In the market for SW rig

[ka3jjz]

I'm no expert, far from it in fact, but if you want ideas, on HF you could decode digital signals like the amateur radio ones listed <<HERE>>.
If that is not enough, there is also WEFAX (weather facsimile or maps). On VHF there is probably local Packet/APRS, even the ability to track airplanes (with the proper software). I'm probably missing a lot too. But yeah, regular AM SW has turned into a great wasteland since the 70's and 80's, unless you want to listen to preachers or WWV.

This is kinda OT, but there's a lot more readable digital stuff on HF (beyond hams and FAX) than you might think. The UDXF reflector on the groups.io server has a lot of logs that bear this out.

And in places like Washington state, you have access to stations that we in the East would cut our teeth over....

But back to topic, and it's mentioned before - most all newer HF ham transceivers have a very capable general coverage HF section - so if you don't want to go SDR (with the magic waterfalls), then this is pretty much the only 'desktop' option available anymore

Mike

 

[Omega-TI]

This is kinda OT, but there's a lot more readable digital stuff on HF (beyond hams and FAX) than you might think. The UDXF reflector on the groups.io server has a lot of logs that bear this out.

And in places like Washington state, you have access to stations that we in the East would cut our teeth over....

But back to topic, and it's mentioned before - most all newer HF ham transceivers have a very capable general coverage HF section - so if you don't want to go SDR (with the magic waterfalls), then this is pretty much the only 'desktop' option available anymore

Mike

Between you and another user, I'm seriously considering changing my vacation venue from the wilderness to the beach. Getting a little foreign DX in the evenings would be quite enjoyable.

 

[RichardW9RAC]

Well the more I talked about it here the more I remembered why I do not have a SW receiver now. I guess Ill limit my SW activities to HF and in the shack where I can participate. Thanks for all the suggestions, 73 Rich

 

[dxace1]

I have had many shortwave radios, 2 or 3 R-5000, a couple of AOR AR5000+3s. I always end up selling them. I have had those set up in the living room area separate from my shack. They were hooked up to a 40 meter dipole outside up around 50'. I think Im looking for something again DC to daylight or close but not sure why. I keep hoping I'll run across a set that I really enjoy. I was considering the JRC 545 or the like although its a bit older. Any ideas on a nice desktop rig? tnx, Rich

Distinction between "desktop" and portable are thin now. Tecsun H-501x is an excellent receiver, though the SYNC mode on Tecsun receivers still is not perfected. There are zillions of choices on the used market, including the still excellent R8 series, though you have to be aware that caps may need to be replaced. NRD-535 and 545s are widely available.

 

[RichardW9RAC]

Distinction between "desktop" and portable are thin now. Tecsun H-501x is an excellent receiver, though the SYNC mode on Tecsun receivers still is not perfected. There are zillions of choices on the used market, including the still excellent R8 series, though you have to be aware that caps may need to be replaced. NRD-535 and 545s are widely available.

I just watched a NRD 545, new in box sell on Ebay for $2000, no converter. That makes zero sense to me, its still an old rig new or not. Actually chances are better if it had been used. So why does someone pay 2k for a 15 year old HF radio receiver. I have pretty much decided to just listen some while in the shack. 73 Rich W9RAC

 

[iMONITOR]

I have had many shortwave radios, 2 or 3 R-5000, a couple of AOR AR5000+3s. I always end up selling them. I have had those set up in the living room area separate from my shack. They were hooked up to a 40 meter dipole outside up around 50'. I think Im looking for something again DC to daylight or close but not sure why. I keep hoping I'll run across a set that I really enjoy. I was considering the JRC 545 or the like although its a bit older. Any ideas on a nice desktop rig? tnx, Rich

A "SW rig" as you say in your subject is not a DC-to-daylight receiver. If it's truly SW that you're interested consider the ICOM IC-7300 transceiver for less than half the price for an IC-R8600.

Consider the ICOM IC-7300 transceiver for less than half the price for an IC-R8600.

Icom IC-7300 100W HF/50MHz SDR Transceiver with High Performance Spectrum Scope

Icom's latest SDR Transceiver, the IC-7300 100W Touchscreen HF/50MHz SDR Amateur Radio!

www.gigaparts.com

 

[RichardW9RAC]

A "SW rig" as you say in your subject is not a DC-to-daylight receiver. If it's truly SW that you're interested consider the ICOM IC-7300 transceiver for less than half the price for an IC-R8600.

Consider the ICOM IC-7300 transceiver for less than half the price for an IC-R8600.

