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VOTES
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RECEIVER
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DISLIKES
- COMMENTS
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COMMENTS
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5
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Grundig
Satellit 800 |
1)
Noisy audio, Eats batteries 2) Too big; too clunky; cheap
construction. 3) The 800 suffered from poor quality control---on
one the sound just stopped, on another the radio sent out a squaling
noise after a ccouple of months. Other problem was that if you
had owned a Drake SW8 or a Lowe 150 which had similar performance,
you would question why you had to carry around such a monstor-sized
"portable" to get that level of performance from the
800. 4) Chinese imitation of Drake design sold by Eton
Corp. misleadingly marketed as a Grundig. 5) It was too
big and too stupid. Plus its MW reception was poor. |
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1
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Radio
Shack DX-394 |
1)
Distorted audio and a small tinny speaker The way it falls short
of what my Grundig YB-400PE does, even though I paid almost twice
as much for the 394. No FM band. Instead of using a good firm
like Sangean, Grundig, or Sony Radio Shack used GRE as a manufacturer.
That cannot make a Shortwave receiver. They have a history of
making some of the worst receivers on the market. Unshielded plastic
device going for over $300 Canadian. Just one more - how many
high impedance antennas have you seen with a RCA type plug on
the end of them?
|
1) I looked in a copy of the 1996 Passport to World Band
Radio which listed a number of portables with Single Side Band
reception and FM stereo including the Grundig Yacht Boy 400. The
Panasonic RF-B45, Sony ICF-SW7600G, and the DX-390 were all on
the market at the same time, which all likely outperformed it
and appeared to be better radios. I know that it received the
lousy reviews it deserved when it came out, but it still should
been made as a $200 portable rather than a $300 tabletop model.
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1
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Sony
CRF-320
|
1)
It was unpleasant to tune around on, was not all that reliable,
and was definitely NOT a Grundig Satellit in the audio department.
I kept it for about 6 months, and have never missed it.
|
1)
I traded a Lowe HF225 and some cash for it, and wish I'd kept
the Lowe. On a positive note, the experience cured me of believing
all the hype about legendary shortwave radios. There's usually
a good reason that they're history.
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3
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G.E.
Superadio III |
1)
Very poor dial calibration. Nearly impossible to track the tuning
properly (alignment). Absolutely not. 2) Poor sensitvity
and poor selectivity on even local stations. Editor: sounds
like the radio is broken 3) Impossible to tune with
any accuracy. Audio only fair.
|
1)
Although this model added a nice feature (AM bandwidth switch/Wideband
AM) it is far inferior in build quality and performance to it's
predecessors (Superadio and Superadio II). The varactor tuning
is problematic. Proper tracking alignment is difficult to impossible
to facilitate.
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1
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Drake
SSR1 |
1)
Too many internal birdies. Sold it
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2
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Grundig
YB500 |
1)
Expensive, non-intuative, poor shorwave receiver. Kept it to listen
to FM 2) It was overpriced, had too many features that
couldn't be used in the U.S., & it is a lousy receiver.
|
1)
This was the first shortwasve I purchased. I really turned me
off to shortwave for several years. Then I bought an ICF-2010,
and began to appreciate the shortwave. 2) The YB-500 does
have a good RDS on FM, though.
|
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1
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Panasonic
Portable
(I for get the model number) from about 1983 vintage |
1)
It looked great -- about the size of a 2010 with memoey buttons
on the front. AM FM shortwave. A complete dog of a reciever. It
cost hundreds and I sold it for 10 at a garage sale. Panasonic
should be ashamed of themselves...me too for buying based on looks
and not reading reviews. WRTH said they didn understand why Panasonic
even bothered making it, and why any one would buy it.
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1
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JRC
NRD-525 |
1)
Worst audio of any receiver ever owned. I sold it after two months.
I did own a second one a couple of years later with the Eskab/Edvis
modifications and it was 100% better.
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4
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Grundig
YB-400
|
1)
I didn't like the construction and the ergonomics. The switches
were flimsy, and the antenna felt like it was going to break.
Also, the narrow AM filter was too narrow. Didn't like the sound
with the narrow filter at all.
