Hello..
I would like advice for buying a new shortwave radio (price range at or
under 100 $ US). My main interest is to get good reception for stations in
English and French from Canada and western Europe (I live in Northeastern
US).

so here are specific questions:
1) what are the features to look for? is the external attenna jack really
important? What makes some radios better than others?

2) Can you give me feed back on the Grundig Yacht Boy 300? I have seen it
advertized for 80 dollars through Radioshack.com. Looks interesting..is it
good?

3) I have an old short wave radio right now (10 + years old) and the
reception fades in and out a lot. Is that to be expected on short wave or do
just the older radios do that?

4) any specific reccommendations on a SW radio to buy?

All feed back appreciated! This is my first post in this group!

David Mills wrote:

Hello..
I would like advice for buying a new shortwave radio (price range at or
under 100 $ US). My main interest is to get good reception for stations in
English and French from Canada and western Europe (I live in Northeastern
US).

so here are specific questions:
1) what are the features to look for? is the external attenna jack really
important?


In a portable, the external antenna jack is almost always designed as
a 1/8" miniplug, to accept one of the "roll-up" antennas any radio
supply house sells. They cost about $8 - $9, and (in a portable)
greatly increase reception over the built-in whip.


What makes some radios better than others?


Better overall circuit design, better filter design, better
ergonomics, features like SSB capability - if you can discuss what makes
one brand of TV better than another, you get the idea.



2) Can you give me feed back on the Grundig Yacht Boy 300? I have seen it
advertized for 80 dollars through Radioshack.com. Looks interesting..is it
good?


Have never used one, but it does get predominantly good reviews as I
have read about it - most owners like it a lot, some don't.



3) I have an old short wave radio right now (10 + years old) and the
reception fades in and out a lot. Is that to be expected on short wave or do
just the older radios do that?

A stronger signal may cut fading in and out somewhat, yes, but it
will always be there to an extent - that is the nature of SW
broadcasting. A receiver with a well-desinged AFC helps a lot. A
feature to look for - or lack of it - on any unit you might be
interested in.



4) any specific reccommendations on a SW radio to buy?


In the price range you are looking at, the names to try first are
Sangean, Sony and Grunding. They aren't the only ones, but they have the
biggest number of models in that price area that can be called "quality"
portables. Some are better than others, of course. Radio Nederlands
website has many reviews of such products. Good luck in your search -
and to return to your original question, they type of radios we have
been talking about here - especially with the addition of the reel-up
antenna - pull in the big West European broadcasters fine most of the
time.

Tony


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David Mills schrieb:

Hello..
I would like advice for buying a new shortwave radio (price range at or
under 100 $ US). My main interest is to get good reception for stations in
English and French from Canada and western Europe (I live in Northeastern
US).

so here are specific questions:
1) what are the features to look for?

Any decent SW rig had better be a dual conversion design. Virtually all
of them use PLL synthesizers these days. 5 kHz tuning steps would be
sufficient for pure broadcast listening, but in some (interference)
situations 1 kHz steps are useful as well.

is the external attenna jack really
important?

If you live in a region with not so great signal levels on shortwave,
it's recommended.

What makes some radios better than others?

Öh, *that*'s a long story:
Better selectivity (filters) and perhaps filter choice, better
sensitivity, less noisy PLL, wider AGC dynamic range, better strong
signal handling, better sound, presence of SSB and/or synch detection,
more presets, ... Frequency stability is pretty much a non-issue on the
PLL era. (A notable exception are radios with analog tuning and a
digital frequency display, like the Grundig S-350 and some very cheap
rigs.)

2) Can you give me feed back on the Grundig Yacht Boy 300? I have seen it
advertized for 80 dollars through Radioshack.com. Looks interesting..is it
good?

It's a single conversion design that overloads rather easily... Wouldn't
be one of my favorites.

3) I have an old short wave radio right now (10 + years old) and the
reception fades in and out a lot. Is that to be expected on short wave or do
just the older radios do that?

Fading is perfectly normal on shortwave; however, a receiver with better
sensitivity and better AGC can do more against it.

4) any specific reccommendations on a SW radio to buy?

I'd look at a Sangean ATS-606 or Kaito KA-1101 (Universal Radio has
both, for example). If you don't mind a used rig, have a look at Sony's
ICF-SW7600 or maybe even the newer ICF-SW7600G, or the Grundig YB400.
These are positioned a class above the mentioned new models and feature
SSB, partly plus selectable filters (Grundig) or synchronous detection
(SW7600G). The somewhat older SW7600 only tunes in 5 kHz steps, but
features a fine-tuning wheel (+/- 5kHz) even for AM.

Stephan
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Stephan Grossklass wrote:

Any decent SW rig had better be a dual conversion design. Virtually all
of them use PLL synthesizers these days. 5 kHz tuning steps would be
sufficient for pure broadcast listening, but in some (interference)
situations 1 kHz steps are useful as well.
snipped

I agree that dual conversion is probably the single most important
feature after a digital readout. Single conversion designs can wear a
listener down with numerous 'whistles' and other het's.


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