Tas Ultralight Broadcast Band DXing: Digitech AR1741 Review
DIGITECH AR1741 Review
By Paul Blundell
From the Jaycar Website:
“Radio Receiver AM/FM/SW with LCD and Clock (AR1741)
This multi-band pocket radio has digital tuning and has a large backlit LCD. It features full clock functions with an alarm and receives AM, FM and SW. It can be either battery or mains powered (batteries and power supply sold separately), has a 3.5mm headphone socket and comes complete with a lanyard for portability.
Specifications:
• Power: 4.5VDC mains plug pack or 2 x AA batteries
• FM: 88-108MHz
• MEDIUM WAVE AM BAND: 517-1625 kHz
• SW: 5.85-18.00MHz
• Dimensions: 112(H) x70(W) x24(D) mm”
A couple of weeks ago I spotted this radio while shopping at Jaycar in Hobart, the price was right at $24.95 and based on my previous experiences with the AR1745, AR1747 and AR1748 which had all been very positive I thought this might be a good “backup” radio to add to my Ultralight DXing setup.
On opening the box once I returned home to Launceston I found a very basic kit in front of me, the radio unit itself and a pair of earphones plus the small and almost useless user manual are all that are included with it.
Looking over the AR1741 unit it is clear that this is not anywhere near a well built unit as even the AR1745. The fit and finish is quite rough and I managed to catch my finger on a plastic barb left in the battery compartment when it was made. After removing this with a pair of fine nose pliers and inserting the two AA batteries the unit requires I powered it on, this is done the way a lot of cheaper radios do it, you turn the volume control from the off position until it clicks and then you adjust the volume to the level you desire.
My first check with this radio was across the Medium Wave AM broadcast band, this was where I found the first problem. The tuning control moves 1 kHz at a time however I found two problems with this. The first is that no matter what I try and do it will not tune below 537 kHz which means any stations on 531 kHz cannot be heard with this radio. The second problem is that the tuning wheel is so sensitive that getting it on the right frequencies is a battle. If you want to listen to 540 kHz for example to need to slowly move the tuning wheel up until you hit the right frequency. However, even if you manage to get the radio on the right frequency the smallest touch or bump will see it jump back and forwards between frequencies either side of where you are tuned.
As a test I set the AR1741 on a frequency and then left it on the table watching the display but not touching it in any way, the frequency continued to shift for as long as I watched it. I repeated the same experiment on both FM and a couple of the shortwave bands with the same results.
If you can get the AR1741 to stay on a frequency long enough you will be pleased with both the reception and audio quality, while it is not going to beat the higher priced portables it does a responsible job. The reception on Medium Wave AM band is below the AR1745 both in terms of sensitivity and how well it rejects signals on other frequencies. As an example a local station on 1008 kHz can be heard quite well up to 60 kHz either side of its frequency. When comparing it to the AR1745 of a night time on the Medium Wave AM band when a lot of stations can be heard, it misses quite a few that should be an easy copy and that are quite well received on the AR1745.
Moving up to the FM band the claimed coverage is 88-108MHz, on my AR1741 the coverage actually starts at 85.8MHz and extends all the way up to 108.6MHz. Scanning these frequencies all the expected local frequencies can be heard and they sound fairly good. Towards the top end of the band you end up with a mess of signals coming in which makes receiving some frequencies a struggle, luckily I don’t listen to FM radio much so this is not really an issue to me.
Finally the shortwave bands. These have been divided up in to 7 bands. The claimed coverage is first with the actual coverage in brackets:
SW1 – 5.90 – 6.50MHz (5.28 - 6.668MHz)
SW2 – 7.20 – 7.70MHz (6.52 – 8.02MHz)
SW3 – 9.50 – 10.30MHz (8.87 - 10.66MHz)
SW4 – 11.60 – 12.30MHz (11.28 – 13.14MHz)
SW5 – 13.50 – 14.20MHz (12.83 – 14.68MHz)
SW6 – 15.50 – 16.50MHz (15.20 – 17.20MHz)
SW7 – 17.80 – 19.00MHz (17.47 – 19.78MHz)
Running some tests both with the internal whip aerial and also with a external aerial of some wire strung up outside have produced much the same results as I found on the Medium Wave AM band. The signals that could be heard were fairly good audio wise and were close to on par with the AR1745. The biggest issue I found was again the tuning system and getting the AR1741 to stay on frequency.
Overall for a radio that costs under $25 you cannot expect too much and that is what you get. The lack of memories on the AR1741 is also a real weakness, every time you use it you need to manually tune to the correct frequency, this would not be such a problem if the tuning system worked better and stayed on frequency. Even with the above problems including the tuning system and low quality of the finish I still like it and think for the price it is ok. If you are serious the AR1745 is a much nicer radio and well worth the extra money.
