Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Dan (VR2HF), who writes:
I must be a radio geek. While listening to Radio New Zealand (RNZ) top-of-the-hour news with my CC Skywave on the 31mb in a bus from Incheon Airport to my hotel south of downtown Seoul, I learned that Dick Smith Electronics (https://www.dicksmith.com.au/) will close all of its stores in Australia and New Zealand with the loss of about 3000 jobs. The complicated, sad saga of DSE which was sold by Dick many years ago, can be found here: http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/dick-smith-to-close-all-stores-3000-staff-to-go-20160225-gn3ios.html
My first encounter with DSE was in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early eighties. I remember buying a few kits from them and Nolan Bushnell’s “Petster” robot cat. They also sold some Bearcat Scanners and Yaesu ham gear, as I recall. It is a far different business today than it was back then. If memory serves, I believe Dick Smith also had a store here in Hong Kong around 1980 when I made my first visit to the SAR.
I hope that someone in the Maker community with money and a vision will try a new, modern version of Radio Shack and the old version of Dick Smith Electronics. Offering a mix of 3D printers, Arduinos, Raspberry Pies, radios, and other items Makers might want could be a profitable business and fill a need.
I find that the Skywave is so stable on the air band, I can use it to decode ACARS with the Android App!
Listened to WBCQ, and Arnie Coro’s show last night from Havana along with some Jazz music.
It pulled FM stations out of the air like nothing else, meaning the weaker ones here in my rural Ohio location. And I could pick up three NOAA broadcasts, two very strong, one scratchy…. Since the NOAA system is of course designed to let you pick up one station in whatever particular area of the county you live in, I consider this excellent!
With the AM I pulled in Canadians, Boston , stations in IOWA and KFI. I also note it’s very directional on AM… I could null out WTVN and pick up Texas with no problem. I have owned and do own lots of shortwave radios, and I MUST say, this is one hell of a good set!
It’s going into my Winter zip-up jacket pocket so it will always be handy for the DX Season, and I also notice that the headphones are VERY good, and have a long enough cord so it’s not pulling at my ears like some sort of damned harness… I HATE short earphone cords!
(And while I am on the subject of ear phones, and while I haven’t been zapped in the ear with static this year yet by dry air causing that annoying problem, I wonder how these earphones are going to do in that regard… the Sony’s are unbearable in Winter! Ouch! I wonder if anyone else out there has this problem besides me, and has found a solution?)
First of all, thank you for making me aware of the ACARS app and that you can successfully use it with the CC Skywave. I will add the ACARS app to my growing list of HamRadio/SWL applications and also try it myself!
Your experience with the CC Skywave is very similar to mine. It is a fabulous portable receiver. If it only had SSB and sync detection, it would be the ultimate compact portable. The CC Skywave is an everyday carry (EDC) radio for me–either it, or the Sony ICF-SW100, accompany me everywhere in my Timbuk2 messenger bag.
Regarding static discharge from headphones, I don’t think I’ve ever had this happen to me; sounds annoying, though! I suppose walking in dry winter conditions with a thick winter jacket could increase chances of discharge. Perhaps the in-ear design of the included CC earbuds–with silicon earpieces–will minimize and insulate you from this problem? Let us know!
Thank you for your assessment of the CC Skywave, William!
Many thanks to SWLing Post readers, Mark and Alan, who were both recently notified by C.Crane that the CC Skywave has been updated.
Mike purchased the CC Skywave early this year after reading our review. He was disappointed to find out, though, that a local radio station (in his urban location) overloaded the Skywave’s front end, causing imaging and other problems.
Mike, along with other Skywave owners, notified C.Crane about the issue and returned their units.
C.Crane passed along this feedback to their engineers, who have updated the CC Skywave accordingly. C.Crane believes the latest production run will be immune to this sort of overloading. [Kudos to C.Crane for listening to customer feedback.]
I contacted C.Crane yesterday–they recommend ordering directly from their website to insure your unit is coming from the latest production run. It’s possible that some of their distributors could still have some of the older units in inventory for the next few weeks. At least, to be certain, you should check with the distributor directly.
To be clear, I’ve never noted the overloading issue on my Skywave, but I live in a rural area with no blowtorch stations nearby. If you live near an AM broadcaster, and are considering the CC Skywave, you should certainly purchase the updated unit.
SWLing Post reader, Bob C., recently shared his review of the C.Crane CC Skywave portable radio:
Well, I just received my new CC Skywave radio and it’s terrific! I own a lot of portable radios (including several Tecsun DSP sets), and the Skywave is a new favorite and will likely become my standard radio for travel.
