Upgrading SW receiver

[CapnRefsmmat]

Now that I have a 75-ft wire antenna and I can hear all sorts of stations fairly well, I'm finally looking to upgrade my receiver.

Right now I have a Grundig YB-300PE (yes, it's discontinued) portable that's rather, erm, pathetic. It receives radio fine, but its power supply causes a hum (or I'm using the wrong one; I can't tell all of these power supplies apart), it doesn't cover the entire SW band, and it doesn't support SSB.

Anybody have suggestions for a good, relatively cheap (preferably less then $500) SW receiver? I'd love to get the Eton E1, but it's rather expensive and I'd rather not make the investment unless I know I can get good stations.

 

[buttons]

Sounds like your power supply isn't putting out enough amps or miliamps to properly feed the radio. Find out what the proper power supply is needed and try that.A cheap improvement.

 

[iMONITOR]

Now that I have a 75-ft wire antenna and I can hear all sorts of stations fairly well, I'm finally looking to upgrade my receiver.

Right now I have a Grundig YB-300PE (yes, it's discontinued) portable that's rather, erm, pathetic. It receives radio fine, but its power supply causes a hum (or I'm using the wrong one; I can't tell all of these power supplies apart), it doesn't cover the entire SW band, and it doesn't support SSB.

Anybody have suggestions for a good, relatively cheap (preferably less then $500) SW receiver? I'd love to get the Eton E1, but it's rather expensive and I'd rather not make the investment unless I know I can get good stations.

If it doesn't have to be portable, check out the ICOM IC-R75.

 

[ka3jjz]

Indeed; most cheap wall warts can easily have problems like these. But that doesn't solve his question about a better receiver with SSB.

Capn, what do you mean by 'good stations'? Be a bit more specific; the E1 is a terrific portatop receiver (not really a portable - since it has no real handles - and it's not quite a tabletop, either) from what I've read (heck, if I had some cash, I'd get one in a heartbeat...).

With hamfest season right around the corner, it's almost a sure bet that something will show up - I would probably look for something along the lines of a Kenwood R5000, maybe the old R2000, Yaesu FRG100, a used R75 (as mentioned above) and several others. It might pay to get a copy of Passport to World Band Radio (available at lots of amateur and SW related dealers, such as Universal Radio) and do some homework on our SWL and Utility Monitoring wiki articles, which have several links to reviews, including EHam user reviews. The more you educate yourself, the better the investment you will make.

73s Mike

 

[Bucko]

Have to agree on the R75, a fine receiver for the money. I have had several SW receivers over the years and have paid more for other receivers that didn't come close to the R75 for price.

 

[jonny290]

If you are at all interested in getting your ham license, go ahead and get a general coverage HF rig. Their price point is right around receiver-only units, and they have way more capabilities in general. Plus, they often have slightly better resale value owing to their functionality.

 

[HeyU2]

I echo the notes above for you to consider used ham gear that is solid state and general coverage, alsothe R2000, 5000, and R75. Any of these will be waaayyy better than what you are accustomed to hearing. Do not overlook the old Sony 2010 too, it works well on about 30ft of wire- too long and it cannot handle it.
Check the Eham.net reviews as noted too. I guess you see a lot of advice in a direction away from the casual SW radio-
Good Luck
73

 

[gcgrotz]

(edited)

With hamfest season right around the corner, it's almost a sure bet that something will show up - I would probably look for something along the lines of a Kenwood R5000, maybe the old R2000, Yaesu FRG100, a used R75 (as mentioned above) and several others. It might pay to get a copy of Passport to World Band Radio (available at lots of amateur and SW related dealers, such as Universal Radio) and do some homework on our SWL and Utility Monitoring wiki articles, which have several links to reviews, including EHam user reviews. The more you educate yourself, the better the investment you will make.

73s Mike

Hi Mike and all,

I agree on the R75, I love mine. I've also had a Sony 7600 for years and it does a great job on SW, the sync AM actually works unlike the R75, and ssb is stable. It also picks up MW very well with its loop antenna able to provide sharp nulls. Just the other night I was listening to cubans on the low end, turn the radio 90 degrees - cuban station one way, US station the other.

The "Passport" book seems to be available at Barnes and Noble, at least it is here in C'ville in our little town. They also carry WRTH and usually the ARRL manual. Check the magazine rack too, they usually have Monitoring Times and Pop' Comm.

 

[CapnRefsmmat]

Capn, what do you mean by 'good stations'?

Listening to conspiracy theories gets aggravating after a little while...

I think the simple problem is that I don't listen often enough to find some good programs (I'm hoping to pick up Radio Netherlands or the BBC, that sort of thing) at the right time.


I suppose I'll try stretching out my antenna (it's not stretched straight out, the attic isn't big enough) and listening a bit more before I invest. I do enjoy being able to tell people that I've listened to the Bangkok traffic report...

If it doesn't have to be portable, check out the ICOM IC-R75.

No, I don't mind if it's not portable, although I don't have a desk here to put it on. No big deal.

 

[ka3jjz]

Re listening to the conspiracy nonsense - I couldn't agree more. If I'm not listening for something specific like World of Radio, I avoid those stations like the plague.

Don't worry about the antenna not being straight - heck I have a 25 foot square (thereabouts) loop that I built, and it goes every which way. As my Aussie friend would say, no worries.

There are numerous places to download time and frequency information; sadly, ILGradio has pulled the plug - you'll see it on a great many websites - but there's still info to be had - for example, from Prime Time SW and the HFCC website. Don't ignore the NASWA website as well - there are many public listings there. Remember schedules can and do change, so it takes time to get things updated. Always keep an ear on World of Radio and DX Listening Digest (there's a Yahoo group for this), as oftentimes schedule changes show up there first. It's easy to hear, and you can use software like Scanner Recorder to record the show so you can copy the details later. I did that for almost a decade running a SWL and Scanner net here in the Baltimore area.

73s Mike