Radio Advice, Please

[Shevek]

I have an off-grid friend whose main input is AM radio. It is going out of style, so I'd like to find him a better battery-operated receiver, and learn about rigging up an antenna.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I take it he can't afford a satellite receiver like a StarLink or similar?

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[Jumpinbare]

I have an off-grid friend whose main input is AM radio. It is going out of style, so I'd like to find him a better battery-operated receiver, and learn about rigging up an antenna.

Is his off-grid location physically distant from civilization?
There is quite a selection of AM/FM/Shortwave radios with AA battery, internal rechargeable batteries, hand crank generators to charge the radio battery, etc.

Grundig is a good brand. There is a plethora of no-name radios that wil "do the job". I recently bought this radio on Amazon. It has a built in telescoping whip antenna, and a wire antenna that clips to the built in whip, and can be stretched out anywhere convenient with a clip on the end to attach to whatever.

 

[Angular Chap]

Right now I’m using a Tecsun PL-600 which I’ve owned since 2018 and I use it daily and can vouch for it. It covers longwave, medium wave and shortwave, 100kHz to 30MHz with very little gaps. Ham radio veterans consider it to be a solid mid ground radio, so I take that to mean a great radio. It uses 4 AA Ni-Mh batteries. I don’t believe that charging these with an off-grid setup would be a huge problem, but a radio that uses more modern lithium polymer batteries may be more convenient.

Consider the Tecsun PL range or the similar XHDATA D-808 as decent mid ground.

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If he is just interested in listening to AM broadcast stations, then a cheaper option is worth considering. If he also likes to listen to things like ham radio operators, aviation, weather reports and the handful of cold war numbers stations, opt for a radio that lists sideband, single sideband or SSB as a feature.

Now onto antennas. For rigging up an antenna, a radio with an external antenna port is a good idea, but a longwire can be clipped onto the built in antenna. My radio came with an external longwire antenna, but constructing a decent antenna is as simple as using a spool of wire and a 3.5mm mono or stereo plug, or alligator clip. The longer the wire and the higher up you can get it, the better.

With a 10 meter length of wire and minimum effort, I can hear ham radio operators in Nashville and Moscow, weather reports from Africa, broadcast radio from mid China and aircraft over Newfoundland, all from Scotland.

 

[Shevek]

Thanks, everyone. Well, there are bush, farms and ranches around, but the nearest traffic light is over an hour away, and cell coverage is not continuous. I don't think my friend has ever used Short Wave, but he might get interested if it is available. Is there any problem with using a long extension cord for antenna experiments? I'd been reading about huge loop antennas with specified resistance in the loop and in the connecting wires. How about the used market - maybe Ebay? I think he had satellite radio in a car, but does not seem to miss it - I'll mention the option, though.

 

[Jumpinbare]

Any wire will work. Although you want it to be strong enough to carry its own weight. So yes on extension cord. (Don't plug it into power though).
Us Hams have an old saying. If you have a $100 budget, buy a $10 radio and a $90 antenna. A cheap radio can play a strong signal well, but a great radio with a poor antenna gives you poor reception.

 

[Angular Chap]

Is there any problem with using a long extension cord for antenna experiments?

That’s no problem. I’ve used aux cords and headphone wires as antennas.

I'd been reading about huge loop antennas with specified resistance in the loop and in the connecting wires.

It can be a lot of fun experimenting with antennas, but don’t worry about the numbers. Things like impedance matching are critical for transmitting, but can be viewed as a fun point of experimentation when only receiving.

How about the used market - maybe Ebay?

Ebay is a good option for the used market, I use it myself, with the usual caveats of paying attention to the seller’s reputation score, feedback and accurate and detailed item descriptions.

 

[oregano]

I use a length of speaker wire for a FM antenna. I have it strung outside to a metal fence stake, and it is connected to said stake using a ceramic "egg" insulator so as to not have the metal interfering with the signal. My AM/FM radio runs off 120vAC which is provided via an inverter hooked to my battery, which is charged with solar.

If your friend wants a battery operated radio then the champ would be the General Electric Superadio 2. I have one, but I bought it years ago used and since they haven't been made since the 1980s they are really hard to find now because people hang on to them, and if one pops up the price is ridiculous.

Second choice would be the Sangean made Realistic/Radio Shack AM/FM/SW radios from the 1990s. Those are easier to find. I have a DX-390 (Sangean ATS 818) that I found at a garage sale for $20 that I mainly use for receiving time signals to synchronize my clocks when they drift. The DX-440 (Sangean ATS 803A) is another good choice, I had one as a teen and young adult and I can remember listening to a pirate FM station called Radio Libre with it when I lived in San Francisco in the mid 90s.