Portable radio AM dxing

[Patch42]

Thank you for all the replies and links. I think for my price range and the need for it to be battery operated and relatively portable I may go with the EP Pro. I was concerned about its selectivity, overload and the fact the tuning may not be accurate like a digital readout.

You might want to look at the Jay Allen AM Portable Mega-Shootout. He rates the EP-Pro in the top category with the likes of the RF-2200 and CCRadio2E/3. Considering the CCR2E is $170 and you'd be very lucky to find a used RF-2200 in good condition for under $200, the EP-Pro at $90 looks to be a bargain. The analog dial is the only real drawback, though it's spread out sufficiently and not particularly crowded at the upper end so that should help quite a bit.

You might want to keep your eyes open for a Panasonic DR22, which is the European version of the RF-2200. They do rarely pop up in thrift shops and estate sales where you can get it for a good price. Even ones sold strictly for parts go for $125, so if you pay anything less than that you're almost assured of not losing money.

 

[Patch42]

For the money, being able to rotate a ferrite rod on the radio, the built in DSP and the tuning ability to grab 72 stations on MW with the PL-360 sitting inside at 3AM is more than enough for me. I have not tried the same test for daylight hours during the summer, I am sure it would be a lot less and horrible listening except for strong stations.

The rotatable ferrite rod is such a convenient feature I'm surprised more manufacturers haven't included it. Beats the pants off having to rotate the whole radio. I bought a lazy Susan base to use with my CCR2E because it's way easier to rotate the whole radio that way.

Just for grins, late last night I pulled out the Sony SRF-39 I got used off ebay and did a quick scan of a small portion of the dial. This radio definitely needs an alignment but was still able to pick up 880-WCBS (750 miles) in the very strong shadow of local 890-WLS, 870-WWL (800 miles), 850-KOA (875 miles), and 860-CJBC (475 miles). The point being that even cheap portables with small ferrite antennas can receive stations from very far away at night. Nighttime reception is usually more about propagation and atmospheric conditions than it is the abilities of the radio.

I did rather well in the 1980's sitting in a open parking lot at 2 AM with a Radio Shack DX-160 running off the car battery chasing LW beacons though in the fall.

I've spent way more hours than I care to admit chasing LW beacons.

We have come a long way since then. Perhaps a large loop antenna and a 15.00 AM/FM portable would do as well today. Hearing on a cheap portable radio's speaker though is a bit of a drag on old ears, why I use earbuds

Once you get to a certain point with the electronics it's far more about the antenna than anything else. Pairing a good loop antenna with most any radio will improve the reception of the radio.

With all the RFI bouncing around today the most effective thing you can do is to go outside some place away from electricity. This is not very easy these days. Or just turn off all the breakers and listen to how quiet the radio is when tuned away from a station. The first time I went somewhere away from the massive RFI I was used to I thought there was something wrong with my radio. It was dead silent. I'd never heard it like that before.

 

[oldradioguy2010]

I use a Realistic dx-350 for my portable ops.
Used all across the country.
And on board a Cruse ship to Alaska
Great for MW.

DW
So. Cal.

 

[Boombox]

Stick with the radio you've got. It has everything you need: a good internal loopstick, and a good DSP chip, and multiple bandwidths. The only thing it needs for better DX would be a bigger antenna.

So get a decent external loop antenna. The Grundig/Eton AN200 will only set you back about 40-50 USD (not sure how many UK pounds), and it will boost reception of any portable MW DX radio. There are other MW Loop antennas out there, too. Some manufacturer in Australia makes several different types that apparently work well.

Getting an older portable DX radio used is always a gamble, because some of them might have issues, or were touched by the famous "golden screwdriver" -- i.e. modified by their previous owner, which can be a mixed bag. Other older radios do not age well -- if you buy a Panasonic RF2200 for example, you may have to have it repaired because the switches do not age well. GE Superadios are built like tanks and work well -- there's very little that can break in one that wasn't abused, but they may not DX as well as the Sangean you already have, if you add a loop.

