[I_Like_Plants]

I guess they're still cheaper than guns.... I have right now:

An Icom R70, listening to the 40m CW band right now, lots of ditty dah dah ditty, hehe.

A Hallicrafters SX-101, huge thing, unfortunately ham-band only, I really need to sell it.

An Eton E5 I listen to in bed, hey you get your radio time in where you can

A Grundig FR-200 crank emergency radio, still on the same C cells I put in it like 2 years ago, and going strong, I don't use the crank, since I want to save the mechanism for when I need it. Probably the most bang for the buck out here radio-wise. I love the little thing.

A silver neato RCA TV/radio thingie I picked up for $20 at Goodwill, there are reasons it was cheap - it blanks out if the cord is pulled or bent, and one of the selector knobs has bad contact, causing it to blank out at times - I twack it with my fingernail and that seems to fix it until next time...

Oh and ye faithful VX-170, for when I want to talk back! I'm hardly on the air these days, but when I want to yack on 2-meters, I have it. It's also fun to listen to the sheriffs on.

The thing is, I'd like to have just one radio, and have done with it. But I have uses for each one, and with the exception of the Halliboatanchor, which I need to sell, there are discrete uses for each one, and I use them all.

I guess I'm a little bit materialistic when it comes to radios..... Anyone have some type of object they are this way about?

Or, is this just a parallel to how I'll be about bikes if I go bike-only, where I'll have a "greyhound" and a "hauler" and a bike trailer too, a machine for each need?

[Loki]

Good post ILP. I'd like to pick up a "good for everything radio," but I have yet to find anything that fits my criteria. I had a Kaito "survival" radio, but it died within days of taking it out in the woods. Cheap plastic Chinese POS. I have a little handheld Sony radio that I bought in the UK around 1994 that still works very well, despite the fact that I've dropped it multiple times. But it only gets FM and AM and can only run off AA batteries.

Recently picked up a GP-4L. Don't care for the fact that it's made in the PRC, but it is a very compact radio that's good for a BOB. It gets FM, MW, SW1, and SW2. Sound is tinny, but reception is fine. It runs off two AAs and comes with a handy water-resistant plastic case.

Any suggestions for scanners? Preferably AA-powered. I have a supply of rechargeable AAs and a solar charger that charges them quite well.

[I_Like_Plants]

The best single everything radio is the Eton E5/Grundig G5, also the Kaito 1103 which is the same radio inside. Everything from beacons down to 100kHz to the US FM broadcast band, not bad.

Runs on AA's but you could run it off of an external source which you'd charge with solar cells.

If I had to get down to one radio, it's the one I'd keep.

[Newsseeker]

Don't know much about radios but I'm willing to learn. Not quite sure how much use they will be 20 years post-PO but still useful now for emergencies.

[TommyJefferson]

I want to set up my family with some MURS mobiles like they sell on ebay.

I just never seem to get around to it.

[topcat]

I have wondered also about a 'do-all' radio and which bands might be more useful than others. AM, FM, SW, MW, LW, CB; I don't know.

[Newsseeker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('topcat', 'I') have wondered also about a 'do-all' radio and which bands might be more useful than others. AM, FM, SW, MW, LW, CB; I don't know.

[topcat]

Well, what the heck is going on in MW and LW? Sorry for asking, I just don't know.

[Kingcoal]

Any 2-30 MHz HF general coverage transceiver. Whenever disaster happens, there's a ham somewhere hooked up to a battery giving the rest of the world play by play. Put up some wires and have some fun. Licensing no longer requires CW.

[I_Like_Plants]

Yes, but the Eton E5 will also get AM, FM, and the band *below* am .... what goes on there? Well, some Mexican broadcasting, beacons, occasional fooling around by gov't and others around 500kHz, and just when you least expect it, dialing around ..... dit-dah-dah-dah, dah-dit-dah-dit, JC, or, JESUS CHRIST!


OK the JC beacon, that one makes me laugh.

What I can't seem to replicate, is receiving the INE beacon, which is a little 100-watt job up in Michigan somewhere.

[eastbay]

You reminded me that the small AM/FM alarm clock radio near my bed is the only radio in our house.

We have really simplified our lives around here in the past two or three years. The less we have, the happier we get.

[jdmartin]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', '
')The thing is, I'd like to have just one radio, and have done with it. But I have uses for each one, and with the exception of the Halliboatanchor, which I need to sell, there are discrete uses for each one, and I use them all.

I guess I'm a little bit materialistic when it comes to radios..... Anyone have some type of object they are this way about?

Or, is this just a parallel to how I'll be about bikes if I go bike-only, where I'll have a "greyhound" and a "hauler" and a bike trailer too, a machine for each need?

[I_Like_Plants]

I agree jdmartin.

There are some things you just have to have, and a certain amount of "hoarding" makes sense.

If you want to have one am/fm radio, consider a C Crane CC Radio - you can run it on wall current, but in a blackout you can run it on some D cells forever and a day. There are attachments for it including a good AM antenna, I think there's a solar cell thingie for it, etc.

If you just want to be uber-simple, just get a Grundig FR200, which won't come with an AC adaptor but you can get one at radio shack. And it will still run forever on a load of batteries. It does amazingly well on shortwave too, no BFO so morse code isn't a tone, it's more like a hissing on and off, but still copyable.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('I_Like_Plants', ' ')get a Grundig FR200

[bobaloo]

My favorite radio is my FT-847, 160m-440MHz plus 100KC-75MHz plus 140-160 and 400-450 or so, all in one small 12v rig. Great radio with added filtering from International Radio. Worked 85 countries on 6 meters from Oregon in the last 10 years with it, plus about 150 grids on 2M (not easy from Oregon).

Second favorite radio? I'll second the recommendation for the Degen/Kaito DE1103. 100Kc- 30 MHz, dual IF bandwidths, SSB/CW, direct keypad frequency entry and digital readout to 1KHz. Fits in your hand or backpack, runs about 36 hours off 4 AA batteries, and cost is about $75. Unbelievable little radio, highly recommended.