Best Bang for the Buck Shortwave Radios with SSB Capability

[Omega-TI]

There are topics for the cheapest radios, radios that suck and the best radios, but for those on a budget, what radios can give one the best of both worlds?
Selectivity and Sensitivity are important, and not every radio rises to the level of awesome, but then again there are radios that cost hundreds of dollars, and I'm sure some lesser priced models may come within an acceptable range of those higher priced radios. Many of you here have owned many radios and I'm sure have extensive knowledge of some currently available "sleeper models" that could be considered "acceptable"

For the sake of narrowing down the models, I think we should only include those capable of receiving single side band, but everything else should be on the table and of course I think for the benefit of entry level users keeping it narrowed down to portables ready to use out-of-the-box might be prudent as well. So, what would YOUR suggestion be?

 

[vagrant]

If selectively and sensitively are important, then budget receivers are not in that category. Even with costly receivers it would be wise to further invest in a BCB filter using an external antenna.

The replies will be a mixed bag and a person would be in the same boat prior to reading the thread. Also, all suggested radios should be compared to others, otherwise what is the point? Seriously, I bot a radio and it works gud is jibber jabber.

Tell you what, why don’t you pick your top three two and advise what you compared them to. I have an SDRPlay that cost several hundred and it beats that $25 RTL-SDR stick. I have an Icom R30 and it beats the pants off a Yaesu 500. While the SDR is not a portable, the R30 is, unless a portable must have a big speaker to qualify.

 

[rf_patriot200]

I've got two little bad boys I can boast about somewhat, One is the CCrane Skywave SSB which is only a few years old and a Somewhat Rare Sony ICF-SW100 pocket receiver. Both Small but Very selective with filters and very good sound for what they are .

 

[ditto1958]

Hmmm… requiring SSB knocks out two of the best bang for the buck choices, the Qodosen DX-286 and the Xhdata D-109WB. 😢

 

[Omega-TI]

If selectively and sensitively are important, then budget receivers are not in that category. Even with costly receivers it would be wise to further invest in a BCB filter using an external antenna.

The replies will be a mixed bag and a person would be in the same boat prior to reading the thread. Also, all suggested radios should be compared to others, otherwise what is the point? Seriously, I bot a radio and it works gud is jibber jabber.

Tell you what, why don’t you pick your top three two and advise what you compared them to. I have an SDRPlay that cost several hundred and it beats that $25 RTL-SDR stick. I have an Icom R30 and it beats the pants off a Yaesu 500. While the SDR is not a portable, the R30 is, unless a portable must have a big speaker to qualify.

Well, I suppose it depends on what one considers a budget radio. For the sake of argument, anything north of $150.00 is getting out of budget territory for me, just outside of that range is the Tecsun PL-880 which could be a good choice, but just inside of that price range is the Eton Elite Executive, which is reported to have a just a tad less sensitivity than the Tecsun PL-880.

Yeah, my RSP1A beats the RTL-SDR (with FM trap) too, but those type of receivers come without an antenna and can have RFI issues which newbies might have issues with, creating even more hassles for them.

Hmmm… requiring SSB knocks out two of the best bang for the buck choices, the Qodosen DX-286 and the Xhdata D-109WB. 😢

Unfortunately, it probably did. For full disclosure and transparency, I had a couple of reasons for doing that. First, for the most part (there may be exceptions) SW radios with SSB capability seem to be of better quality than a lot of the cheapies out there, and @vagrant had a point, just because a radio can pick up some jabber does not mean it's a decent radio. Nothing is so depressing to me than to see a newbie come in all excited, get stuck with a piece of junk and then abandon the hobby over it.

However if someone was willing to compare either of those two radios you mentioned against the Eton or Tecsun models mentioned above on AM SW that in itself would be interesting. Of course to be fair the testing would have to be bare bones as-is out-of-the-box.

 

[TAC4]

SDRplay RSP1A now (B) with a metal box was a game changer
back in the day we went from $800 for SDRs to $99 like overnight when they first came out. Epic. The sensitive per price point was
unsurpassed.

