5 Things to Consider When Buying a Shortwave Radio (Part 4)

4. Size: Commonly available shortwave radios for personal use come in sizes ranging from pocket or handheld models to tabletop sets. Handheld shortwave radios can be as small as the size of a wallet which enables portability with ease. Depending on the model, pocket sided to medium sized shortwave receivers are for the most part very well suited for use in a wide range of places. Medium sized shortwave radios can be taken along when traveling as they are easy to pack in luggage and the built in antennas are often sufficient for acceptable reception of transmissions by large international and domestic broadcasters. Medium sized receivers also make for good side table companions in bedrooms and many of them even tend to come with built in alarm clock features.

Larger tabletop shortwave radio sets are typically for stationary use and, although they are probably not the best suited place to set your cup of coffee on, they can be big enough that they can easily collect stacked clutter on their flat surface areas. Despite having adopted the old ham radio terminology of "boat anchor" as a nickname due to their larger size and heft, many modern tabletop shortwave receivers offer all kinds of additional functions and features as well as improved ergonomics when compared to more compact radios. The size of a shortwave radio can affect its functionality due to the omission or inclusion of basic characteristics such as the presence of a built in antenna, external antenna connectibility, or features including frequency coverage. Although there may be a few exceptions, larger tabletop shortwave radios do not typically have built in antennas and are intended for use in environments where listeners have the space required to install a longwire or dipole antenna of some sort or another. Active antennas do make it possible for sophisticated tabletop sets to be utilized in smaller settings and provide an alternative space saving solution but in some cases they can be costly and might not be considered ideal. Many smaller shortwave radios do not have connectors which permit them to be readily interfaced with external antennas requiring plug in type jacks. However, many have used the argument that giving up a few options in a small receiver is a small sacrifice for being able to carry broadcast voices from around the world in the palm of your hand.

Look for part 5 in this series of posts on 5 Things to Consider When Buying a Shortwave Radio to be published here at the Radio Static blog soon.

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