Coby CX-CB12 AM/FM/SW Radio

Costs only fifteen dollars! Sony, Sangean and the rest want fifty or more for their versions, and they don't play any better. This little set is a well made, handsome radio, that does two things well (for its class); it receives lots of shortwave stations and does so selectively, and it has good audio so you can hear them well. The analog dial is inaccurate but they ALL are. A set this size is for bandscanning and listening to what pops in, if you want exact frequency readout, then pay five times as much and get a set with PLL. There's some dial string backlash, but you get used to that after a few minutes use. The dynamic range (rejection of interference from out-of-band stations), on AM broadcast (and to a lesser extent FM), isn't very good, but really, you get a radio like this for the shortwave. Output thru the earphone jack is mono, but is VERY hi-fi, and actually plays thru both headset speakers instead of just one. The on-off switch is recessed so an accidental turn-on in the suitcase or bag won't happen. Especially at this price, you can't beat this set for plopping down in an easy chair or on the porch, turning it on and suddenly having Radio Canada, VOA, Radio Yugoslavia (yeah, it actually pulls in Radio Yugoslavia english to North America, loud and clear in the evenings), come booming in. Needless to say, I like and recommend it.