CCRadios are great except I've read more than one complaint about the digital readout CCRadios having LCD readouts that went bad. The CC EP Pro, 'analog' tuned model is probably their best MW radio, if only because it has a DSP chip inside and a good (and tunable) twin-coil loopstick in it. Not that much that can break in it over time. It apparently has great performance as well. If I were going to get a CCrane, that would be the model I would be most interested in.

But even at that, it probably uses a DSP chip with the same basic specs as the DSP chip inside your PR-D4W.

So -- get an external loop antenna. Even if you get a CC EP pro, an external loop will being in more stations.

Good luck and good DX.

 

[Patch42]

CCRadios are great except I've read more than one complaint about the digital readout CCRadios having LCD readouts that went bad.

That was an issue with the early model CCRadio 2 models. There's a ribbon connector from the display that has a tendency to come loose from the circuit board as it ages. If you're not afraid to open the radio I understand it can usually be re-attached without too much trouble.

I've read no complaints of recent models having this issue.

The CC EP Pro, 'analog' tuned model is probably their best MW radio, if only because it has a DSP chip inside and a good (and tunable) twin-coil loopstick in it.

The CCRadio 2E/3 has a twin-coil loop stick antenna in it also. It autotunes the antenna every time you tune the radio. You can often hear this happening. When you first land on a station it will sound weaker and then get stronger as the autotune circuitry peaks the signal.

For chasing MW DX the biggest differences between the two are going to be the digital display and the 1kHz tuning on the CCR2E/3. As far as receiving ability they're going to be pretty much the same.

I would tend to agree that a different portable radio is probably not going to make a huge difference in reception. The D4W is very close to what you're going to get out of a CCR2E or CC EP Pro. Additional funds would be much better spent on an antenna. If your budget allows and you can find anyone willing to part with theirs, a Quantum QX Loop can do some pretty amazing things. Sadly, the gentleman who used to make them passed away, so the used market is the only source. Anyone who has one is very likely to have taken excellent care of it though, so you should be able to buy with confidence. Word of warning, this antenna will likely cost more than any of the radios we've been discussing here.

 

[Boombox]

FWIW, the Sangean PR-D5, at least since 2012, has also had twin coils on its 200 mm antenna. I suppose the OP could go that route -- or the CC Radio / CC EP route, but yeah, a good external loop would probably do him better at this point.

An external loop would get the most out of his radio. I've read nothing but good things about the PR-D4W; I have its cousin the PR-D14 and it picks up about everything my PR-D5 does, with small differences on extreme DX stations or empty channels.... The PR-D4W apparently has a thicker loopstick than the PR-D14 (10 mm vs 9 mm) and the adjustable bandwidth makes the PR-D4W a pretty useful radio. I've thought about trying one out eventually.

Another option for the OP is to build a loop. Plastic milk crate at a box store + 110 ft. of wire coiled around it, aand connect the ends to a 365pf variable tuner capacitor via alligator clips (a metal tuner cap is probably best, i've seen them go for maybe $20-$20 online), a couple zip ties (to hold the tuner to the crate, and some zip ties or tape to hold down the ends of the coiled wire), and you're set. Cut the coil to fit, so it tunes 1700-520. I made one in 2011. It wasn't difficult. Adds a couple dB at least to nearly all of my radios.

 

[Patch42]

One more suggestion -- Get away from RFI. In a typical urban setting the radio is being bombarded by spurious radio frequency emissions. Even in a relatively remote house, if the power is on the electrical system in the house is acting like a giant transmitting antenna. If you can find a location away from power lines, buildings, and powered gadgets, like your mobile phone, you'll likely do far, far better with distant reception. If North America is your goal, a trip to a remote spot on the west coast would likely be fruitful.

If you want to go really crazy, check out the Beverage-On-Ground (BOG) antenna. Basically, you get yourself a giant spool of wire, lay it out on the ground in a straight line aimed generally at your target, and hook it to the radio in some way. The BOG tends to be directional along the line of the wire. Some truly amazing receptions have been made with this type of antenna. The wire doesn't need to be very heavy. Magnet wire will do, but be careful not to rub off the insulation as that may allow it to short to ground, defeating the whole purpose.

