Seeking Receiver recommendations

[SolarMax]

A friend's venerable Sony ICF-2001 has crossed the radio bridge, beyond repairability, forever silent.
He is now shopping for a similarly capable replacement.

I've suggested he look at models from Sangean, Eton, Tecsun and CCrane.

Any individual units among these worthy of a long look, or particular ones to avoid?
Besides CC direct sales, anyone have favored online or brick & mortar retailers for such?
Appreciate replies here or PM.

Thanks!

[Ben Zonia]

I have a Tecsun PL-880. It's good AM BC and FM BC, the SW is better than the AM BC and FM BC in my opinion. The Eton Satellit 750 is a decent table radio. Best USB and LSB with pitch control I've owned. FM Selectivity is better with the PL-880 than the 750.

Pre owned models.

But nothing touches the Panasonic RF-2200 for AM BC, and portable FM BC Selectivity. Close are the GE SuperRadio I and II. Working refurbished RF-2200s radios run $1000.00 or more. AM BC on an RF-2200 is comparable to a Professional Potomac FIM-41 Field Strength Meter, going down close to 10 uV/m barefoot in an electrically quiet setting.

Nothing touches the FM Selectivity of the McIntosh MR-78 and MR-80 Tuners, though they drift to the stronger adjacent. Personally, I think the 78 is better overall with the manual tuning for DX, even though the selectivity is slightly less.

Panasonic Tuners from the 1980s, ST-G Series, are good and cost a lot less. No drift because of digital tuning.

Many can be improved with preselector/preamps, both AM BC, FM BC, and of course for MW/SW, the MFJ products, which is actually pretty good for products that some hams call junk.

[Marcus]

The Tecsun PL-990x has excellent reviews for SSB reception.

https://www.eham.net/reviews/view-product?id=14857

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeVKHHxtbAA

[Turkeytop]

I have a Sangean ATS 909 that I keep in Florida. It's an excellent radio.

https://www.sangean.com/en/product/ats-909x2-graphite

[radioandtventhusiast]

I recommend the Sangean ATS909X. It's great on AM, FM, and SW.

[Turkeytop]

I recommend the Sangean ATS909X. It's great on AM, FM, and SW.

Yes. That's the one I have in Florida.

Another nice feature it has, it sets the time automatically.

[radioandtventhusiast]

I have that set on mine.

[audiophile]

Which one has carrier lock, to fill in AM fading?

You could use sideband setting to fill in, but sharp the filters kill all the bass and treble.

[bmw]

Of my entire collection, the closest thing I have to that Sony unit is a Grundig Satellit 700, though I actually recommend the 500 as seen here. Has excellent reception all around, though not really designed for band-scanning as doing that is tediously slow.

[Ben Zonia]

bmw, can you post again a picture of the Sony? or Panasonic? large portable model, probably more suitable for a table radio? You did an AM Bandscan with it, and I wish I could find that link also.

The Lake Huron shoreline area from near Au Gres, to Tawas, Oscoda, and Harrisville, and perhaps beyond, favors AM signals across Saginaw Bay and other parts of Lake Huron. And FM tropo effects and line of sight across parts of the Lake also. I wonder if that is why some well known radio people came from around Harrisville, as they grew up able to receive a large number of stations from larger markets, as well as locals. Back in the 1970s, I remember people driving into Harrisville State Park with WTAC Big 600 blaring, and people on the beach with radios listening to The Big 8, CKLW.

[bmw]

The large one I used for that bandscan was a Grundig as well - a Satellit 2400.

Here is my exact unit in a photo from just over 10 years ago:

[Turkeytop]

The large one I used for that bandscan was a Grundig as well - a Satellit 2400.

Here is my exact unit in a photo from just over 10 years ago:

Nice radio.

I have the Sat 750. I keep it in Florida.

[bmw]

The holy grail model I've always wanted is the 3400. Last pristine one went on ebay for over $1600 USD.

[bmw]

This is my prized possession though - the Panasonic RF-1188. I imported this from Japan some years ago and I've never once seen one on ebay. It is similar to the already rare RF-1180 except adds a wide/narrow RF switch, a fine-tuning knob, and BFO (SSB) capabilities. I if could only keep one radio and had to get rid of the rest, this is the one I'd keep.

[Ben Zonia]

The Satellit 750 has a decent sized rotating ferrite bar, but doesn't have the sensitivity of the Panasonic RF-2200. The 750 also doesn't have the FM selectivity of the RF-2200, the sensitivity is close. The 750 has flexible antenna inputs and switching.

The RF-1188 has similarities to the RF-2200, but I don't know if the sensitivity and selectivity are that good.

Does the FM go from 76-108?