Okay, here is one of those annoying "Gee, what should I buy" questions. I
enjoyed SW radio back in my high school days, but have no idea what is
considered a really good receiver to get today.
I am familiar with the old Grundig, Hallicrafters, Heathkit names, and am
seeing auctions for the Radio Shack 394, modified.
I'd like to reenter the hobby, but could use some direction on a good
receiver to shop for. Please respond to:
if you can. Thanks!!

What's the budget?

The cheapest way in is by portable radio.

For about $175, you can get a Sony 7600GR, which will give you sidebands.

For a little more, (about $230) you can get a Sangean ATS-909, which will
give you sidebands and a lot of extras, including the A/C adapter, lots of
special features, and a nice "reel" random wire antenna. I chose this one
over the Sony because I believe that buttons become a hassle for
fine-tuning -- I prefer being able to use a tuning (or volume) knob. The
ATS-909 can tune by both buttons and knobs -- the Sony 7600GR has only
buttons.

Beyond that, you're talking desktop units, and the good ones start at about
$450. Icom R-75's and Grundig Satelit 800's seem to be pretty popular.
(And then, as you mentioned, you can "mod" to your heart's content.)

Good luck on your choice!

-- Stinger



"Greg" wrote in message
news:F0Vmb.35837$Fm2.14754@attbi_s04...
Okay, here is one of those annoying "Gee, what should I buy" questions. I
enjoyed SW radio back in my high school days, but have no idea what is
considered a really good receiver to get today.
I am familiar with the old Grundig, Hallicrafters, Heathkit names, and am
seeing auctions for the Radio Shack 394, modified.
I'd like to reenter the hobby, but could use some direction on a good
receiver to shop for. Please respond to:
if you can. Thanks!!

DX 394s are out there in the $125.00 range and a lively group is at
Yahoogroups on mods and performance...

Nice looking small tabletop radio that has always attracted my interest tho
I am aware it is subject to frequent criticism...is that the basis for your
failure to recommend it to a beginner?

Yodar
"Stinger" wrote in message
...
What's the budget?

The cheapest way in is by portable radio.

For about $175, you can get a Sony 7600GR, which will give you sidebands.

For a little more, (about $230) you can get a Sangean ATS-909, which will
give you sidebands and a lot of extras, including the A/C adapter, lots of
special features, and a nice "reel" random wire antenna. I chose this one
over the Sony because I believe that buttons become a hassle for
fine-tuning -- I prefer being able to use a tuning (or volume) knob. The
ATS-909 can tune by both buttons and knobs -- the Sony 7600GR has only
buttons.

Beyond that, you're talking desktop units, and the good ones start at
about
$450. Icom R-75's and Grundig Satelit 800's seem to be pretty popular.
(And then, as you mentioned, you can "mod" to your heart's content.)

Good luck on your choice!

-- Stinger



"Greg" wrote in message
news:F0Vmb.35837$Fm2.14754@attbi_s04...
Okay, here is one of those annoying "Gee, what should I buy" questions.
I
enjoyed SW radio back in my high school days, but have no idea what is
considered a really good receiver to get today.
I am familiar with the old Grundig, Hallicrafters, Heathkit names, and
am
seeing auctions for the Radio Shack 394, modified.
I'd like to reenter the hobby, but could use some direction on a good
receiver to shop for. Please respond to:
if you can. Thanks!!

as for specs on receivers:
check here..
http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/rx_index.html

and here
http://www.dxing.com/rx/rxindex.htm



In article , "Stinger"
writes:


What's the budget?

The cheapest way in is by portable radio.

For about $175, you can get a Sony 7600GR, which will give you sidebands.

For a little more, (about $230) you can get a Sangean ATS-909, which will
give you sidebands and a lot of extras, including the A/C adapter, lots of
special features, and a nice "reel" random wire antenna. I chose this one
over the Sony because I believe that buttons become a hassle for
fine-tuning -- I prefer being able to use a tuning (or volume) knob. The
ATS-909 can tune by both buttons and knobs -- the Sony 7600GR has only
buttons.

Beyond that, you're talking desktop units, and the good ones start at about
$450. Icom R-75's and Grundig Satelit 800's seem to be pretty popular.
(And then, as you mentioned, you can "mod" to your heart's content.)

Good luck on your choice!

