Which shortwave radio?

[Cornholio]

Many years ago I had a little Sony shortwave radio. There was something very romantic about listening to distant voices drifting in and out of the static, but sadly the device is now lost in the mists of time.

I'd rather like to procure a new one, which should also have the VHF airband. A little bit of time spent stumbling around the Interwebs has led me to conclude that the Tecsun PL-680 may be a reasonable option.

Any views here please regarding what to buy the region of £150?

Cheers!

Gavin.

[A440]

Many years ago I had a little Sony shortwave radio. There was something very romantic about listening to distant voices drifting in and out of the static, but sadly the device is now lost in the mists of time.

I'd rather like to procure a new one, which should also have the VHF airband. A little bit of time spent stumbling around the Interwebs has led me to conclude that the Tecsun PL-680 may be a reasonable option.

Any views here please regarding what to buy the region of £150?

Cheers!

Gavin.

Hi Gavin, I have the Tecsun PL-660 at work and the Tecsun PL-880 at home. The PL-660 has SW and airband which both work well, however the speaker isn't as good as the PL-880. I use the PL-880 mainly as an FM radio and it sounds amazing. Really good speaker. Downside is that it doesn't have airband, however that's fine for me. The PL-880 also has a Li-Ion battery which lasts a long time between charges, which is handy. Both are great radios and to be recommended. Just depends on how important the airband is for you? By the way I believe the PL-660 is a precursor to the PL-680 (which I havn't tried yet).

[BillyCasper]

Many years ago I had a little Sony shortwave radio.

Swerving somewhat from topic, was it the ICF-SW1E?

If yes, I still have mine including box. In storage for many years, but several years ago I had it repaired as it is notorious for the capacitors going.

[Davidh]

Hi. I did the short wave thing ten years ago. Have the tecsun pl600.
There was one particular broadcast I was in to and it is now dead. After that I struggled to find anything worth listening to

So unless you have something in particular in mind it might be a bit disappointing. I’d seriously recommend borrowing a radio or an eBay cheapie, some of them are pretty good, to get it out of your system.

[Cornholio]

Hi Gavin, I have the Tecsun PL-660 at work and the Tecsun PL-880 at home. The PL-660 has SW and airband which both work well, however the speaker isn't as good as the PL-880. I use the PL-880 mainly as an FM radio and it sounds amazing. Really good speaker. Downside is that it doesn't have airband, however that's fine for me. The PL-880 also has a Li-Ion battery which lasts a long time between charges, which is handy. Both are great radios and to be recommended. Just depends on how important the airband is for you? By the way I believe the PL-660 is a precursor to the PL-680 (which I havn't tried yet).

Really helpful, thank you! I've heard good things elsewhere about the PL-880's speaker. However, airband is one of the reasons for wanting to buy a new radio. Mrs Cornholio and I like to visit our small local airport, and it would be nice to listen to the chatter on 134.880 Mhz.

Swerving somewhat from topic, was it the ICF-SW1E?

No, not that one. It looked similar, but was larger. I can't remember the model number, and haven't been to identify it from a Google search. In fact, I can't even remember what happened to it! A sign of my failing faculties...

Cheers!

[Davidh]

In that case you might be better getting a vhf handheld for airband. Go to eBay for all the flavours for not much money.

Start looking at baofeng

[swisstony]

I still have a Sony SW radio from the late 80s: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/sony_i...0_icfsw20.html

Sadly there are no voice stations on any of the SW bands here in France / Switzerland.
Ukraine seems to be the place to listen.

Swisstony

[higham5]

Really helpful, thank you!. Mrs Cornholio and I like to visit our small local airport, and it would be nice to listen to the chatter on 134.880 Mhz.






Cheers!

Snap we have a Chocks Away Cafe too at Hawarden airport !

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau...les_Wales.html

[PickleB]

Probably a bit too expensive, unless you can find one second hand, how about the Sangean ATS-909X2?

Suggested because I had the older model Sangean ATS-909 and it had a decent reputation.

Here's a review...link...and some more info here about its issues, see the Important Notice at the bottom of the page.

[Cornholio]

Thank you, all. Really appreciate your replies 😊