Herculodge

Kevin S Looks at the Tecsun PL-450 by Comparing It to Several Similar Portables

Thanks to Kevin S, for this excellent rundown:

I have a Tecsun PL-450, and yes it is a bit large to be an Ultralight, but it is still rather small. Its features include two bandwidths on AM (same filters as the in the PL-600), but doesn't have the SSB that the PL-600 does. Doing a quick comparison with the much larger Sony 7600GR and the smaller Tecsun PL-310 just now: AM: sensitivity on the PL-450 and the 7600GR are essentially the same(!), and the selectivity choices on the PL-450 are better. The PL-310, ostensibly the most sensitive Ultralight, was jealous while listening to the other two pull in weak stations (i.e., it was noticeably less sensitive). However, with night-time conditions, and especially with a passive antenna such as the Terk Loop, the DSP bandwidths on the PL-310 would allow it to be the overall AM leader IMHO. FM: the PL-310 had a good laugh here, being easily more sensitive and selective than the other two. The PL-450 was doing OK; the 7600GR, with presumably very poor filtering and image/mixing product problems, couldn't even detect the weak signals that the PL-310 had a good hold of and the PL-450 was struggling with - quite dismal. 

SW: using the whip antennae, the 7600GR held the edge over the PL-450 in sensitivity, with the PL-310 not that far behind. With so few SW stations around, the filtering advantage of the PL-310 (and to a lesser extent the PL-450) is probably not that important. So, as a travel portable, the PL-450 would be a good all-around choice, although without synch or SSB, there are some limitations depending on your desires. 

A PL-600 is not that much more expensive and is likely more sensitive on AM (and has SSB), and the PL-310 costs about as much and offers a lot as well, so the niche that the PL-450 fills is perhaps a fairly narrow one. The PL-310 and PL-380 differ in that the 310 is more sensitive on both AM and FM, but I like the ergonomics and lack of "soft mute" (decrease in volume when tuning off-frequency) of the 380 better. So, both get a fair amount of use, and both are substantially better on AM, LW and SW than the PL-300WT (aka Grundig G8).

Final Thoughts:

One more thing on the PL-310 and PL-380: they both have internal "birdies" (tones) on AM, which show up on various frequencies, especially on the high end of the band. With a passive loop helping out, the tones are much less pronounced, but they can be irritating to some. With a really big signal level, such as with local stations or with a high-power passive antenna such as I use, I don't hear the birdies at all. The PL-450 doesn't have such problems, so is to be commended for that.

For Dan, the Grundig G6 Is NOT a Dud After All: An Update

A new AC adapter fixed Dan's problem as he has updated below:

I originally purchased a standard Grundig G6 from Cabellas in September of 09. In January of this year I noticed a loud staitic (pop) when I powered it on  - either from AC or from batteries. It was getting quite annoying.

I emailed customer support, and got a reply from Walter Hess, the technical support manager for Eton Corp in Palo Alto Ca.

He politely tried to see if I had done a reset, etc. He then gave me an RA # and advised me to ship it to them (at my expense). I did so, and about 3 weeks later I received a G6 Buzz Aldrin Edition. OK - a completely new radio! Wonderful. Not so fast…

This one made the same loud static pop on startup (I immediately dismissed it as being the nature of the model and decided to just suck it up). But in addition to that, the charge circuit did not work. Didn't matter what rechargeable batteries I placed in the radio and how many hours I let it charge, as soon as I unplugged the wall wart, the thing was dead (yes I correctly set the charge time per the instructions). It I put in a brand new set of alkalines, the static pop would take place again and the battery meter would read one bar! What in the world is going on here???

I emailed Walter Hess on Feb 28th. He wanted to verify that I indeed did set the radio in Charge Mode, and then he had me try a 090 Reset, but nothing worked. He gave me a new RA# and said he would mail a UPS label to me to ship with.

OK Great

Finally today (a month and a half later) I received the same Buzz Aldrin radio that I sent in. 
Guess what?

The thing won't even power on now! 
I plug the wall wart in and the indicator that says it is plugged in won't light up. I can't charge, or anything!

So for the record, Ive had a very bad experience with the original G6 and the Buzz G6…

Just thought you may want another perspective!

