The Best Radios We Tested (2024): Portable, Bluetooth, for Emergencies

Buy a vigor and lone picking up static? There's a fewer things that could beryllium astatine play.

Radio signals question miles and miles to scope your location and vigor of choice, but depending connected the region oregon the placement of your radio, you could beryllium picking up a worse space connected the frequency. Radio signals bounce astir and are reflected backmost and distant by obstacles, including objects successful your location and adjacent your ain body. There's nary mode to warrant which spot successful your location volition get the champion awesome for the presumption you emotion best, but adjacent moving a vigor implicit a mates of inches tin abruptly amended your signal.

I trial areas connected the aforesaid tabletop successful my home, but sometimes find a antithetic antenna picks up awesome a small amended an inch to the near versus different radio. Each vigor has a antithetic antenna design, and each vigor signifier volition travel into play too: however gangly is the vigor itself? and however overmuch higher does the antenna spell past it?

Some antennas look to conscionable beryllium amended than others: Sangean and Studebaker radios, for example, person consistently performed good successful my reception tests. Telescoping antennas, which each the radios we urge have, are often champion for picking up a signal, but brushed ligament ones tin enactment large if you get them successful the close position. I usually get the champion results by moving a ligament antenna up a partition to replicate my telescoping antenna testing, and they're casual to tally up the backmost of immoderate shelves if you privation thing discreet.

You besides person to inquire yourself astir the presumption you're trying to prime up. How acold distant is it, and what benignant of setup bash they have? You tin cheque Radio Locator to spot what stations your country should prime up and however acold distant those stations are broadcasting from. From my investigating successful San Diego County, I recovered large stations successful Los Angeles and Tijuana could beryllium easier to prime up—likely from a amended antenna system, since the tallness and plan of an antenna relates to however good it projects a signal—than immoderate section stations that were overmuch person to me. With each vigor I tested, I recovered my section Christian Contemporary presumption that's simply 10 miles distant was harder to prime up than large vigor stations based doubly arsenic far.

My investigating is based connected consistency, truthful I didn't hunt astir to get a amended awesome for that section presumption beyond adjusting each vigor a fewer inches connected my investigating tabletop. But you can, and you mightiness person to effort a fewer antithetic parts connected a bookshelf oregon a country to find wherever you tin champion get the vigor awesome for your presumption of choice. Portable radios marque this a small easier since you don't request to interest astir a cord portion uncovering that cleanable spot, but I often recovered that adjacent a mates of inches tin marque a satellite of quality successful a vigor signal.