Herculodge

JB Takes a Look at His Insignia HD Radio

I've gone ahead and picked one of these Insignia HD radios up. I had a Best Buy gift card to use, so I figured why not. I already had the smaller Insignia HD radio, and wasn't all the impressed with it. I think the antenna being the headphone wire made for iffy reception. (I live on the outskirts of Minneapolis/St Paul.) The controls were a little awkward as well. Keeping it charged was inconvenient as well. But I really wanted to get some HD programming, so...

So I've only had the bigger model for a few hours, and haven't played with it much. I'm not as much into the technical specifics of radios as most of you are, so I can't give a great technical review.

Using it on 4xAA batteries and the whip antenna, I get pretty much all the same stations I do on any other radio I have in the house. For those broadcasting multiple HD channels per frequency, I seem to get a fair number of those as well. (I need to check it against a known list of HD broadcasts for my area).

It shows the program information in the small display window, and it scrolls (somewhat annoyingly) horizontally.

The controls are basic. There's a Seek +/-, Tune +/-, Memory Set, Memory Recall, On/Off, Volume +/-, and Source (there's an AUX input). Not the most user-friendly control set particularly if you're hunting around. I much prefer analog controls, or at least some speedier tuning capability. Once the presets are set, I think it will be livable. The buttons do all feel somewhat flimsy to me, but no more so than pretty much any radio made these days.

The radio seems slow to start producing sound once you've tuned to a station. This seems to be related to signal strength, and how much HD channel information it's trying to pull down.

Speaker sounds reasonable for it's size.

The unit is oriented to sit upright even thought it's screaming to lay flat. With the antenna extended it seems a little top heavy. Overall the unit feels pretty solid (other than the somewhat flimsy-feeling controls). In the box was an AC Adapter, a short wire plug-in antenna, and user guide. It also runs on 4AA batteries. I'm guessing given the heavy processing this thing probably does for the HD signal, that battery life may be underwhelming. But it's too soon to know that yet.

As a "birthday" gift (via the gift card) I really have no complaints. And thanks to this blog, I found out it existed (otherwise I'd kind of given up on HD radio since I procrastinated on buying that Sony unit that was discontinued).

For my listening needs it's going to be fun having the HD option in the house, and so far so good.

 

 

New Version of the Tecsun PL-660?

Thanks, SWL:

New Tecsun PL-660er (?????)
http://www.rmrc.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148&Itemid=82

 

Hugo Asks How Good Is SW in Your Radio?

HOW GOOD IS SW IN YOUR RADIO ?

This last Sunday I was a so booored that I had nothing better to do than play with my radios (What else?) so I did a competition among them to find the best performer on shortwave with the help of my trusty digital generator RE 107

About the Signal generator SG

RE Radiometer 107 Synthesized Signal Generator

The brand is RE and the model number 107 I don´t know much about it because it was a blind buy from Ebay but it seems to be very accurate like a lab equipment,  I don´t know if its output is calibrated or no in dB but it gives readings  from a maximum +22.9 to a minimum of -119  dB ?...  The RE brand is a little obscure but there are places which sell it, like this http://www.recycledgoods.com/products/RE-107-Radiometer-Synthesized-Signal-Generator.html

The Test

The test consisted in a 15,600 Khz signal with 10% of modulation of 400 Hz injected directly into the terminal antenna and lowering the signal until my ears can not hear it anymore, in cases where I got weird readings I retested it 1,2,3 times until the readings were consistent. There are some models which I have various samples and I tested all of them to get a better idea of their performance. All of my radios are calibrated to their maximum possible; some have mods to enhance its sensitivity, I added some comments next to the model. The number in the performance column is a negative number as read from the SG, it´s the minimal  signal strength detected by the radio and my ears,  so the radio that could detect the minimum signal is the most sensitive one and the performance table is ordered to reflect that.

 

