Date
1 - 20 of 31
Anybody get a new radio recently?
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Johnny
New radios/gear are fun...
Anybody get any new gear to report on recently? I picked up some little lazy-susans recently so that my radios can be easily rotated. J |
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Paul Blundell
I did but not an Ultralight... |
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Paul R. Stoetzer
Just got an HRD-747 in today's mail (took about 3 weeks via AliExpress to get to the East Coast of the United States). Impressive so far for what it is. It does seem to overload with MW station images appearing in the SW band when plugged into the MLA-30+ on my balcony, but I plan to use it while walking around with the whip antenna anyway. Neat to have so many bands available in such a small form factor, even if the UI is a bit clunky. 73, Paul, N8HM On Fri, Mar 4, 2022 at 3:31 PM Paul Blundell <tanger32au@...> wrote:
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Ola Fredriksson
Not a new one and not a regular ultralight but got a preowned Degen 1103. Very happy with it. Compared it to my bigger Tecsun 8800 on mediumwave and no doubt that Degen 1103 is a very sensitive DX machine
73 Ola in Sweden |
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Wolfgang von Poellnitz
This I can only confirm as I got a year ago a new unused PLL version of DE1103. This I can compare here to the various Tecsun and Sangean. My very recent addition to the line was a new PL-680 of Tecsun. First one was defect (!!), second by far not in the range of the DE1103 or the other Tecsuns or Sangeans.
73 Wolfgang in Austria |
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Yes, I discovered my old GRUNDIG Ocean Boy 340 again on the attic.
Just chasing the spiders out of it. |
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mediumwavedx
Still using my Radiowow R-108 in the ultralight category. I find this to be the best of the bunch I have. My PL-380 finally gave up because the buttons wouldn't work anymore. My Eton Traveller III gave up too. The display got so dim I couldn't see it.
I still have a C.Crane Skywave, Sony SRF-59, Sony ICF-S10MK2 in reserve for ultralights.
C.Crane CCRadio-EP Pro, Tecsun PL-880, Sangean ATS-909X, and PL-600 round out the bigger portables. The EP Radio Pro is a monster with its 8 inch twin coil ferrite. The ATS-909X is my favorite radio.
I'm a long time ham but haven't been on the air for a number of years. I just bought an Icom IC-718 transceiver a month ago, basically for SWLing and MW DXing. It has a fabulous, sensitive receiver and works well with a loop on ground antenna. I use that here because of high noise environment. The radio was cheap too, only about $540 US on sale. Bill |
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FenDrifter
As most of you know, my latest love is still the PL-368, perhaps because I’m primarily listening to shortwave and it’s the best I’ve had so far. I bought an XHDATA D-808 last week but sold it this morning! I sold the PL-330 a week or two back, and although the ‘innards’ are supposed to be the same, I find the PL-368 better. I’ve started to play with the Roberts R-861 (Sangean 909) and really like it, but clearly it’s NOT ultralight! Another I bought last week was another heavyweight the Roberts R-827 which I suspect was also made by Sangean but can’t find any background on? I am keeping the Etón E5 which I still love, but going back to it after using the PL-368 I find it odd not having a detented tuning knob. Again, the PL-368 beats it on clarity on shortwave, although sensitivity wise I’ve so far found them equal. The small rotatable antenna that comes with it is great fun to play with, reminding me of my Panasonic RF-2200 although that beastie is clearly superior. If you ever get a chance to buy a Panasonic RF-B11 cheaply, it’s fantastic on medium wave, but it’s unfortunately analogue and just outside the ultralight category. My opinions only of course. Drifter |
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radiojayallen
I've been using the PL-330 a lot lately primarily for its small size and incredible battery life compared with my other rechargeable radios. My "reference" portables remain the RF-2200, CC-2E/CC-3, EP-Pro for its wideband AM audio, ATS-909X2 and GE SR's. I could go on....
Jay |
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surveyor6180@...
