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Buying A Receiver
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What receiver should I buy? What is the best receiver under $100? Under $200? What is the best portable? Table-top? What are the differences between two radios? The questions are endless in rec.radio.shortwave and Internet mailing lists.
The following are some observations and personal opinions based upon my 50 years in the shortwave listening hobby, and some suggestions for your own research. They are not in any particular order.
Buy the best receiver you can afford. If you purchase a cheap, inferior receiver you'll be disappointed in the results. Reception quality and audio quality undoubtedly will be lacking.
When choosing a portable, consider the frequency coverage. The frequency ranges of the international broadcast bands are slowly expanding and there are some stations completely outside the designated "bands." A general coverage receiver is usually a better choice than one limited to band segments.
In our opinion most portables that retail for less than US$100 are disappointing in one or more aspects of the radio. In 2002 there are a few good horses in the pack around $150, but those portables around $250 (and more) provide good-to-excellent performance.
Buy one that has digital tuning for easy tuning. I do not recommend purchasing analog dial models, for these are difficult to tune to an announced frequency. You have to hunt for the station, and in a crowded band that is difficult.
A tabletop receiver should be superior to almost any portable radio, but the tabletop receiver will need an external antenna for best performance. (If possible, install the antenna outside, and away from the near-field electrical interference found within the home.) Attaching more than a few feet of wire to a portable radio is inviting disaster; the receiver front end cannot prevent overloading, images (the signal appears 910 kHz higher or lower on the dial) and spurious signals generated in the radio from appearing in strange places on the dial.
The question of whether to purchase a portable radio or a tabletop radio is a matter of personal preference. If all that you are interested in listening to shortwave broadcasts from the larger countries -- such as the BBC, Radio Netherlands, Voice Of America, Radio Canada International, Deutsche Welle et al -- then a medium-priced portable radio in the $100-250 range should suffice. If you think you are interested in listening to some of the not-so-large stations and perhaps tuning in some of the digital signals -- RTTY and fax -- then I would suggest you consider purchasing a tabletop receiver that has multiple selectivity settings.
Purchase your radio from a SWL mail order house that can provide sales, service and support. In the USA, we recommend Universal Radio in Ohio and Grove Enterprises in North Carolina. I strongly recommend you forget about the discount camera stores found in New York City and in other large cities. You will not get any questions (such as those above) answered. You may also wind up with re-packs and gray-market non-USA warranty units.
Everybody has their favorite receivers and the bias of individuals will not yield definitive information. The problem is that you don't know the background of the person responding to questions on receivers. Some individuals who have owned many radios over a period of time may offer more insightful comments than another person who has only been listening a short while and has just purchased his (her) first radio.
I strongly recommend you do a bit of research on your own. The annual publications World Radio TV Handbook and Passport to World Band Radio review radios each year. (The WRTH is released in December, PWBR in October.) In my opinion, the reviews in the WRTH are more comprehensive than in PWBR. However the WRTH only reviews the new receivers of the past year whereas PWBR summarizes all currently available receivers.
And there are other sources of receiver reviews: Monitoring Times (Grove Enterprises) magazine, ESR: Electronics . Science . Radio (Australia) magazine and various club bulletins such as the NASWA Journal. Be sure to check out Radio Netherlands' Receiver Shopping List.
When reading reviews, separate fact from opinion. Some writings are subjective in nature and don't address the technical performance of the radio, or the radio is ranked without a clear explanation of the criteria. For example, a writer may criticize receiver front-panel layout and ergonomics. Perhaps amusing reading, but my perception of poor ergonomics may be different than yours.
Should you buy a used receiver? Maybe. Maybe not. Age, condition, availability of parts (and service if need be), and price should all be factored into your decision. For example, parts for older Hammarlund, Japan Radio Company and Kenwood are just not to be found.
I have owned more than a few receivers as a shortwave radio listener since 1952. Take a look at what has been on our table in years past and what is now in service. I do have some opinions, and not all readers will agree.