Good fit and finish, great ergonomics, and easy to use. I was pleased to find that, despite what’s written in the ads and on the back of the radio, you can set the radio to receive FM down to 76 MHz by selecting the a 9 kHz MW spacing.
Great for international travel. The following is my brief review (by band):
Mediumwave
The Skywave is far better than any of the Tecsuns and is almost as good as the C Crane 2E (my best MW receiver). At my location (40 miles N of Chicago), the distant groundwave fringe includes WLW, WJR, and KTRS (St. Louis) – in descending order of reception potential. Most radios can get a whisper of WLW (though not discernible), while the other two are rare. The C Crane 2E gets WLW and WJR well enough that you can listen; KTRS is detectable. The Skywave gets WLW and WJR and you can tell that KTRS is there. That indicates that the Skywave is among the best. And there are no birdies nor whistles on the band. Nice.
FM
Just as sensitive and about 99% as selective as any of the Tecsun DSPs. The shorter antenna doesn’t seem to hamper reception at all. And, with no soft muting and a more logical tuning setup, it’s a pleasure to work with. Lastly, the stereo reception threshold on the C Crane DSP chip is significantly lower than that on any of the Tecsun rigs, so most signals decode stereo and simply sound better. Where I live, I have tons of signals that are 0.2 MHz apart (i.e. 101.9 Chicago, 102.1 Milwaukee, 102.3 Waukegan – and local) – the Skywave has no trouble separating these and providing a usable signal for all three.
Shortwave
Seems to do just fine. I have not had any overload issues with my unit and can pull in all as many SW signals and most of my other small portables. The lack of SSB is an inconvenience, I suppose, but I guess you can’t have it all!
NOAA/Weather radio
This band is great to have and is perfectly functional. I will say that this isn’t my most sensitive WB radio, but it’s not deaf by any definition. It’s just a little less sensitive to distant fringe WB stations than some of my other sets. But it does dependably pull in anything within 60 miles, so we’re only talking about ability to pull in distant fringe signals (which can be fun).
Air
I’ve played around with this a little and it definitely works better than expected. O’Hare tower is about 25 miles away and I get it clearly, along with aircraft that are (from what I can tell) basically anywhere within about 60 miles. The ability to scan is very helpful; however, catching a signal when someone is broadcasting is tricky. A little online research into local ATC frequencies goes a long way toward having fun on this band. The Skywave seems to work the Air Band better than the G6 and G3, my only other radios with this band.
So, overall, this radio has been a very pleasant surprise. No disappointments whatsoever. Kudos to C Crane Company for doing such a fine job with yet another radio.
That’s an excellent tip about widening the FM frequency range down to 76 MHz by selecting 9 kHz steps on mediumwave. Brilliant!
Readers should be aware that some Skywave owners have noted a vulnerability to overloading and imaging in urban markets or where blowtorch stations are nearby. If your listening post fits this description, you may want to hold off until C.Crane has addressed the issue.
While electronics manufacturer C. Crane offers a number of unique AM/FM radios, including some of the best portable medium wave receivers on the market, they’ve traditionally only had two models of shortwave radio––namely, the CCRadio-SW, and the CCRadio-SWP. Earlier this year, however, C.Crane announced a new portable that would join their product line: the CC Skywave.
Admittedly, I was eager to give this little radio a go: C. Crane touts the Skywave as an exceptional travel radio, for which I’m always on the hunt. Last week, I had my opportunity when C. Crane sent me the new CC Skywave sample for review. I instantly got to work scrutinizing their newest offering…and here’s what I’ve discovered.
First impressions
The form factor of the Skywave is very similar to C.Crane’s CCRadio-SWP pocket radio; in fact, its smooth plastic body even feels the same. While this radio doesn’t have the rubberized coating that have become popular on radio exteriors in recent years, supposedly to provide an easy-to-grip surface, I’m pleased that C.Crane does not use this, as these coatings can eventually deteriorate over time and with heat exposure, becoming somewhat tacky or sticky to the touch.
The Skywave’s backlit LCD display is small, but readily viewable from several angles. All of the buttons on the front of the Skywave have a tactile response, again, similar to the CCRadio-SWP. The buttons require slightly more pressure to activate than Tecsun and Degen models; I prefer this, especially for a travel radio: should I forget to activate the key lock, it’s much less likely that the radio will accidentally turn on during transit.
