Herculodge

Grundig G3 with Synchronous Detection Coming Out in April of This Year

No price announced yet on Universal Radio, but they do indicate the G3's release by this April. The radio appears to be a rebadged Degen. 

One of the All-Time Greats--the Panasonic RF-3000 Bidding Today

Angelo has apprised us of the great RF-3000 with no bids thus far. 

Review of the Sony ICF-7600GR Portable Radio

The Sony ICF-SW7600GR has enjoyed the cachet as the portable to beat. It's pricey. And it has steep competition from the likes of the less expensive Kaito 1103. So just how good is it? Former Sony engineer and regular contributor Ed weighs in with a review:

Described as the "last great Sony communications radio," this is a heck of a lot of radio for about $140 new. It's the veritable "Swiss Army Knife" of radios, giving you a ton of bells and whistles in a very portable package. Shortwave Listeners (SWLers) will especially appreciate its features, such as Synchronous Detection (no other radio at this price point has it), Single Sideband reception with Upper/Lower sideband selection, and a fine-tuning dial to tune in SSB stations precisely, so voices wont sound like Donald Duck.

First off, if your number one priority in a radio is hi-fi audio, you might as well stop reading. No radio I know of this small, in this form factor, regardless of price, can give you great sounding audio. (Through its built-in speaker, that is.) When I first turned it on, I thought it sounded really tinny, but thankfully Sony gives you a "Music/News" switch... always leave it set to "NEWS"...the highs are cut and the sound is much easier on the ears. But with earphones, you will get very good quality audio, especially on FM stereo. There is even a LINE OUT so you can feed a better-sounding set of PC or powered speakers.

Second, if you have a penchant for big, military-style radios, that's fine, but this little gem is the one you want to take with you. It is the perfect travel radio. It can be used as a clock radio, with 2 timer memories. It even comes with a "leather" travel pouch and a spool-antenna for Shortwave/AM boosting. You supply the earphones, none are supplied. Neither is a an AC Adapter. You may never need an adapter; it uses 4 AA batteries, and is said to have very good battery life.

Sony has had over 25 years to refine this radio, so it has everything...on AM, there is a variable Gain Control to deal with local station overloading. And you may need it--this thing is an AM-DX machine! (especially at night). It may be the most sensitive portable AM radio I've used. Gets San Francisco station 810 easily at night. On FM it is very good, not as sensitive as it is on AM... it gets Jeff's weird stations on 88.9 and 89.3 without too much trouble. At most you need to re-orient the telescoping FM antenna to get these low powered stations. It sits nicely on a desk when propped up with its rear, er, "propper-upper."

It is not a perfect radio... it is not intuitive to operate (the manual is thick), there is far too much button-pushing required initially (but once you get your 100 presets setup, it gets easier.) There is no tuning dial, alas. But the station scanning actually works well! (Rare to find in a low-priced radio.) And it scans up and down (even the $500 Eton E-1 didn't scan downwards), stops for a couple of secs on stations it finds, and keeps scanning. This is almost like the much costlier Sony SW-77 in a much smaller package. It also reminds me of a mini-Eton E-1.

It has a pushbutton light in the LCD display, but  it does not stay on, even when you use an AC adapter. And it's useless in daylight. But that's probably done to increase battery life.

All in all, it does almost everything well in a portable form factor at a reasonable price. The only other competition are the cheaper and unreliable Kaitos, and a Sangean or two...I had (and sold) the $250 Sangean 909; it is not as good as this $140 Sony. I would never recommend a Kaito for its poor quality control and abysmal customer service. Sony still stands for quality, and they will backup their products. Believe it or not, this radio is MADE IN JAPAN. Not China!

I'd recommend you get one of these soon if you're in the market for a small portable AM/FM/SW, because the supply of 7600's is drying up. Even if you don't like it, it has great resale value on ebay and Amazon.com. You'll get at least 90% of your investment back. It is the last radio standing in a  long line of great Sony radios.

