Victor Goonetilleke has kindly shared a passage he recently posted to Facebook. Victor pretty much sums up why I still listen to the shortwaves:
“For almost four score and 5 I enjoyed shortwave radio. Yes I was a DXer, and a dedicated listener. The thousands of hours of broadcasts I listened from the BBC, VOA, RNW, DW, RFI, Swiss Radio, NHK and many more of the international broadcasters influenced me over the years. The knowledge I gathered was transferred to hundreds of homes as I taught my students in class rooms and as a lecturer too in higher Colleges, in many social gatherings, day to day conversations with important people and everyday folks, what I gathered from my radio made them realize that there was a story out there.
And as the years went by one by one those stations started to go away and I became more and more a DXer and finally I have only those signals to bring me joy.
Tonight would you blame me for being a DXer, abandoned by the international broadcasters, if I sit back and enjoy this music through the crackle of shortwave and happy that I have a radio which few seems to understand these days.”
You can listen to the recording Victor made by clicking here: https://app.box.com/s/tcryw2ymt38gz8y6zaw4
I would also encourage you to read Victor’s guest commentary on BBG Watch which was prompted by the BBG pulling the (shortwave) plug on much of Asia.
Finally, in 2003, Jonathan Marks interviewed Victor Goonetilleke; you can watch the full interview below:
Visit with Victor Goonetilleke 2003 from Jonathan Marks on Vimeo.
Interesting to hear what Victor says about the future of DRM in 2003. It is about 8 minutes into the interview as I recall. People will not buy a separate digital receiver.
Great post – thank you. I followed up to the BBG Watch site and read his piece as well as several others, all very good.
I am having one of those moments where you feel as though you must be in an alternate universe where everything is turned upside down, and nothing is as it should be. How can governments, my own especially, not realize the value of shortwave radio to the world?
I read the report concerning the supposed “drop” in SW listening – how can they really know that? In countries where it is not allowed or dangerous, who is going to respond? And how? Send an Email? Answer a call from their local survey telemarketer? Use their cell phone?
C’mon. people! The folks who need it most are the ones who are not able to tell you!
Amazing that China gets it and we in America, or England, Germany, even Russia, do not.
Maybe I really am in an alternate universe – that’s why the signals aren’t coming in anymore . . . .
Robert Gulley AK3Q
Great post – thank you. I followed up to the BBG Watch site and read his piece as well as several others, all very good.
I am having one of those moments where you feel as though you must be in an alternate universe where everything is turned upside down, and nothing is as it should be. How can governments, ,y own especially, not realize the value of shortwave radio to the world?
I read the report concerning the supposed “drop” in SW listening – how can they really know that? In countries where it is not allowed or dangerous, who is going to respond? And how> Send an Email? Answer a call from their local survey telemarketer? Use their cell phone?
C’mon. people! The folks who need it most are the ones who are not able to tell you!
Amazing that China gets it and we in America, or England, Germany, even Russia, do not.
Maybe I really am in an alternate universe – that’s why the signals aren’t coming in anymore . . . .
Robert Gulley AK3Q
I have to mention that I have not actually met Victor but I have talked to him via email just this year and he went out of his way to help me fill out my first QSL report and yes , maybe I did write him a ton of replies back to make sure I was doing everything correctly.
Instead of giving up on helping me due to being a newbie , he went out of his way to email me the information I needed and basically put up with a ton of questions from me that most folks would have probably just stopped responding all together.
I was happy to see him spotlighted here today as he has helped me out greatly and passed some of his wisdom on when most would have just got frustrated and gave up.
Tom
Tom: You’re right–Victor is a very good man. Thanks for your comment!