The Elecraft KX2 doing a little coastal SWLing.
Yesterday, at the (Virtual) 2021 Winter SWL Fest, I gave a presentation about QRP general coverage transceivers that I regularly use for shortwave broadcast listening (SWLing).
My discussion was limited to QRP–or low-power–transceivers designed for portable use, but they only represent a small fraction of the new and used transceivers on the market.
So what is “general coverage”––?
A ham transceiver with “general coverage” means that the receiver portion of the radio is not limited to the ham bands only; these receivers typically receive between 100 kHz and 30 MHz (i.e., the full medium and shortwave radio spectrum). Many transceivers, starting in the 1980s, employed a general coverage design as a feature of the radio. Some radios implemented general coverage receiving better than others. In most cases, there was a compromise to performance when the receiver was opened to general coverage reception, so many manufactures held to a ham-band-only platform to optimize performance where hams sought it most. Today, receiver architecture can better accommodate general coverage without compromising sensitivity and selectivity on the ham bands. This is especially true with new SDR-based transceivers that employ direct conversion or a hybrid architecture.
My favorite?
My current favorite is the new Icom IC-705. I purchased this rig last year and have done a tremendous amount of SWLing and MW DXing with it. I love its overall performance, portability and recording/playback features.
What’s your favorite?
I’m betting a lot of us use transceivers for shortwave broadcast listening.
What’s your favorite general coverage rig and why? I’m also curious how many of you almost exclusively use a transceiver for SWLing. Please comment!
Lots of interesting info, still have an old f r g 100 yaesu. Does fairly good with no noise reduction, my best receiver to date is my mark v ft1000 m p. 200 watt transceiver , does better than the ic 7600. And if 7300 , finding all around good rx from most modern day sdr units. Little green deepelec 101 does very good if u can find one, out of production sadly
I have acquired several radios over the years and use varies with time and frequency spectrum I am interested in at the moment. My main interest within the hobby is to chase CW beacons. I also enjoy general broadcast, and HAM/CB stations for the purpose of confirming RX propagation vs. propagation maps and apps.
Below radios ranked by how frequent I use them:
1. FT-818ND – Very versatile, easy to move around with and use, two antenna inputs/sockets, and overall great performer. I love this little radio.
2. IC-71A – Even though it’s very old, I like the rich sound of this radio. I can spend hours listening to this radio.
3. SDRPlay RSPdx – lots of options, filters and visually appealing, and easy to compare antenna performance.
4. President McKinley CB – I like how this CB radio sounds, very well made AM/SSB CB radio (it now resides in my car)
5. FT-891- A phenomenal receiver when I want to enjoy listening to CW beacons the way it should be, this is the way to go (amazing Noise Reduction capabilities and zeroing on CW signals).
6. Tecsun PL-330 – I love the ERM function, it works really well when connected to an external antenna, it’s my first choice when I travel as a companion radio.
7. Anytone AT-6666 – Great coverage 25 – 29 MHz, but sound is on the low end, and could be a little boring.
8. Malahit DSP SDR V3 – Very nice digital sound, good features, nice CW decoding, decent battery life. But frequency is a little off and CW tuning is a little tricky. This one has gone with me on several trips.
9. Xiegu X-6100 – Nice hardware (feels robust), but very susceptible to interference and birdies, CW decoder is ok., poor speaker, but sound improves with external speaker or headphones, battery life is horrendous, and it gets a little too hot if operated connected to power. But in general it works ok.
10. Yaesu VX6R – A nice little radio, portable, but not very intuitive to use. It performs very well if connected to an external antenna.
11. ATS-20+ – It’s ok to start with, but poor sound quality, but offer some decent features for the price
I would love to add a Kenwood TS-590SG, an FDX10, or FT991A. But I am waiting to see how technology evolves a bit.
73s
I am looking for a good shortwave radio, but after seeing the prices of a good one, it seems my money is better spent buying a transceiver that is capable of listening to shortwave.
I see that many transceivers have a variety of features, but not all of them have a notch filter, for example.
I have a a couple of questions.
As I am looking to purchase a transceiver to also use it for shortwave listening.
What are the most-needed features I should make sure a transceiver has to be able to use it for this purpose?
What are the best transceivers that I should consider buying?
[budget is not a consideration, but it should be somewhat portable]
I look forward to all of your feedback. Thank you in advance!