I don't have it anymore. Sold it on eBay :-) 2) Squishy
keys. Decent audio but really not that special or bassy (to my
ears). Worst aspects were easily overloaded with external antenna
and uneven sensitivity; significantly lower on higher bands (above
13Mhz?). All in all a decent radio but not in the league of a
7600GR to which it is often compared. 3) Fading signals
& overwhelming hissing. Returned it to Radio Shack. 4)
PE version - poor reception on MW band, meager ferrit antenna
will hardly couple inductivily to 30"loop
|
1)
I now own: Sony ICF-SW7600GR, Sony SW7601, Radio Shack DX-398,
DX-399, DX-440, Grundig Satellit 500, and a Satellit 800. The
only other SW radio that I sold was the Sony 2010. I had it for
several years, but was too big to carry around, and didn't have
a good handle. The Satellit 500 and DX-440 may be on the auction
block soon. |
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1
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Spirit
of St. Louis "Transistor Radio"
|
1)
No sensitivity at all. (Internally it is a minimal implementation
of a Korean one-chip radio.) Nearly impossible to tune with about
180 degrees of turn on the analog dial. Switches are of incredibly
poor quality.
|
1)
On the plus side, this is a large empty box (the size of a box
of breakfast cereal) with an antenna, a battery compartment and
holes pre-drilled.
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3
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Grundig
YB-300PE |
1)
It is sensitive, yet has terrible selectivity, 5Khz tuning, and
is essentially a chinese-made piece of plastic. So much for "German-Engineered.
Though i did keep it. 2) very poor SW reception ($40 radio
shack blew it away) lost ability to run on batteries somehow 3)
Introductory SW radio. Good sensitivity, but that's about it.
Selectivity is terrible, so too is image rejection. Absolutely
no control whatsoever over the incoming signal. Poor-grade plastic
(made in PRC).
|
3)
Save up an extra $150 and buy a 7600GR/AN-LP1 for some real perfomance!
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3
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Grundig
Yacht Boy P 2000 (Porche) |
1)
The worst audio quality of almost any radio I have. I returned
it the same day. 2) Was not even close to the sensitivity
of my Sony ICF-SW20. 3) they don't have all bands, side
bands, tuning dial just glitzy junk,style over service, sent them
all back
|
1)
I have many radios old tube sets and new solid state but the audio
on this set was surpassed by a little blue hong kong radio shack
garage sale special .50cents laying on my desk. I have to add
the radio functioned well and I still love the looks of this set.
Since I only had one radio it is possible it was a bad one, anyway
thats it. 3) My neighbor buys them we try them and when
shown the difference and value of controls he sends them back.
i'd like to find a dx390 in miniature. i'll try the tecsun 550
if they put english control titles on it, if ever anyone adds
backlit keypads on it like degan uses that would be todays ideal
sw portable.... and for under $100.
i currently have a sony 2010 in need of repair 2 dx 392's it's
unbelievable how useful it's cassette rec. is, i'm selling a dx
375, a dx 351 and 3 chinese micro sw that work as good as those
small grundigs. i also have some zenith transoceanic 3000-1. also
i'm selling good sounding large wotking multi band transistor
portables.
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4
|
Grundig
S350 |
1)
oscillator noises on strong AM stations; detunes by 5 kHz on shortwave
when a warm breeze reaches it; miserable image rejection; miserable
dynamic range; only so-so sensitivity on SW2 and SW3; FM mono
through headphones, but stereo through line-out jacks. i kept
the radio. 2) Heavily hyped on newsgroups and Yahoo groups
by its enthusiasts (who seem mostly to use it for MW listening),
this radio neither delivers the performance it SHOULD be capable
of, nor satisfies even a casual SWL'ing function. Technical defects
abound, including: severe IF harmonics, creating spurious signals
on BC and SW bands; overloading and cross-modulation by even moderately
strong carriers; weird noises as the RF gain control is adjusted;
asymmetrical filters that produce distortion on one or both sidebands;
unreliable frequency display accuracy; very objectionable local
oscillator drift; and severe mechanical backlash and tuning instability.
The only GOOD thing about the radio is the bass response from
the large speaker. 3) The RF design was completely botched:
severe images fill all bands and often land on top of legitimate
carriers, causing variable whistles that sometimes cover up intelligible
signals (worst case performance: no fewer than THREE instances
of WWV-10 MHz, at +/- 910 kHz of 10 in addition to correct dial
position.) Tuning is mushy and unreliable, and the local oscillator
drifts constantly. The planetary tuning mechanism is unstable.
The filters were asymmetrical, with distortion on one sideband.
RF gain adjustment caused a faint whistling sound to rise or fall
in the background. I found three of these radios to exhibit these
problems to varying degrees, though one of them was extremely
insensitive to boot, reducing some of the incidence of faint whistles
but also having exceptionally weak performance. Rather than try
a FOURTH unit, I gave up and purchased a Sony 7600GR instead.
