{"id":10677,"date":"2014-09-08T09:39:55","date_gmt":"2014-09-08T13:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=10677"},"modified":"2014-09-08T15:12:09","modified_gmt":"2014-09-08T19:12:09","slug":"commradio-cr-1-a-superb-travel-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/09\/commradio-cr-1-a-superb-travel-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"CommRadio CR-1: a superb travel radio"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_10689\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10689\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10689\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1.jpg\" alt=\"The CommRadio CR-1 in Taos, New Mexico\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1.jpg 640w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1-100x75.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10689\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The CommRadio CR-1 in Taos, New Mexico<\/p><\/div>\n<p>If you&#8217;re a regular reader, you&#8217;ll know that I&#8217;ve been on the road for the past three weeks, and have enjoyed\u00a0some quality radio time in New Mexico and Colorado. While I brought four portables along (the <a title=\"Review of the CommRadio CR-1 software defined radio\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/11\/review-of-the-commradio-cr-1-software-defined-radio\/\">CommRadio CR-1<\/a>, the <a title=\"Mega Review: the Tecsun PL-880, PL-660, Sangean ATS-909X, and Sony ICF-SW7600GR go head-to-head\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/07\/the-mega-shortwave-radio-review-of-the-pl-880-pl-660-ats-909x-and-icf-sw7600gr\/\">Sony ICF-SW7600GR<\/a>, the <a title=\"The Tecsun PL-380: a great travel radio\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2012\/05\/the-tecsun-pl-380-a-great-travel-radio\/\">Tecsun PL-380<\/a>, and the <a title=\"Picnicking and SWLing by the lake\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/picnicking-and-swling-by-the-lake\/\">Tecsun R1212A<\/a>), when conditions were favorable and I wanted to chase a little DX, I chose the CommRadio CR-1.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve sung the praises of\u00a0the <a title=\"Check out the CR-1a\" href=\"http:\/\/www.commradio.com\/cr-1a-communications-receiver\/\" target=\"_blank\">CR-1<\/a> <a title=\"Traveling light, SWLing right: the best shortwave radios for travel\" href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/traveling-light-swling-right-the-best-shortwave-radios-for-travel\/\">as a great travel radio in the past<\/a>,\u00a0when\u00a0it accompanied me on\u00a0several shorter trips, but this particular road trip afforded me some quality time with this little rig.<\/p>\n<p>What makes the CR-1 such a\u00a0great radio for travel?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Excellent\u00a0sensitivity and selectivity<\/li>\n<li>Wide frequency coverage (150 kHz &#8211; 30.000 MHz,\u00a064.0 &#8211; 260.0 MHz,\u00a0437.0 &#8211; 512.0 MHz)<\/li>\n<li>Internal battery powers the CR-1 for hours at a time (meets FAA regulations, too; you can pack it and fly with confidence)<\/li>\n<li>Charge or power the radio from a generic phone USB charger or 12 V power supply (indeed, the CR-1 can\u00a0be powered from a variety of sources\u2013anything from 6-18 Volts)<\/li>\n<li>Mil Spec tested and tough<\/li>\n<li>Compact footprint; this one is as small as most shortwave portables<\/li>\n<li>Lightweight<\/li>\n<li>OLED display that works from a variety of viewing angles<\/li>\n<li>Resin feet can\u00a0even be removed if packing space is severely limited<\/li>\n<li>Very quick to deploy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_10747\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1_Keysone2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10747\" class=\"wp-image-10747 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1_Keysone2.jpg\" alt=\"CommRadio_CR1_Keysone2\" width=\"640\" height=\"493\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1_Keysone2.jpg 640w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1_Keysone2-300x231.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1_Keysone2-100x77.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10747\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The CR-1, hooked up to my Zoom H2N digital recorder, \u00a0on the balcony of our Keystone, Colorado condo<\/p><\/div>\n<p>One con of the CR-1 is that its front panel function buttons are not backlit. Fortunately, there are only six buttons, so it was easy to\u00a0commit them to memory:\u00a0I did so much\u00a0outdoor nighttime listening, I can now\u00a0operate the CR-1\u00a0in the dark.<\/p>\n<p>Although the CR-1 is basically a tabletop SDR, it reminds me very much of the Palstar R30C I once owned and Lowe receivers I&#8217;ve used in the past\u2013simple and effective.<\/p>\n<p>The photo at the top of the post was taken in the back garden of a\u00a0friends&#8217; home in Taos, NM. Though you can&#8217;t see this in the photo, it was hooked up to a Par Electronics EF-SWL wire antenna at the time. It took five or so minutes to hang the EF-SWL in a tree, but took me only a few seconds to pull the CR-1 from a small flight case, plug in the antenna, and have it on the air. I charged the CR-1 prior to the trip so I didn&#8217;t even need a power supply. In fact, the internal battery powers the CR-1 long enough, I only charged it perhaps twice on the whole trip.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10761\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1_KeysoneCase1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10761\" class=\"size-full wp-image-10761\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1_KeysoneCase1.jpg\" alt=\"A flight case I purchased for $3 at a charity store holds the CR-1, the Sony ICF-SW7600GR and the Tecsun PL-380. The case is pretty much bullet proof and protects its contents even if dropped or heavy items placed on top.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1_KeysoneCase1.jpg 640w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/CommRadio_CR1_KeysoneCase1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-10761\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A flight case I purchased for $3 at a charity store holds the CR-1, the Sony ICF-SW7600GR and the Tecsun PL-380. This \u00a0case is fairly bullet-proof, protecting the contents even if dropped or heavy items are placed on it.<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>\u00a0The CommRadio CR-1a<\/h2>\n<p>CommRadio recently introduced <a href=\"http:\/\/www.commradio.com\/cr-1a-communications-receiver\/\" target=\"_blank\">the CR-1a<\/a>,\u00a0identical to the CR-1 in every respect but with the addition of a USB I\/Q output, making\u00a0it a very capable SDR when connected to a PC\u2013and simplifying the update process to one step (the CR-1 requires two steps).