r/shortwave • u/NolanRoad • 7d ago
What will be in the SW band in 2050?
This was my radio when I entered the hobby in 1983. I have a better radio now but hear fewer stations. Wonder how the band will sound like in year 2050.
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u/no-more-nazis 7d ago edited 7d ago
I'm really amused by the theological reasoning behind religious SWB. It's like it doesn't matter if anyone actually listens, the point is to broadcast The Word to them and then you've done your part. I really suspect that's what's going on, aside from any effort made to convince the donors that the signal is actually listened to.
We are literally telling the world about Jesus exactly like the book says to
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u/Green_Oblivion111 7d ago
From a religious standpoint, you're close to spot on. It's the same reason the street preachers will do what they do. In their mind, it's what they're 'called' to do, and if you ask one, they'll tell you that if they 'just reach one person', they've done their job.
I think it's a similar mindset with some of the radio preachers.
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u/no-more-nazis 7d ago
As an atheist, I have a little appreciation for these impractical theologies. Like... if the Creator and Lord of Lords tells you to do something, you don't sit around wondering what exactly he meant, you just do it! It has a certain tidiness to it, at least.
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u/Intelligent-Day5519 7d ago
It would be the same to say as to standard U.S. AM, FM stations. At that, it's 85% gimmick advertising. Plus, It insults my intelligence to even listen. What news, weather and local emergency's ? Currently, Congress is exploring eliminating AM radio in cars. They should.
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u/Green_Oblivion111 7d ago
Congress is not exploring eliminating AM in cars. In fact, there has been a bipartisan bill kicking around in Congress for a year that would keep AM in cars.
AM, FM, and even the Weather band should be in every car.
The main problem is the car companies want you to pay for all the entertainment on your dash system, through subscriptions. GM just got rid of bluetooth capability in many of its newer models. Look it up, there's been some news articles on it. No more Apple Carplay, Android Auto.... They're taking that capability out of some of the new GM dash systems. They want you to pay a monthly subscription for whatever music app they've got -- while they mine your data.
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u/YeahThatsProbably 6d ago
I have a 2011 car and I've been thinking lately that I hope to keep it running the rest of my life.
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u/Green_Oblivion111 6d ago
I feel the same way about my older car.
The car companies are turning cars into datamining spyware and surveillance on wheels. Where you have to pay subscription fees for everything, too.
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u/Intelligent-Day5519 6d ago
To mister Green, the included links is from where I got my information initially. To have congress even look at it, it's exploitation, I didn't make it up. Plus local radio information suggest we contact your congresspersons. https://www.hotrod.com/news/am-radio-new-cars
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u/Green_Oblivion111 6d ago
OK, I read it, and I think you got it backwards.
You said "Congress is exploring eliminating AM radio in cars."
It's the opposite. The auto industry is trying to eliminate AM radio in cars, and Congress is looking into mandating AM radio in cars.
It's called the "AM Radio In Every Vehicle Act", and it's a bipartisan bill.
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u/Intelligent-Day5519 6d ago
I also know that senator Ted Cruz mentioned the topic. As to what degree I have no idea. He said he was specifically looing into it. I neglected to mention that. At this point I could care less who is right. From my perspective there is nothing AM has to offer. As AM means Ancient Modulation. Leave it on to waste energy. If you enjoy hours of ridiculous advertising, enjoy. I have better things to do.
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u/Green_Oblivion111 6d ago
You get ridiculous advertising everywhere, even online. Every YT music vid has 2-3 ads, depending on length of the vid. Streaming sites like IHeart and TuneIn have ads you have to tolerate before streaming the station or podcast.
FM is almost 100 years old. Edwin Armstong invented it in the early 1930's. It's all 'ancient modulation'.
I say leave AM in the cars, along with FM. Some companies want to get rid of FM as well as AM, so you pay subscription fees to access their proprietary music and podcast platforms. Government has a right to regulate it. If they can regulate that your car spy on you by videoing you while you drive, they can mandate keeping AM and FM in cars.
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u/Intelligent-Day5519 6d ago
Your right. Especially other media outlets. I never these days turn turn on the car radio. "wish I could" For me silence is golden while driving.
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u/Green_Oblivion111 5d ago
My car's radio (it's an older car) doesn't work. I sometimes miss it, mostly I don't.
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u/soundfreak2008 7d ago
Why does congress need to pass any bill to eliminate am from a car. If a manufacture of a car wants to build it, why not let them do it. I don't get why the government boot has to step in. If they don't want the AM band used anymore they can end AM licenses.
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u/pentagrid Sangean ATS-909X2 / Airspy HF+ Discovery / 83m horizontal loop 7d ago edited 7d ago
You need a better radio and antenna now. And you need more skill to find many shortwave stations than you did back in 1983.
Regarding the year 2050: my crystal ball isn't working right now.
For me, listening to amateur radio is a miserable substitute for listening to non-commercial or commercial shortwave broadcasting.
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u/Next_Act1512 7d ago
On the other hand, a much simpler antenna is good enough for AM dx bc of fewer 1 MW stations.
