Dear Jim,

It is my firm belief that anyone looking for a shortwave receiver which
will actually be used on a daily basis should buy new. When you buy
used, you are buying "someone else's problems." (Why, in general, would
someone sell a radio that is perfectly good?) This comment does not
apply to collectors/restorers but you are not in that category or in
the situation where someone you know personally is selling a deceased
spouse's radio ...

I would not recommend buying from any of the eBay sellers/dealers
(including both used and new items) because you are often buying a
"pig-in-a-poke" and you will get no US warranty. For your first modern,
serious receiver, I think it would be better to buy from an established
dealer which will stand behind its products and will offer a warranty.
Later, if you wanted to try something different, well, then you could
try eBay. (Just note that when you buy on eBay, you are, in effect,
gambling with your money.)

I would recommend the Sony ICF-SW7600GR as it is sensitive, selective,
very well built, and has a good track record for performance and
longevity. This radio is available from various dealers including
Universal Radio, AES, J&R Music World, and Amazon.com. The price is
$150.00 or less.

As we are now in the shortwave "doldrums" - the bottom of the 11-year
sunspot cycle - an auxiliary antenna is helpful. The Sony comes with a
"wind-up" antenna which can be attached to the whip and often improves
reception. The radio is good enough that it can handle larger external
antennas as well.

The other new radios mentioned here are all good ones according to
their owners but they are all manufactured in China and have no real
track record. (The Sony is manufactured in Japan.)

There is a learning curve with the Sony radio, as there is with any
piece of electronic equipment, but I think you would find that
operation of this receiver is quite straightforward and easy to master.
I believe you would be pleased with it.

The BBC is still actually quite easy to hear, at least on the US east
coast. From 1900 UTC (2:00 PM EST) you can hear them on 12095 kHz;
after 2100 try 9480 or 5875 and from 2200 try 9480 or 5975. At 0300
they are on 6145 for another hour. They can be heard at other times
during the day as well and, of course, there are many other broadcasts
- one of my favorite stations is Radio Netherlands (0000 on 6165 with a
repeat of the show at 0100 on the same frequency; if you're a night
owl, the show is repeated again at 0500, again on the same frequency. I
also enjoy shows on China Radio International, Radio Taiwan
International, the Voice of Russia, and Radio Bulgaria.

Best of luck,

Joe

JimC wrote:
The following questions have probably been addressed before, and if
there's a FAQ or other source that would answer them, I would appreciate
getting it. Basically, I would like to get a SW receiver sensitive and
selective enough to receive foreign stations broadcasting news,
commentary, music, etc., from countries such as China, Iran, France,
Russia, etc. I don't think I need one sufficiently selective for HAM
reception, but would like one with which I could pick up the national
stations from a number of countries fairly reliably. (Apparently, BBC is
no longer broadcasting directly to North America, and is only available
via the web.)

I now have a Radio Shack portable that sold originally for around $150,
but I haven't been able to use it conveniently. - It is controlled with
multiple pushbuttons, which to me were a hassle. I think I prefer to
have a dial of some sort, because it seems to make it more convenient to
scan a band for signals that are reasonably strong. (I also miss the old
green "eyes" that used to narrow down, or open up, when you centered on
a strong signal. - But I'll be happy for a needle, or whatever.) Another
problem with the RS portable is that it seems to use up batteries quite
fast. - Perhaps I was doing something wrong.

1. Does anyone have suggestions for a table model (could be portable,
but not required) suitable for this kind of use for perhaps $100 - $200?

2. Some sets selling on EBay seem interesting, but several of the
sellers refuse to give any warranty whatsoever. (Not even a DOA
guarantee.) That seems pretty unreasonable to me. In this price range,
would it make more sense to buy a cheaper new receiver rather than take
a chance on an Ebay sale?

3. If I prefer analog tuning of some type, am I typically limited to
buying older, used equipment in this price range?

4. Are there sources other than EBay that I should consider?


Models that I have seen that seem to be good compromises include the
Panasonic RF-4900 or RF-B600, the RF 2800?, etc., or the Radio Shack
DX-394. Also, some of the cheaper, used Hallicrafters, or the
solid-state Trans Oceanics, seem like reasonable buys. However, I don't
want to get involved with checking out all the chokes, capacitors, etc.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Jim