Author Archives: Thomas

Tivdio V-115/Audiomax SRW-710S: Keith approves of everything save battery performance

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Keith Stephens, who writes:

Regarding the Audiomax SRW-710S radio.

I was very pleasantly surprised at more than one aspect of this radio. First, it sounds like something with a much larger speaker. It has the base capability of at least a 6″ speaker. My favorite FM music station comes from a mountaintop repeater over 70 miles away. The 710S is one of two radios I have tried through the years that brings it in clear and clean. The other is a much bigger more expensive radio. And of course, the voice quality of the local AM talk shows is excellent. I lost my instruction booklet (as usual) but I do want to record the FM station for times when I am out of range.

It is a pity that I have to tell of a bad shortcoming on this wonderful radio. Alas, I couldn’t believe it the first time it died at the end of three hours. I thought I had a bad battery, but a fully charged new battery only lasts 3 hours! I would pay twice the price for the same radio if it had a better battery life. Please let me know if there is a better battery or the same radio with a larger battery.

Thanks for your mini review, Keith! Admittedly, I’ve never tested the battery performance of this set because I typically use it for short (1 hour) recording sessions.

Click here to read other reviews of the Audiomax SRW-710S/Tivdio V-115.

Retailers:

Silicon Chip: Building a AM/FM DAB+ tuner

Dave notes the Icom IC-735 makes an appearance in “Pole To Pole With Michael Palin”

Free radio e-books for download

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(Source: Southgate ARC)

There are a number of vintage radio and amateur radio related eBooks available for free download on the Gutenberg site

Among them is the 1922 edition of The Radio Amateur’s Handbook by A. Frederick Collins.

Jarno de Haan @PA3DMI tweeted this link that will display the books available:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=radio

A. Frederick Collins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Frederick_Collins

Jeff is displeased with Sangean buttons

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jeff McMahon, who writes:

After my wife complained about our Sangean radio button problems, I made this post:

Our Sangean radios are good performers for FM reception and speaker sound. They are reasonably priced. For user-friendly radios to use throughout the house, the kind that my wife and daughters enjoy using, Sangean is the best bet.

However, for me a general use Sangean is not my first choice. Because I am an FM reception fanatic, I prefer more of a high-performance radio, the kind that has an SW port, so I can connect a wire antenna to the radio, which usually results in improved FM reception. That’s why I have a Grundig G4000A next to my bedside table. But for the rest of my family, it’s a Sangean affair.

However, I should point out a consistent flaw, one that my wife complained about this morning: Three of four of our Sangeans have button problems.[…]

Read the full article at The Herculodge.

Any reviews of the HanRongDa HRD-737 portable radio?

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jamie Anderson (KM4WYO), who writes:

I have been browsing around eBay too much and was trying to put together a do-it-all radio for camping/backpacking that is small.

It is hard to find SW/broadcast/weather/air band together (for good reason, of course). I did run across this radio that is interesting: the HRD-737 which retails around $40.

Internal 700mah 3.7v lithium, with 5v usb charge

Air 118-138 MHz

FM 87.5 – 108 MHz

AM 520-1720 kHz

CB 25-28 MHz

SW 2-30 MHz in 5 kHz steps

VHF narrow/wide FM – 30-223 MHz (10,6,2,220)

I’m not sure if it would pick up NOAA stations as I think they have a slightly different FM bandwidth.

It seems interesting for a do it all point of view, you could possibly monitor ham repeaters on 2 meters, just a little too short of frequency coverage for 220.

Click here to view the HDR-737 on eBay.

Have you seen one of these or something similar in your reviews?

I have never used the HDR-737, but thanks for bringing it to our attention, Jamie!

I should think, assuming the stated VHF frequency coverage is correct, that you should be able to hear weather radio on this receiver. NOAA weather frequencies are on 162.400, 162.425, 162.450, 162.475, 162.500, 162.525, and 162.550 MHz.

The manufacturer isn’t clear about the frequency steps on VHF however–it’s possible tuning increments could be too coarse to get a good lock on the station. That specification is omitted altogether even though every other band has stated frequency steps.

I should mention that the original C. Crane CC Skywave meets all of your specifications save the ability to potentially tune in the 2M ham radio band.

Post readers: Is anyone familiar with the HanRongDa HRD-737? Please comment!

Fred Jacobs on “Rekindling Our Fading Romance With AM Radio”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, who shares the following article which appeared in Jacob’s Media Strategies on Dec 31, 2018. I’ve pasted an excerpt below, but you’ll want to read the entire piece by clicking here:

Rekindling Our Fading Romance With AM Radio

I know I may sound like a relic from another era, but chances are if you’re a Baby Boomer (or gasp – even older), you were inspired by AM radio as a kid growing up whether it was in a big city or a small town. If you’re a member of a younger generation, you may not even know that AM – or amplitude modulation – has a magic power. At night when the clouds are just right, AM signals have the ability to “skip” across geography, unlike frequency modulation (FM) which is line of sight. “Clear channel” stations had an even easier time being heard beyond their metro confines – often covering many states during the nighttime hours.

Many of us radio veterans remember those nights, lying in bed, where your trusty bedside AM clock radio pulled in signals from all over the U.S. As a boy in Detroit and not especially well-traveled, I learned how to pronounced Des Plaines (Des-planes) and Touhy (2E) by listening to Chicago radio stations like WBBM and WLS. Tuning in KYW in Philly (which came in “like it was next door”), I learned how to spell the quirky town of Conshohocken from listening to Phillips Ford commercials. It was from a jingle that got in your head (CON-SHO-HO-CKEN). At least, it got in mine.

It didn’t matter if you lived in Dallas or Des Moines, or a small town in Delaware – you were able to pick up big AM radio stations from faraway. And if you talk to today’s broadcasters on the other side of 50, many will tell you their careers were likely inspired by these booming, exciting blowtorches on AM radio that provided a soundtrack for our teens.

AM radio was where we first heard the Beatles, the Supremes, the Stones, Stevie Wonder, and even the Doors. Big AM Top 40 stations of the day – KHJ, WABC, CKLW, WLS – played all these cool rock songs, right next to Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Elvis, Bobby “Boris” Pickett, and the Singing Nun. And even though the fidelity of amplitude modulation is obviously technically inferior to that of FM, there was something very different and even romantic about hearing all those songs first on AM radio.[…]

Continue reading the full piece at Jacob’s Media Strategies.

Thanks for the tip, Dennis! I think this piece speaks to so many of us radio listeners–especially this one who prefers the “fidelity of amplitude modulation” over so many other mediums.