I don’t have specific feature recommendations, but rather 3 suggestions, based on my experience & reviews here. The Icom IC-7300 is a great table-top rig, with great features & specs for the price, & a beautiful display. It interfaces very easily to a computer with a single USB cable, and is small enough to be generally portable.
The IC-705 is very similar to the 7300 in operation and features (identical screen, single USB cable), but is smaller & lighter. Many users have discovered it works well at home, too. Plus, it has wider frequency coverage as compared to the 7300.
The RSPdx is another great radio as an SDR box. While it obviously requires a computer, I have seen users with pretty compact & efficient portable SDR field kits using tablets.
Thank you for the suggestions Mike.
FT817-ND
My 8718a is dead, unable to get parts in India. 15 years of service at my shack, have the matching speaker also.
I used the R75 Icom for 15 years till I started with the SDR Uni and then with the Airspy+D
Oherwise iused a few degen texun mpdels
Nobody mentioned the Yaesu FT1000MP- that’s a dandy!
Agreed! I have one here (currently for sale though) sitting next to my Icom IC-7300. The FT1oooMP has better sound in my opinion too. However, next to these, I have a good collection of older receivers for SWL’ing like I did in my younger days.
I Personally Like The Grinding Satellite 750 General Coverage Receiver, It’s A Great Table Top Reciever,The Sensitivty Is Topps !!!!,I Personally Have Two Of Them,They Are Relabel Radios,And I Use Stock Antenna,On The Radio,And I Also Use A Wire Antenna With My Grinding Satellite 750,With Very Positive Results,I Am To Pull A Lot Of Radio Stations,From Around The World !!!!,Ok,This CB Call Sign,KHW-6006,CB Handel,”Uncle Sam”,We Are “73’s”.
Watkins Johnson 8711 and 8718.
For listening with a transceiver I tend to use my Xiegu G90 but that’s more because it’s what I have.
The rest of the listening I tend to use a Nooelec RTL SDR with upconverter connected to my Loop On Ground antenna (which is super wide band)
Great question and great responses. Mine’s a Yaesu FRG-100. I bought it used several years ago, realigned it, installed new memory batteries and am very pleased. It also has the FM board. It’s especially good for longwave.
The only problem with my FRG-100 is that the clock slowly loses time and the fix is to replace a capacitor, which I haven’t done yet. Others have also reported this problem.
But I still love my Panasonic RF-2200 portable.
Uh oh, sorry I see the question was for a transceiver. A flogging with a wet noodle awaits…
No flogging here! 🙂
A fully restored Hammarlund HQ-180 that still continues to pull in the weak ones. Next to it is an Icom 756 Pro 3 which has had the modification so it isn’t attenuated below 2.0 MHz. The Icom has much better noise filtering, but it isn’t as much fun as the HQ-180.
I still like my Sony I F-2010. Living in California somewhat limits station availability. Everything is just a long ways away. The Sony’s synchronous detector is good to have here on the west coast. What stations still receivable tend to fade and the sync helps. I haven’t looked into replacing it for short wave. I wonder if a more modern radio would provide a remarkable improvement?
It might be a matter of controversy. DSP receivers certainly have some advantages. But I have owned several of what might be considered comparable to the 2010 among modern portables, and the 2010 holds its own. For more discriminating listening it’s the one I consistently turn to. It’s not the best considering all receivers you could get, but for what it is and considering its age, it’s still a remarkable radio.,
Nothing against the 2010, I’ve had mine for 38 years. Step into the present. A Belka DX or an Airspy Discovery with YouLoop if you’re up to adding a computer to the equation. I suggest both. 🙂
I use my Kenwood TS-480SAT to do some listening. I have not really tried listening using my Xiegu g90, but will try it sometime. For non-transceiver reception I use a Sony ICF-2010, a CCrane Skywave SSB with fairly wideband coverage (I find it remarkable for its size), and a 1940 vintage Zenith console radio with AM broadcast band/shortwave coverage. I am considering the Belka DX which seems amazing for its size/cost for HF monitoring, and I understand it has an amazingly long battery life. I am having trouble making the decision to purchase the ICOM IC-705 due to cost, although for what it can do I think the price is reasonable. I have been waiting to see if they eventually reduce the price, but since some places have problems keeping them in stock, I think it is unlikely. I would rather have a more sensitive device, but like the portability of the 705 since can run from an internal battery, at least for an hour or two, and I can take out and away from all the things that interfere with reception. Plus it can be used to communicate with others. What a wonderful hobby.
