While trying to find a supplier of DT400W able to ship overseas, I found
a grey version:

http://wwww.electrogalaxy.com/index.html?object=sngdt400w

hihi, actually, I have difficult with some colors. The DT400W pictured
above it's not a 'pure grey'. Definitely it's not black nor a 'shocking'
color :)

--hg

I wrote Sangean asking if the planned on releasing a black DT-400W.
This is their reply:

---
From: <feedback@...>
Re: Sangean Feedback Form: Product Questions

Dear Paul,

Thanks for you comment on the DT-400W color.

When comes with color, it's matter of personal preference. The outdoor
yellow color of DT-400W was requested by one of our big distributors.
It's a sport/outdoor giant retailer.

--- On Wed, 8/27/08, bbwrwy <richarda@...> wrote:


Thanks Mark, it is much appreciated. Now I can program my receivers.
It been nearly two decades since I did any trans-oceanic dxing and
there have been some changes.

By the way, I discovered AM frequencies in the memory of the DT-400W
are cleared when changing between 9 and 10 kHz steps.



*** Same as the 200. Unfortunately one negative point from that they apparently didn't improve upon.


Russ Edmunds
Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL )
[15 mi NNW of Philadelphia]
40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Grid FN20id
<wb2bjh@...>
FM: Yamaha T-80 & Onkyo T-450RDS w/ APS9B @15'
AM: Modified Sony ICF 2010 barefoot

Thanks Mark, it is much appreciated. Now I can program my receivers.
It been nearly two decades since I did any trans-oceanic dxing and
there have been some changes.

By the way, I discovered AM frequencies in the memory of the DT-400W
are cleared when changing between 9 and 10 kHz steps.

Best wishes for the best DX season ever.

Richard Allen.

In response to Richard's question, I'll throw out a few possibilities
for Europe / Africa / Mideast that have been heard, at least on
conventional radios, in the central US. Those that are separated 4
or 5 kHz from domestics are likely the best bests where less-than-
stellar receiver selectivity is involved. Those would be stations
whose channels end in 4, 5, or 6.

In that group, some of the biggies are:
585 Spain
684 Spain
756 Germany (over Spain)
765 Switzerland
774 Spain (over Egypt)
855 Spain
864 France (over Egypt, others)
945 France
1035 Portugal
1044 Spain / Morocco
1116 Spain
1134 Croatia (over Spain)
1206 France
1215 UK (over Spain, Albania, Russia)
1296 Spain (over Sudan, UK)
1305 Spain
1575 UAE (over Spain, Italy)
1584 Ceuta (over Spain)

Aside from those, there are some stations on tighter splits that can
still bulldoze through the adjacent domestics due to sheer power.
Even though only split from domestics by 1 kHz, Saudi Arabia on 1521,
Canary Islands on 621, UK on 1089, and the Algerians on 549, 891, and
981 would be in that class.

Then there are the stations on 9 kHz multiples that coincide with 10
kHz multiples: 540, 630, 720, 810, 900, 990, 1080, 1170, 1260, 1350,
1440, and 1530. You wouldn't need much in the way of selectivity to
pull these through. Just lucky propagation. A number of these are
heard on the East Coast with 1530 (Vatican and Sao Tome), 1440
(Luxembourg and Saudi Arabia), and 1170 (UAE) among the more common.
Seldom do these reach the Midwestern and Western states, however, due
both to greater path loss and worse domestic QRM.

Local sunset is the best time here on the East Coast, especially
right at the shore. The Euro-dawn enhancement period (typically
around midnight local time) often works better for inland listeners.

Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA

--- In ultralightdx@..., "bbwrwy" <richarda@...> wrote:

Mark: The DT-400W can be set to either 9 or 10 kHz steps. The 9

kHz

band is 522 to 1629 kHz. No provision for 1 or 5 kHz tuning. The
closest you can get to 555 kHz would be 558 kHz.

Request, can you suggest 10 or 12 stations from across the Atlantic
that we DXers in the heart of the continent might hear if conditions
are right? Thanks.

Richard Allen.

Hi all:

With Gary's Summer Shoot-out now complete, these documents are updated
and ready for download at DXer.ca. We have new "Best In Class"
winners, including the upstart Sangean DT-400W, and several units have
been relegated to the dreaded Turkey Farm. The Gallery and Compendium
are now certified Turkey-free!

Good DXing!

Kevin S.
Bainbridge Island, WA

MarkWA1ION ha scritto:

Before I pull the trigger and order a Sangean DT-400w, I have one crucial question for the assembled multitude. Can the receiver be set to 9 kHz multiple AM channels as well as to 10 kHz spaced ones ?
Also, is there any ability to tune to the few "oddball" 5 kHz spaced channels (such as the St. Kitts stations on 555 and 895) ?

Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA, USA

Same question here, by a european listener :-) .
Hallo to mr.Connelly and all the ultralighters!

Good Dxing

Giampaolo Galassi, Italy

Mark: The DT-$00W can be set to either 9 or 10 kHz steps. The 9 kHz
band is 522 to 1629 kHz. No provision for 1 or 5 kHz tuning. The
closest you can get to 555 kHz would be 558 kHz.

Request, can you suggest 10 or 12 stations from across the Atlantic
that we DXers in the heart of the continent might hear if conditions
are right? Thanks.

Richard Allen.

Before I pull the trigger and order a Sangean DT-400w, I have one
crucial question for the assembled multitude. Can the receiver be
set to 9 kHz multiple AM channels as well as to 10 kHz spaced ones ?

Also, is there any ability to tune to the few "oddball" 5 kHz spaced
channels (such as the St. Kitts stations on 555 and 895) ?

Mark Connelly, WA1ION - Billerica, MA, USA

--- In ultralightdx@..., Joseph Miller
<radiodxer2000@...> wrote:

Thx Gary,
 
A nice picture and short description can be seen at:
 
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/spcialty/4400.html

73 de Joe, KJ8O 

--- On Sun, 8/24/08, D1028Gary@... <D1028Gary@...> wrote:

From: D1028Gary@... <D1028Gary@...>
Subject: [ultralightdx] DT-400W Performance
To: ultralightdx@...
Date: Sunday, August 24, 2008, 7:38 PM

Hello Guys,
 
     The new Sangean DT-400W was the big surprise of the 5 models

tested in the Summertime Shootout, and does indeed have wide-band
sensitivity superior to all other Ultralight models (including the
SRF-T615 and the E100).  In order to confirm that this was not a
fluke, three DT-400W models were ordered, and all three had the same
great AM performance.  Accordingly, Ultralight enthusiasts can have
confidence in ordering this model, for highly sensitive Ultralight
DXing this fall season.

 
     Full details on the DT-400W evaluation, including its relative

performance against the E100 and SRF-T615 models (as well as all
other top Ultralight models) will be contained in the Summertime
Shootout review, which is in the final stages of completion and
should be available very shortly to all enthusiasts.

 
     73, Gary DeBock

Thanks Gary for the excellent review. As a result I purchased a
DT-400W and used it for the first time yesterday. The build quality
is excellent, as is the ease of operation.

With my example sensitivity appears best in the middle part of the AM
band. The daytime signal from WNAX-570 (5 kW @ 726 km) was barely
audible on the DT-400W while there was partially readable audio on my
SRF-M37W. There was no signal from KKLF-1700 (10 kW @ 337 km) noted
on the DT-400W, but it was barely audible on the M37W. Between about
700 and 1500 kHz the sensitivity is better than either the SRF-59 or
M37W I compared it with.

I could not hear KBUF-1030 (1 kW @ 355 km) with the DT-400W because of
slop from local KOKP-1020 (0.4 kW @ 26 km). I've only found the E100
was able to pickup KBUF at mid-day.

Adjacent channel slop from local stations can be rejected by turning
the receiver perpendicular to the objectionable signal. Nearby
KFXY-1640 (10 kW @ 40 km) was heard on 1630 and 1650 on the DT-400W,
but it was eliminated by rotating 90° to the signal. The station
overloads the M37W from 1620 to 1630 and it can't be cleared up by
rotating.

One of my complaints about the M37W was it couldn't receive any NOAA
WX station here. The DT-400W pulled in four different NOAA stations
clearly.

My conclusion is it's an outstanding receiver, and I recommend it to
all ULR fanatics. I suspect we will be seeing DT-400W modifications
shortly. I only wish it could be tuned in one kilohertz steps.

One question: Where is the receiver manufactured? I find no country of
origin on the DT-400W. I'd always thought Sangean was a Taiwanese
company.

Richard Allen.

