Herculodge: Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured

SWLing Post Review of the Sangean DT-160CL Portable Radio

Sangean_DT-160CL_15

Thomas has sent us his latest Sangean DT-160CL portable radio review. He likes it so far and is doing battery tests.

Posted at 06:27 AM in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jay Allen Reviews the Sangean HDR-18 Radio

Image result for sangean hdr 18 radio

Thanks to Paul and Gary or apprising us of Jay Allen's review of the Sangean HDR-18 Radio. Jay is pleased with both the FM and AM and heartily recommends this new Sangean offering.

Posted at 10:24 AM in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink | Comments (5)

Herculodge Sangean DT-160 Review

Due to unstable reception on FM for both my Sangean DT-180 and Sangean DT-400 portable radios, I had been thinking of getting an upgrade. And then I read Jay Allen’s excellent review of the Sangean DT-160. Here is a portable radio for under $40 with DSP-enhancing FM reception. I was not disappointed. The radio is a keeper overall with a couple of annoyances.

The radio takes two AA batteries. So far so good. The battery compartment is easy to open and close.

Now the annoyance: The toggle tuning wheel on the radio’s right side. You hold it to set the time. You wait for the hour number to flash, then set with preset 1. You do the same for the minute. You have to click downwards to scroll through the numbers. The toggle feel is awkward.

You use the same toggle for tuning, and here I really dislike the tune/set jog wheel because it’s impossible to scroll through the stations without prompting the set button to flash. It’s like my wife doesn’t like me brushing my teeth in the shower. Don’t mix the tuning with the time set. They belong in separate chambers, so to speak.

Once you get your presets (5 for 2 FM bands and another 5 for one AM band), you’re done with this tuning nonsense. Make sure you change batteries when they’re low on the indicator light so you don’t have to use this annoying jog wheel.

The volume is not a wheel. It’s buttons.

Now the good news: FM Reception

While my aforementioned DT-180 and DT-400 are unstable on FM and while they bleed adjoining stations so you will too often get two FM stations on one signal, the DT-160’s DSP really improves FM in terms of stability, selectivity, and overall reception. This is evident here where I live in Torrance where KPCC 89.3 from Pasadena can be problematic. Not so with the DT-160. KPCC comes in loud and clear.

While I heard AM could be a problem due to a small ferrite, I had no problems with AM. It seems as strong on my DT-180 as my other portable radios.

Another annoyance are the earbuds. They’re like giant coin-sized buds, slightly smaller in circumference than a nickel, and are way too big for my small ear canals.

I threw them away and chose properly-fitting buds.

All in all, my DT-160 improves FM and allows me to listen to the FM stations I enjoy, so it’s a keeper.

Posted at 04:07 PM in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink | Comments (4)

Jay Allen reviews the Sangean DT-160 pocket radio and calls it a "gem."

Thanks, Gary:

Jay Allen reviews the Sangean DT-160 pocket radio.

https://radiojayallen.com/2016/07/26/sangean-dt-160-amfm-pocket-portable/

Update: Based on Jay's review, I just bought one on Amazon. I hope to review it here in a couple of weeks.

Posted at 01:52 PM in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink | Comments (1)

New Lineup of Sangean High Definition Radios

Sangean HDR-16

Just when I thought HD radio had died off, Paul apprises us of the lineup of new Sangean HD Radios:

Sangean HDT-20 tuner
https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/spcialty/3520.html

Sangean HDR-16
https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/spcialty/4516.html

Sangean HDR-18
https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/spcialty/6018.html

Posted at 06:43 AM in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink | Comments (8)

Viewer Request: First Look Panasonic RF-888 (Posted in 2008)

First Look--the Panasonic RF-888 PSB/AM/FM Radio

Released in 1973 and rare enough to fetch $202 on eBay, the Panasonic RF-888 arrived in mint condition today and is a spectacular radio worthy of sending shivers up the spine of any radio lover. The sound is big, bigger than my Sony ICF-5900. AM and FM reception on the two radios is equal, which is to say outstanding. I prefer the louder, in-your-face sound of the 888.

Also my 888, unlike my 5900, has an accurate tuning dial. While I love the look of both radios, I prefer the big speaker on the 888. It reminds of of a mag wheel that would go on a sports car.

If you don't need SW and want a strong performer, you will definitely enjoy the powerful Panasonic RF-888.

Posted at 05:27 PM in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink | Comments (1)

Things Get More High-Tech and Complicated with the 2.0 Sangean WR-2

I haven’t had a radio review in a while. Sedated on the Sangean Kool-Aid evidenced by a Sangean U3 worksite radio in my office/gym, a Sangean PR-D4 in the kitchen, a Sangean-made C.Crane CCRadio-2E in the bathroom, and the Sangean WR-2 as my “crown jewel” bedside table radio.

I haven’t had a Sangean WR-2 in a year because a year ago Southern Cal Edison fried all the electronics on our block doing unauthorized work. They had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to residents. I was paid about $400 for the loss of some of my electronics, including my Sangean WR-2.

For a year I used my CCRadio-2E as my bedside radio. A great performer on AM and FM, the 2E suffers from a telescopic antenna (hooks around my arm when I get up at night) and sticky on/off and preset buttons, a common complaint with a model that costs in excess of $160.

