Well, I gave it one last try tonight and shortwave reception in my John Hancock Center apartment is strictly ixnay. I didn’t expect to be able to snag low-power pirate radio stations or clandestine transmissions, but even traditionally easy catches like time-station WWV are no-shows.

When I lived in Jefferson Park on Chicago’s Northwest Side, I could get great reception by  throwing a longwire out my third-floor window into a nearby tree. The nearest thing to that tactic here would be dangling a 20- or 30-foot wire out my 54th-floor window … and I can’t do that.

Ah, well.

If you’re interested in the characteristics of small shortwave portables, check out Thomas Witherspoon’s reviews.