 

[Alex777]

Stick with the radio you've got. It has everything you need: a good internal loopstick, and a good DSP chip, and multiple bandwidths. The only thing it needs for better DX would be a bigger antenna.

So get a decent external loop antenna. The Grundig/Eton AN200 will only set you back about 40-50 USD (not sure how many UK pounds), and it will boost reception of any portable MW DX radio. There are other MW Loop antennas out there, too. Some manufacturer in Australia makes several different types that apparently work well.

Getting an older portable DX radio used is always a gamble, because some of them might have issues, or were touched by the famous "golden screwdriver" -- i.e. modified by their previous owner, which can be a mixed bag. Other older radios do not age well -- if you buy a Panasonic RF2200 for example, you may have to have it repaired because the switches do not age well. GE Superadios are built like tanks and work well -- there's very little that can break in one that wasn't abused, but they may not DX as well as the Sangean you already have, if you add a loop.

CCRadios are great except I've read more than one complaint about the digital readout CCRadios having LCD readouts that went bad. The CC EP Pro, 'analog' tuned model is probably their best MW radio, if only because it has a DSP chip inside and a good (and tunable) twin-coil loopstick in it. Not that much that can break in it over time. It apparently has great performance as well. If I were going to get a CCrane, that would be the model I would be most interested in.

But even at that, it probably uses a DSP chip with the same basic specs as the DSP chip inside your PR-D4W.

So -- get an external loop antenna. Even if you get a CC EP pro, an external loop will being in more stations.

Good luck and good DX.

Thanks I have already ordered the EP Pro but will look into getting an external antenna.

 

[Alex777]

That was an issue with the early model CCRadio 2 models. There's a ribbon connector from the display that has a tendency to come loose from the circuit board as it ages. If you're not afraid to open the radio I understand it can usually be re-attached without too much trouble.

I've read no complaints of recent models having this issue.


The CCRadio 2E/3 has a twin-coil loop stick antenna in it also. It autotunes the antenna every time you tune the radio. You can often hear this happening. When you first land on a station it will sound weaker and then get stronger as the autotune circuitry peaks the signal.

For chasing MW DX the biggest differences between the two are going to be the digital display and the 1kHz tuning on the CCR2E/3. As far as receiving ability they're going to be pretty much the same.

I would tend to agree that a different portable radio is probably not going to make a huge difference in reception. The D4W is very close to what you're going to get out of a CCR2E or CC EP Pro. Additional funds would be much better spent on an antenna. If your budget allows and you can find anyone willing to part with theirs, a Quantum QX Loop can do some pretty amazing things. Sadly, the gentleman who used to make them passed away, so the used market is the only source. Anyone who has one is very likely to have taken excellent care of it though, so you should be able to buy with confidence. Word of warning, this antenna will likely cost more than any of the radios we've been discussing here.

Thanks for the info. I will look into this.

 

[Boombox]

The EP Pro should serve you well. The only peculiarity is the digital DSP operation / analog tuning. To DX, you'll have to tune slowly. You'll get used to it. I have a hand held portable that is a DSP chip / analog dial radio that tunes the same way. It sort of 'clicks' or 'ratchets' from station to station. Radio Jay Allen describes how these analog-tuned, DSP chip radios operate. According to his review, the EP Pro operates with this system excellently.

 

[Alex777]

The EP Pro should serve you well. The only peculiarity is the digital DSP operation / analog tuning. To DX, you'll have to tune slowly. You'll get used to it. I have a hand held portable that is a DSP chip / analog dial radio that tunes the same way. It sort of 'clicks' or 'ratchets' from station to station. Radio Jay Allen describes how these analog-tuned, DSP chip radios operate. According to his review, the EP Pro operates with this system excellently.

