I just picked this up and although I realized they had a following I didn't know how many people like this radio.
I have always wanted to get into SW and this seems to be the way to go, especially for the price I paid
I did some research since I don't know the SW bands,but my reception is pretty lousy, (I'm not picking up much on other than the standard AM and FM bands, even at night.)
I have tried using about 25 feet of generic wire attached to the center post of an RCA at the external antenna, as well as attaching the wire to the radio's antenna and reception is still poor. I live upstairs in an apartment and have only used the antenna inside.
Any suggestions ?
The FM sounds really good, and it sure picks up AM stations well.
I see that there are some mods that I'm gonna look into, one thing I don't understand is why they sold this with such a cheesy feeling tuning knob

the thing wobbles and feels like it's cheap as can be.
I don't have the AC adapter, and am looking into getting one.
All in all, this little radio is definately a keeper.