Herculodge

Herculodge Radio Tour: The Day in the Life of a Radio Lover

The strengths and weaknesses of my radios should give you an idea of what to look for as you search for your own radio needs. Here's a brief tour of some, surely not all, of my radios:

The Office: The $120-140 Sangean WR-2: Grade B+ to A-

Strengths: Beauty (in spite of my lousy photo as I'm obviously having trouble using the digital camera with the radio's black color; my close-ups came out even worse); strong AM usually except for 830 Angels baseball in the evening; strong FM. Remote control allows me to keep radio 5 feet from my computer as to avoid interference and compromised reception.

Weaknesses: Night AM gets so compromised I take the less expensive Sangean PR-D5 from the guest bathroom and use it in my office. The pigtail antenna doesn't look so good draped over the painting. I sure wish it had a telescopic antenna; 89.3 FM sounds fine through speakers but hiss through earbuds made me expel it from my bedside in favor of my Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo. 

The Living Room: The $50-150 Eton Sound 100: Grade: B

Strengths: Telescopic antenna, silver looks good for the retro look. AM/FM above average but not remarkable. Weaknesses: Interface not conducive for using with your hands so not a good clock radio; people complain about the bright display in a dark room; sound is pedestrian; for some reason I can't fall in love with this radio. I've tried to sell my silver and black one several times for around $60 on Amazon and not once have I gotten a bite. 

The Guest Bathroom: The $80 Sangean PR-D5: Grade: A-

Strengths: My best AM performer with its 200mm internal ferrite antenna. Strong FM though not as powerful as my Eton S350DL or my C.Crane CSW.

Weaknesses: Dual speakers are small and don't fill a room very well. I know of one person whose PR-D5 suffered AM signal overload because of no AM narrow/wide filter. For me, though, it's the best AM I've ever heard. Another reader from New York says the same. 

The Guest Room: The $99 Eton S350 DL: Grade: A-

Strengths: Easy to use; has AM filters; strong FM; big sound fills a room easily; strapping military look; one of my few radios that doesn't suffer from interference delivered by the nearby Verizon modem. 

Weaknesses: Some techies complain that it suffers from "imaging" problems on AM; feels a bit light as if made from cheap plastic.

The $99 Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo Makes a Strong Impression

The two radios above are actually one radio, the $99 Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo. As a radio enthusiast for the last 5 years or so, I am going to go out on a limb and say that the Horizon Solo represents a huge leap in radio innovation, reception, ergonomics, and sound quality, especially when one considers its affordable price point. Let us go over the features that make it clearly superior to its competition (I am not an employee for Boston Acoustics; I am simply assessing its quality in comparison to dozens upon dozens of radios that I own or that I have tried):

1. The sound is big, crisp, bright, detailed, and talk radio sounds intimate. I own the Boston Acoustics Recepter that retails for $150 and the Horizon Solo sounds even better with its 3.5-inch speaker.
2. The interface is easy to use. You simply press the mode button and scroll through the radio bands, the clock, the bass, the treble, etc.
3. The size and shape leaves a small footprint by the bedside. No radio of this size comes close to generating this quality of sound. 
4. Now for the most impressive part: The AM/FM reception is amazing. I'm sick of suffering mediocre FM on my Tivoli Model One and Three, my Sangean WR-2. The Horizon Solo leaves these other radios in the dust and it's the least expensive by far. With the Horizon Solo's wire FM antenna hanging below (I don't even bother to elevate it.), the Horizon Solo is grabbing tough-to-get FM stations like 89.3, 88.9, and 103.1 with ease--as good if not better than my legendary Kaito 1103. The tuner is so good, I may have to sell several of my radios throughout the house and replace them with the Horizon Solo. As soon as word spreads about the Horizon Solo's tuner performance, the competition is going to have to go back to their tech department and start all over again. Consumers aren't going to fork out good dough for subpar reception when they can buy a Horizon Solo.

