Radio Question

sunflower-n-ks · #1 02/17/13, 10:18 AM

I need a new AM/FM radio. I live out where the local stations are about 30 miles away and only a few will come in clear enough for decent listening, and almost no stations that play the types of music I like will come in at all. Plus I want to be able to listen to some of the really long distance stations if possible. I get one in, but it drifts a lot.

I do NOT want any thing else on it, no clock, tape/cd player, etc. I am very frustrated with the complexities of the one I am using now (the alarm goes off at midnight and I cant get it to stop).

Anyone know of a good radio that does not cost a fortune?

luvrulz · #2 02/17/13, 10:28 AM

Since you have internet, why don't you look around at internet radio stations? I have a huge variety bookmarked and alot are free!

Here's a link to jango:
http://www.jango.com/

But there are literally hundreds out there!

suitcase_sally · #3 02/17/13, 10:43 AM

The first one listed here may interest you.

http://www.ccrane.com/radios/am-fm-radios/

Rick · #4 02/17/13, 11:01 AM

Thanks Sally.

I need one of those radios....

It takes D cells, and I think \Crane has chargers, and rechargeable D's for sale, so I will look for those, after I register.

I was told by a CCrane rep, that if you register your email, sometimes they will send discount codes.

sunflower-n-ks · #5 02/17/13, 11:11 AM

I will check out the link for internet radio, but with dial up, I assume it will be a very dead end.

Not the place to vent frustrations of being on the internet out here!!!! Living in the boonies has its price.

I am aware of the C Crane radios, and am considering one of them. Just seeing if there are some options I am not aware of out there. Or if someone has one, how is it working for them. Thanks

sunflower-n-ks · #6 02/17/13, 11:15 AM

Rick, the night time program I listen to was advertising a Crane radio special, had to call the special number to get the price, I was not awake enough to get it written down. Rats!!!!

Helena · #7 02/17/13, 11:30 AM

How about an old Philco AM/ broad band radio..at night you can get stations from around the world.

sunflower-n-ks · #8 02/17/13, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helena

How about an old Philco AM/ broad band radio..at night you can get stations from around the world.

Could you explain more about this? Is that a "ham" radio? Someone I know that made a living with the earlier radio related things, including ham radio said I need to get an old ------. I do not know the workings of radio enough to know what he meant.

fantasymaker · #9 02/17/13, 12:11 PM

That CCRANE radio is the grandson of the Old GE SUPER RADIO.
It is awsome. Radio shack had its son for a while.
Great radios with the ability to adjust their internal antennas and to connect a external one.
I prefer a actual Super radio .
I think you can still get them new even though GE dosent build them I have picked of a few at yard sales though. For $3 bucks they cant be beat!

You might want to check this out,
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze20h45/r...sr_faq.html#N2

Darren · #10 02/17/13, 12:15 PM

Buy an all in one radio. When the SHTF, this will not only pick up AM & FM but also ham broadcasts and foreign radio stations. These were high dollar radios when they were in stores. Now they're one of the best bargains on eBay. Even with all of the features, they are easy to use. Radio Shack sold them as the DX-440, Sangean as the ATX-803A

PNP Katahdins · #11 02/17/13, 12:45 PM

I bought one of those DX-440s used for $35 but only the AM and FM worked by the time I got it. Nice radio.

A better antenna will help pull in distant stations better.

Sunflower, what model radio are you having trouble with the midnight alarm? Maybe someone here can walk you through getting the alarm turned off.

Peg

arabian knight · #12 02/17/13, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suitcase_sally

The first one listed here may interest you.

http://www.ccrane.com/radios/am-fm-radios/

I have the 6th one down on in that link from ccrane and love it.

watcher · #13 02/18/13, 07:19 PM

I've found the cheapest radio works fine IF it has an external AM antenna jack so you can add an external antenna.

cornbread · #14 02/18/13, 08:05 PM

ATS-909X
FM-RBDS / MW / LW / SW
http://www.sangean.com/products/product.asp?mid=73&cid=10

sunflower-n-ks · #15 02/19/13, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PNP Katahdins

I bought one of those DX-440s used for $35 but only the AM and FM worked by the time I got it. Nice radio.

A better antenna will help pull in distant stations better.

Sunflower, what model radio are you having trouble with the midnight alarm? Maybe someone here can walk you through getting the alarm turned off.

Peg

It is a little cheap RCA clock radio/cd player. Most of the controls are on top. Two buttons control both the radio and time with another button controling which function is being controled. That button is starting to not work well. There is a slider that is used for setting the two week preset alarm. Very tiny amounts of space between the settings and then there are other buttons. For me, it is confusing. I had the alarm shut off at one time, then it came back on again. I get power blinks here and that puts everything on the radio back to start again. Plus it is older and I just want something that works and is simple, without the clock, alarm, etc. I found a spot it is bringing in some stations, but it is hard for me to reach it there and that makes all of the necessary controls for this one that much more frustrating.

lonelytree · #16 02/19/13, 02:05 AM

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...RadioCommThumb

This is like the one we use. Microtuner. Fairly remote Alaska cabin.

EDIT... we have the S350.

Nimrod · #17 02/19/13, 10:48 AM

Radio has been surpassed by TV and computers. The height of reciever design was in the 1990s. Since then the recievers have gotten cheaper and less sensitive. If you want a radio I suggest you find a used one from that era. They are on Ebay but the really good ones are pricy.

For an inexpensive AM/FM radio I have heard good things about the GE Superadio. It has a dial tuner and is fairly easy to use. They still make a version of it for about $60 but the older versions perform better.

Why not get a radio that gets shortwave as well as AM and FM? Shortwave broadcasts bounce off the ionisphere so they can travel around the world. This is very handy if you want to hear a different perspective on what's happening.

IMHO the best portable radios ever made were the Grundig Satelite 700 and the Sony ICF 2010. Both are have digital tuners and knobs for tuning too if you want to search for what's out there. Grundig was sold and the radios made after that were not as good. Sony discontinued the 2010. I would search yard sales and pawn shops until I found one of these for cheap. They run over $300 on Ebay.

This site has user reviews on many radios. http://www.eham.net/reviews/products...1vccujnct9lsh1

Whatever radio you select will work much better with an external antenna. The simplest is a long wire antenna. Instructions here http://www.hamuniverse.com/shortwaveantenna.html

Enjoy

rockhound · #18 02/20/13, 04:14 AM

Stringing up a long-wire antenna is sometimes a pain AND you need a way to keep lightening from following that wire into the house! Here's a link to a type of coil antenna easy to make and much more compact. I use one for my crystal radio and it pulls in lots of stations with no external power at all. No batteries, no AC.
http://www.makearadio.com/coils/index.php

sunflower-n-ks · #19 02/20/13, 08:37 AM

Thanks!! Nimrod and rockhound. I see some projects coming on.

**Cabin Fever** · #20 02/20/13, 08:50 AM

Go to Ebay and find a good used GE Superadio. The GE Superadio name and design was bought by RCA and the new RCA Superadios are not as good. So, make sure it is a GE Superadio.