Greetings:

Earlier... you said you could not afford a lot, and you
wanted something small. Is is difficult for the rest of us to guess
just what you can afford, and how small you wish the radio to be.

Taking these two things into consideration.... You might want to
stick with something the size of the KA11, or Eton E100. I doubt you
would want to go larger then a KA1101, or if you want to move into
SSB.. then the KA1102....
The KA1103, or the improved version, the G5 or E5 are bigger. As
is the Sony ICF-SW7600GR The 1103, G5 E5 and ICF-SW7600GR are also
more expensive, and ypou could not afford a lot as you stated, and
wanted something less costly.

So... for a combination of small size and less money.,.,. the KA11,
and the Eton E100. Shop around and you will find the E100 on sale.
Larger, but still pretty compact are the KA1101, and for SSB the
KA1102 or the Degen equivalents.

Many of us on this list have radios that cover the full SW and LW
and AM and FM spectrum, but from what you are telling us, you don't
need all that.

You don't really need Longwave unless you are going to travel to
Europe or Africa or some such place.

Get a radio that covers at least 4750-21850 kHz with no significant
frequency gaps. Full world band coverage from 2300-26100 kHz is best,
but 3200-21850 kHz is plentygood—even 5730-21850 kHz is usually okay.
(From PTWBR)


For world band reception, single-sideband (SSB) isn’t important, but
is essential for utility or “ham” signals. SSB’s main use for world
band is to hear the American Forces Radio and Television Service.
In the Americas (ITU Region 2), there is no longwave broadcast
band. In Europe, North Africa, Russia and Mongolia (ITU Region 1),
longwave radio frequencies in the band 148.5 to 283.5 kHz are used for
domestic and international broadcasting.

I would not bother with Longwave capability unless you are going to
travel those areas.

From your stated uses of your radio, you will not need longwave
capability,.

Best regards, Cato