The Sony ICF-SW7600GR has enjoyed the cachet as the portable to beat. It's pricey. And it has steep competition from the likes of the less expensive Kaito 1103. So just how good is it? Former Sony engineer and regular contributor Ed weighs in with a review:

Described as the "last great Sony communications radio," this is a heck of a lot of radio for about $140 new. It's the veritable "Swiss Army Knife" of radios, giving you a ton of bells and whistles in a very portable package. Shortwave Listeners (SWLers) will especially appreciate its features, such as Synchronous Detection (no other radio at this price point has it), Single Sideband reception with Upper/Lower sideband selection, and a fine-tuning dial to tune in SSB stations precisely, so voices wont sound like Donald Duck.

First off, if your number one priority in a radio is hi-fi audio, you might as well stop reading. No radio I know of this small, in this form factor, regardless of price, can give you great sounding audio. (Through its built-in speaker, that is.) When I first turned it on, I thought it sounded really tinny, but thankfully Sony gives you a "Music/News" switch... always leave it set to "NEWS"...the highs are cut and the sound is much easier on the ears. But with earphones, you will get very good quality audio, especially on FM stereo. There is even a LINE OUT so you can feed a better-sounding set of PC or powered speakers.

Second, if you have a penchant for big, military-style radios, that's fine, but this little gem is the one you want to take with you. It is the perfect travel radio. It can be used as a clock radio, with 2 timer memories. It even comes with a "leather" travel pouch and a spool-antenna for Shortwave/AM boosting. You supply the earphones, none are supplied. Neither is a an AC Adapter. You may never need an adapter; it uses 4 AA batteries, and is said to have very good battery life.

Sony has had over 25 years to refine this radio, so it has everything...on AM, there is a variable Gain Control to deal with local station overloading. And you may need it--this thing is an AM-DX machine! (especially at night). It may be the most sensitive portable AM radio I've used. Gets San Francisco station 810 easily at night. On FM it is very good, not as sensitive as it is on AM... it gets Jeff's weird stations on 88.9 and 89.3 without too much trouble. At most you need to re-orient the telescoping FM antenna to get these low powered stations. It sits nicely on a desk when propped up with its rear, er, "propper-upper."

It is not a perfect radio... it is not intuitive to operate (the manual is thick), there is far too much button-pushing required initially (but once you get your 100 presets setup, it gets easier.) There is no tuning dial, alas. But the station scanning actually works well! (Rare to find in a low-priced radio.) And it scans up and down (even the $500 Eton E-1 didn't scan downwards), stops for a couple of secs on stations it finds, and keeps scanning. This is almost like the much costlier Sony SW-77 in a much smaller package. It also reminds me of a mini-Eton E-1.

It has a pushbutton light in the LCD display, but  it does not stay on, even when you use an AC adapter. And it's useless in daylight. But that's probably done to increase battery life.

All in all, it does almost everything well in a portable form factor at a reasonable price. The only other competition are the cheaper and unreliable Kaitos, and a Sangean or two...I had (and sold) the $250 Sangean 909; it is not as good as this $140 Sony. I would never recommend a Kaito for its poor quality control and abysmal customer service. Sony still stands for quality, and they will backup their products. Believe it or not, this radio is MADE IN JAPAN. Not China!

I'd recommend you get one of these soon if you're in the market for a small portable AM/FM/SW, because the supply of 7600's is drying up. Even if you don't like it, it has great resale value on ebay and Amazon.com. You'll get at least 90% of your investment back. It is the last radio standing in a  long line of great Sony radios.

A Radiophile's Delight: A Blaupunkt Marimba

Paul has apprised us of a Buy Now for $88 (shipping is an extra $39) Marimba. I love the look of this radio and would buy it if I weren't so radio-inundated. It pains me to pass this up.

