Ante has apprised us of the new Sangean DT500W Pocket Radio. Any release date?
Sangean writes "it's the last pocket radio you'll ever need to buy."
That is, until Sangean replaces it with a more improved model.
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It's the part of their flyer that says "AM auto tracking will automatically optimize the sensitivity of the AM station you're tuned to and helps to find the distant and hard to get stations" that I'm curious about.
Hmm... could C. Crane Company be licensing their "Twin Coil Ferrite" auto tune technology (e.g. from the CCRadio 2E) back to Sangean for their own radios?
Posted by: KE7MAV | March 10, 2015 at 12:00 PM
...until the battery won't hold a charge.
"Rechargeable with Built-in Lithium-ion Polymer Battery"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ytCEuuW2_A
..though the "AM Auto Tracking" has me intrigued to say the least.
Looks like they have one on the market with that feature...http://www.amazon.com/Sangean-PR-D4W-Portable-Bandwidth-Narrowing/dp/B00PBWV5Q0........http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/wx/6422.html...
But there's no reviews yet (that I can find) other than one person who'd like the backlight to stay on longer, but doesn't have much else to say about it.
Did Sangean find a way to pack some real punch into an ultralight? I wanna know, but to be honest I'm not willing to take a chance and fork over what they want for one until we know for sure. Call me skeptical if you'd like, but times aren't what they used to be...besides I just (at long last) got my hands back on a SR today, and I'm sitting here listing (at 4 in the afternoon) to a 5KW station that's about 200 miles away as the crow flies. That sets the bar kinda high.
Posted by: Drive-In-Freak | March 10, 2015 at 01:18 PM
Hey, wait a second. What happened to the last "Last Pocket Radio You'll Ever Need to Buy"?
"Last Pocket Radio You'll Ever Need to Buy"?
http://www.sangean.com/support/download/Flyer/V1/Flyer_20120507_DT-400W_SAI_V1.pdf
I think we're getting hoodwinked....lol
Posted by: Drive-In-Freak | March 10, 2015 at 01:28 PM
Drive-In, if I had to guess I'd say that Sangean PR-D4W is not an Apex Performer on FM, so I wouldn't be a buyer. My biggest radio buy temptation right now is the Tecsun PL-880.
Posted by: herculodge | March 10, 2015 at 01:38 PM
Hahah, Drive-In-Freak makes a good point.
I already have the original "last pocket radio you'll ever need to buy," the DT-400W, and therefore am immune the charms of the all-new LPRYENTB.
The DT-400W is pretty sweet. We so rarely have weather worth thinking about in Los Angeles, but when we do, I put it on 16-hour standby to sound the alarm whenever there's some new watch or warning.
The one thing that would be welcomed in a new LPRYENTB would be to identify the frequency of each of the 7 weather channels, instead of just showing the number.
Posted by: KI6H | March 10, 2015 at 04:44 PM
...can someone tell me can the weather stations and alert stations be IMMOBILIZED? I wish to purchase the radio on the merits of AM/FM selectivity and sensitivity NOT for weather stations! We live in the mid-west, so we DO NOT need weather alerts...this is NOT tornado alley or hurricane season in Florida! Let us say that YOU leave your radio behind in your house, and the weather alert turns ON and you are not there to shut it off!..then what? The same question would be for th CCrane Skywave or pocket radio! Please reply!
Posted by: Mike from Toronto Kanada | March 10, 2015 at 07:23 PM
Mike, on the DT-400w the alert is only on if you set it, and then, it is only active for the number of hours you specify, never more than one full day.
Posted by: KI6H | March 10, 2015 at 10:39 PM
Ive had a DT200VX for about 5 years now.
It works great. I think of it as " The Last $55.00
Pocket Radio I'm Willing to Buy.
Posted by: Michael Brent | March 11, 2015 at 01:02 AM
Interesting:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-10/swatch-co-inventor-sees-apple-causing-ice-age-for-swiss-watches
Posted by: DanT | March 11, 2015 at 09:31 AM
That 880 does look like a treat, doesn't it? That little Melson (or whatever it is with the two fake knobs on the side) showed everyone what a passive radiator can do, and the 880 has the same. With sound they're getting better all the time with the small stuff...though I still say real stereo speakers take up some serious space, and to this day swear by the good old Koss PortaPros.
As far as Sangean's modern transistors go; I kept the Rat Shack version of their DT200V (12-174A) for so long that all of the letting wore of of it. Great little radio. I like it so much that I got the (even better) Sangean DT-200VX though it played on just fine, then even went so far as to get yet another one with the (even slightly better than the VX) 400 ( the last one). They really are that good as far as pocket radios go. So why not jump on this one blind? DSP. I've never found one I like all that much. Same reason why I'm not chomping at the bit for the 880 SW rig.
I've heard people say the Sangeans don't do so well on FM. It's all in the headphone wire. Length of antenna is important, and a lot of today's 'phones don't have a cord that's the proper length for FM as there's not a lot of people running around with radio walkmans in this day and age, so it's not a priority (or even thought of anymore, I'm sure). A 4 foot V (a wire going to each side) cord is just right to get the best FM reception.
But, wait 4 feet isn't right, it's supposed to be 4'9" for half wave, you're thinking, right? That's where the V part comes in. Not only is it more than 4 feet long total, but it spreads out so it can grab more signal. That's another reason why I like those Koss so much..it's an old enough design for the cord to be optimized for the FM band.
Sorry folk's but your expensive Gardo, Bose, overpriced stuff with a red B on it, or shove-'em-in-your-ears aren't exactly up to pulling in FM. Sure, ya may look like Marty McFly while sporting some old school PortaPros, but at least we're not doing the double tie thing despite it being 2015.
Sorry about the loooong replay. Do I need to get some kinda life, or what?..lol
Posted by: Drive-In-Freak | March 11, 2015 at 11:57 AM
According to Sangean PR-D4W's manual"
In order to obtain better reception of weaker AM/FM stations, your radio has a function to narrow the AM/FM bandwidth to reduce high frequency noise.
1. Select the AM or FM band by pressing the Band button.
2. Press and hold the Display button until the radio beeps to enter the bandwidth adjustment setting.
3. Press the Tuning up/down button to select the appropriate bandwidth. When receiving stronger AM/FM stations leave the radio in the default setting (AM 2.5 kHz/FM 110 kHz) for improved sound quality.
Note:
When using earphones to listen to the stereo radio station, it is necessary to set the FM bandwidth as 85kHz or 110kHz. Bandwidth narrower than 85kHz will be forced to turn to FM mono.
Posted by: Paul | March 11, 2015 at 02:51 PM
Paul, does that option make you think the PR-D4 will have strong sounding FM? Would you buy one?
Posted by: herculodge | March 11, 2015 at 03:29 PM
Adjustable Fm bandwidth makes no sense whatsoever. In the seance of switching from stereo to mono (thus eliminating the L-R) yes, but other than that it's imposable to eliminate part of an FM signal and still have it work. You have to have the full L+R.
My head hurts...lol
Posted by: Drive-In-Freak | March 11, 2015 at 04:32 PM
Plus, if the default AM bandwidth is only 2.5 kHz, the audio is likely pretty muffled.
Posted by: Gary | March 11, 2015 at 04:42 PM
...and 2 1/2KC of AM sounds awful. That's SSB filter narrow. 5KC is the norm, and good sound is 10KC...though the signal has to be quite strong as such a wide bandwidth kills selectivity.
Posted by: Drive-In-Freak | March 11, 2015 at 04:42 PM