A radio station without a receiver is like a lunch without an eater. Tune on in.
Setting here is my wonderful Grundig FR-200 analog AM/FM/SW radio that resembles Tinkie-Winkie's purse (the Teletubbies). I never go outdoors without it.
Unfortunately time has taken its toll on this delightful beige/brown set with its clear audio quality which delivers KDX Worldround Radio to whatever hole in the mud or fallen tree that I happen to be working on.
A deep cleaning will do some good in restoring the radio, but its power crank has broken off, the telescopic antenna is gone, the volume control has gotten very scratchy and seems to jump to high or low level all by itself.
Even when it was new this radio has been drift prone. It needs to be retuned a lot, especially if it goes from shade to sun.
The AM is sensitive and ideal for Part 15 listening, but the shortwave is a little goofy... I can hear my 13.560MHz transmitter at two spots on the dial and don't know which one is the real thing... the FM favors high power stations and does badly with tiny Part 15 signals.
This model is no longer available, unless maybe eBay, and Eton had a similar model for awhile, but radio designs change constantly and here's what I'm looking at now as a possible replacement:
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/5360.html
That looks good Carl, even has a light for when your working down your holes in the mud.
Holes in the dirt matter for AM radial grounding, and you are correct, Johny, now we'll be able to see with our radio-flashlight!
Oh, and I am also going to shop for a 24-hour universal clock so that people cannot figure out what time it is when they look on the wall.
The KAITO KA 450 is art for the eye... a very attractive design... but a disgrace where radio reception is concerned.
On all frequencies, AM, FM, and Shortwave, this radio favors the high power signals and treats weaker signals like distant fizzing noises.
For part 15 use it works fine within sight of the transmitter, but at any distance the station ceases to exist.
Universal Radio issued my Return Authorization Number and now I'm unsure what to try next. It seems to be the wrong time for 3-band analog portables.
Carl: See if you can find one of these. It has a very good front end for AM, nice sounding. On FM it is capable of picking up very weak signals as well, not to mention other features shown in this video:
Interesting, John WDCX...
To my knowledge the only deceased who have spoken to me by radio were pre-taped, but the linked video shows some interesting things...
The listener is asking questions of the dead without himself using a microphone and transmitter, yet the dead are replying on the blank frequency being monitored, with no disclosure about the departed person's transmission equipment.
That the voice is coming in fragments is easily explained by the fact that time as we know it does not apply "on the other side," where souls exist in eternity. My own correspondence with the departed comes in other ways:
Pareidolia, for example, showed me the face of my first radio employer in the flowery design on my pillow.
Dreams are heavily polulated by deceased persons, many of them unfamiliar to the dreamer; they may not realize they are dead. I flirt with the women without considering risk and they are receptive, although pre-mature awakening always interferes.
So far I have dreamt of an electric wall switch and clip-leads, but never seen radio equipment. Might be a market for AMT5000s if we could find a shipper.
After 1-month of polite patience my next Yard Radio Candidate is on its way from Universal Radio. It's a Sangean U1, looks like a bicycle rack.
I just picked up a Radio Shack DX-392 on e-bay for a whole $28 including shipping, which I'm going to use around the house and deck. Not for digging holes, though, because it's black in colour, and everyone knows that a radio has to be yellow to be tough. Good luck with your new radio, Carl, and I'll let you know how mine turns out.
[The DX-390 apparently sounds better than the 392, as it has a bigger speaker instead of the cassette deck, but I wanted the deck as I still have a huge cassette collection and they're much more durable for carting around than cds, and much more portable than records. Besides, you can pick up cassettes for 10 cents apiece around here at local thrift stores, and at that price, I can explore a lot of music that I ordinarily wouldn't try out.]
I got lucky when at an estate sale. I picked up a Realistic DX-440 for $7.50. The battery box needed a little cleaning and the cover was missing but it works quite well.
It's been the year of Realistic multi-band portables for me as I've picked up 3 different models all under $8 each.
I did buy a Grundig YB-P 2000 for $2.50 but it was a dud. Only the AM and FM are working and the thing won't shut off. Ya win a few, ya lose a few. I'm happy...
I have this one. It works great on long distance AM and sounds nice too.
In the basement or on an outside wall is the gas meter, a big metal box with pipes going in and out. Meet the Sangeon U1 (pictured in # 7).
It is larger than it is, notify the bomb squad.
Brooce MICRO1700 Dog Radio Studio 2, an absolute reference librarian on radios, shared "word on inside circles," the U1 "drifts" and is "bassy."
Number 1, it is bassy. It is ultra THUMP THUMP and the scant slap-dash manual boasts of "Dynamic Bass Compensation," but has no words about what that means other than THUMP THUMP. There is no tone control. All that bass makes speech sound like it's inside a dumpster and muddles it up.
So far it has not drifted, but maybe temperature differences will play a part in whether it is prone.
AM and FM reception is good, as I was worried about that after the KAITO failure.
The people at Universal Radio are interested in customer experience, and I'll be asking about a Sevice Manual so I can find that Bass Boost and surgically make it stop.
This radio and I have made marriage plans.
I met my radio at midnight and had a cool reception.
The nighttime is the best time to observe DX capability of a radio, especially on the good old AM band, and wow! This gas meter DXs like a professional!
The X-band has all kinds of clear stations coming in from around the Homeland, not always easy to receive on some radios.
FM is hot too, even far off little stations come in like local!
Guess who's coming to bed with me tonight?
It's my first time with a bicycle rack.
To start the morning I tuned the AM dial on this rugged construction grade radio, and was amazed that several outlying stations could be heard very clearly, including a 1570 kHz 1 kW station up river in Illinois and a 1 kW country station at 730 kHz in a small town to the west. These stations are obscured in the noise on most radios.
The promotional literature claims "It is made to stand up to the weather and is water resistant to JIS4 standards." However, the IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS warns "Do not use this apparatus near water."
Having mentioned the annoying "Dynamic Bass Boost" which for me interferes with voice clarity and will prematurely drain batterries, I've been experimenting with the Winamp Equalizer to roll off the bass in transmission as a make-shift fix until the radio's circuit can be re-arranged.
Outdoor testing is postponed due to heavy rain.
Carl, it looks like you are heading in the
right direction!
Good for you!
I fabricated a huge reply and lost it.
Oh well. I blab too much anyway.
When the next version comes, I will
try to consolidate my thoughts.
The combination of my visual issues and
this goofy computer have caused some
problems. If you see some "messed up"
posts from me, that's why.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, DOGRADIO
Yesterday was the first dry day since getting the U1 so I got 6x D batteries and set the radio in the shade tuned to KDX while I manually mowed grass with German made Brill mower.
Perfect!
At a quite low volume setting the sound reached out and could be heard around the yard. Dream come true.
Carrying the U1 is literally like lifting a full-sized gas meter off the side of a building and walking around with it. The U1 would not work as a portable boom-box on the bus or metro train, you'd need to pay a second fare.
Thing feels like 50-pounds, and I'll have an actual weight once I convert 40 kilograms plus 2.5 pounds of D cells.