Small Portable Radio's?

[Gene]

Gene

For me anyway I use the speaker to listen to MP3s on my phone and I find it beneficial not to have my phone hardwired to the speaker. I can have the phone next to me and skip songs and place the speaker on the other side of the room where the sounds is better. Also at work I carry my phone in my pocket so it's not very practical to have the phone wired to the speaker. Like most things I guess it really depends on your own set of circumstances as to what works best for you. I like the 200ft range you mentioned in your post regarding your speaker but range is not critical for my needs. I would imagine using your speaker to listen to mp3s on a phone or I pad you would need some kind of adapter for the audio jack?

Good explanation Lebkuecher and I can understand why you would use one. It just didn't work out for me.

 

[Wrend]

Hey, guys. Thought I might as well chime in here.

I'm thinking about picking up a couple Motorola Talkabout MR355R 2-way radios. They're FRS, GMRS, and GMRS repeater channel capable radios. They also have, off the top of my head, I think 11 NOAA type channels for emergency and weather related station reception.

Some of the main factors I'm considering are their small portable size and that they can run off of 3 AAs so I can use Eneloops in them and never have to wait for them to charge, nor worry about low capacity proprietary batteries dying over time and use (they come with something like a 700mAh NiMH pack :shakehead). I'm also tentatively thinking about setting up a GMRS repeater base station and/or using the local 50 watt one that's open to GMRS licensees and their families which should hopefully extend "coverage" range (with perhaps a bit of hilltop repositioning here and there) throughout our city and surrounding rural areas, provided these radios can talk to it well enough...

Main use will be for hiking and park use as well as keeping in touch within the local neighborhood. Also, possibly for emergency use as part of our emergency preparation and plan of action. I like the idea of optionally setting up a repeater base station if need be and that the GMRS license covers my immediate family. I will likely consider picking up some of the "waterproof" radios they offer in this range in the future as well.

...

Then again, I could go in a different route and get something like the Icom ID-51A... :duh2:

Doesn't seem very practical for what I'm trying to accomplish though (other than extended repeater "coverage") and I don't really mean just cost-wise either, as there are much less expensive options such as BaoFeng radios.

 

[Lebkuecher]

Wrend

Have you read the reviews? Not exactly glowing especially when it to the advertised distance of 35 miles.

 

[Wrend]

Yeah, if I remember it's something like 0.5/1.5 watts, so probably only a realistic range of maybe up to 1 to 2 miles. These UHF radios are also more clear line-of-site dependent, their advantage being that these frequencies are relatively free and available to use by anyone (FRS).

I would prefer something in the 5 watt range probably, as I think the handheld GMRS radios can transmit at that power level, but finding something practical that has that kind of power level doesn't really seem to be an option.

These issues are kind of to be expected with handhelds, especially the FRS/GMRS ones. Use with a GMRS repeater might be a way to overcome these range limitations somewhat, at least.

 

[AVService]

I just snagged one of the Countycomm GP5-DSP radios and it seems pretty nice so far.
There are some quirks to be sure as it is a fully DSP little radio and it is not that little too.

I am out in the woods with it this weekend so I will be putting it through its paces but it looks promising to me so far.

Has anyone else tried one yet?

Ed

 

[StarHalo]

I just snagged one of the Countycomm GP5-DSP radios and it seems pretty nice so far.

Countycomm is better known for small radios than good radios; I like the advertised runtime of that unit if it's true though. Be aware that just about all DSP portables are not good at getting weaker signals/DXing, the DSP is usually set up for better local station listening at the expense of distant ones.

 

[AVService]

Countycomm is better known for small radios than good radios; I like the advertised runtime of that unit if it's true though. Be aware that just about all DSP portables are not good at getting weaker signals/DXing, the DSP is usually set up for better local station listening at the expense of distant ones.

I would be surprised if it performs like an expensive radio but it seems impressive so far.
Sounds pretty good and lots of features for sure.
I picked it for the ability to auto-search and store stations which seems iffy so far but for the size ad price it is interesting.

It also charged NiMh batteries but no mention of Eneloops and I am not sure if I will try them either?

I have several Ham HTs that also tune SW but they are also not really ideal for general tuning so if I decide to get serious I am not sure which way I will go?
The Palstar have always sung to me a little and of course the Eton big rigs are nice too.

So many gadgets so little money!

 

[StarHalo]

Yeah, those Tecsun-esque units really do lay on the features, I bet it's an awesome casual listening radio. NiMH does indeed include Eneloops. And the key to getting as many SW stations out of your portables as possible is the pocket reel antenna; using one of these properly will literally triple the number of SW stations you receive, highly recommended for only ~$10.

 

[Al]

I just snagged one of the Countycomm GP5-DSP radios and it seems pretty nice so far.
There are some quirks to be sure as it is a fully DSP little radio and it is not that little too.

I am out in the woods with it this weekend so I will be putting it through its paces but it looks promising to me so far.

Has anyone else tried one yet?

