Another 'best radio' question

[Basnya]

Finally got myself a place with enough land, elevation and distance away from electrical interference to put up pretty much any type of antenna I want. I plan on at least a 100' longwire for starters.

What to connect that longwire to is a bit of a question. I understand that the Grundig / Eton radios are held in fairly high regard but I was looking for something more along the lines of a desktop receiver and not a portable. I really like the ICOM R-75 but am discouraged by the price. New they are out of my price range. Used they can still bring over $400. While this isn't totally out of my radio budget I was wondering if there are any other receivers that should be considered.

Also, what is the opinion on Sony receivers? I have extensive experience with Sony BCB equipment and have been consistently disappointed in them. I have yet to use any type of Sony that wasn't deaf as a post.

As an example: I live about 100 miles from Las Vegas. Often I will listen to 97.1 KXPT. I have a no-name, mono cassette-corder with a 12-inch antenna does a passable job of pulling in the signal. None of the Sony receivers (mostly older boom boxes) have been able to hear this station.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[cd637299]

I only own enough land for a double wide mobile home, but.....

I'd recommend, first and foremost, any good radio that is either analog, OR a digital that goes in 1 kHz steps, just in case you hear outside the Americas (or St. Kitts AM 555 in the Caribbean). I do not know your location, but that would be a starter!

Hamfests, pawn shops, garage sales, flea markets, etc. just might have a cheaply priced radio to fit the bill---buyer beware, of course. I used to own a Yaesu FRG 7700 but it gave up the ghost about 8 years ago. Loved that radio! From FL, I was able to bag the former AM 1593 in Germany (had to be---it couldn't have been English).

Any further posts can help ya more'n I can.

cd

 

[Darth_vader]

Regarding Sony receivers, the XDR-F1HD's mediumwave section is okay, but could use improvement. As far as casual DX listening is concerned I can pull in CBU, CKMX, KBOI, KIRO, KOMO and KTNN (when it's not fighting with the talker from Alberta) with it regularly, often aided by a Selectatenna, but I wouldn't rely solely upon the F1HD for serious MW DX work. I often use my Yacht Boy 400PE for

Of course you probably know the verdict on its analogue VHF section---hook it up to the longwire when there's a really good tropo opening! You might be able to pull in KXPT like it's a local station even when there's no major ionospheric event.

 

[LibertyNT]

I would nominate the Grundig Satellit 750.
Sure its a portable, but doesn't have to be.
I have it, and I've found it to a be a darned good radio.
USB/LSB
LW/MW/SW/FM/AIR
Signal Meter (an actual meter!)
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3523699

 

[Basnya]

Thanks for the input! I'm not much into VHF, more of an HF and MW guy. I've looked at a few 'DC to Daylight' receivers and been unimpressed. Kind of hard to find one radio that does everything well. Not to worry, there is plenty of room in my shack and I'm sure it will be filled with all manner of equipment before very long!

 

[kilokat7]

Finally got myself a place with enough land, elevation and distance away from electrical interference to put up pretty much any type of antenna I want. I plan on at least a 100' longwire for starters.

What to connect that longwire to is a bit of a question. I understand that the Grundig / Eton radios are held in fairly high regard but I was looking for something more along the lines of a desktop receiver and not a portable. I really like the ICOM R-75 but am discouraged by the price. New they are out of my price range. Used they can still bring over $400. While this isn't totally out of my radio budget I was wondering if there are any other receivers that should be considered.

Also, what is the opinion on Sony receivers? I have extensive experience with Sony BCB equipment and have been consistently disappointed in them. I have yet to use any type of Sony that wasn't deaf as a post.

As an example: I live about 100 miles from Las Vegas. Often I will listen to 97.1 KXPT. I have a no-name, mono cassette-corder with a 12-inch antenna does a passable job of pulling in the signal. None of the Sony receivers (mostly older boom boxes) have been able to hear this station.

Any advice is appreciated.

It sounds like you have a great area to put up some serious outside antennas - awesome! As such, I would probably stay clear of a portable (most are prone to overloading with a large antenna) and focus on a good communications receiver that would take advantage of both medium wave and short wave since you mentioned an interest in those two areas. The Icom R75 seems like a natural choice, or perhaps a good used Icom R-71A or Kenwood R-2000 might be more in your price range and still offer good performance.

Have fun and keep us posted on the progress of your station.

 

[Bongwater]

I still swear by classic Australian AWA Radiola portables.

 

[ddsparxx]

For desktop receivers that cost about as same as the Icom R75 or less, I think that a good used Palstar R30 series or even a used Yaesu FRG-7 would do. I read positive things about the FRG-7 but it has only one bandwidth filter...

 

[ddsparxx]

This thread reminds me of desktop communicators receivers I've seen on Universal Radio's catalogs and shortwave radio books many years ago. I always wanted one of these but were not affordable at that time. I finally got a real receiver last year--a used Japan Radio NRD-515 though its price is significantly higher than the R75. I have heard the UK's 1215 with that receiver as well as a graveyarder over 600 miles away at night. (I used a powered AM loop antenna).