<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion? My appreciation for this rig has grown. \u00a0If you&#8217;re searching for a capable travel receiver, certainly consider\u00a0adding the <a title=\"Go to CommRadio\" href=\"http:\/\/www.commradio.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">CommRadio CR-1 or the\u00a0CR-1a<\/a> to your list of considerations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re a regular reader, you&#8217;ll know that I&#8217;ve been on the road for the past three weeks, and have enjoyed\u00a0some quality radio time in New Mexico and Colorado. While I brought four portables along (the CommRadio CR-1, the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, the Tecsun PL-380, and the Tecsun R1212A), when conditions were favorable and I wanted [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,43,158,1154],"tags":[1626,1625,1763,2773,1627,2772,2793,1153],"class_list":["post-10677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","category-software-defined-radio","category-travel","tag-commradio","tag-commradio-cr-1","tag-commradio-cr-1-review","tag-commradio-cr-1a","tag-cr-1","tag-cr-1a","tag-shortwave-radio-travel","tag-shortwave-travel"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-2Md","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22367,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/the-commradio-cr-1a-has-been-discontinued\/","url_meta":{"origin":10677,"position":0},"title":"The CommRadio CR-1a has been discontinued","author":"Thomas","date":"November 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors R. Lewis (KF5GV\/HS1) and Dave Zantow (N9EWO) who've both noted that the CommRadio CR-1a receiver has been listed as \"discontinued\" by Universal Radio, and HRO. I imagine CommRadio has stopped manufacturing the CR-1a as they gear up for production of the new\u00a0CTX-10 10 watt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The CommRadio CR-1a","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/CR-1a-left-front.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/CR-1a-left-front.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/CR-1a-left-front.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/CR-1a-left-front.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9329,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/04\/commradio-introduces-the-cr-1a\/","url_meta":{"origin":10677,"position":1},"title":"CommRadio introduces the CR-1a","author":"Thomas","date":"April 18, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to Dave Zantow (N9EWO) for apprising me of an update to the CommRadio line: the new CommRadio CR-1a. Based on information published by CommRadio, it appears that the main difference is a change to the\u00a0USB hardware which has been improved to provide: Digital I-Q (for third-party SDR developers),\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Products&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CommRadioCR1a","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/CommRadioCR1a.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/CommRadioCR1a.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/CommRadioCR1a.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/CommRadioCR1a.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14050,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/new-firmware-and-software-for-the-commradio-cr-1a\/","url_meta":{"origin":10677,"position":2},"title":"New firmware and software for the CommRadio CR-1a","author":"Thomas","date":"July 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader,\u00a0Grzegorz Jasionek, who notes that CommRadio has just released a firmware update for the CommRadio CR-1a that includes a new Graphic User Interface (GUI) with a 3D spectrum display. The CommRadio Dropbox site has an 18 minute video showing how to operate the GUI and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CommRadio-SpectrumDisplay","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CommRadio-SpectrumDisplay-e1436970878134.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CommRadio-SpectrumDisplay-e1436970878134.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/CommRadio-SpectrumDisplay-e1436970878134.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13448,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/06\/used-commradio-cr-1-at-universal-radio-for-379\/","url_meta":{"origin":10677,"position":3},"title":"Used CommRadio CR-1 at Universal Radio for $379","author":"Thomas","date":"June 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"While browsing\u00a0the Universal Radio used equipment index\u00a0during lunch, I noticed Universal\u00a0currently has a used CommRadio CR-1 (not the CR-1a) for $379.95. In my opinion, that's a brilliant price for a used CR-1 in good condition. You can buy used gear with confidence from Universal Radio;\u00a0they back\u00a0their items with\u00a0a\u00a060 day warranty\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The CommRadio CR-1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/CR-1-e1433353344925.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/CR-1-e1433353344925.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/CR-1-e1433353344925.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/CR-1-e1433353344925.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12626,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/03\/ray-compares-his-jrc-nrd-515-and-commradio-cr-1a\/","url_meta":{"origin":10677,"position":4},"title":"Ray compares his JRC NRD-515 and CommRadio CR-1a","author":"Thomas","date":"March 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post reader, Ray (WB8VDS) recently commented: \"I have continued to run A\/B comparisons between my CR-1a and an NRD-515. Digital to Analog competition. My NRD-515 has been a station favorite for many years. I find the two radios are pretty much equal in terms of performance. Sensitivity between the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"CommRadioCR1a","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/CommRadioCR1a.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/CommRadioCR1a.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/CommRadioCR1a.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/CommRadioCR1a.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6048,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/commradio-cr-1-training-videos\/","url_meta":{"origin":10677,"position":5},"title":"CommRadio CR-1 training videos","author":"Thomas","date":"March 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Don Moore, founder of CommRadio, has uploaded training videos for the CommRadio CR-1.\u00a0These offer a pretty comprehensive overview of the CR-1, especially in terms of functions and menu structure. Training Video 1 - Overview Training Video 2 - Tuning Training Video 3 - Menus and Functions","rel":"","context":"In &quot;New Products&quot;","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10677\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}