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Amateur Radio Talk and General Discussion Radio is a great hobby and one day when you are an expert, you can have your own nationally syndicated talk show and screaming fans will throw themselves at your feet when you go out in public. Until then, you can spend time reading Usenet groups especially for amateur radio enthusiasts. Topics cover construction, packet and digital radio modes, transmission, regulations, repair and other general topics. Usenet:
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Campus Radio Disc Jockeys What a cool job it is to sit in a climate-controlled booth jamming out to the latest tunes for hours on end. And in between the songs you get to offer some profound remarks that will reach the ears of every student on campus. What power! Hone your communication skills by hearing what other DJs and station managers discuss on this mailing list about college radio, federal and campus regulations, station policies, and equipment reviews.
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Canadian Broadcasting Corporation For years, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has been providing the best television and radio broadcasting that government money can buy. If you live in Canada, spend some time at this Web site where you can find all kinds of information, including news, schedules, audio versions of various programs, discussion, and much more (in French and in English). If it's news and it's Canadian, you'll find it here. Web: CB (Citizens Band) Radio CD radio is a two-way voice communication facility designed for short-range (1-5 miles) personal and business use. You do not need a license to use CB radio, which accounts for its popularity, especially among truckers and other drivers. CB radio has 40 different shared channels, each of which can support its own conversation. When you use CB radio, you choose a nickname for yourself, called a "handle". As with other radio communications, CD users have a set of abbreviation codes that are used to save time and make the people using them feel cool. For example, 10-4 means "Message received"; 10-73 means, "There is a speed trap." Web:
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Classic Top 40 Radio Sounds It is human nature to compare and analyze, and ever since there has been music on the radio, there have been lists of which songs were the most popular. In the radio industry, "Top 40" refers to the 40 most popular songs, and "classic" refers to songs that were popular among people who are now old enough to have children. Thus, visiting a "classic Top 40 radio sounds" Web site will allow you to wax nostalgic about the personalities and sounds that baby boomers enjoyed when they were young. Or, as Wolfman Jack once put it, "Good guys only make it in the movies, baby..." Web: Digital Audio Broadcasting Imagine: your voice -- static-free, flying silky smooth through the air at the speed of sound, straight into someone's ear. They turn and could swear that you were right there behind them. This is the wonder of digital audio broadcasting with its improved sound quality and technical superiority. Join with other DAB enthusiasts to talk not only about the technological merits of digital audio broadcasting, but also the social and economic issues. Usenet:
Ham Radio Do you want to be famous? Start practicing now by becoming a ham radio operator. After awhile you will get a reputation around the neighborhood as that studly ham guy. Then you can start spouting your opinions on the radio, build up your ego, put on a few pounds and eventually have your own conservative talk show on mainstream radio. Wouldn't that be fun? So get on the Net now and learn all about ham radio. The faster you learn, the faster you will be on your way to success. Web:
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NPR Online NPR (National Public Radio) is a large non-commercial radio network in the United States. NPR offers a variety of programs: news, talk, information, music and entertainment. In the U.S., NPR is considered by some people to be controversial due to a liberal bias. However, their programs are well-produced and informative, and they have many listeners across the country. If you would like to listen to some NPR programs (which you will probably find interesting, even if you live outside the U.S.), you can do so by connecting to this Web site. You will also find information about NPR itself such as where to listen to NPR, member stations, how to get transcripts of shows, and so on. Web: Usenet:
Number Stations You're listening to your shortwave radio and all of a sudden you hear a nondescript voice intoning a long list of numbers. Sometimes you hear a pattern, but mostly the numbers seem random. And then suddenly they stop. Later, you happen onto the same frequency and again you hear the numbers. What are they? No one knows for sure, but there are many shortwave stations around the world broadcasting sequences of numbers. Nobody will admit to being responsible for the stations, but they have been broadcasting for years. It is generally thought that these stations are run by espionage agencies and are used to send coded signals to spies in the field. Around the world there are many people who monitor these stations, keep statistics and share information. There are even organizations and newsletters devoted to tracking these number stations. Web:
Old-Time Radio I love old radio shows like Jack Benny, Dragnet, the Great Gildersleeve, and Burns and Allen. If you do too, you will enjoy these Web sites. To get you started, here is an interesting trivia item. One of the more popular radio shows (dating back to 1940) was Truth or Consequences. Each time the show began you would hear the audience laughing uncontrollably. How did they arrange it? Well, a few minutes before the show was to start, two men from the audience would be brought up on the stage. Each man was given a suitcase and told that the first person who could get dressed using the contents of the suitcase would win a prize. The suitcases were filled with women's clothes and undergarments. The stunt never failed to whip the audience into gales of laughter, just in time for the announcer to say: "Hello there. We've been waiting for you. It's time to play Truth or Consequences." Web:
Open Broadcasting Until recently, those public service agencies that broadcast over the radio have used the same technology as everyone else. That is why it is possible, for example, to use a scanner to listen to police broadcasts. However, many public agencies are now starting to use closed radio systems -- such as digital (trunked) or encrypted transmissions -- that are difficult or impossible for regular people to monitor. Some public officials will admit frankly that they do not want the general public to be able to overhear their transmissions. But is this in our best interests? In a free country, do you really want the police and other government agencies to be able to communicate in secret? Open broadcasting is the idea that public agencies should use the airwaves in ways that are accessible to the public. Web: Usenet:
