Re: [HCDX] Why I am an SWLer (and, why are you?)

["Mike Brooker" <aum108@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>
> 1.  What was your first exposure to Shortwave Listening?  How old
> were you?

Age 13 or 14.  I don't remember what was the first station I heard, but my
first SW QSLwas HCJB.
>
> 2.  What drew you into Shortwave Listening as a hobby?  How did you
> start out?

I got into MW DX first, discovering the baseball and hockey games on the 50
kw clear channels such as KMOX, WABC, WJR, etc..  I tuned the SW bands out
of curiosity, since at age 13 I got a multi-band portable radio.  This was
back in the heyday of the cold war and the chance to hear the news from the
"bad guys" on Radio Moscow was hard to resist.

>
> 3.  What do you now do most in this hobby?  Tropical Band DX?
> Medium Wave DX?  News Listening?  Can you list what you do most, to
> least, in some order of interest?

Mostly MW, for the surprises that still turn up (e.g. Virgin Islands on
1620, CHQT-880 during a recent WCBS silent period) despite broadacsters in
North America doing everything humanly possible to kill the enjoyment of
broadcasts between 530 and 1700 khz, and the incredible amount of local
stations slop and spurs in Canada's largest urban area.  I used to DX a bit
on 60 meters, but these days the only SW band I do any DXing on is the 6955
khz North American pirate zone.  The only SW broadcaster I regularly tune is
Radio Australia-9580.  The rest of my SW listening is now done mainly via
real audio.  I don't even have to listen to WWV for the geomagnetic
conditions at :18 past the hour, since I get that information e-mailed.
>
> 4.  What do you wish you knew more about, in this hobby?

propagation conditions, e.g. what causes an "opening" to a certain area on
MW beyond the obvious auroral conditions.
>
> 5.  What do you do during the summer, in this hobby?

I do some listening during the summer, though I don't go for the sunrise and
sunset skip on MW as I do during the winter months.  If I travel anywhere
during the summer, I will always take my RFB-45 with me.
>
> 6.  What part of the day do you do must of your listening?

Local sunrise and sunset.
>
> 7.  Do you listen while mobile?

Only while someone else is driving, or if parked somewhere :)
>

73

Mike Brooker
Toronto, ON

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