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Looking for a good Short Wave radio

M

Mid West Clubber

Guest
Does anyone know what would be the best shortwave radio I could get for under 150 dollars or so.... Should I go Digital or analong,,, Portable or stationary... I wouldnt mind having one that received both SW bands as well as Long Wave,,, but it dont have to have Long Wave... I know most will have AM and FM as well, which is fine, but if I could get just Shortwave for a fair price and a great radio, that would be fine... I mainly try to listen in on Pirates and Numkbers stations, as well as stuff like VOA BBC, AFN, and BFBS..... I know those are very hard to receive on radios that arent super sensitive, so i would like the most Sensitive one I could get at a fair price.. I saw a Crank Radio with all bands for 80 bucks, but it was analog and im iffy about a crank Shortwave radio especially at that price... Amazon had a nice Sony with Both SW bands, MW, LW, and FM, it was 130 dollars.... Do you guys have any suggestions, I want a good radio, not a paper weight that I cant hear anything on............THANKS.
 
If you have no interest in FM, then the Sony ICF-SW7600GR is a very good receiver for LW, MW and SW bands. Probably the best in that price range. It has selectable SSB and a number of other goodies that are great in those bands. It's fully digital.

The two drawbacks are:

1) To tune around, you only have up and down buttons which are awkward. So, you end up chuffing through the frequencies which I tend to think ruins the fun.

2) The reception on FM isn't that good. Pretty mediocre rejection of local signals and only so-so selectivity. So, if you want to dx FM stations with it, it's not the best. Not horrible, but not the best.

If either of those things are issues for you, I'd recommend the Grundig G5 or it's cousin (not twin) the Kaito KA-1103. Both are analog radios with digital readouts. Reception is about equal on both; the G5 is easier to use, the KA-1103 is quirky but cheaper. I have more fun with these than with the Sony; however, the Sony is the radio I used to catch KOA from Philadelphia in '06 and I don't know that the Grundig or Kaito models could have.

I'd recommend looking into all three. The CCRadio SW is really sensitive too, but has no SSB - which is a big drawback. You would have to buy a converter.

All of the above are available for under $150. The Kaito can be had for $99.
 
The audio on the 7600GR is tinny and fatiguing to me, but good AM, SW, SSB.

If the radio doesn't have to be small and you don't need SSB, I'd go with the CCradio SW. Great AM, good FM and good sound.
 
Thanks for the advice guys... Pardon my stupidity,, but I dont know what SSB is, and I dont really need long wave in the US, unless I wanted to DX European News stations,,, I am mainly interested in the AM side of Shortwave,, around the 6925 and 6950 range, these are the frequencys usually used by the amature pirates, like WMPR,, which is a Dance music station that has been heard very strongly in the Midwest USA, but also heard in Europe and beyond... My buddy occassionally uses 6925 for his station, but he only comes on about once a month or so, usually for just 30 minutes up to 2 hrs... I would like it to be portable and easy to use so I can DX when camping, it doesnt have to be super small,,, good sensitivity is most priority.. Like I said,,, I want a very sensitive SW radio, but AM-FM I have a great portable Panasonic from the 80s that DXes about as good as a car radio....

Since im into music, and English Language World News.. more than Foreign talk, will I be able to DX AFN, BFBS, VOA, ETC... Does BBC still broadcast Radio 1 and World Service on SW or has that ceased???? I know I can get all the above online except for AFN and the Pirates, but I cant plug my PC into a tree if im camping out in the Woods, and those Laptop cards are hit or miss or remote wooded area's,,, plus a SW radio is free to use after purchase,, no subscrition,,, plus lots of fun surprises. Im not the picky about sound, since I figure most the stations I DX will have lots of static crashes and Deep Fades anyway,, not to mention Lightning all over the band in summer.
 
Universal Radio has YB400PE for 79.98 if you want a deal on a shortwave radio. These are reconditioned recievers and for 79.98 this is the best deal you can buy on a Short Wave reciever at this price.

If you want to buy the top of the line and have 400-500 dollars pick yourself up a Eton E1 without it being XM ready. Or if you want it XM ready they have Eton E1's with it being XM ready.
 
Many pirates broadcast in SSB- so that's something to consider. I personally would go with the Sony or the Grundig.
 
Most pirates I know of use AM SW,, but I would like to have SSB just in case I can find new pirates,,, plus I wouldnt mind listening to the Hams as well. Thanks guys,,, im kinda split between the Grundig and the Sony and even the YB400pe... I think im gonna need a digital so I can park on certain frequencys and wait for the pirates to come on, or wait for the international to start coming in,,, the weak ones are hard to find by accident... Also is their any online SW Directorys like their are for FM???? And do you guys know what freqs to pick up the Millitary stations on...AKA AFN and BFBS?????? Maybe I should by 2 or 3 radios and give them a week or so, and keep the one im most happy with.
 
Any of the radios mentioned here allow you to directly access a frequency and park on it, except the CCRadio SW. The G5/KA-1103 models have an analog tuner (inside) but with digital readout and tuning ability. It's an excellent tuner that's offers the best of both worlds; seamless tuning with the ability to punch in a frequency and to store frequencies. Very nice. And, basically no drift either.

The CCrane SW does not have the direct tuning ability - it's totally analog. So you have to tune up and down the old fashioned way even though the readout is digital. The Sony and the YB-400PE, on the other hand, are totally digital. Frankly, I find tuning on the last two to be cumbersome because either you do a "seek" and miss a lot of weak signals or it's push, push, push. The YB-400PE is particularly annoying for tuning around because of it's audio "chuffing" as you go through the bands. It's fatiguing. But, otherwise, it's a good receiver too. No longer made, so you have to buy a used (reconditioned) one.

I would strongly recommend going with the SSB, as not only hams use it but others such as Armed Forces Radio, trans-oceanic aviation flight control (that's fun), aviation weather stations, some pirates, and some clandestine stations. Broadcasting by SSB provides a wider range with less power. Basically I no longer use my SW radios that don't have SSB because the stuff on SSB is the most interesting.

About the BBC, they've cut back and no longer broadcast their World Service to North America. It's out there and I've gotten it on SW. The best place to catch it is via their station in Antigua that broadcasts to South America (check their website for frequencies) or by just tuning around. You can still hear one of the Asian or African frequencies when conditions are right. I know I have.

If I have to make an endorsement here, I'd say that the Grundig G5 is the best in this price range. It's portable (the E1 is a little big and expensive), offers excellent performance, and is very user friendly. You can punch in a frequency directly or use the dial to scan the bands - with absolutely no "chuffing" to bother your ears. Also, it's FM tuner is excellent. Very sensitive and selective. So, with it you get the best of all worlds. Also, it will recharge your batteries for you, saving some extra coin. If I have to go somewhere out of the way where I want to do some dxing - that's the set I bring because it's good at everything.

Also, I don't get that hung up on speaker sound because I tend to use headphones to listen. That way, you get FM stereo. If you don't like the speaker, you can always use auxiliary speakers via the line out or headphone jacks.
 
Mid West Clubber said:
Most pirates I know of use AM SW,, but I would like to have SSB just in case I can find new pirates,,, plus I wouldnt mind listening to the Hams as well. Thanks guys,,, im kinda split between the Grundig and the Sony and even the YB400pe... I think im gonna need a digital so I can park on certain frequencys and wait for the pirates to come on, or wait for the international to start coming in,,, the weak ones are hard to find by accident... Also is their any online SW Directorys like their are for FM???? And do you guys know what freqs to pick up the Millitary stations on...AKA AFN and BFBS?????? Maybe I should by 2 or 3 radios and give them a week or so, and keep the one im most happy with.
Click to expand...

Here's a few lists:

http://www.freqspotter.com
http://hfcc.org/data/index.html
http://www.eibispace.de
http://www.tdp.info
http://users.fulladsl.be/spb13810/
 
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