4) The incessant drifting combined with serious tuning
knob backlash. It's all well and good for a radio to have good
audio reproduction--and this one is better than average; but having
to constantly retune the radio just ruins the whole experience.
Would synthesized tuning or at least a stable oscillator made
this radio significantly more expensive? How about a tuning system
just a skooch above the almost neanderthal rope and pully used
here? I think not. I couldn't keep it...it annoyed me too much.
|
1)
still very good on AM when oscillator noise doesn't get in the
way 2) No AM receiver I have owned since the early 1950s
has had as many defects in its RF design. I tested three new units
and found that no two of them agreed in performance; one of them
even oscillated badly (apparently in the IF stage.) Another unit
had less images and spurious hetrodynes, but almost NO sensitivity!
I have never owned a superhet radio with such appalling images:
surely the filters are bad ones, and the design needs much refinement.
3) Oddly, this radio has been hyped by fanatical fans,
who either overlook the terrible RF performance, insisting that
such complaints are unfair or exaggerated, or admit that they
don't try to use it for SWL'ing. Even the AM MW band, however,
has images, as well as overload and crosstalk and hetrodynes.
So only a novice or completely non-discriminating user -- who
values ONLY the size of the speaker and the bass response -- will
find this radio to deliver acceptable performance. 4) I
think Magne missed the boat on this one. The radio does have some
virtues, but the tuning system trumps them all. I can't see how
anyone will fail to be annoyed by this effort.
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1
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DAK
AM /FM/Shortwave |
1)
This radio was purchased in the early 90's at a cost of about
$50! This peice of junk wasn't worth 50 cents. It was deaf on
all bands. I finally bought a Grundig Satellit 700 to ease my
pain.
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1
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Icom
R-75 |
1)
Lots of features, poor execution. SAM doesn't work. Front-end
overload. poor sound quality. I'm working on selling it.
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1
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Sony
ICF-7600GR
|
1)
The synchronous detection is not what it is cracked up to be,
at least not as executed in this model. Though a useful tool,
it is certainly not indispensable, especially if synchronous detection
doesn't offer more than this radio offers. I still have the radio,
as well as the Sangean ATS909 and others.
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1
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Hallicrafters
SX-100
|
1)
Narrow AM bandwidth, fragile knobs, general low quality of construction.
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1
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Yaesu
FRG-8800 |
1)
Microprocessor would go goofy. Odd operations galore. Just a nuisance
to operate overall. Didn't keep it...traded it away.
|
1)
After the success of the FRG-7000 and FRG-7700...what happened
to Yaesu's engineering?
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1
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Grundig
Satellit 700
|
1)
After owning my Sony 2010 for many years, and reading all the
hype about the the Satellit 700, I finally plunged and bought
one. The requirements for receiving English stations in the Middle
East, with the plethora of pirate Islamic stations every 1/2 kHz,
sort out the men from the boys very quickly. The clarity of reception
on the 2010 far outstrips that of the Satellit 700. There are
stations which are non-audible on the Satellit 700, which come
through loud and clear on the Sony 2010. Big deal about the Satellit's
audio quality - You've got to be able to receive a station before
you can hear it!!!! Max Grundig would turn over in his grave,
if he knew how the Grundig quality has plunged.
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6
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CCRadio
|
1)
Poor quality control and design. Out of the box, at least one
of the switches didn't work. As time passed, other buttons failed.
Now portions of the radio suddenly activate by themselves. Kept
it, but can't recommend it. 2) The tuning knob, the sound
quality, the shortage of memories, the oversized footprint. It
finally became just my alarm clock. It does a real good job in
that category with its humane wake system. I finally gave it away
and bought a smaller alarm clock. 3) PLUS VERSION - LCD
Failed, not as sensitive as advertised (G.E. SuperRadio outperforms)
4) No - lousy sensitivity, selectivity 5) PLUS version
- very bad sound (built with a midrange speaker) 6) No
synch detector or antenna gain knob.
Kept it anyway.
|
3)
Almost EVERYBODY has the LCD problem CCrane wants $50 to repair!
4) Ah...the power of radio advertizing! Thanks for nothing,
Art Bell! 5) I'll stick to the old RF-2200
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1
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Sony
SRF-42
|
1)
The SRF-42 is an AM/FM Walkman style portable. Its notable feature
is that it receives AM stereo which is the only reason I bought
it. Now for about US$30 I shouldn't have expected much; my low
expectations were met. The worst feature is its analog tuning
which is imprecise. But to make things more fustrating, the tuner
seems to have some sort of AFC (automatic frequency control) on
AM which causes "electronic backlash" while tuning.
