OT Radio recommendation

[Howard H.]

Mom wants me to find a good AM/FM radio for Dad for Christmas.

The last two he's had haven't been very good.

We are pretty rural, so good reception is the primary thing. Reliable would be second.

Battery backup in case the power is out would be third...

Anyone have any recommendations of a good one?? Is there such a thing as an external antennae (that really works) to help reception?

Thanks for any advice,
HH

 

[Chris(WA)]

I bought a great portable radio this summer from Radio Shack. It is a Grundig S350 AM/FM Shortwave. Recieves AM and FM really well. AShortwave is good too. Even better with an external shortwave antenna but not neccessary if you can sit outdoors or near a window. Annalog tuner with a coarse and fine tuning ring just like the old days! GREAT battery life. Super radio for a hundred bucks!If he likes radio he will be pleased.
If he just wants a plain radio go with a Bose or a Kloss One. Simple radio extremely good sound and reception.
I still recommend the Grundig. It really brings back memories of sitting in my room late at night turning the dials on my old shortwave listening to the rest of the world...
Grundig S350

 

[John T]

Howard, if you want to buy a good quality radio instead of a box store cheapie and want 10 x better reception ESPECIALLY AM, I suggest you visit C Crane Company:

http://www.ccrane.com/

And purchase either the CC Radio Plus or the CC Radio plus SW

ALSO purchase the "Regular Select A Tenna" AM antenna


Ive been a radio fan n collector for years and had all sorts of AM antennas buttttttttttt you will not believe how much better (selectivity and pulling in distant stations) reception you get using that select a tenna ITS DIFFERENT AS NIGHT N DAY I TELL YA

I also have a cheaper (under $50 I think) GE Super Radio which they also sell and it has great sound and FM n AM reception........ if you couple it with the Select a Tenna it performs bout as well as the others butttttttttttttt dont have all the bells n whistles

Prior to this I thought my antique Crosley Super 11 Console or my big 11 tube Zenith console with wave trap antenna had the best AM reception in the world n they still do sort of lol buttttttt the Super radio with the select a tenna (or even a cheap radio for that matter) is fantasticcccccccc

John T
C Crane Radio

 

[JDemaris]

I live in a rural area and also have some other remote properties. I've fooled around with various radios. I assume you know how different AM is from FM - so your local terrain makes a big difference. I'm in a mountainous area with the nearest radio station 60 miles away. At night, due to the "ionospheric bounce" I lose all my nearby AM stations, and get French Canadian stations instead - or a few Chicago stations - and I'm in New York State.

I have the Grundig S350 that the other poster mentioned and it's reception for me has been awful on the AM and FM bands. SW works OK. It is NOT a Grundig radio - it's made in China by Tecsun and you can buy it under the Chinese name cheaper. I bought my Chinese version new for $39.
I have both the Grundig labeled S350 and the Tecsun BCL2000 and they both work exactly the same. I also have the GE Super Radio III. In most cases, the GE radio pulls in AM better than the others. With FM, none of them work as well as some cheap Walmart/Kmart type radios I have around.

As I understand it - it goes like this. One of the best cheaper radios - for years that is built for poor-reception areas - is the GE Super Radio.

A Chinese company copied it and added a few short wave bands - and thus came the Grundig S350 a.k.a. Tecsun BCL2000.

You can also still buy the GE Super Radio - but the versions keep changing. As I've been told, the originals worked great. But, there's a Super Radio II, a Super Radio III, and I think it's up to IV now. They all differ. You might want to read some reviews.

I've been told the CC Radio Plus beats them all - but I don't own one. I've gotten tired of buying radios. So far, nothing comes close to the reception I get with FM - in my 1985 Ford truck with an older Pioneer Super Tuner II radio. Part of that, I'm sure, is the truck-metal acting as an antenna - but it beats any antennas I've built here just for AM and FM reception.

Funny thing is - I've got an old Hallicrafters radio from the early 60s that beats all these new radios. I've also got a 1940s Crosley tube-radio that beats them all in FM, AM, and SW.

Do some experimenting - or read reviews - before you spend your money.

 

[John T]

JD, Ive also got a Hallicrafters SX 110 and a Hammurlund HQ 110 but as I mentioned below the Crosley Super 11 or the Zenith console with the wave trap antenna are tough to beat on distant AM. Im still impressed with how big a difference Cranes Select a tenna makes, its bout like the big giant wave trap in the Zenith console. I have an old original version one of the GE Super radio and with the select a tenna sittin beside it (NO wires attached) it can bout keep upo with the big antique tube consoles.

