Best small shortwave radio

[Ron]

What unit would make sense to have around the house?

Battery power option is a must have as its primary function would be informational during emergency events.

I had a cheap a.m./fm weather radio with a crank and small solar panel that failed on me.

Looking for a solid choice that will last and would love to be able to pick up shortwave.

Reading reviews is just confusing me.

[MillCreek]

I am of the opinion that you cannot go wrong buying something from CC Crane: https://www.ccrane.com/

[Brad Johnson]

Is shortwave still a thing? I haven't see a reference or heard a peep about it in years.

Brad

[Ben]

I got this one as a gift last year:

https://www.amazon.com/Tecsun-PL880-Conversion-Shortwave-Reception/dp/B00GJ51NVA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1533597654&sr=1-1&keywords=Tecsun+PL880

After I got it, I posted here asking about good channels to listen to. Mtnbkr, who is a shortwave guy, replied that there simply isn't a lot out there anymore as far as broadcasts, etc., at least for a rig like that.

I used to have one of the cheap ones with the hand crank maybe 20 years ago and  I remember listening to all kinds of international broadcasts in the evening, just with the telescopic antenna on it. On my new one, I even rig a long wire across the living room and even outside, and get very few broadcasts. Several religious stations and a Chinese station and once in a while some Mexican stations. Possibly I don't know what I'm doing, but it sure seems sparse compared to what I was getting the last time I had an SW receiver.

[Brad Johnson]

Did some poking around and was disappointed to discover shortwave is all but dead. What I'm seeing echoes what Ben said, religious and Chinese. There are a smattering of private stations around but most of those are just because the equipment hasn't died yet. The stuff that used to get a lot of interest on SW has gone interwebz-based.

Brad

[Ron]

Well that’s a bummer.