As always, I attempted first to see how many radio features and functions I could uncover without first consulting the owner’s manual. In the past, C.Crane products have been some of the most intuitive on the market. Fortunately, the Skywave did not disappoint: first, I was able to set both the clock and alarm within moments; both essential in a travel radio.
Once the radio is on, it will display either the time or frequency on the main display. While the Skywave defaults to a time display, I discovered that the lock button toggles the display between time and frequency for ten seconds. (Note: After reading through the manual later, I learned that you can actually change the default display mode to either time or frequency–very nice touch!)
I then turned on the radio and found the memory allocation to be very straightforward: tune to the desired station, then press and hold a number button two seconds to save. Press a button quickly to recall. Memory remembers bandwidth, stereo, or mono (if FM), and any voice or music audio filters utilized–very handy!
Speaking of bandwidth, the Skywave has five on shortwave, medium wave, and air bands: 6, 4, 3, 2, and 1 kHz. By pressing the bandwidth button, you can cycle through these from widest to narrowest. The bandwidth defaults to 3 kHz, but the default can be changed by holding down the bandwidth button for five seconds (with radio powered off).
To enter a frequency in AM/FM/SW, you simply press the FREQ button, then key in frequency. To scan through the band, simply press and hold one of the up/down arrow buttons. Worth noting: the Skywave’s scan function is one of the fastest I’ve seen in a portable.
On the topic of scanning, and since this is a travel radio, I would have liked C.Crane to include an ETM function like that found in the Tecsun PL-310ET and PL-380. It’s quite a handy function for auto-populating temporary memories from a simple band scan. I assume this is not an option on the DSP chip powering the Skywave.
Owner’s manual
Once I had my fun trying to discover as many functions on the Skywave without the manual’s aid, I finally opened it and discovered a few more functions.
One feature I’ve already come to love in the Skywave: the ability to change the tuning speed, and thus frequency step-spacing on the tuning knob (option of 5 or 1 kHz steps), just by pressing the knob itself. I much prefer this to using a front-panel tuning step button because it’s so easy to operate in low-light settings (lounging in bed, for example).
Another unique feature of the Skywave is a switchable audio filter for voice or music. With the filter set to “voice,” the audio is enhanced for human voice intelligibility. When set to “music,” it widens the audio filter, thus optimizing audio fidelity. Toggling the audio filter settings between voice and music is very easy, but not intuitive; indeed, it’s almost a hidden feature you can discover via the owner’s manual. Simply press the “1” and “2” simultaneously while listening to a broadcast to toggle the filter.
I should note that the C.Crane owner’s manual is one of the most straightforward and simple I’ve seen in ages. You can tell that, at least in the English version that came with mine, this manual was written by a native English speaker. It made for simple, clear instruction without head-scratching over obscure terms. Even the least technically-inclined user will understand these instructions, no problem.
AM – Medium Wave
After asking SWLing Post readers what they would like me to include in this review, a number of you responded that you wanted me to give the AM broadcast band reception a proper review.
My foray into medium wave listening with the Skywave started off on the right foot. The very first night with the Skywave, I tuned it to 740 kHz, my favorite, albeit challenging to reach, AM station here in the North America–CFZM “Zoomer Radio” While those living in the midwestern and northeastern US can receive Zoomer radio easily enough at night, it is often a tough catch here in the southeast in the evening hours. After nightfall it competes with clear channel stations that also occupy 740 kHz. With a portable radio, the lock on Zoomer is never terribly strong and is very prone to fading.
But after tuning the Skywave to Zoomer, I received CFZM so well it sounded like a local station–in fact, I couldn’t believe it until a station ID confirmed that I was receiving it. Even more surprising was that I received it away from home, in an area plagued with RFI noise where I typically have to carefully turn a radio to null out the noise in an effort to enhance the desired broadcast. But the Skywave somehow mitigated this noise better than my other portables. Even when I turned the radio in the direction of the offending electrical noise, it wasn’t as bad as on other portables. Truly, the reception was remarkable.
With Zoomer firmly locked in, I hopped into bed, turned the volume to a comfortable level, and listened for at least half an hour before falling asleep. I was pleasantly surprised the following morning, some eight hours later, when I woke to the Skywave playing CFZM at the same level. Phenomenal! Perhaps conditions were exceptionally favorable that night; nonetheless, the Skywave couldn’t have impressed me more.
A side note–on the previous day, I’d inserted two generic alkaline AA batteries in the Skywave; after a total of ten hours playing at medium volume, the battery indicator still showed full capacity.
Medium wave audio samples
While time won’t allow a full audio sampling of the medium wave band for comparison, I did record the following comparison between the Skywave and the Tecsun PL-310ET (which I regard as one of the more capable sub-$100 ultra-compact portables on the market).
Since SWLing Post readers specifically asked to hear how the Skywave handles choppy nighttime medium wave DX conditions, I tuned to two frequencies with overlapping broadcasts, one of which was slightly dominant: 950 kHz and 990 kHz. I set the AM bandwidth to 3 kHz on both radios and made the recordings within one minute of each other. The CC Skywave’s audio filter was set to “voice.”
In the following recordings, listen for Radio Reloj (Cuba)–it’s buried deep in the noise. You might detect the ticking and “R” “R” in Morse code. These recordings were taken within one minute of each other.
To my ear, the Skywave was clearer and the commentator’s voice seemed to pop out of the noise better.
I’ve spent a great deal of time listening to the Skywave on the medium wave band this week and I feel comfortable recommending it for the medium wave DXer.
FM
While I’ve spent comparatively less time (thus far) evaluating the Skywave’s FM band, I can say that the Skywave receives my “benchmark” FM stations with ease. Sensitivity also seems to be on par with my other DSP based portables (meaning, excellent sensitivity).
Shortwave
Of course, being a shortwave enthusiast, I’ve spent the bulk of my listening time since receiving the Skywave on the shortwave bands. And during this time, alas, shortwave radio band conditions have been challenging for any radio. Yet I’m happy to note that this little radio does not disappoint: it has excellent sensitivity and selectivity for a radio of its size. When I compared the Skywave with the Tecsun PL-310ET, in almost every situation, they are nearly equal in performance.
Shortwave audio samples
Below I’ve included audio samples of the Skywave on 9580 kHz (Radio Australia). Under normal conditions, Radio Australia would be a blowtorch signal here in North America, but this particular morning, propagation was quite poor. In the audio, you’ll hear both radios attempting to cope with pronounced fading, with their AGC circuits reacting to the quick rise and fall of signal strength. Both radios were set to a 3kHz bandwidth and the Skywave’s audio filter set to “voice” to help mitigate noise.
Note that Radio Australia was broadcasting music, which can be more difficult to evaluate, but the vocals were prominent enough I felt it made for a good comparison.
This morning, I also recorded WWV on 15 MHz. Again, propagation conditions were poor across the bands, so even WWV (normally very stable) was affected by quick fading (QSB). For kicks, I decided to add the benchmark Tecsun PL-660 to this comparison. If you recall, it received some of the highest marks for sensitivity in our weak signal shoot out. The Tecsun PL-310ET and CC Skywave were set to 3 kHz bandwidth and the Tecsun PL-660 to it’s narrow bandwidth (which I felt was most equivalent).
The good news is that the Skywave is certainly a sensitive and selective portable. While evaluating shortwave performance over the past week, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well this little radio receives.
NOAA Weather radio
Those of us living or traveling in North America will appreciate the Skywave’s built-in NOAA weather radio functionality. Since I have at least a dozen self-powered radios and desktops that have built-in NOAA weather reception, I typically don’t give the band much thought. I figured NOAA reception would be a mediocre add-on with the Skyview. I was wrong.
Not only does the Skywave have NOAA weather radio, but it also has weather alerts. What’s so great about that? Imagine that you’re travelling to a rural area and weather is looking ominous; in this case, you can simply set the Skywave to the strongest NOAA channel and activate the weather alert (choose options for 4, 8, or 16 hours). If severe weather is reported for your geographic area, the Skywave will alert you.
I’m very pleased with the NOAA weather radio reception, as well. The Skywave receives NOAA stations even better than one of my dedicated weather radios.
AIR band
C.Crane included the Air band for travelers, as a means to listen to air traffic control while in an airport or awaiting a flight’s arrival. I have several portables with the AIR band, but most lack an autoscan ability (Grundig G3, G6), and performance on these tends to be mediocre at best.
I’ve traveled to three different cities over the past week and used the Skywave to tune to the local air-traffic control tower. After a bit of scanning, it eventually found the frequency, and reception was quite good. I have not yet used the AIR band in an airport (notorious for RFI) nor in a large metro area, so I can’t comment about performance under those conditions.
What really separates the Skywave apart from my other shortwave portable with the AIR band is that it actually has an adjustable squelch mode. Nice touch!
CC Buds Earphones
Unlike Tecsun portables which typically ship with batteries, an external antenna wire, chargers, travel cases, and the like, the CC Skywave comes with very few included accessories––just a carry case, an owner’s manual, and earphones.
Most of the headphones/earphones that accompany a shortwave radio package are of the cheapest quality. I’m happy to note that the Skywave’s included earphones are the best I’ve ever received as an included accessory with a shortwave radio.
The CC Buds Earphones are in-ear style (which I prefer, for sound isolation) with soft silicone earpieces. They are tuned to a frequency response which favors voice, an enhanced mid-range. For SWLing and MW DXing, I believe they’re nearly ideal. Indeed, I’m planning to use these with my Elecraft KX3 next time I’m operating QRP––I’m sure that SSB will sound great.
Since these are tuned for the spoken word, however, I wouldn’t necessarily favor the CC Buds Earphones over my Sony in-ear buds for music listening.
Summary
Every radio has pros and cons, and I jot down my reactions as I evaluate a new radio so as not to forget any details. The following is my list:
Pros:
Overall great sensitivity and selectivity for a portable in this price class
Considerate design, well-tailored for the traveler:
Compact size
Air band
NOAA weather radio
Easy to set clock and alarm
Simple controls
Lightweight
Operates on 2 AA batteries
Charges from Mini USB (see con)
Wide HF frequency range (2.3 up to 26.1 MHz) compared to the PL-380/PL-310 (2.3 up to 21.95 MHz)
AIR band is truly functional: includes both scanning and squelch
NOAA Weather radio reception excellent
Includes soft silicone earphones (in-ear type) actually worthy of AM/SW listening
Auto scanning with the up/down buttons is very rapid
Integrated charging circuit
Uses common micro USB port for power/charging
Tuning speed easily changed by pressing tuning knob
Volume control is fully variable (free wheel, analog style), not in pre-determined digital steps
Selectable audio filters for music and voice
Cons:
Internal speaker audio is somewhat tinny (use of the voice audio filter helps)
No external antenna jack
No SSB mode (in this price class of $90 US, SSB is an included mode on some models)
Only one clock; no provision for dual local/UTC time
Mutes between frequency changes
Whip antenna is short––only 16” fully extended. While the Skywave seems to perform brilliantly with this short antenna (see pro), I can’t help but wonder if more length might boost some bands.
While no inconvenience to me, the Skywave does not come with an adaptor or USB cord for powering/charging. (Should you need it, C.Crane sells a proper noise-free regulated power supply separately ($15 US); however, most buyers will already have these cords and any USB port on your PC or USB-based phone charger will suffice. Also note that listening to virtually any radio while charging will inject noise into the receiver, resulting in sub-par reception.)
Can overload on shortwave and AIR bands if located near a strong radio station (see this comment)
Conclusion
The CC Skywave is nearly identical in size to the late and great Grundig G6.
C. Crane has few shortwave radios in their product line, and all perform rather well for their price point; I know, as I have owned all of them and even purchased as gifts in the past.
Fortunately, it’s clear that C. Crane noticed the shortcomings of the AR1733 and has modified the Skywave’s design and firmware accordingly, which may account for the delayed roll-out of the CC Skywave. Obviously, the Skywave’s ACG circuit has been tweaked to cope with medium wave and shortwave listening, since a poor ACG circuit is one of the shortcomings of the AR1733. But, if so, wow…what a tweak.
Because all in all, the CC Skywave is a excellent little radio. Indeed, in terms of the ultra-compact portable market (models like I included in a recent shoot-out), I think it’s one of the best surprise performers I’ve seen in the past couple of years.
After just one week with it, I’ve already decided to take the CC Skywave along on my travels to see how it performs over time. It will replace my PL-310ET and PL-380 for my one bag domestic and international travelling. The CC Skywave is also especially well-suited for the “go”-bags and “bug-out” bags used in evacuations and other emergencies. Indeed, with AM/FM/SW/AIR plus functional NOAA radio, this little radio packs a lot––in short, the Skywave packs enough to get packed in my bag.
C. Crane has sent me their new CC Skywave shortwave portable for review. I’ve been using it since Friday and have started putting together a quick review.
If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment and I’ll try to address them in the upcoming post.
“It looks like the new SW/AM/FM/Air Skywave radio from C.Crane will be delayed according to their website. The new date for release will be October 31st. But, you can reserve yours now to avoid the rush that is sure to come.”
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Dan (VR2HF), who writes:
After just one week with it, I’ve already decided to take the CC Skywave along on my travels to see how it performs over time. It will replace my PL-310ET and PL-380 for my 
