The trend away from shortwave broadcasting is also occurring in those parts of the world that have historically relied on it for domestic broadcasting. Local stations in Latin America, Asia and Africa are converting to AM and especially FM broadcasting at a significant rate. While the concentration of shortwave stations is still higher in these areas than in Europe and North America, the number of regularly-operating stations on the high frequency bands declines every year.

Part of the reason is technological and part of it is economic. National budgets no longer can support the huge outlays required to support high-power HF transmission for multiple hours in multiple languages. This will become more and more the case as the cost of electrical energy increases. There is also an environmental cost to shortwave transmission facilities –a transmission site for multiple 500 watt transmitters and curtain antenna array covering several acres of wetlands doesn’t fit any definition of “green.”

On the reception side, shortwave radio has to fight through increasing levels of electrical noise from our burgeoning array of computers, video games, compact florescent lights and other gadgetry. The portable radios casual shortwave listeners use often can’t overcome the interference levels. Those dedicated souls who install elaborate receiving set ups with external antenna are rewarded with signals of dubious reliability, especially during the current sunspot minimum. The manufacture and sales of high-end shortwave receivers has pretty much ceased, reflecting the dwindling number of shortwave listeners. I often wonder why one would spend the money on a high-end receiver, when for much less money you can purchase a computer system and broadband internet access that will bring much more of the radio world into your home.

It’s true that internet, satellite and local placement delivery systems have their flaws. Web radio is subject to traffic overloads, dropouts and other technical glitches. Satellite radio relies on a rather complicated, and fragile infrastructure to delivery its content. Local placement of international radio has been less than successful (at least in North America) due to its limited audience.

Despite these problems and limitations, the fact remains that these new delivery systems, especially internet radio, are replacing over-the-air, analog shortwave broadcasting. What’s a true radio enthusiast to do? There isn’t much, except to adjust. And acknowledge the real advantages the new broadcasting methods, especially internet radio, provide.

The major advantages are variety and reliability. Internet radio makes a range of stations, countries and content available beyond anything shortwave broadcasting could ever deliver. With a very modest computer and broadband connection, one can hear stations from every corner of the world, in every language and viewpoint. With signal clarity and reliability that over-the-air radio could never provide. And it won’t be long until web radio is uncoupled from the computer: already coming to market are a growing number of stand-alone internet radio receivers which will provide the same portability traditional radio offers. Once the internet radio “appliance” proliferates, internet radio will truly become the replacement for shortwave radio.

I am perfectly aware of the arguments some “real” radio aficionados have against web radio, such as the fact that most of the developing world doesn’t have reliable internet access, or even electricity. True enough. But what does that have to do with the developed world? Much of the world also doesn’t have reliable supplies of clean water, but that doesn’t stop us from taking a shower every day. The lack of something in one place doesn’t preclude its development or use in another. Then there’s the “censorship” issue: the internet, so the story goes, is subject to government censorship and control – in the event of a crisis, they authorities clamp down or completely shut off internet access, including internet radio. This definitely does happen. But over-the-air radio is also subject to such government interference. Signals can be and are jammed, and much of what goes out over the airwaves on the HF bands is subject to government censorship and control.

I suppose it all depends upon why you are into shortwave radio. If it is purely for the technical, the “chase” of stations, the winding down of international broadcasting is a definite negative. But for those for whom the message, the content is most important, these are the golden days of radio. We have a window into other cultures, viewpoints, music, and discussion that is unprecedented.

Radio enthusiasts in general would do well not let our romantic notions of what was prevent us from experiencing the real advantages of web broadcasting.

But it is fun to read those old log books, and reminisce…

Eton E1-XM: First Impressions

With much expectations (and trepidation) I received my sale-priced Eton E1-XM from Circuit City last weekend. Shipping took six days. As reported in various internet forums, this is indeed old stock – the serial number on my particular unit is 01816 (current production units are 5000 and higher).

So far, none of the problems reported with these sale units – failing displays, FM distortion, memory failures, FM refusing to go into stereo mode- have occurred with my radio. I haven’t tested the radio for the recall problem of overheating batteries when the radio is on AC power, nor do I intend to. I tend to remove batteries from any radio I power on AC, avoid leakage in the batteries due to non-use.

The radio “feels” different than most shortwave receivers. The radio’s case and controls have a rubberized texture (a deliberate feature of Eton’s “E” series) that is a bit unexpected, but adds a bit of “substance” to the tactile feel of the radio. The one downside of the radio’s finish is that greasy or dirty fingers will leave marks very easily. Also, the display tends to readily attract dust. Keep a soft cloth nearby.

