I recently bought a Sangean PR-D15 receiver. The attraction for me was that it uses a loopstick internal antenna that is almost 8" long, and reportedly the radio is very sensitive in the AM broadcast band.
So I have been trying it out over the last two weeks and think it is generally well-designed. It will operate from the a-c line, or using 6 "C" cells. If NiMH batteries are installed and the radio is using a-c, the batteries will be charged when the radio is turned off. It has bass & treble controls, can be switched to monaural-only FM reception, and can set its clock from an FM station transmitting the RDS CT function. The speakers sound good despite their small size-- definite bass there.
The minor annoyances (to me) are that the LCD display is rather dim when it is viewed head on when the backlight is active. The display is fine when viewed from higher angles, and in daylight when the backlight switches off. When the backlight switches off it generates a noise spike in the output audio, if listening to a weak AM signal.
For two operational data points -- it provides a noisy, but listenable daytime output from a 530 kHz TIS station about 35 miles from my location. If that TIS station exactly meets its FCC requirement for a groundwave field intensity of 2 mV/m at a distance of 1.5 km, then for the earth conductivity along the path to me it would produce a field of about 36 µV/m at my location. That performance is quite good for a radio receiver using only an on-board loopstick antenna.
In the daytime I can also hear WTMJ from Milwaukee, WI -- a directional station on 620 kHz radiating about 4.7 kW in my direction (a 260 mile path). Their expected field at my location is about 30 µV/m.
I have three other portable AM receivers: a Sony ICF-2001, a Sony ICF-SW7600GR, and a Tecsun PL-310. None of those produces a listenable daytime signal from that TIS station or WTMJ. This comparison was made from the same location, and within a time interval of less than 5 minutes.
Any radio that uses "C" size batteries in our age of tiny and tinier (e.g., "AA" & "AAA") is, in my opinion, a SERIOUS radio.
Right away I'm thinking that Rich has placed the review here is because a receiver this sensitive is of special use for Part 15ers, as we deal with very small signals.
Secondly, no doubt, the many DXers among the crowd could risk marriages tuning around on the PR-D 15 for long evenings.
Since this Sangean model does SO well, perhaps it will allow us to catch a few Part 15 stations somewhere around!
This will be the second radio Rich talked me into.
Good review, might get this one because of the addition of tone controls and a handle which the pr-d5(same chassis) didn't have. Looked at pics and it seems the base and treble aren't separate controls but operated with the volume control somehow. Hope it's not just a tone control but real separate base and treble. Guess this is the only "superadio" made nowadays.
People have said "Rich has a hidden agenda."
Now we know.
HE'S A RADIO SALESMAN!
I am always looking for good DX receivers
that cover the AM BCB.
I do most of my DX listening there.
Best Wishes,
Bruce, DOGRADIO
Also known as Realistic DX 390 had the same problem with the display.
If you were not looking at the radio at an angle then the display was hard to read even with the back light on which was a soft white. Reception on the radio was incredible especially on the Shortwave bands and Medium Wave. LW required a long antenna which i did not have the room for at the time.
It was an all around great radio, that is until that fateful day when coming home to a thunderstorm. I was trying to get home before the storm reached my house but i was too late. Everything else in the radio room was unplugged except for the DX 390.
After the storm passed i tried the radio out and reception was almost non existant.
It was almost as if the RF gain was turned all the way down when in fact it was turned up to the maximum setting.
At the time of the storm the only thing that was plugged into the radio was the power cord but that was enough to cause damage to the radio.
I now own a Grundig G3 Globe Traveller. Nice Radio but nothing like the Sangean ats 818/ Realistic DX 390.
Now that Rich has set me to thinking about the PR-D15 I dialed into Universal Radio to size it up. Here, have a look:
Its minimal design makes it a good gift for the non-technical friend or relative. Even though I am technical, most of my digital radios have so many buttons and menus I have no idea what-all they can do, and this can be very perplexing for grandma.
Now I'm a radio salesman.
Outdoor temperature now, 7:15 AM CST, is 10-degrees. No yard work today.
Indoor temperature 63-degrees. How do I know? Because my TECSUN PL-310 radio has a temperature read-out and clock WHILE IT'S TURNED OFF! How nice is that?
Do other radios tell the temperature? I'll go look.
Answer: no, none of my other radios do.
The antenna is, in my opinion, the most important part of the radio. Get a good external antenna hooked up and even marginal radios sound good. When using the small, telescopic antenna that most have, even the sensitive radios sound bad.