Also as a side note, I own a Grace IR2000 and love it!! (Except for the days that Reciva decides to go offline)

UPDATE:

The replacement AC adapter arrived today. The G6 now functions on AC as it should, and the internal charge functions properly as well. Mr Walter Hess at Eton Corp was very patient and I can now add my name to the list of happy G6 owners!

You Want Your Manly Watch to Have the Wow Factor, But Make Sure It Ages Gracefully

  
 

I love big, chunky watches but I'm aware that some age with you into middle-age better than others. Diver watches age well, like the above (click on photo for close-up) featured 47mm Citizen Eco-Drive Aqualand JV0030-01E Black Imperial and the 48mm Citizen Eco-Drive Professional Diver. 

 
In contrast, my stunning 50mm Nixon 51-30, shown below, in gunmetal gray has a lot of wow, but I doubt it will age as gracefully as my diver watches. 

 
  
 
 

Brains vs. Brawn: Grundig G8 Vs. Panasonic RF-4900

 

(Re-post)

Thanks to Dan for doing this comparison and posting his results:

I thought it would be interesting to compare my tiny, brand-new Grundig G8 portable radio with my huge, 30-year-old Panasonic RF-4900 communications receiver. Introduced in 2009, the Grundig G8 is equipped with a digital-signal-processing brain and is regarded as an excellent radio, delivering superb reception at a reasonable price. Debuting in 1979, the Panasonic RF-4900 has more knobs and buttons than the space shuttle, weighs 20+ pounds, and is bigger than the proverbial breadbox.

I don't have sophisticated equipment to measure sensitivity and selectivity, so I decided to use my ears to compare reception of distant AM broadcast stations with both radios sitting on the conference table in my home office. No external antenna was used on either radio, and I logged 12 stations before ending this experiment. I could have continued tuning up the dial, but I thought a dozen stations was enough for this comparison.

My home is located in a quiet suburban town, about 20 miles northwest of Boston. I started listening at about 9:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, November 25, 2009, and I was able to receive and identify the following stations before calling it quits:

Freq  Call  Location

 700   WLW  Cincinnati, OH
 750   WSB  Atlanta, GA
 760   WJR  Detroit, MI
 770  WABC  New York, NY
 780  WBBM  Chicago, IL
1090  WBAL  Baltimore, MD
1100  WTAM  Cleveland, OH
1110   WBT  Charlotte, NC
1130  WBBR  New York, NY
1140  WRVA  Richmond, VA
1170  WWVA  Wheeling, WV
1210  WPHT  Philadelphia, PA

Both radios were able to receive these stations relatively clearly, with some occasional fade and flutter, as expected. I'll admit to rotating the G8 to maximize reception for each station, then rotating the RF-4900 on the table so its ferrite-rod antenna was approximately parallel to the front of the G8. I tuned each radio to the same frequency and powered-up one radio at a time, to eliminate the possibility of interference between the two receivers. By alternately powering the radios, I was able to conduct a straightforward Grundig-to-Panasonic comparison to determine which radio was the stronger performer.

While the Grundig G8 is impressive, I think the old Panasonic RF-4900 is just a tiny bit better. In general, reception on the RF-4900 was slightly clearer and more stable than the G8. Granted, it's a judgment call on my part, but I think the Panasonic's 6-1/2" ferrite rod and AM RF gain control teamed up to outdo the little Grundig. That said, the radios perform so similarly in their ability to receive distant broadcasts, only an A-B comparison like the one I conducted would detect a difference.

Keep in mind that this was not a scientific experiment. My conclusion could have been influenced by the RF-4900's better audio fidelity or maybe I was simply bedazzled by all those knobs and buttons. Anyway, it was a fun comparison, and I thought the readers here would be interested in the outcome.

Tecsun PL-450 Buy Now for $72 Plus Free Shipping

I wonder how this Tecsun PL-450 stacks up against the crowded Tecsun portable lineup. I wonder if anyone has compared it to the Tecsun PL-600. Or the Tecsun PL-310. Or the PL-300. Or the PL-380.It would be nice to give the readers a Tecsun ranking. 

What happens when the Eton E10 meets the Grundig G3?

Travis writes:

What happens when the Eton E10 meets the Grundig G3? Possibly a Tecsun PL660.

For Radiophiles Who Like Their Radios LOUD: Rare Panasonic "Big Mike" RQ-835S

I bought a similar Panasonic RQ model for $30 a few years ago and I can attest these play LOUD. This Panasonic "Big Mike" has a starting bid of $10 and could prove a great value. It's described to be in great shape. 

