I'd tend to look for something else besides the SRIII, such as a
Sangean-built Realistic model in your price range. The SRIII is
definitely sensitive on AM, but it is really touchy to tune in the upper
end of the band and drifts off easily and often. Also, any half-decent
$20 portable AM/FM radio from The Shack is sensitive enough for most
purposes, especially with a hand-wound ferrite antenna booster, or a
simple wire wrapped around the radio and led out for a good length away
from the radio. 9 years ago, I bought my SRIII for $40, and although it
has beautiful sound, it s a pain to use compared to others I own. If you
could come up with a few more bucks, the CCRadio from Crane
(Sangean-built) is excellent at $159. It is digital readout to 1khz.,
and is rock-solid non-drift. Plenty sensitive, and they did a lot of
other things right on this one, such as spacing the slewing keys at 10
khz per jump, which makes it the BEST radio I own for AM/BC
bandscanning.