{"id":25582,"date":"2017-05-09T08:23:13","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T12:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=25582"},"modified":"2017-05-09T08:23:59","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T12:23:59","slug":"disappointment-when-the-power-comes-back-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/05\/disappointment-when-the-power-comes-back-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Disappointment when the power comes back on"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Richard Cuff, for sharing this column from The Athens News<\/a>. I’m sure many of us relate to Dennis E. Powell (note this is only an excerpt):<\/p>\n

\n

If you lose power at just the right time, it can enrichen your life<\/h1>\n

This is being written last Monday night.<\/p>\n

Several hours after the storms of earlier in the day passed, the sun shining, the birds singing, and all apparently right with the world, the electricity went out. Because there is no cellular telephone service in my part of the county, this necessitated a drive much of the way to Athens to register a report with the power company. The power company\u2019s outage report line is the first entry in my cellular phonebook.<\/p>\n

[…]The evening was (and as I write this, is) cool, with a bit of wind passing through the open windows, so there was no panic, as there is when the power disappears in the dead of winter or in the 100-degree summer \u2013 both of which I have experienced. But there was no fire to build, no need to think of a reason to drive to town for a few hours in some place air-conditioned.<\/p>\n

Instead, I remembered that just a few days ago I had pushed the battery-charge button on one of a couple shortwave radios I have around here, this one a decade-old C. Crane CC Radio SW. It has a big speaker and a pleasant sound, though it\u2019s not the sort of radio you get to dig faint signals out of the mud. It is just right for such an evening as this. So I brought it to the living room, extended its built-in antenna, and fired it up.<\/p>\n

Shortwave radio is like Forest Gump\u2019s mama\u2019s box of chocolates, and that\u2019s part of its appeal. Poking around the dial I find some Ohio shortwave amateurs putting on a bit of a panel show, passing the mic metaphorically from one to another. Because they are shortwave amateurs, all they talk about was their shortwave equipment.<\/p>\n

The power is out all over the neighborhood, so there is not a single static scratch, no 60-Hz whine of interference. And the ionosphere seems stable, no fading in and out of signals.<\/p>\n

Heading up the dial, I find a station in accented but easily understood English. I have to listen for a while before I learn that I am listening to Radio Romania International. That broadcast ended, so I retune and find a cranky man and a cranky woman who are discussing how awful things are and how the only thing you can count on is gold.<\/p>\n

Moving along, I find an impassioned man with a deep Southern accent. He, too, is discussing how awful things are \u2013 and how they soon will be especially awful for those who put their trust in gold or other things of this world.<\/p>\n

There is a broadcast from somewhere \u2013 from the accents I\u2019d guess the Caribbean or Africa \u2013 that features a man and woman talking spiritedly and sweetly about English idioms.<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m listening to the Argentine national shortwave service, which had a talk program in English though they\u2019ve switched to Argentine music.<\/p>\n

[…]I do hope the power comes back. Just not tonight. Tomorrow, maybe. Or the next day.<\/p>\n

(Note: Just as I set this to email itself eventually to the Athens NEWS, minutes after I was done writing, the power came back on. And it really was a little disappointing.)<\/p>\n

Read this full story via The Athens News online…<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, for sharing this column from The Athens News. I’m sure many of us relate to Dennis E. Powell (note this is only an excerpt): If you lose power at just the right time, it can enrichen your life This is being written last Monday night. Several hours […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,3,43],"tags":[6184,190,4089,453,1012,34],"class_list":["post-25582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-athens-news","tag-ccrane","tag-qrm","tag-rfi","tag-richard-cuff","tag-shortwave"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-6EC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59082,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/eton-elite-executive-on-sale-for-150\/","url_meta":{"origin":25582,"position":0},"title":"Eton Elite Executive on sale for $150","author":"Thomas","date":"February 24, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, who notes that the Eton Elite Executive shortwave portable is on sale via LifeHacker for $150. Click here to check it out!","rel":"","context":"In "Deals"","block_context":{"text":"Deals","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/deals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Elite-Executive.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Elite-Executive.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Elite-Executive.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63613,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/08\/old-school-static-wins-the-spy-wars\/","url_meta":{"origin":25582,"position":1},"title":"“Old-school static wins the spy wars”","author":"Thomas","date":"August 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Richard Cuff, who shares this Komando.com piece on how old-school shortwave number stations remain active in espionage. Intelligence services \u2014 notably Russia \u2014 still send coded beeps and voice-read numbers using one-time pads because radio is simple, anonymous, and hard to trace. Sure, we\u2019re\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/SWLingPost-Numbers1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/SWLingPost-Numbers1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/SWLingPost-Numbers1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24528,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/shortwave-shindig-rebroadcast-via-wrmi-tonight\/","url_meta":{"origin":25582,"position":2},"title":"Shortwave Shindig rebroadcast via WRMI tonight!","author":"Thomas","date":"March 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, for sharing the following details: Repeat shortwave airing of the Shortwave Shindig on WRMI -- Saturday 3\/11 0300 UTC, same time as last week; same frequencies (9395 aimed north, 6855 aimed west). Thanks to David Goren and Jeff White for arranging this!!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/DavidGoren-Shortwave-Shindig.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/DavidGoren-Shortwave-Shindig.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/DavidGoren-Shortwave-Shindig.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/DavidGoren-Shortwave-Shindig.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":34257,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/09\/shortwave-radio-evolves-into-an-iot-network\/","url_meta":{"origin":25582,"position":3},"title":"“Shortwave radio evolves into an IoT network”","author":"Thomas","date":"September 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source:\u00a0Maritime Digitalisation & Communications via Richard Cuff) KNL Networks is building a mesh network of base stations on ships for securely transmitting operational and machinery data to shore Shortwave radio can be used for data transmissions from ships to shore and between vessels as an alternative, or even complementary, service\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Spectrum-Digital-Modes-1024x486.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Spectrum-Digital-Modes-1024x486.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Spectrum-Digital-Modes-1024x486.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65200,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/rfa-to-resume-broadcasts-to-north-korea\/","url_meta":{"origin":25582,"position":4},"title":"RFA to resume broadcasts to North Korea","author":"Thomas","date":"January 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Richard Cuff, who highlights a recent Reuters report on Radio Free Asia\u2019s plans to resume Korean-language broadcasts aimed at reaching listeners in North Korea after a period of reduced operations. Radio Free Asia intends to restart weekly radio programming later this month alongside its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/RFA-Radio-Free-Asia-Microphone.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":59401,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/04\/registration-for-the-2024-winter-swl-fest-is-now-available\/","url_meta":{"origin":25582,"position":5},"title":"Registration for the 2024 “Winter SWL Fest” is now available!","author":"Thomas","date":"April 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, who shares the following announcement: Registration for the 2024 \"Winter SWL Fest\" is now available! The Fest will be May 10th & 11th, 2024. The Fest will be a combination in-person and Zoom event, and will be held at the Holiday Inn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/DavidGoren-and-Richard-Cuff-Shindig.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/DavidGoren-and-Richard-Cuff-Shindig.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/DavidGoren-and-Richard-Cuff-Shindig.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/DavidGoren-and-Richard-Cuff-Shindig.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/DavidGoren-and-Richard-Cuff-Shindig.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}