Shortwave
Have you all gotten lost in the odd world of shortwave radios yet? As far as I can tell, for every radio and technology, there will be a huge range of opinions, and they all seem to conflict with one another.Anyone have one, or buy one, already?
10 Comments:
Oookkkayy. I spoke with several people about it, and the options seem to be this:
Cheap (~$40).
Medium (~$100).
Expensive (>$100).
* I'll be just as well off with a cheap one as an expensive one, unless I'm looking to save a ton of space by getting a tiny tiny digital.
* Analog is probably a safer bet than digital, because it's going to suffer some abuse, and analogs will be easier to fix wherever we end up.
This one was recommended to me by someone who knows what they're talking about. I got to play w/ it last night . . . sturdy as hell, great recption, but the thing is HUGE.
Just some more data points to further confuse everyone. ;) (I'll prolly be going with cheap, small, and hand-cranked).
I have one currently. From what I've read it's actually best to NOT get the cheap analog hand-crank ones. They get extremely poor reception and are difficult to tune. T is 100% right about the pricing though. I have the
e100 and I've been quite happy with it so far. I've been really easily picking up stations from Korea and China (in English, of all languages!) To be fair, I probably don't know what I'm talking about... but I do know that while the analog buyers will be furiously cranking their dials to find stations, I'll be hitting the "SCAN" button and laying on my cot drinking tea ;)
Some of what I've seen... (this is me talking to myself. You folks in the SED group will get used to that ;) )
- The BBC seems to be the important thing - schedules and FAQ's on BBC shorwave here.
- There's also at little - but only very little - NPR on AFN, but you'd need a set that would do side bands, which are more expensive.
Someone had mentioned the WorldSpace Satellite Radio that works in Africa - this place seems to sell them, and ship to the US. There also claims to be a reail outlet in Cotonou. Great programming, but expensive. And there is this note in some of the sign up material about them redirecting the west africa beam to Europe in "Mid 2006"....
As for radio's - shortwave -
Cheap -ish
Less Cheap, but well reviewed.
Yeah - I'm with Lyle - from what I can tell, since the stations jump from freq to freq depending on the time of day, presets will be good, which means digital. Easier to break, true - but I'll live on the edge and take that risk. :)
While the eco-geek (or is that "apocalypse-geek" ?) in me thinks the hand crank stuff is cool, I'm lazy, so AA batteries are the way to go.
The E100 looks good. And I like the retailer. No reviews on it at Amazon, but there is a more formal one here.
Someone also seems to be selling one on ebay, ending today, so I think that may be the fix. Thanks!
Hmmm. I hadn't thought about presets and junx. Back to being indecisive I go! :)
I know the Grundig works in Africa. REI has one for cheap. I also know PCVs who swear by Worldspace. Buying one in Cotonou sounds sketchy - there is a place in DC that sells them for a pretty reasonable price...well kind of reasonable. Also, volunteers will be leaving and like to leave stuff for the new kids. If money is tight you can always see what's being left behind.
Hmmmm... in DC?
Who? What? Where?
Kat, could you post the name of the shop in DC (if you remember it)? I'll be down there running errands and visiting all weekend. :)
I ended up getting a JoyEar satellite radio from this guy in DC. I don't know the name of the store but here is his contact info:
Robert Johnson
202-439-5578
rjohnson@worldspace.com
I also called them this morning - spoke with Maraki (mkassaye at worldspace 202-230-1219)) in their gov't sales department - Robert works for them, too.
I guess I may go ahead and do this - a luxuary, but I'm thinking it may be worth it.
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