Scooby Compares the Eton S350 DL to the Tecsun R308

"Scooby 214" was kind enough to provide the following comparison between the Eton S350 DL and the Tecsun R308:

I've been following your radio posts for a while, and thought I'd share my thoughts on the R308 vs the S350DL. The AM on the S350 may be slightly better than the R308, but it's a close call. The R308 doesn't have X-Band AM coverage, and it's definitely easier to find AM stations using the S350DL's digital display. The tuning scale on the r308 is more accurate on FM than AM.

On the FM, however, the R308 runs circles around the s350DL! I bought it to receive a 35KW station (30 miles away from me)that is sandwiched between local stations on second adjacent channels. The S350DL can usually get this channel without trouble, but the R308 gets it in even better. The R308 is the only radio that I own that can get in a distant rimshot 105.3 (0.93KW) over the local 104.9HD signal that is only one mile away from my house! I can have found stations at 89.7, 92.1, and 105.5 that can't be heard at all on the s350DL, while they are fairly clear on the R308. Even my Sangean, my BA Recepter, and my Degen DE1102 don't perform as well on FM as the R308.

This radio really surprised me, so I purchased a second one from dpmega ($32.90 shipped).

Thanks for your frequent radio posts. Glad to hear that there are plenty of other radio addicts around!

Ed from Canada Shares His Info of the Panasonic RF-7270 Royal Aire Radio Recorder

(Re-post)

Addressing Dan's restoration of his Panasonic RF-7270 Royal Aire Radio Cassette Recorder, Ed M from Canada writes:

I too have 3 of these RF-7270 radios around all in good working condition. 2 of them which I purchased off of ebay some years ago and one that my dad purchased new in 1969- 1970 for almost $200.00 at Eatons. 

From what my dad told me many years ago is that the RF-7270 is a Phillips/Norelco cassette tape recorder adapted with an fm am radio and this RF-7270 unit was first available in late 1968 which would put it at 42+ years.Really you could say that this radio is the inception of the first real ghetto blaster.It came with a microphone and stand, ear phone and 5 blue Panasonic Hi top batteries and instruction book, warranty card and a demo cassette tape which i still have. This was standard with Panasonic during those days to include batteries, a cassette tape, microphone and earphone. For my dads unit he had also purchased which was an option at the time a multi voltage AC adapter from Panasonic as so the unit could be powered from 120 volts ac outlet to 7.5 dc volts in the house instead of using the batteries.

I recall that this radio was a pig on batteries when using the cassette deck with the volume turned up and the tape speed would change as the batteries went weak.Also available was a car mounting bracket in which you could use the radio in the car and then remove it from the car and use it as a portable. When you would use the radio in the car the round fm/am station numbers would light up blue in color when you turned the radio on in which you could see the station dial in the dark. This also being possibility the first car stereo radio even though this is a mono unit it has superb sound and tone quality and sensitivity. 

I will also mention that the Panasonic RF-3100 cassette player recorder uses the same cassette design as the RF-7270 and the RF-3100 was made in 1967 a year earlier which was Panasonic first small potable cassette player recorder in 1967.

Also in my collection I have an RF-7280 circa 1969 which is the same as the RF-7270 except it has a weather band for listing to weather reports also instead of the one control knob for the cassette player as in the RF-7270 the RF-7280 incorporates the piano key type of operation for the cassette deck also along with this I have 2 RF-7490 stereo cassette radio recorders which are in working order all units use the 4`x6`powerful speaker.I also have service manuals for all 3 models RF-7270,Rf-7280 and the RF-7490.

Also as you mention there is a large, printed copy of the RF-7270's schematic -- carefully folded and tucked between the chassis and the case which is true as is the same for my units.The speaker is a powerful 4`x6`oval speaker
All of these units at the time were top notch in there class and were built very well to be enjoyed in the many years to come.

Best Regards,

Ed M.

Sony XDR-S10HDiP HD Clock Radio/Ipod Dock Refurbished, $69 shipped free:

Thanks, Paul:

Sony XDR-S10HDiP HD Clock Radio/Ipod Dock Refurbished, $69 shipped free:

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665480062

It says $143 but once you add it to cart, it becomes $69.

Amazon reviews are good:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014T4S86/