The Great Cultural Divide: Hipster Mini Cooper Drivers VS. Anti-Hipster SUV Drivers

 

(I'm re-posting this because it got me in a lot of trouble from readers who took the "divide" seriously. Since I love trouble, here it is again. Herculodge)

As I studied my new hipster role, I recognized that I was joining an elite, passionate class of educated people for whom cultural dividing lines were common place. The more a hipster defined who he was philosophically, politically, culturally, and aesthetically, the more he sharply defined, not only himself, but his counter opposites. Nowhere was this more clear than in the American preference for the automobile.

This became apparent when my hipster consultant Zevon encouraged me to get a Mini Cooper. He explained that cities with high hipster populations had a high concentration of Mini Coopers and that the quickest way to lose hipster credibility was to drive an SUV. I now recognized that America’s great cultural divide was perhaps no better defined than by these two different types of personal transportation. The Mini Cooper and the SUV were a shorthand to a long list of personal hipster or anti-hipster personality traits. As Zevon explained to me, the SUV driver and the Mini Cooper driver were complete opposites:

The Anti-Hipster SUV Driver:

1. He is a conspicuous and gluttonous consumer who lacks the introspection to see that his possessions are a form of compensation for the many inferiority complexes that roil beneath his fragile psyche. It is self-evident to everyone in the world that his behemoth of an SUV massages his insecure ego, but this fact for him remains an impenetrable mystery as unrecognizable as a film by Jean-Luc Godard. 
2. His SUV is an extension of his loud, obnoxious personality and suggests a penchant for eating while driving with his mouth open and discarding bright fast-food packaging from his rolled-down window all over our country’s interstate highways.
3. His is fond of the knowledge that in the event of a car crash—which is highly likely since he tends to multi-task rather dangerously while “driving”—that he is at an advantage since the superior height of his SUV is in position to decapitate the poor sedan driver he crashes into.
4. He is exceedingly lazy and believes, erroneously, that his SUV’s rear video display, GPS, anti-lock-brakes, and other safety features will compensate for his inept driving skills.
5. He is fond of wearing a safari vest, a titanium military watch and other “outdoor” gear to make him look ready for an “adventure” though his biggest trek is taking his SUV to the dog groomer to pick up his coiffed and perfumed Shih-Tzu. 
6. He is fond of multi-tasking in his SUV, which has become, de facto, his “office away from the home.” As such, his SUV is equipped with Bluetooth headphones, DVD player, a laptop, a fax machine, a copier, a printer, a microwave, and other gadgets that make him feel like he can always enjoy the comforts of home. Of course, his multi-tasking diminishes his already crappy driving skills and makes him more of a danger to others than ever. 

7. He is happily oblivious of the fact that his ugly SUV blocks the sight of the driver behind him, emits ten times more pollutants than ordinary cars, and gulps three times the gas. He happily accepts these “small disadvantages” so that he can live a life of vain self-absorption and proclaim that driving an SUV is the expression of patriotism as he screams “USA is number one!.”
8. He is happily ignorant of the fact that his addiction to gas likens him to a crack-cocaine addict whose dependence on SUVs and other forms of mindless energy waste reinforce our government’s dependence on foreign oil,  which comes from countries who long for our destruction.
9. The SUV driver is ignorant of the fact that market researchers in charge of boosting SUV sales have studied the psyche of the SUV driver and that his psychological profile is not a pretty one: He is vain, desires to dominate and bully others, and was teased by all his classmates during elementary and high school. He secretly desires to have a road confrontation with one of his former classmates and let them know that he hasn’t forgotten.
10.  The SUV drivers is unaware that his appetites for large gas-hogging vehicles carry over into the realm of his eating, so that he is often triple-chinned and overcome by breathlessness after “climbing” into his SUV.

 

The Hipster Mini Cooper Driver

 

1. He is proud of his sleek, diminutive car and the conspicuous way its tiny dimensions alert others to the fact that the Mini Cooper driver is making an anti-SUV statement.
2. He is fond of eating sushi and sipping Perrier while driving past SUV drivers who are snorting down triple-decker cheese burgers and super-sized milk shakes. 
3. 
He is fond of doing yoga and other exercises that maintain his lithe physique while driving past SUV drivers whose bloated stature needs a behemoth vehicle to accommodate their ever-expanding corpulence. 

