In the last few years, a number of radio stations have shifted gears from shortwave bands to online (digital) platforms. Gradually the erstwhile popular shortwave bands (13m-60m) lost their charm! The only stations which remained dominant, intensifying their coverage were from China (P.R). And as the Chinese stations stepped up their broadcast coverage across the length and breadth of the shortwave radio spectrum, SWLs (in particular) gradually lost interest in shortwave radio. Now, I might sound a bit off-topic - I was surprised to note many serious DXers and SWLs (among my hobbyist friends) started exploring amateur radio. Some of them eventually taking it seriously, becoming HAMs in the process. Those who could afford the insanely costly top-of-the-class SDRs (Software Defined Radios) like Perseus upgraded their listening shacks while those with lesser means shifted to less-costly SDRs (check this list). A third faction - the indecisive ones (or more suitably, I would call them 'experimenters') started fidgeting with web-based SDRs (free-to-use) and mobile radio apps - the likes of utwente, kiwisdr, hamsphere and radio garden! I belong to the experimenters tribe! And Web-SDRs became my new-found passion!
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| pic courtesy: uTwente |
One key reason was my indomitable urge to explore new stations on the air-waves! While my local listening conditions grew bad to worse with ear-deafening radio field interference from the ever-increasing mobile towers and electronic gadgets, web-based SDRs offered a never-before opportunity for tuning remote receivers stationed half-way across the world with the click of a mouse! For example, the charm of tuning into a low-powered South American station remotely using a communications receiver (fitted to an elaborate antenna system) stationed in Europe and listening to their midnight closing broadcast from the previous day while its early afternoon at my QTH, seemed fantasy-come-true!
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| pic courtesy: radio garden |
Till date, uTwente Web-SDR has remained my favorite! Apart from tuning in to new stations from far-off lands, this Wide-band WebSDR has allowed me unfiltered access to the local medium wave and shortwave, clandestine, and pirate stations (operating on low power) from all across Europe!
I gradually took interest in pirate stations operating with home-brewed gears and broadcasting sporadically with just a few watts! My daily DX schedule would include monitoring pirate forums for new entrants, preparing and updating listening logs and targeting my next catches to QSL! With much planning and synchronized monitoring I listened to few pirate and free radio stations and amassed a few notable pirate QSLs from Europe to my collection.
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| pic courtesy - Penguin India |
DX pundits might say that E-QSLs obtained by listening to/and reporting on broadcasts heard using remote WebSDRs are not genuine feats. But I will reason otherwise! Any QSL/E-QSL received through truthful reporting of reception (broadcast programs) heard on the radio or through online/ remote radio receivers (WebSDRs) require equal attentiveness and dedication. And if 'transparency' or 'truthfulness' in reporting be considered a yardstick for ingenuity, I would further infer that I was unfortunate to bear testimony to 'unbelievable' DX-feats from seasoned DX hobbyists in the past, those achieved through falsifying reports and doctored audio-clippings, which were even celebrated and cheered on by comrades of the DX fraternity!
Currently I am not an active DXer and only tune-in my radios rarely. Today, i'm (more-or-less) a regular on web-SDRs and online radio apps.
The days of shortwave listening for nights together, hunting for those elusive radio signals are gone for sure, yet my love for the crackling in the ether remains ever anew!
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