Thanks. I've just read on Jay Allen that it's narrow bandwidth is 2.5 kHz. Whilst not as narrow as the D4W I'm quite happy this will give good selectivity with its added sensitivity.

 

[WB9YBM]

I'm currently using a Sangean D4W for Medium wave band dxing here in the UK. I have received a few US stations. I find the radio sensitive and very selective with its bandwidth options. I'm looking for another radio either equal or better in terms of selectivity and sensitivity. Has anybody got any suggestions. I'm looking at importing the EP Pro. Thanks.

I've had good luck with AM broadcast band DXing with both conventional SWL receivers as well as car stereos; most disappointing's been the AM/FM stereo home receivers and the small shirt-pocket sized receivers. If I were to do AM BC band DXing only, I might think about getting a car radio from a junk yard and using that...

 

[Patch42]

most disappointing's been the AM/FM stereo home receivers and the small shirt-pocket sized receivers.

It's largely the antenna, though I don't think a lot of effort is put into the AM reception on home stereo receivers. In many decades of stereo receiver use I don't think I've used AM more than a couple times, and that was ages and ages ago. The surprising thing is that they even bother putting AM into receivers at all anymore.

There are decent shirt-pocket sized radios but they're naturally limited by the tiny antenna that has to be used. Sony made a very small AM/FM radio, the SRF-T615, smaller than a classic iPod, that is quite exceptional when away from strong local signals. It was never officially available in the U.S. market, though they did make a model designed for export that had English labeling and manual. They were always difficult to come by and nearly impossible now. There was clearly a lot of effort put into matching the antenna to the radio and ensuring it was properly peaked at the factory. The antenna has a very sharp null, which makes it excellent at blocking unwanted signals. Of course, this was not a $12 radio. Most shirt-pocket radios are designed just to pick up local signals. I have several that do an adequate job on the locals. DX machines they are not.

 

[WB9YBM]

It's largely the antenna, though I don't think a lot of effort is put into the AM reception on home stereo receivers. The home stereo receivers I've tried all had poor selectivity--much worse than car or SWL radios.

There are decent shirt-pocket sized radios but they're naturally limited by the tiny antenna that has to be used. My main problem with those is difficulty in tuning them.

 

[Patch42]

There are decent shirt-pocket sized radios but they're naturally limited by the tiny antenna that has to be used. My main problem with those is difficulty in tuning them.

Tuning can be a challenge when they put the entire band on a quarter turn of the tuning wheel. I did some surgery on a cheap Sony I had years ago. I'd picked up some surplus reduction drive doohickeys pretty cheap and put one on the Sony. It spread the tuning range out sixfold. I had to spin the knob a fair bit to go from one end of the dial to the other, but it made centering a channel much easier. I lost the tuning dial but it wasn't much use anyway.

A couple of the ones I have are digital tuning. That makes things a lot easier. Sangean has a few shirt pocket models that have digital tuning, though they tend to cost more than most would be willing to spend on a small radio like that. For casual use around the house I like the Sangean SR-35. It's no DX magnet by any stretch but it does a good job on the locals and puts out reasonable volume for a radio that size. Plus it's cheap enough I'm not going to cry if something happens to it. The tuning on it isn't quite as fiddly as on some small models.

 

[p1879]

Those simple pocket-size AM radios sure did some good DX work at night in the 60's. Could hear Radio Americas on Swan Island, Cuba and Canada from the US SE. A kid could "go continental" listening under the covers on a wintry night. If the tv set was off, little else in those days generated much noise in a house of the era.

I have GE Super radios and on my third RF 2200- this one is a keeper- but liked the
little Sangean PRD18 used this last summer in a remote, off grid location. It was very pleasant for a small radio, and having memories is now a big plus to me. FM was very good, AM was mediocre but not bad; I found a good CBC station in Edmonton.

 

[Boombox]

RE: Pocket Radios: I've found that some of them are good for DXing. I used to DX every night using Sony Walkmen (several different models, both analog and digital tuned) and a loop and logged a lot of new stations. With the analog tuned models you count the channels as you tune up or down the band. Of course, the loop helped. But if you're seriously DXing the MW band you're probably using a loop anyway. Most Walkmen pick up regionals and distant 50KW stations no problem.