4. He is prone to going to foreign and independent films while his SUV-driving brethren frequent “blockbusters” that feature muscle-bound action heroes, scar-faced, eye-patched villains, and gratuitous explosions. 

5. He is fond of his car’s horn sound, which mimicking the loveable cartoon Roadrunner, suggests a sly cleverness, but is never rude. The Mini Cooper driver also takes note of the way his cheerful sounding horn contrasts with the typical SUV horn, which, sounding like the bellicose cursing from a luxury cruise ship, scares the living shit out of nearby drivers. 

6. He is tolerant of aggressive drivers who cut him off and instead of succumbing to road rage and instead of playing “gotcha” and trying to get back at those who disrespect him on the road he focuses on the Miles Davis or other iconographic jazz playlist that is playing from his iPod.  

7. He is proud of the way he dresses himself like a hipster in order to maximize the “Mini driving experience.” He wears the latest “understated, tasteful, all-cotton gear,” which contrasts sharply with the clothes SUV drivers wear—nylon sweat suits, loud prints, and other sartorial grotesqueries. 

8. He is proud of the way he keeps his Mini bare and clean as he finds clutter adversarial to his “Mini Cooper lifestyle.”  At most, one might find a worn copy of Flaubert’s Madam Bovary, most likely in the original French, lying in the back. In contrast, his SUV-driving brethren keep their vehicles littered with fast-food rubbish, strewn clothes, loose Amy Grant CDs, and other paraphernalia which reflect the chaos and disorder of their lives. 
9. He is someone who exclusively uses an Apple computer. SUV drivers in contrast use PCs. 
Since computer hackers program viruses for PCs, and not Apples, we can safely assume that it is the world’s SUV drivers who irresponsibly open e-mail attachments that result in infecting millions of computers throughout the world with worms and viruses.
10.  He is someone who travels throughout the world, making sure to avoid the tourist spots. His Mini Cooper may even have decals with various international flags. SUV drivers in contrast rarely travel at all and when they do they make sure to go to all the tacky tourist attractions.

 

As I studied this supposed dichotomy between the Mini Cooper and SUV driver my heart sank and Zevon asked me what’s wrong.

“Here I am, learning what it means to be a hipster,” I said. “And all I’m learning about is stereotypes. This is not what I want to be.”

“Stereotypes are an important part of being a hipster,” Zevon said. “They are a good starting point, but being a hipster requires a whole lot more.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“You have a lot to learn, my friend.”

Ross World Master Receiver Bidding for $35

Angelo has apprised us of what appears to be a low bid on a Ross World Master. 

A Year with the Sangean PR-D5: A Report Card

I'm actually judging not one but two PR-D5s because I sold my first one when I mistakenly thought my C.Crane CSW, which gets better FM reception, also gave me better AM. This is wrong. The PR-D5 has the biggest ferrite AM antenna you can get at 200 mm. It has no AM filter however so if you get AM overload, the PR-D5 isn't for you. For me, though, AM overload is no problem. The PR-D5 gets me my best AM.

I learned this after I bought my second PR-D5 and compared it to two of my strong performers, my aforementioned CSW and my Sangean WR-2. 

So having two PR-D5s over the last eleven months or so, I feel qualified to update a report card. I'll start with the good and descend to areas that need improvement.

A Grades

AM reception

fit and finish or build quality

B Plus Grade

FM reception; grabs hard to get stations most of the time depending on the weather and which part of the house I'm using it. It's not as good as my two best FM performers, my C.Crane CSW and Eton S350 DL.

C Plus Grade

Speaker sound from the two 2.5-inch speakers is adequate but doesn't fill a room like my Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo. I'd say the PR-D5's big AM antenna begs for a bigger radio with bigger speakers. 