This makes it difficult to center tune an AM station. Like most
low-end Sony portables, FM reception is mediocre due to overloading.
The supplied headphone is of average quality. Finally, the SRF-42
suffers from "micro-sonics", i.e., tap on the radio
and you hear amplified thumps through the headphones.
|
1)
The SRF-42 is one of a handful of radios that is AMAX certified.
Despite the listed shortcomings, once you have tuned in a strong
AM stereo station, the fidelity is quite good, especially if you
listen through higher quality headphones, or patch the audio into
the AUX input of a larger stereo. I use a Kloss Model 88.
|
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1
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Palstar
R-30
|
1)
Great idea of simplicity but was full of birdies and marginal
sensitivity. Speaker also caused cabinet to resonate/vibrate.
Tried 3 of them and unloaded all of them. Easily bested by FRG-8800,
Lowe HF-150 and Drake SW-2.
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1
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DYNACO
Dynatuner FM-1 |
1)
Lack of sensitivity, lack of selectivity. Sn 981 5011. Original
tubes. My stereo system tuner. Classic.
|
1)
Classic piece. I'll keep it as it matches my DYNACO tube amplifier.
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1
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Coby
CX-CB9 |
1)
This radio is advertised as "9 BANDS AM/FM/SW POCKET RADIO."
The first day of use, the bandswitch on the top of the radio broke.
I opened the radio up and discovered it was merely a plastic tab
that pushed or pulled the dial indicator bar. It had popped out
of place, so I tried to put it back. Closed the radio, tried the
switch, failed again.
Another
failure was the "push-button" AM/FM arrangement. Discovered
that they were nothing but push-buttons that connected to solder
pads on the circuit board. Not much of a switch at all.
I
contacted Coby USA and told them my problems. I sent the radio
back to them, they shipped me another radio, and -- guess what?
Same problems.
So,
the radio is back in the box, stored on a shelf in a closet.
I guess I can't complain, since the radio only cost $9. You
get what you pay for.
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5
|
Sony
ICF-2010 |
1)
Poor sound quality, poor battery life, difficult front panel.
I didn't keep it. 2) Bad battery connections both radio
and computer, pretty awful sound, and it rusted out IC's in 2
years in the tropics inc. badly mounted whip antenna and high
battery drain and front end FET blowouts. Anyone looking for parts?
3) At pesent I am using it; I dislike its Cells cabinet,
which is pooly designed. 4) Battery terminals were junk
- power intermittent thus display kept resetting. Main RF transistor
kept blowing due to simple static discharges. 5) Lasted
less than 2 years in the "Tropics", it rusted out even
IC's pins.
|
3)
It also lacking handle. 4) Had great sensitivity for LW/AM
and great sync detector. A shame it didn't come in a better cabinet.
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1
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Kenwood
R-300
|
1)
I found the audio quality shrill and unpleasant. In many respects
it worked just fine but it was not for me. I bought it at a hamfest
and sold it before too long.
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1
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Grundig
Satellit3400 Professional |
1)
I still have it (anyone care to buy it??) but the SW sound is
worthless, even with an active antenna and a decent longwire antenna
Misc = Thought that this would be the radio of my dreams--paid
a mint for it ($750 USD) and now would rather have a Sat650...oh
well.
|
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1
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Radio
Shack's Optimus SRIII knockoff |
1)
Just not a dx machine as advertised. Tuning wears my hand out.
|
1)
It does sound pretty good and has external antenna terminals.
It is nice to be able to plug it in with the attached cord and
not have to use an adaptor. |
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2
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Bose
Wave Radio
|
1)
I did not keep it. The radio has average boombox (not bad) sound
but nowhere near the hype. It's reception on FM was good, AM was
mediocre. 2) Poor sensitivity and selectivity on both AM
and FM. It went straight back. |
1)
I feel it is over hyped and over priced. |
|
2
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Degen
DE-105 |
1)
Poor sensitivity, selectivity and false images. Doesn't cover
entire spectrum. 2) Filled with spurious images. My local
blowtorch M.W. station shows up EVERYWHERE across the dial. Radio
is about as sensitive as a drunken congressman! Radio howls if
whip antenna is in the radio. Real P.O.S.
|
1)
I have SEVERAL <$20 radios that outperform this expensive paperweight!
