I have owned the Sangean ATS 803A (rebranded as the RadioShack DX-440)
since 1989 and it has played all night, every night, for at least 10
hours, for the last 17 years. I also take it virtually everywhere I go:
in my small boat, on car trips, on the porch every weekend, on planes,
in both carry-on and checked luggage, duffel bags, car trunks, etc., and
have never had a single problem with it in all this time. I often use
simple wire antennas for portable use, and it sets within a home-built
triangular MW tunable loop antenna, and both of these atop a 69¢
turntable from the grocery store at my bedside table. The antenna input
transistors have never fried even with the hundreds of T-storms and
other static events it has withstood. It has also been used as a FM
tuner on an amplifier and had a good-sized Yagi array for FM, all to no
bad effect. I have several other radios to compare it to: Lowe HF-225,
Yaesu FRG-8800 and FRG-100, and also owned a Kenwood R-5000 for a couple
years, and various other decent VHF and UHF receivers and FM equipment,
so this is an informed opinion. I am not saying the DX-440 is as fine a
reciever in all ways, but it compares favorably in the portable category
for which it was intended, and using only a reasonable measure of care,
its record of reliability and durability speaks for itself. I would not
hesitate for one single second to buy another Sangean product.

"reliable short wave radio" - isn't that an oxymoron?

Tom Holden wrote:
"reliable short wave radio" - isn't that an oxymoron?

What is the definition of reliable.