A review with commentary on the best shortwave portable receivers I've ever owned

Nice collection…do you have any favorite analog SW radios especially the Sony/Panasonic brand?

Hi I have a zenith transoceanic model r7000-2 and Sony icf 2010 with airband

You’re lucky to still have band activity. Nice collection of radios.

Where I’m at in the south central US, I can count the number of stations on one hand. There were hundreds of stations in the 90s. These days most of the bands are quiet. The HF ham bands are somewhat active, but that is essentially it aside from the occasional religious station or rebroadcaster. There just isn’t sufficient activity for me to justify further investment in the hobby - perhaps with the one exception of getting something small that I can carry on international ventures.

Great video and information. I had the Panasonic one below you showed. Had many years listening to many station.cb etc. It's in bits but still works. Brought it when it first came out. Looking to buy one .

Thanks for the video. Very well done explaining the advantages and shortcomings of this great little radios. Cheers.

Was wondering if you could help? Im looking to get into the hobby but on the cheap and i found an eton grundig bt and a tucson pl808 online for about the same price both are used but i want to get the best i can. I live in the city so i know it l may not be real easy to pick up but would you recommend one over the other?

Very nice and great radios, Clint. Congrats.

Oh, I can see Sony ICF-2001D in your collection. I loved this receiver way back in 1986. It has exceptional sensitivity on MW band with a built-in telescopic antenna. No need for external antenna. The only problem is a very short battery life. The power consumption is very high, probably for the PLL frequency synthesizer.

It's comforting to see that someone out there has even more radios than me . As well as many modern ones I also restore and use old valve receivers. These can be very good and fun to use .
Of the modern ones my go to is a Tecsun S2000 . This gets a few bad reviews but for me it's an excellent device. The 501x works well but battery life is terrible. Spends more time on charge than in use . It's still a great hobby in spite of there being far less stations . I am 84 and in my youth I used to build my own radios. Those were the golden days of short wave .
Very best wishes to you . Enjoy your hobby as I do .

I have nearly all these radios, only radio I would add to this list is the Grundig Satellit 700 for single side band, and, it has superb sound quality. Yes, I would consider the Eton E1XM as the best of the best, the 2001d, then the icf-77 in that order as the creme de la creme of shortwave portables (I have all three), with the caveat that the E1XM is only good for shortwave. Medium / long wave and FM is mediocre on that unit. I do not have the Tecson, Eton Elite, or XHData, nor do I have the Panasonic 865, I just dont see them outperforming the units I have (I have a Tecson 501x, but not the 990). I am strongly considering the Tecson 990, the Panasonic 865, and Malahit DSP2 (an official clone, which means, it gets all the firmware updates that the Malahit team pushes out). I do consider the Sangean ATS 909x2 a viable option for people just getting into the hobby and want something quality, with functionality to grow into, but people should be aware, it has some serious flaws, and I really do like the Tecsun 501x, despite it's lack of display options, among other things. My goto still however is the Eton E1XM for a reason not mentioned in this video. It makes shortwave so much more listenable because it limits the amount of fading significantly, maintaining a more even volume level while listening. I will never part with this unit unless something drastic happens in my life.

I got the ICF 2001 in 1980… I was 18, spent £199.00 on it…😮😮… I had saved up, had to tell my dad it was £100… he was still gobsmacked…😂😂 What a radio..❤

Good analysis ! Thx.

Had a Sony 2001D, and I was on board working as a merchant marine. I use this radio to listen to the news and everybody would listen to it. It was an all purpose radio mostly on SW stations. One of the best I had…

Please name the best for under 100 EUROs :)

I have the Eton Elite Satellite HD, for a
while now. It's OK, I did place a pre-order several years ago for $350.00
with Universal Radio, so I got a good
price for it, compared to the regular
price now of about $500.00 or more.
I do like the HD FM reception on it. 😊

I had the Sony ICF-2001 around 1980,
and it was OK, but the later ICF-2010
was a much better receiver. 😊

What is the status of availability of the
Eton Elite Executive HD version? 😮

Hi from Australia as I have the Sony ICF-2001D purchased at the time 1983 British Hong Kong days! An absolute super reliable unit fully functional in 2023. I can not complain at all! Powerful and reliable 40 years on wow a tough beast! Sad that short wave listening transmission has reduced morse codes beeping along gone... miss the cold war and propaganda! Radio Moscow, Voice of America, Radio Berlin International DDR days and more!

A great review keep up with your good work!

Ansett 727.

