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This is very cool. I have been programming since the mid 1960s (took an extension course at a local college when I was in high school) and except for a few work projects, I have not really touched hardware projects. I might give SDR a try.

Does anyone know how the quality of SDR compares to buying short wave, etc. Radios?

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You can get RTL dongles to cover VHF and higher for $20, and probably $40 for a HF up-converter. 8 bits at 2Msps. Quality is not great, but it's cheap. Next up is probably an Airspy for $200 or less, which is I believe 12 bits at 10 Msps. Next up is 14 bits at 60 Msps for $300 - $600, such as Ettus B200. Finally 200 Msps for a few $k.

Though if you want to receive HF, best quality is from direct sampling hardware, so close to $1k.

mcHF QRP transceiver. home-brewed amateur radio project. Firmware is released as open source and most project files are released as well.

Continues RX coverage 2-30 Mhz 5W output power CW, SSB, AM and FM – transmit and receive

http://www.m0nka.co.uk/?page_id=2

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