Hi there, here is a commentary on the best shortwave portables I've ever used. I hope you enjoy it - and perhaps find it useful if you're in the market for buying another radio. Thanks for watching and 73.
Had a Sony 2001D, and I was on board working as a merchant marine. I use this radio to listen to the news and everybody would listen to it. It was an all purpose radio mostly on SW stations. One of the best I had…
It's comforting to see that someone out there has even more radios than me . As well as many modern ones I also restore and use old valve receivers. These can be very good and fun to use . Of the modern ones my go to is a Tecsun S2000 . This gets a few bad reviews but for me it's an excellent device. The 501x works well but battery life is terrible. Spends more time on charge than in use . It's still a great hobby in spite of there being far less stations . I am 84 and in my youth I used to build my own radios. Those were the golden days of short wave . Very best wishes to you . Enjoy your hobby as I do .
I've heard some bad reports about the S2000 but I like the aesthetics. The H501x is terrible for the price - MW sensitivity = rubbish and SSB audio not great. Give me a brand new ICF-2001D with a decent backlight and I'd be happy! 73
I have a Sony ICF-2010 that I really love. In addition to SWLing, I use it a lot on MW BCB. It has a "problem" on BCB, at least for me. When an external antenna is plugged in, the BCB pre-amp is disabled. That's for people living in cities with local AM stations, to prevent overload. However, the closest such stations here are 80 miles away, and that pre-amp is useful, even with a long external antenna. There's a trick I discovered, for using such an antenna, without disabling the pre-amp. I push the plug part way in. There's a "sweet spot," where it makes good contact, with the pre-amp still functioning. Roughing up the plug with sandpaper helps to make it "stick" firmly in the right position. Hopefully, people in a situation like mine will find this tip useful.
I bought a 2001 in 1985 right before leaving on mission to Djibouti and then got a 2001D in 1991 before I got to Irak. Both were great. Thank you for your video which to me calls back many memories!
Great video and information. I had the Panasonic one below you showed. Had many years listening to many station.cb etc. It's in bits but still works. Brought it when it first came out. Looking to buy one .
Great video. As for the Sony ICF-2001D/2010 I agree with you. Getting one today can be a challenge however and not only because of its availability but finding a really, not tampered with good one is not so easy. I had three and the best of them was sent over to a specialist in the USA and he completely overhauled it. I still have it today and it is still my companion everywhere I go. Thing is, it is complicated. Complicated to open it up without damaging wiring and the now very brittle plastics, it is complicated to get it fixed, too. Mine had corroded and totally absent printed wiring due to outgassing batteries. It was still working though but most of the keys did not work. In short, you can’t simply buy a nice looking one without knowledge of the radio. The other two disfunctional units went alongside the one I wanted to be restored. Maybe they found new owners, I don’t know.
I got the ICF 2001 in 1980… I was 18, spent £199.00 on it…😮😮… I had saved up, had to tell my dad it was £100… he was still gobsmacked…😂😂 What a radio..❤
Great reviews Clint! I use my Eton Satellit (Grundig Edition) for MW dxing at times and believe that it is as good as the Panasonic RF-2200 that I used to own, plus has a much smaller footprint. The Panasonic still has cult status as the best ever receiver for MW dxing. 73's...Phil
Love the intro , and great to hear of your journey right up to date. Thats quite a collection that you have used over the years , just a pity the bands are growing so quiet its just the times we live in. As for the SW77 I had for 20 years and it just struck home that I could never do it justice , and now that has been put to rights being in the right hands as befits its technology. Proud to have met you on RU-vid Clint and deeply appreciate your friendship that you have afforded me over the years , and cant thank you enough Sir. I do hope that Matthias and his family are doing well because I was so lucky to have you and him as my friends I cant thank you enough for that. All the best my friend.
Thank you very much my friend, you know I will always be grateful for your friendship and support. I often think about Matthias - I hope he's ok. Not heard anything from him for several years now. 73
Greatly appreciate your comments on which radios are the best ones. My 3 best are C Crane Skywave l, Eton Elite Traveler III, and Sangean ATS405. Eton Elite Executive, XHDATA D808 and C Crane EP Pro are on my horizon.