Hi  Guys,   Well My Robert Ross 30 Day  challenge attempt  is going well so far, up to last night I managed to get my total stations logged so far for it,  at 132 for the first 3 days.. 61 Transatlantics and 71 Domestics thus far. The tough part is ahead !!   A few logs last night as follows:     1341 khz - R. Ulster   Lisnagarvey N. Ireland   22:33 UTC 8/26/08 w/ R. Ulster ID, music ,Saturday night program promo; fair    882 khz - BBC Wales  Washford, England  22:45 UTC 8/26/08 w/ opera singer; ID mention of BBC Wales; fair   1134 khz - Hrvatska Radio  Zadar Croatia   22:39 UTC   8/26/08  w/ spanish broadcast , news by woman, mentions of Croatia ; good   1008 khz GrootNieuws Radio  Flevoland, Netherlands   23:21 UTC  8/26/08  w/ religious programming in Dutch , church and light type music ; fair **** NEW ONE *** on ULR and overall   1116 khz SER Pontavedra, Spain   00:10 UTC  8/27/08  w/ woman  with interview in Spanish,  Exterior Espana ID's ; Very good   1280 khz  WFAU Gardiner, Maine   1:36 UTC   8/27/08  w/ Boston Red Sox BB , local ads ; good   1530 khz - Vatican Radio ; Vatican   4:00 UTC  8/27/08  w/ Russian language , ID then into Interval signal ; fair   1300 khz - WOOD  Grand Rapids, Michigan   4:22 UTC   8/27/08  w/ Newsradio 1300 WOOD ID, new stories ; fair   1290 khz - CFRW  Winnipeg, Manitoba   6:45 UTC  8/27/08  w/ oldies by Bill Ainsbury and Little Richard ; CFRW ID; fair   1540 khz - KXEL Waterloo, Iowa   7:00 UTC   8/27/08  w/ Midnight Trucking Talk ; 15-40 KXEL Waterloo- Cedar Falls ID ; good   1320 khz - WDER  Derry, New Hampshire   7:54 UTC   8/27/08  w/ Inspirational Radio WDER  Id, Inspirational song "You Are  Glorious"  fair  *** NEW ONE *** on ULR     73 Allen Willie St. John's Newfoundland All logged with  the SRF-M37V  barefoot

Yahoo! Canada Toolbar : Search from anywhere on the web and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now!

Hello ronshire2000     In answer to your question I personally use Google Maps Distance Calculator for my Transatlantic catches and  for my domestics this site http://www.topazdesigns.com/ambc/ it has very useful information about power output  and antenna patterns also just with the input of your geographical coordinates and the  callsign you are searching for     73 Allen Willie St. John's, Newfoundland

---

Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr!

I just ordered one from Amazon and it will be here on Friday. Finally
no more headphones or flashlights needed for outdoor DX. The weather
alert is a plus in my book.

Ron and Paul,

 

     Thank you very much for your positive comments on the Summertime Shootout article.  It was fun to write, and I'm very pleased that it is proving helpful to Ultralight enthusiasts as they prepare for a thrilling DX season.

 

     Ron, I am aware of two typos that made it into the Shootout posted on dxer.ca, but haven't yet figured out how to edit them in the dxer.ca protocol (without re-posting the entire document).  Anyway, if anyone would like a perfect shootout file with superior photos, I would be happy to send it directly by email.

 

     The DT-400W's great AM performance was quite a surprise here, and a timely discovery right before the DX season.  Having had the dubious distinction of being responsible for driving the price of the SRF-T615 into the stratosphere because of my recommendation in the January 2008 Shootout, I would like to make amends by recommending that all interested hobbyists purchase their DT-400W models ASAP, before Sangean responds to the booming interest with a booming price increase.

 

     73,  Gary DeBock  

Hi Gary,

After pulling the back off of my E100 using John's instructions, I
immediately saw the problem: the "disk" on the tuning shaft was
rubbing on the inside of the case, so much so that it caused the
section of the case through which the tuning shaft goes to move in
and out slightly on every rotation of the knob.

I figured I could solve the problem by putting a shim between the
inside edge of the case and the inner frame of the radio. I found an
O-ring with the proper thickness and diameter, cut a small section
out of it, then placed it appropriately. This stopped the binding of
the tuning knob on part of its rotation. It rotates fairly easily
over its whole rotation now, with minimal friction.

The tuning encoder is still kind of finicky. On some parts of the
rotation it's very easy to get accurate 1 kHz increments. On other
parts of the rotation it requires some care to avoid getting 0 kHz
or 2 kHz increments instead. I think my E10 does the same thing, so
this is probably common with these cheap encoders. Since I only use
the tuning knob for fine tuning -- it's too slow for anything else --
I may put a white mark on the knob, centered on the best part of
the rotation, for easy reference.

It's funny that you mentioned the antenna wire breaking off -- mine
did exactly that. It looks like it may have just been hanging by a
thread. Since the contact is fixed the the back of the plastic case,
I didn't want to solder it, because it might melt the case. I simply
stripped the end of the wire, then placed it between the threaded,
square antenna mounting end and the contact that is fixed to the
back of the case, then carefully tightened the screw that holds the
antenna to the case. Not elegant, but it seems to work just fine.

Having 1 kHz tuning steps is a big advantage of the E100 over the
other ultralights, but I notice that my E100 is far more prone to
hets than my DT-200VX, sometimes even on strong, local stations.
Usually tuning 1 or 2 kHz up or down can get rid of the hets on the
E100, but not always. The DT-200VX rarely has hets when tuned to the
same frequency as the E100. I suspect that the stock IF filter in
the E100 is somewhat wider than the one in the DT-200VX.

Regards,
Gary

What method do you people use to calculate the mileage of a dx station
from your own location?

 outdistance my previous record by 500 miles or so.
 
