Well, the MW and SW bands are very basic and not robust. The sensitivity in all cases is what I'd consider poor. You will get better reception with this rig only if you use a directional. external antenna, provided it has a receptacle for such. I would only pay $20.00 for it because I can modify it to make it do what I would want it to for cheap (pre-amp the front end, open the tuning up a bit, add an antenna jack if need be).