SNIP
What modern (new or used) AM radio can I buy that can pull in distant
stations?

Hiya...

I can hear most of the 50 kilowatt AM stations here in NJ with the exception
of the ones that go directional and transmit in a direction that nulls
towards my location. The three that really come in great here are 1100 WTAM
Cleveland, 1110 WBT Charlotte and 1090 WBAL Baltimore. Those three
stations always sound great here.

The radio I almost always use for medium wave is my GE Superadio III. If
the conditions are good enough for me to be able to heard them with my GE
Superadio III, I can also hear them with most any other AM radio. The
difference being, how well the radio handles the noise that is typical of
occurring on a weak signal while down low on the medium wave part of the
band.
My GE Superadio III does great with noise but the draw back is that it is
does not have digital tuning for rock solid stability.

I also have a small portable digital tuned SW receiver that I use for MW
sometimes; the Kaito KA-1102. I have found that little radio does very good
with MW DX'ing too. Very little noise on weak AM signals and it is stable
too. The draw back for this is that it doesn't have the tremendous rich
audio quality of the GE Superadio III.

I also use my tabletop R-75 from time to time when I want to use ecss ssb
tuning for DX'ing medium wave when images are an issue, but I have found the
R-75 to be very noisy. So, even a relatively expensive tabletop is not the
answer for ideal AM DX'ing.

A close friend of mine has the CC Radio Plus and the GE Superadio II. He
tells me the GE Superadio II has better audio definition, but the CC Radio
Plus being a digital tuned receiver is better for AM DX'ing in general.
From what he tells me, the two radios are about equal in sensitivity, but,
he still prefers the CC Radio just for the stability of digital tuning.

As far as making or using a new antenna to improve the reception of a
current radio.... Once again... If the radio that you have tends to be
noisy, adding an external antenna will also magnify the noise as well as the
usable signal. If your current radio is unstable, you'll still have to
fiddle with the tuner regularly regardless of what kind of antenna you hook
up to it. I've seen this antenna system advertised many times, but I have
no idea of how effective it is. I'd love to hear from anyone that has used
it.
http://www.ccrane.com/am-antenna.asp

So... My best advice... If you want to spend in the area of $50.00, I'd
recommend the GE Superadio III. If you can spend up to $160.00, get the CC
Radio Plus.

--

Respectfully,

Michael

Location: Northern NJ
Primary Radio: R-75 with full Kiwa mods.
Antennas: 200ft "Frankenstein" roof wire, G5RV
Additional Radios:GE Super Radio III, PL-550,
KA-1101, KA-1102, Kaiwa KA-989, Info-Mate 837,
Westinghouse H-104 (seven tube)
Home Page: http://md_dxing.tripod.com/