Radio for Dad...

[ViReN]

Hi,

I am looking for two good radios as a gift for my dad. One will be a Pocket kind of radio and other will be kept at home. It should have

1) Runs on 2 D Cells or 2/4 AA Cells (only even number of cells 2 or 4)
2) It should have excellent sound reproduction
3) FM, MW, SW & LW Bands
4) Built in Japan / USA / Germany

I have been searching for quite a few days now and found these ones... Sony [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] ICF-SW7600GRS[/FONT] and Sony[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] ICF-J40[/FONT] relatively cost effective and are made in Japan.

What Options do I have, keeping the above constraints. I am also open to other brands as long as they are good or better than the selected ones.

Thanks in Advance,
ViReN

 

[Kilovolt]

I have a Sony ICF-SW7600 on my desk and it still works very well. The stamp on the warranty says I bought it in 1990.

The radio operates on 4 x AA but it is not too user friendly, meaning that if I don't operate it for a while I have some difficulties in using it again. Perhaps it just does too many things.
Besides I may well be older than your father.......

I have nearly ten Sony radios around and I've been very happy with all of them so I can surely recommend the brand.

 

[ViReN]

Hello KV

Thanks for a kind response. For the Sony ICF-SW7600 just wondering on the SW Bands, how's adjacent channel interference filtering through Synchronous selectable sideband on it. It's not mentioned on the site, but does it have LCD back light?

Which Other Sony Radio's you would recommend.

Today, I had hands on Sony[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] ICF-J40[/FONT] locally it's for about US$50, Made in Japan, Original, The look & feel was seemed OK, even the SW band sound was good... but as with all analogues the interference was there...

My Dad's in his mid 60's a retired electronics & telecommunications engineer. Loves to listen to SW and FM these days especially to the old tunes.

Currently he has a el-cheapo 3 AA 3 band small analog Radio...on this visit back home... I was thinking to surprise him with a good quality perhaps a digital radio.

If i couldn't find a good digital... perhaps i will go in for the Sony ICF-J40 ...

Thanks once again.
ViReN

 

[Kilovolt]

My 7600 is the original 1989 type and I believe that specs have been improved since then. Very few technical data on my user's manual so I can't answer your question on channel interference. Yes the LCD panel is backlit.

I think that J40 is the right choice being simpler and with less features. I have listened to SSB ham traffic for a solid 30 minutes in 17 years....I'm sure your father will not miss it.

BTW I'm pleased to inform you that I am younger by 10%. :naughty:

:wave:

 

[da.gee]

If you want a good radio with excellent sound quality (line out) you might look at the the Eton E5. A great value and a good radio. It has been favorably compared to the 7600 which I believe is considered to be pretty much a benchmark radio. This model may also be called a Grundig E5 depending on your location.

 

[ViReN]

Thanks once again KV. Greetings for being Younger

I think to begin with, i will go in for J40.... Hope he likes it... based on his response, I will get a good digital ... perhaps from Sony or Grundig

I also came across some of the sites while looking for radio... perhaps it might be useful to some one

http://www.passband.com/
http://www.universal-radio.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortwave
http://www.dxing.info/
http://www.worldofradio.com/
http://www.dxtra.com/map.html very good map for world SW Stations
http://www.radiointel.com/
http://www.etoncorp.com/

ViReN

 

[ViReN]

If you want a good radio with excellent sound quality (line out) you might look at the the Eton E5. A great value and a good radio. It has been favorably compared to the 7600 which I believe is considered to be pretty much a benchmark radio. This model may also be called a Grundig E5 depending on your location.

Thanks da.gee,

just wondering what would be the difference between E5 and G5 ... they look same...

The Eton E1XM looks great...

 

[savumaki]

Thanks da.gee,

just wondering what would be the difference between E5 and G5 ... they look same...

The Eton E1XM looks great...

They are.
I have been researching this type of radio for several days and that model is definitely in the running.

 

[ViReN]

Thanks savumaki

 

[da.gee]

No difference between Grundig E5 or Eton E5. I'm only marginally into SW etc but I did a lot of research before I purchased. If you have specific questions there is an E5 forum on Yahoo. Those guys are more knowledgeable than me.

The E1XM does look pretty cool. You're really trying hard to spend money! I purchased mine from Universal Radio a year or so ago and got a "free" Grundig FR200 emergency radio. I see they still have that deal going.

 

[cobalt]

Here is a review of the Eton E5:

http://www.radiointel.com/review-etone5.htm

 

[ViReN]

Thanks da.gee,
I think E5 will be a good choice...

:thumbsup: thanks cobalt and Welcome to CPF .... now looking for a shop that can ship worldwide ....

On some of the radio pages, they mentioned that Sony 7600 is the 'benchmark' is it true?

 

[da.gee]

I think you and Dad will be happy with it. It continually gets good reviews from the radio veterans.

It seems in my reading every radio around this price range is compared to the 7600 so I'd have to say it is a benchmark. I think for size, price and capabilities it is very highly regarded. It was also early on the scene so competitors were playing catchup.

