With reference to short-wave listening, a
newcomer who just wanted
to listen to the BBC, RCI, and The Power Hour would be quite happy
with a Grundig S350 or even a Grundig Yacht Boy 206 for $25 from
ebay. At least he has some evidence that the models on my list are
not prone to break down. I am sure that some of the new Chinese
radios represent good value but I have not had any first-hand
experience with them and they have not been on the market long enough
to determine their service life.

The S350 is is giant step backward in shortwave receivers. The Sony 7600
blows it away in technology and performance for the money.
And I still can't find the word 'inexpensive' in your original post. We are
seeing a lot of lower quality chinese knockoffs of late but (thankfully)
nothing at crude as the 350.

--
Brian Denley
http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html