My current passive shelter comms systems are: AM/FM radio, TV, and CB radio; with external antennas.

My current active shelter comms systems are: cell phone (w/external antenna), telephone, internet/computors (fiber optic cable and/or air card), and CB radio.

My shortcomings are: external antenna for the internet air card access (working on getting), a scanner, and a shortwave receiver. A power supply that supports all passive comms equipment 24/7.

My antenna tower consist of 2" pvc piping w/a crosstree (yardarm) at the top and supported by guide wires (strictly a temporary tower that can be quickly assembled/erected).

Does anyone have any recommendations regarding a shortwave receiver?

Does anyone else have similar shelter plans?

Regarding a shortwave receiver, I have found Grundig to be great little SW receivers. They come in a variety of price ranges. The one I like has a hand crank power generator, cell phone charger and light.

I won't need to go to a shelter. I'm building an ark. I just hope that I don't need shelter from a firestorm. Those huge timbers just won't hold up.

For power supplies I've found that in the ham world 12v is the most used, they make everything capable of being vehicle powered and the ham guys will buy a 12v power supply and battery and run from that. I'm going that route myself, 12v battery, automotive style fuse panel, anderson powerpoles to standardize the power connectors.

I agree with you, I feed the batteies with a bicycle driven magneto that puts out 12vdc and then run the electrics/electronics off of the batteries or through an inverter to power up the 110vac fans and lighting.

I am going to experiment using an anemometer to see if it can trickle charge a cell phone. I have serious doubts since it's power output is so small. It's worth the time to find out.

Try to eliminate the inverter as much as possible. Use automotive lighting and fans, a trip to an auto parts store or junk yard or ebay you can pick up some very nice 12v lights. Same with fans, those little ones that mount neat the window on a bus or large truck or the hvac blower motor. Stick with common parts like the motors for the fan from a chevy truck so there are enough to be plentiful and keep the price down.
Most consumer inveters are under 80% efficient so they waste a lot of energy.

Howdy Wild,

There are quite a few options for shortwave. You might try the Kaito KA1103. It comes with rechargable batteries, the AC converter doubles as a battery charger. I've read good reviews and it seems to be less than 100 bucks, including the accessories.

With small protable SW receivers, a long wire antenna is valuable for picking up more traffic. It usually comes in a wind-up case, extends about 25 feet and attaches to the whip antenna. Earbuds/Headphones will save you on battery usage because the volume doesn't have to be turned up as high.

I bought a SONY ICF-SW7600GR and love it. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with an AC converter and it takes 4 AA batteries. For normal usage I use NiMh rechargables to save on battery cost. I plan on getting backup rechargables and a solar powered battery charger for emergency usage.

- Brian

We have a couple of shortwave receivers;
In BOB's etc we have added little cheap
one from http://countycomm.com/gp4light.htm
While a very limited model, it's so cheap that we could get a half dozen, one for each BOB/CAR.

In our house we have a couple of radio shack models which are like the sony/grundig mid range models.
In addition we have a power hog tube model, but at least it will work post EMP right.
These can be found cheap too.
My personal favorite is the IC-R20 from ICom, 150Khz to 3.3 Ghz, portable and battery powered (can use AA bat's).

For antenna a long wire is really cheap and has descent gain.
These can be installed without being noticed by your next door peeping neighbors too.

A copy of the ARRL handbook can be viewed at your local library for extensive reference to Antenna designs.

Part of your decision on a shortwave (aka High Frequency "HF") receiver is the type of communications you want to hear. It sounds like you want the typical broadcast HF stations, like the BBC world service. But there is a lot more going on. Many stations transmit in single-side band (SSB) and you need a receiver able to receive it. A standard receiver may not. Also, although growing less common, is morse code, sent buy hand. If nothing else can get through hand sent HR morse code is the best bet. Simplest antenna is the long wire.

I got one, too, and it's not worth the cost, in my very humble opinion. They are not made to last, very flimsy.

One of the judgment calls everyone gets to make is whether to buy cheap stuff or expensive stuff. Sometimes cheap stuff is just what the doctor ordered, but sometimes you _need_ for something to work reliably and paying for good stuff is worth the price. If the little shortwave is not a piece of critical equipment, go for the county comm receiver. When it breaks, toss it.

Most hams use SSB on HF frequencies, so if you want to hear ham transmissions, you'll need a receiver that has USB and LSB. The OP doesn't say what he wants his HF receiver for, so I won't guess.