 

[ditto1958]

Well, I suppose it depends on what one considers a budget radio. For the sake of argument, anything north of $150.00 is getting out of budget territory for me, just outside of that range is the Tecsun PL-880 which could be a good choice, but just inside of that price range is the Eton Elite Executive, which is reported to have a just a tad less sensitivity than the Tecsun PL-880.

Yeah, my RSP1A beats the RTL-SDR (with FM trap) too, but those type of receivers come without an antenna and can have RFI issues which newbies might have issues with, creating even more hassles for them.



Unfortunately, it probably did. For full disclosure and transparency, I had a couple of reasons for doing that. First, for the most part (there may be exceptions) SW radios with SSB capability seem to be of better quality than a lot of the cheapies out there, and @vagrant had a point, just because a radio can pick up some jabber does not mean it's a decent radio. Nothing is so depressing to me than to see a newbie come in all excited, get stuck with a piece of junk and then abandon the hobby over it.

However if someone was willing to compare either of those two radios you mentioned against the Eton or Tecsun models mentioned above on AM SW that in itself would be interesting. Of course to be fair the testing would have to be bare bones as-is out-of-the-box.

Excellent points. The Tecsun models currently available are excellent all around. Quality enclosures and controls and generally good sounding speakers. The PL-330 appears to be a really good performer and you get a lot for your money.

People have done quite a few head to head comparisons on YouTube and the PL-330 does pretty well.

 

[Omega-TI]

Excellent points. The Tecsun models currently available are excellent all around. Quality enclosures and controls and generally good sounding speakers. The PL-330 appears to be a really good performer and you get a lot for your money.

People have done quite a few head to head comparisons on YouTube and the PL-330 does pretty well.

Wow, I just spent more time than I want to admit watching reviews and reading about the PL-330 after reading your reply. It definitely appears to have a lot of bang for the buck and is very reasonably priced, so it looks like a great entry level radio. I guess it loses a fraction on ergonomics, mainly the step button, but in the end it's all about it's reception capabilities. All in all it appears to be a good pick! I'd love to get some feedback on here from someone who owns one.

 

[ditto1958]

I’m new to this, but I kinda knew what I wanted to do, which is to listen to interesting and faraway SW broadcasts. I also wanted low price, good sound and good performance on FM, MW and SW. All those things drew me to the XHData D-109WB. I couldn’t decided between that and the Tecsun PL-330. In the end I found sales on the D-109WB and an antenna, AND next day delivery from Amazon, and spent half the cost of the Tecsun.

So far I like it a lot, but I expect I would have also been happy if I had chosen the Tecsun. I may eventually get one.

 

[Omega-TI]

I’m new to this, but I kinda knew what I wanted to do, which is to listen to interesting and faraway SW broadcasts. I also wanted low price, good sound and good performance on FM, MW and SW. All those things drew me to the XHData D-109WB. I couldn’t decided between that and the Tecsun PL-330. In the end I found sales on the D-109WB and an antenna, AND next day delivery from Amazon, and spent half the cost of the Tecsun.

So far I like it a lot, but I expect I would have also been happy if I had chosen the Tecsun. I may eventually get one.

When I got back into radio I ended up with the Eton Elite Executive, but I probably would have been happier with the Tecsun PL-880, now I'll never know. I was planning on an external stealth like antenna, but the HOA in my retirement condominium complex made me change plans. So now I'm looking into alternatives again, because as they say, "No matter how great the radio, it's only as good as it's antenna." I'm going to want something that boosts the signal without elevating the noise level to much... without breaking my legs over the cost. Honestly I'm not interested in spend $200.00 on a $150.00 dollar radio. To me 1/2 the cost of the radio would be acceptable.

 

[K4EET]

When I got back into radio I ended up with the Eton Elite Executive, but I probably would have been happier with the Tecsun PL-880, now I'll never know. I was planning on an external stealth like antenna, but the HOA in my retirement condominium complex made me change plans. So now I'm looking into alternatives again, because as they say, "No matter how great the radio, it's only as good as it's antenna." I'm going to want something that boosts the signal without elevating the noise level to much... without breaking my legs over the cost. Honestly I'm not interested in spend $200.00 on a $150.00 dollar radio. To me 1/2 the cost of the radio would be acceptable.

