{"id":2011,"date":"2011-10-04T13:44:11","date_gmt":"2011-10-04T17:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?page_id=2011"},"modified":"2026-01-14T07:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T11:07:10","slug":"shortwave-radio-reviews","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/resources\/shortwave-radio-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Shortwave Radio Reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_319\" style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/db\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-319\" class=\"size-full wp-image-319\" title=\"g3with7600gr\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/g3with7600gr.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"166\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-319\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Grundig G3 or Sony ICF-SW7600GR (in background) are among the hundreds of shortwave radios found in our Shortwave Radio Index<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>If you&#8217;re looking for shortwave radio reviews, you&#8217;ve come to the right place.<\/strong> Whether you&#8217;re looking for reviews of shortwave portables, tabletops, SDRs, or professional\u00a0receivers, our site offers a rich treasury of curated information to help you find the right radio for your needs, to compare models&#8211;or just to learn about the unique world of radio, both past and present.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you&#8217;re in a hurry, find reviews on these pages:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"SWLing.com\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/Radios.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SWLing.com for simple reviews of popular radios<\/a>,<\/li>\n<li>check our <a title=\"SWLing Post Review Archives\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/reviews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">radio review archive on the SWLing Post<\/a>,<\/li>\n<li>or browse our <a title=\"the Shortwave Radio Index\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/db\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">library of all shortwave radios currently on the market in our Shortwave Radio Index<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sdrplay.com\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-39773 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SDRplayBanner.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"468\" height=\"61\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SDRplayBanner.jpg 468w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/SDRplayBanner-300x39.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/SWLingCollage.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2016\" title=\"SWLingCollage\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/SWLingCollage-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/SWLingCollage-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/SWLingCollage-100x71.jpg 100w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/SWLingCollage.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>SWLing.com is actually<em> three<\/em> sites:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><a title=\"SWLing.com Radio Reviews Page\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/Radios.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">SWLing.com<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span> &#8211; Our original site,\u00a0 SWLing.com offers a simple, straightforward primer on how to effectively purchase and use a shortwave radio. Best of all, it has a <a title=\"Shortwave Radio Reviews\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/Radios.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">popular Radio Reviews page<\/a> that lists the best portable and tabletop shortwave radios on the market. The reviews, which focus on the effectiveness and usability of each model, are written in simple language for the benefit of those just starting in the hobby, who may not yet know the technical jargon, as well as for non-native English speakers and young users.\u00a0 Clear instructions and definitions are provided.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><a title=\"The SWLing Post\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The SWLing Post<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span> &#8211; (here) We post up-to-date news, <a title=\"Reviews\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/reviews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reviews<\/a>, interviews and everything shortwave. New posts are made regularly, often daily. Here, you can easily find our own <a title=\"Shortwave radio Reviews\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/reviews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in-depth shortwave radio reviews<\/a>. <a title=\"Shortwave Radio Reviews\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/reviews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">These reviews<\/a> are comprehensive and typically focus on one model at a time, offering comparisons to other similar radios.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><a title=\"SWRI\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/db\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The Shortwave Radio Index<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span> &#8211; At the SWRI we have curated an index of <strong>all shortwave radios currently on the market<\/strong>. That&#8217;s right, <a title=\"SWRI\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/db\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>all<\/em> of them<\/a>. We add new models each week as they come on the market. \u00a0The site is searchable by manufacturer, model, or type of radio. Each entry contains features and specifications of the radio with links to reviews on other sites, to retailers and resources for each model. This exhaustive index took some time to construct; as such, we continue to put a great deal of time into maintaining it. <em>As with all our sites, this is a free resource for you to use and share.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What&#8217;s more, you can <a title=\"Contact\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contact us<\/a> directly for specific instruction or advice.<em>\u00a0 In your email, keep descriptions brief, and questions and comments clear; this makes it easier for us to help.\u00a0 Please note that we receive <strong>a lot<\/strong> of email, so do allow a few days for a response.<\/em><\/p>\n<h1><strong>About review equipment<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>We always clearly indicate in each review how\u00a0we acquire review units.<\/p>\n<p>While most of the radios and equipment are purchased directly for the review, occasionally, manufactures give us review samples or loaners. This typically happens when the product cost is excessive, a new product has been launched (and we&#8217;re receiving a pre or first production unit) and\/or the review unit is not one the reviewer wishes to add to their own inventory.<\/p>\n<p>When we indicate a &#8220;loaner&#8221; we&#8217;re referring to a review unit that has been sent to us on loan. We typically keep these radios for the length of time it takes to complete a review, then we send the unit back to the manufacturer at our own cost (though sometimes the manufacturer pays return shipping).<\/p>\n<p>When we indicate a &#8220;sample&#8221; we&#8217;re referring to a review unit that has been sent to us at no cost and the manufacturer does not want the unit returned to them.<\/p>\n<p>We actually prefer loaner review units since it eliminates what could be perceived as a conflict of interest when doing a review. In truth, though, many manufacturers find it a hassle to issue loaner units on products that are relatively low cost&#8211;it&#8217;s cheaper for them to simply send it as a sample. In addition, items like field antennas, cables, and batteries, for example, can show wear and manufacturers would rather give them to us on a permanent &#8220;loan&#8221; than to pay two-way shipping and take a used item into inventory. Quite often we request a loaner, but are sent samples and don&#8217;t discover this until the unit is received. We even frequently receive items without being contacted by the manufacturer in advance.