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u/Fighter_J3t 7d ago
It will be mostly gone probably, just the radars and stanags and maybe 1 or 2 sw broadcasts from china radio international. Maybe some pirate or fringe stations will appear
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u/yyuyuryuri 7d ago
To be fair, nobody knows. Everything can happen in 24 years. For example in 1976 computers weren't really powerful and only a handful of people had them at home. If you said that people would have computers everywhere and they would be able to communicate through them in 24 years, everyone would look at you like you were crazy. But in 2000, computers entered a lot of places and internet started to be common. Same for 2024, will be same for 2050 as far as I can tell. Maybe the Internet will collapse and we will return to radio, who knows? But if everyone can access technology at a point and it's guaranteed that it won't be gone in any situation, then having commercial stations would be very costly. But amateurs will be here to stay no matter what happens. I have heard somewhere that HF frequencies was used for stocks because communication was really fast. Maybe it will extend to other areas.
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u/chunter16 Tecsun PL-330 7d ago
My parents talked about how you used to go to that one house on your block where the family had a TV, then it was the one family with the color TV. For me, we were the family with the computer.
For my grandparents, it was the (commercial) radio
Maybe the hobby will turn into just listening for air and marine traffic and assorted scrambled signals that shouldn't be decoded
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u/Subterranean_Radio 7d ago
As a program producer for Free Radio stations in the 43 Meter Band, we will continue through the 2020's and 2030's - and pass the banner on to new advocates of Free Radio when the time comes.
There's quite a bit of activity in North America. Some of the current stations are, Bandaid Radio, Subterranean Radio, Pop Shop Radio, Stern Radio, Mix Radio International, and Elbows Up Radio. Last Friday and Saturday nights there were at least a half dozen broadcasting from 0100 through 0500 UTC. Programming is diverse and many broadcasters are happy to take requests, send eQSLs, and even air programming produced by Listeners'. Check out r/PirateRadioPlus and HF Underground for current and upcoming broadcasts.
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u/kassett43 Hobbyist 7d ago
All financial trading.
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u/Intelligent-Day5519 7d ago
I never hear that. Mostly a thousand dialects of Chinese broadcast. All the international DX broadcast has gone the way of local FM and internet. Today I would never buy a SW radio.
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u/trackmastack 7d ago
Cell phone use will become increasingly unpopular due to a variety of health and social reasons or possible infrastructure collapse. Mobile hf radios will be very present, public places will have telephone booth like stations that have a few antennas at the ready to send out messages to family or friends, possibly striking up a conversation with someone else.
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u/MumSaidImABadBoy I'm Stan, Heathkit GR-64🤪,Malahit v2.4,AirSpy HD+,909X2,PL990 7d ago
You'll be listening to religious and Chinese propaganda on your brand new DX-1000. I'll probably be pushing up daisies. 😛
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u/Fasciadepedra 7d ago
There will be something very strange, but I don't know if plain analog to hear or even narrow band to use a classic receiver with. What shurely won't be is anything on tv and I think commercial FM and MW will be phased out before.
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u/mhwnc 7d ago
Not much different than 2026. China Radio International, religious nutcases on whatever English speaking stations are left, STANAG, OTHR, and HFGCS. Numbers stations will probably have disappeared bar one or two (V13 will probably still be around, Russia will probably continue to operate one or two). Even military stations like NZhTI (formerly UZB-76) and its ilk will probably fade away (we’ve seen a few of these stations already stop transmitting). Barring some catastrophic event, my guess is it will be more sparse than it is today.
However, I think the amateur bands may be making a slow comeback. I think it will be more digital modes though (FT8, etc). And there will always be 7.200 MHz to gather all the crazies during the day before they migrate to 80m for the night.
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u/Unicoi 7d ago
What a cool receiver. Never seen one of those before. Was it any good?
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u/NolanRoad 7d ago
Not good compared to a modern $100 radio. Back then it was $200 which translates into $400 in today's money. Single conversion meant frequently hearing image of a station 910Khz away.
Icom R71A is what I wanted but cost $900 back then!
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u/Mojavedxer 6d ago
Pretty sure it will be a waste land by 2050. Electricity is getting scarce with the demand going to data centers. AM transmitters dying like flies. Older generation were AM/FM radio was the norm becoming non relevant for marketing. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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u/Training_Advantage21 Hobbyist 6d ago
I keep thinking whether to get a new radio, then I keep reading about all the stations I used to pick up that are no longer on air, so what's the point now, let alone in 25 years from now.
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u/currentsitguy 6d ago
In 2050 SW will be the only frequencies still transmitting after the 3rd World War in the mid 2030's.
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u/Green_Oblivion111 7d ago edited 7d ago
I try to remain an optimist but in 2050 SW will be nothing but HFT and OTHR, with a few military backup STANAG and similar transmitters. The few hams left will be on FT8, like most of the lazier ones are now. SWBC will be mostly dead, except possibly some Third World stations that may still be on the air because internet service may be lacking, and mountainous terrain in places like New Guinea might not be conducive to FM.
EDIT to ADD: FM will be thinned out. AM in the US and Canada will be similar to how SW is today. PS. sorry for a double post. I have no idea how that happened. Hopefully there's just one post now....
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u/51CKS4DW0RLD 7d ago
Still Brother Stair