In article om,
Roadie wrote:

On Apr 23, 9:56 pm, "Denny \"Smitty\" Schmidt"
wrote:
Are there any decent SW receivers in the hundred dollar range? What about
the Grundig s350?
Thanks
Smitty

The Degen DE1103 would be a good choice that is priced well under
$100.00 The Sony 7600 could also be a good choice, but the lack of a
tuning knob is a significant omission.

I don't find that a problem with the up/down 1 and 5 KHz buttons and
direct entry. Don't miss the tuning knob at all.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

On Apr 26, 4:40 pm, wrote:
Check the Walgreens stores in your area. www.walgreens.com They have
some cheap AM FM Shortwave Radios for sale.Sometimes they have some of
those radios and a bunch of other thingys marked down half price.
cuhulin

The cheapy Walgreen's "Lifelong" analog-tuned radio is about
the same as the Bell & Howell model often seen in catalogs
(a different radio but equivalent performance -- both bad). The
problem with these junky radios is that they are so poor (worthless
dial calibration, many image problems, practically impossible tuning)
that they turn off a novice to the whole idea of SW listening.
Those of us who are experienced SWLs can play with these just
for fun and compare them with our better radios, but someone
without that background will think that all SW equipment is as
hard to use and irritating in operation.

There's a Coby digital-readout model which is also pretty bad (it was
actually reviewed and panned in Passport), but there IS one cheapy
digital-readout model that is sold as the Electro-Brand 839 (if I'm
remembering the number right) and the jWin JX-M14 that is
actually usable as a radio -- here's a RadioIntel review:

http://www.radiointel.com/review-jwinjxm14.htm

I have the ElectroBrand version and bought a batch more to give
as presents. They were available on the net for under $10 each
with free shipping when I got them.

For an actually usable and enjoyable SW radio, you can't beat
the Kaito/Degen 1103, and I got mine for about $80 in the Kaito
version with an English manual and power supply & packaging,
which is better in my opinion than trying to save a few bucks
by going with the Chinese-language Degen. If you can find a
deal on the Eton S350DL (some were being sold on Amazon
last year for $35 and I kick myself for not buying several to
give as presents!), even though it has image issues and is
analog-tuned with no digital memory features, it is a reasonable
radio for a novice. Fine sound, a decent-sized frequency readout
good for people with poorer vision, fine local MW & FM
performance. I use mine more for the latter than for SW, but
it gets WBCQ well when I use it for that.

73, Will

Did you ever eat at Cheap Charlies floating boat restaurant on the
beautiful Saigon River in beautiful Saigon? I guess that's what made me
think about those cheap radios at Walgreens stores.

Back in the day,A La 1964,you wasen't ''Hip" unless you went to Cheap
Charlies at least once and spoted a Rolex wris****ch on your wrist,,, I
did both.One of the best meals I ever had in my life was at a little mom
and pop restaurant (those really are the best kinds of restaurants) up
the street from where we were unloading ammo from a small barge
boat.Roast Duck and Rice with all the trimmings,cost me about one
dollar.
www.devilfinder.com Cheap Charlies Floating Restaurant Saigon Vietnam
cuhulin

Agree,

the Degen DE1105 ( Very similar to the Degen DE11) is a good choice if
you want a double reduction Shirt Pocket Sized Shortwave radio . ..

Performance is comparable to the Sangean 606A.

This is an excellent small shortwave radio, perfect for outdoor
activities

( Hiking / Biking, trekking)

or just wandering around in the early A.M. getting a bit of excersize
and picking up the odd signal bouncing down from above . .

http://www.radiointel.com/review-degende1105.htm





On May 1, 5:06 am, Cato wrote:
O.K., here is how it is with me. I love pretty well all my radios. But
for a radio in the $100.00 range? O.K. lets go a bit over and a bit
under $100.00.
I like my Sony 7600, my Eton E5, my Kaito KA1102. These all have
SSB, and dual conversion.

I also like my Kaito KA1101, Eton E100 and Degen DE11. None of
these has SSB. But I still like them.
Of these three, only the KA1101 is dual conversion, and has wide/
narrow filters. The other two are only single conversion but are
really small, which I like for backpacking. There are times for me
when I simply need something smaller then my Sony 7600, Eton E5 or
Kaito KA1102. They are great radios, but when backpacking in the
wilderness, when size and weight are extremely important, they stay
home and one of the little ones, Eton E100, or Degen DE11 goes into my
backpack for the canoe and trail. (with either a little wire extension
antenna or one of the compact Degen active loops).
Cato

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.

On May 1, 4:12 pm, Will wrote:

but there IS one cheapy
digital-readout model that is sold as the Electro-Brand 839 (if I'm
remembering the number right)

I checked last night -- it is the ElectroBrand 859
(not 839).

Will

On May 1, 4:45 pm, wrote:
Did you ever eat at Cheap Charlies floating boat restaurant on the
beautiful Saigon River in beautiful Saigon?
cuhulin

When in Saigon, I mostly ate at one of the BOQ messes;
where I spent the most time was the Hoa Trang on the beach
in Nha Trang -- that was our team hangout. There was also
a great fancy French restaurant in Nha Trang but I don't recall
the name. What was neatest about it was the teak-framed
window screens, divided into separate screen squares. Each
square had its resident lizard that kept the flies & other flying
insects' population down... :-)

73, Will

Will wrote:
On May 1, 4:45 pm, wrote:
Did you ever eat at Cheap Charlies floating boat restaurant on the
beautiful Saigon River in beautiful Saigon?
cuhulin

When in Saigon, I mostly ate at one of the BOQ messes;
where I spent the most time was the Hoa Trang on the beach
in Nha Trang -- that was our team hangout. There was also
a great fancy French restaurant in Nha Trang but I don't recall
the name. What was neatest about it was the teak-framed
window screens, divided into separate screen squares. Each
square had its resident lizard that kept the flies & other flying
insects' population down... :-)

73, Will



Hi Will. if your fancy French was outside the wire, it could have
been the Rainbow club. i believe there was one more in the ville.
but, i can't recall it's name. the Rainbow was a great place for
steaks.

Drifter...