<\/p>\n<p>What do we do with samples after the review? Sometimes we keep them in inventory if they can be used as a benchmark for future comparison or if it&#8217;s a product that quickly shows wear (a field antenna for example). Most often, though, we give them away shortly after the review.<\/p>\n<p>If we had to purchase all of our review items, we&#8217;d likely review only a 1\/3 of what we do now. Loaners and even samples give us exposure to items we&#8217;d otherwise not include.<\/p>\n<p>To be clear: no matter how we acquire a radio or accessory for review, we always endeavor to provide our most <em>accurate<\/em> assessment; <strong>our integrity is more important than any piece of equipment.<\/strong> We always clearly indicate in the review how we acquired a product.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, manufacturers and retailers know that our opinions can&#8217;t be influenced. We only accept review items from manufacturers who appreciate a frank assessment. All of the sponsors you see in our ads agree and, indeed, embrace this idea. Quite a few times, we&#8217;ve posted reviews that upset manufacturers. We try to be as fair as possible, but we also call it like it is.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you for visiting, and <a title=\"Contact\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">please send feedback<\/a> if you have suggestions on how to improve any of our sites. We like compliments, too.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Welcome to the world of shortwave!\u00a0 Happy listening!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re looking for shortwave radio reviews, you&#8217;ve come to the right place. Whether you&#8217;re looking for reviews of shortwave portables, tabletops, SDRs, or professional\u00a0receivers, our site offers a rich treasury of curated information to help you find the right radio for your needs, to compare models&#8211;or just to learn about the unique world of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"parent":48487,"menu_order":36,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2011","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/Pn3uc-wr","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/about\/","url_meta":{"origin":2011,"position":0},"title":"About","author":"Thomas","date":"November 10, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The SWLing Post is\u00a0a community of shortwave radio and amateur radio enthusiasts sharing shortwave radio reviews, news, broadcasting, pirate radio, numbers stations, interviews, and much more. We aim to provide quality content in the form of: Everything radio, with a focus on the HF\/Shortwave portions of the spectrum International broadcasting\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 55 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 55 comments","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/about\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Carlos-Latuff-Thomas-Witherspoon-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Carlos-Latuff-Thomas-Witherspoon-scaled.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Carlos-Latuff-Thomas-Witherspoon-scaled.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Carlos-Latuff-Thomas-Witherspoon-scaled.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Carlos-Latuff-Thomas-Witherspoon-scaled.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Carlos-Latuff-Thomas-Witherspoon-scaled.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":26552,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/resources\/faq\/","url_meta":{"origin":2011,"position":1},"title":"FAQ","author":"Thomas","date":"April 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Who is the owner of the SWLing Post? The owner of the SWLing Post is Thomas Witherspoon (K4SWL). \u00a0You can read more about Thomas on our about page. What topics do you cover on the SWLing Post? Is it only shortwave radio? While most of our posts focus on shortwave\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43473,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/radio-marketplace\/list-of-qrp-general-coverage-amateur-radio-transceivers\/","url_meta":{"origin":2011,"position":2},"title":"List of QRP General Coverage Amateur Radio Transceivers","author":"Thomas","date":"May 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"For shortwave and broadcast listeners, general coverage transceivers can double as both a ham radio transceiver and as a broadcast listening receiver. I often suggest a good general coverage transceiver as an option for shortwave listeners as there are many more transceivers on the market than there are dedicated tabletop\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Elecraft-KX3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Elecraft-KX3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Elecraft-KX3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28075,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/swag\/","url_meta":{"origin":2011,"position":3},"title":"Swag","author":"Thomas","date":"September 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Looking for SWLing Post gear? We've got you covered! Over the years, readers have often encouraged me to create SWLing Post\u00a0shortwave radio-themed products, which is to say, t-shirts,\u00a0coffee mugs, and the like. But for some reason, I've never gotten around to it. That is, until now... What finally motivated me\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"SWLingPost-DXFiend-Vintage-Front","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/SWLingPost-DXFiend-Vintage-Front.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/SWLingPost-DXFiend-Vintage-Front.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/SWLingPost-DXFiend-Vintage-Front.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/SWLingPost-DXFiend-Vintage-Front.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":47167,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/resources\/alan-roes-guide-to-music-on-shortwave\/","url_meta":{"origin":2011,"position":4},"title":"Alan Roe\u2019s &#8220;Music Programmes on Shortwave&#8221;","author":"Thomas","date":"April 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who brings us his updated guide to music on shortwave. This page will house the latest version of each published guide. For a back-issued version of Alan's guide, check out these archived posts on the SWLing Post. Click here to download Music\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Alan-Roe-Music-Turntable-Record-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Alan-Roe-Music-Turntable-Record-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Alan-Roe-Music-Turntable-Record-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Alan-Roe-Music-Turntable-Record-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Alan-Roe-Music-Turntable-Record-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":909,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/radio-marketplace\/","url_meta":{"origin":2011,"position":5},"title":"Radio Marketplace","author":"Thomas","date":"November 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"We started the Radio Marketplace page in order to organize and make it easier for readers to search retailer and classifieds listings for both receivers and transceivers. This is an on-going project and we will continue to update and add radios to this list. We are most thankful to Universal\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/radio-marketplace\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/JRC-NRD-630-Dial-Frequency.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/JRC-NRD-630-Dial-Frequency.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/JRC-NRD-630-Dial-Frequency.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/JRC-NRD-630-Dial-Frequency.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/JRC-NRD-630-Dial-Frequency.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2011"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65181,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2011\/revisions\/65181"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}