Hi Andy,
While I am a newbie myself, I am from northeastern PA (about 20 miles north of
Scranton). I also bought a YB400PE in December for $149 at Radio Shack; just
sold it locally for $100.00. While I thought the FM band was great, the AM and
Shortwave bands did not seem to have the "volume" level I needed to listen
without sitting right in front of the radio.

I bought a Sangean ATS818ACS - it has a substantial increase in volume with
good sound quality, a tone control knob, and a built-in programmable cassette
tape recorder. Perhaps not a popular radio with most, but it is perfect for
me. It gets good SW reception with just the large whip antenna.

I think Grundig may be overrated, and it is no longer the German-made radio it
used to be.

Linda