Why can't all radios have shortwave built in?

[Fed Up]

For many years shortwave radio has been the gold standard for alternative news. I'm sure that radio manufacturers could add a shortwave band to a regular AM/FM radio for pennies, but they don't do it. (In cars too).

There is no reason I can think of why they don't.

Could it be that commercial stations have made it known for over 70 years that putting in a shortwave band would be bad for their business? That sounds conspiratorial, I know, but it just is baffling. (Do other countries do the same thing?)

Instead, they make you buy a specialty shortwave radio, and they aren't cheap. What a joke. What if they only sold radios that had either AM or FM, but not both? That would be a joke too.

Shortwave radio can be very welcome, especially after putting up with regular AM radio.

[shraby]

1. Didn't those old floor models in the 40s and 50s

have short wave? I used to listen with my friend to what we called "outer space" because they were foreign language stations.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. Which band? There are...

at least a dozen bands, and you need a looooong antenna to get a lot of the broadcasts.

Long ago, I saw a number of commercial radios with one or two SW bands, but people lost interest. The commercial market was pretty much left to Zenith and that huge thing, and a couple of European makes.

Under 50 bucks gets you 10 or more bands at Radio Shack. I hardly listen any more, because by the time I find something worth listening to, it's usually almost over.

FWIW, I used to be able to get SW TTY, and Radio Warsaw was a real hoot in the late '60s. Neanderthal technology back then, though, so you had to let everything print out. I hear TTY now sometimes, and it might be a hoot to see what it is. I vaguely remember some old computer setups to translate it, and there must be something out there now.

[Fed Up]

4. there is a lot of religious stations on SW, but not all of it.

I still wish SW would be in all cars as std. equipment, but you can't fight city hall.

[shawcomm]

3. Yeah, I've been wanting one for some time...

but a hundred bucks just for a radio? It's ridiculous.

I'll have to keep an eye on ebay. But, it's hard to find a deal there anymore. When ebay first started, you could find deals like at your local flea market or garage sales - good stuff that people didn't need or want anymore. Now, most want to make a ton of money, and usually hide in shipping charges. I'm going off on a tangent... sorry about that.

[thatgemguy]

5. I'd be happy

if they just put good AM sections in radio these days. AM radio is all but a second thought when it comes to manufacturing these days. Most AM radios made today have poor sensitivity, and adjacent signal rejection.

The FCC and radio manufacturers, and radio programmers have been out to destroy AM radio for years now. They have just about succeeded.

[Maria Celeste]

6. Its economics and physics

A decent antenna for some bands is larger than what will fit in a typical Walkman case. There is also no consumer demand for it, and that does drive what is commonly available. A good place to find affordable consumer shortwave and other things radio is ccrane.com