That's a great site! I especially like the sound bite comparisons. And the weak signal vote / results. Bookmarked!
Small Portable Radio's?
- Thread starter bmstrong
- Start date
Help Support Candle Power Flashlight Forum
Lebkuecher
Flashlight Enthusiast
Thomas spends a lot of time on his blog and knows what he is talking about. You might enjoy this post in that the post covers some of what you were asking about.
Mega Review: the Tecsun PL-880, PL-660, Sangean ATS-909X, and Sony ICF-SW7600GR go head-to-head
Mega Review: the Tecsun PL-880, PL-660, Sangean ATS-909X, and Sony ICF-SW7600GR go head-to-head
I agree, he is very thorough. I like the no-talk only doing videos.
Lebkuecher
Flashlight Enthusiast
Looks like Tecsun is coming out with a new full featured portable radio which is the Tecsun PL-680. The Tecsun PL-680 spec wise is very close to the PL-660 and like the PL-660 the PL-680 includes SSB and sync.
The PL-660 is currently being sold by Anon on eBay for 85.00 plus shipping and in mind anyway is one the best values on the market for anyone looking for a full featured portable which includes sync. It will be interesting to see if the PL-680 will gain the same respect from the SW community as the PL-660.
Tecsun PL-680
I sent Anna from Anon-co (eBay seller) a email yesterday inquiring about the Tecsun PL-680. below is her response. Not a lot of information but at least it confirms the product is real and could be available as early as next month. It would be awesome if the radio performs as well as the PL-660 and has a passive radiator speaker.
Hello Steve,
It's nice to hear from you again.
The PL-680 I believe may be available mid-January, but this is still an estimation. As far as I can say at this moment, I believe it is a model very similar to the PL-660, but with a different outlook (similar to PL-600). Whether there are any other changes like the speaker or performance wise I don't know at the moment. We'll have to wait for a little while still. I also don't have a price indication yet, so this too takes some time still.
Let me contact you once I have any further details and received the actual device, so I can give you some more details.
Best regards,
Anna
StarHalo
Flashaholic
Last edited:
Thomas seemed to find a lot to like in the ole PL-660 in the shootout compared to the new 680 and others. Do you think the PL-680 has the potential to out do the PL-660?
_
Mountain
Newly Enlightened
Hi fellas, just thought I'd throw my experience with what I have in the ring. I have a CC crane pocket radio. Has Am,FM and weather. I use it out of town all the time, gets great reception. I also have the county comm GP-5. Works good but I leave it at home for emergencies. Just FYI countycomm just released a new version of the GP-5. The GP-5 SSB, basically just has expanded SW frequencies. :twothumbs
Lebkuecher
Flashlight Enthusiast
The price is just a little too steep if the Satellit is a Grundig G3 with a facelift which it appears to be at this point. The biggest difference I can see when comparing the two other than the new style case is the volume keys on the G3 have been replaced with wide and narrow keys. I would be interested if the radio had passive radiator speaker and a sync that worked a little better than the G3 I have but at $179.00 it's a tough call given you can buy a Tecsun PL-880 for $149.00 or even the PL-660 for about $100. shipped from Anon-co. The sync works on my G3 and it adds to the quality of the broadcast but the sync is not as stable when compared to my E1 or the Sony ICF-SW77. The other concern is Eton's quality control especially with new radios, who knows what improvements one might gain by waiting for a latter production model. But then again it's hard not to take a very serious look at the radio, both my G5 and the G3 are rock solid. What the heck, it's Christmas.
Satellit
Grundig G3
Tecsun PL-660
Tecsun PL-880
Lebkuecher
Flashlight Enthusiast
I think the PL-680 will at least match the PL-660 but beyond that who knows at this point.
Lebkuecher
Flashlight Enthusiast
Welcome to the CPF Mountain!
I'd reordered the Skywave and it arrived today. Similar in size to a Kaito WRX911 except the Skywave is a touch longer lengthwise with the body plus the tuning knob, while the WRX911 is a bit thicker in the body. Sound is on par with the WRX911 and CC Pocket radios. I understand this was geared towads travelers at airports, etc, but I'd readily trade in the Air band for a SSB. There's a small airstrip close by but just not much action to be heard on the band. I do like it overall and need to think about thinning out a couple other radios I have around as this can cover their bases. I'd pick this over a cc pocket or the pocket shortwave since the skywave culminates all the best features of those two into one package and I'm sure battery life is comparable.
