Jay Allen Reviews Two Pocket Radios

Thanks, Gary:

Jay Allen reviews two pocket radios:

http://radiojayallen.com/eton-mini-radio-shack-2000629-pocket-amfmsw-radios/

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Comments

[Drive-In-Freak]

Thanks for sharing that. I've been waiting to see what he says about the new Rat Shack transistor. AM/MW seems kinda soso, so I think I'll pass.
Always looking for something different to keep in my pocket. Ever since I was a child I've almost always kept a transistor radio in my pocket...even though I seldom take it out anymore. I guess it's just a habit of not a kind of security blanket, if you will. Besides if you ever get stuck someplace it'll give you something to do other than stare at the wall, or street, or whatever. Also, if something (EBS level) bad were to go down I'll know what's going on.
I've for the most part always stuck to just AM/FM rigs (or sometimes just AM), but I'm thinking something with some SW bands on it would come in handy. I've had a few over the years, but found that most really aren't worth messing with other than the little Grundig G6 as it had ok pulling power and a BFO.

[Gary]

Radio Shack is planning to sell or close its stores.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2878815/radioshack-is-gearing-up-to-sell-or-shutter-its-stores-report-says.html

[herculodge]

Gary, I read that they're liquidating everything.

[Ted August]

Is anyone aware of a pocket radio of a similar form factor that has the option for the antenna to be either your headphone jack or the whip? I really like these pocket radios, but, the performance is disappointing if you want to use them in your pocket! Having a switch that can switch the FM antenna back and forth between the headphones and whip would provide some additional performance when you want to use the radio like a walkman. It seems like this is something simple that has been overlooked?

[StarHalo]

Ted, the Sony SRF-T615 has a dedicated switch that lets you specify if you want your connected headphones to be audio-out or antenna-only, and is in fact a much smaller radio than the two reviewed here. It's the kind of thoughtful engineering you'd expect from a $100+ radio, which is fitting since it's $100+..

[Drive-In-Freak]

The only three that I'm aware of that have both a telescoping antenna and use the headphone cord are from the '80s.
The Panasonic RF-666 (yes, really)
http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/panasonic_rf_666rf66.html

Realistic 12-118
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/html/1985/h096.html

And GE 7-1650A
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/328692472780133111/

[Angelo]

Drive: Well, my favorite Panny is the 888, so maybe the 666 is about 3/4 as good? By the way, are you familiar with the "Signal Hill" brand? I guess they are just cheap Chinese made radios (probably factory derivatives of other brands made in the same factory). I got my hands on a new one----a little pearl white AM-FM-SW that isn't bad at all---except when you first turn it on, the volume is erratic----either no sound at all or sound is way too loud---really touchy. Weird thing is that once the radio has been on for a few minutes, the volume works a lot better. Anyway, this is one of those brands that will probably come and go, though this little radio is intriguing enough that I'd consider another product from them. It's not bad for as cheap as it was to buy.

[Drive-In-Freak]

All I can find is a Signal Hill 100
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/328692472780138651/
I remember seeing that case in grey as a Jenson with VHF TV sound back around the turn of the century..can't remember the model number, unfortunately.
From the looks of it it's also being sold as a ..no name???
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/328692472780138864/
Bell + Howell
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/328692472780138841/
..and Kaito KA228
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/328692472780138827/

I see a regular old school volume pot on the side, so that's really odd. Not sure what could make that happen. Maybe a bad coupling cap? I'd look for a 1µF somewhere around the volume pot...just my best guess.

looks like a fun little radio.

[Drive-In-Freak]

Oh...and...shameless self plug.
Here's my page with a ton of radio eyecandy if anyone would like to see.
https://www.pinterest.com/backrow3/radiorama/

[Keith Beesley]

I think the Grundig Mini 300/ Tecsun R-919 also uses the headphone cord as FM antenna when headphones are plugged in. I have two, one in black and one in silver :-).

I have one of those "Signal Hill" radios that a friend gave me, Angelo; mine only picks up strong locals on AM and FM and no SW, but maybe I got a "lemon."

Thanks for the links, D-IF.

[Drive-In-Freak]

The Mini 100 ( on the other hand) did not...nor did the short lived Rat Shack (sort of) clone of it. Don't remember the model number, but it had a oval shaped dial with an FM stereo l.e.d. under the dial in the center. Oddly enough I like the RS clone better than both the 100 and 300 as it had a more powerful and cleaner output to headphones, and a little more pulling power on AM/MW.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/328692472780143267/