Austin4Wyo
Member
rcvmo said:
Dunno about a Panasonic, but I've seen this little gem over at another forum in the past.
Anyone listen to "distant" AM stations at night?
- Thread starter RedPenguin
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Dunno about a Panasonic, but I've seen this little gem over at another forum in the past.
AM/FM/SW/LF car radios are common in Europe just FYI.
w0fg
Member
57Bill said:
I worked for KXWL back in the mid-60s. Their transmitter site is about 15 miles west of me, and the studios are still east of Waterloo on Hwy 281. Jerry "Dee" who signed that card is a good friend and the guy that helped me get my first announcing job, there at KXEL-FM while I was still a punk college kid. By the way, the that AM signal can be regularly heard at night clear up into the far northern reaches of Ontario. I recall getting one QSL request from somebody on a Navy ship out near the Philippines too.
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trashman329 said:[
I know it has nothting to do with the discussion, but I know I'm coming off a bit Japan-o-centric ^_^.But truthfully, I am really happy that there are several Chinese companies making low-cost and very usefull SW radios avaliable to the masses. With old Sony 2010 and Panasonic 5900 selling on the used market for more than what they sold for new, there would be a steep price of entry to the SWL market for something that on the surface is tough to listen to, and only Dr. Gene Scott and the like come in with any predictability. The redsun,kaito, degen, eaton guys are really helpfull in getting interest and radios out there, which can only help in keeping broadcasters sending signals to North America. I just do not think that the chinese have the attention to quality and sense of innovation that the japanese have. I do not think that this has anything to do with any type of national or cultural trait, but rather because in the day and age that china has ascended, it did so in a mass-consumer society. When Japan ascended as a technological innovator, there was no such thing as "disposable" electronics. Everything was repairable. Dont get me wrong, there were tons of garbage transistor radios coming out from japan, but they put the quality in the top and middle-market, and it worked its way down. Chinese industrial philosophy is more to reverse engineer, componetize, and mass produce with their QC coming out of sheer production numbers rather than innovation and adaptation. Wow, where did this come from?:lol:
Just want to stick my two cents in... The Kaito KA1102 (Degan) is one of the best radios for DX ing I have used. For $79.99 on Ebay it blows away my more expensive ($325.00) Radio Labs modded Sangean ATS Super 909 on the whip antenna! And it receives SSB too! -John[/QUOTE]
No doubt. THe KA1102 was high on my short list to buy. (7600GR,ATS909,1102,1103,E5) The chinese recievers are not bad in my opinion, in fact excel in many areas. (E5 is simply great on FM Dx) I just see issues with thier construction and quality control, even though most of the chinese radios I've handled are put together almost as good as the Japanese (G5/E5 is Sllliiiiccckkk!) I wish I could put ICF-7600 guts into an E5. Lighted keys and a dial would have me doing cartwheels. I'm also definatly going with one of the redsun products for my father as he has been wanting a good AM Dx'er for some time now since his Old GE SRII got rained on.
For a time I was really leaning towards the 909 for myself, but based on the reviews and discussions I have seen, that its not really worth the dough unless you go with the Justice Super 909. And even then it is still fairly deaf on the whip unless you attache a longwire or loop. Have you tried an external at all? Having never seen a 909 in person, I'm still curious about it. Approximatly how large is it? Say compared to a 7600GR or a G5 or S350DL? They look fairly hefty.
monitorman
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I was thrilled to find out my Silvertone worked after putting a 6v battery in it and letting it warm up, I did some research on it and it was made in 1936 and has all the old parts (tubes, capacitors, etc) still in it, But I dont use it often for fear of breaking anything in it. Otherwise I use a GE SupeRadio III which is a very cheap radio but works verywell and a Sangean 803.
Back in the early 70's we (my brothers and sisters) would listen to WLS out of Chicago way down here in Alabama. As a matter of fact the radio station that my Dad worked at that time was an AM station and if they would have been allowed to operate after sundown it was believed that someone in Canada could have picked 'em up...
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rcvmo said:
It was already mentioned, but there is a Sony that is still made in limited numbers. There is a dealer in Canada and a dealer in Saudi Arabia that still sell them. Reasonably priced, but not "cheap" but you want SW in the car not DVD video right! They were reviewed on Radio Intel for installation and reception. Clearly modern ignitions interfere, but not not on all bands. I think Universal Radio has a European model Blaupunkt SW/MW/LW/FM car radio for sales on their "used" list for a decent price.