Final Thoughts: The very capable Boston Acoustics Recepter, which retails for $50 more than the Horizon Solo, should be on its way out soon. It has less features than the Solo; it doesn't even have a headphone jack and sure enough the Solo has one. The Solo gets even better reception than the BAR and it has a replaceable grill so that you can get a variety of colors that suit your taste. Moreover, as you can see from the photos above, you can configure the read-out bezel so that the radio is either vertical or horizontal. My congrats to Boston Acoustics for making a radio that smart people want to buy.

For the story of how I by chance stumbled upon the Horizon Solo, which inexplicably was stocked on a Torrance, Ca,Target shelf a month before its official release date, CLICK HERE. 

Update: I bought a second Horizon Solo because my Tivoli Songbook and Tivoli Model Three were performing miserably. Due to the amount of computer interference I was skeptical about the Horizon Solo's AM/FM sensitivity but it pulls in most stations that the Songbook and Model Three could not and unlike the Model Three there is no signal fade. The performance in my interference-laden office attests to the Horizon Solo's superior tuner. 

Some caveats: A lot of bugs have been reported, especially pertaining to the sleep and alarm function. Make sure you keep your receipt and warranty. I've been lucky. The 3 I've bought have been relatively bug-free. One problem, however, is that if I tune too quickly to a weak station, the radio emits a clamorous thunder-like sound that can't be stopped unless I reposition the wire FM antenna. But on the whole this is my number-one bedside clock radio. 

Below is another new offering: The Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo, which retails for about $150 and is being sold atElectronic Warehouse.

The two radios above are actually one radio, the $99 Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo. As a radio enthusiast for the last 5 years or so, I am going to go out on a limb and say that the Horizon Solo represents a huge leap in radio innovation, reception, ergonomics, and sound quality, especially when one considers its affordable price point. Let us go over the features that make it clearly superior to its competition (I am not an employee for Boston Acoustics; I am simply assessing its quality in comparison to dozens upon dozens of radios that I own or that I have tried):

1. The sound is big, crisp, bright, detailed, and talk radio sounds intimate. I own the Boston Acoustics Recepter that retails for $150 and the Horizon Solo sounds even better with its 3.5-inch speaker.
2. The interface is easy to use. You simply press the mode button and scroll through the radio bands, the clock, the bass, the treble, etc.
3. The size and shape leaves a small footprint by the bedside. No radio of this size comes close to generating this quality of sound. 
4. Now for the most impressive part: The AM/FM reception is amazing. I'm sick of suffering mediocre FM on my Tivoli Model One and Three, my Sangean WR-2. The Horizon Solo leaves these other radios in the dust and it's the least expensive by far. With the Horizon Solo's wire FM antenna hanging below (I don't even bother to elevate it.), the Horizon Solo is grabbing tough-to-get FM stations like 89.3, 88.9, and 103.1 with ease--as good if not better than my legendary Kaito 1103. The tuner is so good, I may have to sell several of my radios throughout the house and replace them with the Horizon Solo. As soon as word spreads about the Horizon Solo's tuner performance, the competition is going to have to go back to their tech department and start all over again. Consumers aren't going to fork out good dough for subpar reception when they can buy a Horizon Solo.

Final Thoughts: The very capable Boston Acoustics Recepter, which retails for $50 more than the Horizon Solo, should be on its way out soon. It has less features than the Solo; it doesn't even have a headphone jack and sure enough the Solo has one. The Solo gets even better reception than the BAR and it has a replaceable grill so that you can get a variety of colors that suit your taste. Moreover, as you can see from the photos above, you can configure the read-out bezel so that the radio is either vertical or horizontal. My congrats to Boston Acoustics for making a radio that smart people want to buy.

For the story of how I by chance stumbled upon the Horizon Solo, which inexplicably was stocked on a Torrance, Ca,Target shelf a month before its official release date, CLICK HERE. 

Update: I bought a second Horizon Solo because my Tivoli Songbook and Tivoli Model Three were performing miserably. Due to the amount of computer interference I was skeptical about the Horizon Solo's AM/FM sensitivity but it pulls in most stations that the Songbook and Model Three could not and unlike the Model Three there is no signal fade. The performance in my interference-laden office attests to the Horizon Solo's superior tuner. 

