Utility Monitoring of Many Stations = or does not = Cheap?

[RedPenguin]

For those of you who are monitoring tons of frequencies that are all, I guess "normal", and those that are LSB, and USB. What do you use? I tried looking up radios for utility monitor, and it's like every radio is $300 all the way to almost $14000.

Isn't their any cheaper way to get into the "business".

It's not that I don't think that it's worth the money to get into the business, but with shortwave dying somewhat, at least with broadcasting, and my wallet not growing like Rockefeller or Trumps, I gotta try to go a little cheaper then $14000, LoL.

Also, who buys this radio?
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/widerxvr/0095.html

It's the Icon R9500.

What home user would ever buy that or is it just mainly for professionals with a lot of money?

 

[ka3jjz]

Oh God no. The R9500 would be for the semi pro or professional (maybe even the commercial) users - certainly not for the average joe who wants to get into the hobby.

In some respects, ute monitoring is like scanning. You will get your feet wet with a decent portable and a wire antenna, for sure, but the better the receiver the better your results will be. There are many other considerations, too - a basic understanding of propagation is an absolute must.

For around USD300-500, you should be able to find a nice older desktop (Kenwood R5000, Icom R71a - as long as the EEPROM holds out, anyway...and there are others) or even a high end portatop (Drake, Eton E1, ect.) that would be more than enough to get you started. The RX320 runs in this price range, too, and is a very capable utility receiver. Hamfest season has started, so you should keep your eyes peeled. Some folks like the new Icoms (the 1500 and 2500) though their HF performance isn't nearly as good as the RX320's. Even the PCR1000 (which was discontinued by Icom) is a place to start (although you really don't want to put too long of an antenna on it, as it will overload). Avoid the PCR100 for HF utiilities, due to the fact that it doesn't have SSB capability (a must in this world...).

You can get some of these for less than USD300, but you need to search around a bit.

Sure you can go more expensive - The Drake R8 series, the JRC NRD radios (in fact I was shocked to see 1 or 2 of these on the for sale forums recently) or the AOR 7030 are all examples. But frankly, starting off with an used desktop (or a computer based receiver) is a much better bet, if you don't want to go the portable route.

73s Mike

 

[scannerrail]

lol I saw that R9500 on that site a few days ago and I was like good greef they pay stupid amounts just to have a radio.

 

[gcgrotz]

That's like paying a stupid amount for a Ferrari just to have a car.

But I'll bet the NSA already has an order in for some...

 

[DPD1]

The Grundig G5 is probably the cheapest decent portable that can do SSB right now. I've got one and it works pretty well. There's also the Sony 7600, but they're getting hard to find. Those won't be as good as a desktop radio, but it will be enough to figure out if you're interested or not. HF is nothing like scanning... It's much more hit and miss and takes a lot more work. And if you live in a very urban area, you might have some noise issues.

Dave
http://www.dpdproductions.com
- Custom Scanner, Aviation, MURS, GMRS, Marine & Ham Antennas -

 

[scannerrail]

I have a Sony ICF-SW35 No SSB but it was a blast finding all these new stations.

Not having much luck at all in this new apartment I can't get anything at all.. and nothing just sticking the stock antenna out the window.

 

[VernM]

Portables or digital age radios are no way to enter short wave listening. Find a local ham club or a local ham and let him/her know you are interested and sure would like a hand-me-down. There are tons of tube-type radios still functioning that will introduce you to the whole spectrum and give you the sense for tuning that you need in order to enjoy the hobby the the fullest even in its waning years. Names like Hallicrafters, Hammerlund, Heathkit and Drake are places to start, They're big but powerful...and cheap!

 

[k9rzz]

You could get into something like an Icom R71a, Icom R75, Drake R8a, or one of the NRD 525's or the like. They won't cost you an arm and a leg, they are great radios, and will give you hours and hours of fun.

jw

 

[scannerrail]

man those are all too bulky... maybe if I was living in the Condo again... it's bad enough I have no place to really work on my electronic stuff.

 

[zz0468]

The R9500 is obviously targeted toward the commercial and government market, but there are some hard core hobbiests (myself included) that will settle for nothing less than a high end receiver. As much as I wish I could afford something new like that, I settle for older used commercial gear. For around $300-$1000 you can get a 20 year old commercial receiver that once sold for $15,000. The performance is well worth the effort it takes to find something like that.

Shortwave dying? Don't you believe it! It's just changing.