Tag Archives: Sangean WR-2

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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Jeff discovers that the Sangean WR-2 loses time when playing radio

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

I wanted you to know that my Sangean WR-2 keeps perfect time when I don’t play the radio, but when I do play the radio I lose 25 minutes; the clock is 25 minutes slow in other words. I’ve read other complaints from Sangean owners, including from those who own the Sangean HDR-18. Some say it has something to do with RDS. Have you heard of this problem? It’s annoying because I have to reset my clock every morning.

Wow–an otherwise excellent radio that prominently features a clock should never have this problem. This problem essentially renders the clock useless. I’m not sure what would cause this unless it’s incorrectly pulling time data from the RDS function?

Post readers: Have you noticed this fault in the WR-2, WR-18 or other similar models? Please comment.

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Jeff reviews the Sangean WR-2

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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.

Click here to read Jeff’s full review on the Herculodge.

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Jeff’s bedside radio search ends with the Sangean CL-100

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My pal, Jeff McMahon, over at the Herculodge writes:

A week ago, my Sangean WR-2 was fried when the electric company surged my house. I replaced it with the Grundig S350DL but it drifted too much.

I then used my superior Crane-SW radio (same size as the big Grundig) and guess what? It died! Those cheap radios today seem to die after 5 years or so.

So I looked through the myriad of unused radios in my cabinet and unearthed a Sangean CL-100 purchased in 2011. For whatever reason, it no longer works with batteries (old double As were left in there and leaked a tiny bit but compartment looked clean enough), so I plugged it in and it works.

FM is better than my Sangean WR-2. I think it has a DSP chip.
AM is better with low background noise, amazing for a radio this small.

Speaker is not as good as the WR-2, but it’s clear and okay since I listen mostly through earbuds.

Tiny footprint on my bedside table, which I like.

The menu system is easy enough to use though I wonder if down the road I’ll encounter bugs.

I bought this for about $45 and now it’s about $12 more.

It really suits my needs.

[A] man needs a strong performing bedside radio. That’s the backbone of a collection.

Indeed it is, Jeff!

I see why you like the CL-100. For a bedside radio, the flat/horizontal form factor also makes it less susceptible to being knocked over when you reach for it in the dark.

As for battery operation, you may try removing some of the corrosion on the battery contacts with a file or something mildly abrasive. I’d also hit it with a little Deoxit. (Though knowing Jeff, he’s probably already on this.)

Having your Sangean WR-2 fried by the power company is bad enough, but then finding out your C.Crane CCradio-SW isn’t working just adds insult to injury.

I should note that, in general, I think C.Crane products are built as well as most others on the market.

I often wonder if premature product failures have less to do with poor quality control and more to do with the lead-free solder electronics manufacturers are forced to use these days.

Many moons ago, a friend sent me this article which outlines concerns about the use of lead-free solder in the military and aerospace industries. It’s worth a read and certainly points out inherent flaws. I often wonder if nearly all of our modern consumer electronics are prone to fail within a decade; you know, planned obsolescence at its worst. Perhaps I’m overreacting.

When I build kits or repair electronics, I only use traditional lead-based solder. Not only is it easier to use, but I feel it will last longer.

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