"Chris Hill" wrote in message
...
I used to be an avid listener about 15 years ago or more and I've
started playing with it again. I currently have an old Radio shack
digital receiver, made in '89 or so. It works, but I'm tired of its
background noise and it is suffering from loose antenna connections
and other problems. I always wanted a real communications receiver,
and I may just up and buy one, when you're a kid money is always
tight.

Which receiver?? The DX-440?? Mine still
does a serviceable job as a backup, and for
getting the kids interested in shortwave.

I'm trying to choose among what is currently available, and I'm in a
special situation. I am blind and I want a receiver I can use
fairly
well. I'm into computers so I am either going to buy one of the
computer-controlled units or something like the Icom R75 with the
speech synthesizer option. I was looking at the Ten Tec 320d on the
computer-controlled end for comparison.

Here's what I'd liketo know:
1. Does the Icom r75 or even the 8500 if anybody knows allow one to
add memories by entering a frequency and once on it, just putting a
memory number in?
2. Are the controls for functions specific knobs or do you have to
go
through menus that won't speak in order to change things?
3. How does the r75 sound?


On the Ten Tech, I'd like to know if you can enter a frequency by
typing it in, and would the lack of a knotch filter (something I've
always thought would be nice) be a real big disadvantage?

I'm really tempted to go with the icom, then I wouldn't have to run
a
computer to make it work. The Ten Tec is definitely cheaper,
though,
and I have enough computing power around here to satisfy a small
third
world country. My main interests are broadcast stations, and any
marine stuff I can find.

My thinking is that if you're interested in a big spaced
radio for something like legal blindness but not total
blindness, you can use a Grundig Sat 800, because it
has wide spacings between buttons and good sized
knobs to work with.

If you pretty much require a computer to work with
the radio, go for one with an advanced instruction
set. The older Icom IC-R71A and Kenwood R-5000
don't have the instruction sets that the newer models
do. Aside from that, I'd not be much help with computer
control of a shortwave, since I don't use one that way.

--Mike L.