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Shortwave listening, or SWLing, is the hobby of listening to shortwave radio broadcasts located on frequencies between 1700 kHz and 30 MHz. Listeners range from casual users seeking international news and entertainment programming, to hobbyists immersed in the technical aspects of radio reception and collecting official confirmations (QSL cards) that document their reception of distant broadcasts (DXing). In some developing countries, shortwave listening enables remote communities to obtain regional programming traditionally provided by local medium wave AM broadcasters. One 2002 estimate placed the number of shortwave listeners worldwide in the hundreds of millions. The practice of long-distance radio listening began in the 1920s when shortwave broadcasters were first established in the US and Europe. Audiences discovered that international programming was available on the shortwave bands of many consumer radio receivers, and a number of magazines and listener clubs catering to the practice arose as a result. Shortwave listening was especially popular during times of international conflict such as World War II, the Korean War and the Persian Gulf War. Listeners use inexpensive portable "world band" radio receivers to access the shortwave bands, and some advanced hobbyists employ specialized communications receivers featuring digital technology designed for optimum reception of shortwave signals, along with outdoor antennas to enhance performance. With the advent of the internet, many international broadcasters have scaled back or terminated their shortwave transmissions in favor of web-based program distribution, while others are moving from traditional analog to digital broadcasting modes in order to allow more efficient delivery of shortwave programming. The number of organized shortwave listening clubs has diminished along with printed magazines devoted to the hobby; however, many enthusiasts continue to exchange information and news on the web. ==History== The practice of listening to distant stations in the medium wave AM broadcast band was carried over to the shortwave bands. Frank Conrad, an early pioneer of medium wave broadcasting with KDKA in Pittsburgh, instituted some of the first shortwave broadcasts around 1921. Stations affiliated with General Electric and Crosley followed shortly after. United States shortwave broadcasters began transmitting popular radio programs in an attempt to attract foreign audiences. During the 1930s, new shortwave receivers appeared on the market as well as popular shortwave magazines and clubs. Shortwave stations often offered unique QSL cards for DXers. In Europe, shortwave broadcasts from Britain and the Netherlands such as Philips Radio's PCJJ began around 1927. Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, Britain, and many other countries soon followed, and some classic shortwave broadcasters got their start. The BBC began on shortwave as the "BBC Empire Service" in 1932.〔(Analysis: BBC's voice in Europe ) Jan Repa, BBC News Online: 25 October 2005〕 Its broadcasts were aimed principally at English speakers. Radio Moscow was broadcasting on shortwave in English, French, German, Italian and Arabic by 1939. The Voice of America (or VOA) began broadcasting in 1942 after its entry into World War II using the Yankee Doodle musical theme. While technically minded shortwave listening hobbyists dwindled during the war years due in part to the demands of military service, casual listeners seeking war news from foreign broadcasters increased. Shortwave receiver manufacturers contributed to war production. Zenith launched the multi-band Trans-Oceanic series of radios in 1942. In some other countries, during the war, listening to foreign stations was a criminal offense. Established in 1939, 35-kilowatt Chinese shortwave station XGOY broadcast programming aimed at listening-restricted Japan. The station was often bombed by the Japanese.〔(''China Speaks Japanese'', Time Magazine, Dec. 28, 1942 )〕 CBS began a shortwave listening program in September 1939, on an experimental basis, at the National Lawn Tennis Championships at West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. Engineers installed equipment at the CBS booth when the location was found to have good reception, and monitors relayed European shortwave news to CBS headquarters in New York between tennis matches.〔("Radio: Propaganda Pigeons." ) ''Time'', September 7, 1942, pp. 65–66〕 Throughout World War II, CBS captured Allied and enemy shortwave communications from more than 60 international stations via secretly located receivers. Translations of intercepted broadcasts were teletyped to all New York newspapers, Associated Press, United Press International and International News Service, and in turn disseminated to newspapers and radio stations throughout the United States. Major headline news frequently resulted, since big stories often broke first on radio.〔"24,000,000 'Stolen' Words Go to Library of Congress." ''The Christian Science Monitor'', September 4, 1945〕 Shortwave listeners notified families of prisoners of war when studio announcers at stations in Axis powers countries, such as Germany and Japan, read prisoner-written messages. Allied monitors notified families, but many shortwave listeners were often first to report the broadcasts. Listeners in other countries also monitored POW messages. Americans were actively discouraged from listening to these reports, however, since broadcasting the names of a few American prisoners was regarded as a propaganda trick to build up the listening audience for Axis radio programs. In May 1943 Jack Gerber, director of the CBS listening post, told journalist William L. Shirer that the International Red Cross was the only reliable source of information on prisoners, and expressed concern at receiving six or seven letters a week requesting transcripts of German broadcasts in which service members may have been mentioned: The only reason the Nazis put on prisoner broadcasts is to get people justifiably anxious about relatives reported missing at the front to listen to their propaganda. Although many of the messages undoubtedly are true, they represent but a small fraction of our prisoners and we have no assurance that many of them are not faked from papers picked up on the battlefield. What concerns some of us is the consequences of listening to Nazi broadcasts unless you are a well-trained listener (and often, even if you are). Nazi arguments often sound plausible. A person may listen to them with all the skepticism in the world, knowing that every word is a lie. But if the content is sufficiently sensational (and it often is) the source may be forgotten in time, and out pops the Nazi lie, all unsuspecting.〔Shirer, William L., "The Propaganda Front". ''The Montana Standard'', May 4, 1943〕 New Zealand shortwave listeners reported POW voices broadcast over Radio Peking during the Korean War.〔 In the 1950s and 60s, shortwave DX columns in US magazines such as ''Popular Electronics''′ "Tuning the Short Wave Bands" and ''Electronics Illustrated''′s "The Listener" became news sources for serious radio listeners. ''Popular Electronics''′ "WPE Monitor Registration" program, begun in 1959, even offered callsign-like identifiers to hobbyists. A number of specialty radio clubs such as the ''Newark News Radio Club'' also arose during these decades and provided hobbyists with an exchange of DX news and information. When Popular Electronics and similar magazines expanded coverage of new electronics topics in the 1970s, this led to the cancellation of several long-time shortwave listening columns.〔(''On The Shortwaves, The "WPE" Monitor Registration Program'' )〕 Beginning with ''Sweden Calling DXers'' on Radio Sweden in 1948 (there was a slightly earlier short-lived program from Radio Australia), many shortwave radio stations began programs providing news. Some of the other prominent DX programs were Radio Netherlands' ''DX Jukebox'' (which became ''Media Network''), the ''SWL Digest'' on Radio Canada International, and the ''Swiss Shortwave Merry-go-round'' on Swiss Radio International. An example of notable shortwave programming was the ''Happy Station Show'', popularly called the “world’s longest-running shortwave radio program”. The show originated on Philips Radio's PCJJ shortwave station in 1928, continuing until 1940. After World War II Radio Netherlands broadcast the show from 1946 until it terminated in 1995. Producer and presenter Keith Perron “resurrected” Happy Station on March 12, 2009. Although no longer associated with Radio Netherlands, the new effort proclaims itself as “transmitted globally via shortwave, podcasting and Internet streaming radio”.〔Osterman, Fred. "Newsroom." (''DXing Newsroom''. ) 2004. Universal Radio Research. 6 April 2010.〕 During the Persian Gulf War in the 1990s, many Americans tuned into foreign news broadcasts on shortwave. Some electronics retailers even reported a "run" on portable shortwave receivers due to the increased interest at the time.〔(''Tuning Into The World Via Shortwave'', ''New York Times'', June 3, 1992. )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Shortwave listening」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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