Currently I have Sony 2010 receiver. Works great.
I'm planning to get a amateur radio. On my Sony,
I can barely hear anything in amateur radio bands.
Even when I upgraded the antenna, all it did was
to increase the noise.

So, my point is this:
Instead of spending $300+ on portable receiver,
just wait and then buy a amateur transceiver.
With every configurations being equal, ham radio
will surely outperform portable SW receivers.
You can even buy a used one for $300.

Am I right?

One thing, isn't operation of a transceiver illegal without
a ham license??

For my money, getting a better used shortwave or
improving the antenna would allow you to pull in
hams better.

--Mike L.


"Jim" wrote in message
om...
Currently I have Sony 2010 receiver. Works great.
I'm planning to get a amateur radio. On my Sony,
I can barely hear anything in amateur radio bands.
Even when I upgraded the antenna, all it did was
to increase the noise.

So, my point is this:
Instead of spending $300+ on portable receiver,
just wait and then buy a amateur transceiver.
With every configurations being equal, ham radio
will surely outperform portable SW receivers.
You can even buy a used one for $300.

Am I right?

Michael Lawson wrote:

One thing, isn't operation of a transceiver illegal without
a ham license??


Transmitting is. Using it to listen isn't.

For my money, getting a better used shortwave or
improving the antenna would allow you to pull in
hams better.


Improving your antenna is bound to deliver the most bang for the buck, but while his portable is a good one, there are other radios that'll do a better job at picking up hams with a suitable antenna.

--Mike L.

"Jim" wrote in message
om...
Currently I have Sony 2010 receiver. Works great.
I'm planning to get a amateur radio. On my Sony,
I can barely hear anything in amateur radio bands.
Even when I upgraded the antenna, all it did was
to increase the noise.

So, my point is this:
Instead of spending $300+ on portable receiver,
just wait and then buy a amateur transceiver.
With every configurations being equal, ham radio
will surely outperform portable SW receivers.
You can even buy a used one for $300.

Am I right?

Mike L.

You don't need a license to listen on an amateur radio transceiver,
same concept as any other service we can listen to w/o needing a
license.

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 09:49:08 -0400, "Michael Lawson"
wrote:

One thing, isn't operation of a transceiver illegal without
a ham license??

For my money, getting a better used shortwave or
improving the antenna would allow you to pull in
hams better.

--Mike L.

Duly corrected. I know you don't have to prove you're
a ham to by a transceiver. Then, the question becomes,
is it worth it to purchase a dedicated ham band
transceiver??

--Mike L.

"JuLiE Dxer" wrote in message
...

Mike L.

You don't need a license to listen on an amateur radio transceiver,
same concept as any other service we can listen to w/o needing a
license.

On Mon, 11 Oct 2004 09:49:08 -0400, "Michael Lawson"
wrote:

One thing, isn't operation of a transceiver illegal without
a ham license??

For my money, getting a better used shortwave or
improving the antenna would allow you to pull in
hams better.

--Mike L.

"Mark S. Holden" wrote in message
...
Michael Lawson wrote:

One thing, isn't operation of a transceiver illegal without
a ham license??


Transmitting is. Using it to listen isn't.

Duly noted. I don't see how in the bang for the buck
terms whether a transceiver would be worth it, considering
you have to pay for the transmit circuits as well as
the receive.

For my money, getting a better used shortwave or
improving the antenna would allow you to pull in
hams better.


Improving your antenna is bound to deliver the most bang for the
buck, but while his portable is a good one, there are other radios
that'll do a better job at picking up hams with a suitable antenna.

Granted. I'd suspect an Icom R-71A would be a good
used choice.

--Mike L.

Michael Lawson wrote:

"Mark S. Holden" wrote in message
...
Michael Lawson wrote:

One thing, isn't operation of a transceiver illegal without
a ham license??


Transmitting is. Using it to listen isn't.

Duly noted. I don't see how in the bang for the buck
terms whether a transceiver would be worth it, considering
you have to pay for the transmit circuits as well as
the receive.


Actually, transceivers aren't priced much higher than a receiver with similar capabilities.

My guess is there are more hams who are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on a rig than than SWL's.

For my money, getting a better used shortwave or
improving the antenna would allow you to pull in
hams better.