Hi @Omega-TI,

Quick question for you. I am looking for a portable receiver and am torn between the Tecsun PL-880 and the Eton Elite Executive. Why do you think that you would have been “happier with the Tecsun PL-880” over the Eton Elite Executive? I am leaning towards the Tecsun PL-880 because it has a USB Type-C charging port.

Thanks for your time! Dave K4EET

 

[K4EET]

Quick update to the above post of mine. A customer review said the Tecsun PL-880 had a USB Type-C charging connector but the manual shows a USB Type-B charging connector. I don’t know if Tecsun has made a change or if the customer was mistaken. Does anyone know for sure? Thanks! Dave K4EET

P.S.: I would still favor the Tecsun PL-880 regardless because other devices that I have considered use the 18650 3.7VDC Lithium-Ion battery.

 

[Omega-TI]

Hi @Omega-TI,

Quick question for you. I am looking for a portable receiver and am torn between the Tecsun PL-880 and the Eton Elite Executive. Why do you think that you would have been “happier with the Tecsun PL-880” over the Eton Elite Executive? I am leaning towards the Tecsun PL-880 because it has a USB Type-C charging port.

Thanks for your time! Dave K4EET

The Tecsun has separate tuning and fine tuning knobs, whereas the Eton has a single knob on the side that requires you to push it to enter fine tuning mode. After using the tuning knob on the Eton, I believe I would have preferred the individual knobs which would be easier to use.

What made me go to the Eton is the addition of the air band, which in the end gets less use than I had originally intended because I find I use the RSP1A and scanners for those frequencies.

 

[spectrumwatcher9736]

The CCrane Skywave SSB is a nice little radio (I have version one). Speaker is a bit flat, but it's tiny so can't really complain. With headphones the radio sounds really good.

I want to get one of those Belka DX tiny receivers; reviews all say it's a solid performer

 

[Blackswan73]

The Belka DX is the old version. The new one is just Belka. He said in June he planned to start shipping to the USA in a month. Might fire him an email and ask him current shipping status for the USA. He is usually very good at answering emails

B.S.

 

[redbeard]

PL-368 | TECSUN Radio

www.tecsun-radios.com

GP-7 is the same radio basically but perhaps you enjoy the accys they have here:

Radios

CountyComm designs, manufactures and sells select products to federal, state and local government agencies. Specializing in EDC ( Every Day Carry )

countycomm.com

 

[spectrumwatcher9736]

The Belka DX is the old version. The new one is just Belka. He said in June he planned to start shipping to the USA in a month. Might fire him an email and ask him current shipping status for the USA. He is usually very good at answering emails

B.S.

Yup you're right. I checked his site after I made that post and saw he has one now that does .1mhz to 31mhz. I also saw in the comments from July someone asked him about shipping to the US. I'll shoot him an email and see what's up.

I saw on the SWLing blog that it's sold on a Bulgarian market Mobimax but it's about 100 dollars more over there. Then there's the Mobimax store on ebay where it's even more than that.

 

[Blackswan73]

Cheaper to get it from the manufacturer. With optional speaker and US shipping, the tab is around $175 USD

B.S.

 

[spectrumwatcher9736]

Cheaper to get it from the manufacturer. With optional speaker and US shipping, the tab is around $175 USD

B.S.

Definitely. That's what I'll do.

 

[ditto1958]

Quick update to the above post of mine. A customer review said the Tecsun PL-880 had a USB Type-C charging connector but the manual shows a USB Type-B charging connector. I don’t know if Tecsun has made a change or if the customer was mistaken. Does anyone know for sure? Thanks! Dave K4EET

P.S.: I would still favor the Tecsun PL-880 regardless because other devices that I have considered use the 18650 3.7VDC Lithium-Ion battery.

Looking at reviews and pictures online I don’t think it has a C charging connector.