The Sony SRF-59, a famous pocket/headset radio, has good enough selectivity to separate channels easily while tuning. Some guys in high signal locations have been able to DX with them, even without an external loop. I think a guy in Newfoundland even logged KFI Los Angeles with an unaided Sony SRF-59, so it apparently can be a DX machine by itself.

Sony's $15 ICF-P26 pocket radio, equipped with a CXA1019 (an IF chip with a good RF amp for the AM band) also is good for DXing, although it's not super selective. The tradeoff is the sound is more pleasing. You can increase selectivity slightly by placing the radio farther from the loop antenna. Without a loop antenna, it picks up regionals and stations from 900 miles away fairly easily. I hear California and Alberta on it easily unaided, and I'm in the PNW.

I've always been a make-do with what you have DXer, although I have my share of high performance portables. Sometimes it's the challenge. Sometimes it's the fact that it's easier to manipulate a Walkman and loop than a Superadio or PR-D5.

 

[Patch42]

The Sony SRF-59, a famous pocket/headset radio, has good enough selectivity to separate channels easily while tuning. Some guys in high signal locations have been able to DX with them, even without an external loop. I think a guy in Newfoundland even logged KFI Los Angeles with an unaided Sony SRF-59, so it apparently can be a DX machine by itself.

That's the one I modified by replacing the tuning wheel with a reduction drive. I got a couple of them as refurbs from Sony and figured I had little to lose. One of them turned out to be pretty hot once I peaked the antenna and did a poor man's alignment. I cut away some of the front of the case so the reduction drive would fit. It mostly attached okay to the post the tuning wheel had been attached to. It wasn't a great fit but as long as I was careful it worked. It made tuning so much easier. The downside was the tuning indicator was driven by the tuning wheel so I lost that along with the wheel. It wasn't much good to being with so I figured no great loss.

I recall reading about a guy working the radio room in Germany when there was still a big U.S. military presence following World War II. He'd tune around the MW dial late at night when there was nothing much going on. He said he used to listen to KABC Los Angeles quite regularly. They've never been a powerhouse like KFI. Today they're only doing 7900W at night. They likely weren't even pushing that much back in the late '40s. Probably more a statement about low RFI in those days than anything else.

 

[BDavis27707]

I have good service from a DX-398 (aka ats-909) using a Tecsun AN200 resonate loop. At night I can easily pick up 50kw Toronto stations (740 CHWO) some 526 miles from me. I regularly listen to 50kw 770 WABC and 880 WCBS out of NY. Best so far is 50kw 1540 KXEL out of Waterloo, Iowa 835 miles distant. Still, my Yaesu FRG-7700 with external longwire antenna can still pull in a signal that is bit clearer, but alas it is not as portable.

I would think the new ATS-909X would be as good as my old DX-398 with similar antennas. It's probably been tested for AM reception, but have not checked.

 

[Patch42]

I have good service from a DX-398 (aka ats-909) using a Tecsun AN200 resonate loop. At night I can easily pick up 50kw Toronto stations (740 CHWO) some 526 miles from me. I regularly listen to 50kw 770 WABC and 880 WCBS out of NY. Best so far is 50kw 1540 KXEL out of Waterloo, Iowa 835 miles distant. Still, my Yaesu FRG-7700 with external longwire antenna can still pull in a signal that is bit clearer, but alas it is not as portable.

No reflection on your radio, but night time reception of these powerhouses means virtually nothing in regards to the quality and sensitivity of a radio. Pull in CHWO at local noon and you'll have proof of an impressive antenna/receiver combination.

In my current location 329 miles is my furthest reception during daylight hours (two hours after official sunrise to two hours before official sunset). At night I can get over 800 miles barefoot with a pocket portable. The bounce off the ionosphere at night makes great distances not all that difficult.