THE RESULTS

Brand	Model	Notes	Picture Link	Performance
Sony	CRF5100	Earth Orbiter	CRF-5100	-118
Magnavox	90AL999/44	aka Philips AL990	AL-990	-116
Realistic	12-759A	Patrolman 9	Patrolman 9	-111
CCRadioSW	CCRadiosw	aka Redsun RP2100	CCRadioSw	-110
Panasonic	RF2200	Sample 3	RF-2200	-108
Sony	ICF5900	Sample 1	ICF-5900	-108
Sony	ICF5900	Sample 2	ICF-5900	-108
Sony	ICF5900	Sample 3	ICF-5900	-108
General Electric	7-2990	Made by Panasonic	GE 7-2990	-107
Panasonic	RF2900	Modded	RF-2900	-106
Sony	TFM8000W	Super Sensitive	TFM-8000	-106
Panasonic	RF1260		RF-1260	-105
Eton by Grundig	S350DL	aka Tecsun BCL3000	S350DL	-103
Panasonic	RF2200	Sample 2	RF-2200	-103
Zenith	D7000Y	Transoceanic	D7000Y	-103
Panasonic	RF1180B	Australian Model	RF-1180	-100
Panasonic	RF2900	Stock	RF-2900	-98
Panasonic	RF2800	Modded	RF-2800	-98
Panasonic	RF2600	Modded	RF-2600	-98
Panasonic	RF1150		RF-1150	-97
Panasonic	RF2200	Sample 1, broken ?	RF-2200	-94
Grundig	1400SL	Could it be broken ?	Grundig 1400SL	-72

 

Commenting the results

Although the signal was injected directly to the terminal antenna the results are consistent with their performance in the real world, also the frequency  was a difficult one had I chosen a lower one all the radios would have performed like super radios, regular shortwave transmission occur at lower freqs like from 6 to 12 khz and are mostly heard in the evenings and nights, those from around 15600 khz and above are heard at midday.

From the result we have some surprises and some deceptions, in the former group we have:

The Realistic Patrolman 9 (not all Realistic radios are bad eh?), the Panasonic RF-1260 (Cheap radio)

And in deception group we have:

Grundig 1400SL (I really like this radio, could it be broken? It has a great sound! ), Panasonic RF-2800 (I did a RF mod to this radio and it´s very sensitive but in frequencies below 12 Khz, I suspect I have a Miller capacitance problem here).

Some guy made a comparison between the transoceanic D7000Y and the Sony CRF-5100 and his conclusion were that his Transoceanic was the best and I was so excited that I bought one too but although my sample is good, it´s no better than my Sony despite of having changed all transistor with newer one seeking to improve RF performance which Ithink I have achieved but still  it´s not in the same league as the Sony. Perhaps the sample of this guy it´s no good ? If you have both please comment about this.

Conclusion

Now that you see what a boring day can do, it´s time to enjoy the radios and forget the tests until I get more radios to update this table. Please comment about this work I really like to hear some input from you.

ALI (Huesby)

Sorry about my English but it´s the best I can do.

 

 

123Radios Taking $159 Pre-Orders for the September Arrival of the Sangean WR-12

 

 

Best price I've seen on the most appealing radio to come down the pike in a long time. 

New FM/HD radio by Insignia. Reviews are very good and price is only $45:

Thanks, Paul:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Insignia%26%23153%3B---HD-Radio-Tabletop-Radio/4635744.p?id=1218505477073

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1413650/insignia-ns-hdrad

 

Amazon Selling the Sangean WR-11 for $73 and Free Shipping

If you can't wait for the Sangean WR-12 due in a couple of months, Amazon is selling the Sangean WR-11 for a great price today. I sold my WR-11 only because I had too many radios at the time. It performs very well and I recommend it highly for an analog tuner. 

Manly Watch Sighting: Tsovet Now Featured at the Del Amo Mall's Watch City

 

My friends at Watch City (I've been buying watches there and getting my watches serviced there for the last 7 years) are now selling the big Tsovet models, American made watches featuring huge 50mm cases and big stenciled numerals.

They remind me of U Boats but cost one-fourth the price. 

Dude, You're Lucky You're Alive

I'm fifty going on twelve evidenced by this explosive game I play with Julia and Natalie, a game that almost rendered me dead five days ago.

via herculodge.typepad.com

Manly Watch for the Vintage Look: Invicta Vintage with Unusual Rose Gold Treatment

 

 

I saw these two Invicta Vintage models, 10753 (brown dial) and 10755 (silver dial), both in a rose tone that almost looked more like a coppery sand, which I found stunning. You'll have to see video on link to get a better sense of the unusual look. I want both of them. Bezel is 47mm across. I don't see these watches available anywhere else. 

One selling point for me: These styles offer low profile cases, thin enough to wear under cuffs and long sleeves. Most of my chunkers can't fit that bill. 

Best Looking Radio to Come Down the Pike in a Long Time: The Sangean WR12

 

 

Arriving in late August and costing about $170 on Universal Radio, this Sangean WR12, which Ante told us about a week ago, looks very promising. If its performance is on par with the Sangean WR11, it should be a winner. 

Even though my Yamaha upright in the family room is ebony, I'd be willing to place this oak colored WR12 atop it. Sometimes radiophiles have to make aesthetic sacrifices.