good shortwave radios?

[Sandy G]

One does NOT need to have an R-390 to achieve SWL bliss, there are many, many excellent radios out there. Tube models I have personal experience with-Hallicrafters S-39- Better collectable than radio. SX-25- Very good set. SX-28- Gold standard WW2 era set. Still pretty decent, but more of a collectable nowadays. SX-73- 1951 TOTL Halli set. Excellent performer, rare, butt-ugly. SX-62- Get this one & you've got it all- Performance, looks, even has the modern FM band. Hammarlund- SP-600- Their TOTL. R-390 class, or close to it. Get a later version that doesn't have the infamous BBOD(Black Beauty of Death) caps in it, though. HQ-129A- Fabled MW performer, a bit long in the tooth now. National SW-54- Good boy's 1st radio. AA5 set w/SW bands. Modest performer. NC-98- What the boy got for Christmas a year or 2 later. Better performer. NC-125- The Buick of the National line. NC-183D- Not quite their TOTL but close. You won't go wrong w/this radio, however. HRO 50T1- Their TOTL set. Archaic 1935 design, you have to change coil sets in them to change bands. Getting the 2 coilsets that cover the MW band is a PITA, too. But HROs are good performers. Scott- RBO-2- Shipboard morale receiver, good MW coverage, limited SW coverage. SLRM-similar late WW2 morale radio. 800-B-Good performer, excellent sound, some models have modern FM band, turntable & TV. There you have a thumbnail sketch on a few of the more popular/readily available "boatanchors". A lot of them will require a speaker, virtually all will require some maintenance, but there's something about playing w/a big, old, multitube, multiband radio that is hard to beat...