Best shortwave radio for $100 or more in portable february 2014

Best mid-high end radio Degen DE 1103 ... Tecsun PL 600 also good if improved audio mod .. my favorite non SSB radio Grundig S350DL

[@poikaa3]

Tecsun has one of the best receivers available today in the 150 dollars range, I have a PL-880 and it works well, one has to work with it! The two VFOs are super for tuning and it is right on frequency after adjusting. I bought a spare battery and charger for mine and the charge lasts! I also have the PL-660 that has better SYNC where the 880 has great audio. Best of my short waves is my SONY ICF-2010 but I also have an Icom R-9000 that is almost the ultimate! My Kenwood transceivers also work well as short wave receivers. My little G5 is a good receiver and almost as beat up as yours!

[@monitoringreviews]

Kaito 1103 (Degen 1103) is a nice little receiver. Very sensitive for its size and cost.

[@nobelwest544]

I bought a Tecsun pl380. For Xmas 2013 which was the black colored fadi. I liked so much I bought a grey one for my birthday last year.Hey have an so 4734 chip which controls most tasks including clear reception and speech. See my review on the amazon website. 73!

[@snowpuppy77]

Would definitely enjoy seeing you review the Tecsun 880. That radio is full of intrigue. By the way when the Grundig G5 was on close out at RadioShack I bought two of them new for $35 each. Your assessment of the Grundig G5 is the same as mine. Just an excellent portable radio for several reasons.

[@bradmann85]

i have two g3 radios. the g3 is a good radio. i bought one around $140. the second one i bought for $60 on clearance just a couple years later after buying the first one. my older radio you can tell i use it alot.

[@lovelaga]

The Tecsun PL-880 is very nice & the difference is not very much distinquisted v-v the Degen 1103. The audio is more basse on the 880. The tuning is easier than the 1103 as there is not seperate basse/treble. You will like the 880 if you have not purched it yet. I paid $174.95 on EBay with no shipping. It was new and I feel was a decent price as used one's are selling for nearly the same. The "CommRadio CR-1" would be nice. I checked ebay, and one is avail from UK (is it yours) for $869 US$. A tad bit more than I wish to pay. I suspect that since the Degen 1106 was a fluke & it was marketed to compete against PL-880, Sangean ATX 909x, etc., they will soon replace it with a very good model & I may buy it. Keep me posted. I'm typing this on my Logictech K811 Bluetooth Keyboard which is for Apple computers and works great with my Samsung S-4 Cell Phone. It can work on 3 different devices so I can use it on my MacBook Pro then hit a button and type/work on my Android Samsung. Logitech has the model K 810 which is for other computers, (Dell, HP, etc.) It has a built in Lithum Battery which will last a long time plus comes with ac charger (I seldom use or need it). Also, I wanted a keyboard with number pad cause I work with many spreadsheets. I got the Logictech K-750-Mac wireless keyboard which is solar powered. I love it, very professional but only works with my computer. I wish they made one like the K811 with a number pad. Sorry for the long message.

[@jjcoolaus]

The Tecsun PL-880 is a nice radio with some good features, but I don't like how the sync and SSB sound on it. My grundig/eton G3 has better sound from SSB, but the 880 does have more features. I'm looking forward to eton releasing the new "satelit" radio in the same form factor as a G3 later this year. Back to the 880: On AM with no SSB, the audio quality is outstanding on this radio. FM also has very good sound quality. FM DX sensitivity is just shy of the PL-600/DE1103. Also I took the 880 on a holiday to Malaysia in May, and I was asked to show my 880 several times by airport security, to show them it was a radio. The only other radio which got that much attention from security is the Sangean ATS-909X.

[@charleswendt4868]

I have the Tecsun PL 880, it is very good but not as good as my old Realistic DX 440

[@ehababdulburalfakhory801]

Thank you for your videos

[@johnatkinson5693]

The Pl880 is a very good reciever.the only fault is its back rest is fragile so be careful with it.

[@hamrad88]

PL-880 - Make sure you get one with the newer software otherwise you will have lots of problems with it. Check out problems noted the Yahoo Group for Pl880, please.

