Jason Scott is an archivist and historian of computer and internet history behind such great projects as textfiles.com, which preserves the wonders of the pre-web internet, as well as documentaries on pre-internet BBSs (bulletin-board systems) and text adventure games. Appropriately enough, he now works at the Internet Archive, and while catching up on his blog […]
Tag Archives | Shortwave
Dutch government to slash Radio Netherlands Worldwide, focus on regions needing “free speech”
As part of a government austerity program, the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced plans to make significant cuts in the budget of shortwave broadcaster Radio Netherlands Worldwide. RNW has been relied upon by both Dutch expatriates and other listeners around the world for a unique take on world events, in addition to news from […]
In case of Rapture, Family Radio will be unmanned
You’ve seen the bumper stickers, and today at least it’s true for Family Radio. Their website has been unreachable all day, likely due to being overloaded with traffic. So that’s also made it difficult to get their online radio stream. So I tuned in to Family Radio’s shortwave station WYFR this afternoon (at 13615 Khz) […]
Spies still using radio
Numbers stations have been part of radio lore for decades. If you’ve ever listened to much shortwave radio at some point you would have come across an unidentified station broadcasting only a person reading off numbers, like an endless lotto feed: “21 99 36….” Sometimes this is in English, and often in Spanish or other […]
Chile Earthquake and Tsunami Warnings: Shortwave Radio Providing Emergency Info & Communications
In times of emergency shortwave radio, operated by both amateurs a/k/a hams and government agencies can provide an information lifeline when wired and cellular communications are disrupted. Right now shortwave is being used in the aftermath of the Chile earthquake this morning and in anticipation of tsunami waves in the Pacific. According to Communications Quarterly […]
Recording Radio for Fun, Games and Posterity
I started reading the Professor’s detailed travelogues of his AM and shortwave radio band excursions back when he was writing for WFMU’s Beware of the Blog. After he quit contributing to BotB I learned that he was keeping things going at his own Radio Kitchen blog. The Professor belongs to a group of radio enthusiasts […]