The Sangean DT-400W Review

(Re-post)

Not happy with the FM on my Sangean DT-180, especially since the TV band bleeds into weaker FM stations like KPCC 89.3, I purchased the new Sangean DT-400, which I just bought on Amazon with free shipping for $61. Unlike my DT-180 which operates on a single AAA battery, the DT-400 uses two AA batteries. This makes sense since the DT-400 has a built-in speaker, unlike the much smaller DT-180.

It appears the DT-400 is an update of the DT200, famous for its great AM but stuck with the soon obsolete TV band. Instead of TV band, the DT-400 features a weather band in addition to AM and FM.

The DT-400 includes earbuds, which work as the radio's FM antenna and you need them. Without the earbuds or provided wire, you will get NO FM reception. I replaced the stock buds with my high-fidelty $30 V-MODA earbuds. The FM reception is just as good so apparently it doesn't matter if you use the stock earbuds or not. 

What's nice about the DT-400 is you can listen through the buds or the built-in speaker. On the radio's upper left side you have a switch with 3 options: SP is for listening through speaker; MO is mono through the earbuds; ST is stereo through the buds. For FM with the buds, you will probably want MO, especially for weaker stations. You'll get less background noise.

You also get a DBB button for "Deep Bass Boost," a feature that interests me little as I don't want to thump my eardrums into intractable tinnitus. 

One of the advantages of the DT-400 W over the DT-80 is you get 19 presets combining AM and FM. This comes with a slight disadvantage: Your learning curve for learning how to set and navigate the memories is longer with the DT400W. You turn the radio on, find the station you want, then press band until the display shows you're in "M" mode. From there, you use the tuning buttons to choose the "M" preset number. One you select the number, you press the "Memo" (for memory) button to set the preset. To toggle through the presets, you press up and down the tuning buttons.

Radio Reception:

I'd need to preface my reception judgment by saying you can't measure a portable radio by the same standards of a stationary radio because for AM you position the radio to maximize reception and with FM you elevate and angle the telescopic or wire antenna to the "right spot" to optimize reception. In contrast, when you're walking or running in the outdoors with your portable radio, you can't enjoy such stability so you are going to go through compromised positions that in turn compromise your signal. Having said that, there are still marked differences in performance and I can say the DT-400 is a much better performer than my DT-180. Unlike the 180, my 400 grabs 89.3 and 103.1, relatively weak stations. Slight static when walking isn't so distracting as to dissuade me from listening. AM stations were also loud and clear even though there is no AM filter.

On weather band, channels 3,6, and 7 are all the same and the signal differs in strength. 3 and 6 have significant static while 7 is loud and clear. There is no signal on the other stations.

Final Thoughts: I doubt I will be using the built-in speaker much. The sound is so much better through my V-MODA buds that there is little point listening through the speaker. Also the radio doesn't stand up, so I'll be using it while I'm walking, a situation I'd be using the earbud-doubling-as-FM-antenna anyway.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended.

Post Script: Because there is a large degree of interest in the DT400W, I will be posting period updates whenever I recognize something of note during my use of it--which is my daily 30-minute walk with my dog. 

Comments

[Tom Welch]

Jeff, on weather band, it is not usual for several channels to broadcast the same info while one channel greatly differs in strength is loud and clear.

[Chris]

Any news on the dt-800?

[Jeffrey McMahon]

Chris, I don't know a lot about it. Here's the PDF manual: www.ibiquity.com/i/pdfs/CES%202010%20Releases/HDRadio_SangeanDT-800HD.pdf

[Paul]

Search for Sangean DT-600HD. Amazon is expecting it and price is under $100.

[Carlos]

I wonder how its performance compares to the highly-regarded Sony SRF-S84.

I've totally gone analog.

[Mike S.]

Tom, do you mean not unusual? In my area I receive the local weather station strongly on my Icom RC-2, and get a completely different forecast (and computer voice) on two other not-so-local (weaker, but still decent) channels.

Most older portables I've had will pick up the closest station, if that at all, with no hint of the others in the area. So the DT-400W is somewhere in the middle between a portable scanner with an improved after-market rubber duck and a run-of the mill "public service band" portable with whip. So, not bad at all really.

[Mike Brent]

Is there any difference between the DT-400 and the DT-200VX other than the weather band instead of the TV tuner?

[Jeffrey McMahon]

Mike, I've never tested the 200. My guess is they're very similar.

[Ken K.]

I have both the DT200VX and the DT400, and I find the performance to be the same, although my DT200VX has developed a bad case of tuner scratchiness. The features are the same too, except, as you said, the weather band has replaced the TV band. The method of retrieving preset stations is a little different too.

I also have the 1st one in this series, (I forget what the model # is, and I have had mine for so long that the model # has rubbed off). Again, the performance is similar, but it lacks a dial light. It also seems to be more rugged than the 2 subsequent models. For about 10 years it was my everyday commute-on-the-train radio, and I dropped it on hard surfaces more than once. I'm not sure my DT400W or 200 would survive that.

[Mark Roberts]

Regarding weather radio stations and coverage, here's the listing of stations:

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/listcov.htm

Coverage maps are also available, but I find them hard to use. The maps are useful for giving you an idea which stations you might pick up in your area.

By the way, I have a DT-400W on order and, shortly upon receipt, will see about comparing it to my DT-200VX. I have dubbed my DT-200VX the "hotel bathroom" radio because it seems to pick up AM stations reasonably well even in that noisiest of environments, a hotel bathroom.

[Radio Russ]

I have the original DT200V and it has been a really solid radio. I use it with headphones to wander around the house listening to audio books broadcast from my CCrane FM XMTR (transmitter). Other than the TV band being replaced with weather, the other main difference with the DT400 seems to be the auto-shutoff timer has been increased to 90 minutes from the 60 minutes of the DT200V. If my DT200V ever breaks, I'll get the DT400.

[lucas gray]

My dt-400w was put in a drawer for the rainy season and when the sun came out the display was dead. Replacing the batteries hasn't resolved this and i've been unable to discover if there is a lithium ion battery that powers the display separately. Highly disappointing for so expensive a radio. Do you have any knowledge re: the display?

[Angelo]

Lucas: My "new digitals" take a back seat to my "classic analogs." Quality-wise, there is no comparison. It doesn't matter how much you spend----digital read-out exposes you to problems. That's just the way it is.

[Patrick]

Same thing happened to my DT-200VX tried it again months later and it started working again. Have you tried cleaning the battery contacts, Lucas?

[KI6H]

Today I've kept my Sangean DT-400w on standby, to receive Emergency Alert System warnings from the National Weather Service in Oxnard. So far, this afternoon has brought three such alerts. The DT-400w alert siren is piercingly loud; and comes seconds before the NWS broadcast with specific information. Two so far today have been marine warnings, and the third was a burn-area alert for Azusa.

It is possible to receive EAS alerts via cell phone but (a) those are narrowly defined to the specific area where you are and (b) when real trouble occurs, the cell system may be overwhelmed.

On a related note, I'm simultanously monitoring Marine Channel 16.