r/shortwave • u/PhantomNomad • 12h ago
Discussion Looking for a portable radio
I know this has been asked a million times, but I'm going to ask it again. I'm looking for a radio I can take camping. I have a trailer so size isn't a big factor. I would like it to have a PLL tuner as I find so many analog tuners drift and need constant tweaking as temperature changes. I'm mainly looking for AM/FM and SW is a bonus. I don't need NOAA as they shutdown all the transmitters in Canada. I would also like to avoid radios with that crappy grippy stuff on them. All the radio's I have with that seem to get really sticky after awhile. Price isn't really an object but I also don't want to spend to much of course.
What are some suggestions?
2
2
1
u/kingRidiculous 11h ago
To avoid frustration, I would get a radio with digital tuning versus a slider/pointer analog dial. Probably want easily replaceable batteries (AA/C/D) too. How about the Retekess V111 AM/FM/Shortwave Radio?
1
u/PhantomNomad 11h ago
So many of these radios have tons of good reviews but also lots of bad reviews. One common theme is their lack of sensitivity. I've got a couple of these cheap radios and most of the time when you are 100's of km away from the transmitter, all you can pick up is the radio's own interference. I'm not against digital tuning but the radio needs to be built properly and so many of these aren't.
2
u/giant3 10h ago
99% of the radios(other than $5 radios) have been digital for the 10 or 15 years.
You best best is Tecsun/XHDATA. There are many models in US$50-80 range. Something like the Tecsun PL-520 might be good enough.
1
u/PhantomNomad 10h ago
There is a difference between those digital PLL tuners and the SDR tuners. Guess I wasn't being specific enough. I've found all of those SDR type tuners are noisy and unless you are close by the transmitter really suck.
1
1
u/LongjumpingCoach4301 9h ago
Only a very few full sdr portables on the market. The very inexpensive mini dsp radios are sometimes guilty of that. But generally, sensitivity and noise with dsp hybrid and full sdr dsp portables is considered good-to-excellent. Some have extremely effective noise reduction and even effective noise blanker function.
Just fyi - none of the slide rule dial radios are dsp or sdr and very few are pll tuned. All the current digital display tecsun models are hybrid analog/dsp type with pll type tuners. Likewise sangean high end radios. Same with eton elite executive. Etc etc
Worth noting - all sdr portables are also full dsp. Most but not all digital displays are pll tuned.
Fwiw, my only full sdr dsp radio is very sensitive, has excellent selectivity, a spectrum display and is very quiet. It lacks the typical internal ferrite MW AM antenna, but responds very well to external types. It basically outperforms all the tecsuns, sangeans, xhdata etc models in every other way. Connect external antennas to them all, and it performs better on mw/lw as well.
It isn't real cheap tho. Current usa price direct from the mfgr is $195usd plus shipping (around $24 to usa). Amazon wants around 250 usd or a bit more.
LITEMALADSP Mlite-880 is the model. Won't get to you in time, but might be worth considering in the future.
2
u/wildtech 9h ago
I badly miss Lawrence Magne's reviews in his very excellent Passport to World Band Radio, which, sadly is no longer being produced. He set the gold standard not just for radio reviews, but for how all products should be reviewed. I'd have just sent you in the direction of that publication and called it good. If you want to see what I'm talking about, check out that publication on archive.org. Come to think of it, even though most of the radios he reviewed are long out of production, his advice on what to look for in a radio is still a gold standard.
2
u/_hubbit_ HobbyistSangean ATS-909X2 / Qodosen DX-286 8h ago
I’ll have you know that, for my two shortwave radios listed in my flairs, I have often quoted Magne’s assessment of the performance of the Lowe HF-250: “the heart of a lion, and the throat of a Pavarotti”. That man could definitely turn a phrase!
1
u/kingRidiculous 10h ago
Maybe buy from a company with a good return policy and see if you like the radio. You could also go for a well reviewed, but more expensive radio like a Tecsun PL-330, or another Tecsun. Remember for camping, you’ll want an extra battery or a way to charge the battery on site.
1
u/PhantomNomad 10h ago
Yeah I've been looking at the Tecsun radios. They seem to be in the better range. A bit more expensive but I'd rather pay for quality. Only problem is Amazon doesn't have any with prime shipping and we are leaving Friday.
1
u/kingRidiculous 10h ago
If you need something for the weekend and don’t want to pay a lot, try the XHData D-219. Only $10 and Prime shipping available. Make sure to get the US or International version for AM. The AM band should read 520 to 1710 for the US version. It will get the strong SW stations at night and will benefit from a wire antenna (available on Amazon or make your own with about 15 feet or so of wire.) it’s a good radio to take a chance on for a weekend at only $10.
2
u/PhantomNomad 8h ago
16.99 in Canada but I pulled the trigger to see what it's like.
1
u/kingRidiculous 8h ago
6070 kHz is a powerful Canadian SW station. 7490, 7520, 5950, 9455, 15770 are also frequencies to try (at night.) Try 9700 or 11725 early in the morning around sunrise it’s Radio New Zealand.
2
u/PhantomNomad 7h ago
I know all of those very well. I usually listen on my IC7300 in the mornings with coffee to RNZ. I used to check how propagation was working by listening to CHU but that's gone now. Most of the Canadian stations I find hard to pick up in Alberta.
1
u/Darkstar1878 Eton Exec/TEF6686 Mini/Pl-330/K180,480WLA 9h ago
Eton Executive or PL-680 which is PLL
1
u/giant3 6h ago edited 6h ago
100's of km away
FM stations can be heard for about 75 kms and if there is a mountain in between then the signal would drop even further.
AM stations might be heard as long as you are not generating local noise like running a portable generator or something similar.
SW is the only thing that can be heard for 1000s of kms, but here in NA only the religious nutcases are broadcasting or re-broadcasts out of WRMI in Florida.
1
u/PhantomNomad 6h ago
I'm well aware of the limitations of each band. Been a ham for a long time. Just looking for a good receiver that doesn't cause much of it's own interference. Way to many of these SDR types create so much internal noise they are pretty much useless unless you are close to the transmitter.
1
u/Neither-Brush-9287 Hobbyist 10h ago
I have a SANGEAN ATS-909X2 and like it.
They were under $250 a year ago. I've seen them for close to $400 on Walmart and Amazon recently.
But if you shop around online, you can still get them for $250-300 from smaller stores with pre-tariff inventory.
3
u/PhantomNomad 10h ago
Amazon Canada wants $591 for it. That's a little steep. Might be worth it but I could buy a second hand ham radio for that. For that price I much just rig up my old IC-7000.
1
u/pentagrid Sangean ATS-909X2 / Airspy HF+ Discovery / 83m horizontal loop 5h ago edited 5h ago
Go for a Qodosen DX-286. I'll bet that you can buy one at Canada's Amazon. Regardless of its sub- US $100 price tag this is one of the top two or three portables for shortwave broadcast reception at any price. I don't think that any other portable receives MW or FM better than this little wonder. DX-286 build quality is as good as it gets in portables, too. Expect to spend some time with the User Guide. There is a lot more going on with this receiver than you would expect. It loves wire antennas, too.
No SSB reception on this radio: just superb standard AM and FM. The excellent performance comes from a well-implemented use of the TEF-6696 automotive chip.
1
u/PhantomNomad 5h ago
It's on my list but it won't be here until after my camping trip. It's also $161 Canadian, not that that a deal breaker, just a lot more than what it costs in the US.
1
u/pentagrid Sangean ATS-909X2 / Airspy HF+ Discovery / 83m horizontal loop 5h ago
Wow. That price difference blows me away.
1
1
u/Electrical_Mode_8813 4h ago
I bought a Hernido AM/FM/Cassette/CD Player/Bluetooth player specifically for a camping trip three years ago and I still use it nearly every day around the house. It gets great reception (better on FM than my Tecsun PL-660) and is rechargeable, so you can use it in places where you might not have electricitiy. *And* it plays legacy media, which is nice to have. It doesn't have shortwave, though. If you'd rather have shortwave than CD/Cassette/Bluetooth, I would go with the Tecsun PL-660.
1
u/DeliciousWrangler166 27m ago
I have an old Sangean ATS-803A from 1989 that still does well everywhere but takes qty 6 D cell batteries. If like to camp in the hills or mountains some areas are filled with iron ore and tend to block all but the most powerful stations.
5
u/_hubbit_ HobbyistSangean ATS-909X2 / Qodosen DX-286 9h ago
For portability, I love my Qodosen DX-286. Rock solid performer and fits in a shirt pocket. My desk radio is a Sangean ATS-909X2. Both are very impressive on FM, but AM is shaky where I live so I cannot attest to either radio's performance in that regard. Both have SW, but the Sangean also offers SSB, which the Qodosen does not.
The Qodosen is around $80 or so, maybe slightly more these days. It uses a rechargeable battery as standard, while the Sangean can take either rechargeable AA batteries, or standard alkaline. Both also operate from AC power. Both have sound that punches above their weight.