Though not a shortwave radio (the SWLing Post loves ALL radios!), C. Crane’s latest special involves free Priority Mail shipping to U.S. customers for their CC Pocket Radio. Just use the Promo Code: CCPKTSHIP. This special ends at midnight PST on 17 December. The CC Pocket Radio comes standard with the CC Buds earphones – a quality set of earbuds.
Crane’s Amazon Canada store offers free shipping with a number of C. Crane products through Amazon Canada Prime.
Post author: Troy Riedel
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Daniel Hawkins, who shares the following guest post:
by DanH
The LE Book Light (Lighting Ever, LTD.) is a handy portable LED lamp that provides light for reading, music stands, or even use with portable radios. I have run into very bad luck in the past with cheap LED reading lights that run directly from USB power. The LEDs always burned out after a couple of days or weeks making me very nervous about putting my computer power supplies at risk by using these things. This LE light is very different. The LE lamp runs from a rechargeable built-in Li-ion battery. This battery may be charged by plugging the included USB cable to USB or the included AC power adapter.
LE makes a few different models of book lights. This model features two lighting pods on sturdy goosenecks. These pods look like classic cobra head street lights to me, which I kind of like. Each pod includes four bright white LEDs and an OFF/LOW/HIGH switch. The lamp will stand unaided on a flat surface and features a clip for temporary mounting. The end of the clip is jointed and padded for improved grip. I purchased a pair of these LE lights early in 2017 and have used them often for eleven months. Each lamp has been charged at least a half dozen times since then. I get about ten hours of light if one pod is lit at low power. Charging time from dead battery (no light) is about two and a half hours. I keep one LE light in use and another charged and ready to go when needed.
My Sangean ATS-909X has a very nice display for use in the dark but the front panel controls are not lit, just like every other multi-band portable I know of. Just try to use keyboard frequency entry or enter a station into memory in the dark! The LE Book Light comes in handy for using portables at home or on field trips in low to no light. Likewise, the meter light on my vintage Hammarlund SP-600 is unlit. I simply clip the LE lamp onto the side panel of the SP-600 for that. There is no way that I’m going to drill into that Marion Electric meter to hack in an indicator light. I can also read the WRTH from the LE Book Light.
This is a nice accessory for portable radio listening at night and many other jobs. I paid $10.88 plus shipping for one of these on eBay in January. I think that was a good deal. Here is $9.99 with free shipping from the Walmart online store. Sold directly by LE from Walmart. The LE Book Light is a very nicely made little light and small enough to make a nice stocking stuffer.
DanH
No doubt a great accessory for the SWL! Thanks for the review, Dan!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Luke Perry, who writes:
Hi Thomas,
Just [wanted to share] a little bit of shortwave good luck that I had when tuned to 3925 kHz. That is the frequency for Radio Nikkei 1 if I am not mistaken. They have a similar frequency that I can usually get at about the same time in 3945, but from my location in the Pacific Northwest the former usually comes in better until about 13:00 UTC or so.
To any SWL listeners on the west coast can tell you, there are not a whole lot of choices anymore for the listeners who like the exotic DX catches, whereas 20 years ago you had many choices like Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Radio Vladivostok on 5015 kHz that was a special station for Russian boats at sea, etc. These stations all played exotic and sometimes even current music, not to mention lots of ‘oldies’ and classics.
So I am left with the few that are left and I usually tune in late at night as the static lulls me to sleep.
Last night, I was listening to 3925 kHz at about 12:00 UTC or so and I got quite the surprise. Usually when I tune in at about 2:30 AM my time they are playing classical music or some other relaxing music. I think their sister station on 3945 kHz plays more of the current music and I believe that they even have a special hour or more that they play newish music. When I first tuned in it was their typical show where they start with about an hour or so of relaxing music and then the announcers come in with news, talk, or whatever? Truthfully, I don’t speak Japanese so I really can’t say! I do remember reading somewhere though that they broadcast horse races on that channel and sometimes it does sound like that.
