best portable radio for MW and LW

[braluca]

can you suggest best portable radio in term of reception for MW and LW?
no matter if only analog or no display, just the best for reception in MW and LW (I think internal ferrite make the difference)
I have XHDATA-D818 so for SW I am covered (and I also have Yaesu FT-450D)

 

[Dispatcher308]

I like the County Comm GP-5 SSB or GP-7 SSB General Purpose Radio's for portable shortwave, they cover all modes and the following frequencies:

• FM: 64 – 108 or 76 – 108 MHz
• --- FM broadcast band includes world-wide FM broadcast allocations
• MW/ AM: 522 - 1620 (9K tuning step) or 520 – 1710 kHz (10K tuning step )
• SW: Extended Frequency Range to 1711-29999 ( higher and lower coverage )
• LW frequency: 153 – 513 kHz (available for 9K tuning step variable )

Thanks
Nate

 

[WA8ZTZ]

For MW, my first choice would be the CCrane Radio 2E... IMHO by far the best portable for AM broadcast band DXing.
It has a large ferrite antenna and also provision for an external antenna. This is my go to radio for AM BCB DX.
If cost is an issue, almost as good and for less money is the CCrane Radio EP. Analog slide rule dial tuning may be a drawback
for some but probably the best AM radio for the money you are going to find. Best audio in a portable would likely be
one of the GE Superadios if you can find a nice used one (no longer in production).

For LW, in my experience, no portable on its own is going to perform very well. You most definitely need an external antenna.
Problem is that most portables have no provision for an external LW/MW antenna connection. You have to come up with some way to
inductively couple the external antenna to the radio. An exception is the Satellit 750 (reintroduced as the Eton Elite 750), it has an
external antenna jack (on the rotatable ferrite bar) for a MW/LW antenna.
It is a large radio for a portable so that may be a problem if you are into the ultralight DXing thing, but a portable LW
radio loses a lot of its portability because it needs to be connected to an external antenna. An external antenna for LW can be a
rather large affair... Beverage on ground (the antenna, not spilled soda pop), KAZ, flag, K9AY, etc. A more compact alternative
would be a loop or FSL. Whatever, an external antenna is a must.

 

[ka3jjz]

Another issue is that LW is an afterthought insofar as manufacturers are concerned. So there is little or no bandpass filtering for this band. Consequently it's common to hear mixing products from strong MW stations. Additional filtering is usually needed to eliminate this. There IS a broadcasting band from around 155-281 Khz as used in Europe and North Africa, but these stations were dying out - until the Ukraine crisis. Now one of the LW stations in Monaco is coming back to life. Who knows if other LW outlets will also have a similar resurrection?

Mike

 

[Boombox]

For MW, a lot of guys swear by the Sangean PR-D5, PR-D15 (both have large loopsticks and good performance), and the PR-D4W seems to be a really good one for the money. All pull in stations really well.

 

[bearcatrp]

The portable world radios serves its purpose. Less expensive, ok results. But I prefer something that gives me more. HF is great to listen to but if I’m spending money, get something that is wide band. This way it gives you more options. Yes, it cost more. But you get back so much more. The Icom R30 is one such receiver. There are others. Have to do your homework. Those days when conditions on hf just suck, go scan vhf/uhf. Again the portables serves its purpose. I took my older world radio to Mexico on vacation. Wasn’t sure how customs would react on radios so wasn’t taking my R30 to chance getting it confiscated. Got to listen with the world radio while I was down there. Next time the R30 comes with since no issues going through customs. Find what best fits your needs.

 

[WA8ZTZ]

For MW, a lot of guys swear by the Sangean PR-D5, PR-D15 (both have large loopsticks and good performance), and the PR-D4W seems to be a really good one for the money. All pull in stations really well.

Another vote for the PR-D15... sort of resides under the radar, you don't hear too much about it, but a good AM DX machine.

 

[Dirk_SDR]

If money is no point for you, there is a semi-professional option, the Reuter Pocket:

Pocket