Oh, I can see Sony ICF-2001D in your collection. I loved this receiver way back in 1986. It has exceptional sensitivity on MW band with a built-in telescopic antenna. No need for external antenna. The only problem is a very short battery life. The power consumption is very high, probably for the PLL frequency synthesizer.
You’re lucky to still have band activity. Nice collection of radios. Where I’m at in the south central US, I can count the number of stations on one hand. There were hundreds of stations in the 90s. These days most of the bands are quiet. The HF ham bands are somewhat active, but that is essentially it aside from the occasional religious station or rebroadcaster. There just isn’t sufficient activity for me to justify further investment in the hobby - perhaps with the one exception of getting something small that I can carry on international ventures.
And my wife thinks 😅 I've got "Too many Radios!" 😮 My collection is about half of what you show here. Most Impressive to me was the Tecsun PL-330 !!! With an outdoor antenna plugged in (I use a custom made adapter they sell on e-Bay) and a fully charged battery 🔋 you can "work the world! As we "Ham Radio" licensees like to say. And, when your done with the Short Wave traffic, plug in some quality headphones and enjoy some of the very BEST FM reception you've ever heard! Cheers 🍻 and '73 !
I have the Eton Elite Satellite HD, for a while now. It's OK, I did place a pre-order several years ago for $350.00 with Universal Radio, so I got a good price for it, compared to the regular price now of about $500.00 or more. I do like the HD FM reception on it. 😊
Great Cliff, still have my Sony 7600 bought in London in 1986. Many happy memories. When my dad passed on I got his 7600D which is an improvement on rx. Lovely review, tnx as always. de ON8EI John.
Great channel , I’ve bought a xhdata D808 and I’ve had some good fun with it so far , am looking to buy a sdr with a waterfall display , any recommendations for around 100 to 150 mark please , many thanks Shane uk 🇬🇧
"One can never be too thin or too rich, or have too many radios." 😎 Oh, gee, I had a brief brain disconnect when you mentioned listening to Shannon VOLMET. I thought, "Who's Shannon Volmet? Must be an Australian radio personality... OH! Shannon VOLMET!" That's really strange of me, since I check Shannon VOLMET almost every night to see which frequencies I can hear it on, and if any of them are truly copyable. However, I am now inspired to write a short story about a female spy named... wait for it... "Shannon Volmet." 😆
@@OxfordShortwaveLog I also have a 501x among many others ! It's sort of ok but battery drain is terrible. It almost lives on the charger . I find the S2000 a better receiver in almost every way. The 501 is overrated and over expensive . It's the one purchase I regret . It looks nice but that's about it . Best wishes .
Had a fair few of these rigs mainly cus you recommended them lol. Is your contact annon still on the go for tecsun products? I bought the 2001d for around £400 from Germany. Worth every penny even if I don't have one anymore
One other thing to note. The yupi 7100 scanner which I also regret selling might also be a reasonable shortwave receiver. Curious what your thoughts are on it
Hi there, I've tried my Yupi on HF but the audio bandwidth isn't really suitable for decent selectivity. Otherwise it's a very good (albeit complicated to operate) scanner. 73
I used to have an ICF -SW77. It was one of the best I had. It was the only radio I ever had that had a workable “sync” function. I actually bought it from something called the Electronic Equipment Bank. In it’s day it was a very nice but expensive radio. I couldn’t keep up with it and it needed capacitors changed out and volume control changed out as well.
Those Sonys from back in the day were amazing, but it's been 20 and 30 years since many of them were manufactured. I guess inevitable that the caps would dry up eventually. 73
Hi from Australia as I have the Sony ICF-2001D purchased at the time 1983 British Hong Kong days! An absolute super reliable unit fully functional in 2023. I can not complain at all! Powerful and reliable 40 years on wow a tough beast! Sad that short wave listening transmission has reduced morse codes beeping along gone... miss the cold war and propaganda! Radio Moscow, Voice of America, Radio Berlin International DDR days and more! A great review keep up with your good work! Ansett 727.