Some caveats: A lot of bugs have been reported, especially pertaining to the sleep and alarm function. Make sure you keep your receipt and warranty. I've been lucky. The 3 I've bought have been relatively bug-free. One problem, however, is that if I tune too quickly to a weak station, the radio emits a clamorous thunder-like sound that can't be stopped unless I reposition the wire FM antenna. But on the whole this is my number-one bedside clock radio. 

Below is another new offering: The Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo, which retails for about $150 and is being sold atElectronic Warehouse.

Herculodge Guidelines for Improving AM Reception

If you're like me, lousy AM reception is so grating it's hardly worth listening to. And if you're like me, you're fed up with the majority of radios that stick a cheap internal AM ferrite antenna as if it's just an afterthought. Having said that, let us look at some strong AM radios and the environmental factors that determine their effectiveness.

Guideline #1: No radio, no matter how strong its AM, can overcome environmental impediments such as steel beams, concrete walls, foil insulation panels, computers, fluorescent lights, printers, scanners, cable boxes, modems, iPod speakers, etc.  Don't judge a radio's effectiveness if it's being compromised by these factors.

Guideline #2: A good AM radio can be "too good." What I mean by this is that it can pull in so many AM signals that the station you're tuning into gets "crowded" and you'll need an RF grain and a narrow band option, as exists on the  strong AM performer, the C.Crane CSW. In contrast, a strong AM radio, the Sangean PR-D5, works well for me but a mile down the road it is a complete failure because it's lack of a narrow band filter renders it useless next to the power generators. This leads us to our next guideline:

Guideline #3: A great radio may only be as great as its individual environment but may show completely different characteristics in another environment. Therefore, steer away from making absolute judgments about radios. For example, my Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo gives me great AM, but at least two readers are getting nothing static on their Solo's AM dial and they have to return them. 

For the remaining guidelines, I must give grateful credit to Ed Strnad:

Guideline #4: AM reception at night will be weaker on some stations because their transmitter is set to reduced power, or the they change the direction of the their transmitter "beam." The FCC requires this of some stations. And as far as I know, AM-HD stations stop transmitting completely in HD at night. In fact, at night and in winter, distant AM stations (AM-DX) should be easier to get due to signal "skip" or bounce which results from the lowering of the ionosphere at nights and in winter.

Guideline #5: A good Earth ground on your radio may reduce static and give better AM reception. Attach a wire to the radio's "GND" antenna terminal and under the screw holding an AC outlet wall-plate, which is a ground.

Guideline #6: Use battery power not AC power for quieter reception.

Guideline #7: Use a signal amplifier like the "Select-A-Tenna" to increase signal strength. But remember a signal must BE there in order to be amplified.

Guideline #8: Operate your radio close to a window. Try different locations.

Guideline #9: A good radio should have a "DX/LOCAL" switch; an even better radio should have a "RF GAIN" control knob. Use the Gain control: too much RF will distort the signal, too weak a signal will be noisy/static-y.

Recommendations: The aforementioned C.Crane CSW (previously the Kaito 2100) and the Sangean PR-D5 are the best I've tested. I've actually gotten BETTER AM with my less expensive PR-D5 and so has another reader from New York. On the other hand, another reader who lives 2 miles away from me, gets signal overload with his PR-D5. 

Caveat on the C.Crane CSW: The buttons are hard to press and the quality control is questionable. Mine got distorted after 3 weeks (Kaito version) and an Amazon reviewer has the same complaint for his C.Crane version. For a radio with similar performance but in analog form without presets, you might be better served getting the Eton S350.

If you're like me, lousy AM reception is so grating it's hardly worth listening to. And if you're like me, you're fed up with the majority of radios that stick a cheap internal AM ferrite antenna as if it's just an afterthought. Having said that, let us look at some strong AM radios and the environmental factors that determine their effectiveness.

Guideline #1: No radio, no matter how strong its AM, can overcome environmental impediments such as steel beams, concrete walls, foil insulation panels, computers, fluorescent lights, printers, scanners, cable boxes, modems, iPod speakers, etc.  Don't judge a radio's effectiveness if it's being compromised by these factors.

Guideline #2: A good AM radio can be "too good." What I mean by this is that it can pull in so many AM signals that the station you're tuning into gets "crowded" and you'll need an RF grain and a narrow band option, as exists on the  strong AM performer, the C.Crane CSW. In contrast, a strong AM radio, the Sangean PR-D5, works well for me but a mile down the road it is a complete failure because it's lack of a narrow band filter renders it useless next to the power generators. This leads us to our next guideline:

Guideline #3: A great radio may only be as great as its individual environment but may show completely different characteristics in another environment. Therefore, steer away from making absolute judgments about radios. For example, my Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo gives me great AM, but at least two readers are getting nothing static on their Solo's AM dial and they have to return them. 

For the remaining guidelines, I must give grateful credit to Ed Strnad:

Guideline #4: AM reception at night will be weaker on some stations because their transmitter is set to reduced power, or the they change the direction of the their transmitter "beam." The FCC requires this of some stations. And as far as I know, AM-HD stations stop transmitting completely in HD at night. In fact, at night and in winter, distant AM stations (AM-DX) should be easier to get due to signal "skip" or bounce which results from the lowering of the ionosphere at nights and in winter.

Guideline #5: A good Earth ground on your radio may reduce static and give better AM reception. Attach a wire to the radio's "GND" antenna terminal and under the screw holding an AC outlet wall-plate, which is a ground.

Guideline #6: Use battery power not AC power for quieter reception.

Guideline #7: Use a signal amplifier like the "Select-A-Tenna" to increase signal strength. But remember a signal must BE there in order to be amplified.

Guideline #8: Operate your radio close to a window. Try different locations.

Guideline #9: A good radio should have a "DX/LOCAL" switch; an even better radio should have a "RF GAIN" control knob. Use the Gain control: too much RF will distort the signal, too weak a signal will be noisy/static-y.

Recommendations: The aforementioned C.Crane CSW (previously the Kaito 2100) and the Sangean PR-D5 are the best I've tested. I've actually gotten BETTER AM with my less expensive PR-D5 and so has another reader from New York. On the other hand, another reader who lives 2 miles away from me, gets signal overload with his PR-D5. 

Caveat on the C.Crane CSW: The buttons are hard to press and the quality control is questionable. Mine got distorted after 3 weeks (Kaito version) and an Amazon reviewer has the same complaint for his C.Crane version. For a radio with similar performance but in analog form without presets, you might be better served getting the Eton S350.

The Recently Discontinued Grundig G4000: High Marks in All Categories

I heard Frank Trigg, an MMA fighter and announcer, explain that to be an effective MMA fighter you don't have to have a black belt in any particular martial art. You just need to several brown belts in fighting styles.

The Grundig G4000 is the MMA fighter in the world of radios. While you can find radios that outperform the G4000 in one category or other, these radios suffer egregious flaws that make them unappealing while the G4000 remains solid in all functions.

Take FM, for example. The Kaito 1103 is slightly better but 1103 has far inferior speaker sound, AM reception, and notoriously lame ergonomics. The winner for me is the G4000.

Yes, there are radios with better speakers but they are much larger radios. The nice thing about the G4000 is that it is bigger than most portables but smaller than a table radio and is a sort of bridge between the two, offering an excellent compromise.

One area that shines in the G4000 above other radios are its buttons. They depress so easily and softly. Why do no other radios offer such a soft touch?

Because my house is so cluttered with radios, I keep my G4000 in the master bathroom and do use it when I travel. There is something intangible about the G4000 that makes me feel that I'm home even when I'm not. 

My Panasonic RQ-548S: Purchased on eBay for $26

 

Hailing from the mid 1970s and evocative a boombox, my Panasonic RQ-548S cassette AM/FM radio with 7-inch dual cone speaker arrived yesterday in good condition. All the functions, including the cassette player, work fine. The radio is big--9 inches tall and 14 inches across. One slight problem is that the antenna tips one way and tightening it at both sides of the base with a phillips screwdriver have proved feeble. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong. 

As a point of comparison, I'll use the current $99 Eton Sound 350. For robust sound and fullness the Panasonic is the clear winner, which is not surprising since it boasts a bigger speaker. 