I decided to get my beloved black WR-2 back. This radio, which I first purchased in 2005, is one of those radios that marks my entry into being “radio-minded,” a guy who is very aware of the radio performance hierarchy.

The WR-2, with its wire antenna, is very sensitive on FM and very capable on AM. I like its heavy low-profile, which makes it difficult for me to knock off the bedside table. With fond memories of my WR-2, I recently bought another. To my surprise, the black WR-2 was different than my previous one, noticeable in two ways:

Different speaker calibration: Brighter, louder sound out of the box with “15” being very loud. In contrast, you had to crank the WR-2 1.0 up to “40” to get decent volume.

Different interface: The WR-2 1.0 had a separate clock setting button with separate hours and minutes buttons. This made setting the time relatively simple.

Below, you can see the WR-2 1.0 and 2.0 respectively:

Goodbye to simplicity with the WR-2 2.0. Now you have no separate clock buttons. You must press a menu and scroll through the following:

Clock Setting (set time with Tuning Wheel)

RDS

Factory (settings)

Loud On

DST (daylight savings time)

Snooze

Clock 12/24 Hours

FM 100KHZ

AM 10KHZ

VER P.01 (your radio’s software version)

You use the volume control to set hours and minutes.

You must follow 4 steps for Snooze.

You must follow 5 steps for setting alarm.

The Good News:

The complexity of the interface is not a deal-killer by any means. So far no bugs have been detected.

The sound is actually better than the 1.0 version—brighter, louder, crisper, less muddled.

The AM and FM performance seems identical.

Final Thoughts

I’m no Luddite who cringes in the face of radio DSP chips, software updates, Internet radio options, Bluetooth, etc. However, a part of me, the romantic with fond memories of those majestic vintage Panasonics and Sonys from the 1960s and 1970s, loves the simplicity of an analog radio.

Because I do not have my father’s engineering and math genius (I turned out to be a college English instructor), I don’t have the tech proclivities to maintain vintage radios (cleaning the pot, ridding static, etc.), and my vintage radio quest halted several years ago. But I wonder if I would have been happier getting a new analog radio from Sangean: The Sangean WR-15. Perhaps in the near future I will get one.

Posted at 07:51 AM in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink | Comments (34)

Radio Jay Allen Posts a AM Portable Radio "Shoot Out"

If you're looking for good AM performance in a radio, it would serve you well to check out Radio Jay Allen's AM Portable Shoot Out. Gary has apprised us of this link.

Posted at 08:30 PM in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink | Comments (10)

Radio Jay Allen Reviews the Sangean PR-D4

Gary apprised me of Radio Jay Allen's Sangean PR-D4 review. I agree with most of it. I don't hear the bad FM sound, but I would agree you can get a brighter sound out of the C.Crane.

Posted at 08:28 PM in Radio Lovers Can't Be Cured | Permalink | Comments (9)

Thomas' Initial Impressions of the Sangean WR-12BT

Thanks, Thomas Tinta:

Monday November 30, 2015: I just unboxed and tested my new Sangean WR 12 BT. Here are my initial impressions.

Looks: The WR 12 BT comes in a dark walnut finished cabinet with black speaker grill, tuner panel, and controls. My first impression is that the WR 12 BT is a handsome retro (1970s style) radio and is solidly built.

Tuning: Early reports from 3 years ago suggested that the tuner drifted too much. I found no significant drifting on local stations during the day. It should be noted that I have separate tunable AM and FM antennae for DXing distant stations (in other states at night). During this test, I got some slight drift out. However, these stations would also drift back in on their own without adjustments. Clearly, atmospherics plays a part.

Sound: Early reports from 3 years ago suggested that the sound was very muddled. One reviewer went so far as to not recommend this radio. I found that the tone controls offered sufficient adjustment for any room environment. However, compared to the almost antiseptic sound we now get from digital radios, Sangean makes the WR 12 BT sound softer and warmer, almost as if its a tube radio, which it isn’t. Maybe those softer, warmer tones result from the real walnut cabinet. In addition, the sound has a definite 3D aspect to it. The front speakers throw their mids and highs forward, while the woofer projects backwards. Now I realize that’s where the speakers physically are in the cabinet, but I didn’t expect to hear this 3D effect so easily.

Bluetooth: To my knowledge, there have never been any reviews complaining about the Bluetooth compatibility of the WR 12 BT and I’m no exception. My iPhone was able to synch with the radio in less than 5 seconds. It actually took me longer to make a music selection. By the way, the sound level of the radio reduces on it’s own when you connect via Bluetooth. This is because the radio wants you to adjust the volume using your phone as a remote. Remember, with a bluetooth connection, your phone turns the WR 12 BT into an internet radio, so you can play anything from anywhere.

Quality: My first impression is favorable enough, that I don’t anticipate any quality control issues. But, if I have problems down the road, I’ll post an update. If no update, that means no problems.

Recommendation: If you’re the kind of person who must have modern crystal clear digital sound, or if you wish the WR 12 BT had station presets, digital tuning and a remote control, then this radio may not be for you. But if you like the 1970’s retro look of the real walnut cabinet, the retro backlit analog tuner, and if the softer, warmer, Hi-Fi retro sound appeals to you, then this ‘old school’ radio is for you.