Short Wave Radio???Recomendations please.

Hello, I am new to the whole short wave radio subject. I am looking at buying a good one, hopefully one that can be hand crank recharged....But a good one that I can get "NEWS" from abroad in case power and information is "Cut Off" in my area of the central United States.

Let me know what you have and or have used. Let me know what you like.

I figure cost COULD go up in the range of $350.00 depending on what is DURABLE and has great range.

Should I be also looking at antenna suport systems for this?

Thanks in advance.

CP

This has been discussed ad infinitum here many times before. Try the search function. (Here's one.)

My $.02. Your infinitely better off with a $10 AM/FM radio. Major AM radio stations cover most of the country and have much more reliable reception.

(And I happen to own most of the popular wind up radios, as I collect radios period. They all have dismal shortwave performance, but even if they didn't, you want local information during an emergency, not the English language service of Deutche Welle or the BBC, all of which you'll only be able to pick up at night.)

Hi CentralOklahoma

The freeplay Summit has proably got most of the features you are looking for.

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/0938.html

If you are looking to do some amatuer shortwave SIGINT gathering and listening then the RFspace SDR-IQ (which connects to your computers USB port) could be just the ticket.

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/commrxvr/0106.html

The Summit doesn't get good reviews. I'd recommend against Freeplay as a brand in general, particularly given their radios can't run on regular batteries. Yes, you can rip them open and replace their built-in NiHMs yourself, but do you really want to go to the trouble? (And where do you get replacements in an emergency?)

As for the SDR, why on earth would he want a spectrum displayer? My guess is the OP wouldn't know what to do with one, given the introductory nature of his question. It also requires a laptop, which is the last thing you'd want to have to power (or carry) in an emergency unless you're doing emcomms work.

Hi Fitzoid,



Lets hope that the rest of the world doesn't go down and we have to rely on SW info from the US. All I seem to get on SW from the US is a loony preacher going on about the rapture and requests to send him all of your of cash because you ain't gonna need it where all of us are heading. Maybe they think Jesus is a SW enthusiast

Actually, the most entertaining thing you can get these days on shortwave in the US (other than pirates) is Radio Habana Cuba. (How can you not love Arnie?

Thanks.

I would have to say that the review was quite well balanced. The SW performance isn't particulary good without the reel antenna especially in comparison to a other similarly priced SW radios. But the other similarly priced SW radios aren't equipped with such a wide means of powering the radio either. I'm afraid its all part of the design/production cost compromise. The Freeplay Summit radio does appear to be very well made though and more durable than other radios in the $50-70 range.

Its FM performance is very reasonable and sounds better than expected from the small speaker. It does have some other little annoyances as detailed in the review. As an emergency radio it can be used long term without using a dedicated battery charger connected to the mains. I purchased the Freeplay Summit around 4-5 months ago and have never had to connect it yet to the mains except for the initial 24hr charge. The radio is kept on a window sill and the NiMh cell charge is maintained from the built in solar trickle charge. Of course another solution would be the dedicated Solar charger, Battery charger, Eneloop NiMh cells and quality SW radio such as the alternative SW radios mentioned in the review.

It would have been nice if the NiMh cells were easily accessible and replaceable, but again this design approach was probably to ensure that the cells remain where they are without being scavenged to be used for some other gadget.

I purchased a GP-4L from County Comm but I can't seem to pick up much.

I think the main purpose of those incredibly cheap radios is for governments to dump them in quantity in some area and then broadcast propaganda locally. For that reason, they need to be essentially what radio people would call "deaf," as you only want them receive the intended local broadcasts.

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.

The Collins R 390 A was the choice military radio from the early 1960s till the last one was made in something like 1884. they are very good and collectable. They are not a starter radio, for the original poster I would look up Sangean, Sony or Grundig portables they are good quality. But they cost more then you may want to spend.


Sangean 803A is good and can be found for $40.00 on the used market.


Grundig YB 400 may work for you, it’s small and can be special ordered through Radio Shack
A Grundig Satellite 500 is also good as is the 700

Sony 2010 is also an older radio that is very good, but it still commands a higher price.

Radio Shack made a desktop radio (the last one they made) it was a DX 394, it works ok (as long as you don’t put a big antenna on it) is priced good on the used market and also doesn’t consume a lot of power when hooked to an external power source.

I had a Timewave DSP filter, it sucked, it made things all distorted and really clipped the audio. I made my own audio filter out of an old under dash car power booster with an 11-band equalizer ( I know I have too much time on my hands) but it works better then the Timewave piece of junk. I should buy a new DSP filter to see if they improved since I had the Timewave filter 4-years ago.

The R-70 has no filter adjustments, they are all pre set at the factory, but they knew what they were doing, as it works great. I’m going to keep this radio forever.


I’d like a new Icom R-75, but the one I have works so well it would be a just another toy.