Not sure if micro usb could of been used to power it, but if so, I'd like it over the mini usb plug it uses as I got rid of most of my mini usb plugs some time ago, but have plenty of micros around for phones.
Not sure if micro usb could of been used to power it, but if so, I'd like it over the mini usb plug it uses as I got rid of most of my mini usb plugs some time ago, but have plenty of micros around for phones.
Last edited:
Bimmerboy
Flashlight Enthusiast
OK... I needed to come across this discussion like a hole in the head. Yet another thing to get into. This won't become a huge thing for me though, so it's OK (famous last words).
Parnass's CPFM thread in Good Deals for the RCA Super Radio III sent me here. It reminded me of the lousy radioing experience I had during two weeks of no power after Sandy, and how I'd like to be better prepared on that front for a potential "next time". My ultra crappy AM/FM radio was a free gift for buying a bottle of Drakkar cologne many years ago, and to be honest, the thing wasn't that bad for what it was. It was styled like a micro boombox with tiny, detachable stereo speakers, and pretty good AM sensitivity... better than what replaced it. It's downfall was a horrendously cheap volume pot where there resistive trace wore out real quick, making the radio unusable.
When that happened, I went to Radio Shack and bought the cheapest thing they had, the no-model-name, sku# 1200586. Awful sound, fussy tuning with drift, not very sensitive (except for interference... it had excellent sensitivity there), but it got me through a week and a half of AM listening to the major NY stations on one set of 2 X AA. What I found after two weeks though (sooner really), was that I started getting annoyed at not being able to listen to music as I wouldn't even try it on this thing, and the AM stuff was getting more and more grating on the ears due to even lower sound quality than the Drakkar unit. I've been a high end sound aficionado since my teens (was lucky enough to grow up listening to Naim, Bryston, Snell, Lynn Sondek, etc.), and after a while, this radio was becoming less of a comfort.
Anyway, I'm interested in the SRIII for it's speaker setup (sound quality), long runtime, and DX ability, so here's the main question. Is the RCA model in Parnass's thread likely to be as good a build quality as any other version of it in recent years?
Keeping an eye further down the road, I'll probably ask for a recommendation for a unit with good SSB capability come spring or summer. No concern about weather channels, just something real good for picking up local and regional chatter of both public and private sectors. Did I say this won't become a huge thing?
Forgot to mention I was a heavy CB and FM radio user back in the day... can just feel it bubbling back to the surface... lol.
Parnass's CPFM thread in Good Deals for the RCA Super Radio III sent me here. It reminded me of the lousy radioing experience I had during two weeks of no power after Sandy, and how I'd like to be better prepared on that front for a potential "next time". My ultra crappy AM/FM radio was a free gift for buying a bottle of Drakkar cologne many years ago, and to be honest, the thing wasn't that bad for what it was. It was styled like a micro boombox with tiny, detachable stereo speakers, and pretty good AM sensitivity... better than what replaced it. It's downfall was a horrendously cheap volume pot where there resistive trace wore out real quick, making the radio unusable.
When that happened, I went to Radio Shack and bought the cheapest thing they had, the no-model-name, sku# 1200586. Awful sound, fussy tuning with drift, not very sensitive (except for interference... it had excellent sensitivity there), but it got me through a week and a half of AM listening to the major NY stations on one set of 2 X AA. What I found after two weeks though (sooner really), was that I started getting annoyed at not being able to listen to music as I wouldn't even try it on this thing, and the AM stuff was getting more and more grating on the ears due to even lower sound quality than the Drakkar unit. I've been a high end sound aficionado since my teens (was lucky enough to grow up listening to Naim, Bryston, Snell, Lynn Sondek, etc.), and after a while, this radio was becoming less of a comfort.
Anyway, I'm interested in the SRIII for it's speaker setup (sound quality), long runtime, and DX ability, so here's the main question. Is the RCA model in Parnass's thread likely to be as good a build quality as any other version of it in recent years?
