I Love My SW Reciever

[Don_G]

Just shelled out 600 for a decent ICOM R-75 reciever and antenna and I can pick up on a lot.

The things I can pick up on are outside the control of BushCo.

[ben_thayer]

1. Sweeeet!!

ICOMs are nice. Wish I could afford one. I have a pair of receivers that I bought at garage sales- a Radio Shack and an old Hallicrafters. Between the two of them I still get to feel like a real subversive, listening to Radio Moscow, BBC and the Middle East. Sure gives you a different perspective doesn't it? Too bad about all the Religious Right stations though...
Have FUN!

[Don_G]

10. I Got The Biggest Kick

Out or Radio Moscow playing Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" just after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Oops, Stalin wasn't so tall after all.

After traveling through Indy last year during a record flooding and hearing 7 AM stations of Rush, I wondered when I'd hear weather reports.

All Bush, all the time....

[madrchsod]

2. i`ve got an old

panasonic portable still works fine and it`s pretty sensitive for 200 dollar radio.

[Don_G]

11. I Would Say

The only difference in our recievers is that I have 2 RF Pre-Amplifiers and four or six "notch" filters where I can isolate and listen to some signals without a whole lot of trouble.

Otherwise, I think you have the better reciever.

[bikebloke]

3. Before the Internet....

...there was short wave. I started listening 30-some years ago. It's great. The difference between foreign news sources and domestic were noticable back then. Though it wasn't as severe as the corpo pravda we're stuck with now.

For those shopping for a receiver, Radio Netherlands has a good shopping guide online. That's if you have Internet access (wink).

[TrogL]

4. I dunno about that

I've been doing a lot of scanning on shortwave and there's fundie preachers on just about every frequency.

You would not believe some of the stuff they're saying. It's worse than talk radio.

[Don_G]

7. Did I Mention

I can pick up on RTTY, run it through my Notebook and have the US Navy deliver me weather maps outside of the discretion of CNN?

Besides, who listens to the Fundie stuff if given a choice between them and the BBC?

[Pobeka]

13. What frequency are you finding RTTY at -- I've been wanting to play.

I'm in Tacoma, WA, if that makes a difference.

[Pobeka]

15. Kick - RTTY frequencies?

[Pobeka]

12. Yeah the fundie stuff is pathological. Wish I had an "ignore" buttton on

the scanning feature of my shortwave!

[Don_G]

5. I Kinda Got Into It

When my grandfather bought a Shortwave reciever in 1933 "just" to keep up with the current news on when and where his sons would be shipped in the European and Pacific Theaters after war broke out.

Then, as now, he couldn't depend on local sources to keep him informed. My Grandpa had to depend on outside sources to keep him informed during WW II, the Korean War and Vietnam.

I've made the same investment he and my father did just to keep abreast of things without "outside" Faux influence.

[ben_thayer]

6. I was already hooked

40 years ago when I built a Heathkit SW, but it wasn't until I gave up on the Corporate Media during the Clinton witch-hunts that I realized SWs value as an alternate news source. Not watching that TV garbage has de-stressed my life considerably!
:)

[Catshrink]

8. Hey Don, what's the link to the website with the cats?

Remember the vendor who has office cat and customer cat photos on the website? I forgot to bookmark it.

[Don_G]

9. Universal Radio

http://www.universal-radio.com/

You think I'm just going to buy anything from anyone? They're good people to do business with; promise you one thing and deliver a week earlier.

[Catshrink]

14. Thanks!

I bookmarked it. I'm not into radio in the way you are but I sure like looking at photos of cats. My bro is a ham operator though.

[EstimatedProphet]

16. How big does the antenna have to be?

I live in an apartment. I would love to get another SW set, had a Sangean in college and I really miss it.

[welshTerrier2]

17. you may not need an external antenna

i have a sony sw7600gr ... i use rechargeable metal hydride batteries ... they seem to last for months without recharging ... the radio is noisy if you get the a/c adapter ... stick to batteries ... they work great ...

i did buy an external antenna (Sony AN-LP1) which helps with very weak stations ... it's about 20" in diameter, folds up into a little case (it's fabric) and is used from inside my house ... it would be ideal for an apartment ...

unless you're into digging the really obscure stuff out of the static, my under $170 Sony get tons of foreign broadcasts ... and the portability is great ... it has am / fm too ... here's a link to radio nederland's review:
http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/icf-sw7600gr.html (also check this page: http://textkit.com/support-textkit/support-item_id-B00006IS4X-search_type-AsinSearch-locale-us.html )

for those doing research on what shortwave receiver to buy, here's the place to start: http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/rx_index.html

a great source of sw info is the annual issue of Passport to World Band Radio (get the 2004 edition) ... the book costs under $20 and includes all sorts of equipment reviews and an invaluable schedule of stations and times ...

[EstimatedProphet]

18. Nice

I want one!

[Pobeka]

21. I have a sony sw700gr too. Really like it.

I listen about 1-2 hours a week. Still on my first set of batteries. Have an external antenna -- just some 20 gauge wire running up my roofline. Prior to that I was using my rain gutter as an antenna.

[ben_thayer]

19. It depends

on your receiver and what frequencies/stations you want to listen to. The better (more sensitive) your receiver is, the less antenna you may need. A good quality portable can bring in lots of stations with just a built-in "Whip". 20 or 30' of wire strung across the room used to give me adequate reception of the most powerful broadcasters. Compact, amplified antennas are available for apartment dwellers and travelers. Even with the internets instant access to news feeds from around the world, it's still a fascinating hobby and important window into global cultures!
Good luck and
have fun...

[Elwood P Dowd]

20. That's an excellent receiver

Wish I could afford one. Still using that old Yaesu FRG-7
that I've had for ages. The digital version, Yaesu FRG-700,
replaced it in 1980. You can find either of these two old
reliables for $250.00 or less on internet auction sites if
you cannot afford a new Icom, Yaesu, Japan Radio, Kenwood,
or Drake. I think Drakes are still made in the USA. I found
a used Drake SW-1 for a friend and only paid $165.00. It beat
a $200.00 Sangean portable I had.

Besides "The Passport To World Band Radio" mentioned above, a
good source for information on quality used radios is
"Shortwave Receivers Past & Present" by Fred Osterman. The
person that mentioned Universal Radio was "right on". A great
company to deal with.