Icom IC-7300 100W HF/50MHz SDR Transceiver with High Performance Spectrum Scope

Icom's latest SDR Transceiver, the IC-7300 100W Touchscreen HF/50MHz SDR Amateur Radio!

www.gigaparts.com

View attachment 119738

A "SW rig" as you say in your subject is not a DC-to-daylight receiver

Yes I was using the SW term generically. As I mentioned I have in the shack both the Kenwood 990s and Yaesu 101d which of course are HF capable rigs. At the beginning of the conversation I was considering a DC to daylight receiver, which of course if an incorrect generic term also. I was considering a tabletop SW receiver that also had VHF and UHF capability for a different room. I like the way the NRD 545 looks but without the inverter and being older likely will not fit into my requirements. Not too wild about the IC R-8600 being a SDR having read about many crashing events. Also I would prefer a radio which is not a SDR, noting its just my preference. So over the term of this conversation I have decided to not purchase anything remembering why I had disposed of the others I have had. 73 Rich

 

[iMONITOR]

Yes I was using the SW term generically. As I mentioned I have in the shack both the Kenwood 990s and Yaesu 101d which of course are HF capable rigs. At the beginning of the conversation I was considering a DC to daylight receiver, which of course if an incorrect generic term also. I was considering a tabletop SW receiver that also had VHF and UHF capability for a different room. I like the way the NRD 545 looks but without the inverter and being older likely will not fit into my requirements. Not too wild about the IC R-8600 being a SDR having read about many crashing events. Also I would prefer a radio which is not a SDR, noting its just my preference. So over the term of this conversation I have decided to not purchase anything remembering why I had disposed of the others I have had. 73 Rich

I'd reconsider the NRD545. It was a great receiver in it's day however they're are old enough where various components values begin the change or fail. The 545 used plug-in boards similar to a computer with edge connectors that might begin to have problems. The plug-in VHF-UHF converter was not very impressive, over prices and impossible to find these days.

I'm with you regarding SDR's. They're fun to play with and some interesting features and functions but after awhile I miss real radios!

For a multiband check out the Yaesu FT-991A. You can buy them new for about $1200.

 

[RichardW9RAC]

I'd reconsider the NRD545. It was a great receiver in it's day however they're are old enough where various components values begin the change or fail

With all due respect this is exactly why I did not reconsider it along the the fact as you mentioned the converter has less than favorable reviews on performance. Not really looking for any transceiver to use as the table top SWL. I did consider the Icom R-8500 however but a couple of things about it were not to my liking so I moved on. We can certainly agree that a real radio is the way to go in my opinion. I have had a couple or three Kenwood R-5000's, two with converters. The limited range became a drag after a while however overall I like the radio very much. 73 Rich

 

[bearcatrp]

I have the R8500 and think its a great receiver. Not on par with the 8600 but still a good receiver. Also have the R75 which does better on HF than the 8500 imo. Have the 8500 hooked up to a discone while the R75 is hooked up to a wire. What was it on the 8500 you didn't like? Just curious.

 

[majoco]

My 'best' receiver is a 40+ year old NRD 515, on the side I have a Kenwood R2000 and a marine Debeg (aka Siemens) 7313. They all perform very well and do what they were designed to do - HF reception 100kHz to 30MHz. They are all fed with a 35metre delta loop with a preamp up at the top to a multicoupler in the shack so they all get good signals. Just to see what's going on I have a Winradio G33DDC SDR too but my NRD515 is my 'go to' receiver.

 

[mountainrider]

I believe I should ask for ideas and suggestions about listening from the experts here before deciding on a rig. I am familiar with stations like WBCQ and others but what else interesting might folks suggest one would listen to with a radio such as the Icom R8600? I really appreciate your input. 73 Rich

For forty years I've always been more interested in what can I hear vs a program listener. I have a JRC NRD-545, an Eton E1, and an Airspy HF+ Discovery and have been enjoying the Top 10 DX of the Year Contest the last two years. It's about logging the lowest power, longest distance stations. The scoring system makes it biased towards European SWL's but it's still fun to chase signals for the month of December.

 

[RichardW9RAC]

For forty years I've always been more interested in what can I hear vs a program listener. I have a JRC NRD-545, an Eton E1, and an Airspy HF+ Discovery and have been enjoying the Top 10 DX of the Year Contest the last two years. It's about logging the lowest power, longest distance stations. The scoring system makes it biased towards European SWL's but it's still fun to chase signals for the month of December.