So I'm up for the challenge and looking forward to it.
 
Just some of the  logs from last night as follows:
 
 
1467 khz - TWR via Monaco  8/24/08    22:59 UTC w/ religious

programming in English, gospel songs ; fair

 
1512 khz - BSKSA Jeddah, Saudi Arabia  8/24/08  22:57 UTC w/ arabic

chants and music ; fair

 
1053 khz - LJB  Tripoli, Libya   8/24/08   23:04 UTC  w/ song in

arabic by wioman, cheering then into music; good (over usual Talksport
England)

 
 972 khz - LJB  Sirte, Libya   8/24/08  23:43 UTC  w/ arabic chants 

// 1449 good

 
1260 khz - WMKI Boston, Mass  8/24/08  23:54 UTC w/ R. Disney

programming and ID's; fair

 
1413 khz - RNE5 Vigo, Spain   8/24/08  23:57 UTC w/ spanish pop

songs and commentary // 1314 , fair

 
1310 khz - CIWW Ottawa, Ontario   8/25/08  00:04 UTC w/ oldies by

Stevie Wonder and Stonebolt,CIWW Ottawa Oldies 13-10  ID ; good

 
1660 khz - WFNA Charlotte, North Carolina   8/25/08  3:25 UTC  w/

baseball game in progress, ID later ; fair

 
1062 khz - Danmarks Radio , Kalundborg  8/25/08   3:58 UTC w/ danish

language and commentary with English songs between ; fair

 
1250 khz - WGAM  Manchester, New Hampshire   8/25/08   4:45 UTC  w/

ID by man ,WGAM 1250 The Game, sports programming; *** NEW ONE ** on UL's

 
1530 khz  - WCKY Cincinnati, Ohio   8/25/08   4:40 UTC  w/ "Homer

The Sports Animal "ID, sports talk; fair

 
1170 khz - WWVA Wheeling, W. Virginia   8/25/08   5:02 UTC w/

Newsradio 11-70 WWVA  Wheeling " ID; good

 
1450 khz - WENJ Atlantic City, New Jersey   8/25/08  4:06 UTC  w/

Baseball game audio replays, Welcome to Sportline on ESPN Radio,
mentions of Atlantic City ; fair  *** NEW ONE***  (submitting record
for graveyarder at a distance of 1220 miles)

 
 
73
Allen Willie
St. John's, Newfoundland
SRF-M37V barefoot
 
 


__________________________________________________________________
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What a wonderfully written, detailed, and professional report!

Thank you Gary.

Paul

--- In ultralightdx@..., D1028Gary@... wrote:

Hello Guys,

The new Ultralight Radio AM-DX Summertime Shootout file has

been

uploaded to dxer.ca, including full information and photos on the

SRF-S84, SRF-M97,

E100, SRF-M37W, and DT-400W models. Extremely detailed

information is

provided for sensitivity, selectivity, nulling ability,

images/spurs, AGC, audio

quality, digital tuning noise, and quality control record. In

addition, a

bonus section is provided comparing all these models with all the

other

top-rated Ultralight radio models (SRF-59, SRF-39FP, SRF-T615, DT-

210V and DT-200VX

units).

If you have any question at all about the top Ultralight

radio models,

the answer is probably available in this Shootout. Get ready for

a SUPER

fall DX season!

73 and Great Ultralight DX, Gary DeBock



**************It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find

your travel

deal here.
(http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047)

Ron,

Thanks for the link. I just ordered a second one for
myself. With the free shipping, it costs the same as
my first one that I purchased from Amazon that I had
to pay shipping for!

Gary D's confidence in these radios ...

After ordering three DT-400W review models for the
Summertime Shootout and having all three units arrive
from the factory in an excellent state of wide-band
AM sensitivity, I can strongly recommend this
innovative new receiver for any Ultralight DXer looking
for a thrilling fall DX season. It is highly unusual
for the Chinese factories to consistently perform
excellent AM alignments, but Sangean has apparently
managed to accomplish this. As long as you can
tolerate the yellow color, you'll love it :>)

makes me feel pretty good that this second one should
perform as good as my first one.

Plus, I personally think the yellow color is attractive!
The "yellow jersey" color is a conversation starter!
Good way to get others into the hobby!!

73,

Steve N5WBI
Houston TX

Gary, what a great job you have done putting together the 2008 summer
shootout. i haven't read everything yet but am very impressed with
your work. so much so i ordered a DT400W today. See previous post for
link from where i purchased it.

i did see one typo in the sensitivity table, in the SRF-T615 row, 3rd
column it reads "steady weak audio (30". my guess is should read
'steady weak audio (3)'. i'm not trying to lint pick but did notice it
and thought you may want to correct the file for future use.

Thank you very much for all your enjoyable hard work. i am sure
everyone will make good use of this info

Ron N8APZ