looking to buy my first shortwave

[Akuriko]

Hello All, as a prepper and a person who preps like crazy i been intrested in shortwave for a long while aka world band so i am curious is many stations still around and 2 is it more intresting to recieve news through it then the local internet? i want it for daily news and for entertainment purposes as well as for prepping, im looking for the eton models as a gift for myself.

in a unprediactable world i wana have a world band radio that runs on AA batteries

let me know

 

[wtp]

i thought live below 30 was an age thing !

 

[Akuriko]

i thought live below 30 was an age thing !

i dont understand your answer.

 

[wtp]

shortwave is below 30 Mhz.

 

[tuihill]

Any "news" you receive will be the English Language broadcasts of various state owned broadcasters, usually delivered with the bias you would expect. There are fewer and fewer of them every year. However, if you like that sort of thing, China has the largest array of news transmitters usually able to be heard somewhere all day.

 

[bearcatrp]

For a preper, get a handheld ham radio that the receiver covers HF. Dual purpose. May not be as sensitive as a dedicated SW radio but in an extreme emergency, you can key up to talk to someone IF needed. If SHTF real bad, don’t think the FCC will be going after anyone keying up without a ticket (ham license). Get an older one. I have a yaesu VX-7R for this purpose. I think someone was selling a VX5R in the for sale section Fairly cheap. Not sure your budget but for dedicated SW, plenty of options under $100 bucks. Good luck.

 

[N5TX]

The requirement to use AA batteries limits your choices for new shortwave radios. The Qodosen DX-286, for example is one of the most sensitive portable radios available but it uses two 18650 lithium batteries. Most any new Eton radio will do just fine. I like the reviews found here: radiojayallen
He reviews almost all of the old classics and many of the latest. China is actually getting a lot better at making electronic things.
Receiving single side band is a big problem for most shortwave receivers, even the ones that claim to have a switch for that. Listening in on ham radio operators talking with each other can be quite challenging.
Ham radio transceivers are expensive and can be very complicated to use. I like Yaesu but would never recommend one to anyone that does not intend to get the correct license. They are a big waste of money for the vast majority. Classic collectable radios and other older radios are bigger, use the batteries faster and most don't work as well as when new because they are likely to need some work.
My favorite classic collectable shortwave is the Kenwood R5000 but it really helps to be able to repair your own electronics with these oldies. I recommend the latest technology new radios for everyone.

It can be very interesting to get your news from shortwave but as long as the internet is working you will be better informed by the internet. One of the fun things about shortwave news is that most of it comes directly from each nations government. It is not just a bunch of reporters trying to figure out what is going on. The interesting part is that each nations intelligence agency knows exactly what the truth is but they put on a predictable spin, different from other governments who all put their own spin on all information. The resulting lies and differences in the stories can be amusing and revealing. One can not trust most of what we get from the internet either but I find those websites somewhat less amusing.
We need to develop an understanding of the flavor of lies told by each country in order to get a better idea of what is really going on. This comes only with experience actually listing to them.

 

[scanmanmi]

As a fellow prepper and General license holder I don't think you're going to find much useful/truthful information on shortwave. You can listen to broadcasts but all the Hams use Single Sideband so I would recommend getting one capable of decoding SSB. It would also be nice to find one that had an external antenna connector since a long wire antenna will be incredibly better. I would also get one with Lithium batteries that you can recharge ( separate solar charger). Eton seems to sell gadgets and I would look to a more vertical brand like Sangean or Tecsun.

 

[bearcatrp]

It’s a hit and miss on news. Have heard USA news from overseas that was not broadcasted here as home. Would go online to verify it was true or not. Sure enough, would find it online. This is more national news than local news. Heck, I will listen to hams talking about a particular news I’ve not heard before. Again, hit or miss.

 

[N9JCQ]

The requirement to use AA batteries limits your choices for new shortwave radios. The Qodosen DX-286, for example is one of the most sensitive portable radios available but it uses two 18650 lithium batteries. Most any new Eton radio will do just fine. I like the reviews found here: radiojayallen
He reviews almost all of the old classics and many of the latest. China is actually getting a lot better at making electronic things.
Receiving single side band is a big problem for most shortwave receivers, even the ones that claim to have a switch for that. Listening in on ham radio operators talking with each other can be quite challenging.
Ham radio transceivers are expensive and can be very complicated to use. I like Yaesu but would never recommend one to anyone that does not intend to get the correct license. They are a big waste of money for the vast majority. Classic collectable radios and other older radios are bigger, use the batteries faster and most don't work as well as when new because they are likely to need some work.
My favorite classic collectable shortwave is the Kenwood R5000 but it really helps to be able to repair your own electronics with these oldies. I recommend the latest technology new radios for everyone.

It can be very interesting to get your news from shortwave but as long as the internet is working you will be better informed by the internet. One of the fun things about shortwave news is that most of it comes directly from each nations government. It is not just a bunch of reporters trying to figure out what is going on. The interesting part is that each nations intelligence agency knows exactly what the truth is but they put on a predictable spin, different from other governments who all put their own spin on all information. The resulting lies and differences in the stories can be amusing and revealing. One can not trust most of what we get from the internet either but I find those websites somewhat less amusing.
We need to develop an understanding of the flavor of lies told by each country in order to get a better idea of what is really going on. This comes only with experience actually listing to them.

Not to be nit picky the Qodosen DX-286 only uses one battery. It is a power hog so it's best to have another battery as back up.

 

[tuihill]

Not to be nit picky the Qodosen DX-286 only uses one battery. It is a power hog so it's best to have another battery as back up.

I think I read somewhere that the DX-286 now ships with two batteries.

 

[N5TX]

Thanks for the correction! I need to buy a DX-286 for my collection. So small there is only room for one battery. I have way too many radios now but another one or two...... well, they make a good hobby.
Most 18650 lithium batteries are actually a very small fraction of the claimed capacity.

 

[ditto1958]

I think I read somewhere that the DX-286 now ships with two batteries.

Yes, Amazon has been selling it with two batteries, but it only uses one at a time.

If the op here wants a small radio, I believe the CC Skywave radios use 2 AA’s. If a larger radio is ok, the Tecsun PL-660 and 680 both use 4 AA’s.