While conventional radio listening has become somewhat passe, there are advantages to getting your audio entertainment over the airwaves rather than streaming services.
With the rise of podcasting, more and more broadcast stations, audio content producers, and audio content enthusiasts have been abandoning the traditional airwaves for digitally distributed, downloadable content. Gone are the days of turning the dial to your favorite program just as it was about to air and lay back while you take in the story.
But there’s still a wide world of incredible entertainment that can only be found by turning to your radio. Here are the best ways to enjoy it without an internet connection, whether that be a traditional AM/FM, a make-it-yourself ham radio, or no Wi-Fi apps.
Build Your Own Ham Radio
An amateur radio, often called “ham” radio, isn’t a different device that uses entirely different wavelengths to transmit sound than an AM/FM frequency. It simply refers to shortwave radio, often built or modified by the user. Users will find parts that you can find at Moonraker UK to build systems that receive and transmit non-commercial communications.
While amateur users use FM or Frequency Modulation stations, they also use something called SSB, or single sideband. This option may be for tech savants only, but if you enjoy the ins and outs of broadcasting technology, ham radio is for you.
Regular AM/FM
Everyone used to have them in their kitchens or laundry rooms, but now it seems like you hardly see AM/FM radios outside of cars. That said, sales of AM/FM receivers have “stabilized,” according to the Consumer Technology Association.
That means the appetite for entertainment broadcast live over the airwaves is not declining or even perishing. People are returning to the terrestrial broadcast side of the entertainment industry, and they’re there to stay.
AM/FM channels have much more than just music and sports – there are talk shows, broadcast dramas, investigative series, and more. You can even broadcast your own programs if you know your way around a radio set.
Offline No Wi-Fi Radio Apps
Given that radio reaches 67 percent of listeners per week in the UK, it’s essential to know how you can access it without using the internet.
Smartphones can stream, download, and share any podcast or audio drama, so why bother keeping up with what’s on the air? Because you can! Not only can most smartphones, iPhone or Android, use FM by downloading a simple app, but you can also use it while offline.
The best part about using FM on your phone is that it makes the broadcast stations portable. Phone carriers have to build phones with FM capabilities in case of an emergency. But that means you can stream entertainment and music without using data.
Radio on the Go
Radio is good for many things – entertainment, communication, and alerting the public to important information. Make sure your setup is ready to go, internet connection or not.