First impressions of this radio’s performance are very positive indeed. It is quite sensitive off the whip antenna. I was curious how the radio would fare on mediumwave AM without a built-in ferrite antenna. It does just fine, showing itself to be equal to my Kaito KA-2200 and CC Radio. Even though shortwave conditions were not exactly ideal this past weekend, the E1-XM performed quite well, especially in terms of sensitivity and dynamic range. I live in a rather noisy electrical/radio environment. The E1-XM is the quietest of my radios, even without any type of noise blanker or limiter.

The radio is easily the most flexible in terms of tuning options. Direct entry keypad, band-hopping capability and tuning knob all work flawlessly. I had expected the tuning knob to be wobbly and loose based on reports, but this was not the case with my unit. Excellent sync detector locks on signals very quickly and is quite stable.

I particularly like the memory functions. The E1-XM has 1700 memory presets, 500 of which can have user-created alpha-numeric tags. Once you learn how, entering and deleting memory positions is quick and easy, and the recall menu allows you to access a particular preset swiftly.

Operation is pretty intuitive, but if you get stuck on something the manual is comprehensive (and comprehensible) enough that you will learn this radio very easily.

All in all, I am very impressed with the set. At the price I paid for it ($224 including shipping) this is the shortwave radio value of a lifetime.

A more detailed review of the E1-XM will follow.

The End of TV Audio Reception

Unless you've been living on the moon the last few years, you know that U.S. broadcast television is scheduled to switch to all digital broadcasts in 2009. There has been some coverage in the popular media about the transition, but apparently not enough - recent polls show that a majority of Americans are unaware that their analog TVs may be useless after the February 2009 changeover. One aspect of the changeover that hasn't been discussed is the fact that after February 17, 2009, any portable radio that receives TV audio will no longer receive anything on those bands.

TV audio has been a selling feature of various portable sets for decades. In recent years, some manufacturers have used it as a marketing hook for radios designed for emergency use, such as the Eton FR series and the C. Crane CC Radio. Some, like the CC Radio, are not exactly inexpensive.

An unintended consequence of the digital TV changeover is that folks who enjoy - or maybe even rely on - TV audio-capable radios are in for a rude discovery on February 18, 2009. Although it's hard to know how many radios with TV bands there are in this country, the number has to be in the millions. (I myself own about a dozen such sets.) Many of those will be probably be relegated to closets, resale shops, and the landfill. There's no indication that radio manufacturers will eventually produce units that can receive the new digital TV broadcasts, or if some type of converters will be available. Converters are probably not in the offing, as they are counter to the whole point of TV audio radios, i.e. portability.

From a monitoring perspective it will be interesting to see what, if anything, these now obsolete TV-band radios will pick up once the changeover is complete, and the federal government auctions off the old analog TV frequencies. (This spectrum auction is the major impetus behind the required switch to digital TV.) If the new users of the bands transmit in analog FM, there may be many unintentional listeners. It remains to be seen.

In the meantime, as the deadline for changeover approaches and passes, bargain-minded radio monitors may snag some good deals on higher-end models like the CC Radio (the price of which has already been cut about $20 in the past several months) which will still have utility as AM-FM radios even after the change.

Eton E1XM Sale

U.S. electronics retailer Circuit City is offering the Eton E1-XM for less than half the normal retail price - $225. Standard shipping is free.

Whether this is part of a general closeout of the E1-XM, or a merchant-specific sale I don't know. A quick check of other on-line radio retailers (Amazon, Universal Radio, Grove) showed the regular price of $499 for the unit.

Regardless of why Circuit City is doing it, this is an unprecedented opportunity to get a high-performance radio at an unheard-of price.

Eton E1 Sans XM Now Available

Eton has recently released a second version of their well-regarded E1 shortwave radio - a version without XM satellite radio capability. The E1 is now in two variations: The E1, which covers AM/FM and shortwave, and the E1XM (the original version) which includes XM satellite radio capability. Eton includes both units on its product line web site.

The primary difference, other than XM reception capability, is price: the E1 without XM satellite radio capability is $100 cheaper. Universal Radio lists the E1 at $399 and the E1XM at $499.

Given its reputation amongst many users as the best portable radio in overall shortwave performance, the new unit's reduced price represents a significant value. If one isn't interested in adding XM radio, this could be the radio to buy.

Eton recently clarified that information regarding the pending release of a new model called the G1 or Satellit 1000 were incorrect. This model, which apparently was to be identical to the E1 except for color, is not slated for release any time soon.