-- Stinger

Greg,

I own the ATS-909 and like it a lot. Its got quite a bit of "kick" for
such a small receiver, but compared to my modded DX-394 it doesn't
really hold up well. My DX-394 is far more sensitive and selective
than my beloved ATS-909, and most importantly ...its a fun radio to
use! If you go with the DX-394 make sure its properly modded and use
an external speaker along with a "clip-it" type wire antenna if your
not using an outdoor one.

One of the best features of owning the DX-394 is a very well ran Yahoo
group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RADIOSHACKDX394. They're a great
bunch of people who are willing to educate and assist just about
anyone (even newbie's).

Nick



On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 19:12:37 GMT, "Greg"
wrote:

Okay, here is one of those annoying "Gee, what should I buy" questions. I
enjoyed SW radio back in my high school days, but have no idea what is
considered a really good receiver to get today.
I am familiar with the old Grundig, Hallicrafters, Heathkit names, and am
seeing auctions for the Radio Shack 394, modified.
I'd like to reenter the hobby, but could use some direction on a good
receiver to shop for. Please respond to:
if you can. Thanks!!

What exactly is a ''modded'' '394. Is it difficult to 'mod' it?

= = = Nick
= = = wrote in message . ..
Greg,

I own the ATS-909 and like it a lot. Its got quite a bit of "kick" for
such a small receiver, but compared to my modded DX-394 it doesn't
really hold up well. My DX-394 is far more sensitive and selective
than my beloved ATS-909, and most importantly ...its a fun radio to
use! If you go with the DX-394 make sure its properly modded and use
an external speaker along with a


"clip-it" type wire antenna if your not using an outdoor one.

One of the strong points of the DX-398/ATS-909 is its ability to
handle an External Antenna via the AM&SW External Antenna 1/8" Stereo
Jack.
- - - Unlike most 'portable' radios that can easily be overloaded by
an external antenna.
- - - The DX-398/ATS-909 can function like a 'mini' Table Top Receiver
with an external antenna.

The 'correct' Link/URL for the RadioShack DX-398 / Sangean ATS-909 is:
GoTo= http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DX398/

~ RHF



One of the best features of owning the DX-394 is a very well ran Yahoo
group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RADIOSHACKDX394. They're a great
bunch of people who are willing to educate and assist just about
anyone (even newbie's).

Nick



On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 19:12:37 GMT, "Greg"
wrote:

Okay, here is one of those annoying "Gee, what should I buy" questions. I
enjoyed SW radio back in my high school days, but have no idea what is
considered a really good receiver to get today.
I am familiar with the old Grundig, Hallicrafters, Heathkit names, and am
seeing auctions for the Radio Shack 394, modified.
I'd like to reenter the hobby, but could use some direction on a good
receiver to shop for. Please respond to:
if you can. Thanks!!

Greg:

At the significant risk of encountering the wrath of a lot of do-gooders and
net police out there, I have a suggestion that hasn't been made yet.

Depending on your budget and ultimate goals, you may wish to investigate the
purchase of a used HAM rig. There are lots of really sensitive, good radios
out there. Given that you are listening only, and not transmitting, you
needn't be concerned about the potential power output. Many of the rigs
currently available on the used market have nice features, good noise
blankers, if shift or passband tuning that make listening more pleasant.
They also handle Single Sideband by default, and typically have very accurate
frequency displays as well. Who knows, after listening for awhile, you might
want to get licensed as a Ham and transmit too!
Note that all ham rigs don't have the capability of "general coverage
receive" but many do, and at attractive prices as well. As a silly example,
an Icom 745 or 751 transceiver can be had for $250 and up, while the IC-71
which is sold as a shortwave receiver is usually considerably more, and
doesn't have any greater capability.... Most Ham rigs are powered by 12
volts and would require a separate power supply, but for receiving it
wouldn't need to be much, as they only draw a couple of amps on receive.

If you're not looking for a miniature or portable, then this may be a
reasonable alternative to some of the over-hyped receivers out there.
Just another option for your consideration....

-_Rick

Greg wrote:

Okay, here is one of those annoying "Gee, what should I buy" questions. I
enjoyed SW radio back in my high school days, but have no idea what is
considered a really good receiver to get today.
I am familiar with the old Grundig, Hallicrafters, Heathkit names, and am
seeing auctions for the Radio Shack 394, modified.
I'd like to reenter the hobby, but could use some direction on a good
receiver to shop for. Please respond to:
if you can. Thanks!!