Shortwave Radios   

a simple buyers guide.

for your  first shortwave receiver, you probably don't need much,
and probably don't want to spend a fortune , say less than $50..
 

Ebay has hundreds of shortwave radios listed,  READ the description, does it work ??, look at the guys feedback,
is he trustworthy ? Be careful what you buy when you can't look and play with it. and don't forget the shipping,
some of these old tube radios weigh a ton. Try to find something with a BFO control, these first three Zenith radios
do NOT have BFO's, the Tecsun doesn't either.   A BFO lets you hear CW, SSB and RTTY type transmissions.

try to find one that is GENERAL COVERAGE, not just the SW Broadcast segments, look for 2 to 30 mHz

try to find one that's ANALOG , not digital. The digital ones are hard to "" just tune around on" and find new things.  

here are some pictures of  some old and some newer analog radios

avoid these digital radios, good radios , but hard to just tune around.