Lee wrote:
I've been away from this stuff for many years and recently bought a
NRD-525 on EBay. I'm a little disappointed in the results I'm
getting. A lot of noise and not a lot of stations, although some such
as Tiawan are very clear. At this point my antenna is a 40 ro 50 foot
wire strung out to a tree in my yard. I've been told that the ICOM
R75 is better due to newer design. There is no way for me to try one
or even look at one other than to buy it. Is the R75 are better
reciever? I mostly just want to hear commercial stations from other
countries.

I don't think the NRD-525 vs R75 is going to make a lot of difference.
I've used them both (although I own neither) and I think they're fine
radios, and they're also both much better than the average SWL uses.

If you're hearing "a lot of noise and not a lot of stations", I
especially don't think the radio will make a big difference.
Concentrate
on listening in the right places at the right times: 49M is packed
on the evenings in the US, and 31M will be nearly as crowded too.
25M and 19M have some activity in the day. But nothing is as jam-packed
as 49M at night, sometimes it seems like there's a station every 5kHz.

You will also hear lots of South/Central American stuff on 61M through
the night. Sometimes when the other bands aren't so hot because of
poor propogation, 61M just booms in by comparison. On these nights
MW (AM band, 540kc-1600kc) reception is exceptional too.

Tim.