Spring 2005
Shortwave Radio: Left of the Dial
A hand twists the dial to an unfamiliar frequency as a voice pierces the crackling static. Music from a distant land soars into the room, traveling across the globe via shortwave radio.
Long before cellular phones, podcasting, or transatlantic fiber-optic cable, shortwave radio ruled the airwaves. When asked about the future of shortwave, the subscribers to the online newsgroup rec.radio.shortwave pointed out that a new technology rarely eliminates an older one. One responder wrote that "when satellite radio and the internet lead to the closing of all newspapers, movie theaters, conventional FM and MW station[s], [and] publishing houses...then start to worry. But that's never going to happen."
The rec.radio.shortwave group took just three days to build up a 30 message thread in reply to the original question. The discussion branched off into debates over the pros and cons of XM satellite radio, the potential merits of a new technology called Digital Radio Mondiale, and the logistics of smashing a television set with a sledgehammer. On this last subject, “Telamon” advised that “[y]ou don’t want to [d]o this. The CRT is under vacuum and if shattered it will implode followed by an explosion of glass. Cut and break the neck first, then you can smash the tube.”
An identical question regarding the future of shortwave radio was posed to Lloyd Colston of AllExperts.com, a website covered by the About.com umbrella. A quick response arrived overnight, encouraging the inquirer to get involved in the hobby. Colston reflected on modern technological advances which might affect shortwave, but concluded that "in the span of eternity, these developments are very recent." He advised the questioner to "get a set and enjoy the hobby."
Although new methods of communication have often threatened its existence, shortwave radio has continued to send signals halfway around the world the old-fashioned way: by bouncing radio waves off the ionosphere.
According to the Wikipedia entry on shortwave, several factors affect the ability of a frequency to reach a target audience over a long distance. These variables include the time of day, season of the year, and solar conditions at the time of the broadcast.
Despite the optimism of shortwave enthusiasts, the medium may soon face a challenge more technical than technological. Local utility companies have begun testing Broadband over Power Lines (BPL). BPL transmits high-speed internet service using existing power lines, but interferes with the standard frequencies of shortwave and amateur radio. On the website of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), a popular national association for amateur radio operators, ARRL explains that it “is supportive of broadband access for all Americans; however, it opposes BPL as a way to achieve this goal because of its high potential for causing interference to radio communication.”
Given the wide range of media which compete for both radio frequencies and listeners’ ears, the resilience of shortwave radio surprises those accustomed to more modern technology. Perhaps the best explanation for shortwave’s staying power rests with its most vital purpose: getting out news in a disaster.
A report in the January 15 issue of New Scientist magazine tells the tale of how the prime minister of Sri Lanka was able to get information from his people in the field and communicate instructions to them in the immediate aftermath of the December 2004 tsunami. According to the article, “Victor Goonetilleke, head of the island's amateur radio society, delivered a shortwave radio set and two 12-volt car batteries to the prime minister's emergency headquarters in Colombo.” His friends drove across the island to set up another radio set where the devastation was the worst, allowing two-way communication when all electricity and phone service had been knocked out.
For every opinion found online about a topic like shortwave radio, another equal but opposite view does not stay concealed for long. Although the positive attitude of shortwave enthusiasts seems to be infectious, technological challenges will probably force it to evolve in some manner.