View Single Post
  #15   Report Post  
Old May 2nd 07, 04:59 PM posted to rec.radio.shortwave
Dennis Dennis is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Apr 2007
Posts: 2
Default Cheap beginner radio

On Apr 23, 6:56 pm, "Denny \"Smitty\" Schmidt"
wrote:
Are there any decent SW receivers in the hundred dollar range? What about
the Grundig s350?
Thanks
Smitty


I own both the Kaito KA1101 and KA1103. Both are excellent. If you
live anywhere near an AM transmitter site the 1103 is the better
choice unless you don't care about the AM band. The wide filter on the
1101 is a little bit too wide. I paid $50 for the 1101 (a demo) and
$80 for the 1103, which just arrived yesterday. The 1101 is smaller.
Both are very hot off the whip. It doesn't do SSB but the 1103 does
and a lot better than I expected. Both work well with the windup SW
antennas (23 feet long) available or the short wire antennas that come
with the radio.

I also have the Sony ICF-SW7600GR but it's around $150 right now. It
has synchronous detection, which minimizes fade distortion and
improves selectivity. The Radio Shack DX-398 can be a good choice but
it's been discontinued; it's identical to the Sangean ATS-909. The two
main down sides to it is that it's pretty deaf off the whip and the
ferrite bar. Outboard antennas (I use a passive loop for AM) are
needed before it comes to life and it becomes a real radio. It goes
through batteries like crazy. They pop up on eBay once in awhile. If
you travel the DX-398 is probably not a good choice because of the
need for external antennas to get good results.

Happy hunting.