Does anyone enjoy shortwave radio?

[BlackVelvetElvis]

I bought my first one today (as a graduation present to myself) because I have been wanting one for over 25 years.
As a kid, I loved scanning the AM dial to see what stations I could receive. The further away they were, the more exciting. My parents didn't have alot of extra money, so I wouldn't dare ask them to buy me a shortwave radio.
Anyway, I bought a fairly cheap Grundig S350 this afternoon. The first thing I got was a Spanish-speaking "numbers station". That whole concept is fascinating to me anyway (they are believed to be spy agencies transmitting in code).
After it got dark, things got interesting. I found Radio Cuba (nothing particularly new, news-wise), a station in Taiwan teaching you how to speak Chinese, and alot of French and Spanish speaking stations.
The best part was listening in on two Ham radio operators near me. Imagine the most stereotypical redneck southern voice you can. They were drinking shots and discussing snorting crushed Xanax and taking Oxycotin (which they called "Hillbilly Heroin")in the same manner. They sure talked about drugs alot and every other word was shit and damn. They both denied doing the stuff to each other but one admitted that he had a bottle of it that they rarely touched.
A sample paraphrased:

"Damn, I knew a feller who could take about 20 of the blue ones and the damn shit wouldn't even touch'im. He used to crush them under his cigarette lighter and snort em up."
"I knew a guy who took that damn shit and he got hooked. 'Hell', I says to him, 'Thats what they give you when yer goin' out of this damn world!' "
"Hell, I got a bottle of that damn stuff on the counter here. I won't touch it; its called Hillbilly Heroin. Thats what they give you on your damn way out"

Basically, it was a one-up'em contest. Then it got boring when one started to discuss the size of his antenna....no joke.

Anyway, so far, alot of fun to listen to. Worth the $80 investment.

[Theduckno2]

1. Haven't listened lately, but I do appreciate international news broadcasts.

I have a Grundig YB 400PE and when listening, I am tuned into Radio Japan, Radio China etc.

I have found the following link useful for English broadcasts.

http://www.primetimeshortwave.com/

I am sure if you poke around the DU you will find many who are far more knowledgable of shortwave than I, but happy listening anyway.

[Redstone]

2. I got one last year, and it's damn fascinating to listen to.

Redstone