The Skywave is one of the newest. Nice! Fun to use. The 380 is super on am. I love it.
The good old Grundig has been used every night for years. Easy to switch bands etc in the dark Still works great. |
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Mark <metagenetics@...>
Although not an UL, I've got a Tecsun R9700DX on its way to me. I've liked this radio for a while so looking forward to it arriving. It will also be the first Tecsun radio I've owned.
Still using my R-108, Retekess v117 analogue, (very occasionally the v115, not a huge fan) and little Sony SRF-59 late at night in the Ultralight category.. I don't feel I need another UL just now. Mark |
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Paul Blundell
I will be in the market for a new radio soon, my latest eBay purchase (not an ultralight radio) arrived faulty so this has gone back today. Once the refund clears, I am thinking of getting a PL-368. Paul Although not an UL, I've got a Tecsun R9700DX on its way to me. I've liked this radio for a while so looking forward to it arriving. It will also be the first Tecsun radio I've owned. --
Paul |
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Johnny
Hi Bill,
I just got a Sangean 909X2, and I LOVE It! It is my favorite radio easily... But I do still love my Eton Elite Mini and my 2nd favorite amongst the rest of the radios I have. Really trying to not buy anymore!!! ;) J |
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Johnny
Everybody's gear sounds AWESOME!
I need to stop buying radios though!!! LOL!!! Johnny |
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James Rohrer
The PL380 does not come with a charger. If I bought an adapter when buying the radio, would it recharge its batteries as well as powering the radio?
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Ron Layton <micron327@...>
The 368 uses a standard cell phone charger. I have listened to mine while charging but depending on the charger you can pick up some unwanted noise on MW & SW. I bought the charger with 2 extra batteries kit from County Comm and that way I always have 2 fully charged batteries for a quick change out.
73's Ron |
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Paul Blundell
The 368 sounds better and better all the time :) Paul The 368 uses a standard cell phone charger. I have listened to mine while charging but depending on the charger you can pick up some unwanted noise on MW & SW. I bought the charger with 2 extra batteries kit from County Comm and that way I always have 2 fully charged batteries for a quick change out. --
Paul |
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FenDrifter
Quite honestly the only thing the 368 lacks (in my opinion) is a shortwave antenna input, but I pick up a fair amount when conditions allow anyway. Drifter |
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James Rohrer
Choosing my next radio has been embarrassingly difficult for me. As I understand the UL guidelines, the radio should be less than $100 and less than 20 cubic inches. My radio now is a Tecsun dr-920c. I have no complaints but want the next one to have buttons for tuning in addition to the knob. Many people supplement the AM antenna with one that clips on or plugs in. Opening up the case is not an option because I would wreck it for sure. Honestly, I am a little uncomfortable with external antennas because they seem to violate the guidelines for size and affordability. Does anybody stick with the stock internal antenna?
A rechargeable battery might be nice but since my regular AAs are lasting a long time, maybe that is not necessary. |
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Paul Blundell
Hi James, Those are all very good points and each of us can approach the hobby in our own way. The $100 / 20 cubic inch guidelines are only for the awards program, everybody's free to use whatever radios they want for DXing, we don't enforce any limits around the discussion due to size. I do a mix of both DXing with and without my 3"FSL, I get enjoyment from both methods. Paul On Thu, Mar 10, 2022 at 3:05 AM James Rohrer <Jim.rohrer1955@...> wrote: Choosing my next radio has been embarrassingly difficult for me. As I understand the UL guidelines, the radio should be less than $100 and less than 20 cubic inches. My radio now is a Tecsun dr-920c. I have no complaints but want the next one to have buttons for tuning in addition to the knob. Many people supplement the AM antenna with one that clips on or plugs in. Opening up the case is not an option because I would wreck it for sure. Honestly, I am a little uncomfortable with external antennas because they seem to violate the guidelines for size and affordability. Does anybody stick with the stock internal antenna? --
Paul |
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