I would look at C Crane's radios and antenna systems that they also sell. They are AMERICAN made! The little bit of experience that I have had with their radios has all been positive and somewhat impressive in their performance.

No, I don't have any affiliation with C Crane Radios.

Hi Am_Fear_Liath_Mor,

I think the review summing it up with " Sorry to say but for the radio enthusiast the Summit is very disappointing" is pretty damning. And there is no shortage of other negative reviews.

I have also have a Freeplay Plus, which is the Summit's big brother, and it's a decent MW receiver. But these radios have very limited lifespan because non-replaceable NiMH batteries' have limited lifespans. Yes, you can open the unit and change the batteries yourself, but the point is you shouldn't have to!

The Grundig FR200 is a much better deal than the Summit, as it allows for regular batteries and has several extra bells & whistles, like a built-in led light and cell phone charger. (You don't need a digital display on an emergency radio.)

I love CCrane's radio too, but their radios are made by Sangean, which is a Taiwanese company.

I believe Drake was the last major American radio manufacturer. They made some outstanding radios, but they don't anymore...

Thanks for the correction.

None of the hand crank radios work well. Better to go solar and recharge the batteries in a radio that is a good radio.

I have a Sangean 803A and a Sangean 818, they both work well for a portable. I don’t use them much, only when camping. At home I have an Icom R-70, this is an unbelievably good radio. It picks up things clearly that other radios don’t even hear. I can from my home in Toledo (just south of Detroit) hear USAF aircraft and Coast Guard aircraft in the Gulf of Mexico. But it weighs 20-pounds. I love it.

I also have a few older tube shortwave radios, A Collins (another great radio. Almost as good as the Icom.) Hallicrafters and a Zenith Trans Oceanic. They all have been rebuilt and work well.


PS I love Annie, he’s funny to listen to.

For what's worth, the Drakes are now considered classics and among the best receivers ever made. Had you bought one, you could easily recoup your purchase price (and then some) today. Genuine shame they left the consumer electronics arena. (I'd love to get my hands on a Drake R8b; they are the holy grail of DX radios.)

Does anybody know IF the SW radios used by the military are available for purchase. I think it was "Collins" that provided our sets in the USCG. I believe the USCG are the only remaining service using SW regularly without preset freqs only.

I would match my R-70 with almost any radio made, it has Collins filters installed and works better then anything I have ever seen. I use it mostly for sideband where Icoms really excel. The quad conversion the filters and a tuning by a guy that really knew his stuff makes for a great radio. It out performs both of my Collins radios, and they are suppose to be the best ever made. But then for $35.000 the government paid for a 390 it should be the best.

But none of these are for a BOB, my 390 weights 85 pounds. The 392 weights 52 pounds. But they are fun to play with, and they make great room heaters.

The Secret Service certainly uses shortwave on a variety of frequencies, both for long distance and as VHF/UHF backups. In fact, they're not hard to pick up and they're unencrypted. You hear all kinds of funny stuff there, including the code names used for officials. The Air Force uses SW too, as does the FAA. ("Monitoring Times" magazine has a column devoted to milcom every month.)

The Collins are worth quite a bit in good condition. There is an active market for them and replacement tubes.

Collins mechanical filters -- perhaps the best brand of filters ever made. Show off! Those are what make it sound so good. I certainly prefer them to DSP.

The R70 is a sweet radio. I'm not sure it's in NRD's league, but I wouldn't turn one down.