Conclusions: In this modern era with so many cheaply built radios coming down the pike, Sangean is making two of the most appealing radios out there: The PR-D5 and the Sangean WR-2 clock radio. I suspect most people would be well served by having these 2 radios in their home.  

I'm actually judging not one but two PR-D5s because I sold my first one when I mistakenly thought my C.Crane CSW, which gets better FM reception, also gave me better AM. This is wrong. The PR-D5 has the biggest ferrite AM antenna you can get at 200 mm. It has no AM filter however so if you get AM overload, the PR-D5 isn't for you. For me, though, AM overload is no problem. The PR-D5 gets me my best AM.

I learned this after I bought my second PR-D5 and compared it to two of my strong performers, my aforementioned CSW and my Sangean WR-2. 

So having two PR-D5s over the last eleven months or so, I feel qualified to update a report card. I'll start with the good and descend to areas that need improvement.

A Grades

AM reception

fit and finish or build quality

B Plus Grade

FM reception; grabs hard to get stations most of the time depending on the weather and which part of the house I'm using it. It's not as good as my two best FM performers, my C.Crane CSW and Eton S350 DL.

C Plus Grade

Speaker sound from the two 2.5-inch speakers is adequate but doesn't fill a room like my Boston Acoustics Horizon Solo. I'd say the PR-D5's big AM antenna begs for a bigger radio with bigger speakers. 

Conclusions: In this modern era with so many cheaply built radios coming down the pike, Sangean is making two of the most appealing radios out there: The PR-D5 and the Sangean WR-2 clock radio. I suspect most people would be well served by having these 2 radios in their home.  

Reception Test of the Panasonic RF-888

A day after receiving the Panasonic RF-888 I did an outside reception test. My first impressions were positive inside my office, so I wasn't surprised to find that AM and FM was superb, as superior as my testing of the Sony 5900 and the Panasonic RF-2200.

On FM, weak stations such as 89.3, and especially 88.9, came in crystal clear with no background noise.

On AM, the weakest station, 710, came in with no birdy noise.

 

The speaker is huge and will blast your ears so from close range I had to barely turn up the volume. My RF-888 will easily fill the living room, and it will probably grace the side coffee table for some time.

As a living room radio, the 888 will need an adapter and a regular reader Paul, who also sent me the owner's manual on PDF, was kind enough to recommend the Regulated and Filtered 6VDC 300mA Adapter from Radio Shack. 

A day after receiving the Panasonic RF-888 I did an outside reception test. My first impressions were positive inside my office, so I wasn't surprised to find that AM and FM was superb, as superior as my testing of the Sony 5900 and the Panasonic RF-2200.

On FM, weak stations such as 89.3, and especially 88.9, came in crystal clear with no background noise.

On AM, the weakest station, 710, came in with no birdy noise.

 

The speaker is huge and will blast your ears so from close range I had to barely turn up the volume. My RF-888 will easily fill the living room, and it will probably grace the side coffee table for some time.

As a living room radio, the 888 will need an adapter and a regular reader Paul, who also sent me the owner's manual on PDF, was kind enough to recommend the Regulated and Filtered 6VDC 300mA Adapter from Radio Shack. 

The Father of the Tivoli PAL?

Mike P has apprised us of perhaps the PAL's father, the Vintage Advent 400, bidding today on eBay.

Why I Was Born with a Fighting Spirit and a Pugilist Demeanor

When my mother was five months pregnant with me back in 1961, she was on a carnival ride, one of those masochistic ferris wheels in which the capsules rotate 360 degrees to maximize vertigo and nausea. A 400-pound drunk man in a Hawaiian shirt with rancid beer suffusing from his pores was in the capsule with my mother and he fell on her, screaming, "Everybody's happy!" while brandishing a beer can with inebriated gusto. He almost crushed her--and me--to death. I believe my fetal nose was permanently disfigured from the trauma. I had to fight for my life in the womb and came out a pugilist with a tough-as-nails attitude. I am currently working on a book titled Man Points: How to Save Your Manhood in a World of Shriveling Masculinity.