The analog tuning dial on the Panasonic is silky smooth but so is the Eton's. Tie. One advantage of the Eton is the digital tuning display even though it is, like the Panasonic, an analog radio.

FM reception on both is strong, a tie. However, I have to give AM the nod to the Panasonic. 

There's something nice about having a big heavy radio because it seems well grounded and stable, a good foundation for receiving signals. The Panasonic gives you that assured feeling.

Verdict: At a price of about $30 on eBay, the RQ-548S is highly recommended. Now if I can just find out how to tighten the base of the antenna. 

Impending Verdict: Are Vintage Radios Superior to Modern Radios Or Am I Chasing a Chimera?

Quality control of today's radios can be rather shoddy. The reception isn't necessarily sterling. The radios are prone to interference from computers, printers, modems, etc. Their build quality is often cheap, light, and has an overall disposable feel. On earlier I post, I fretted that we are living in a Radio Dark Ages. 

Chasing the chimera of the perfect radio, I always find fault with even my favorite ones: The C.Crane CSW has harsh, flat speaker sound and its AM, while one of the best, is not as good as the less expensive Sangean PR-D5.

The PR-D5 has great AM, above average FM, though not as good as the CSW's, and great build quality, but it's light and worst of all, the dual stereo speakers, described by one reader as "tea cups," strain a bit at high volumes so that the PR-D5 doesn't fill a big room very well.

I could go on, but you get the picture.

That leaves us with radios of old, those vintage radios that sell on eBay and from a visual standpoint capture my imagination. Either they look like military gear you'd have strapped to your side in a foxhole or they look like huge fold-out drawers or suitcases sheathed in heavy metal or leather. They look tank-like, heavy, and suggest powerful reception.

Word as come into this blog from one reader, a collector of vintage radios for 25 years, that the older generation of radios are indeed better--in terms of weight, feel, reception and overall build quality.

Intrigued I bid on several and will be receiving in the next few weeks the following radios:

Panasonic 6289 woodgrain cabinet radio purchased for $10

Panasonic 7259 woodgrain cabinet radio purchased for $40

Panasonic RQ 548S cassette radio with telescopic antenna purchased for $26

Panasonic wood grain table radio from 1970s purchased for $11

I'm bidding on a few others, which I'll talk about later.

One that I lost that I really wanted, the Sony Earth Orbiter, sold for $158. It looks like a Zenith Trans-Ocean 7000, a huge suitcase that appears to weigh a ton--my kind of radio. 

Considering their age, these radios may or may not have performance problems. They may, I'm hoping, provide excellent sound and reception and come close to fulfilling my radio ideal. On the other hand, I may be sorely disappointed. My verdict will arrive shortly. 

My Sangean PR-D5 Behaviors Better When I Keep It Juiced with Batteries

Wanting to save money on batteries, I thought I'd just use the AC adapter on my Sangean PR-D5, but every time I'd unplug it and unplug it again, I'd get a flash on the screen telling me I was out of power. This flash disabled the radio so that I could not turn it on. I thought my radio might be defective because I don't remember this flash when I had my first PR-D5 a few months ago.

I unplugged the radio and after 10 minutes I put the 6 "C" batteries inside. I won't use the radio without the AC normally; I simply want to keep the batteries as a backup source. My guess is they'll last a long time.

The good news: The power shortage flash no longer occurs.

Conclusion: If you have a PR-D5, it's a good idea to keep it juiced with the batteries. 

My Sangean PR-D5 Beats My Sangean WR-2 in AM Reception

I've always been impressed with the AM sound on my Sangean WR-2, but this evening in my office as I was listening to Angels Vs. Dodgers on 830 AM, the signal was fading in and out with a crackling noise during the fade. Fed up, I took the Sangean PR-D5 from the guest bathroom, put it in the office and, guess what, no signal fade, no crackling, just good solid, assured AM reception. 

This should be no surprise since the PR-D5 has the biggest AM ferrite antenna you can get--200 mm or 8 inches.

