Maritime communications are either some digital modes or occasional SSB. 
The CW stations which once filled the 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 and 22 MHz bands 
are down to a couple I hear from South Korea.  This is really sad.  I wish I 
had recordings of some of those stations I heard when I was a kid.  That was 
great code practice, and some rare DX could sometimes be heard.

The statement about the BBC, VOA and Radio Moscow being off the air was not 
really correct.  Radio Moscow now calls itself the Voice of Russia.  These 
stations, along with most of the other European stations, are no longer 
broadcasting to North America, Europe, or other areas where the internet is 
widely available.  Many government stations put their programming onto FM 
stations in the target countries.  So shortwave broadcasts are mostly 
targeted to parts of Latin America (this is decreasing, also), Africa, Asia 
and the Pacific.  Big broadcasters include nations which want to distribute 
a lot of propaganda, such as Iran, Cuba, and China.  Compared to the past, 
many relays are used, so you need to check broadcasters' schedules or 
websites to determine where a signal is coming from.  Many countries' 
stations are completely off the air, including the CBC (Canada), 
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Portugal and Italy.

There are several good websites for frequency information.  One I like these 
days is www.short-wave.info.  Another is www.hfcc.org .
73,  Lloyd, W3IUU

-----Original Message----- 
From: Zach Shifflett
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 9:25 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Danny's June 27 comments on the small portable SSB capable 
shortwave radio thread.

Hey all,
This disgussion has been great.  I'm glad my newbie questions inspired
such an informative pow wow.
I guess I might hold off on buying a receiver for now, as it sounds
like there's not much to hear.  I guess I'll just have to wait till I
get an hf transceiver, then I can receive the short wave stuff, along
with my over the air cw practice with that.
I'm surprised that bbc doesn't still have a sw station operating, as I
thought they did.
73s to all,
Zach, kk4ruz
...