One of the things that Santa brought to our daughters (7 and 4) this year: the Jingle Jams Radio. It comes with Swinging Christmas songs, north pole weather reports ("We are expecting hundrets of inches of snow!") and has sport reports from the ENN (elf news network), all of that in a non-perfect radio sound. Really cool stuff - thanks, Santa!
While they listen to it, I wonder: will they ever be able to enjoy short wave radio listening? The inner tenseness when turning the knob and wading through the bands, listening to static noise while hoping to find the signals of an exotic DX station. That special sound of waves coming from around the globe, fading in strength and phase, spiked with crackles and noise here and there. The emotions of a program presented by dedicated hosts, who decline to just plow through heartless playlists, but rather mindfully pick songs to artfully craft atmosphere and tell stories. What a contrast to (most of) nowadays' digital transmissions of always perfect-sounding DAB+ stations...
Pathetic? Yeah, probably. But still, it's sad to see those shortwave radio stations go off the air one after another. That's technological history, dying piece by piece right in front of our eyes. *sigh*
Anyway. Merry Christmas to all of you fellow Ham Radio Operators and SWLing enthusiasts. May the ether be lavish to all of us, for many years to come.
#amateurradio #hamradio #amateurfunk #shortwavelistening #swling