I have a mini 300PE Grundig (from Radio Shack) shortwave radio.
It is great for a tiny radio that can pick up FM/AM/Shortwave
channels.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a unit that has better
reception, but
is real easy to use (I don't need a lot of bells and whistles)? It
could be a lot larger, but prefer something that can be easily
packed in a carry-on when traveling. How much would I have to spend
to get
something much better? I saw offerings by Grundig, Sony etc.. up to
about $250,
but was wondering what is the "next step up" in Ham Radio. In other
words, what
are considered "pro models"?

Thanks for any advice on this.

---- Entfred

On Oct 16, 11:41 am, FedUp wrote:
I have a mini 300PE Grundig (from Radio Shack) shortwave radio.
It is great for a tiny radio that can pick up FM/AM/Shortwave
channels.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a unit that has better
reception, but
is real easy to use (I don't need a lot of bells and whistles)? It
could be a lot larger, but prefer something that can be easily
packed in a carry-on when traveling. How much would I have to spend
to get
something much better? I saw offerings by Grundig, Sony etc.. up to
about $250,
but was wondering what is the "next step up" in Ham Radio. In other
words, what
are considered "pro models"?

Thanks for any advice on this.

---- Entfred

Look at the Degen DE1103. They sell for about $65.00 on Ebay.

Check out the Degen DE1105

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

or the Kaito KA 11

http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...able/0011.html



On Oct 16, 11:41 am, FedUp wrote:
I have a mini 300PE Grundig (from Radio Shack) shortwave radio.
It is great for a tiny radio that can pick up FM/AM/Shortwave
channels.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a unit that has better
reception, but
is real easy to use (I don't need a lot of bells and whistles)? It
could be a lot larger, but prefer something that can be easily
packed in a carry-on when traveling. How much would I have to spend
to get
something much better? I saw offerings by Grundig, Sony etc.. up to
about $250,
but was wondering what is the "next step up" in Ham Radio. In other
words, what
are considered "pro models"?

Thanks for any advice on this.

---- Entfred

On Oct 16, 11:41 am, FedUp wrote:
I have a mini 300PE Grundig (from Radio Shack) shortwave radio.
It is great for a tiny radio that can pick up FM/AM/Shortwave
channels.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a unit that has better
reception, but
is real easy to use (I don't need a lot of bells and whistles)? It
could be a lot larger, but prefer something that can be easily
packed in a carry-on when traveling. How much would I have to spend
to get
something much better? I saw offerings by Grundig, Sony etc.. up to
about $250,
but was wondering what is the "next step up" in Ham Radio. In other
words, what
are considered "pro models"?

Thanks for any advice on this.

---- Entfred

Dear "FedUp,"

There is another small shortwave radio that is often overlooked when
listeners are making recommendations to others such as yourself. This
is the Sony ICF-SW35. It is a dual-conversion MW/SW/FM radio. PASSPORT
TO WORLD BAND RADIO has never been enamored of this set primarily due
to the fact that it has no keypad. But, with fifty memories, and build-
quality "like a tank" (even though it is made in China), this radio
will perform very well indeed. There are "work-arounds" to minimize
the impact of the lack of a keypad and the radio is quite sensitive
off its whip. (Its MW performance is also very good and its FM
performance is at least what you'd expect, maybe better.) Its image
rejection happens to be first-class. There is no SSB. The set is
extremely easy to use, yet quite sophisticated. Best of all, its price
is "right" - if you search around a bit on the web, you will probably
find it for less than $80.00, sometimes a good deal less. I think this
is quite a bargain for a radio of this quality and longevity.

I own two of them. They are both over five years old. I keep them in
the glove compartments[!] of our cars - winter and summer (with the
batteries out, of course). When I put the batteries in, the radios
always "fire up" perfectly and the only thing one must reset is the
clock. All the memories are retained even without batteries being
installed. Neither has ever even "hiccuped."

I hope you'll consider this one. I think you would be pleased.

