"Tom" wrote:

The point of my message was that you cannot make a SW radio out of a
laptop alone

yes that was my question

And now I'm clear on that...thanks!

I've just been debating buying a small portable SW
radio as I've gotten completely rid of TV and cable TV
and thinking maybe SW radio might be a good replacement
for it.

Sounds like it best for me to get a dedicated stand
lone small SW radio

I mistakenly assumed I could put some software on my
laptop and make a SW radio out it