Dz's First Impressions of His CCradio EP

 

Thanks, Dz:

Well, I've had my CCradio EP for about a week now.  Although it is not the "ultimate radio" it is still a nice radio by any standard and I'm glad it is here..in what I think is a narrow market for an AM/FM in today's world. As has been reported, this radio performs well below about 1000khz. Above that it does not fare too well. Poor sensitivity and selectivity. I have a strong local at 1380khz and a strong "not as local" at 1450khz. There are weak stations at 1390, 1400, 1410, and 1430 that I can pick up with my Zenith Royal 790 with no problem. They are non existent on the EP. I'm disappointed with that. I though I could at least snag the 1410 station. I had a chance to take the EP several hundred miles away where there are no locals and less noise. It seemed to fair better in this setting, but I have no specific station finding to report. If I recall, my brother's original CCradio was similar.

That said, I do like the radio. It sounds much better than I expected from reading what the other reports were saying, and I think it rivals the superadio for tone quality...with a stronger, cleaner output. Since a majority of my listening is below the 1000khz I find this a pleasing radio. 740khz Toronto and 650khz WSM being two of my favorites. I live in the Detroit area. The FM on the radio is quite good and sounds very nice to boot.

I find it annoying, though, that the Zenith can spank this radio terribly for performance. It doesn't have as pleasing a tone quality, but it by no means sounds small or tinny. Why can't anyone design (and build) a simple 8 transistor radio like this today? If the Zenith had the tone quality of the EP, it would be "The Ultimate Radio."

Is cost an issue? How much could it possibly cost? I would be willing to pay $150-$200 for one. Are transistors unavailable? I just don't understand it.

Well enough rambling. As far as the CC EP is concerned, for $70 it is overall a good value for its intended purpose. I have the PR-D5 and while this performs better RF wise, it just doesn't sound as good...at least on AM. It is smaller too, and has a few extra features thrown in to boot...so it comes down to a personal choice. Is the CC EP a worthy replacement for the Superadio III...yes I think it is, but yes...I was hoping for something just a little better. I will be keeping it, though,. It will make a good camping and fishing buddy!

Comments

[Angelo]

Dz: I have the CC-EP too and I think your review is on target. My complaints: If I am in another room and crank the volume to hear it, the speaker "vibrates" or breaks up a little. I've also noticed some drift on FM---minor---but it's there. I find that I sometimes have to get up and walk over to the radio to fine tune it again. I attributed that to the fact that this radio is on a table with a bunch of other radios (plugged into the same surge protector) and I thought maybe this might be interference from some of the other extended FM antennas or something---except I haven't noticed this drift from other good radios on the same table. Again, this is no deal breaker, but for full disclosure, I thought I'd mention it. This doesn't ever happen on AM.
The radio picks up stations that some of my other sets can't find----at least not well enough to listen to. Also, the speaker sound is clean at normal volume, with a rich tone. Now, I will say this: I have a GE Superadio I, and to me, the GE sounds fuller and more powerful. Better bass. But that said, for a new radio, the CC-EP, especially at its price point, is a pleasure. Nice sound, great tuning, easy to use and so far, reliable---I have no plans to sell mine or return it. I'm using it daily.

[Dz]

Thank you Angelo. A couple things I forgot to mention. I really like the dial light on this radio. Nice that you can leave it on and lights up well...if not a bit too bright! Also, at home I did not notice that the Twin Coil adjustment has much effect..only reducing signal strength. But when I had it out away from home, I noticed it was effective at reducing noise, especially from those new pesky fluorescent bulbs that have become so common. I will continue to post my findings as I go along. I hate to dwell on it, but again...I am so disappointed that the top end on this radio is so bad. If it had been better, this radio would be sooo awesome! I have a Tecsun R-308 that is really quite decent across the dial for sensitivity and selectivity. Not the most sensitive radio, but no slouch by any means...and I may be crazy, but it seems the more I use it...it has gotten a little better(more sensitive). The sound quality is decent, for the size and the only complaint I really have with it is the play(or backlash) while tuning it. I find my self going back and forth over the station to get it right. I may take this one apart and see if I can remedy this.

[Dz]

Well, its been a couple more days since my last post. I ran across the reviews of the EP at RadioIntelligencer. I don't always agree with...or have the same findings as they do over there(probably has more to do with the fact that we are at way different locations country wise), but I think they are right on with their findings of the EP. I also want to thank them for having the insight to play around with that twin coil tuning knob a bit more than I did...Great Work guys! I have this 5kw station at 1380 khz about 1-1/2 to 2 miles down the road. On radios such as the EP and the CCradio it wreaks havoc on reception anything 50-60khz on either side. The Superadio III does not do well either. All my other radios aren't too bad with it...and some are better than they have any right to be. But, I have found with the EP that if I turn the twin coil knob all the way to either direction(depending on which side of 1380 I'm on) the rejection of this channel improves ten fold...and the radio becomes quite selective. I can then tune the station I want(like 1410) with the main dial. Then once I have reception of it, I can adjust the twin coil knob to fine tune and bring it in quite clearly. Outstanding! So, to any of yo having problems with overload/selectivity..go to RadioIntellingencer and read the reviews...then start fiddling with the knobs. I can now say that the EP is definitely right up there with some of my best radios. Thank you Bob Crane...and Thank RadioIntelligencer! Bob if your out there...I hope your still working on the Mini CC...cause I love the concept and am still very interested in a radio like this. Folks over at RadioIntelligencer...thank you for keeping up an excellent website with a wealth of information about our hobby.

[Devremülkler]

Nice post. I love it. Waiting your new posts. Thank you...