Rookie purchase help

[Thefancyyeller]

Hi all. I want to get into this hobby and currently don't know anything. I am a broke gradstudent so I am shopping for a cheap used shortwave radio and I keep seeing terns like "shortwave all world band".
Does that matter? Is there a difference? Can I buy any shortwave radio and presumably tune into the channels across the world?

As a side note any suggestions for a cheap and portable radio would be appreciated. I really can't be picky about the sound quality I just care that I would get to listen to some cool stations.

Thanks!

[Thefancyyeller]

I'm also trying to gage if like a $25 short wave would reasonably pick up stuff like BBC

[Ct Yankee]

Hmmmmm.........without knowing your environment (house, apartment, rural, city, in land, coast), tough to say what to recommend to guarantee reception.  Second, I once read if you have $100 to spend on a radio, spend $90 on the antenna.  Albeit, I've worked with 40 feet of copper wire outdoors for years but I live in a rural area about a dozen miles from the coast.

English service shortwave is almost gone - Romania, Turkey, China, South Korea, and the Vatican have some offerings.  WRMI, WWCR, and WBCQ offer full slates of programming, though a fair amount of it religious.  There is no BBC English service directed toward the US, reception is limited to transmissions aimed elsewhere that make it to North America -  I have had the most luck midday with BBC direct transmissions.  Your best reception of the BBC is FM PBS relays overnight.

Non-licensed transmissions are frequently on SSB, so if that is your desire - a receiver with good side band reception is essential.

I have been partial to Tecsun Radios over the years.  https://www.tecsun-radios.com/product-category/tecsun-radios/

I have bought from Anon over the years - very pleased with them. https://www.anon-co.com/category/tecsun-radio-catalog/3/priceasc
 I own the 600, 880, and H501x, they have all met my expectations for their price.  Perhaps an Ebay find might find you a $25 used model. You can probably find reviews on line - good luck, welcome to the board.

[RobRich]

It seems you likely have a computer. Of note the RTL-SDR Blog V4 SDR (software defined radio) is $32 USD shipped.

https://www.rtl-sdr.com/about-rtl-sdr/
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/buy-rtl-sdr-dvb-t-dongles/

If you would like experiment with VHF/UHF reception as well, there is bundle with small dipole kit for like $10 more.

The RTl-SDR V4 is a not a weak signal receiver, but it does tend to suffice for casual SWL listening for many people. I do have much better SDRs and receivers, but admittedly, I still often use the inexpensive RTL-SDR V4 on mediumwave and HF for casual monitoring. YMMV, of course.


Regardless of the receiver, plan for a (preferably outdoor) antenna if you want to receive more than the largest commercial broadcasters. A longwire is a very basic example. A cheap 9:1 transformer, some coax with the needed connectors/adapters, and a moderate length of small gauge copper wire.

Another popular SWL antenna is the MLA-30+ active loop. The loop amplifier circuit is not great (a huge understatement), but it is an outdoor antenna that suffices for many casual SWL listeners. It comes a kit with the loop, amp, coax, bias tee, etc.

If you are limited to an indoor antenna, the HFDY loop kit on AliExpress is often like $30 shipped or less. Hang it in a window, forget the included bias tee, and power it straight from the RTL-SDR's own internal 5v bias tee option. Again, not a great solution, especially being inside, but it is likely far better than most receivers' whip antennas.


All the above said, a better place (IMHO) to start your SWL listening adventure would be trying out various online SDR receivers around the world. Get used to the basics of SWL listening, then consider if you might want to venture further down the SWL rabbit hole.

http://kiwisdr.com/public/
http://websdr.org/
https://www.rx-888.com/web/rx.html