Quote:
Originally Posted by Buzzard
Just curious......is shortwave radio not somewhat obsolete now with internet access everywre? I mean, you can damn near pick up any radio station in N. America worth it's salt, via net.
Somewhat off topic. What the hell is ham radio all about? Is it just about talking to some dude about nothing thousands of miles away? If so, what's the attraction with that? Seems every neighborhood in town has at least one or two houses with one or two 2000' friggin antennae on top. Must be something cool about it??  |
Well for starters, its kinda hard to get internet out in the boonies or in the under-developed second and third world. Second, they can be a voice for groups who would otherwise be censored or state-controlled - a shortwave broadcaster running out of the back of a truck can reach thousands of square kilometers or more. Broadcasts can also be targeted regionally, so it can be a way of getting information out of a specific country and into the ears of a sympathetic crowd on another continent.
HAM radio operators, I think, are largely in it for two reasons - one, they are the biggest gear hounds you have ever met, always building and tweaking their radios and antenna's. They are also skilled in setting up and operating radio networks, both voice and packet data, and are quite useful in times of natural or man made disaster. So they fill a civic duty role sort of like reserves - they would be called upon in an emergency to assist with radio broadcast for civilians and for emergency personnel. Then there's the social aspect, although I personally don't see the appeal, I imagine a lot of friendships are maintained over the airwaves much like IM for the net generation.
For the original poster, I have the Grundig Yachtboy 400, which is the predecessor to the G400 shown above, and its decent, although not spectacular. I used to enjoy listening to radio free Havana myself. Fundamentalist southern baptism bible broadcasts are fun in their own creepy way too, and there are tons of them that are easy to pick up in Calgary.