The magic of an internet radio delivers the world

Below is this week's INM Irish regional newspaper column.

Michael Commane
When I was a child, probably 12 or 13, I would often spend hours changing the dial on the radio in search of far away stations.

Back in the 1960s our radio at home had medium, long and short wave bands. With the exception of the then Radio Éireann the majority of other stations came in as a blur.

The reception on Radio Luxembourg was quite clear on the long wave and for some strange reason I found myself often listening to Radio Moscow.

It was a question of trying to pick up stations in far off places. Occasionally I managed to tune in to Vatican Radio.

I can still remember sometime in the early 1970s being able to pick up BBC Radio 4 via the TV cable that came into the house. It was magic.

Over the years there was the gradual move to VHF or FM radio. Today RTE has disappeared from the medium wave.

Indeed, there are parts of the country where one needs an outside aerial to receive RTE Radio on the FM band.

Last Saturday I bought an internet radio. It has to be the best toy I have ever purchased. It is an amazing machine. But is the accompanying manual difficult to follow. Who writes these things?

So far I have tuned in to about six or seven stations. Every one of them is as clear as a bell.

I have no idea how it works. In order to have an internet radio one has to have wifi connectivity. Yes, of course you can download an app on your smart phone and pick up stations anywhere around the world.

But there is something about having a radio beside your bed that you can tune into any station in the world. It even has an old fashioned dial on it.

I lived in Berlin in the mid 1980s and these nights I can hear about traffic jams in Tegel or Steglitz or I can tune in to Radio Kerry and listen to what’s happening in Abbeydorney.

What must it be like for Irish people living in Sydney or Quebec, who can tune in to RTE and hear those familiar voices and accents? It really is modern magic.
Yes, I imagine most Irish people living away from home are skyping. But it must be an amazing relief, especially for parents, to be in touch with their children via Skype.

I can recall living in Rome in the mid 1970s, no cheap flights home, not even a direct telephone link to Ireland. Is there such an ailment as homesickness these days? Certainly it can’t be as extreme as in days of old.

Having the world of radio on your ‘wonder machine’ allows one to listen to BBC Radio 4 on a Sunday morning when they have the most interesting of religious programmes. I recently heard an interview with the former Chief Rabbi in England, Jonathan Sacks. In that programme he said that he was against gay marriage but quickly added that he would prefer to say nothing about the subject out of respect for all the homosexuals who were tortured and murdered by the Nazis.

On Sunday night I was able to listen to the German election results as they came in. I could even tune in to the local station in Berlin and hear who the new parliamentarians were in the district in which I lived.

I'm still not too familiar with the hi tech of the ‘wonder machine’ but so far I have not tuned in to Radio Moscow, although I do intend doing so.

And just the other evening I was trying to pick up Vatican Radio, but believe it or not, in spite of the dial showing the words ‘Radio Vatican’ nothing was to be heard.

I wonder is there some sort of parable in that for me?