Improving your antenna is bound to deliver the most bang for the
buck, but while his portable is a good one, there are other radios
that'll do a better job at picking up hams with a suitable antenna.

Granted. I'd suspect an Icom R-71A would be a good
used choice.

--Mike L.

Jim schrieb:

Currently I have Sony 2010 receiver. Works great.
I'm planning to get a amateur radio. On my Sony,
I can barely hear anything in amateur radio bands.
Even when I upgraded the antenna, all it did was
to increase the noise.

Have you checked your 2010 is not affected by the blown FET (Q303)
issue?

So, my point is this:
Instead of spending $300+ on portable receiver,

(of which the choice isn't huge nowadays anyway)

just wait and then buy a amateur transceiver.
With every configurations being equal, ham radio
will surely outperform portable SW receivers.
You can even buy a used one for $300.

Am I right?

Mostly, yes. Transceivers don't suffer from the power restrictions
present in portables, thus mixers with much better strong signal
characteristics are possible. Ham gear is, however, traditionally
optimized for SSB use and may not use as good filtering and such for AM.
(It be noted that the same applies to several Icom receivers as well.)
Also, particularly older gear (20 years) may not have as good overload
rejection as more current models. Lastly, be sure to check the ifs and
buts of owning and operating ham gear if not licensed. (Be sure to check
the usual suspects among tabletop *receivers*.)

Stephan
--
Meine Andere Seite: http://stephan.win31.de/
PC#6: i440BX, 2xP3-500E, 512 MiB, 18+80 GB, R9k AGP 64 MiB, 110W
This is a SCSI-inside, Legacy-plus, TCPA-free computer

Jim,
Are you sure that the first RF FET in your 2010 isn't blown. This is a
common problem and leads to the problem you described
73,
Chuck


Jim wrote:
Currently I have Sony 2010 receiver. Works great.
I'm planning to get a amateur radio. On my Sony,
I can barely hear anything in amateur radio bands.
Even when I upgraded the antenna, all it did was
to increase the noise.

So, my point is this:
Instead of spending $300+ on portable receiver,
just wait and then buy a amateur transceiver.
With every configurations being equal, ham radio
will surely outperform portable SW receivers.
You can even buy a used one for $300.

Am I right?

= = = (Jim) wrote in message
= = = . com...

Currently I have Sony 2010 receiver. Works great.
I'm planning to get a amateur radio. On my Sony,
I can barely hear anything in amateur radio bands.
Even when I upgraded the antenna, all it did was
to increase the noise.

So, my point is this:
Instead of spending $300+ on portable receiver,
just wait and then buy a amateur transceiver.
With every configurations being equal, ham radio
will surely outperform portable SW receivers.
You can even buy a used one for $300.

Am I right?


KC7JFV,

If you can NOT "Hear It" on your Sony ICF-2010 and your
new Antenna.

1. Then have your Sony checked-out for a bad External
Antenna RF (Input) Transistor.
- Check-Out the Sony ICF-2010 eGroup on YAHOO !
eGROUP= http://groups.yahoo.com/group/icf2010/

2. Re-Check your Antenna and Ground System.

3. Try building a "LOW NOISE" SWL Antenna

READ - Low Noise "SWL" Antenna for the Kenwood R-5000 /
Icom IC-R75 [NO Antenna Tuner Required]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/1525

TIP - For your Sony ICF-2010 build a Portable Radio
Antenna "GIZMOE" Connector Box to protect the Radio's
External AM/SW Antenna Input.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/1489

4. If you want a 'new' Receiver for SSB, CW and FM
on the Amateur [HAM] Bands consider the Icom IC-R75.
http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...rxvr/0175.html
USED: Kenwood R-5000, NRD-525, Drake R8*, Yaesu FRG-100, ETC
- Check-Out the Icom IC-R75 eGroup on YAHOO !
eGROUP= http://groups.yahoo.com/group/icomr75/

5. If you want a 'new' Transceiver for SSB, CW and FM
on the Amateur [HAM] Bands consider the Icom IC-718.
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0718.html


iane ~ RHF
..
Some Say: On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...na/message/502
I BELIEVE: On A Clear Night...
You Can Hear Forever and Beyond - The Beyond !
..