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When I began in the hobby of shortwave listening in 1992
I utilized an analog radio-recorder,
International CFM-140.
It was a very bad receiver, but at least it allowed listening to
stronger stations such as BBC, VOA, RFI, among others.
Besides, it covered few shortwave bands (between 49 and 25 meters).
In 1994, I bought an inexpensive, analog receiver,
Cougar H-123,
covering all shortwave bands from 49 to 11 meters.
In 1997, I received a digital receiver as a prize awarded in a contest promoted
by the shortwave station Deutsche Welle.
This receiver, Siemens RK-757;
although covering only the shortwave bands from 49 to 16 meters,
it presents resources such as digital tuning, built-in clock,
alarm, reception of RDS signals.
In 2001, during recent trip in Lisbon, Portugal, I bought a digital receiver,
Sony ICF-SW7600GR,
with full coverage from 150 kHz to 30,000 kHz, having resources such as
SSB/CW reception and synchronous detection.
I use as antenna a simple long-wired antenna, with about five meters long, and
attached to the telescopic antenna of the receiver. Due to the fact of I live
in an apartment, unfortunately without having conditions of installing
an external antenna, the long-wired antenna is the best that I got.
Actually I connect the wire to the metallic structure (in aluminium) of a
window; it is a solution in a certain way considered "exotic",
but that in general allowing an improvement in the reception of shortwave
signals, except in higher frequencies (above 13 meters band).
I have also two roll-up antennas:
RZ 600
and
AN-71,
that are, respectively, accessories of the digital receivers Siemens and Sony.
This type of antenna is connected directly to the telescopic antenna,
but they don't have the same performance of the long-wired antenna.
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