I dont think they are anywhere near as common as they used to be, but they were very common equipment in the 80s and early 90s. Even an older unit would probably work great so check ebay for euro sellers willing to ship to NA. The usual suspects are obviously brands like Blaupunkt and Sony. Maybe Craig? They were big in euro OEM back in the 80s/90s I think. Maybe alpine?
Patch42 said:
I checked out that Sony. It gets great reviews, but I'm confused. It seems that the Sony ICF-S10MK2 is the one to get. Would you happen to know if there is any difference between them? Could it be a repackaged radio? It IS cheaper by a few bucks and seems to have a little larger, but sturdier case. Who knows, they both recieve great I'm sure.
Amazon.com prices and consumer reviews on SRF-59
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-SRF-59-Radio-Walkman-Headphones/dp/B00006JQ06
Amazon.com prices and consumer reviews on S10MK2
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-ICF-S10MK2-Pocket-Radio-Silver/dp/B00020S7XK
I could have sworn that when I first read about the S10MK2, that it was a japanese market model (grey market) radio on some "low cost Dx" blog. From the looks of it, it has the USA FM/AM bandwith rather than the 76mhz japan band. Of course this would be useless to me as there is nothing there. So its between the S10mk2 or the SRF-59. If I can find one of them locally, I will get whichever is in stores. If I have to mail-order it, then I think I'm going with the S10Mk2.
DanTSX said:
What you want to look for is a model from the late 60's to late 70's. It will be solid state and have the mechanical presets. Inside there will be a set of coils in parallel with ferrite rods that are ganged off of the tuning mechanism. These tuning inductors not only change the oscillator frequency but they also provide front end selectivity and match the antenna. Sorry, I do not remember any model numbers.
If you want to get carried away, make a nice wooden cabinet to mount it in with a speaker and 12 v battery.
Another thing to consider is a modern-day version of this...get a model that has IBOC (like the JVC sold at Wal-mart). Some of these newer receiver are pretty good for AM.
W8RW said:
I guess Ten Tec has a kit that has a 24 or so build time. But still a bit out of my skill level. Out of all the scientific disciplines EE is the only one where I have ZERO formal practical experience or education. I get the basics as they relate to other disciplines, but I would like to really understand and practice at least the basics. Should be an interesting project to do a regenerative set or something with glowing tubes
I'll look up that IBOC kit, but doubt I'll buy it. I have some pretty strong feelings on the AM-HD. Both the technology and the politics of it really make me burn, and I do not want to help increase the already inflated IBOC sales numbers. Hopefully at the upcoming hamfests I can spot something, if not I'll hit up a few scientific supply companies. They always seem to have kits for this type of stuff. Vintage would be cool too, especially if I have to get one of those giant old 6v lantern batteries to run it. Nostalgia maximized
screenersam
I hate motrbro
as i understand it (and as most of youse probly already know) many stations shut down, or are required to lower signal, at sunset, and some 'superstations' take over (KDKA in Pittsburgh, eg). I spent many a Sunday night as a teen listening to Rockin' Ray on the Sunday Night Hall of Fame on 1110 WBT (Charlotte NC). living in MD, I regularly got WSB and such; my favorite catch was Thunder Bay, Ontario.
AM led me to SW which led me to scanning
AM led me to SW which led me to scanning
w0fg
Member
When I was an early teen, we used to listen to KIOA in Des Moines and WLS in Chicago during the day, and at night we'd listen to KAAY in Little Rock on 1090 after the local 250w Christian station shut down for the night. The AM-only car radios of the mid-50's to the early 70-s were great for AM DXing.
w0fg said:
Anyone know how to get a car stereo to run on a home mains current? 12v car system i'm thinking. In college my EE major buddy had a kenwood headunit for a stereo, but he was a bit of an electrical wiz. Any kits? I know stores like best buy have car stereos installed in display units that allow output to regular speakers and run on regular power.
w0fg
Member
You just need a twelve-volt power supply with the appropriate current rating....5A or so for a low power unit, maybe 15-20 for one with a larger amp. Universal Radio and Amateur Electronic Supply both carry them. Astron and Samlec are a couple of good brands.
DanTSX said:
Regulated power supply like the ones here. http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamps.html
I Love listening to WSM out of nashville friday and saturday night. Listening to the Grand Ole Opry on AM is the ONLY way to do it. Slight fads and pop from the old 1940's console makes AM radio. Did a lot of AM dxing as a kid, Would stay up on sunday night after midnight when WLW cincinatti would go off the air so I could listen to the Nerthland Antilles Caribbean AM station.
k9jdk
Member
Wls = ?
I noticed WLS mentioned a few times in this thread.