The fact that the E5 is comparable to the 7600 makes it a very good choice. My feeble memory tells me the thing some people like about the 7600 over the E5 is its synchronus detection circuitry. However in actual application this feature may or may not provide any advantage. The E5 is just solid. 'Nuff said.

 

[geepondy]

I read that reviews and others. It seems if you can put up with the user interface peculiarities, the Kaito KA1103 at $80 vs. $150 for the E5 (Amazon) might be a better value for the dollar. The Kaito is Chinese made but isn't the Eaton, also?

I am looking at the Kaito KA1103 or perhaps just the KA1101 but am trying to read more about the sound quality. My trusted CCradio is in for repair and my Sangean DT-220V with it's one inch speaker just isn't quite cutting it as a temporary bedside replacement so I'm looking for a little portable that I can also use for travel. I've also been reading up on the Grundig G4000A which is about $100 and is a replacement for the long time standing YB400 and is also now made by Eaton. It supposedly has very good sound and I read mixed reviews concerning the reception and other issues. If anybody has experience with the above mentioned radios, it might help me and perhaps give the OP other options as well.

Here is a review of the Eton E5:

http://www.radiointel.com/review-etone5.htm

 

[Lit Up]

No idea how this radio performs, but I was curious about the portable, clamshell design, Sony radio Milla Jovovich was using in RE:Extinction and I think I've found it.

http://www.hotbuyselectronics.com/item_detail.php?item_id=2132

EDIT: Yep that's it. Here's a pic.

Ehhh. Some of the reviews at Amazon on this don't look too promising. I think I'll pass.

 

[Kilovolt]

I used to have the previous model and in actual facts it stopped working rather early in its life. Of course rather early when compared to the 1990 ICF-SW7600 I'm using every morning....

 

[Flying Turtle]

It's really hard to beat those Sonys. I use daily an ICF-7600D that was a gift from my uncle. Someone had given it to him back in the late '80's. I think they had actually bought it in Europe.

Geoff

 

[Lit Up]

For a portable, I'm pretty happy with the Grundig Mini 300 (AM/FM/Shortwave) I just picked up tonight.
I'd say it's easily one of the better pocket radios I've had. I really like the feel of the sharkskin casing too. It has a side tuning wheel like an analog, but it's a digital.
Has time, alarm and a sleep function as well. The telescoping antenna is pretty long also for a radio of this size. Not bad for $30.00 and it's definitely not shy in the volume department. The built-in speaker starts to crack up if you blast it. A good set of headphones may take it. You can see one at your local Radio Shack.

They also had one radio similar in size to the other Sony/Grundig radios mentioned so far in this thread but it was labeled as a Radio Shack brand. 3xAA powered.
It was 39.00 if memory serves me correct.

They also had a larger unit for $50.00 that ran on AC Adapter or 6 D cells. I guess it was Radio Shack's equivalent to the GE Super Radio as it was advertised to pull in the weaker stations. Had a couple metal handles on the face of it along with a shoulder strap attached to the top. retractable antenna along with a couple screws on the back to add an external one. I may go back for this one myself sometime down the road.

EDIT: Having just checked the finances, that 50 dollar unit is a go!
Think I'll go back and pick that one up tomorrow.

I just played with the Grundig 300 outside on the shortwave channels now that it's dark. Now bear in mind the shortcomings of a pocket shortwave vs a larger unit, with having said that, I was able to pick up on a couple Spanish stations and a station in either Chinese or Japanese. (Don't know enough of either to differentiate.) This coming from an area that does good to get a couple FM and AM stations to come in decent to begin with. I'm really happy with this little unit so far and if it proves top be as robust as it feels, it's going to be made the B.O.B. radio.

 

[geepondy]

FYI, I bought a Kaito Ka1101 for an extremely great deal off another CPF forum member and I am very happy with the radio when taken in consideration for what it is, a small portable radio. I am an AM nut and the sensitivity is not as good as my Ccrane quite large CCradio but it is better then my larger Sangean ATS404 and blows the doors off of the smaller Sangean DT-220V which I got sucked into buying as it is over hyped a CCrane's web site. Fairly rugged build and seems to go a long time on the batteries. Don't know enough about shortwave to post a comparison but it seems to get quite a few stations at night off the built in whip and includes a longer wire antenna as well.

 

[Lit Up]

Congrats on finding something you like.

I'm now looking for a mini AM/FM radio for EDC. I ordered a [SIZE=-1]Sony ICFS10MK2 [/SIZE]and received it a couple days ago. It's a nice radio but I was taken back by how thick it is. Not really what I was looking for. It's even thicker than the Grundig Mini 300 I have which also has shortwave capability and a much larger antenna. I also didn't like how the antenna was placed on the Sony; just looking to be broke off.

I picked up a Coby CX-51 2xAAA model today cheap for 5 bucks which is perfect feature and size wise to what I'm looking for. Headphone jack, external speaker, telescopic antenna.
I just wish it felt more robust/solid like the Grundig I have. The Coby radio feels more like a cheap, plastic toy. Functional, but meh.

*Sigh* It's a lot harder finding a radio with the size and features you want these days as opposed to the 80's.