Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Im using a Sony ICF-SW7600GR, generally considered an excellent radio for its reception, from what Ive seen. Do you mean that this radio isnt all that good?
No, you just wanted an explanation for the spurious reception you are experiencing. Poor front end selectivity at longwave is pretty typical from my experience, even in very high priced receivers, and your image issue is probably just as much an artifact of your location as it is your receiver.
The receivers I have that can tune longwave are a Drake R-7A, a Drake SW-8 portable, a Collins 51S-1, and a Zenith Royal 1000 Trans Oceanic portable. Out of this bunch, the only one that has a real front end for longwave is the TO. I doubt the Drakes have any front end filtering below 500 khz, and the Collins probably only has one tuned circuit, if that. I have some transceivers that probably tune below 500 Khz, but I doubt they have any filtering below 500 khz, either. Here in the middle of the country, there is nothing to hear on longwave except aircraft NDB's, so I never tune around there.
Whether the Sony is a good receiver or not depends on what you want to do with it. For casual broadcast band and shortwave broadcast listening, it is probably very good.
Would I use it to chase CW DX on the low end of 20 or 40 meters where I need to pick one weak station out from underneath a sea of stronger stations on almost the exact same frequency? Probably not, it's just not made for that type of reception, and would not be a good receiver in that application.