The Grundig 400 Yacht Boy was replaced by the G400A

G400A was replaced by the Eton E5

Eton E5 was replaced by the Grundig G5

I have had a YB 400 for 8-9 years and listened to 1000's of hours on it but the internal power supply recently went south. I just bought and received a Grundig G5 ($149.00).
This is essentially the same radio as it's predecessors which all trace their lineage back to the Grundig YB 400. The Eton G5 has many new features and enhancements and I expect it to last just as long at the YB 400 has.

This site has a good review on the G5

Don't forget to send out QSL cards, especially when the conversation was humorous.

I still remember the QSL card wanting to know, "Did your buns get chopped off?" That was based on the conversation that he overheard between myself and USCG Commsta New Orleans, La (Commanding Officer). I was in GTMO harbor at the time.

Love that date.

Anyway, I'll stick with my original opinion that a cheap AM/FM is sufficient for the original poster's needs.

In fact, if you want to see your cherished Icom R70's successor (the R75) compared to a $10 Sony radio, see this review. A bit disheartening, no?

I have a Kaito KA009, and it is a decent radio overall, but the SW bands don't pick up much. It will accept an external antenna, which I haven't yet tried, but I suppose that would make a big difference. I haven't been motivated to pursue it based on the results so far.

How well will that Sony do listening to USAF aircraft in the Gulf, or stations Wait it can’t receive shortwave or sideband. Also put the right antenna on the Icom that it was made for and then re-due the test. The results will come out different.

My Sangean 803 (now worth $40.00 will out perform my R-70 if you put a short stick antenna on both. But put a long wire on both and the Icom picks up things the other radio doesn’t even see at all.


They are really made for 2 different markets, even though they both pickup the same frequencies. It’s the same way with that Sony and it’s comparison with the R-75 on the AM band.

For a BOB the Sony will do fine for information, but at home hooked up to the right antenna I would guess that the R-75 will easily out perform it.

Another thing to take into account is that my R-70 was from the factory purposely made less sensitive on the AM band, an internal amplifier was turned off to prevent it from overloading the radio in the presence of strong signals. The guy that tuned up my radio turned this amp back on (the owners manual tells you how to do it) The R-75 may have this same feature, I don’t have one so I don’t know.

Icom’s also excel at digging out a single (quad conversion, and great filters & selectivity) that is buried among other signals, I’m sure that Sony will pick them all up at the same time and send the whole mess to the speaker.

The above doesn’t apply to the Ic R72, it was Icom’s only junk radio.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I was just having some fun with you. Never let it be said that expensive radios or antennas aren't worth their cost or I'll be in a whole lot of trouble...

But these things are really for radio nerds like us. I think they're overkill for casual users.

I'll admit to being a casual SW radio user.....We have the Grundig (now Eton) 200? I can't remember the number...it has an anolog tuner. It makes it a pain to return to a particular station....my suggestion...get a digital tuner....especially if you want repeatability.....

I have one last suggestion......about antennas.....All I did was take a 30 (or so) foot long hank of wire and using an alligator clip, clipped it to the telescopic antenna.....just doing that resulted in an amazing increase in reception and clarity.

The whole thing set me back less than $50 dollars.

Hope this helps.

Stations change frequencies constantly, based on time of day, current propagation, etc. And officially announced frequencies are updated every year but certainly not stuck to. For the few stations you can easily pick up in the ConUS, it's not too hard to find them.

Is there some kind of online guide listing stations and frequencies? I must not ask Google the right questions.

If you search on
man pack manpack
you'll get tons of links.

Yea I’m a Radio Nerd, I love all my big radios.


As far as the original post, if you don’t listen to shortwave now, I don’t see that changing in a bug out situation. Go with a good portable AM FM radio.


But if you have an interest in developing shortwave listening as a hobby then a shortwave portable would be a good choice to start with. At least till you decide what area of shortwave you want to listen to. Then it’s still a handy radio to have for traveling.


I like and search out military SSB (Coast Guard, USAF Aircraft, Hurricane Hunters and the like) and also distant broadcast band DXing. The portable Sangean works well for the Broadcast Band, but not so well for distant SSB transmissions. The Icom works for everything. When JFK Jr’s plane went down I listened to the search effort for a while till they switched to VHF. But to pickup S&R operations you almost have to have a radio parked on S&R frequencies all the time and have it running in the background. This is not going to be popular with other family members.

Shortwave can be fun to play with, other then the religious broadcasters that are on 24-7. Don’t let the flood of them chase you away from it.

Was going through some misc gear and pulled out a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 that I bought in the mid-90s.

Anyone know if newer incarnations are all that much better?

Any ETS-ers particularly enthusiastic about a comparable shortwave receiver?

If you can find a Collins R390 you can also cook on it...hot dog wrapped in aluminum foil, about 10 min....the ANFLR-9 antenna is the expensive accessory...

sorry couldn't resist....they were used by some of the finest dit catchers in the world...and made my job easy