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1
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Barlow
- Wadley |
1)
More birdies than stations. Too many dry joints. Poor audio. Used
it for parts to make another receiver.
|
1)
The so-called Drake SSR1 was similar, not much better and was
not made by Drake. Never bought another Drake and never will because
of their deception. Advertised as having seperate filters for
AM/SSB. But merely varied the coupling on two little one-dollar
pieces of crap.
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1
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Kaito
KA007
|
1)
Shoddy workmanship. I kept it anyway |
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1
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Bell
& Howell $10 Portable AM/FM/SW Radio |
1)
On my sample the tuning was so miscalibated that stations came
in on the wrong band! Not a few KHz off, not a few 10's of KHz
off...the wrong band! And did my sample come iwth a bad speaker
or do they all sound like a kazoo???
|
1)
I took the batteries out and let it stand as a display only unit
in my collection.
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1
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Pan
Crusader
|
1)
At a price of 120 Euros (+) this radio is of unbelievabley bad
quality: Cheap plastic cabinet, even worse are the controls. Poor
reception bad audio. Been keeping it to listen to MW, which turns
out to be the only thing on the plus-side, albeit not because
of reception. The ferrite-antenna is turnable on top of the cabinet,
so you don't have to turn the whole thing to improve reception.
(+)120 Euros is the price in the shops in Germany - I bought mine
at ebay :-)
|
1)
Someone in the survey complained about the Grundig Satellit 3400.
I don't subscribe to his (her?) point of view. Sure, a digitally
tuned receiver has many advantages but the sound and reception
is really GREAT (Remember, it was built in 1979)!
|
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1
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Kaito
KA1102
|
1)
Although it is far from being a dog, it is the worst radio of
the modern rigs I own. Front end over loads using gain antennas,
poor results with ext antennas.. Grundigs, Sony 7600GR and even
old Nordemende and NCR 300 work well with same antennas. I keep
it because it is small and works well using the whip. |
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|
1
|
National
Panasonic DR28 |
1)
Double spotting
|
1)
But nice audio on FM
|
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2
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Baygen
Freeplay Radio |
1)
Ghastly Oversized Blue Clear Plastic Model. Very loud irritating
clockwork mechanism, impossibly stiff and high-geared to tune,
brought in pilot tones with everything on MW, all sound cuts out
when winding it back up. I later bought a Morphy Richards 27007
that floored it in every measurable attribute. Sold the Freeplay
on ebay for a fortune! Idiots. 2) I thought it was one
of the coolest ideas ever until I bought it. $70 and it performed
just as well as the junkiest radios I have ever owned. I kept
it, and it is now held together with tape due to poor design.
|
1)
Bring back the earphone. 2) -"Please no clock radios
or novelity radios." Oh well I guess this is a novelty radio
because of the hand-crank operation. That's the only reason I
bought it anyways.
|
|
1
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Hallicrafters
SX-100 Mk II |
1)
Microphonics galore on frequencies >14 MHz. I never felt Hallicrafters
radios (transmitters or receivers) were as good as their hype.
I no longer own it.
|
1)
I don't understand why people pay such outrageous prices for old
SW receivers on eBay. I'd pay a lot to hear the broadcasters of
my youth, like R. Moscow or R. Tirana, but I'd rather do it on
a cool-running, solid-state receiver with digital display and
decent selectivity! |
|
1
|
Icom
706MKIIG H.F./VHF/UHF Transceiver
|
1)
The receiver overloads easily and the passband is quite wide for
a receiver of this type. Too-many menus makes it some-what difficult
to use. |
|
|
1
|
Hallicrafters
S-120A |
1)
It was deaf. I sold it.
|
1)
I think mine was the Helen Keller Signature model.
|
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1
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Radio
Shack DX-200
|
1)
Strange muffled audio and "surgeons touch" tuning system.
Drifty due to miserable dial backlash. Quickly developed band
switching problems. Like the rest of my shortwave receivers, it
joined the family, for better or worse. Each operational shortwave
receiver I own can be appreciated for it's distinct personality,
it's strengths and short comings, but the DX-200, purchased new
for $200+, was clearly the biggest disappointment and the badboy
of the lot.