Ed

Looks like a re-badged Tecsun PL-360 ... favorable review here:

http://n9ewo.angelfire.com/pl360.html

 

[AVService]

Looks like a re-badged Tecsun PL-360 ... favorable review here:

http://n9ewo.angelfire.com/pl360.html

Interesting,Thanks!

 

[AVService]

Yeah, those Tecsun-esque units really do lay on the features, I bet it's an awesome casual listening radio. NiMH does indeed include Eneloops. And the key to getting as many SW stations out of your portables as possible is the pocket reel antenna; using one of these properly will literally triple the number of SW stations you receive, highly recommended for only ~$10.

I have had a reel antenna for a long time,tried last night but only from inside the office where there is already a lot of RF to interfere.
I will try it out this weekend in the country and see what I can find.

 

[StarHalo]

I have had a reel antenna for a long time,tried last night but only from inside the office where there is already a lot of RF to interfere.

Yeah, a good antenna just makes bad RF noise worse. The country would be ideal; if you're in the US, reel it all the way out, ruler-straight, oriented east-west, and flip through the PrimeTimeShortwave stations for that hour, lots to hear..

 

[StarHalo]

Do You Ever Listen to the Radio Anymore? The comments seem to align with our conclusions here; all the FM people lament the passing of listenable programming, and all the AM/college/NPR people are as enthusiastic as ever..

 

[Steve K]

hi gang.... I'm looking at replacing a Sangean DT-300VW. It's been dropped from great heights, and lost the speaker function. I'd also like to be able to lock out the 90 minute timer since it's a nuisance to me.

The DT-400W is attractive, but I'm also curious about other possibilities. The speaker function is not important, and I've purchased other radios in the past with some disappointments regarding FM performance (mostly sensitivity). For instance, the Sangean DT-110 had poorer FM sensitivity than I preferred. Oddly, I've got a little iRiver mp3 player/radio that is as good as the DT-300VW. It's getting old and the switches are becoming unreliable, unfortunately.

Is there any way to rate the FM performance of radios without just buying them? Especially for radios that use headphone wires for the antenna, I can't find any data on FM sensitivity. Any suggestions?

 

[StarHalo]

I can't find any data on FM sensitivity. Any suggestions?

Jay Allen's comparison reviews will probably be your best bet, and you can add eHam and Amazon if you need more data, but odds are it'll come down to the CCrane CCPocket; the model that replaced your DT-300VW, the DT-400, was considered to be about as good as pocket radios get on FM, and Mr. Allen notes the CCrane "trounces" the newer Sangean in FM reception, particularly on selectivity.

 

[Sway]

hi gang.... I'm looking at replacing a Sangean DT-300VW. It's been dropped from great heights, and lost the speaker function. I'd also like to be able to lock out the 90 minute timer since it's a nuisance to me.

The DT-400W is attractive, but I'm also curious about other possibilities. The speaker function is not important, and I've purchased other radios in the past with some disappointments regarding FM performance (mostly sensitivity). For instance, the Sangean DT-110 had poorer FM sensitivity than I preferred. Oddly, I've got a little iRiver mp3 player/radio that is as good as the DT-300VW. It's getting old and the switches are becoming unreliable, unfortunately.

Is there any way to rate the FM performance of radios without just buying them? Especially for radios that use headphone wires for the antenna, I can't find any data on FM sensitivity. Any suggestions?

Check out Jay Allen's Radio reviews http://radiojayallen.com he recently compared the Sangean DT400W and the CC Pocket radio also the "AM Portables Mega Shootout" compares several popular pocket radios.

 

[Steve K]

thanks guys.. I'll take a look at that. It's kind of a shame that manufacturers don't feel compelled to publish performance specs like this, and take some of the guesswork out of it.

 

[Steve K]

and an update.. I dug up some of my older little radios to review why they were stashed in the back of a drawer and not in service right now...

Sangean DT-110: a nice basic radio, although the volume pot on mine is quite noisy. I think the FM sensitivity was a bit poorer than the DT-300VW, but I'll have to give it another trial and see if it's still true. On the plus side, it does allow the user to lock out the 90 minute timer, which I really like.

Radio Shack 12-802: This is conceptually similar to the DT-300VW; AM/FM with a small speaker, powered from 2 AAA cells, and a cryptic user interface (must have been made by Sangean, eh?). For use at home, it seems quite good. I bought it to use while bike riding, and the buttons are too easy to push so the "lock" switch must be used. The most annoying thing was that it would "motorboat" or make some awful noise when the battery got low. When the batteries get low in the DT-300VW, by contrast, it just gets quieter until it turns off. The LED "tuning" light gets dimmer too, so you can see that the batteries are getting low (if you are looking).

 

[StarHalo]

This week only: Radio Shack has their branded version of the Sangean 505 for $70. AM/FM/SW/LW, SSB, muteless tune knob, usually $150:

 

[StarHalo]

E is for awesome, and now you can easily identify the upgraded CCRadio: