Gavin Jacobs wrote:
In article ,
says...
Hi all,
Having done some DX'ing with a small Sony SW radio for ten years, I
would like to buy a better one, connected to the pc. I was thinking of
the Ten-Tech RX320D. Does anyone have any experience with this radio?
Is it better than, say, Icom or Winradio? And what about computer
noise? Also, I'm in an apartment and would like some kind of antenna
(active?). Which one would you recommend, and where to get it. I am
not really a DIY person 
Thanks!
[...]
I agree with comment about not getting an internal card radio. Too much
noise inside the best of the computer boxes. Also, they are much more
expensive. At some point your new computer will come without a serial
port; then you will need to buy either a USB to serial converter, or a
serial card. Both these will be low risk and low cost compared to trying
to make a card-radio work.
While I agree with the caveats above, it depends on your goals. The
WinRadio G303i is an SDR, which allows you to do a lot of interesting
hacks, should you want to. The API is published. Eventually I hope
the register set for the card is published, so an open-source Linux
driver for it can be developed.
As for its performance as an HF receiver...
It's astounding. NO noise leakage from the PC at all, and it has
features many other receivers don't. I've thoroughly enjoyed mine.
If you get one, be sure to get the "Professional Demodulator" version
-- the extra $100 for that software is worth it, just for the
continuous bandwidth adjustments.
Now, if you aren't interested in a PCI-based receiver, which, granted
*will* have a limited lifetime, the RX-320 is well regarded. I don't
have that one so I can't speak for it, pro or con.
You might want to pick up a copy of "Passport to World Band Radio" to
see the reviews of the two receivers.
Regards,
Eric
--
Eric F. Richards,
"Making me root for a sanctimonious statist blowhard like Kerry isn't
the worst thing Bush has done to the country. But it's the offense
that I take most personally."
-- http://www.reason.com/links/links071304.shtml