Kenwood TS850SAT
My favourite radio for SWL is the Palstar R30A with the Palstar SP30A communications speaker. Lovely audio. There is in the wind a Palstar R30B on its way and I am looking forward to reviews and what features it may have. Am AM Sync?
I am not a Dx’er though more of a Broadcast Program listener. I have all my favourite AM stations and ham nets programmed into the radio. I do not have to remember the 100 memory locations as I use iCal on my iMac to remind me of the Station, time, frequency and memory channel in my Palstar for me to dial into at the appropriate time.
I do own a secondhand Yaesu FTdx101D with all the optional filters and secondary VC-Tune unit plus other ham rigs for portable use. Though at the end of the I enjoy the pure simplicity of the Palstar R30A. If I do try some DX on medium or shortwave. There is a lovely pair of Kenwood HS-5 mono headphones to fall back on.
Warm regards,
Mitch.
I use the Yaesu ‘s VX-8DR.
Shortwave Broadcast and Utility listening, is done on an IC756ProII, Longwave and BCB DX’ing on the formidable IC735, BCB listening on my Kenwood TS2000. But I must admit switching in this last year to my Airspy HF+ which does everything each of these do at least as well and sometimes times better.
73 es DX to all, N3BE
I use a Yaesu FT-891 for shortwave broadcast, ham and utility monitoring. It has great sensitivity and selectivity plus a fantastic 32-bit IF DSP for noise reduction. The compact size and portability of this transceiver makes it ideal for mobile listening.
Thomas:
Great question that we all love to respond to.
Having four Yaesu transceivers here in the shack I have to say that the FT-817ND paired with an outboard SOTABeams DSP audio filter has been my go to SWL receiver for the last few months. Before the arrival of the FT-817ND it was the FT-897D. As the shortwave bands are not as crowded as the Amateur Radio bands, the audio output of the receiver (for me) is more important that the selectivity of the receiver. I feed the audio from the DSP filter into a mid-range 3.5 speaker that matches the frequency range of broadcast radio.
Ten Tec Paragon ll
No big surprise here, I really like my Icom 7300 for weak signal SWLing. A friend tells me it’s better than his venerable Drake R8A. The advanced filtering options make it a real pleasure to dig out weak signals.
First general coverage transceiver used was the IC-735, since 1986 , that has now developed problems. Mostly use an FT-817 out of convenience. Starting to use the IC-9100 as a potential replacement for the IC-735 if the repair is more extensive than appears. Favorite is the IC-735, most used is the FT-817. Jury is out on the IC-9100. Current receivers most used are the RSP 1 and Radio Shack Science Fair Globe Patrol.
I, too, used the IC-735 for SWLing for many, many years. If you want to repair yours, I highly recommend Vlado at http://hamradio.repair
My ICOM IC-7200 has been my favourite for while, and was purchased on the strength of an article on this very web site.
Everything I need is available directly from the front panel without having to use menus, with the pass band filter control right there if I need it. The VFO dial is fast and fluid, and makes exploratory tuning up and down the dial a pleasure. Noise reduction and noise blanker do a pretty good, considering how dire local interference has become in recent years along with the current solar cycle conditions.
Not necessarily important, but with its add-on carry handles, it looks pretty neat too. Definitely a keeper.
I use a IC-706, KX3 and R8600 for SW receive. Do like the waterfall of the R8600 for visualizing the bands. The best receiver is the KX3. Need the PX3 for visualization, or maybe hold out for a K4.
I have owned only one HF transceiver, the Yaesu FT-897D.
When I bought it ten years ago — my first HF transceiver after being a ham for (then) 44 years — I was pleasantly surprised by how well it performed as a general coverage receiver. It’s even good on medium wave. (FM broadcast reception is mediocre, however.)
The most serious deficiency of the FT-897D is the lack of a synchronous detector — such as the one that works well in my Drake SW8 receiver. Are there any HF transceivers with a synchronous detector?