Best,

Joe

Thanks for the recommendation, Joe. I have a few questions:

There is another small shortwave radio that is often overlooked when
listeners are making recommendations to others such as yourself. This
is the Sony ICF-SW35. It is a dual-conversion MW/SW/FM radio. PASSPORT
TO WORLD BAND RADIO has never been enamored of this set primarily due
to the fact that it has no keypad.

What is a keypad?

But, with fifty memories

I don't need any memories, but most radios have them. I get I will
enjoy using these, so I can remember stations I listened to.

, and build-
quality "like a tank" (even though it is made in China), this radio
will perform very well indeed. There are "work-arounds" to minimize
the impact of the lack of a keypad and the radio is quite sensitive
off its whip. (Its MW performance is also very good and its FM
performance is at least what you'd expect, maybe better.) Its image
rejection happens to be first-class. There is no SSB.

What is the advantage having a SSB?

The set is
extremely easy to use, yet quite sophisticated. Best of all, its price
is "right" - if you search around a bit on the web, you will probably
find it for less than $80.00, sometimes a good deal less. I think this
is quite a bargain for a radio of this quality and longevity.

I'll check this radio out.

---- Entfred

I own two of them. They are both over five years old. I keep them in
the glove compartments[!] of our cars - winter and summer (with the
batteries out, of course). When I put the batteries in, the radios
always "fire up" perfectly and the only thing one must reset is the
clock. All the memories are retained even without batteries being
installed. Neither has ever even "hiccuped."

I hope you'll consider this one. I think you would be pleased.

Best,

Joe- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

www.devilfinder.com Shortwave Radio Single Side Band

I own some Shortwave radios.One of them has Single Side Band.One time a
guy in Alabama was talking to some other guys (on Single Side Band, it
must have been a dull night for them) about how to fry ham and eggs.I
don't listen much to Single Side Band.
cuhulin

Dear Entfred:

You wrote -

Thanks for the recommendation, Joe. I have a few questions:

What is a keypad?

A keypad is a group of numbers on the radio similar to the keypad on
your telephone. This is used to directly enter the frequency desired
if you know the frequency to which you wish to listen. Your Grundig
Mini 300PE, being an analog-tuned radio, does not have one but MOST
digitally-tuned shortwave radios DO have one. The Sony ICF-SW35 is an
exception and there are several other shortwave radios (some quite
expensive) that do not have a keypad. Frankly, it is better to have
one but it is not an insurmountable problem to do without. In my
opinion, this is really the only "negative" regarding this Sony radio
but, at its price and considering its performance and quality, it is
completely acceptable, at least to me.

What is the advantage having a SSB?

Single Sideband (SSB) is a form of transmission by which one of the
radio wave's sideband and its carrier wave is "stripped off" the
signal. This leaves only one sideband that is actually transmitted. An
SSB-equipped radio then "reconstitutes" the signal so that the
listener can hear it. This has a great advantage in that far less
power is required to achieve equivalent distance to a standard AM
signal. It has a MAJOR disadvantage in that it is fairly difficult to
tune. This is why this transmission method had only "caught on" with
amateur (Ham) radio operators. There are very few SSB broadcast
signals (the armed forces radio-television service being the notable
exception). I do not know if your current radio can tune any of the
amateur bands; if it can, you will hear signals that sound highly
distorted (they have been compared to "Donald Duck") and which cannot
be understood at all. If your radio were to be equipped with SSB, you
would be able to switch it in and listen to the signals.

It is a complication in operation and most people do not need or even
want it. If you later decided that you wanted to listen to Ham
transmissions, you would need a more complicated (and expensive)
radio. The Degen radios that have been mentioned here DO feature SSB
reception as do some other radios in the price range in which you are
interested but in ALL cases these radios just do not have the build
quality (or apparent longevity) of the Sony model. (Others reading
this will disagree with me but the Degen radios, such as the '1103,
have not been on the market long enough to know just how long they
will give problem-free service. The Sony shortwave radios have
excellent track records.)