|
1)
Probably the best DX performance has come from an aging Kenwood
R 5000, although I have never found it to be a particularly fun
or friendly radio. I am impressed with a new Kaito KA1102 which
seems to give a lot of performance in a little package, for a
relatively small price. How long it will hold together is anybody's
guess. On a good antenna, the surplus Cubic R3030 dual receiver
works fantastic, with the absolute best ECSS ability of any receiver
I have ever used. And you can park one receiver on one frequency
and dial around the band with the second receiver. And for me,
the most enjoyable band scanners are the old quality, analog dial
boat anchors, like the late 50's TMC GPR90. Large well lit dials,
a silky smooth counterweighted tuning dial to spin, lots of adjustment
knobs to twist and all those glowing tubes help heat the room
on these cold winter nights. Hey, who ever said that this hobby
can become an obsession? ....in my life, I love them all.... |
|
1
|
Realistic
DX-302
|
1)
Awkward method of tuning but workable, however, there are too
many images, and the tuning knob is cheap. I did keep the radio
-- mostly for nostagia reasons, though.
|
1)
Nice looking radio. At the time any digital readout was a miracle.
I wish Radio Shack had put a little more work into the front end
and made the the tuning knob out of metal.
|
|
1
|
Philips
AE 3905 Digital World Receiver |
1)
Expensive (when new). Terrible battery contacts (a design problem).
Lousy SW sensitivity (even with longwire ant). Bad button ergonomics.
Bad battery life (rated 150mA on 2xAAA). Max. whip antenna length
is about 7 inches.
|
1)
I think this was Philips' challenge to Sony's SW100 (which also
I own). Was given this non-working radio few days ago by a friend.
Found out it had a blown gold cap and got it working again. Barely
worth the effort with the litany of issues. Think I will just
use it as a clock radio (if I can fix the intermittent battery
contacts with foil paper). I have owned and played with more than
30 SW radios (even those cheap Sony analog portable) over the
years and this one instantly went straight to the bottom of my
personal ratings. BTW, I have nothing against Philips as I quite
like the 2935 that I owned many years ago. |
|
1
|
Kaito
KA008 |
1)
Calibration of the analog tuned digital display is off so much
you cannot identify the true frequency unless you know beforehand
what you tried to tune in. I mean... have another radio there
on the same frequency so you can ID what you hear on the KA008.
Selectivity is the worst I've heard on any SW radio.
|
1)
I bought the KA008 because of my experience with the excellent
KA105, not because I had seen it rated... bad move on my part.
The KA008 is not worth anything even close to what is being asked,
even on sale. The sensitivity is ok, but forget using the display,
you might as well guess what frequency you're hearing. Make that
*frequencies*, since you'll be hearing so much interference. If
you can get it free then go ahead. It would come in handy if you
have no power, no batteries, no other radio, and nothing to do
but try to identify what frequency you're actually hearing. Score
on a scale of 1 to 10 = 0.1
|
|
1
|
R-390A
|
1)
the constant calibration we did to make sure it was reading the
frequencys correctly, we kept using them because when they worked,
the keep the very small shifting sideband FSK data streams always
in tune, after they warmed up, but most of the time we kept them
on 24 hours a day too limit frequency drifting. |
|
|
1
|
MFJ-8121 |
1)
Unable to tune in SW. Yes, I still have it but I want to upgrade.
|
1)
Buy Digital!
|
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1
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Morphy
Richards R191
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1)
Deaf, nasty noises caused by poor digital tuning design, poor
choice of frequency coverage. It could put you off shortwave for
life. It's now in use in the shower for local FM stations for
which it is nearly adequate.
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1
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Drake
R-8A
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1)
Full of internal-generated Birdies from the radio's microprocessor
and display. Had several S-8 birdies on MW Broadcast Band and
others too numerous to count, MW thru 28 MHz. Bought the radio
brand new and was very disappointed to see this in a $1000-plus
receiver that was very highly praised by reviewers.
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1)
Contacted Drake service and was told as much to live with the
faults of their poor design and lack of internal shielding. Finally
dumped the radio and upgraded to an R-8B. It was free of most
of the internal signals that plagued the R-8A....different processor
chip in the 8B and some other small internal wiring changes that
may have improved it. The experience really soured me on US-made
radio's. My shack is now adorned with Icom, Kenwood and Yaesu.
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1
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Yaesu
VR-500 |
1)
Too many features, although it WAS unblocked. Cellular freqs are
dead, so no joy there, and SW was marginal at best. Sold on Ebay
for $280! |
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1
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Sangean
ATS909
Radioshack DX398 |
1)
Practically deaf when using the whip. Tuning is a pain without
mods.
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1)
This radio always gets great comments and superior grades in reviews.
But a radio that struggles to receive on its internal whip doesn't
deserve those wonderful comments. It is a good radio but because
of the whip antenna problem that's all it is good *NOT* great!
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