Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jeff McMahon, who notes that there are a limited number of Sangean PR-D4W units on Amazon.com.
If you’re seriously considering this radio, check out Gary’s overview on the Herculodge blog.
(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.[…]
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!
My buddy, Jeff McMahon, has just published a review of the Sangean DT-160 on his blog, the Herculodge. It’s well-worth reading if you’re considering a DT-160.
Overall, Jeff believes the DT-160 is a keeper and he’s very pleased with FM performance. He notes one major annoyance:
“The toggle tuning wheel on the radio’s right side. You hold it to set the time. You wait for the hour number to flash, then set with preset 1. You do the same for the minute. You have to click downwards to scroll through the numbers. The toggle feel is awkward.
You use the same toggle for tuning, and here I really dislike the tune/set jog wheel because it’s impossible to scroll through the stations without prompting the set button to flash. It’s like my wife doesn’t like me brushing my teeth in the shower. Don’t mix the tuning with the time set. They belong in separate chambers, so to speak.”
Wow–what a poor design decision on the part of Sangean. I suppose they did this to eliminate the need for extra clock set buttons? Still.
But as Jeff says, once presets are assigned, no more tuning woes.
Click here to read Jeff’s DT-160 review.
On a side note, I’m looking forward to receiving my DT-160CL later this week. Since I think the “CL” version lack a clock, I’m curious if tuning will be more pleasant.
I’ve just learned that my buddy Jeff, over at the Herculodge, has reviewed the Sangean WR-2.
Jeff writes:
I haven’t had a Sangean WR-2 in a year because a year ago Southern Cal Edison fried all the electronics on our block doing unauthorized work. They had to pay tens of thousands of dollars to residents. I was paid about $400 for the loss of some of my electronics, including my Sangean WR-2.
[…]I decided to get my beloved black WR-2 back. This radio, which I first purchased in 2005, is one of those radios that marks my entry into being “radio-minded,” a guy who is very aware of the radio performance hierarchy.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jeff McMahon (at the Herculodge), who writes:
I upgraded my Sangean U3 with a male to female iMBAPrice 6 foot stereo audio extension cable 3.5mm, which I plugged into the U3’s auxiliary port.
The U3’s small stub of an FM antenna really needed some extra oomph. Now my U3 is picking up all my favorite stations, including the problematic KPCC 89.3 in Pasadena.
AM is as great as always. The sound is crystal clear on AM and FM. If this radio weren’t so big, I’d buy two more for the kitchen and my bedroom, but will have to be content to have one for my gym/office radio.
Thanks, Jeff! I might have to consider the Sangean U3–I hope a reader will let me know if one goes on sale.
Like Jeff, having a radio that not only performs admirably, but that can also withstand the attention of my kids, may be a great investment over the long-term! I’m glad such a simple addition to the U3 means that you can now hear your favorite Fm station, Jeff!
Now if Sangean only made a shortwave version of the U3–!
Many thanks to Jeff McMahon, from the Herculodge, who shares an update to his Sangean PR-D4W review.
The good news is that Jeff continues to be impressed with the PR-D4W and ranks it above the venerable C.Crane CCRadio-2E in almost every category. At $64.50 on Amazon, the PR-D4W is a much better value.
Follow this link to his review: