{"id":30942,"date":"2018-02-28T07:40:38","date_gmt":"2018-02-28T11:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=30942"},"modified":"2018-02-28T07:40:38","modified_gmt":"2018-02-28T11:40:38","slug":"portable-ssb-radios-for-people-who-are-visually-impaired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/portable-ssb-radios-for-people-who-are-visually-impaired\/","title":{"rendered":"Portable SSB radios for people who are visually impaired"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor,\u00a0Svein Tore, who writes:<\/p>\n

I’m blind. The type of shortwave radio I like best, is the analogue type with a tuning wheel, because I don’t need sight to use it, and I have full control over the receiver.<\/p>\n

I would like to buy a radio with SSB, but it seems that all of the radios with SSB are digital, and you need to see the display to use the radio.<\/p>\n

Are there any analogue radios with SSB?<\/p>\n

If not, what is the simplest radio receiver with SSB?<\/p>\n

I’m looking for a radio with as few functions and menus as possible, but it should have SSB.<\/p>\n

I’m looking for a small or medium sized receiver, but if you are thinking of a big radio that seems to be right for me, please tell me about it.<\/p>\n

Perhaps I have given you an impossible question now? I’m sorry for that.<\/p>\n

Thanks \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Greetings from Norway.<\/p>\n

Svein Tore<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Excellent question, Svien. I thought it would make sense to share your inquiry with the SWLing Post community as I know we have other readers who are visually impaired. Readers, please comment with any suggestions you may have.<\/p>\n

To my knowledge, there are no analog shortwave radios with a BFO (for SSB) that are in production today. There are, however, numerous analog models from the 60s, 70s and 80s with a BFO (two examples: the Sony ICF-5800H<\/a> and the Panasonic RF-2200<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

My trusty Zenith Trans Oceanic will always be a part of my radio collection (Click to enlarge)<\/p><\/div>\n

In fact, my first proper radio was a Zenith Transoceanic. I’ll never forget taking it to our local RadioShack, when I was eight years old, to ask one of the employees (who I knew was a DXer) what the heck “this strange BFO knob” does!<\/p>\n

There is the analog Sony ICF-EX5MKII that\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em> contributor Troy Riedel reviewed<\/a>, but I don’t believe it has a BFO–only a synchronous detector which can be switched between upper and lower sidebands. Perhaps a reader can confirm this.<\/p>\n

Since I can’t recommend a current analog model, I do have a digital solution that I believe may work for you:<\/p>\n

The Tecsun PL-660<\/h2>\n
\"Listening<\/a>

Listening to Channel Z in a parking lot with the Tecsun PL-660.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Though not an analog radio, the menus on the PL-660 are not “deep”–most buttons simply toggle features. There is no hardware “switch” to change bands, but I think you would find it easy enough to use the direct frequency entry keypad to navigate across the spectrum. The SSB feature works more like an analog radio as it has a BFO dial on the right side of the radio. The buttons and dials are also raised and tactile. Best yet, the tuning sounds like an analog radio since there is no muting between frequency changes.<\/p>\n

There are a number of other portables out there that are about as simple to operate as the PL-660, but I like the price point of the PL-660<\/a> and its overall performance characteristics. For a little less money, and a similar form factor and function set–minus a synchronous detector function–you might also consider the Tecsun PL-600 as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Again, I’m hoping Post<\/em> readers might chime in with even better suggestions! Please comment!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Svein Tore, who writes: I’m blind. The type of shortwave radio I like best, is the analogue type with a tuning wheel, because I don’t need sight to use it, and I have full control over the receiver. I would like to buy a radio with SSB, but it seems […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,305,26,43],"tags":[3718,332,6854,481,330,3717,3719],"class_list":["post-30942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radios","category-shortwave-radio","tag-blind-shortwave-listeners","tag-pl-660","tag-svein-tore","tag-tecsun-pl-600","tag-tecsun-pl-660","tag-visually-impaired","tag-visually-impaired-shortwave-listeners"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-834","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":921,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2010\/11\/tecsun-pl-660-shortwave-radio-now-available\/","url_meta":{"origin":30942,"position":0},"title":"Tecsun PL-660 shortwave radio now available","author":"Thomas","date":"November 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The Tecsun PL-660 is now available on eBay. 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Note that this radio is shipped directly from Hong\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/TecsunPL-660-300x165.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35038,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/12\/best-of-the-best-reviews-of-some-of-my-favorite-portable-shortwave-radios\/","url_meta":{"origin":30942,"position":1},"title":"Best of the best: Reviews of some of my favorite portable shortwave radios","author":"Thomas","date":"December 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The following article originally appeared\u00a0in the\u00a0November 2018 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine: Shortwave Portables: Some of my favorites Being a radio writer and blogger, I\u2019m often asked, \u201cIsn\u2019t radio dying?\u201d or \u201cHow long are you going to keep listening to radio when there are so many other options out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Tecsun-S-8800-Angle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Tecsun-S-8800-Angle.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Tecsun-S-8800-Angle.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15953,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/the-swling-post-2015-2016-shortwave-radio-buyers-guide\/","url_meta":{"origin":30942,"position":2},"title":"The SWLing Post 2015-2016 Shortwave Radio Buyer\u2019s Guide","author":"Thomas","date":"December 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This article originally appeared in the November 2015 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine: Despite the often-expressed view that shortwave may be on the decline, if one were to look at this year\u2019s shortwave technology alone, the truth would seem to be anything but. Remarkably, 2015 has been a great\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"FourRadiosAbstract2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/FourRadiosAbstract2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/FourRadiosAbstract2.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/FourRadiosAbstract2.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11280,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/11\/the-countycomm-gp-5ssb-a-79-shortwave-portable-with-ssb\/","url_meta":{"origin":30942,"position":3},"title":"The CountyComm GP-5\/SSB: a $79 shortwave portable with SSB","author":"Thomas","date":"November 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Jim, who points out that the new\u00a0CountyComm GP-5\/SSB is\u00a0available for pre-order at Universal Radio. Universal expects to ship the GP5\/SSB in late November. I have the CountyComm GP-5\/DSP\u00a0(a.k.a. Tecsun PL-360) and recommend it in my\u00a0radio travel guide. I especially like the unique external ferrite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CountyComm GP5\/DSP","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/CountyComm-GP-5-SSB-102x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":30680,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/video-how-to-calibrate-the-tecsun-pl-660-frequency-offset\/","url_meta":{"origin":30942,"position":4},"title":"Video: How to calibrate the Tecsun PL-660 frequency offset","author":"Thomas","date":"February 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,\u00a0Mike Mander, who writes: I've recently really been enjoying swling.com. Thanks for having such a great resource online with shortwave radio and hardware reviews, tips and more! I started listening to shortwave on an old Philips portable receiver back in the late 70\u2019s as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "How To"","block_context":{"text":"How To","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/how-to\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/PL-660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/PL-660.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/PL-660.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8165,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/12\/a-review-of-the-tecsun-pl-880-portable-shortwave-radio\/","url_meta":{"origin":30942,"position":5},"title":"A review of the Tecsun PL-880 portable shortwave radio","author":"Thomas","date":"December 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I have never seen such a eager response and extraordinary anticipation over the announcement of a new portable radio as with the new Tecsun PL-880. 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