But last night I still hadn’t fallen asleep for whatever reason so I kept hitting the ‘Sleep’ button on my trusty Panasonic RF-9000. After the announcers talked for a bit they played a few hard rock songs back to back. Quite a few of them but a couple that I remember off of the top of my head were “Smoke On the Water” and “I Remember You” by Skid Row. That kind of stuff and this went on for a good half hour or so uninterrupted so my ears were perked up at this point. What came next really blew me away and really made my staying up worthwhile.
They first started off with Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times”, and then proceeded to play the whole first Led Zeppelin album straight through! No interruptions and they went straight from Side A to Side B with only a moment pause. After that, they started in on Led Zeppelin III but after “Immigrant Song” the signal was really fading bad but I could still make out that it was the might Zeppelin. It kind of reminded me of old pirate radio stations on shortwave or even FM radio in the 70’s when they would play whole album sides.
So anyway, just a quick update on that station and for people who have given up on finding good programming on shortwave radio…it is still out there, but it takes a bit more time to find nowadays.
Thank you for sharing your listening experience, Luke! Yes, shortwave is still a medium for this sort of serendipity–a space where you can listen to broadcasts that are free of commercial breaks. I image Led Zeppelin must have sounded pretty amazing on that Panny RF-9000!
The following was posted through an email from Heil Sound:
When the producers of the popular TV show, “Last Man Standing,” needed an authentic ham radio set-up to use in the show, they turned to Heil Sound’s Amateur Radio Division, helmed by Bob Heil. Now, thanks to the generosity of the show’s star, Tim Allen, props from the show – including some autographed by Mr. Allen – are being offered for sale with all proceeds going to the Red Cross.
The full article may be found here:
https://heil-sound-ltd.myshopify.com/collections/last-man-standing
Robert Gulley, AK3Q, is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Robert also blogs at All Things Radio.
As a result of numerous responses to another video I posted on my YouTube channel a few weeks ago, I have now prepared a video that gives you a detailed look at using the Behringer Xenyx Q802 USB mixing console.
The unit is wired up to four receivers, then sent off to a pair of powered speakers. I cover how the mixer is connected to the radios and the speakers, explain the various controls available to the shortwave radio listener and amateur radio operator, the advantages of using this system in the radio shack, and offer a few tips when buying a mixing console such as this Behringer unit.
If you have a few receivers kicking around in your radio shack, this is one way to hook them all together and send their audio on to your favourite monitoring speakers. Thanks for taking the time to watch this little video. As always, comments and feedback are most welcome.
73 and good DX to you all,
Rob Wagner VK3BVW
Rob Wagner, VK3BVW, is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. He also blogs at the Mount Evelyn DX Report. He also has a grab bag of assorted radio videos to check out at his YouTube Channel.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, for producing this excellent comparison of the Tecsun S-8800 and Grundig Field BT “lunchbox” radios:
by Troy Riedel
I have been watching with interest all of the information & reviews of the new Tecsun S-8800. Frankly, I was especially interested in how it would compare with the other “lunchbox” SW radio – the Eton Grundig Edition Field BT (the Digitech AR-1748 lunchbox radio is also available in AUS for approximately $207US shipped). As I contemplated which lunchbox to purchase, I put together the following Excel comparison table of the S-8800 vs. the Eton Field BT to assist me in making my decision:
|
Tescun S-8800 |
Eton Field BT |
|
| Price: |
$268.00 |
$129.99 |
| Tuning Methods: | FM / LW / MW / SW | FM / MW / SW |
| Q.Tune | Q.Tune | |
| Digital tuner, Jog dial manual tuning | Digital tuner, Jog dial manual tuning (Fast, Slow and Hold) | |
| Auto scan tuning with 5 second stop (w/ storage) | Auto scan tuning (no tuning storage) | |
| Direct frequency entry using the remote control | ||
| Fine Tuning Knob: SW Meter Band | ||
