jwilliam wrote:
I feel like apologizing right off the bat since I know this question
must be asked regularly in this group. I've searched the older posts
but still had questions.

I work in CT, about two hours from both NY and Boston. I'm on the
lower floor and get mediocre AM/FM reception in my office from my run
of the mill boom box on my desk. I was looking for a replacement
radio and in the course of doing a search online found listings for WB
radios. The idea of being able to receive not only the CBC news
(being an refugee Canadian) but also getting the BBC and other news
sources intrigued me. That of course left me with more questions than
answers.

What I'm looking for is a decent radio I can keep in my office. I
don't travel much so it probably won't move from its spot on my desk.
I'd like to keep the price below $200 if possible. I'm not sure what I
can expect to hear. Might I be able to pull in stations from Europe
with a radio in that price range or will I be limited to those that
are getting some form of enhanced reception on the eastern US
seaboard? Since I'll be at work I won't be spending much time
fiddling with dials to pull in too many really esoteric stations, but
getting news directly from the Middle East or Japan on my desktop
would be amazing.

From the research I've done I looked at the Sony 2010 (a used one,
although most of the ones on Ebay appear to be pretty old models, very
low serial numbers). I also saw good reviews for the Grundig YB
400PE, which I can pick up new for less than the used 2010. Any other
suggestions? Also, if reception turned out to be poor, would I most
likely have to run some sort of wire attenna along my wall to my
window for better reception?

Thanks in advance for any information. If I get responses fast enough
maybe I can sneak this in as a late Christmas request. heh heh...

Hi

I'm also in Connecticut, and I've got some experience with setting up
radios in offices.

The inside of a typical commercial building isn't a good place to find
the signals you're looking for. Masonry walls have rebar, wood frame
office buildings often have foil lined insulation. Apparently, when
they design these buildings, suitability for radio listening isn't high
on the list.

If you can't get decent MW reception with a good portable, don't expect
much shortwave reception either, unless you do something about an antenna.

The antenna is at least 90% of the answer.

For lower frequencies, something like a Quantum Loop is probably your
best bet for a desk top antenna. Other companies have made similar
products over the years. Unless you get very lucky, they are likely to
put you over budget.

For an in the window antenna you can get very thin coax if you want to
hide the wire, or you could choose coax that looks like a network cable
if you'd rather try to have it "blend in". Hook it up to a big loop of
wire that goes around the perimeter of the window. The wire for the
loop can be anything from thin magnet wire to the foil tape they use for
burglar alarms.

If you can put up an antenna outside, you can couple your radio to it
with a capacitive link so you don't need to drill a hole in the wall.
It's as simple as a square of foil hooked up to your coax on one side of
the window, and another hooked up to your antenna lined up on the other
side of the glass.

For the radio, I use an old Standard STR-428. You're not likely to find
one for sale, but it's a 1970's vintage commercial marine radio. Not a
lot of dials or controls, but it's quite sensitive and it's the sort of
thing clients will ask about.

The difference between a good inexpensive portable and a high end
tabletop radio isn't likely to be nearly as significant for your office
as the difference between a whip antenna on your desk and an antenna
that's away from the metal shielding that seems to be hidden in the
walls of just about every commercial building.

Popular portables worth looking at include the Degen 1103, the Grundig
YB400 and the Sony 7600gr.

Good luck.