What if this radio stops working? I know--like cd said--buyer beware--but I am having no problems with this radio.

 

[BMR]

. I have heard the UK's 1215 with that receiver

Impressive. You might want to try for 1440 from Luxembourg, which is higher powered but further away.

Assuming you don't have any local stations on that channel, of course.

 

[radioman148]

. I have heard the UK's 1215 with that receiver

Impressive. You might want to try for 1440 from Luxembourg, which is higher powered but further away.

Assuming you don't have any local stations on that channel, of course.

I have tried for 1440 Luxembourg for years, but with no luck here in the midwest. Anyone stateside ever hear it?

 

[ddsparxx]

Impressive. You might want to try for 1440 from Luxembourg, which is higher powered but further away.

Assuming you don't have any local stations on that channel, of course.

I have never been able to get Luxembourg's 1440. Instead, I get WHKZ in Ohio here in Virginia and maybe couple of other US stations at the same time during the night.

 

[Basnya]

Update:

Got the antenna installed. 120 feet of bare stranded copper wire running from the house to the field, averages about 30 feet above the earth. Ran a separate ground rod to help keep things quiet. For lead-in wire I went with 300-ohm twin lead because that is what I had a lot of laying around.

The radio: I'm still looking for a decent tabletop receiver that won't break the bank. In the meantime I happened upon an old DX-100 at a local thrift store. Yes I know it's basically a toy, but for five bucks I couldn't go wrong.

Attaching the radio to that massive wire has yielded some interesting results. No problems hearing Moscow, Taiwan, London, Australia or New Zealand. I don't speak Spanish and the dial readout on the DX -100 is dodgy at best so I don't know the exact frequency of those Spanish stations (making it difficult to ID them) but overall that little radio does a decent job... at least on the SW bands.

MW on the other hand is a bit of a problem. I know it's just a cheap radio but shouldn't I be able to hear WLW or WLS at night? Nothing. Not even static. On the lower frequencies of the BCB I can't hear a thing. Above 1000 KHz it's not bad but under that it's deaf as a post.

Still, I'm having a lot of fun with it and looking forward toward a 'real' radio...

 

[Tincap]

If you can find a Sangean ATS803-A / Realistic DX440, I can certainly recommend it.

I have the DX-440 and it's a good little MW DX machine. I'm not an expert, so I don't know how it stacks up against the high end units, but I've bagged a lot of TA DX with it, from my location in eastern Ontario, including Radio Farda...on its internal antenna. I bought mine new, back in the late '80's, but I believe kilokat7 picked his up for about ten bucks...O><O

~BG

 

[kilokat7]

I can attest to the performance of a DX-440 as I've also bagged a lot of trans-atlantic DX with mine, my most exotic catch was hearing TWR broadcasting from Benin, Africa on 1566 khz (captured enough audio to score a QSL card too). This was with an external antenna hooked up though. I've also heard a few different longwave broadcasters with it, barefoot, when LW conditions are extremely good. I hardly use it now since purchasing an SDR last year, but it's always nice to have a good backup around.

 

[carmen]

yeah dx-440 is probably "Best Radio for $20 on ebay" . S/N really couldnt hang with a SONY 7600GR though, especially on higher bands. speaker doesn't produce much bass, even on external speaker.

i'd get a softrock+si570 or soft66 SDR, if you have a 98 dollar budget. maybe a NetSDR if your budget is 15 times that

 

[MarioMania]

yeah dx-440 is probably "Best Radio for $20 on ebay" . S/N really couldnt hang with a SONY 7600GR though, especially on higher bands. speaker doesn't produce much bass, even on external speaker.

i'd get a softrock+si570 or soft66 SDR, if you have a 98 dollar budget. maybe a NetSDR if your budget is 15 times that

Where did you get $20??

I see it on ebay going like $40-$50

 

[cd637299]

yeah dx-440 is probably "Best Radio for $20 on ebay" . S/N really couldnt hang with a SONY 7600GR though, especially on higher bands. speaker doesn't produce much bass, even on external speaker.

i'd get a softrock+si570 or soft66 SDR, if you have a 98 dollar budget. maybe a NetSDR if your budget is 15 times that

Where did you get $20??

I see it on ebay going like $40-$50

Either patience, or you really have to save up. A $20 FM radio, unless you got one at a garage sale or flea market, just won't cut it....

cd

 

[carmen]

newly listed Buyitnow, grandma finds it in a closet, puts it on ebay for 20 dollars. or a hamfest. see yacht boy 400s for 25 dollars on CL all the time, which is a comparable radio. normal ebay auction prices get ridiculous. ppl pay hundreds for vintage Sony or Panasonic when a 40 dollar tecsun has way better selectivity and isnt plagued with electrolytic-related failure

 

[Darth_vader]

"I see Yacht Boy 400s for $25 on CL all the time. It's a comparable radio."

About seven years ago I paid approximately $160 for my 400PE at Rat $hack. And it was the display model, yet!

Jeeze, now I really feel ripped off.