Hi there - I was in Brisbane in early 2020 - love Australia by the way! I sort of miss the Cold War radio transmissions too - there was so much more on shortwave - and medium wave for that matter - Radio Moscow, Tirana etc! Thanks very much and 73!
@@OxfordShortwaveLog You are welcome medium wave radio (AM) band in Australia is holding on in 2023 but stagnant as in early 1978 radio station frequency gap separation was was changed from 10 kHz to 9kHz spacing. To add more radio stations. Well we never had more radio stations on the AM band as many stations switched to FM and left the (AM) medium band. As I feel radio analogue will not switch off soon as TV analogue transmission did but there is a strong pushfom radio stations to have you listen on your smart phone app. Medium wave radio stations yes with question... how long will this last but I see a decline of medium wave... a decline gradual I expect and shut downs who knows I am old school with a wire strung across for an antenna reception and short wave. I still have my first World Radio TV Handbook 1978 a super guide! 73! Ansett 727 from Australia!
Thanks my friend. Australia like the USA is a huge country so it's much more difficult to deploy other platforms (be they radio such as FM or DAB or internet-based etc.). I think you guys will have MW for much longer than us on this small island. 73
Ive had an ICF SW55 & AN1/AN71 for over 30 years, sadly let batteries leak, cleaned the contacts and the AM Sens button broke, all that works now is the time set and battery/light indicator. None of the buttons or Jog Dial. Listening to WebSDR, but thats not fun sat at the computer all the time
@OxfordShortwaveLog I've even invested some bucks for a large kit of parts with the service manual, just to get my "Baby" working like NEW AGAIN! Trouble is, I'd normally do the work myself. But since I'm closing in on 80, I'm going to have to negotiate with some frisky young Lad who knows one end of the soldering iron from the other!
Was wondering if you could help? Im looking to get into the hobby but on the cheap and i found an eton grundig bt and a tucson pl808 online for about the same price both are used but i want to get the best i can. I live in the city so i know it l may not be real easy to pick up but would you recommend one over the other?
Hi if you live in a city, then local noise will cause you problems, irrespective of which radio you buy. I would buy an active wideband magnetic loop antenna - that will make a huge difference. 73
Thanks for your response i actually just ordered the tecsun 330 i know its not a high end radio but it will afford me to buy an antenna like you recommend plus i dont have to worry about it being messed up and trying to right a situation like that again thanks!
@@OxfordShortwaveLog i have a small yard in the neighborhood outside uptown. Would a long wire antenna work in this sort or area? I can run one from a tree on one side to the edge of the garage maybe 15 meters or around the entire wood fence around the yard. Would that do as well as an active indoor loop?
@@OxfordShortwaveLoghello, what could be broken, I have a xhdata d-808 radio, old version, all bands work, but not the air band band, I also have xhdata new version and it receives the air band very well, best regards
@OxfordShortwaveLog Thanks 😊 I have again sent an email to Universal Radio, the dealer from which I had purchased the Eton Elite Satellit HD, for $350.00, a while ago. I was last told a while ago, in late Setember, 2023, but as their website shows no further updated information about its status.
I have an older Sony. 2010.. not working properly. Who can i sed it to for a repair.. im looking for a comparable SW radio now.. smaller but interesting is this PL66 Tecsun.. anything better at the 2010 size. I took that radio everywhere. Ireland canada.. NY..
After looking at the comments I'll say no one radio does it all. So, it doesn't have SSB...ok I have more than 30 SSB capable radios. It doesn't go below 2300mHz , so again I have other radios for that. What I don't have is a radio that will receive internet along with sw,fm and mw. Bottom line, I want information easy to access. I think it's this one, but the price is a bit much. I would add any number of high-end radios before I spent that money. Thanks for the review, I might just purchase this radio because I trust you...and agree it's really cool.
BTW.. Sunce my 2010 wasnt working properly .i didnt bring it.. but i spent 2 weeks in ABC Islands hunting and radio i did bring DIDNT EVEN GET STATIC..!! That was a bit unnerving..! Wont do that again..! Anywhere...
The ETON Sattelit elite is a total failure at around 500 dollars is is tottally NOT worth the price. You can look at many review videos of the Eton Sattelit and it is hated !!!