Packet Radio Packet radio is a system that sends information from one computer to another using radio broadcasting. The name "packet radio" refers to the fact that the information is broken into small groupings of data called packets. (The Internet itself is a packet-based network.) With packet radio, you use a device called a TNC (terminal node controller) to connect your computer to a radio. The TNC acts like a bridge between your computer and the radio, which sends and receives data. (Conceptually, the TNC is like a modem only instead of using a phone line, data is transmitted using radio waves.) Most packet radio enthusiasts use VHF frequencies, which limit transmissions to a little better than unobstructed line of sight. However, once you have the appropriate equipment, packet radio is easy to use and requires no special license. And there exist networks of packet radio systems that make it possible to propagate data over long distances. Web:
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Pirate Radio In most countries, radio broadcasting is strictly regulated by the government. In the United States, that job is performed by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). In Canada, the organization is the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission). These government agencies do not allow private individuals to broadcast willy-nilly over the most commonly used frequencies, such as those set aside for AM and FM radio. Pirate radio refers to non-sanctioned broadcasting over such frequencies. The philosophical justification within the mostly underground pirate radio community ranges from freedom of speech to good plain fun. If the idea of broadcasting illegally in front of the government's back appeals to you, start here. Web:
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Radio Broadcasting Boy, radio has just got to be the best invention since television. Join the folks who love to listen, as they discuss radio broadcasting. The broadcasting discussion groups are for general broadcasting topics. (The rec.radio.broadcasting group is moderated.) The info group, also moderated, is for news and announcements. For those who hate advertising, noncomm is for talking about noncommercial radio. The radio-l group is for digital audio broadcasting. Usenet:
Radio History The first radio transmission took place in 1895 when the Italian investor Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937) successfully sent a signal over a short distance. In 1901, Marconi was able to transmit a radio signal across the Atlantic Ocean. The first important experimental radio broadcasts took place in the 1920s in the United States. These Web sites have information about the early days of radio and the early radio equipment. Web:
Radio Industry The radio industry is complex and cutthroat, and changes daily. If you work in the industry, these resources will help you beat the buzz, by keeping you up to date on the latest happenings. If you are a listener, I bet you'll find something interesting, such as the current insider business gossip. In addition, you can check the latest ratings to see which are the top stations in your area. Web:
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Radio Scanner Frequencies A radio scanner is a device that lets you monitor radio frequencies not accessible with regular AM and FM receivers. These frequencies are used by a variety of organizations, especially law enforcement and public service groups. These Web pages will help you find frequencies that you can monitor to eavesdrop on various types of conversations. You can also find the frequencies used by drive-through restaurants (McDonald's, etc.), theme parks (Disneyland, etc.), TV stations, canned music (Muzak) and cordless phones. After all, if they didn't want you to listen, why would they be talking? Web:
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Radio Station Lists Here are several comprehensive lists I have selected to help you find information about radio stations around the world. These lists are useful when you want to find out which stations are in a particular area. In addition, one of the lists shows many stations that have their own Web sites. For U.S. listeners, I have included a resource to allow you to look at the official FCC information for any U.S. radio station. You can search by location, frequency or call letters. Web:
Shortwave Radio Shortwave radio consists of signals broadcast between 3Mhz and 30 MHz. The nature of shortwave is that the waves bounce off the upper atmosphere and, hence, can travel long distances. This means that you can use a shortwave receiver to listen to broadcasts from around the world. There are a wide variety of shortwave stations, and listening to them is a fascinating hobby. There is a lot of information to help get you started, as well more detailed resources as for the experienced shortwave enthusiast. Web:
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Talk Radio Hosts The U.S. radio landscape is decorated with a large variety of talk radio shows. If you count all the regional and local hosts, there are literally hundreds of people with their own talk show. Of course, we all have our favorites. Mine are Alan Colmes (by far, the best), Joy Browne, Jim Bohannon and Bob Brinker. I like these four because they are intelligent, knowledgeable, skillful, and compassionate. I also really like Phil Hendrie, because I find his humor so creative and witty. If you have never listened to him, you absolutely must. (Hint: He does all the main character voices himself) In terms of audience size, the 10 most popular talk show hosts are (in order): Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Howard Stern, Laura Schlessinger, Michael Savage, Joy Browne, Jim Bohannon, Don Imus, Neal Boortz, and Ken & Daria Dolan. Below, you will find the Web sites for all of these talk show hosts, as well as a comprehensive site maintained by Talkers Magazine (a trade publication) containing information on the 100 most important talk show hosts. Web:
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Vintage Radios and Broadcasting Equipment The first regularly scheduled radio broadcasts began in the United States in 1920. In the early 1920s, commercial radio went through a boom, leading to the establishment of a large number of radio stations. Over the next several decades, radio became extremely popular, and a great many different models of radio receivers were sold. Today, many people collect these vintage radio sets, and buy and sell the parts needed to maintain them. Web:
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Voice of America The Voice of America (VOA) is the radio broadcasting service of the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau. The purpose of VOA is to serve the long-range interests of the United States by "communicating with the peoples of the world by radio." In particular, VOA offers a "consistently reliable and authoritative source of news." Around the world, VOA broadcasts on shortwave and medium wave frequencies in more than 50 languages. Many of these broadcasts are also available over the Internet, so take a moment and give a listen. Web: |
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