What is Shortwave Radio and Why You Should Try It!

What is Shortwave Radio and Why You Should Try It!

When most people picture radio, they imagine local FM stations broadcasting nearby. The signals of these radio stations are coming from somewhere near where you live. They can be near your city or province, but not from other parts of the world. However, shortwave stations are very different from FM radio stations. Shortwave stations are intended for broadcasting to other parts of the world.

Why Should I Listen to Shortwave Radio?

Listening to shortwave radio is a niche hobby that can help you cure your social media addiction, which I will explain how. You will find many foreign stations from all around the world. Many of them promote propaganda and their political views to the people of other countries. You will also find many Christian missionaries promoting Christianity in third world countries. Finding a good signal from a shortwave radio is not easy and requires some effort. Your radio receiver may need to be far from other electronic devices, or you may need to go to another room or outside to get better reception. Shortwave radios are noisy, but I think that's the beauty of it. The signal you're receiving has traveled oceans away to you.

Shortwave listening can be a helpful hobby if you are struggling with social media scrolling addiction. Nowadays, people spend a huge fraction of their day on their phones. On average worldwide, people spend 6 hours and 40 minutes a day looking at their screens. That's 101 days a year! Imagine if you didn't have a phone; you would be more productive and ahead of so many people. I don't want to sound too dramatic, but that shiny device in your pocket is eating away your life. I understand that it is not easy to get rid of phone addiction and start a new life, just like you cannot suddenly get rid of a drug addiction. There are many ways for dopamine detox, but getting into the shortwave listening hobby(SWLing) has helped me get rid of my social media addiction. I spent like 4 hours a day on my phone scrolling Instagram and watching YouTube videos. Last November, I found a video about the shortwave listening hobby from a channel called "Farpoint Farms (Erik)". The video reminded me of listening to shortwave radio when I was around 9 years old. Then I bought a radio and got into this hobby. I've learned how to attach a long wire to get better reception. I've also learned many things about how radio works and how shortwave bounces from Earth's ionosphere to travel long distances, which is fascinating. This hobby is actually good for your health because you physically move to different places for better signals. If you are a programmer sitting at your desk all day and interested in tech, you should definitely try shortwave.

Equipments You Need for Shortwave Listening

Shortwave listening equipment is surprisingly affordable. You can find quality radios on Amazon for around $30 that receive shortwave broadcasts. These radios are typically labeled as "World Band" receivers, making them easy to identify. Chances are, you might already have one of these versatile devices in your home without realising it. You may want to attach a long wire with your radio antenna for better reception. You will find many good tutorials for that on YouTube.