I hope the above has been helpful to you. Please do not hesitate to
ask any further questions you may have.

Best,

Joe

Joe and everybody,

Thanks so much for explaining the options I have and some of
the fundamentals. I have some more
questions and comments:

What do you think about Grundig 550?

The Sony unit that lots of people like appears to have a smallish
speaker. I just read about a KA2100 model that looks interesting.

Kaito PLL Synthesized Dual Conversion AM/FM Shortwave Radio, KA2100
at http://www.amazon.com/Kaito-Synthesi.../dp/B000HOJN3O

The KA2100 appears to have SSB.

As far as any unit I buy,
the keypad sounds very convenient, but can live without, as I have
always lived without one.

No immediate plans to get into Ham Radio. I can't remember if you
have to do morse code or not, still. I know somebody who did Ham
when they were a kid and learned code and was eventually able
to get a very good rig and talk to people around the world.

What would really be cool is to find a reasonably priced desk top
SW receiver that was built into a stereo receiver. I have an ancient
receiver that is almost dead (Sansui 771) and it would be cool to buy
a new stereo receiver with shortwave reception, but have not seen
anything like that :-)

Entfred



What is the advantage having a SSB?

Single Sideband (SSB) is a form of transmission by which one of the
radio wave's sideband and its carrier wave is "stripped off" the
signal. This leaves only one sideband that is actually transmitted. An
SSB-equipped radio then "reconstitutes" the signal so that the
listener can hear it. This has a great advantage in that far less
power is required to achieve equivalent distance to a standard AM
signal. It has a MAJOR disadvantage in that it is fairly difficult to
tune. This is why this transmission method had only "caught on" with
amateur (Ham) radio operators. There are very few SSB broadcast
signals (the armed forces radio-television service being the notable
exception). I do not know if your current radio can tune any of the
amateur bands; if it can, you will hear signals that sound highly
distorted (they have been compared to "Donald Duck") and which cannot
be understood at all. If your radio were to be equipped with SSB, you
would be able to switch it in and listen to the signals.

It is a complication in operation and most people do not need or even
want it. If you later decided that you wanted to listen to Ham
transmissions, you would need a more complicated (and expensive)
radio. The Degen radios that have been mentioned here DO feature SSB
reception as do some other radios in the price range in which you are
interested but in ALL cases these radios just do not have the build
quality (or apparent longevity) of the Sony model. (Others reading
this will disagree with me but the Degen radios, such as the '1103,
have not been on the market long enough to know just how long they
will give problem-free service. The Sony shortwave radios have
excellent track records.)

I hope the above has been helpful to you. Please do not hesitate to
ask any further questions you may have.

Best,

Joe

Grundig radios nowadays are made in China, I think.The quality just
isn't there (in my opinion) anymore.I own a 1957 (according to a date in
one of the owners/operator booklets laying on the Phonograph of the
radio) made in Germany AM/FM/Shortwave/Phonograph wooden cabinet floor
model radio, which I believe was made by Telefunken.I also own a 1950s
(I can't find a date in the owners manual, actually, the owners manual
is a folded paper in a paper envelope/pocket that is on the inside of
the rear panel of the radio) or it might be a 1960s, Telefunken Opus 7
AM/FM/Shortwave wooden cabinet table model radio.
cuhulin

On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 07:50:14 -0700, FedUp wrote:

Joe and everybody,

Thanks so much for explaining the options I have and some of
the fundamentals. I have some more
questions and comments:

What do you think about Grundig 550?

The Grundig 550 was Grundig's answer to Sony's ICF SW55/77. The ease
of use, and ergonomics are a horror story on the 550. I had mine for
about 6 months and very happily sold it to some other sucker.


The 550 also eats batteries for breakfast. The KA2100 does NOT
support SSB, there is no product detector or BFO.

For the money ICF-7600GR is hard to beat.