Protecting your investment: Troy’s radio case recommendations

IMG_1293Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel (the Amateur Astronomer), who writes:

I’m rather – uh – call it OCD re: equipment cases (and bags/packs).

All of my […]astronomy equipment is well secured & cataloged in several dozen cases.

I [also] wanted to protect my shortwave radios. I like the neoprene cases that Tecsun ships with their radios as they have a bit of shock absorbing capacity. I went online at Amazon & eBay and I bought “neoprene” cases of various sizes made for GPS units, external hard drives, and tablets.

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Upon receiving them I’ve found the 3.5-4″ GPS cases are perfect for the Grundig G6 and similar sized radios.

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Belkin “Grip” tablet cases are perfect for the Grundig G3/G5. And the larger “iLuv Gaudi” case is prefect for the YB400 & Sony ICF-SW7600GR. The iLuv even has memory foam. I feel I could drop any radio in this iLuv case from a reasonable height and the contents would be perfectly fine.

Including shipping, I spent $6 for the most expensive case and as little as $3.95 for the least expensive.

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The iLuv memory foam case, in silver, was only $4.99 and free shipping via Amazon Prime. Some of the cases have exterior zipped pockets perfect for ear buds and a USB cable. The neoprene has the capacity to stretch a bit, so all of them are a snug fit. Though there is an extra 1/2″ on the iLuv case, the memory foam quality ensures a nice, tight fit.

I’ve attached a few pictures to illustrate my finds.

BTW, I also noticed today that The Worldwide Listening Guide is priced at $21.62 on Amazon. That’s down from $24.95 and a good deal with Prime.

Thanks so much for sharing your research, Troy. I have just added the iLuv case to my Amazon cart. Like you, I have a Sony ICF-SW7600GR and it gets taken to the field a lot. The 7600GR comes with a nice custom case/cover, but it offers little in the way of protection–$4.99 is a reasonable cost to protect one of my favorite portables.

Like you, Troy, I have a serious addiction to quality bags and cases.  I hope you know that you’re only enabling me! Ha!

Readers: Please share your radio case/bag recommendations as well!

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7 thoughts on “Protecting your investment: Troy’s radio case recommendations

  1. Bill

    Good info. I too have used GPS cases, and prior to the explosion of smartphones with cameras, I found camera cases for inexpensive cameras that fit well, too, and since cheap cameras aren’t particularly popular any more, stores were selling the cases cheap.

    I find small cases are great for traveling, I have one for radios, one for smartphone accessories, one for a mini wifi router etc. If the TSA or foreign equivalent want to see something, it’s easy to just grab the case and open it.

    I have even used ladies “makeup” bags/pouches before all the neoprene GPS cases hit the market.

    I don’t know why, but when in stores or shopping online, I always give the “cases” a once over. And yes, I sometimes buy one “just because!” Or for some future radio!

    Thanks for the tips.

    Reply
  2. Phil from Darwin

    Great. Just grabbed the last case for my 7600G which will be in my backpack for 6 months while I trip around Europe and Asia this year.

    Reply
  3. Erica COLE

    I wish I’d been a little more careful with my Tecsun PL880. “i dropped it while getting onto a minibus and now the whip antenna is so swivelly as to be a pain in the backside: Warranties FTW, I hope.
    Does anywhere do a custom case for this radio that still allows you to use controls etc please?
    This just goes to show the extra time putting it back in its usual closed-in case is time well spent.
    Thanks if anyone can help: this is a long shot I know.

    Reply
  4. Broadwing

    These are very nice cases. I tend to want a little more protection and space so I use a tactical military type shoulder bag for my portable radio kit. It hangs nicely off the back of the passengers seat in my car and allows me to keep my PL-660, spare batteries, portable wire antenna, earphones, frequency lists, and other gear all together in a handy pack. It cost around $13.00 on e bay with free shipping. Any extra protection is better than none for a radio used out in the field.

    Reply

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