emergency radio

[avusblue]

Allow me to second the motion for the SuperRadio. It really IS as good as described above. I have sung the praises of it here -- and that thread contains links to a SuperRadio fan-site, as well as a place in Chicago that sells them for $40.95 plus shipping.

Considering the "Buy Both"(TM) motto inherent to CPF, I also recommend having a small, portable radio as a companion to the SuperRadio. This topic was discussed here and the Sony SRF-M37V came out as a very strong favorite. It's widely available, inexpensive (under $30), has great performance, and has 35 hour runtime on 1AAA. It also does WeatherBand and TV audio. An excellent choice.

Good luck and let us know how you like your SuperRadio. I predict you'll like it alot.

Cheers,

Dave

 

[Aloft]

[ QUOTE ]
rifle59 said:
Hey Aloft,
Thanks for the tip. I am generally not interested in SW, but what would you rec for me when hunting in the outback? ie The coast or interior of Alaska,Africa etc. (this would probably require another radio?)

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, shortwave is what I would prefer when in the "outback". It's possible to still receive some AM broadcasts, but shortwave is meant to travel such distances and would probably be more reliable, especially during the day. I too favor Sony's worldband radios. I owned the predecessor to the IC-7600G. . . it was a great radio, and the new one improves on it. The IC SW-100 is about the size of a deck of cards and I've heard good reception reports from it as well. Battery life on both of these is OK, but not great, but their small size allows extra batteries and still not use up as much space as the Freeplay's (the hand cranked radios). Grundig also makes decent radios, but I can't speak from experience on these. . . some are quite compact, though. And County Comm's GP4 has gotten some good reviews, especially considering it's low price ($20 for a digitally tuned shortwave).

avusblue's recommendation of the Sony SRF M37V is also good. I've got several of these (including one of it's immediate predecessors). It runs quite awhile on it's battery. TV and WX are a bonus. Reception is better than any other tiny portable I own except the DT-300VW. But. . .no shortwave and no speaker. Good for your emergency kit at home, but not so good for the "bush".

Buying radios is fun, so keep us posted on what you get and especially how you like it! This allows those of use who have already bought too many radios to live vicarously thru those that are about to! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Flashlightboy]

Please avoid the $5 CountyComm radio. I'll describe the problems later (all day at Disneyland and need sleep) but it's going in the trash tomorrow.

Bad radio.

EDIT: I bought this radio will the full realization that for this price I shouldn't expect much but functional may not mean expensive.

The radio package itself wasn't compromised or dented. It was in great shape and the radio itself looked to be in satisfactory condition.

Taking it out of the package I was struck on the top of my foot by the dial indicator. Two very thin strips of double sided adhesive didn't do their job although the piece itself was warped/deformed in one corner preventing it from sitting flush on the radio. This was the first of a couple of problems.

Thinking I could fix it I preceded to check the radio itself. In went new Energizer batts but the radio didn't work. I wiggled the batts around and it came to life. I put the cover on and it stopped working. Fiddle more. It comes to life. It dies and I continue fiddling and it hangs on if I leave the batts in a certain position although I can't tell what it is because I don't know myself. Jiggle and twist until it works.

I turn on the radio and the sound is tinny but I want this for AM broadcasts and not FM. Not perfect but it met my expectations. Time to change channels but I'd have to keep turning the dial until I recognized the station because the station indicator wouldn't stay in place owing to the warped corner. Turns out that the station indicator wasn't a problem after all because the station changing dial wouldn't work. Doesn't budge at all. In fact, it'll probably break if I turn it. There is a diffence between stiff and unmoveable. This is the later.

To summarize, I have a radio that won't tell me what station I'm on but what I do have are undeciferable AM noises and something similar on FM. This assumes that the batteries will stay in place.

I believe that I'm entitled to another radio or a refund because the product doesn't work at all but I'm going to throw it in the trash. This $5 radio isn't worth my time or effort to send back for a refund or replacement. Instead, I think my effort is better suited by sharing my experience with all of you.

I'm going with a Sony at Target for $13 instead.

 

[Flashlightboy]

And I'm back from Sears. The $5 radio is in the trash with banana peels and used coffee grounds. I now have the $9.95 Sony ICF-S10MK2. It uses AA batts which gives me commonality with my Ultra G. The estimated run time is 45 hours on AM. It has a handstrap, 2 1/4 inch speaker and nice sound quality for what I need it to do. It goes in the CC/Maxpedition BB.

Here is the Sony link for anyone who is interested.

 

[CountyComm]

Why don't I send you the GP-4 ....E-mail me and one is on the way ....This you will not toss in the trash I promise it will be on me ....Hows That"

 

[Flashlightboy]

Nick,

When I posted my findings I didn't expect a response but your offer is greatly appreciated and I accept. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

E-mail sent.

 

[Double_A]

Hey I bought five of the $5 radios and everybody has been very happy with them. They are so cheap and so tiny you can stash extras everywhere. My parents lost power a few months back for 2 days. My dad had his turned on nearly the whole time with the volume cranked up. He asked me to buy him three more he wanted to give away as gifts.

I guess we just got lucky?


GregR

P.S. Maybe my expectations were less? I do have a Crane CCRadio and a Kenwood R-5000 General coverage receiver that cost me $900 ten years ago. But I love those little 5 buck radios.

 

[Frangible]

I thought the GP4 was pretty decent, especially for the price. Nice little radio.

 

[Minjin]

I use my GP4 just about every day at work, listening to FM. Great little radio that easily stows in my desk drawer. I just recently changed my first set of batteries. They lasted quite a long time. The radio still played, but the digital display was starting to go wacky. I guess thats the low battery indicator. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Mark

 

[redcar]

Double_A,

I always wanted a Kenwood R-5000. Or a R-2000 I think it was, but never got either one. Ended up with a Kenwood TS-680 instead. Years later I now use an Icom IC-R75 with DSP and a 706MKIIG. That R-5000 comment really brought back the memories.

73

 

[robstarr-lite]

i enjoyed using a passive AM inductive loop antenna...no wires or power required( another item in my youth which sparked my interest in electronics )....by mutual inductance ya use another coil of wire to boost the signal...30 or 40 db gain...takes a low sensitive radio to new heights!!...the 49er or select -a-tenna models come to mind...i imagine a search would produce hours of "throne" reading..

 

[Flashlightboy]

Nick,

You are an outstanding individual! I received the GP-4 this morning, it works great and is built very well. This is the radio I should have ordered in the first place.

On top of that Nick also included the plastic cover that's available as an accessory. It fits like a glove and I'd highly recommend it especially if you're going to put your GP-4 into a BB.

Now I'm going to go home and take the Sony radio out of my BB and use the GP-4 instead.

Thank you!!!!!

 

[cobb]

I have a ccrane and one of those baygen wind up ones. The ccrane one is great, I use it on batteries for the alarm clock and radio/tv for several years now. The baygen one you must wind it up every 27 minutes or 60 cranks. Then not to mention the motor noise as it is working.