New to this and I'm stuck between 3 SW radios

[mscatamaran]

I'm pretty new at this but I want to buy equipment for the main purpose of listening in to pirate radio stations. One site said I needed a scanner and another said a SW radio instead of a scanner. I asked a rep from Radioworld and they suggested choosing one of the three products:

http://radioworld.ca/product_info.php?c ... ts_id=4865

http://radioworld.ca/product_info.php?c ... ts_id=1161

http://radioworld.ca/product_info.php?c ... ts_id=4864

So for my purposes, which would be the best product?

thanks all!

[NW7US]

In my opinion, of these three models, the best for your application would be the Satellit 750. Here's some of the reasons why I feel this way:

1. Single Side Band (SSB) - needed to hear anything that is not an International Shortwave Station. Pirates, military, utility, ships, aircraft (transoceanic), and most any other user of HF will be using SSB.

2. External Antenna jack - a must. If you are serious about monitoring for pirates and other signals, you need a better antenna than what is built into any radio. There are other threads of discussion on these forums that talk about antenna projects that you can do, to create the perfect listening station.

3. Price - it is a reasonable price, for a good radio.

4. Reviews - most reviews are fair to good in rating this radio.

Just my honest take on it.

[mscatamaran]

oh thank you! that was quite helpful! I'll peruse the other forums regarding antenna stuff now.