CC Skywave SSB: C. Crane publishes pre-order page with pricing, availability and features

C. Crane has published a full pre-order page for their latest travel portable: the CC Skywave SSB.

The price is $169.99 US–they’ve noted an expected ship date of sometime after November 3, 2017.

We’ve been testing a pilot run CC Skywave SSB and recently posted photos. Once we have an production unit, we’ll post comparison videos and review notes.

Click here to view the CC Skywave SSB product page at C. Crane.

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19 thoughts on “CC Skywave SSB: C. Crane publishes pre-order page with pricing, availability and features

  1. Frank

    Same with the Tecsun 880. It´s a noticeable difference, but not annoying. Like with digital TVs who also need 2 seconds to “think” when program switching.

    Reply
  2. Wim Haarmann

    The C.Crane SkyWave SSB looks like a small excellent radio. Has anyone heard of a 3 to 4 seconds switchover from AM to SSB, I read this on http://www.eham.net. For switching over to HamRadio, no problem, but when using ECSS regularly it’s an annoyance. Iis this just a one receiver fault?? Or is this problem to overcome by one or the other switch setting?? One second would be acceptable.
    Best 73’s de Wim

    Reply
    1. Thomas Post author

      Yes, there is a three second delay when switching to SSB mode. In fact, it seems to be less associated with any one model of radio and more to do with the DSP chip the radios is based on. Other models do the same (the AR-1780 and Tecsun PL-365).

      Reply
  3. Francisco

    I am interested to buy the new skywave SSB, I live in europe, unfortunately ccrane website do not ship to my country in Europe, they sent an email and have plans for sell this model in Amazon global during the spring or summer 2018

    Reply
  4. Bob Lawrence

    >If all you care about is HF you could just about get a
    >pair of CountyComm GP-5’s for this…just sayin’.

    GP5’s are good receivers, but their SSB performance is only acceptable.

    It suffers from some form of hand capacitance type effects and the BFO wobbles. OK on the LF bands, but a bit annoying by the time you get to 28Mhz

    Funny how no one seems to ever do a proper review of the SSB performance (I’ve only seen one that
    agrees with me) and stick to showing the AM broadcast stuff.

    And the GP5 has no keypad or vfo, a real pain to spin around the bands.

    I quite like the look of the C Crane receiver, and I like that it has a slightly raised speaker grill giving it
    extra tensile strength. A flat grill like GP5 feels like it would cave it when under a bit of pressure.

    Not what you want when you carry a rig in a bad travelling.

    Reply
  5. ShortwaveGuy

    Would LOVE to own this radio, but that price seems a tad steep. Perhaps someone who takes the plunge and buys it can testify to its value vs cost. Thomas, you have played with it. Your thoughts on value vs cost?

    Reply
  6. Wesley

    For those in Australia, the Jaycar in Bondi Junction is currently selling the Digitech AR-1780 for AUD$99. I suspect the other locations are offering the same price.

    I picked one up – pretty happy with it so far! Really excited that it contains several filter bandwidths, which should help with receiving weather fax and SITOR signals.

    Reply
    1. Golan Klinger

      Including the cost of delivery, the AR-1780 at AUD $99 works out to less than half (!!!) the price of the Skywave SSB and while it’s a wee bit larger and lacks the NOAA weather bands, it has an external antenna jack and RDS — two features that appeal to me greatly. I’m conflicted as to whether I should wait for a head-to-head comparison or take my chances and buy the AR-1780 while it’s on sale.

      Reply
  7. Gary

    Looking at CCrane’s pre-order page, I note that the General Features section has the freq range as AM, FM, Weather plus Alert, Shortwave (1.711-29.999 MHz), Air Aviation Band and Single Side Band.

    Full SW coverage! Is this a typo or is the label on the back of the radio wrong. \

    The product photo shows SW 28.000 displayed.

    Also, the In The Box section says that a reel antenna and earbuds are included. The current skywave includes earbuds, but not a reel antenna.

    Reply
  8. Troy Riedel

    $169.99 is steep. As I understand, the only two new additions are SSB & NOAA Weather. Both are nice features … NOAA Wx is very handy for domestic travel … but $170 + shipping is out of my comfort zone for this radio.

    Reply
    1. Golan Klinger

      The non-SSB Skywave has the NOAA weather bands and sells for $89.99 so basically it’s $80 for the SSB capability.

      Reply
  9. chris

    $70-$80 to add SSB to a radio? Man that’s ridiculous. I can buy a new Tecsun PL-880 brand new which is a better radio and cheaper! Where does C Crane get their cost engineers?

    Reply
    1. Golan Klinger

      The Tecsun PL-880 is a heck of a radio and it is less expensive than the Skywave SSB but it should be noted that it is quite a bit larger. What appeals to me about the Skywave is the size. I like the idea of a radio that is small enough to take with me everywhere.

      Reply
    2. Bob C

      Seems like everyone here is bashing a $80 increase for adding SSB. I was told that the Skywave is an excellent radio, yet a $80 premium to add on SSB does sound a bit (Ok lot) of increase. I’ve looked at CCrane radios for years, and I always feel like they’re at a premium price over other makes and models. Shame I would like to have this, but not at that price point. Now if it were more like $99-109 I might bite. And I guess looking for a world band radio that doesn’t compromise in one area or another is futile.

      Reply
      1. Jack K

        I have the CC Pocket & original Skywave – both of which have been criticized on their higher price. However, I’ve always justified the cost by the quality of their build, some of the interior designed in the US and if you consider you’re getting a $20 pair of earbuds – it’s a decent value. After 2-3 years respectively, both are still showing their merit.

        But once you hit the $170 threshold, you’re looking at completely different expectations. Is this radio that much better than the Skywave + SSB? Their catalog says, ” The new circuit also allowed us to improve the audio and reception slightly .” I would have liked to see the adverb, “greatly!”

        For me, it would have to come with not just ear buds & long wire (I have plenty), but I would need to see improvements in FM (down to 64 MHz & RDS, thank-you), LW and that speaker needs to sound fuller with more volume.

        Reply

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