Need a radio

[bigcozy]

I am looking for a light, small, relative inexpensive radio that will pick up AM/FM/NOAA and maybe some shortwave. I don't have any experience with shortwave, so I don't know what to look for there. Big deal is that it needs to small, pretty cheap and tough. Water resistance would be good too.

 

[TomH]

The only ones that comes to mind with all the modes you are looking for is the Icom R-5 or R-10. You can check out the specs on each at the link below.

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/widerxvr.html

A check over at the RatShack site showed nothing at all.

 

[raggie33]

country.com sells a short wave radio but i aint sure if it has noaa hect i dont even know what noaa is lol

 

[PhotonWrangler]

Check some of the sporting goods stores in the camping section. I've seem radios like these from Oregon Scientific. Make sure you get one with digital tuning for the NOAA channels; regular "vernier" analog tuning is really unstable for NOAA usage.

 

[_mike_]

Raggie,

NOAA = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

They give up to the minute weather information.

Mike

 

[TomH]

A radio that will pick up the NOAA broadcast is also known as a "weatheradio".

 

[Bullzeyebill]

bigcozy, see this Sony http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00006HOLO/qid=1093563818/br=2-4/ref=br_ts_slwth_th_4/103-2456223-6298204?v=glance&s=electronics&n=172681 has AM,FM,SW, weather, $39.99. Do a Google on radios, check features.

Bill

 

[Flying Turtle]

Sony also has a nice little walkman style radio with AM, FM, TV (2-13), and WB. Its model number is SRF-M37V. I found mine at Target, but I've seen them just about everywhere. Cost around $30. It's very compact, uses 1 AAA, but you have to use headphones.

Radio Shack used to sell one with the same features plus an alarm, sleep timer, and a speaker. It was larger than the Sony, but not much. I haven't seen it there for some time, but I think it's still available under the Sangean name from other dealers (try CCrane).

I don't know of any that have SW and all the other bands, but I bet they exist.

 

[avusblue]

For a small multiband radio, I think you'd do very well to consider the Sony SRF-M37. It was discussed at some length (along with other small, but high quality radios) in this thread previously. I have two of these and really love it. It is compact and rugged, offers great performance, is very intuitive and easy to operate, has terrific runtime on 1AAA, and best of all, it's a great value for under $30, available at WalMart, Target or Best Buy. Two thumbs up!!

Cheers,

Dave

 

[Frank]

This one's not cheap but it's got a great reputation. http://www.ccrane.com/ccradio-plus-am-fm-radio.aspx

 

[kitelights]

The above mentioned Sony is a great little radio. I can't say enough good about it. I prefer it to the more expensive ($50) M80V sports style weather resistant armband model. The cheaper one holds stations better, is extremely small, and runs for what seems like forever off of one AAA cell.

I had its predecessor in AM/FM and was very disappointed in it. I expected the same with this unit, but was very pleasantly surprised.

I don't like the headphones that come with it. I upgraded to a cheap in the ear, behind the head band pair - much more comfortable, especially for longer periods of time.

 

[hideo]

another chime in on the M 37--even works OK on low-powered stations here in the mountains

this guy web page does audio and sensitivity mods on small radios and his web pages provide hours of geeky audio reading,

he could be a formidable flashlight modder if he was so inclined /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

hideo

 

[Lurker]

I got the Optimus radio from Radio Shack with TV/AM/FM/Weather. It is compact, has speaker and earphones, 2AAA, digital tuning. I paid something like $70 for it, I am embarrased to say. I find that the TV and Weather band reception is very poor and I would not recommend it. The best dedicated weather radios offer some nice features you will not find in a multi-band, such as alerts and county-specific messaging. But you don't really need that stuff if you just want to hear the weather forecast. If folks are saying that the Sony works well, I'd go with that one.

The nice thing about a TV band is that during a public emergency, the TV stations will be broadcasting continuous live news coverage, whereas the radio stations will probably not be as up to date or continuous unless you are in a major market like NYC. Of course, broadcast TV is supposed to switch over to HDTV and phase out their current frequencies, so that will eventually make the TV band radios obsolete on their TV bands- but that could still take many years.

I have a shortwave radio, but I really don't see any practical use for it. There is very little stuff broadcast on shortwave and that is mostly weird, esoteric stuff or in languages that I don't understand. Unless you are a serious radio hobbiest, I would not bother with it.

Now why NOAA doesn't just broadcast on a frequency that any AM/FM radio can receive is beyond me.

 

[bigcozy]

Thats a good point Lurker, NOAA should be on FM. I live in tornado alley, NOAA is as essential as any band.

 

[TomH]

[ QUOTE ]
Now why NOAA doesn't just broadcast on a frequency that any AM/FM radio can receive is beyond me.

[/ QUOTE ]

Two reasons that I can think of:

1. FCC regulations in the USA state that the band of 88-108 MHZ is to be used for commercial broadcast purposes only.

2. To avoid interference issues with said commercial broadcast stations.

The AM band is not suited for the weather broadcasts either. If you have two strong AM stations in close proximity, you can actually hear them intermix with each other. FM doesn't do this, as the stronger station ALWAYS overtakes the weaker one, something that is known in the radio world as the "capture effect".

 

[TomH]

[ QUOTE ]
bigcozy said:
NOAA should be on FM.

Actually, NOAA radio is on FM, just higher up in the band than "broadcast FM" radios can recieve. I don't recall the exact frequencies NOAA uses, but they're in the 162-165 MHZ range.

 

[louie]

I have the radio Bullzeyebill notes, but got it at Target, same price. It's not waterproof or extraordinarily durable, but I like it. Runs a long time on 3AA cells, and the station presets stay where you leave them for each band as you toggle through the bands. Analog volume control, digital tuning. As noted, it only gets VHF TV audio (which will go away as digital TV takes over). Gets weather, has a sleep timer and a wake time. I like having a speaker, and it has a headphone jack. About the only thing I don't like is it doesn't display the time when it is on - only when off.

 

[Flying Turtle]

I noticed a couple radios I hadn't seen before at Sharper Image. Both are digital AM/FM/SW and cost $39.95. One of them has the Grundig name, whatever thats worth. Neither appeared to have full SW coverage. I think I'd still opt for the Sony unless you just must have shortwave capability.

 

[Frangible]

The Sony Weatherband tuners are *terrible*. Zero reception with any I've tried.

 

[avusblue]

[ QUOTE ]
Frangible said:
The Sony Weatherband tuners are *terrible*. Zero reception with any I've tried.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can't speak for other Sony's . . . but specifically regarding the Sony SRF-M37 referred to above, I found both the Weatherband and the TV audio on that one to work great both in town and in the sticks.

Dave