jon wrote:But Toomas, wouldn't it be so much more fun if you could pick them up off-air on medium wave?
Indeed! When I've looked at the Azimuthal Equidistant map that I use for charting DX it hasn't escaped my notice that Cape Town and the western part of South Africa have an uninterrupted water path to North America. I sigh and dream a little bit more.
I must confess that there is some of the same thrill of listening to a streaming radio station as there was DX'ing, but it does not have the same "I may be the only one" feel to it as DX did, and even streaming did much more so in the '90s. I was always attracted by the feeling that I was listening to a local "product" aimed at a local audience, where the announcers never thought it likely that anyone outside their immediate area would be listening.
Yes, I find there is a thrill to listening to a local foreign broadcast remotely over the net that is different than DX thrill. I've always wanted to
listen to the content of a DX station but DX, almost by definition, never lasts long. So part of the thrill comes from actually being able to listen to the content and having clear audio the whole time. It's a better experience than when I used to listen to international shortwave.
I've been listening to 702's stream on and off for a couple of months now. That started when I realized that my only knowledge of South Africa was what I had picked up from news reports in the early 80's during the apartheid era. What has impressed me the most is the incredible multiculturalism as heard through the voices on the radio — station staff and callers. Think Canada is multicultural? Hah! From listening to the voices I've even learned the basics of how to make the click sounds that some languages have.
South Africa will be waking up soon as the night ends. The overnight show on 702 has given me the sense that things have "quieted down" since yesterday, as is to be expected. Other topics are starting to get airtime.
Posted: Fri Dec 06, 2013 9:38 am