HFU HF Underground
Technical Topics => Equipment => Topic started by: ko4fki on January 24, 2022, 2007 UTC
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Does anybody have a recommendation for shortwave receivers for dx? The only one I have is an old Realistic DX-440.
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You're obviously a beginner -- the possibilities are endless. Lots of good receivers on the used market,
including portables and high-end communications receivers.
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Until about 8 months ago I owned a dx-440. I consider it a very good all around "radio" for actual logging of signals caught from the atmosphere vice "sdr" (correct me if wrong, pls.). Gotta have ssb nowadays/zero beat that thar signal, especially for acute reception. In the end, my personal opinion most important is Antenna 1st.-then Our good friends the Propagation Gods up yonder (No control there)- & finally...did I mention ssb? The speaker in mine finally went south & I had it siting on a small external bought 2nd. hand, though small it was 4 ohms. Shoulda been 16. Some stations in Seattle would send an additional signal letting you know what was playing at the moment displayed on the display...like KING- FM: "Iannis Xenakis "Keqrops,1986". Check out the "State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia, posted June 24, 2014". Ya gotta watch it. That Xenakis dude was something else.
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First, you have to decide what you want to hear. If it is weak signals, then I have to agree with Uncle John. You need to have a decent antenna (wire one is fine) in a reasonable low electronic noise location. One can have the finest receiver, but, if the antenna is not good or the local noise levels are high, then you will not receive much only the strongest signals.
I have used portables (Eton E1, or Tecsun PL-880 or XHData D808). I have a 50 foot length end fed wire antenna with 9:1 matching transformer (AKA UNUN). I have found the E1 and PL-880 work Okay, but the D808 overloads badly. In the D808 case, I can use it with a 15 foot wire attached to whip. It works fine for most shortwave broadcasting stations and will get some weak stations when the propagation gods are kind.
My usual receiver is an AirSpy HF + Discovery software defined receiver. It was not the easiest to set up and get operating well. But, once that I got familiar with its operation and solved an interference problem, the AirSpy is one of the better receivers that I have owned. It works well with my 50 foot wire antenna.
I would recommend looking at some the shortwave YouTube channels. I did know the "Official SWL" channel does a lot of reviews. The gentleman also lives in an urban environment with high noise. You may get some good ideas. I hope this is help.
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Nothing is wrong with a DX-440. It will pull in most that any other receiver will. The key is an antenna. But make sure you have protection against static electricity if you use an outdoor wire. Two back-to-back diodes from the antenna to ground will work, to bleed off static discharges and save the radio's RF amp transistor from getting zapped.
That said, any modern Tecsun or Grundig portable with a DSP chip will do OK off the whip. I have a Grundig G2, a small digital readout portable with a DSP chip inside. I can hear most everything on it off its whip that my DX-398 will hear using a 30 ft indoor wire.
All that said, just don't expect to hear a ton on SW right now. The sun hasn't been exactly cooperating for about 5 years. Some nights and mornings I do hear a few things on the 25, 31 or 49 meter bands, but most nights and mornings it's WRMI and Cuba, with maybe Marti in the mix.
Sunspots won't really be cooperative for another two years or so. So even a great radio won't bring in a lot if the ionosphere is presenting nothing but static.
If you're in 4-land, you're pretty far south, so you may hear more than those of us in the northern latitudes, even with the sunspot cycle at a lull.
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Thanks, yes I am a beginner sorry about that. I think I will just make a wire antenna for now.
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An Airspy HF+ Discovery.
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Tecsun or Degen Receivers (with SSB)
André
CoolAMRadio/OHR
the Netherlands
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ANY SDR, far better than most analog receivers.
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If a portable, I'm really liking my Tecsun PL-990 (I believe there's no difference in the 990x, anyone? Could be wrong on that). Seems great for MW dx. But an outdoor antenna is a must, and best with a 9:1 "un-un" as I'm sure others have mentioned already.
Ideally, a portable should have an external antenna jack, "EXT ANT" (1/8" usually). And you can find just about any type of connection adapter you can think of now.
Be sure to read reviews to see how they can/can't handle bigger external antennas.
Good luck & 73.
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ANY SDR, far better than most analog receivers.
This. Well, other than an RTL Dongle which on HF is pure garbage, of course. :)
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An Airspy HF+ Discovery.
^This. Good lucking finding a better performing new HF receiver option for under $200.
I sometimes use my RTL-SDRs for very casual HF listening, though that is with upconverters converters and various RF filters. I already had some of the components available, so "whatever" in my case, but otherwise I certainly agree the extra costs are too much for the very limited HF performance.
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SDR’s have the best sound out of the box.
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An Airspy HF+ Discovery.
^This. Good lucking finding a better performing new HF receiver option for under $200.
I sometimes use my RTL-SDRs for very casual HF listening, though that is with upconverters converters and various RF filters. I already had some of the components available, so "whatever" in my case, but otherwise I certainly agree the extra costs are too much for the very limited HF performance.
Thanks!
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+1 on the HF Discovery. Its my main SDR now, and follows me everywhere I go, along with a chinese DSP portable.
+-RH
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I DXed SWL for 10 years with a Realistic DX-300; but recently bought a tabletop Tecsun S-2000 which is the same radio as a Grundig 750; but less expensive. I got mine for $330 from www.Anon-co.com. A good antenna is important to get weaker stations. I use an Eavesdropper/C long wire. Works well.
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A few years ago, when I decided to get back into SWL'ing, I picked up a Yaesu 7700 and an ICOM R75 on EBAY, both at very reasonable prices. Check it out.