Herculodge

Deoxit Saves Gregory's Sony ICF-5900W

Your post about Deoxit prompted me to act - It saved one of my beloved radios - WOOHOO! a Sony ICF-5900W.

I saved my paper-route $$ and bought one new in the 1970's. Used it everyday for years - however, after a dunking in the bathtub ~17 yrs ago it was never the same.

Man I missed that radio....

A few years ago I began trolling ebay for a replacement - eventually pulled the trigger on a mint looking 5900 including battery cover, strap, orig earphone & power supply. Happy Dance - I won! Unfortunatly my joy was short lived - it only performed on FM - the other bands were intermittent and only so if I fiddled with the band-switch knob. In disgust and disappointment I put my new find high up on a shelf - destined for a life of lonelyness & dust-bunnies.

After reading this post on Deoxit I decided to try that stuff on my 5900. HOLY SMOKES BATMAN! - worked like a charm - my 5900 is good as new, looks great, currently playing Rock & Roll on Canadian AM 800 CJBQ.

Regards,
Gregory

Spike Lee Tweets Wrong Address of Zimmerman and Innocent Family Is Targeted

 

 

The case of wannabe cop George Zimmerman becomes more and more like a surreal movie as Spike Lee tweets Zimmerman's wrong address resulting in chaos, lawsuits, etc. 

Will Spike Lee be the director?

Any advice for Spike? Here's some: You don't discourage vigilantism when you act like a vigilante. 

Bob C. Getting Very Good AM and Decent FM on His Sony SRF-S84

 

 

Bob C writes:

Late last year, I bought Sony SRF-S84 from a Hong Kong-based seller on eBay and the radio performed as well as expected. Very good AM band reception and decent FM as well. In fact, it's selectivity is surprisingly good.

Although not my best radio, it's a solid performer that can go anywhere because of it's diminutive size. Given this, I purchased another from the same HK seller and it too is a good performer. All I can say is that I haven't had this issue. By the way, I paid a lot less than the prices quoted on the posts that I've read. Something like $40 or so, including shipping.

 

Keith Says You Might Have to Buy 3 Or More Sony S10MK2s to Get Full Range of Performance

 

 

Good thing these Sony S10MK2 portables are close to only $10 a pop, a Keith writes:

I should note that I have three S10MK2s, because I like them so much and they're so cheap, and there are slight variations among all three: one is the most sensitive on FM, another is the most sensitive on AM, and one has full U.S. AM coverage to 1700 while the other two stop at about 1620. I guess this is true of most new radios made today, especially the less expensive ones.

The Radio Shack is no slouch, I picked up one on the basis of Jay Allen's review, but I don't find the speaker sound as pleasing as the Sonys'. It does, however play in both ears (in mono) through headphones, a big plus in my book.

I like the Sangean pocket radios, too, but don't have one in working order at the moment. My last one, an older DT-200VX, bit the dust a couple of months ago.

Final Thoughts:

Check out Jay Allen's review of 5 Pocket Portables. 

 

John's Experience with the Degen DE-321

 

 

(Re-post)

I have a Degen DE-321 and have similar impressions with this reviewer's observations. I would call the tuning mechanism 'rubbery' in that when I tune it on SW, I tend to not hear a station, then suddenly do, but by then, I've tuned past it and have to go back and rock the tuning back and forth to zero in on the best signal strength.

Also, it sounds to me like the radio is 'squelching' if a signal is below a certain strength, so I hear weak stations suddenly appear and then they are gone, as if a squelch is activated. Last, I did not like the radios AM BCB sensitivity at all.

Maybe all this is just my radio, I have no way of testing several of these to find out. I'd say the tuning of the 321 is similar to the WRX911---rubbery and you have to rock back and forth to tune in a station. I'm in agreement that the radio is all digital, but the mechanical tuning could use improvement in my view.

 

Newegg Selling the Sangean DT400 for Lowest Price

Thanks, Paul:

Newegg has it cheaper than Amazon:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882720041

DEOXIT Removed the Noise from My Sangean DT400's Volume Control

I got caught walking my toddlers in the rain a few days ago. For a few days my Sangean DT400's volume wheel had some hiss, so this morning I sprayed DEOXIT over it. The hiss is gone. My guess is had I not used the DEOXIT, the hiss would have gotten worse, turning into a crackling sound. 

Price Drop for the Sangean DT400: $50 with Free Shipping

 

 

 

I bought my Sangean DT400 or $62 a couple of years ago on Amazon. Perhaps the best digital pocket radio in its price bracket. 

Herculodge Reader Finds Subpar Performance on Newer Versions of the Sony SRF-84 Pocket Radio

 

 

Joe Maffuccio writes:

I've had a couple Sony SRF-84 radios, the earlier models are very quiet and seem to be aligned but the later versions (86?) had alot of background noise. The radio is stellar on battery life, 60+ hrs. and is very small.

I then tried, and immediately resold on Ebay for profit, an SRF-M97. It was terrible.

I finally ordered a Sangean DT-180, supposed to get in today. I'm certain, from reviews here, that it will be much better than either Sony.

Overall, a small radio with no speaker or clock is a different animal than one with those features plus digital tuning and presets. The DT200/400 is still a little bulky for me (walking, falling asleep). That is why I like my old ICF-SX3R, it's super thin.

The only other thin radio, besides newer Sony radios, is the Grundig M400...POS.

Final Thoughts:

We look forward to Mr. Maffuccio's impressions of his newly acquired Sangean DT180. I have one and I can say it's worth every penny of its $38 price tag. 

 

Is the Sony SRF-S84 Analog Pocket Radio Worth the $57 Price Tag?

 

 

Since readers are telling us that Sony uses the same chips on their least expensive radios, does anyone see a reason to spend $57 on the Sony SRF-S84 analog pocket radio?

Wouldn't someone be better served spending that money on a Sangean digital, like the DT400?