| No soft muting when tuning | “Subtle“ Soft Muting when tuning | |
| Station Storage Methods: | Manual storage: tune into stations manually and store them | Manual storage: tune into stations manually and store them |
| Semi-auto storage: storing stations during auto scan | ||
| Auto Tuning Storage (ATS): automatically tune into and store stations | ||
| FM / MW / LW / SW | FM / MW / LW / SW | |
| AM Bandwidth: | Bandwidth selection (2.3, 3.0, 4.0, 6.0) | Narrow & Wide Settings (3.0*, 6.0*) *Reported |
| SSB: | SSB (USB/LSB) |
N/A |
| SSB tuning steps at 10 Hz / 1 kHz | ||
| SSB Bandwidth selection (0.5, 1.2, 2.3, 3.0, 4.0) | ||
|
N/A |
FM with RDS | |
|
N/A |
Bluetooth | |
| Adjustable shoulder or hand carrying belt | Hand carrying strap | |
| Remote control operation |
N/A |
|
| SYNC: |
N/A |
N/A |
| Gain: | Local / DX antenna gain switch | Local / DX antenna gain switch |
| SW RF Gain Control | ||
| Memories: | 650 station memories | 50 station memories |
| Stored stations memory browsing | ||
| Auto Sorting Memory | ||
| LCD: | Standard Backlight | Orange Backlight |
| 5-seconds or continuous settings | 10-seconds or continuous settings | |
| Clock/Alarm Time: | Clock/Alarm time (24H-format) | Clock/Alarm time (12 & 24H-format) |
| Alarm: | (1) Alarm | (2) Alarms |
| By radio only | By radio (60-mins) or buzzer (2-mins) | |
| Digital Display: | Frequency & SW meter band | Frequency & Band (e.g. FM, LW, SW1) |
| Signal strength indicator | Signal strength indicator | |
| Stored station location | Stored station location | |
| Clock & Alarm time | Clock | |
| Volume Level (while using remote) | ||
| Battery indicator & charging time | Battery Indicator | |
| Sleep Timer A & B (Selectable) | ||
| RDS Info | ||
|
* No Lock Feature |
Display Lock “On” | |
| Tuning Speed (Slow, Fast, Stop) | ||
| Sound Tuning: | Bass & Treble | Bass & Treble |
| Line In: |
N/A |
3.5mm Stereo Input for mp3 Player |
| Line Out: | (2) RCA Left & Right Stereo Channel Line Out | (1) 3.5mm Line Out for tape recorder or audio amplifier |
| Ant Selector: | Int. or Ext. Switch for FM/SW | Int. or Ext. Switch for FM/SW |
| FM/SW Antenna: | BNC: Low-impedance (50?) FM/SW | Coax: Low-impedance (50-75?) |
| MW Antenna: | High-impedance (500?) wire clamp terminals | High-impedance (500?) wire clamp terminals |
| Battery: | 2 x 18650 Li-ion Cell | 4 x “D” Cell |
| AC Adapter: | No AC included – does include a USB mini-B charging cable | 7v 1200mA DC Neg Center included |
Yes, the S-8800 without a doubt has more features than the Field BT. However, the S-8800 is slightly more than twice the price of the Field BT ($268 vs. $130)! Does the performance of the S-8800 equate proportional to the price difference?
Shortly after I made my Excel comparison table, Thomas published video comparisons of the S-8800. I very much appreciated the review and video comparisons that pitted the S-8800 against several popular portables. It gave me a baseline to set my expectations. However, those videos didn’t answer my question: “should I purchase the S-8800 or the Field BT”?
I contacted Thomas and I told him “we need an S-8800 vs. Eton Field BT” video comparison so SWL’ers have a true lunchbox vs. lunchbox comparison! I volunteered to purchase an Eton Field BT and have it delivered to Thomas for him to compare the two (after which he would forward the Field BT to me). After he hesitated, I replied: “what if I buy the Eton and we meet in North Carolina to compare them together”? Fortunately Thomas readily agreed and I made the 6.5-hour journey from Southeast VA to Mount Mitchell State Park for the Lunchbox Showdown (864-miles roundtrip on my odometer)!
Thomas and I had a limited amount of time. I arrived at noon. Thomas and I had 8-hours … and that included time for Thomas’ Parks On The Air (POTA) Activation, our S-8800 vs. Field BT comparison, we had to eat (it was a long drive for me!), and Thomas brought many other toys so we had to carve out time to “play radio” (and I can’t drive 400+ miles to Mount Mitchell and not walk to the summit of the highest point east of the Mississippi River!).
Luckily conditions were as ideal as I have ever seen them (evidenced by the fact Thomas made contacts from TX to the Azores with his Elecraft KX2). So please keep in mind, what follows is in no way a complete comparison. And to be clear, it was never my intention to review either receiver (there are many people more competent than I am that have already done this – Thomas among them!).
