Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill (KD5XN), who writes:
I enjoyed your article on the C Crane Skywave SSB this month in the Spectrum Monitor. I too have both of the Skywaves now, and agree they are near-ideal travel radios.
I bought a protective case by “Hermit Shell” that I stumbled across on Amazon that may well be one of the best protective cases I’ve ever seen for a portable radio.
It is made specifically for the Skywave(s) and fits like a glove. I believe one could kick it across a parking lot and never worry about any damage to your radio it’s so well padded. I put the earbuds and a clip lead for attaching to a reel antenna into the pouch in the cover. Not much else is going to fit.
I know that you are also a “bag geek” so I’ve sent the Amazon link for you to peruse.
[…]The only slight negative that I could say is that the cased radio is approximately twice the thickness of the radio alone, if tight packing is an issue.
I just thought I’d pass this along as I don’t recall ever seeing anyone mentioning it. At $14.99 it’s cheap but good insurance if you travel where things “take a beating.”
73, Happy Holidays and thank you for all your reviews and articles.
Click here to view on Amazon.com (affiliate link).
Thank you for your recommendation and tip, Bill!
We actually have mentioned this on the SWLing Post before, but obviously the article is rather buried at this point. Thanks for the reminder.
Like you, I do see the negative that this case effectively increases the size of the CC Skywave for one bag travel, but it would certainly do a fine job protecting the Skywave in transit. Indeed, I believe that’s a pretty acceptable compromise. I especially like the fact that the earbuds will also fit in the case. I might pick one of these up with some Christmas credit I have at Amazon.
Afterall, the CC Skywave SSB is a $150 radio–! I suppose since I buy $15-$20 protective cases for my $150 smartphone, my radio should at least get the same treatment! It’ll certainly outlast my smartphone!
This might be a useful alternative in a soft case
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1119698-REG/lowepro_lp36858_tahoe_25_ii_camera.html
And ear buds are available at most [Dollar, Dollar Giant, Dollarama, etc.] stores, so buy them at site and avoid packing a scratchy tool above the radio face.
You can actually get a reel antenna and earbuds in the lid. It’s a bit snug but if you flip the radio face down on the padding it fits fine!
https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-htkcB/i-TcjtnTn/A
Wrong link. Try this one.
https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-w7xs2q/i-J5BJXmc/A
It’s a shame they don’t make these cases for the Tecsun portables like the PL-310 and PL-380. The soft one they include ain’t bad, but this portable hard-drive like case is a better option if you have the room in your bag for it.
Speaking of that, I’d love to one day see a head to head comparison (i.e. shootout) between both the Skywave radios, the two Tecsun radios I just mentioned as well as the Eton Traveler III, and perhaps other similar size receivers. Perhaps the ultralight authority Gary DeBock is cooking up something like this as I type this.
I understand that the Skywave has some advantages, but it is more expensive. I don’t have to have SSB on a small travel radio, but it would be nice. I do really like my PL-310et, but as a casual MW DXer I understand there’s a few disadvantages with AM on the Tecsun models.
And the ETM function is something I use quite a bit while traveling, and it seems like an oversight that C Crane didn’t include it. And the PL-880 has a feature I’d like to see in these smaller radios, a fine turning switch. I’m sure some may find it intuitive for the tuning knob to go out of fine tuning mode when you speed up your scanning. But it doesn’t work well for me and I constantly overshoot my target frequency and have to tune back to find it.
Also, one other question I haven’t seen addressed. The speaker grill is quite a bit smaller on the Skywave SSB than the original Skywave. Is the speaker still the same size? Or has it been scaled down in the new model? Maybe this has been addressed, but I don’t recall whether I’ve seen this info online.
While I don’t own the new Skywave SSB I do have the original version and I’m confident that the speakers are the same size. Look at this photo:
https://swling.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/CCrane-CC-Skywave-SSB-2.jpg
The original (left) appears to have a larger speaker grill but if you look closely you will see the actual grill openings on the original Skywave are exactly the same as SSB grill on the right.
I have one of these which I bought after your first mention of these cases some time ago. I agree, quite solid and well worth the money. Cheers!