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Good starter Shortwave Radio?
Zach Edwardson wrote:
I am totally new to the hobby, so I was thinking it would be nice to have a shortwave radio that I could listen to some broadcasts. I would prefer a radio that is battery independent (So I don't spend a fortune on getting new batteries for a radio, plug in or wind up is fine) and I really do not want to spend a ton of money on something that I won't use much if I don't like it, so it needs to be inexpensive (as in under $100 USD.) To answer you questions backwards, don't buy a battery independent radio, unless you need one. For example in your fallout shelter. Buy either a radio that runs on household current, or if you want a portable, buy one that uses AA batteries. Then go out and buy a set of slow discharge NiMH batteries, such as the Sanyo Enerloop, and use them. They charge in any standard NiHM charger, but take longer to charge. They also will hold 80% of their charge for a year. The don't take a charge well the first few times you use them, so expect them to need to be recharged relatively quickly the first few times. They will last about 1,000 charge/discharge cycles, or 3 years if you run them down to empty and recharge every day. Now to a radio. You can look at the website of Universal Radio (www.rffun.com) and see what they have. Look at their used radios too. Don't buy anything with tubes in it, no matter how good it looks, how well they say it works, nor how cheap it is. Tube radios are fine if you understand the care they need, but as a first radio, it's not a good idea. Before you buy anything, put an ad up on the local mailing lists, looking for one for free. You would be surprised what people have, and won't get rid of because they think it might be valuable, but really want out of their homes and would gladly give away to someone who asked. You could also go to www.qrz.com and put in your zipcode in the advanced search option. That will give you a list of hams that live near you. If you recognize any names, give them a call. If you don't send them an email, or if they are a neighbor, knock on their door and explain why. Hams love to show of their stations and help prospective hams. Geoff. -- Geoffrey S. Mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM To help restaurants, as part of the "stimulus package", everyone must order dessert. As part of the socialized health plan, you are forbidden to eat it. :-) |
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