My interest re: these two models is primarily limited to each’s shortwave performance (I use a Sangean PR-D15 and a Grundig YB400 for AM DX, I prefer my Sangean PR-D15 for FM and I own 12 shortwave receivers). Thus our goals were to find and compare multiple representative SW signals. Thomas is obviously familiar with local AM stations in the area that he uses in his comparisons, thus we sought out a few AM signals (I recorded one to illustrate one huge difference that we both perceived in the two radios). Due to time, hunger, and eventually darkness we had to call it a day at 8 P.M.
I used my iPhone 6S to record the following comparisons. This was the first time I recorded shortwave signals. In retrospect, I wish I had made the recordings longer but at the time I was unsure of how much memory each recording would used, how much time it would take to upload, etc., so I kept everything at 1-2 minutes. As you will see, I recorded nearly all of the signals with the backlight off. You’ll see me reaching in, on Shootout 5, to tune off frequency – then back on – simply to show how the backlight would/or would not affect the weak signal on the Field BT (you’ll also see that it’s harder, outdoors, to read the Eton display without the backlight vs. the clearer Tecsun S-8880).
The Eton Field BT has its own SW RF Gain (a huge bonus) and you will see me reach into the field of view once or twice to fine tune the Field BT on weaker signals. And if you’ve studied my comparison table, you’ll see that the S-8800 has multiple bandwidth choices whereas the Field BT only has Wide & Narrow settings.
You will see me occasionally change the BW on both. I preferred not to speak during the videos as not to mask the audio of the signal thus I will set-up the specifics of each video with each individual link to my new YouTube Channel, SW Hobbyist, that I set-up to host these (and hopefully many future SW-related videos to include radio recordings & antenna comparisons).
Date: Friday, 06 October 2017
Location: Mount Mitchell State Park, NC USA
Frequency: 15580 kHz
Broadcaster: Voice of America (VOA)
From: Botswana
Target: East Africa
Frequency: 15610 kHz
Broadcaster: WEWN
From: Vandiver, AL
Target: Europe
Frequency: 15000 kHz
Broadcaster: WWV
From: Fort Collins, CO
* Wow, that’s a strong signal – is this FM?!
Frequency: 15130 & 15140 kHz
Broadcaster: NHK Radio Japan via Issoudun, France & Radio Habana Cuba via Bauta, Cuba
Target: Africa & Western North America
** I wish I hadn’t prematurely ended this recording – the Eton Field BT signal on 15130 improved after the recording ended
Frequency: 15245 kHz
Broadcaster: Voice of Korea
From: Kujang, North Korea
Target: Europe
Frequency: 11810 kHz
Broadcaster: BBC
From: Ascension Island
Target: Central Africa
Frequency: 630 AM
Broadcaster: WAIZ Hickory, NC
*** This is where I believe you will see a difference in the sound/speaker
Thomas and I both felt that the AGC of the Tecsun S-8800 was very slightly better (more stable – absolutely no “chug”) than the Eton Field BT (again, a very subtle difference). We both liked the sound of the Eton Field BT much better – it was crisp, full and just seemed to “pop” through its grill (see Shootout #7). The huge thing we both disliked with the Eton Field BT is its tuning dial. Yes, it has Q-Tune so one can jump from 5000, 6000, 7000, etc., with the push of a button but the tuning dial (even in “Fast” mode) is painfully slow and deliberate (dare I say horrible in comparison to the S-8880?). We both love the fact the S-8800 has a remote. But even without the remote, the S-8800 was much more pleasurable to manually tune.
Not to speak for Thomas, but I believe we generally felt [overall] that the SW signals were essentially close enough to call even … the edge to the Tecsun on a couple and the edge to the Field BT on a couple of others (I specifically remember us both commenting on an Arabic language broadcast from Radio Saudi Arabia where we both felt the Field BT was a very clear winner – that was one of the signals that I did not record). The better “sound” of the Field BT’s speaker may have influenced our opinions – a sound that was markedly better on FM, better on AM, but a sound that was much closer on SW.
My final thoughts and conclusion: Radios are like vehicles. No one vehicle is best for everyone. Each vehicle has a specific purpose and each has a subset of features. I own a large travel trailer. I need and thus own a heavy-duty diesel truck to tow it. But I surely wouldn’t recommend my vehicle to somebody who only needs a commuter vehicle. That’s why we have everything from SmartCars, to sedans, to SUVs, to dually diesel trucks. The same goes for radios. Some people will absolutely need SSB, others may demand SYNC (neither of these units has this feature!) while others may choose a radio based on size (compact for travel or larger models with a large, easy-to-read display for desk or tabletop use). Until now, I felt the video comparisons we had for the S-8880 were comparing a truck to an SUV to a sedan. At least now we have a few videos of two lunchbox radios compared side-by-side. True, one (the S-8800) is fully loaded (in vehicle terms: a 4×4 with a touchscreen GPS and DVD entertainment system). But not everyone who requires a truck needs a 4×4 with GPS and DVD entertainment system. Some truck owners prefer the smoother ride from a 4×2 truck. I think that’s the best way to describe these lunchbox receivers.
Am I glad that I bought the Eton Field BT? For me – despite the cumbersome tuning of the Field BT – I feel the S-8800 is not worth 2x the price of the Eton (I got an even sweeter deal for my new, sealed box Field BT off eBay that was well under the $129.99 street price). But you can make your own decision, you can decide which features are must-have, and you can listen to these videos as well as the other videos that Thomas has already posted and determine if one of these lunchbox models are in your future. And because I learned so much regarding the video recording of shortwave signals (I suffered from tunnel vision while recording – not fully aware of what I caught and what I missed), I hope I can meet-up with Thomas again so I can do a better, more thorough job with a “Lunchbox Comparison, Deuxième Partie” (that French was for Thomas – I hope I got that correct!).
Thanks for putting together this comparison, Troy! It was great hanging with you last week on Mt. Mitchell!
If you’re shopping for either of these radios, you have a few options:
The Tecsun S-8800 is only available worldwide via Anon-Co at time of posting. Eventually, they will begin appearing on eBay. There are retailers in Australia and Europe also selling the model (Important: make sure you’re ordering a model from the latest production run which solves the DSP birdie problem in early units).
The Grundig Edition Field BT is available from a variety of retailers including Universal Radio, Amazon.com, Crutchfield, Adorama and others. Occasionally, like Troy, you can find excellent prices on the Grundig Edition Field BT via eBay.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Hans Johnson, who shares the following guest post:
by Hans Johnson
The primary disaster we face here in Naples, Florida, is hurricanes. Naples had been spared for over a decade until Irma. So while I had prepared, I had not needed my supplies or equipment for quite some time. This included the radios.
I went into Irma with two Freeplay solar and windup radios, a Unity and a Lifeline. I got these radios probably over a decade ago. As part of some work I was doing with VT Communications (now Babcock), I was involved with a radio project called Sudan Radio Service.
Both of these radios were being given to listeners as part of this project. I wanted to have a better understanding of what they faced. I had some conversations with Freeplay in London, explaining who I was and why I wanted these radios. During a visit, I was able to purchase both sets with the proviso that I not sell them.
I checked them both out at that time with my focus being on shortwave as that is how Sudan Radio Service was then transmitted. They were ok at picking out the strongest stations but that’s about it. I never really needed or wanted to use the radios day to day. And then Irma struck.
We left Naples on Saturday when we received a mandatory evacuation notice. The storm struck on Sunday and we returned on Monday.
We were spared. Many lost everything. Some lost their lives. We had a lot of trees down and some roof damage, but nothing substantial. But we had no power. Water had to be boiled. Sewage was backing up in places because the lift stations had no power. The stop lights were out (this was a real danger, many did not treat them as four-way stops and just blew through them. But you never knew who it would be.) A curfew was in place. The cell phone system was in really bad shape. I could not call or text my brother across town, let alone get access to the Internet via cell.
This link will give you an idea of what we came back to. I am the guy sawing wood at 1:47. (Lesson learned, have two chainsaws in case yours blows a gas line):
http://abc7ny.com/weather/watch-josh-einiger-reports-from-naples-florida/2391120/.
I had blown up some air mattresses before the storm so we slept on them on the screened porch. I saw the Milky Way from Naples for the first time.
We wanted information and also a bit of entertainment. Television was out of the question. The HDTV stations are hard to receive with a great antenna and set in the best of times where we live. So a battery-operated TV would have been a waste. Radio was the only game in town, so it was time to put the emergency radios in service.
Sudanese Listeners Receive Unity Radios (Source: Lifeline Energy)
Both of these analogue dial sets cover AM, FM, and shortwave. The Unity covers 3-22 MHz, the Lifeline just goes up to 18. The former covers the old American AM band and the latter the new one. The Unity uses a whip antenna and has a fine tuning knob. The Lifeline has a bendable wire that fits into the carrying handle and came with an alligator clip and a length of wire.
Ideally, one would be listening a set that has been charged via the solar cell or listening with the set in the sun. The last place I wanted to be was in or near the sun. Trying to charge the set and then listen to it is difficult in practice. It seems that the ratio was about one to one. 15 minutes in the sun would get you about 15 minutes of immediate listening. It doesn’t seem that the batteries will hold a charge for long periods of time. I could not charge them during the day and expect to turn them on the next morning, which was the peak time of day for radio to be transmitting local information. The ratio for using the hand-crank was better, but I grew tired of cranking quite quickly.
I was interested in local stations, so shortwave was not a factor. We only have a few local AM stations in Naples and I could not receive them (Irma knocked off or damaged a number of stations.) I tried FM. Even with the antennas retracted, both sets were overwhelmed by the local stations with certain stations bleeding through over much of the dial. I could receive some strong, local stations. With the outlet at Marco Island off and the other apparently on reduced power, receiving NPR was out of the question.
Given how many sources of information I was cut off from, my flow was greatly reduced. My ignorance increased and learning vital information was hit or miss. A neighbor told me about the boil order. Passing on information was difficult. When we got power I wanted to tell my brother, but the only way to inform him was to drive to his house.
One result was that I put these sets away and broke out my old Sony
ICF-7600GR and used it instead. I guess I could have used it until I ran out of AA batteries. I had plenty on hand and can easily afford them. But that is hardly the case in Southern Sudan and many other places.
The Lifeline came with a few stickers on it that I could not read when I got the set. Now that Goggle translate is so good I can read them. They say in part: “Everyone has the right to receive information,” “Everyone one has the right to search for, receive, and deliver information.”
The real result of the test was a greater appreciation for how good I have it in many ways. With regards to information, I have many sources and can readily receive it and pass it on. It increased my respect for services like Sudan Radio Service and how important they are. But most especially, I have a much greater admiration for listeners using these sets and what is surely their perseverance, patience, and determination to get information.
Many thanks for your field report of the Freeplay Lifeline and Unity, Hans!
I’m happy to hear you had no serious damage post-Irma. So many in the SWLing Post community have been affected by hurricanes this season.
I have never, personally, reviewed either of these Freeplay units–both are now discontinued and have been replaced with other models at Lifeline, I believe. As you state in your post, these radios are only available to humanitarian organizations. Through Ears To Our World, I have considered acquiring Lineline Energy (Freeplay) radios in the past. However, their radios tend to be rather large in size–we tend to go with smaller receivers that can easily fit in suitcases. In the past we’ve been very happy with the Grundig FR200 (Tecsun GR-88).
The Lifeplayer MP3
Last year, we did purchase a Freeplay Lifeplayer to test. The hand crank charging mechanism is very robust, though quite noisy. The radio is digital, but performance is mediocre and tuning couldn’t be more cumbersome (5 kHz steps, no memories, only a couple of band steps. Tuning to your favorite station could literally take a couple of minutes, depending on where it is on the band. When you turn off the radio (or it runs out of power) you’ll have to re-tune to the station again. That’s a lot of extra mechanical wear on the encoder. The real utility of the Lifeplayer is the built-in MP3 player and recorder–a brilliant tool for rural schools. Also, it’s robust and can take abuse from kids much better than other consumer radios.
Your main point, though, is spot-on: these radios serve their purpose, but we radio enthusiasts are incredibly fortunate to have much better grade equipment to take us through information backouts.
Thanks again for your review, Hans!