(Part 2) Top products from r/shortwave

If you are looking for good quality used radios keep in mind that at 20 - 30 years of age components like capacitors will begin to fail, even if the radio was never used. Still, if you try the radio and it still works, then it still works.

New portables:

If you want to spend $200 go for the Sangean ATS-909X. It's my portable daily driver. Worth every dollar and more. Most of the classic Realistic shortwave portables were actually rebranded Sangean radios. So, if you are looking for an old Realistic portable look for the original Sangean models as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Sangean-ATS-909X-BK-World-Receiver/dp/B005GTO0CY

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At near the US $100 mark it is hard to beat these Eton Satellits for portable shortwave with SSB, FM with RDS and air band. For MW, not so much. These radios are a little smaller and much lighter than the 909X. Available in two cosmetic flavors but both radios are identical. I have been very happy with my Eton Grundig Edition Satellit.

Eton Grundig Edition Satellite:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ETON-SATELLIT-NGWSATB-AM-FM-LW-SW-radio-/263995847980

Eton Executive Satellit:

https://www.amazon.com/Eton-Executive-Satellite-Shortwave-NGWSATEXEC/dp/B01MTO7P8X

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Although I don't own either of these radios they are well-regarded by radio reviewers that I respect. These are the best $50 portables. No SSB at this price point, but will handle a short reel-up external antenna well for shortwave. Both are pretty darned small.

Radiwow R-108:

https://www.amazon.com/RADIWOW-Digital-Portable-Receiver-Activities/dp/B07MQWL9NJ

Tecsun PL-310ET:

https://www.amazon.com/TECSUN-PL-310ET-Stereo-World-allnice/dp/B0104J57GS

I used to in a reasonably packed area of San Fransisco, and most nights I was able to receive Radio Havana Cuba(6100khz),CHU on 7850KHz, WWV/WWVH(5MHz&10MHz), Radio New Zealand International, and Radio China International with the indoor longwire antenna with a $30 homemade set. More recently I bought the Tesun PL 600 from amazon(~75USD) and I think its a capable receiver. The active antenna of the PL600 allows me to pick up quite a bit of Broadcast Shortwave. In addition the PL600 has SSB(single side band) which allows me to listen to ham traffic(My favorite bands are 40Meters and 80Meters) as well as CW(Morse code). In addition once and a while you can find traffic on HF ATC frequencies which is cool. Outdoor antennas do help a lot, but just going to the park with a portable receiver should reduce any interference. These bands are useable globally and the mountains should not be an issue. Since you are not transmitting, a long strand of wire, or the dipole included on the portable radio itself should be enough! If you have any questions feel free to ask!

if you like computers and software, you should look into wideband SDR, which is like this but using your own equipment and antennas. Its fairly simple to get started nowadays, with a PC/ RTL SDR / HF Upconverter.

This is the Radio I bought, the Tesun PL 600, there are probably better out there but for SSB at the time it was the cheapest.

this is very similar to the circuit I constructed for my first shortwave receiver if you are into DIY.

I had a KA228. I returned it after a few days because the tuner is digital with an analog interface (which was not explained in the product description), and fine tuning was basically impossible (which sucked a lot of fun out of the radio). Very sticky and jumpy, missed a lot of stations. I replaced it with a Kaito WRX911 (which is all analog and has a wider frequency range) for about the same price and am much happier with it, even though it does not have a DX/local switch and overloads easily.

That said, the sensitivity of that radio was pretty decent. I was able to pick up Radio Australia from Texas with it, and the very first thing I picked up with it was HM01 (Cuban numbers station), which you'll probably hear sooner or later during the day (somewhere between 9 and 12 mhz). The DSP also cleaned up the sound somewhat compared to this solid state analog WRX911.

Also, if you can stick with that radio for a while, your next upgrade will probably be to done that does SSB.

Finally, if you're getting a lot of local interference (from power lines, appliances, etc).. there are tons of different antenna designs out there to play with (invest in alligator clips to attach to your radio's antenna), but I've had pretty good luck making one of these with cardboard and aluminum foil (scroll all the way down to "The K3MT version").

Have fun!

concur with above. hanging a wire out the window will give you better results than some miracle promising tabletop antenna.

i have very limited outdoor space in my townhouse, so i just put one of these freestanding on my deck:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0065KNFLK

and pull the cable out when i want to play radio and i've had vastly improved results.

It's 36$ CAD so I figured it's not that low quality, but $11... wow

What do you think about these, they're a bit more expensive with good reviews.

1. https://www.amazon.ca/TIVDIO-V-115-Portable-Shortwave-Rechargeable/dp/B071NMCVM5/ref=sr_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1540328848&sr=1-9&keywords=shortwave+radio
   
   
2. https://www.amazon.ca/TIVDIO-HR-11S-Emergency-Shortwave-Dynamo-Wind/dp/B074J6ZVKQ/ref=sr_1_12?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1540328848&sr=1-12&keywords=shortwave+radio
   
   
3. https://www.amazon.ca/TECSUN-stereo-Receiver-Display-Function/dp/B004H912FC/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1540328848&sr=1-5&keywords=shortwave+radio&dpID=41VC%252BCAzdTL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Alternatively, an RTL-SDR Dongle ($13) and an HF Upconvert ($53) is a darn cheap SDR setup as well.

For under $100, the Grundig G3 is a great shortwave receiver. It also does sideband so you can listen to the amateur radio bands (I'm a ham, so this is a nice feature for me). I've got mine hooked up to a 200' longwire outside and it's fantastic.

It depends - do you want a software defined receiver (SDR) that uses a computer to provide the display? If so, check this out for $250.

Or if would you prefer a conventional receiver, the superb Sangean ATS-909X sells for $220.

I'd just try a ferrite choke. The ones that snap on are pretty easy to install.

If you don't want to hack up your antenna cable, try something like these two pieces:

https://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Camera-Monitor-antenna-RG174/dp/B01C3N4NHC/

https://www.amazon.com/Cmple-3-5mm-Mono-Jack-Coupler/dp/B005LXWQJ4/

Ideally they would be joined into one piece, but that seems hard to find.

Yup! Right on the mark. I want basic functionality and something I don’t feel inclined to put away and forget about when I’m not using. i like a visually non-cluttered desk area.

This Panasonic is the closest I found.

PANASONIC RF-562D AM FM SW Shortwave Transistor Radio - Retro Design (Battery operated) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CDC5QLK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xmigAbGVE05WV

I don’t like this because it doesn’t have AC.

You need a 365pf air variable cap...buy a couple and use them over and over for years and years in many different projects.

I've been using a 1/4 wave vertical for beach trips with a 31 foot kit flag pole, a drive-over mount, and 30 feet of wire + 3 radials at 25 feet 120 degrees apart. Fed with coax with a homebrew direct feed box.

Decent for RX down to 80 meters and no need for a tree providing you have a vehicle to sit on the mount or something heavy to hold it down (like a sandbag or bricks)

Wire is THHN stranded from Lowes

Pole: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YPS9HU/

Mount: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G2KMRZ8/