On Dec 26, 6:56*pm, "sdgreen" wrote:
Thinking of purchasing a new portable SW reciever. The two of interest is
the ICOM R20 or the Eton E1.

Comments?

==

The manner in which you've posed your question suggests that your
primary interest is shortwave reception. This being the case, the R20
probably isn't worthy of consideration. Shortwave reception on the
R20 is pretty marginal at best. AM bandwidth filter is about 12-15
kHz wide, which is pretty substandard for shortwave broadcast
listening in crowded bands. Sure, you can get clean copy on some of
the powerhouse stations. The R20 does permit SSB reception, and it is
possible to tune AM signals in SSB and thus benefit from the 3 kHz SSB
filter with which the R20 is equipped. But this is an imperfect
solution, as well. True, the R20 has a nice 10 Hz tuning resolution,
which is helpful for SSB reception. The R20's sensitivity, however,
is rather lacking on the HF bands, particularly when using the
supplied whip. Overall, there are many cheaper portables, such as the
Sony ICF-SW7600GR, that are far more capable for both AM and SSB
reception on the HF bands.

Admittedly, you can boost the R20's HF capabilities with one of
these: http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...tune/3506.html
But is it really worth it? Reception is still stunted overall by the
unit's overall limitations on the HF bands. And if you really try to
compensate with an external antenna, expect a lot of overloading. The
R20 is okay as a wideband handheld receiver, but don't expect HF
performance to in any way come close to that of the E1 or even
approach that of less expensive SW portables, such as the Kaito/Degen
1103 or even the 1101. Simply put, the R20 should not be considered
on the basis of its SW performance.

junius