HF Handheld

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station32

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I am looking for a hf handheld reciver that is capeable of listining to USB, LSB, SSB and not to expensive any thing out there?
Thanks,
Joe
 

N8IAA

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station32 said:
I am looking for a hf handheld reciver that is capeable of listining to USB, LSB, SSB and not to expensive any thing out there?
Thanks,
Joe

Not to sound silly, but, what is not to expensive to you. Most HF handhelds go for $400-$500. There is the Kenwood dualband ham radio that is in the mid $300's that does ssb.
Larry
 

ka3jjz

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Generally speaking, handhelds and HF are mutually exclusive. Yes, they will hear the stronger stations - and as Larry points out, there's even one or two that does SSB - but they don't do very well when there's a lot of stations in a band, and the stronger ones overlap and interfere with the weaker ones. They have other limitations, too...

Best to save your money and get something worthwhile, like a higher end portable or a used desktop receiver. Many ham transceivers also have quite capable general coverage receivers, so there's another source. It is hamfest season!

Our wiki has numerous links for receiver reviews, if you are really interested....73 Mike
 

chrismol1

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Yeasu has one the VR-500
"Continuous coverage: 100 kHz to 1299.99995 MHz! All mode reception: FM, Wide-FM, USB, LSB, CW, and AM! Huge memory capacity: 1091 Channels!"

Unless you put a 5+foot antenna on it, it wouldnt be worth listening to the weak signals worldwide.
 

k9rzz

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You wouldn't be bad off with one of these for $120:

0505.jpg


http://universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/3505.html

I know that a lot of folks want to listen to Radio Australia on the same trunk tracking scanner that they use to hear their local dog pound and their idea of a 'big' antenna is a 20 inch whip ... but it just ain't gonna work that well. Just like you can't change a car tire with a pair of pliers, you can't do HF listening justice with a hand held.

Sorry !!

smile.gif
 

sacscan

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I have the Yaesu VR-500. I love it! I use it with a 27 MHz rubber duck antenna because I usually listen to CB on it, but I have heard plenty of shortwave and ham transmissions with the same antenna (using my body as a ground plane by holding the radio). Of course it isn't going to work as well as a proper HF antenna, but it worked well enough for my needs.

I also have a Grundig G5 portable and boy is that thing sensitive! I can pick up 80 meter ham transmissions with just the stock whip antenna!

Slightly OT: I hooked up a Heath SB-1400 HF transceiver for a friend of mine. It is connected to an Antron 99 CB antenna. I picked up WWV on 5, 10, 15, and 20 MHz, several shortwave radio stations, and several ham conversations on 80 meters. I was surprised that a CB antenna could pick up that much!
 

W4KRR

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I am looking for a hf handheld reciver that is capeable of listining to USB, LSB, SSB and not to expensive any thing out there?
Thanks,
Joe

Icom IC R-20 does SSB, (as well as AM, FM, and WFM) but it costs around $500, so that may be too much for your budget.
 

Rover

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I have a Kenwood F6a and love it! Does SSB/CW monitoring 100 kc - 450 mhz. Front end is a bit wide but I often listen too strong 75 meter stations at night with the bar antenna. Strong shortwave stations do ok as well and 20 meter ssb with a longer antenna. I think it is a great radio...but does't compare to my Kenwood R600 or Icom 720a on HF.

73 Rover
 
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evol

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HF on a handheld is always going to be a compromise and some people go over the top and say it's not even worthwhile to try.

Well, that's not true at all.

I'm using an Icom IC-R20. It's a wideband handheld with SSB, yes I can hear some of you spitting already :)

But I got it because, while my primary interest is HF listening, I'm also interested in VHF and up - and most importantly, I really wanted something easy to put in a bag and bring anywhere.

For HF listening, I've got a wire about 15+ metres long, running out the back garden.

So what can I hear?

Ok, first where I am; Ireland, near Dublin.

Currently I'm listening to Trans Atlantic ATC. New York is coming in, Shanwick, Santa Maria and Gander. I'm hearing planes up to 40 West reporting their positions.

It's no hassle to listen in to Numbers Stations like E3 (Lincolnshire Poacher) and E10 (Mossad), particularly early morning/late night with the latter.

For broadcast stations, well, I get all the usual suspects easily. Radio Prague, VoR, VoA, Radio China, WDR, SRI and my favourite, ORF. Unfortunately Brother Stair also is all too common. Stations from the middle east and beyond are quite abundant, although reception is never great.

I pick up US Hams on SSB occasionally, but not the qrp guys obviously :) (yet!)

Basically, I'd just like to say that with this little radio, I've become a devoted listener to the HF bands and their various wonders. So much so that I'm currently learning to copy morse and am going to sit the Amateur license exams either this summer, or more likely at the start of next year.

The attraction to small radios is likely to persist after my experiences with this little Icom, so I reckon I'll be a QRP op from the beginning.

Anyway, that's my .02 cent
 
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mitaux8030

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I'd second the Yupiteru suggestion for a handheld - any of the Yupi family that have it are very very good on HF SSB, but especially the 7100 / 7200 and 9000. But they're kind of hard to find.

If you want something small, portable (but not quite handheld) with decent performance and cheap, then Degen DE1103 / Kaito KA1103 do an amazing job for the money! They're HF only, with AM & SSB.

I've made my own review here:
http://www.scanningtasmania.org/degenreview.htm
 
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