Keeping an eye further down the road, I'll probably ask for a recommendation for a unit with good SSB capability come spring or summer. No concern about weather channels, just something real good for picking up local and regional chatter of both public and private sectors. Did I say this won't become a huge thing?
Forgot to mention I was a heavy CB and FM radio user back in the day... can just feel it bubbling back to the surface... lol.
StarHalo
Flashaholic
No, the RCA model is basically a good store shelf radio and a shadow of what the GE-branded units were, and the II model, not the III, is generally regarded as the best sounding of the group. However, better sound technology has evolved since the SuperRadio days, so equal-or-better casual/music listening is available on a number of models.
A good first place to look would be the CCrane CCRadio 2E, which is considered on par with the best of the top shelf receivers in all categories, with a very convenient digital tuner/memories and big-batteries runtime.
Keeping an eye further down the road, I'll probably ask for a recommendation for a unit with good SSB capability come spring or summer. No concern about weather channels, just something real good for picking up local and regional chatter of both public and private sectors. Did I say this won't become a huge thing?
LOL Funny you should mention that. A Uniden 980SSB CB radio (with weather channels and PA too!) is just how I decided to solve my wants for SSB. Welcome back! haha Mine's currently on order.
Here's one in action:
Last edited:
Gene
Flashlight Enthusiast
Sorry to go a little off topic but it's funny as I'm still driving my 1988 Subaru that I bought new and it still has the Uniden CB in it that I bought shortly after that I use occasionally. That CB craze of the '70's and '80's was HUGE! EVERYONE seemed to have one.
Now, back to the topic at hand!
I've been using mine, mostly FM and AM, for a couple days and I like the signal strength display. You can see the db signal increase and decrease as you play with the antenna length, turn. I heard County Comm sells them only when they get them, that they are a surplus item. They are out of stock right now.
_
Lebkuecher
Flashlight Enthusiast
Did anyone see SWLing's review of the CountyComm GP5/SSB? Thomas posted it yesterday and interviewed Nick.
A review of the CountyComm GP5/SSB portable radio: a great preparedness radio
A review of the CountyComm GP5/SSB portable radio: a great preparedness radio
Thanks for the link. I'll read the review after I'm done trying out my older GP5.
So far, the biggest difference seems to be the price. The newer model is about $30 more than the older ones, based on the last price County Comm had the older ones listed at. 50% extra battery life is definitely nice. (But we all carry extra batteries.) That $30 comes awfully close to doubling the price. Must say, not impressed with the cheap looking and feeling plastic construction of my older GP5. From the pics of that review, it doesn't look as though the coinstruction itself has been improved.
I'm starting to see why S.H. referred to it as a novelty radio. It definitely feels like one.
Good find. One thing about my G-P5DSP is I'm always (it seems) jacking up the volume wheel as it's located right in the middle, right where I grab a hold of it. The cool orange backlight whenever a button is pushed reminds me of my r75.
_
Bimmerboy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Thanks for the recommendation. I choked a bit upon seeing the price, but it may be a good investment for me at some point. Thankfully, we don't go a couple weeks without power too often!
Too bad about the SRIII. Was hoping the RCA model would at least still be a good AM DX'er as I'd prefer to spend $40 instead of $180.
Haha... thanks! Nice CB. Hearing the sound on that video brought me right back to those days. I had an average unit until Grandpa gave me his nicer one along with a switchable 50/100W booster and a 9 foot whip for the rear bumper. I was parked outside my house one night, and had a neighbor come out to complain that he could hear me on his TV... lol. Used to love using Grandpa's home rig too with the battery boosted mic, and huge roof antenna.
Some locals around here used to run some heavy power on their home SSB rigs, and would step all over us on the regular channels. Used to sound like the teacher in Charlie Brown cartoons, and I'd always wonder what they were saying.
Back to AM/FM... it was either this thread, or some radio forum where I read that car stereos generally make excellent DX rigs because they're designed to deal well with interference, and have an external antenna. I happen to have a GM unit from the late 80's sitting in the basement, and wonder what the current draw would be through a couple small speakers at low-ish volume. If hooked up to a fully charged car battery or something, might such a thing make for a good, long running power outage solution?
