Tag Archives: Herculodge

Jeff rediscovers the Tecsun PL-660

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Jeff McMahon over at The Herculodge for his recent post, “Dude, You Really Love Radios: A Nostalgic Ode to the Tecsun PL-660.

Jeff reflects on rediscovering the Tecsun PL-660, a “Pre-DSP Glory Era” classic, sharing insights about its design, performance, and the irresistible pull of nostalgia. Like many of us who love radios, he’s already contemplating buying a second one!

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Jeff’s short review of the Tecsun PL-880

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Jeff McMahon, who notes that he’s recently published a short review of the Tecsun PL-880 on his blog, The Herculodge.

Jeff has discovered something that portable radio enthusiasts have known for more than a decade: the PL-880 sports some of the best audio fidelity in a modern portable radio!

His review prompted me to search for my original review of the PL-880. It turns out I published it in December 2013. Has it really been over 11 years since the PL-880 was introduced? It’s hard to believe—but I’ll admit it still holds its own. I’ll never let mine go.

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Why Jeff Returned the Qodosen DX-286

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Jeff McMahon, who notes that he’s published his thoughts about the Qodosen DX-286 [SWLing Post affiliate link] over on his blog, The Herculodge. While the DX-286 had solid AM reception, its audio quality and build didn’t quite meet his needs.

In the end, Jeff opted for a more robust choice for his setup. Curious about his experience with the DX-286 and why he made the switch? Read Jeff’s review here.

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Sangean PR-D12: Jeff’s first radio review in ten years

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

Hi Thomas,

I hope all is well. The fires here in Los Angeles prompted me to buy 3 radios, including this Sangean PR-D12 (a Tecsun PL-990X arrives in a few days). This is my first radio review in about 10 years:

Click here to check it out on Jeff’s excellent blog, The Herculodge.

It’s great to see a radio review on your site again, Jeff. Having recently experienced an apocalyptic natural disaster, I can confidently say that a simple AM/FM radio is a reliable and robust source of local news and information. Here in the Swannanoa/Asheville area, we had two stations simulcasting local news and recovery information on both FM and AM frequencies. This service was invaluable when all other communications failed.

We look forward to your review of the PL-990x!

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Radio Deal: Limited number of refurbished Sangean PR-D4W units on Amazon

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jeff McMahon, who notes that there are a limited number of Sangean PR-D4W units on Amazon.com.

Click here to view on Amazon.

If you’re seriously considering this radio, check out Gary’s overview on the Herculodge blog.

 

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Bedside radio: Jeff ousts the Sangean WR-2 in favor of the Grundig G4000A

(Source: The Herculodge)

Our friend, Jeff McMahon, over at the Herculodge blog has just replaced his bedside radio–he writes:

Inexplicably, the Sangean WR-2 wasn’t getting 89.3 KPCC without static, distortion, and bleed-in from another station, over the last few weeks, even with the wire FM antenna attached to the back of it. Who knows why FM reception is subject to variation. It could be the weather.

In any event, I put the Sangean WR-2 in my daughter’s room (she gets her pop station MyFM 104.3 very easily, with the pigtail antenna on the back) and put the 13-year-old Grundig G4000A by my bedside. With the telescopic FM antenna alone, KPCC has a weak signal, evidenced by the Grundig’s reception meter, but when I put the wire SW antenna to the side SW antenna port, the reception is strong and clear.

Over the years, I’ve had many portables, including the Degen 1103, and some old Tecsun models from about 10 years ago. They all suffered from weak tin speakers. Not so with the Grundig G4000A. The speaker sound is very pleasing.[…]

Continue reading at the Herculodge.

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How to fix the Grundig S350DL’s mechanical tuning drift problem

The S350DL may look like a digital radio, but it’s actually analog inside and tuning is prone to drift.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who noted my comments about the Grundig S350DL’s tuning drift yesterday, and shared the following fix found on Jeff McMahon’s Herculodge blog.

Ed writes:

The Grundig S350DL’s mechanical tuning drift problem is reportedly easily correctable with a screwdriver:

(Source: The Herculodge)

[…]The drift on AM was terrible! After 10 minutes, it is jumping all over the place – if you touch the radio, the sound mutes and the display goes nuts. I pack it up to take it back but then I decide to google the problem and find this:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Grundig-S350/message/4644

I do exactly what he says – I pull off the cover after unscrewing all of the screws (including the 2 in the battery compartment).

Only the speaker is attached to the front. I remove the three screws from the display and then tighten the two screws on the tuning wheels. They were barely loose – almost not noticeable – so I was not too optimistic. I carefully got it all back together (the plastic pieces that hold the fabric handle on only go back on one certain way and were sort of a pain!). I cross my fingers, plug it in, and wow – a brand new radio. The tuning is perfect. Zero drift on FM and AM. AM sounds excellent.[…]

I have an earlier Grundig S350 that I bought at a hamfest years ago which had an easily-fixed power problem. For $20 it makes a nice bathroom radio and it sounds great, especially on FM.

BTW, I found schematics for it on radiomuseum.org, which is a great resource for radio schematics.

Thanks for the tip, Ed! I think I’ll crack open my S350DL later today and give this a try!

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