Advantages of Shortwave Radios

Shortwave for Broadcasters

• Shortwave broadcasts allow a radio signal reach listeners at distances impossible for AM or FM radios. Shortwave signals, depending on atmospheric conditions, can reach as far as the other side of the world. Obviously, these signals cross international borders.

  Shortwave broadcasts have been used for decades for promoting a variety of agendas including religious views. The website of the Jeff Goss Ministry uses shortwave because they feel they can reach millions of a people with a single broadcast. This includes people who are not normally able to hear similar messages.

Shortwave to Learn a Language

• Shortwave radio broadcasts can be heard in almost every common language. According to Charles Lutcavage of Harvard University, this makes shortwave an ideal tool for learning new languages. Teachers are encouraged to record appropriate broadcasts to use in the classroom. The tape then becomes a tool to demonstrate the language in use. Recording news broadcasts combines teaching language with current events.

  The radio broadcasts themselves can be used as a learning tool for those trying to teach themselves a new language. Listeners can expand their vocabularies by listening to the broadcasts.

Following World Events

• Many news agencies broadcast their newscasts on shortwave radio bands. This allows a listener to receive news information from a variety of sources not available on local news sources. In some situations, broadcasts may initiate near the sources of far-flung global events. This allows the listener to receive more information, from broadcasters closer to the scene, than any other source.

  Shortwave also provides listeners a chance to hear the music and cultural sounds of regions of all parts of the globe. Listeners interested in the latest Asian music, for example, may be able to fine Asian shortwave stations and hear songs not available from other sources.

Utility Uses of Shortwave

• Accurate time broadcasts are a standard on shortwave radio bands. This was important in the days before GPS and the Internet and allowed navigators on ships and planes to synchronize their chronographs to the exact time. Weather information, both regional and worldwide, is also available on shortwave radio.