Being from Chicago I recall that WLS = World's Largest Store (Sears)
Others?
I noticed WLS mentioned a few times in this thread.
Being from Chicago I recall that WLS = World's Largest Store (Sears)
Others?
k9jdk said:
Interesting!
Here in Hartford, our local AM 50k watt powerhouse is WTIC 1080.
TIC = Travelers Insurance Company. Formerly owned the broadcaster.
A large portion of the Nations' Insurance companies were founded or operate in and around Hartford, including Travelers.
Their auditory time-stamp is morse-code for TIC.
Take a listen for it, their P.M. schedual is pretty lame with Clark Howard and that clown Hannity. They are my "go to bed" station as they put Coast to Coast AM on at 1a.m. (It used to keep me up all night, but George Snoory doesnt make me scared to turn the lights off at bedtime like Art Bell used to:roll
Other than that, their only good stuff is their mid-morning guy when he is not on a Iraq or bluegrass music rant, and their "after limbaugh" local liberal joker who is good for variety, but unless you are local, your not gonna hear that on Dx anyways. Its not my thing, but many would appreciate the P.M. Dx coverage of UCONN Huskies games if you are into that sort of thing.
Well I had a nice suprise when I got out of work today. Found a Sony ICF-S10Mk2 for sale retail at Sears. I had stopped in to Radio Shack to grab a 9v batt for my C0 detector (finally got to manhandle the Grundig G5 too, nice solid radio and man, I wish my 7600GR had a knob and S-meter now) But walking out of the mall with the 9v in hand, I had gone through Sears, which is a store I have ZERO reason to ever go to. A quick shortcut through the electronics section and I caught out of the corner of my eye the fabled S10Mk2 pocket Dx'er. Best of all, it was $9.99. I was a little suprised as I had seen them advertised by retailers as online only and from $10-$24 + s&h. Couldnt refuse that, so I picked one up. I intended to pick one up so I wasnt tempted to bring my 7600GR to work with me to listen to NPR or whatever. Too expenisve a toy to be lugging back an forth every day.
Anyways, the good stuff. Nice little radio with easy to use controls with a nice crisp sound that must be in part due to the speaker grill being on the front and the back of the radio. This is especially helpfull with an AM radio when you face the ferrite bar towards the radio station for best performance, the sound will not be going completely "away" from you. Well built and a nice stiff antanna. Tuning is easy and not as touchy as the handheld $30 FM/MW/SW grunding 300 that everyone sells
Does it live up to it's reputation?
uh, yeah! 8p.m. and I'm picking up Boston and Rochester NY with a STRONG lock and very little static from INSIDE my concrete cave apartment. Very little fade. I really think that this thing is a true Dx machine and I will be bandscanning it a bit later tonight to see what it can do. I may even get up early tomorrow to see what it can do before sun-up. I will also give it a real test at the shore in two weeks. Its a little after 9p.m. and the damn IBOC AM-HD station in town (viva mexico:roll: )just went to full power and blasted out everything to the left of 1300khz on the a.m. band. I need to get off my duff and complain to the FCC about that one. Anyways, glad I found the radio retail without having to look around or pay online s&h. There is another one on the rack and I may go pick it up for Pops!
Wow, Rochester is FAR from Hartford
RadioIntel has a good review here
http://www.radiointel.com/review-sonys10mk2.htm
Anyways, the good stuff. Nice little radio with easy to use controls with a nice crisp sound that must be in part due to the speaker grill being on the front and the back of the radio. This is especially helpfull with an AM radio when you face the ferrite bar towards the radio station for best performance, the sound will not be going completely "away" from you. Well built and a nice stiff antanna. Tuning is easy and not as touchy as the handheld $30 FM/MW/SW grunding 300 that everyone sells
Does it live up to it's reputation?
uh, yeah!
8p.m. and I'm picking up Boston and Rochester NY with a STRONG lock and very little static from INSIDE my concrete cave apartment. Very little fade. I really think that this thing is a true Dx machine and I will be bandscanning it a bit later tonight to see what it can do. I may even get up early tomorrow to see what it can do before sun-up. I will also give it a real test at the shore in two weeks. Its a little after 9p.m. and the damn IBOC AM-HD station in town (viva mexico:roll: )just went to full power and blasted out everything to the left of 1300khz on the a.m. band. I need to get off my duff and complain to the FCC about that one. Anyways, glad I found the radio retail without having to look around or pay online s&h. There is another one on the rack and I may go pick it up for Pops! Wow, Rochester is FAR from Hartford
RadioIntel has a good review here
http://www.radiointel.com/review-sonys10mk2.htm
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