I guess I am a program listener given those descriptions. Being on-air everyday both CW/SSB I hear (more than enough) QRP stations. I kind of enjoy some interesting programs that are not necessary done with high budgets but with interesting content. I like the way the 545 looks for sure, its my type of rig. 73 Rich

 

[RichardW9RAC]

A "SW rig" as you say

I guess I been a ham too long. That's how we refer to radios which are HF capable. 73 Rich

 

[mountainrider]

I guess I am a program listener

Got it. Most WBCQ frequencies don't make it to where I am (Idaho, USA), but some of the shows off WRMI are ok. I listen to Voice of Korea, BBC, Radio New Zealand, Radio Romania, Voice of Vietnam, sometimes Radio Havana, China Radio International, Radio Taiwan, all those in English, and for music XEPPM Mexico City, Radio Nacional Amazonia, Voice of Greece (for now), random Japanese and China transmitters. Oh, and CFVP Voice of the Prairie out of Calgary when I can get it, for 24/7 comedy!

 

[GB46]

I listen to Voice of Korea, BBC, Radio New Zealand, Radio Romania, Voice of Vietnam, sometimes Radio Havana, China Radio International, Radio Taiwan, all those in English, and for music XEPPM Mexico City, Radio Nacional Amazonia, Voice of Greece (for now), random Japanese and China transmitters. Oh, and CFVP Voice of the Prairie out of Calgary when I can get it, for 24/7 comedy!

I haven't heard the Voice of Greece for quite some time now. The signal was much weaker than usual the last time I heard it. Since I miss all that nice Greek music, I've resorted to listening to their web stream, instead:

http://radiostreaming.ert.gr/ert-voiceofgreece

That's the direct link to the streaming content, not to their website.

 

[RichardW9RAC]

Got it. Most WBCQ frequencies don't make it to where I am (Idaho, USA), but some of the shows off WRMI are ok. I listen to Voice of Korea, BBC, Radio New Zealand, Radio Romania, Voice of Vietnam, sometimes Radio Havana, China Radio International, Radio Taiwan, all those in English, and for music XEPPM Mexico City, Radio Nacional Amazonia, Voice of Greece (for now), random Japanese and China transmitters. Oh, and CFVP Voice of the Prairie out of Calgary when I can get it, for 24/7 comedy!

I was mostly looking for stuff above the HF ham bands. Might not be much there any longer since most of the police and stuff are either encrypted or getting ready to be. Who knows I might pick something up again but I doubt it. Thanks for information, 73 Rich

 

[ka3jjz]

Don't make the mistake of thinking that SWBC is kaput. Several stations have opened up new services since the Ukraine war began, and even the Voice of Greece has delayed their shutdown in part due to the conflict. Even the venerable BBC has started a couple of new services.

I would never depend on a web-only listing of stations, because updates are done at the whim of the site owner. The 2 best sources for up to date information are the World of Radio and SWSkeds lists on the groups.io listserver. Both update very frequently - an important consideration for these times. In addition, the files that come out of the SWSkeds list are compatible with a few SDR packages, making them a useful tool. Both lists are free and virtually no spam.....Mike

 

[KB2GOM]

Well, at the risk of drawing lightning from SW Desktop purists, how about giving one of the modern SW portables a shot? I used to write (and review receivers) for Passport To World Band Radio. I was out of SW for about a decade, and when I got back in (last year), there were darn few SW desktops to be had. I've been told that the Icom 8600, 7300, and 705 all offer worthy performance, and I've been tempted by them.

I dug out the only SW rig I had, a Grundig Satellit 800, ran 50 feet of wire, and found that it works pretty well. Then I acquired a couple of portables -- a CCrane Skywave SSB and a Tecsun PL-880 -- and found that both of them work pretty well with the 50-foot wire. They lack, of course, some of the sophistication of the desktops, ie, passband tuning, notch filter, etc. But the scan-and-store functions of the portables are pretty slick: press and hold a button, the radio scans the frequencies, stores them, and later you can step through the memories to see what's on tonight.

The Skywave SSB has AM, FM, SW, HF SSB, and NOAA weather radio in a package you can stick in a pocket. The PL-880 is bigger, but the controls for tuning SSB are better for listening to hams, transoceanic aircraft controllers, etc. Frankly, I am pleasantly surprised at how good these modern portables are. I am NOT, however, saying that they are just as good as your vintage classic SW receivers, but for my purposes perhaps they are good enough, and you get lots of change back from your kilobucks.

Just a thought.

As to the stuff above the HF bands, I bought a Uniden SDS200 scanner, and I'm absolutely delighted. No tricky programming, just plug in your location and select the services you want to hear. Of course, you can fine-tune your listening by creating favorites lists and uploading them from your computer. I made mine better by hooking it to Homebrewed Off-Center Fed Dipole - The RadioReference Wiki I built the wire version and hung it in a corner of my shack, and for my needs it was definitely worth doing.

 

[RichardW9RAC]

Passport To World Band Radio

I use to buy that guide Jack, back around 1990 ish. Great read, thanks for the information. I like the NRD-545 but need to do further research on it regarding capabilities above 30 MHz. 73 Rich