Brandon's Panasonic RF-1405 Review

 

The Panasonic RF-1405 is one of the later generation (probably late 1970s to possibly 1980) portable radios from the time when Panasonic still made quality radios.  Compared to my RF-935, the size is almost identical, and surprisingly, it actually weighs a little more - so it is another Panasonic portable that is built with quality materials.

I ordered some De-oxit D5 from Amazon and got it just a few days ago, so I cleaned up all the buttons and knobs - a few of them were really scratchy initially, I'd say the de-oxit has restored them 90 percent, so this de-oxit really is miracle stuff for cleaning old radio knobs and getting rid of loud static noises and restoring smooth functionality.

The band coverage is as follows:
AM - 530-1610
FM - 88-108
AIR - 108-136
PSB - 136-174

One of the reasons I purchased this radio is because of its published stellar FM sensitivity spec of 1.2uv/m (for comparison the DSP radios that are new today have a sensitivity rating of 2.0uv) - this is also one of the best sensitivity specs published for any portable Panasonic radio (most are anywhere from 2.0 to 5.0 with a few at 1.5).  In terms of raw sensitivity, this radio really does perform, it is more sensitive than any portable radio I've ever used, slightly edging out my RF-935.  It is somewhat lacking in the selectivity department as it has a 230mhz ceramic filter, but I suspect that if I were to replace that with a 150mhz filter that this would be an excellent FM dx portable radio.

On AM, it has a 4.5" ferrite rod antenna and a published sensitivity of 40uv/m.  This is above average but other radios have better (my RF-935 is rated at 30uv/m).  Overall its a solid performer on AM and has a pretty "bright" sound, I suspect it would be more sensitive with an 8" ferrite rod replacement (which there is room for in the case).

As for the Air and PSB bands, I was quite surprised at what I heard on the air band as I have never listened to that band before.  From northern Michigan, I regularly pick up communications from commercial jets as far away as Central Ohio and I can pick up airport traffic from Detroit, Chicago, and Buffalo, all loud and clear.  I even pick up a weather beacon from about 25 miles away at the old Wurtsmith Air Force Base (though with no other scanner to compare all this to, I cannot say how well this performs compared to others).  I also pick up Central Dispatch and fire trucks on the PSB.

Sound quality - again, a very bright, clear sound, and can be turned up surprisingly loud without distorting.  Only thing lacking is bass, I do miss having a separate bass knob, though I'm not sure this speaker would be able to produce much more bass even if there was a knob for it.

One other note - after having another radio with both a signal meter and a backlight, I miss both of those features not being on this radio.

Overall another solid Panasonic radio - I rate it 85/100.

 

Comments

[Huesby]

"it has a 230mhz ceramic filter"
Way to go my friend.... Change it right now !

"On AM, it has a 4.5" ferrite rod antenna"
Hey Panasonic people,Is the Ferrite too expensive ?

"its published stellar FM sensitivity spec of 1.2uv/m" Oh yeah....the latest Panasonic Stereo has 13200 Watts !!!! Would you believe them ?

"it actually weighs a little more - so it is another Panasonic portable that is built with quality materials."

Oh yeah.I know some cheap 2 Dlrs plastic Chinese microphones that have STONES inside !!! to make it feel more 'pro'....

[Angelo]

I just ordered a CC Radio EP, though they are out of stock until August. But I ordered anyway, just to get one ASAP. I'm hoping it's a winner.

[Paul]

New Sony clock radio
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666082659

[Keith Beesley]

Some "modern" Panasonics are decent performers. I have the RF-P50 pocket radio, reception and audio are very respectable for its size. Not a DX machine, but fine for general around-the-house listening or to take along to a picnic or ball game. Also an RF-544, AM-FM medium sized portable; excellent sound for its size and hears some AM DX at night. Picked them up for fun, just to compare to my vintage sets, and was pleasantly surprised.

[Angelo]

The new Sony clock radio is nice----but I can't take it seriously unless they name it "Dream Machine" as any proper Sony clock radio should be named.

[CDT]

I picked up a rf-1403, which looks very similar to this line. I enjoy it, doesn't have air band only PSB 136-174, Weather band comes in clear. only tone high/low button to change the sound, but your right it can be turned up loudly and sounding good, has a squelch knob on rear of radio too.
No frills radio, but like they were it is built to last. My main gripe is trouble reading the bandscale, you really have to have it at eye level to read the digits. Good review!

[Paul]

For an RF-1403 for sale see
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/ele/1744042775.html

and video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feAzKUvXHVo

[brandon]

CDT - I had forgot to mention that gripe as well about the band scale - not only is a perfect viewing angle required but the contrast between the numbers and background could be better. But on the plus side mine seems to be spot-on for calibration and the scale is the entire width of the radio making fine-tuning pretty easy. A specs comparison between the 1403 and 1405 is interesting - the 1405 blows the 1403 out of the water on FM and AM sensitivity (1.2uv vs. 5.0uv on FM and 40uv/m vs. 120uv/m on AM) but the 1403 does better on the police band (3uv vs. 4.5uv) so oddly enough, the RF-1403's PSB is actually more sensitive than its FM.

[GTI]

I am not a radio buff but I have owned one of these sets for forty years (rural Scotland) and it has done sterling service inside and out and in all weathers. For a long time we had relatively poor FM signal and it always gave a very nice clear sound. About 15 years ago they built a new transmitter on a nearby Ben in direct line of site from the house and the stations are even clearer, even if the aerial is not extended. Very impressed by Panasonic; this was a super product.