Dear "Old Timer,"

I am one myself, having been an SWL for more years than I care to
admit. May I recommend what I consider the finest small portable
AM/FM/SW receiver available new on the market? It is the Sony
ICF-SW7600GR which is on sale at Amazon for $128.84 including shipping.
(Normally I recommend buying from an established SW dealer, but, as the
radio is a straightforward purchase, i.e. no modifications or options
available or necessary for the radio itself, it can be purchased
anywhere that offers a factory warranty. Amazon, as I'm sure you know,
is reliable and their price is right.) You can read my review of the
radio on Amazon's website.

In addition, I recommend buying the Sony AN-LP1 Active Loop Antenna, an
indoor antenna which works extremely well with the '7600. This can be
bought at AES and/or Universal for about $90. It is sometimes hard to
find, but perseverance pays off. It can be bought later if finances are
somewhat of a problem.

If you then buy a set of rechargeable NiMH batteries (4 for the radio
and 2 for the antenna) and one of those one-hour (or less) chargers,
you're in business at a relatively low cost, and you will have a setup
that few can rival. It is relatively easy to operate also and is useful
and convenient for travel as well.

You can even obtain "big radio" sound from this receiver. For a few
dollars, you can buy an adapter cable at any Radio Shack which will
allow you to attach the radio, via its line-output, to your stereo
system. This really works well.

Do NOT buy an AC adapter for this radio. It is unnecessary and often
degrades reception. The radio (and antenna) lasts a long time on
whatever kind of batteries you install (the NiMH ones are the least
costly in the long run).

I hope that this information is of some help to you. Please do not
hesitate to ask me any further questions if I can assist you. I wish
you the best of luck regardless of which receiver you buy. I know you
will get many, many hours of entertainment and information from SW
listening.

All the best,

Joe