Unlike many newer transceivers, the FT-897D also does not have a USB port. Nowadays, many transceivers (and even some receivers) , through their USB ports, are recognized as “sound cards” by digital software such a Fldigi and WSJT-X. No need for an interface such as the SignaLink. This opens up a new world of digital mode reception and decoding (for example, Shortwave Radiogram).
(One can always connect an audio output of a transceiver to the audio input of a PC. But this is less convenient than the USB port. For one thing, most transceivers do not have an easily accessible audio-out port, so the headphone or speaker jacks, which mute audio, must be used. And, of course, most newer laptops do not have a separate microphone jack.)
Such a USB port would be an important addition to future (if there are any) general coverage receivers, including mid- to high-end portables.
For the FT-897, use ECSS. Just as effective as sync.
Have a few HF rigs, but I’m liking my IC-7100 with Win4Icom’s SW database. Even my 817 is great for SWL, and my 7300 w/PTRX board+RSP1 is also fun to use. I’m a waterfall junkie, so mainly SWL on SDRs.
My favourite was my Watkins Johnson 8718a which is dead now. I have a 7300 and 817nd now.
I was gifted a Icom IC-7300. I usually listen to SW frequencies using an old Realistic radio, not a transceiver. I struggle with it cause it’s not that good. I guess the person who gifted me the Icom felt sorry for me and decided to get me the fanciest radio she could find. I’ve been reading articles on using such a radio, but I still find it ridiculously complicated to use . Most articles I’ve read don’t mention the basics for a novice like me. I just want to listen to SW, Air and Ham frequencies. Maybe later I would like to transmit as a Ham. I was a able to buy a power supply for it. I now need an antenna. I have extremely limited space. So, I’m looking for a small whip antenna, if possible. Any suggestions would be extremely appreciated. I feel bad watching this great looking radio gather dust. Thanks.
JB
Jaime
I can recommend this book
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Radio-Today-guide-Icom-IC-7300/dp/109377133X
73, David – G4EDR
I recommend this RX only antenna. You will hear the world with it.
http://www.crosscountrywireless.net/loop_antenna_amplifier.htm
Great presentation yesterday Thomas. Like you I find the IC-705 is a great radio with fine SWL capabilities. The Kenwood TH-D74 is a feature rich VHF/UHF HT with APRS & D-Star. It also has a great receive capability including SSB, which is rare in an HT. Great HT for SWL. 73 from Atlanta KI4ASK
TS-2000 favorite as modern rig along with a heavily filtered Icom IC-718. I refurbish a lot of old receivers I have a like new and the RME-45 and RME-69 that sound fantastic on AM but I have like new Hammarlund HQ-129X that really rocks for general coverage. It has an external Q unit…external digital readout and external DSP. It will put some modern receivers to shame!
I mostly use my Yaesu FRG-7000 receiver which has the wide/narrow filter mod.
On some occasions the Kenwood TS450sat
works better.
Maybe Icom could hear you and launch a 705 receiver by the half of its price.
Live my icom ic705 along with a wellbrook mag loop…
Gustavo,
We could only hope BUT Icom has NEVER been known for “diluting” their product lineup.
Incremental upgrades or slight variations, sure.
IC-7300 to IC-705 wasn’t a huge step. All of the framework was in place already. Icom knew there was a unfulfilled demand for a QRP HF/VHF/UHF rig that had (nearly) everything a modern amateur could want. They were right.
Just can’t see Icom going back to entry level tabletop receivers again. Unless they refresh the IC-718, we’re not going to see a corresponding receiver only model like the R75 was.
The economics don’t make sense given where that segment has gone. Mostly to SDRs and cheaper Chinese HF models with general coverage receivers.
If someone has under $600, I’m always going to recommend an SDR and a quality antenna. Might not cover all the bases but it’ll just definitely get their feet in the water to see if they’re going to stick with it.
Interestingly enough two of the transceivers shown in the article, the Kenwood 590s and the Yaesu 891, have been two of my favorite shortwave receivers. The kenwoods receive capabilities are excellent in its price range, unusually so for signals below 160 m and the am broadcast band. Likewise the 891 has roofing filters built in, unusual at this price point. Both radios have now been replaced buy a new transceiver, but I cannot comment on its quality yet until I’ve spent more time with the radio.
Regardless of how good the new radio is, I will still use my frg-7 and will likely buy the new Sangean 909 x2 because of how well I like my original 909x. It’s a great time to be in the hobby!