JT

 

[JDemaris]

After what you posted, I might try the C Crane radio. My Hallicrafers S-200 works great. I don't know what model my Crosley is - but it's a 40's era console and all reception is great although it has a lot of drifting in and out on certain bands. It's so buried in the corner among guns, an old Edidson cylinder recorder and player, etc. - it would be quite a project to get it out to read the numbers in the back. I've attached a photo.
Also - so some forum readers don't get mad about this "off topic" post - let me mention my farm-special (note the word "farm) Majestic battery radio made in 1929. It too works great - Majestic Model 71 made to run on batteries with optional AC aux. power supply. The AC power pack is huge and weighs around 50 lbs.
I've attached a photo of that too - so this post has something "farm-related."
We've probably got over 50 old radios in the house along with several old wire-recorders, cylinder players and recorders, etc. Good thing tractors don't fit inside.
I've got one Canadian Viking floor-model radio with SW and broadcast band the runs on 50 cycle current and has a big warning sticker on it - stating that you need permission from the Prime Minister to listen to certain stations.

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[John T]

WOW, We would get along great. I gotta get pics om my classic console FARM radios posted also.

BEFORE you buy any radios from C Crane try that fairly cheap Select a Tenna first cuz it alone is what makes any radios AM reception like double in performance. No wires just sit it next to the radio n I couldnt believe the improvement

John T retired electrical engineer

 

[JDemaris]

Thanks, I will try the antenna. One big problem I have here is the "bounce" at night. Especially in the winter. Just about every night, I go out to the shop around 7 or 8 pm and try to tune in the only AM station available here - it works for 15 minutes or so - and then fades out and turns in to one of many French Canadian stations - and stays that way for hours.
I've got nothing against the Canuks (my family came from Québec) - but when I'm working on tractors I'd rather hear Michael Savage speaking in English (or whoever else is on our one station).

 

[Walt Davies]

Go satellite radio it will work anywhere with great reception and dozens of stations so there has to be one he likes.
Walt

 

[Howard H.]

Thanks for all the info and advice, fellows...

I went ahead and ordered a CCrane Plus. His other radio had completely quit...

I know what you mean about satellite, Walt, but had to chuckle... I think satellite would be a little "too perfect" for Dad... He likes to hear it wave in and out a little - a few lightning pops when it is storming - like in the old days as a kid - but wants it clear enough to follow the conversations... ha...

Thanks again - I sure learn a lot from the discussion boards here!


Howard

 

[John T]

Yep as Im sure you know that distant AM station "fade out" problem may not be curable even with that antenna device from C Crane I mentioned (it still works wonders though). Theres all that FCC regulation stuff about local AM stations powering down after a certain evening hour UNLESS they are a 50,000 watt Clear Station. Seems best long distance AM I get is on a cold calm snowy night and sittin there if front of those warm glowing tubes takes me back to a slower gentler time. Sure I have the modern digital phase locked stuffffffff n all that butttttttt theres nothing more nostalgic n romantic then the glow of an old tube console n havin to use a lil skill to get the knobs n antenna all tweaked in then havin to readjust now n then. I had my grandparents 1936 Grunow console restored in memory of them n its my treasure.

Oh wellllllllll been fun chattin


John T Old Nostalgic Conservative Fuddy Duddy

 

[JDemaris]

It IS a 50,000 watt "clear channel" station - WGY 810 AM right from the state capital, Albany, NY - about 60 miles from me.

Funny thing is - it seems to always happen as soon as Michael Savage comes on. I might get suspicious of a abundant conspiracy - except - it still keeps working on my old Crosley in the house. But, that's too nice (and heavy) to stick out in my tractor shop.

That photo of the 1928 Majestic I posted - is also a Grunow - label on back reads "Grunow and Grisby Co."

 

[Anonymous-0]

How about Satellite radio?. I think the subscription is only like $15 a month, and he'd get what ever he wanted for music. They make those satellite radios portable now like a boom box. I don't know too much about it, but I've seen the commercials for them on TV for XM and Serius.

 

[Chris(WA)]

Thanks for posting the C Crane radios. Wish I had seen it last summer. They look like good radios. I do like the Grundigs but would have bought USA if I had known.
Now if I could find a portable that would recieve HD radio I would buy one today.
Let me know if you see one.