Radios for Part 15

The most informative radios for sampling the reach of weak Part 15 signals are auto radios, which all seem to be excellent. But a good walking radio is good too, and these are recent experiences.

The most informative radios for sampling the reach of weak Part 15 signals are auto radios, which all seem to be excellent. But a good walking radio is good too, and these are recent experiences.

The C.Crane CC Radio Plus is good for AM & FM, but with 4-size D batteries and it's size, 11"w X 6"h X 3"d, make it like carrying a cat. The sensitivity is outstanding.

For small light weight I use Grundig FR-200 with AM, FM and SW, a dial radio, and it's handy but has a few weaknesses. The volume control is scratchy and a little touchy, there is slight drift over time, and the sensitivity on all bands is noticeably less than other radios, but at least that reveals whether the Part 15 signals make it given less than optimum reception. It uses crank power, good for the arm, or 3x AAs. 5 3/4"w X 5 1/4h X 2"d.

Now that we plan a Part 15 shortwave transmitter at 13.56MHz it seemed we should have a digital receiver so we could see that we were "on frequency," and went for Sangean ATS 505, SW 1711 KHz to 27 MHz, and it's an impressive and highly sensitive jeweler like compact set, sensitive on AM, FM and SW, with a 1-meter telescoping antenna. But the dimensions, 8"w X 5"h X 1.5"d, combined with lack of a carrying handle, make it a delicate device not suitable for movement. We placed ours in a secure spot where it can't fall to the floor and although it operates on 2x AAs, we never take it outside.

For inside listening we mainly use an RCA Super Radio, but I think they've become unavailable.