[@pascalfr]

merci pour la video tres interessant a regarder 73 a toi

[@BodyTransformationDubai]

Greetings, I needed a SW for sports radios in Europe, mostly England and Spanish/Italian if possible. Can you guys tell me if this is possible living in Portugal and what is the best equipment for that? Appreciate it

[@greggaieck4808]

Gilles your DEGEN DE 1106 mw lw fm sw ssb 5 band portable radio Receiver is cool

[@erichigbie2404]

have a sangean 909x I purchased for $225 use it everyday for SW, MW (broadcast AM) and FM Strong of receiver as my Sony 7600, Grundg G5. Buttons and telescopimg antenna holding up well. Antenna on my Sony 7600 has to be tightened frequently

[@nexus42277]

Grundig is a German brand, it is clear that it is the best.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

Nexus Nexus Eton bought Grundig ... so .. it is not true annymore .. it's now just a name from a chinese manufacturer ... it's unfortunate

[@nexus42277]

OfficialSWLchannel we both are wrong, the name grundig belongs to a Turkish company, for the time;-) that makes me sad, I know the brand since I was a child. my first walkman was of grundig :)

[@marcuskeulertz5852]

@@nexus42277 it was a household name here in Germany. Why should I buy a Grundig TV Set or even a shortwave receiver from them.

[@greggaieck4808]

Gilles I like your utube videos

[@monstersdoexist]

Oh, all of a sudden, after 40 seconds of staring at a blank table, a radio appears.....You forgot to go "Swssshhhhhh..Ding!"

[@greggaieck4808]

Gilles your Grundig G5 mw lw fm air SW ssb 6 band portable radio Receiver is cool

[@altexlan415]

my arsenal of radio is Tecsun pl880,Sangean 909x, TIVDIO 115,Degen 1103

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

cool

[@amigajenni]

The DE1106 is not that bad and actually is more sensitive in AM and sounds better than PL-600. If you use an external antenna is on par with the Tecsun, has RDS, SSB, Upper and low band. You can label each entry in the memory etc. Not that bad really.

[@ehababdulburalfakhory801]

I think it is the time to update this video ..........

[@szaki]

Tecsun 660 is half the price of the 880 and does the same!

[@Mark300win]

Except for SSB, do u recommend degen 1103 or pl380? Thanks

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

1103 you will get more

[@lovelaga]

PL-880, Great receiver, but my little Degen 1103 has a slight nudge better sensitivity on the Short Wave bands. But the operation is somewhat cumbersome (volumn, tuning a SSB station, etc) so all-in-all I like the PL-880. The 880 I do not believe will outperform the PL-600/660 on sensitivity either. The Sangean ATS-909X was the worse performer in sensitivity which is ashame as I liked the radio very much. I enjoy your video's; keep it up. Think I'll look for a vintage Grundig Satellit 600 or 650 or 700; your comments, Plz? Edwin Thoma; USN-Ret.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

satellit 700 seems quite good ... thanks for sharing your experience with the PL-880 .. one that I really would like to see it the Alinco DX R8T seems quite interesting .. sold here around $450 .. i'll try to get my hands on one

[@EA3IEK_4998URE]

Don't forget the CommRadio CR-1... it's more expensive ($600 or 640€ in a local dealer here in Spain) but for that price you get a small, compact standalone SDR radio which can be used as a portable or desktop receiver... It also seems to have a very low energy consumption on its internal battery, so that's a plus if this receiver has to be used on portable in the field, away from power sources. Another plus is that it also receives (with reduced performance) on VHF/UHF (although the 70cm ham band falls out of range in UHF)... I'm thinking about getting a desktop (or "portatop") receiver, with a reliable ESD protected antenna input, to complement my RTL-SDR in situations in which I may not want to turn on the computer. The CR-1 seems a good option... the DX-R8T as well (although it lacks VHF/UHF reception). I'm not in a hurry though, so I've got plenty of time to think... (What I really would like is an IC-R8500, but it pretty much falls out of my budget's coverage... :D ). David.

[@tenfourproductionsllc]

No mention of the Tecsun PL-660??? Great radio except for AM reception

[@brentneves3602]

That's strange, my Tecsun PL-600 has an exceptionally good Am reception.

[@choppergirl]

They are $149 everywhere with free shipping, on ebay and amazon new, and come in black or silver. I want one, but with nothing worth listening to on AM or SW, there is no way I can justify $150 for a little portable FM radio. I guess I'll stick with my DX-390 I bought pristine at a flea market for $5 for another 5 years. One thing bad about this radio, it does not use standard replaceable batteries (uses a big lithium battery instead), the power adapter is noisy, and theres is no standard 12v jack to charge it... instead having a flimsy little micro USB port to charge it with... through which you can also upgrade the firmware.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

I do not agree there is nothing worth listening ... I think if you take the time to listen there is tons of stuff out there.... there are some great radios out there ... but nothing is perfect

[@choppergirl]

