While mostly simulcasting its medium wave sister station CKGW in Toronto, it also aired the International Short Wave Listening Club, aimed at DXers. In 1930, VE9GW in Bowmanville, Ontario (near Toronto) went on the air as an experimental station. The station was often bombed by the Japanese. Established in 1939, 35-kilowatt Chinese shortwave station XGOY broadcast programming aimed at listening-restricted Japan. In some other countries, during the war, listening to foreign stations was a criminal offense. Zenith launched the multi-band Trans-Oceanic series of radios in 1942. Shortwave receiver manufacturers contributed to war production. While technically minded shortwave listening hobbyists dwindled during the war years due in part to the demands of military service, casual listeners seeking war news from foreign broadcasters increased. The Voice of America (or VOA) began broadcasting in 1942 after its entry into World War II using the Yankee Doodle musical theme. Radio Moscow was broadcasting on shortwave in English, French, German, Italian and Arabic by 1939. Its broadcasts were aimed principally at English speakers. The BBC began on shortwave as the "BBC Empire Service" in 1932. Germany, Italy, the Soviet Union, Britain, and many other countries soon followed, and some classic shortwave broadcasters got their start. In Europe, shortwave broadcasts from Britain and the Netherlands such as Philips Radio's PCJJ began around 1927. Shortwave stations often offered unique QSL cards for DXers. During the 1930s, new shortwave receivers appeared on the market as well as popular shortwave magazines and clubs. United States shortwave broadcasters began transmitting popular radio programs in an attempt to attract foreign audiences. The number of organized shortwave listening clubs has diminished along with printed magazines devoted to the hobby however, many enthusiasts continue to exchange information and news on the web. With the advent of the Internet, many international broadcasters have scaled back or terminated their shortwave transmissions in favor of web-based program distribution, while others are moving from traditional analog to digital broadcasting modes in order to allow more efficient delivery of shortwave programming. Many hobbyists also choose to use Software-defined radio receivers for their benefits over traditional radios. Listeners use inexpensive portable world band receivers to access the shortwave bands, and some advanced hobbyists employ specialized shortwave communications receivers featuring digital technology as well as Digital signal processing designed for optimum reception of shortwave signals, along with outdoor antennas to enhance performance. Shortwave listening was especially popular during times of international conflict such as World War II, the Korean War and the Persian Gulf War, and the BBC resumed transmission during 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Audiences discovered that international programming was available on the shortwave bands of many consumer radio receivers, and a number of magazines and listener clubs catering to the practice arose as a result. The practice of long-distance radio listening began in the 1920s when shortwave broadcasters were first established in the US and Europe. In 2002, the number of households that were capable of shortwave listening was estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. In some developing countries, shortwave listening enables remote communities to obtain regional programming traditionally provided by local medium wave AM broadcasters. Listeners range from casual users seeking international news and entertainment programming, to hobbyists immersed in the technical aspects of radio reception and collecting official confirmations ( QSL cards) that document their reception of distant broadcasts ( DXing). Shortwave listening, or SWLing, is the hobby of listening to shortwave radio broadcasts located on frequencies between 1700 kHz and 30 MHz.
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