The cost of the PR-D5 is $80, compared to the $140 price tag of the WR-2 (though today Amazon is selling the WR-2 for an unusually low $120). Plus with the PR-D5 you get a telescopic FM antenna instead of the WR-2's wire pigtail antenna.

So if you don't need an illuminated clock display by your bedside, you might consider getting the PR-D5 over the WR-2. 

Herculodge Reader Disappointed with the New Grundig G6 Aviator

Herculodge reader Robert was kind enough to describe his experience with his Grundig G6 Aviator:

I just purchased one from Amazon.com for $99 and received it two days ago. The reviews about the FM bleeding into the AIR band are correct. Very disappointing. I'll not send the radio back to Amazon but will definitely contact Grundig about it.

The build quality is nice, the buttons are small but easy to push and seem to have positive engagement. The screen is also tiny but has plenty of information on it. The jog wheel works well in both modes and the SSB is implemented well and is easy to use. I also like the rubberized feel of the plastic - it won't easily slip out of my hands. The light is very good.

The antenna does not pop out a fraction of on inch to fully clear the top of the radio like most others, but, if you prop it up on the flip out stand, it seems to point upwards fairly well and is adequate. Position on the stand is good.

A Sony AN-LP1 works with the radio but definitely will overload it sometimes. There is no built in attenuator and the tuning is not as fine as I'd like but the slow jog setting seems to help.

The radio smells funky too. Something I have never had to say about a radio before! Must be the rubberized plastic. Also, the carry strap is internally mounted instead of connecting to an outside metal loop. I hope that doesn't break off any time soon.

Lastly, the reception on the SW bands seems to be pretty good so far in limited testing. The sound is good and it's TINY so it's very portable. Oh, and if you enter in frequencies on the AIR band directly, you tend not to get bothered by the FM bleed. Only a big problem with the jog wheel and slewing.

Oh, I'd also like a decimal point in the frequency readout. I can't imagine that was such a problem to implement that they left it out.

It's worth $100 but could be better. If it had some fixes, it would be worth $150. I would have paid that for a slightly better implementation of this radio.

One more thing I forgot to add. The auto scan function seems to be poorly implemented and may need work.

Last night around 6,000 and above, there are usually plenty of strong stations to hear but auto scanning just seemed to pass them all by!

I slewed manually using the jog wheel and found plenty of stations around that band.

Don't know why the scan was bad. Perhaps it scans too fast for a lock?

How to Fix the 17 Volume Limit on Your Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo

Yesterday my BAHS got stuck on volume level "17." I could lower the volume but go no higher. I fixed the problem by unplugging the unit and plugging it in again. However, I e-mailed customer support at Boston Acoustics and the instructions and explanation are as follows:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. It sounds like your radio has had its hospitality mode activated. The hospitality mode is a mode which is often  used by hotels or similar establishments, who wish to set a maximum volume limit on the radio. To remove this volume limiter follow the steps below. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Turn the unit on
Turn the volume down to minimum, 00, volume
Press and hold power for 10 seconds until volume numbers flash
Turn the volume back up to 50 (max volume)
Press power again to verify new max volume position

I hope I won't have to undo the "courtesy setting." Turning the powerful BAHS to 50 will ruin my ears. If I have to do so, I'll make sure I've got headphones in the headphone jack.

Yesterday my BAHS got stuck on volume level "17." I could lower the volume but go no higher. I fixed the problem by unplugging the unit and plugging it in again. However, I e-mailed customer support at Boston Acoustics and the instructions and explanation are as follows:

Thank you for taking the time to contact us. It sounds like your radio has had its hospitality mode activated. The hospitality mode is a mode which is often  used by hotels or similar establishments, who wish to set a maximum volume limit on the radio. To remove this volume limiter follow the steps below. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Turn the unit on
Turn the volume down to minimum, 00, volume
Press and hold power for 10 seconds until volume numbers flash
Turn the volume back up to 50 (max volume)
Press power again to verify new max volume position

I hope I won't have to undo the "courtesy setting." Turning the powerful BAHS to 50 will ruin my ears. If I have to do so, I'll make sure I've got headphones in the headphone jack.