Tas Ultralight Broadcast Band DXing
DIGITECH AR1741 Review
By Paul Blundell
From the Jaycar Website:
“Radio Receiver AM/FM/SW with LCD and Clock (AR1741)
This multi-band pocket radio has digital tuning and has a large backlit LCD. It features full clock functions with an alarm and receives AM, FM and SW. It can be either battery or mains powered (batteries and power supply sold separately), has a 3.5mm headphone socket and comes complete with a lanyard for portability.
Specifications:
• Power: 4.5VDC mains plug pack or 2 x AA batteries
• FM: 88-108MHz
• MEDIUM WAVE AM BAND: 517-1625 kHz
• SW: 5.85-18.00MHz
• Dimensions: 112(H) x70(W) x24(D) mm”
A couple of weeks ago I spotted this radio while shopping at Jaycar in Hobart, the price was right at $24.95 and based on my previous experiences with the AR1745, AR1747 and AR1748 which had all been very positive I thought this might be a good “backup” radio to add to my Ultralight DXing setup.
On opening the box once I returned home to Launceston I found a very basic kit in front of me, the radio unit itself and a pair of earphones plus the small and almost useless user manual are all that are included with it.
Looking over the AR1741 unit it is clear that this is not anywhere near a well built unit as even the AR1745. The fit and finish is quite rough and I managed to catch my finger on a plastic barb left in the battery compartment when it was made. After removing this with a pair of fine nose pliers and inserting the two AA batteries the unit requires I powered it on, this is done the way a lot of cheaper radios do it, you turn the volume control from the off position until it clicks and then you adjust the volume to the level you desire.
My first check with this radio was across the Medium Wave AM broadcast band, this was where I found the first problem. The tuning control moves 1 kHz at a time however I found two problems with this. The first is that no matter what I try and do it will not tune below 537 kHz which means any stations on 531 kHz cannot be heard with this radio. The second problem is that the tuning wheel is so sensitive that getting it on the right frequencies is a battle. If you want to listen to 540 kHz for example to need to slowly move the tuning wheel up until you hit the right frequency. However, even if you manage to get the radio on the right frequency the smallest touch or bump will see it jump back and forwards between frequencies either side of where you are tuned.
As a test I set the AR1741 on a frequency and then left it on the table watching the display but not touching it in any way, the frequency continued to shift for as long as I watched it. I repeated the same experiment on both FM and a couple of the shortwave bands with the same results.
If you can get the AR1741 to stay on a frequency long enough you will be pleased with both the reception and audio quality, while it is not going to beat the higher priced portables it does a responsible job. The reception on Medium Wave AM band is below the AR1745 both in terms of sensitivity and how well it rejects signals on other frequencies. As an example a local station on 1008 kHz can be heard quite well up to 60 kHz either side of its frequency. When comparing it to the AR1745 of a night time on the Medium Wave AM band when a lot of stations can be heard, it misses quite a few that should be an easy copy and that are quite well received on the AR1745.
Moving up to the FM band the claimed coverage is 88-108MHz, on my AR1741 the coverage actually starts at 85.8MHz and extends all the way up to 108.6MHz. Scanning these frequencies all the expected local frequencies can be heard and they sound fairly good. Towards the top end of the band you end up with a mess of signals coming in which makes receiving some frequencies a struggle, luckily I don’t listen to FM radio much so this is not really an issue to me.
Finally the shortwave bands. These have been divided up in to 7 bands. The claimed coverage is first with the actual coverage in brackets:
SW1 – 5.90 – 6.50MHz (5.28 - 6.668MHz)
SW2 – 7.20 – 7.70MHz (6.52 – 8.02MHz)
SW3 – 9.50 – 10.30MHz (8.87 - 10.66MHz)
SW4 – 11.60 – 12.30MHz (11.28 – 13.14MHz)
SW5 – 13.50 – 14.20MHz (12.83 – 14.68MHz)
SW6 – 15.50 – 16.50MHz (15.20 – 17.20MHz)
SW7 – 17.80 – 19.00MHz (17.47 – 19.78MHz)
Running some tests both with the internal whip aerial and also with a external aerial of some wire strung up outside have produced much the same results as I found on the Medium Wave AM band. The signals that could be heard were fairly good audio wise and were close to on par with the AR1745. The biggest issue I found was again the tuning system and getting the AR1741 to stay on frequency.
Overall for a radio that costs under $25 you cannot expect too much and that is what you get. The lack of memories on the AR1741 is also a real weakness, every time you use it you need to manually tune to the correct frequency, this would not be such a problem if the tuning system worked better and stayed on frequency. Even with the above problems including the tuning system and low quality of the finish I still like it and think for the price it is ok. If you are serious the AR1745 is a much nicer radio and well worth the extra money.
Tas Ultralight Broadcast Band DXing