OfficialSWLchannel SW needs way more edgy Pirate political and music stations. Way more. Like 100,000x more. Because there is next to none. Then it might be... more interesting. Otherwise, its mostly religious, foreign language news (useful if you only know the language), and conservative talk radio. A dearth of real content. None of those I want to listen to, none of that has any appeal to my generation (or anybody - at all?) and the internet provides a much better source of information for news and music, when you want it, and what you want... all static free. I learn more from reading one random Wikipedia page on *any subject at all* in 10 minutes than I do listening to a weeks worth of SW. Radios are still fun to play with, but computers and the digital internet... just blindsided them 20 years ago and left them hopelessly... for the most part... obsolete... and irrelevant. The real innovation in radio technology shifted to spread spectrum cellphones, with data plans, and data wireless cards, which became ubiquitous. Billions of people use pocket sized radio transmitters and receivers that fit in their pockets daily, with the intenet in the palm of their hand, without realizing they are radio operators. The SW & Ham community just completely missed the boat on that one. They may have pioneers some early stuff, tinkering with sending images around at low baud rates... but never took it mainstream.

[@choppergirl]

I am still fascinated with radios simply because I use to sit in a tree house with a transistor FM/AM radio as a kid and listen to the radio. You get good reception up in a tree house. I still have that radio and modded it as a kid (to use different batteries), but haven't fired it up in a forever. Then we got a DX-160 and I'd play around with that with a long wire. But it was in desperate need of a digital freqency counter display. Too bad I gave it away. Now you can buy counters you can add to them on ebay. I don't know of anybody else of my generation that listens to radios... everyone listens to music on their phones or KZbin now, or car mp3 player.

[@dann904]

The 880 doesn't have the airband like the 660 has

[@skoalmint6146]

does the pl 600 have the rds function?

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

+Max Heyman no

[@skoalmint6146]

OfficialSWLchannel thanks

[@gklinger]

It's off topic but did I spot an Atari ST with an Amiga mouse in the background? I'd love to hear more about your computer some time.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

yes indeed

[@gklinger]

Good taste in radios, good taste in computers... :)

[@SDRplayRSP]

Another approach, if you already have a PC is to buy an SDR (software defined radio) - see kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2TUp52gpd-mh7M - that will give you SSB, FM and covers Long Wave, medium Wave, Short Wave, Aircraft, FM/VHF, UHF and more. That way a lot of the hard work is done by the PC!

[@mike53nepa]

I bought a Grundig G5 years ago and it died after a drop from a table. This Grundig G5 is discontinued. I would replace it. I have a Tecsun PL 660 with an external antenna that is very nice.

[@davidbennett60]

I wonder how the Tecsun 880 compares with the 660?

[@skoalmint6146]

the issue with the tecsun pl-880 is that it does not have a DC in port so you cant use it with wall power olny.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

+Max Heyman I never recommend using wall power, it brings in too much noise into the radio

[@xenonwx]

+OfficialSWLchannel It doe

[@fifh89]

OfficialSWLchannel is there a way to filter the noise?

[@Doggieman1111]

G5 is discontinued

[@brentneves3602]

The Tecsun PL-600, is a better unit, but it's a bit more money, I paid $120.00 for mine over a year ago from Amazon, the only complaint is the SSB is crap, doesn't really work

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

mine works fine on SSB, what type of problem do you have ?

[@brentneves3602]

@@OfficialSWLchannel no real gains, you switch to SSB and there is no difference, others have complained about this model doing this also

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

SSB works fine on this radio .... not much complain about it , maybe you have a defective unit... you do know that SSB is for amateur radio and utility signals...

[@brentneves3602]

@@OfficialSWLchannel I've been doing some more reading on the topic of the single side band feature, after experimenting I know that it is not defective on my PL-600, it just appears to be weak, when I use the Bfo + - feature to fine tune I have very little results. Maybe there's just just not enough activity in my area to pick up a strong enough signal, I live in a fairly northern region of Alberta.

[@OfficialSWLchannel]

but you know you do have to use it on Amateur radio or utility signals... the BFO is not meant to be very large, you need to tune the signal on the frequency correctly and then use it for tuning the SSB signal , it works really well actually , I think you are not used to tuning it enough and need more time

[@searchassis5929]

Your G5 case looks so very much abused

[@zqdz123]

tecsun used much better hardware then the degen,however degen has the best sensivity.Grundig was produced by degen, degen1106 and Grundig G3 has the same hardware,both are not even better than degen 1103...

[@nobelwest544]

I bought a Tecsun pl380. For Xmas 2013 which was the black colored fadi. I liked so much I bought a grey one for my birthday last year.Hey have an so 4734 chip which controls most tasks including clear reception and speech. See my review on the amazon website. 73!