Desktop Shortwave Radio

[KQ4VKM]

Hello everyone, I hope I’m posting this in the right place. I’m a licensed ham but shortwave was my first look into the world of radio several years ago. I fell out of the hobby as I entered college and got more into ham radio but I’ve recently decided I’d like to get back into shortwave listening and buy a new shortwave radio but I’m looking for a rather specific type of shortwave radio. I’m looking for a desktop shortwave radio (something with a form factor like old school scanners such as the PRO-2006 for an example). My budget is around $3-400, and I’ve been looking at several models: the Realistic DX-394, Realistic DX-302, Drake SW8, Drake SW1, and the iCom IC-R70/R71. Does anyone have experience with any of these receivers or any recommendations? Thanks so much for any help. 73.

 

[Blackswan73]

I have/had all of them except the Drake SW1 and SW8. However, I have had the Grundig Satellit 800 which is the same radio as the Drake SW8. Let’s start with the least desirable IMO, and work up
SW-1 according to several reviews, this was the lowest quality receiver to wear the Drake name. I don’t recommend this receiver

DX-394-I owned one when the B model was first introduced. Selectively was non existent. With the less crowded SW bands today, it is making a comeback of sorts. Still, I would not recommend it personally

DX-302- Not bad. Think of it as a Yeasu FRG-7 with a digital readout. In fact the circuit board is almost identical to the Yeasu. Main issue with this radio is the main gear in the tuner gear train often gets brittle and cracks. You can replace it with a common RC car gear, but this repair involves removing the entire faceplate

SW-8- Same radio as the Grundig 800 in a smaller case. Lacks some of the features of the 800, but overall, a nice radio.

R-70- An excellent receiver that can be found at bargain prices. Main complaints with this receiver is the quirky tuning at band edges. This might take some time to get used to. Performance is excellent

R-71- For a long time this was the defacto standard against which all other receivers were compared to. Used by several government agencies. Main issue was a volatile operation firmware that was backed up by a soldered in battery. When the battery died, the radio literally lost its mind. Then later there was aftermarket memory backup boards that contained the operating firmware permanently burned into non volatile memory chips. I would have no problem recommending either the R-70, or R-71

Another desktop you might want to consider is the Tecsun S-2200x. This one is in your price range and is new using newer digital signal processing technology. In fact, I have just in the last couple of weeks sold my Grundig 800. I am planning to replace it with a new Tecsun S-2200x

B.S.

 

[ka3jjz]

The R71 had another quirk - in later models, the band pass tuning was removed, then it came back. If you go for this radio, make sure the non volatile RAM that was mentioned above is installed and has the band pass tuning.

The sound on AM was not very pleasant to my ears, but SSB was better. A good outboard speaker will help

Mike

 

[KQ4VKM]

I have/had all of them except the Drake SW1 and SW8. However, I have had the Grundig Satellit 800 which is the same radio as the Drake SW8. Let’s start with the least desirable IMO, and work up
SW-1 according to several reviews, this was the lowest quality receiver to wear the Drake name. I don’t recommend this receiver

DX-394-I owned one when the B model was first introduced. Selectively was non existent. With the less crowded SW bands today, it is making a comeback of sorts. Still, I would not recommend it personally

DX-302- Not bad. Think of it as a Yeasu FRG-7 with a digital readout. In fact the circuit board is almost identical to the Yeasu. Main issue with this radio is the main gear in the tuner gear train often gets brittle and cracks. You can replace it with a common RC car gear, but this repair involves removing the entire faceplate

SW-8- Same radio as the Grundig 800 in a smaller case. Lacks some of the features of the 800, but overall, a nice radio.

R-70- An excellent receiver that can be found at bargain prices. Main complaints with this receiver is the quirky tuning at band edges. This might take some time to get used to. Performance is excellent

R-71- For a long time this was the defacto standard against which all other receivers were compared to. Used by several government agencies. Main issue was a volatile operation firmware that was backed up by a soldered in battery. When the battery died, the radio literally lost its mind. Then later there was aftermarket memory backup boards that contained the operating firmware permanently burned into non volatile memory chips. I would have no problem recommending either the R-70, or R-71

Another desktop you might want to consider is the Tecsun S-2200x. This one is in your price range and is new using newer digital signal processing technology. In fact, I have just in the last couple of weeks sold my Grundig 800. I am planning to replace it with a new Tecsun S-2200x

B.S.

Wow! Thank you so much for such an incredibly detailed reply! I was looking into the S-2200X (the only real experience I've had with shortwave came from a few Tecsun handhelds I owned a few years ago, a PL-360 and PL-880. I have fond memories of them and thought it may be a good idea to stick to what I knew). The only issue with the 2200X is that I'm specifically looking for a sort-of flat and rectangular unit as I intend to stack it on top of my scanners until I can get a rack built for all my radio gear. I've also been looking into the Alinco DX-R8T. Would you happen to have any experience with it?

 

[KQ4VKM]

The R71 had another quirk - in later models, the band pass tuning was removed, then it came back. If you go for this radio, make sure the non volatile RAM that was mentioned above is installed and has the band pass tuning.

The sound on AM was not very pleasant to my ears, but SSB was better. A good outboard speaker will help

Mike

Interesting, is there any way to tell if the non volatile RAM mentioned has been installed and that it has the band pass tuning (through serial numbers or etc) or is it the type of thing that you would need to ask the seller? Thanks for your help!