Great stuff ...you need a ICF 7600A which is a great camping radio and dont seem to deteriate

I just purchased the Tecsun 880 ❤
Sounds like I did good 👍

Which PAL external antenna adapter and external antenna do you recommend for the Eton E1 ? I just got one in great condition.

I never met a radio I didnt love! I also have a "keeping problem" I'd let them turn my electric off before I sell one.

What about a Satellit Grundig 700. I bought it new many years ago. It's a great radio. I like it better that my Tecsun H-501x.

I for one would love to see a general radio magazine back in the newsagents. Shortwave Radio, radio user, radio active, nothing print these days?

Your catches of Brazil small stations are amazing! Greetings from Brazil.

Great channel , I’ve bought a xhdata D808 and I’ve had some good fun with it so far , am looking to buy a sdr with a waterfall display , any recommendations for around 100 to 150 mark please , many thanks Shane uk 🇬🇧

Great video. As for the Sony ICF-2001D/2010 I agree with you. Getting one today can be a challenge however and not only because of its availability but finding a really, not tampered with good one is not so easy. I had three and the best of them was sent over to a specialist in the USA and he completely overhauled it. I still have it today and it is still my companion everywhere I go. Thing is, it is complicated. Complicated to open it up without damaging wiring and the now very brittle plastics, it is complicated to get it fixed, too. Mine had corroded and totally absent printed wiring due to outgassing batteries. It was still working though but most of the keys did not work. In short, you can’t simply buy a nice looking one without knowledge of the radio. The other two disfunctional units went alongside the one I wanted to be restored. Maybe they found new owners, I don’t know.

Acho lindos esses rádios... 73!

How about Grundig Satellit 700? I use to have it in the early 90´s.

What no Grundig Satellit 800 Millenium? Superb radio, not very portable though!

Great reviews Clint! I use my Eton Satellit (Grundig Edition) for MW dxing at times and believe that it is as good as the Panasonic RF-2200 that I used to own, plus has a much smaller footprint. The Panasonic still has cult status as the best ever receiver for MW dxing. 73's...Phil

Nice video! But where is Sony ICF-SW07?

I have a Sony ICF-2010 that I really love. In addition to SWLing, I use it a lot on MW BCB. It has a "problem" on BCB, at least for me. When an external antenna is plugged in, the BCB pre-amp is disabled. That's for people living in cities with local AM stations, to prevent overload. However, the closest such stations here are 80 miles away, and that pre-amp is useful, even with a long external antenna. There's a trick I discovered, for using such an antenna, without disabling the pre-amp. I push the plug part way in. There's a "sweet spot," where it makes good contact, with the pre-amp still functioning. Roughing up the plug with sandpaper helps to make it "stick" firmly in the right position. Hopefully, people in a situation like mine will find this tip useful.

I own a few of these. I'm just relieved someone owns more radios than me!

Панасоник 65 очень чувствителен. На всех диапозонах. На FM он значительно превосходит Сони 2001д по чувствительности.

I used to have an ICF -SW77. It was one of the best I had. It was the only radio I ever had that had a workable “sync” function. I actually bought it from something called the Electronic Equipment Bank. In it’s day it was a very nice but expensive radio. I couldn’t keep up with it and it needed capacitors changed out and volume control changed out as well.

Great Cliff, still have my Sony 7600 bought in London in 1986. Many happy memories. When my dad passed on I got his 7600D which is an improvement on rx. Lovely review, tnx as always. de ON8EI John.

"One can never be too thin or too rich, or have too many radios." 😎 Oh, gee, I had a brief brain disconnect when you mentioned listening to Shannon VOLMET. I thought, "Who's Shannon Volmet? Must be an Australian radio personality... OH! Shannon VOLMET!" That's really strange of me, since I check Shannon VOLMET almost every night to see which frequencies I can hear it on, and if any of them are truly copyable. However, I am now inspired to write a short story about a female spy named... wait for it... "Shannon Volmet." 😆

Had a fair few of these rigs mainly cus you recommended them lol. Is your contact annon still on the go for tecsun products? I bought the 2001d for around £400 from Germany. Worth every penny even if I don't have one anymore

A man cannot own too many shortwave radio nor swiss mountain army knives----old saying of mine.

What no Sony 7600 !? Seriously though thanks for the round-up... Daren't open ebay out of respect for the bank balance!

Too many Radios??? Take 2 paracetamol, go lay down in a darkened room for an hour or so...put such thoughts behind you, this moment will pass...

❤