Shortwave radios

[GinaCampbell]

Any recommendations?

[Briggs 2.0]

Are you wanting to listen or have the capability to transmit? If it's both and you're thinking as a prep, then I say Clansman RT320....

....wait....wait.......here it comes...yes....there...hear it.....the clickety clack of a dozen keyboards being tapped to death as one by one the posts below condemn the RT320.

Don't listen, I say. Invest in an RT320

[Hamradioop]

cant go wrong with Briggs recommendation in my book, and as you state you are a vet you may well be familiar with them, they are certainly robust.

[Appin]

Horses for courses.

However, the first question is important do you mean SW listening or do you mean transmitter?

The two areas are totally different. Even if you just mean SW receiver there is still what do you want to do?

A simple SW receiver for commercial bands so in the event of major breakdown in UK you can still listen to what is being said elsewhere in the world. Or do you mean listen to other bands so you can listen to other radio frequencies ( harder now as emergency services now use Tetra radio which is encrypted.) ( Examples http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/alinco-dx-r8e ... iver-n41jx or http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/alinco-dx-r8e ... iver-n41jx or http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/eton-solarlin ... adio-a60kf )

Yes there is the whole argument about what transmitter and is it worth getting an amateur licence.

Same question what do you want to achieve??

Short range communications ( 1 -2 miles) => PMR not licence cost £30 upwards per radio but beware quality Useful for short range within group comms. ( http://www.maplin.co.uk/search?text=PMR+Radio)

Medium range ( 1 - 20 miles depending on location - I am over simplifying) Options 2 metre band Amateur radio so needs licence cost much higher or perhaps licence free CB radio on 27Mhz FM

Longer range SW transmitter 1.8 to 30 MHz Again needs amateur licence etc This would allow contact over big distances to find what is happening even if there was a massive breakdown in society.

Yes you can argue that you can buy a radio for use post disaster and no one will care you are not licensed. However, in reality if you are to have the skills to operate such a radio effectively you would be well advised to practice now. Simplest way, do the Radio Amateurs exam, it is not at all hard.

Coming back to Clansman

Here is a review link by radio amateurs

It is what you would expect of ex military kit. Solid , heavy reliable but tailored to military use. Also now very much old technology.

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/7905

Here is a link to show the kit and cost:

http://www.armyradio.com/arsc/customer/ ... 109&page=1

Do you really think you could just pick that up an use it? ( Apologies to ex forces for whom it was their standard radio)

For comparison amateur radio link ( not recommending but just for comparison):

http://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio ... d-2463.php

People regularly take the FT817 in a back pack and work stations over 100s or 1000s of miles. It is a skill.


Is it worth having this kind of long range communication? They say " Knowledge is power". I don't want to be left incapable of getting information which could put me one step ahead.

Regards

Appin

[Briggs 2.0]

My earlier post was a little tongue in cheek, I do apologise.

For overall ease of use, compact size and function the FT817 is ideal but you have to bear in mind that to get the most out of the 5 Watts of transmit power, you will need an antenna tuner and a substantial antenna. For listening only, it works well using just a long piece of wire.

I totally agree with the comment describing the Clansman's rotary knobs as being non user friendly. However, get it set up right and it's reliable, robust, weatherproof and it performs well using the most basic of antennae. I prefer the end-fed wire method which has another plus point of being a near perfect stealth antenna.

[Deeps]

My earlier post was a little tongue in cheek, I do apologise.

For overall ease of use, compact size and function the FT817 is ideal but you have to bear in mind that to get the most out of the 5 Watts of transmit power, you will need an antenna tuner and a substantial antenna. For listening only, it works well using just a long piece of wire.

I totally agree with the comment describing the Clansman's rotary knobs as being non user friendly. However, get it set up right and it's reliable, robust, weatherproof and it performs well using the most basic of antennae. I prefer the end-fed wire method which has another plus point of being a near perfect stealth antenna.

Having used an HF Clansman as 'emergency comms', I thought it was a chunk of s**t. It had an effective range of how far you could shout, although it did give us an excuse to see which pubs we could 'test' it from, from time to time. I'm not a ham but I find it hard to believe that you can't get a better radio for less money on ebay or whatever, its so antiquated, our submarines stopped carrying it a good few years ago and got Sat phones for emergencies instead, maybe not good for some of the scenarios some are envisioning on here right enough. Apologies for the negativity, I've generally not had good experiences with the Clansman system.

[Briggs 2.0]

My earlier post was a little tongue in cheek, I do apologise.

For overall ease of use, compact size and function the FT817 is ideal but you have to bear in mind that to get the most out of the 5 Watts of transmit power, you will need an antenna tuner and a substantial antenna. For listening only, it works well using just a long piece of wire.

I totally agree with the comment describing the Clansman's rotary knobs as being non user friendly. However, get it set up right and it's reliable, robust, weatherproof and it performs well using the most basic of antennae. I prefer the end-fed wire method which has another plus point of being a near perfect stealth antenna.

Having used an HF Clansman as 'emergency comms', I thought it was a chunk of s**t. It had an effective range of how far you could shout, although it did give us an excuse to see which pubs we could 'test' it from, from time to time. I'm not a ham but I find it hard to believe that you can't get a better radio for less money on ebay or whatever, its so antiquated, our submarines stopped carrying it a good few years ago and got Sat phones for emergencies instead, maybe not good for some of the scenarios some are envisioning on here right enough. Apologies for the negativity, I've generally not had good experiences with the Clansman system.

You're not a ham, so I have to ask if you connected a handset and an antenna to the Clansman before trying to operate it

The only suggestion I have is that if you have the opportunity to try one again then you spend a few minutes reading the manual or check the very simple to follow antenna instructions which are printed on the top cover.

You looked at the top cover, right?

Anyway, if anyone is considering a Clansman 320 as a SHTF and Everyday capable radio then by all means PM me and I'll try and help with what looks to be a steep learning curve and highlight some of its quirky but rather special features. If I can't help, I'm sure I can point in the right direction to get the answer. If you are considering one and you're shopping around, look for one with the LSB (Lower Side Band) modification. Some have a separate switch added, some have an existing switch modified. This modification is a must-have on the popular 40m / 7MHz band which operates mainly on LSB.

[Deeps]

My earlier post was a little tongue in cheek, I do apologise.

For overall ease of use, compact size and function the FT817 is ideal but you have to bear in mind that to get the most out of the 5 Watts of transmit power, you will need an antenna tuner and a substantial antenna. For listening only, it works well using just a long piece of wire.

I totally agree with the comment describing the Clansman's rotary knobs as being non user friendly. However, get it set up right and it's reliable, robust, weatherproof and it performs well using the most basic of antennae. I prefer the end-fed wire method which has another plus point of being a near perfect stealth antenna.

Having used an HF Clansman as 'emergency comms', I thought it was a chunk of s**t. It had an effective range of how far you could shout, although it did give us an excuse to see which pubs we could 'test' it from, from time to time. I'm not a ham but I find it hard to believe that you can't get a better radio for less money on ebay or whatever, its so antiquated, our submarines stopped carrying it a good few years ago and got Sat phones for emergencies instead, maybe not good for some of the scenarios some are envisioning on here right enough. Apologies for the negativity, I've generally not had good experiences with the Clansman system.

You're not a ham, so I have to ask if you connected a handset and an antenna to the Clansman before trying to operate it

The only suggestion I have is that if you have the opportunity to try one again then you spend a few minutes reading the manual or check the very simple to follow antenna instructions which are printed on the top cover.

You looked at the top cover, right?

Anyway, if anyone is considering a Clansman 320 as a SHTF and Everyday capable radio then by all means PM me and I'll try and help with what looks to be a steep learning curve and highlight some of its quirky but rather special features. If I can't help, I'm sure I can point in the right direction to get the answer. If you are considering one and you're shopping around, look for one with the LSB (Lower Side Band) modification. Some have a separate switch added, some have an existing switch modified. This modification is a must-have on the popular 40m / 7MHz band which operates mainly on LSB.

I tried turning it off and back on and everything. Each to their own but "Its a no from me" as the saying goes. I was more than happy when we got rid of them, life was a lot easier when we showed the Wardroom how the Sat phone worked and they could crack on, we just had to keep the batteries charged, much simpler all round.

There must be more modern commerical radio's out there, a lot easier to play with than the Clansman, surely ?

[the_rat]

i have the choice of 2, a small battery powered panasonic shortwave complete with long wire antenna,and a fully opened up kenwood 440ts with home made multi length dipole antenna i can mount in the trees,a system that does work well for me.. Also believe it or not my old car radio cassette out of my Subaru has SW function so I bought a another set to go in my camper and 4x4