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| Radio scanner/shortwave receiver recommendations |
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| jrmymllr:
I know very little about ham/shortwave or radio scanners (is that even the right term?) but I bet there's lots on this forum that do! My son is a chip off the old block and loves knowing how things work. I introduced him to the WWV broadcast and he was amazed because he also loves clocks. Now, the only radio receivers I have are of the regular AM/FM variety so I had to stream it. But this gave me a gift idea. I'm looking for a receiver that can tune to AM and FM modulated stations, across a much wider range than the traditional AM/FM radio. Tuning into interesting broadcasts like WWV and shortwave (and I really don't know what else), in addition to standard broadcast radio would be nice. He's under 10 in age but would understand this well enough and I want it to be useful for a long time. I'm looking for a new device, about USD$100 or thereabouts. Or maybe more if that's too low? From a guy that knows electronics but nothing about this topic. |
| jonpaul:
SDRPLAY Old tube set Hallicrafters Hammarlund Collins j |
| themadhippy:
before spending maybe have a play around on http://websdr.org/ |
| jasonRF:
I have a few shortwave radios. One that is well within your budget, and that has much better sound quality than many small/cheap radios, is the Radiwow/Sihuadon R108. It runs for about $60 on Amazon and other places. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XVVCP9L I often bring it with me when I travel for work, since it is so small and sounds so good. It comes with a wire with a connector to use as an antenna, but the jack on my radio doesn't really work. So I usually use a wire antenna that clips onto the antenna and then run it to a curtain rod; something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Sangean-ANT-60-Short-Wave-Antenna/dp/B000023VW2 The main thing it is missing is single-sideband. The one annoying thing is that when you run the scan feature when using headphones you get a loud 'pop' when it lands on a station. Since the pop is not dependent on audio volume, I use an external attenuator (resistor-divider in a nice case) before the headphone then turn up the volume; now the pop us a subtle thing. My much more expensive Eton Elite Field radio has the same problem... If you want single-sideband, which is what a lot of the amateurs (and some pirate stations) use, then the cheapest model I know about (but have not used) is the Tecsun PL330 https://www.amazon.com/Tecsun-Digital-PL330-Worldband-Receiver/dp/B0921HN6QM It does not come with a wire antenna, so would need one. I see that you are in the US. Note that most of the domestic shortwave stations have schedules that are dominated by religious programming, and of course you will find conspiracy theorists that I won't name. I mostly enjoy listening to stations from other continents. There are websites to help you figure out what you are listening to (can look up by frequency/time/language), which is 'easy' when using a digital radio since you know the frequency precisely. To be honest, for me at least half of the fun is learning how far away I am from the transmitter. For content, I usually listen to FM, which is why I mentioned the sound quality on the first unit. Some of the shortwave radios can sound pretty tinny; I bought (then returned) an Eton Elite Executive which was beautiful through headphones, but the sound quality through the speaker was what I would expect from a $5 throw-away toy. You can find reviews of both of these (as well as 100s of other radios) on Todderbert's youtube channel. I have no connection to Todderbert, but he will go through various features. He mostly talks about AM and FM performance, but does some shortwave as well. Jason EDIT: I agree with themadhippy. |
| jrmymllr:
--- Quote from: jasonRF on January 31, 2023, 03:18:22 pm --- I have a few shortwave radios. One that is well within your budget, and that has much better sound quality than many small/cheap radios, is the Radiwow/Sihuadon R108. It runs for about $60 on Amazon and other places. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XVVCP9L I often bring it with me when I travel for work, since it is so small and sounds so good. It comes with a wire with a connector to use as an antenna, but the jack on my radio doesn't really work. So I usually use a wire antenna that clips onto the antenna and then run it to a curtain rod; something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Sangean-ANT-60-Short-Wave-Antenna/dp/B000023VW2 The main thing it is missing is single-sideband. The one annoying thing is that when you run the scan feature when using headphones you get a loud 'pop' when it lands on a station. Since the pop is not dependent on audio volume, I use an external attenuator (resistor-divider in a nice case) before the headphone then turn up the volume; now the pop us a subtle thing. My much more expensive Eton Elite Field radio has the same problem... If you want single-sideband, which is what a lot of the amateurs (and some pirate stations) use, then the cheapest model I know about (but have not used) is the Tecsun PL330 https://www.amazon.com/Tecsun-Digital-PL330-Worldband-Receiver/dp/B0921HN6QM It does not come with a wire antenna, so would need one. I see that you are in the US. Note that most of the domestic shortwave stations have schedules that are dominated by religious programming, and of course you will find conspiracy theorists that I won't name. I mostly enjoy listening to stations from other continents. There are websites to help you figure out what you are listening to (can look up by frequency/time/language), which is 'easy' when using a digital radio since you know the frequency precisely. To be honest, for me at least half of the fun is learning how far away I am from the transmitter. For content, I usually listen to FM, which is why I mentioned the sound quality on the first unit. Some of the shortwave radios can sound pretty tinny; I bought an Eton Elite Executive which was beautiful through headphones, but the sound quality through the speaker was what I would expect from a $5 throw-away toy. You can find reviews of both of these on Todderbert's youtube channel. I have no connection to Todderbert, but he will go through various features. He mostly talks about AM and FM performance, but does some shortwave as well. Jason EDIT: I agree with themadhippy. --- End quote --- Very helpful. Point taken about the conspiracy-laden religious programming ;D What sort of antenna would one need to receive shortwave from other countries? I suppose one that can be strung through a 2nd floor bedroom might not be sufficient. I am a couple hundred miles from Canada so maybe those will work out. Setting up an outside antenna isn't going to happen due to aesthetic reasons and me not wanting to drill holes in my house. EDIT: I see at least one of these has what appears to be a potentiometer-based volume control. I'm going to avoid those. They seem to wear out and get scratchy unless it's a really good component. |
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