More Info on the Super Radio 3

Thanks, Gary:

More info on the Superadio 3:

http://earmark.net/gesr/sr3.htm

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Comments

[John]

I've got the GE SR1, the SR2 and the GE SR3. The 1 and 2 are great, the 3 is garbage.

[StarHalo]

Man, I wish I would have been paying attention in high school electronics class; these mods would be awesome with mini-switches on the exterior of the case - a switch for narrow bandwidth, one for bass boost..

[Keith Beesley]

It took me several tries to find a "good" SR III, but I finally did, so they are out there. I also have the original (aka the SR I) and the II. The II is probably the best of the series overall, but the III has the best speaker audio, IMO.

[StarHalo]

Keith, I wasn't aware of that - so even if I got a crappy current one with poor alignment and just-okay reception, it would still sound better than a I or II?

[Keith Beesley]

StarHalo, well, you probably wouldn't enjoy listening to a radio with poor reception, no matter how good it sounds, would you?

What I enjoy most about the III is the wide/narrow bandwidth control, which the I and the II lack. This feature allows you to use a narrow filter to pick out weak or distant AM stations, and a wide filter for listening to strong locals in full fidelity (or at least the best fidelity AM is capable of). The II and the III also have separate bass and treble speakers (they only play in mono, however). Another portable that can pull in lots of stations and with the wide/narrow feature and dual speakers is the Radio Shack Optimus 12-603, which some feel is not as good as the GE SRs, but to my ears sounds pretty darn close.

[Pianoplayr88key]

If the SR3 is garbage, but I can still get listenable reception on a 500-watt station on 1290 from 195 miles away in the daytime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEHpddXU3Gk
then I'd expect the great SR1 or SR2 to blow the SR3 out of the solar system.
For example, the station causing the het on 1180 kHz in http://youtu.be/1Awwywr_xDc?t=14s (1k het generated by LO in other radio - 729+450=1179; 1180-1179=1) is KERN Wasco-Greenacres, CA. Splatter is from local 1170 KCBQ, whose 50kW transmitter blasts me with 112kW ERP from 9.3 miles away and is the strongest station on the dial here in the daytime.

For comparison, here are a couple recordings of Tecsun PL-606 reception on 1180 KERN one day when KCBQ was off the air for several minutes...
barefoot: http://www.mediafire.com/?ao92526zxj2ty6g
with Select-A-Tenna: http://www.mediafire.com/?6k0lm6z97zvy23c
Would the SR1 and SR2 get better barefoot reception from 1180 KERN, with 1170 KCBQ on, than the PL-606 got from KERN with the SAT when KCBQ was off the air? Or better yet, could the SR1/2's reception of KERN compete with this video - http://youtu.be/cq6KSavcVMI?t=32s - of 1242 JOLF? :)

[StarHalo]

Keith, well if it's just for powerful local AM/FM listening, it should be cool, no?

[StarHalo]

Edit: Eh, the reviews on Amazon from those who have owned older vs. newer SRIIIs say the current sound quality isn't as good. I'd go for getting a "good"/"early" SRIII via eBay, so am I just looking for one that has the GE label as opposed to the RCA one? What identifies the apex SRIII?

[Keith Beesley]

Unfortunately, quality control on the III started to slip even when they were still being produced with the "GE" nameplate. The only surefire way to know if you've got a "good" one is by trying it out in person. My advice: shop for one locally--I found my I, II, and IIIs all at local yard sales, thrift stores, etc.--or order from an Ebay seller who allows returns.