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Electronics Repair (sci.electronics.repair) Discussion of repairing electronic equipment. Topics include requests for assistance, where to obtain servicing information and parts, techniques for diagnosis and repair, and annecdotes about success, failures and problems. |
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#41
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Quality AM radio
On Thu, 12 Oct 2017 21:46:56 -0400, micky
wrote: In sci.electronics.repair, on Thu, 12 Oct 2017 12:52:42 -0700, wrote: On Thu, 12 Oct 2017 14:32:06 -0400, micky wrote: In sci.electronics.repair, on Thu, 12 Oct 2017 06:09:17 -0700 (PDT), wrote: On Thursday, 12 October 2017 12:32:06 UTC+1, wrote: On Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 11:44:10 PM UTC-4, MOP CAP wrote: Does anyone have a recomendation for a quality AM receiver? I have a cabin in the low Sierras and have trouble receiving AM. I would prefer one that would not require an outside antenna. Thanks, CP Mpffff... This is an easy one. If you are looking, primarily, for good reception over top-notch sound (mostly wasted on AM anyway), and this is to be a single-purpose device, look for something like a solid-state GE "Super Radio" or similar. They are fair-enough sounding and far better than average at AM DXing capabilities. Low in cost for very good results. http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-GE-S...AOSwbRJZvvX 8 I keep one of these at our summer house that is no slouch at all. The AM band is pretty busy, especially at night. I've heard of the GE Superradio, but didn't think I needed anything more at that time. Is the GE Superradio especially good on FM as well as AM? ,,,,, Hard-Core would be a Communications Receiver, something in the Hallicrafters, Collins or National lines - which are a whole different can of worms, do want an outside antenna, and likely will contain tubes rather than transistors. I don't have the best antenna. I took 4-wire phone line, solder two pair together at one end and one pair at the radio-end so it goes down and back twice and it was stretched down the stairs. I think I should more it to the attic. And, one of these will truly separate fly-poop from pepper. Give it an 80' longwire and you will be getting AM from Hawaii - or thereabouts. Counting back and forth twice, it's 80' or a little more. Maybe I should shorten it to 80' ??? Peter Wieck The old Vega/Ocean radios are very cheap dx sets. Some mericans might not like their origins. But don't worry, they don't run Kaspersky. I run Kaspersky but I lie about what I'm doing so when they report back, it will just confuse the Kremlin. I thought all phone line wire was twisted pair. All the indoor phone wire I've seen has been 4-wire untwisted. Red, yellow, black, and green. If that's the case then I would think your setup would tend to keep radio waves, AKA interference, out. Maybe that's why your antenna isn't working very well. Eric Thanks but it's not twisted. My next-door neighbor is, but that's another story. You know, I was thinking about the solid phone wire, 4 conductors, two twisted pairs, surrounded by a loose fitting jacket. The stuff you run inside walls. But of course I didn't think enough 'cause then I would have thought about the flat 4 conductor interior phone wire used for extensions and the like. Duh. Eric |
#42
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Quality AM radio
In article ,
wrote: "where are the laws or regulations which "forbid" them? " Poor choice of words, there probably is no actual law or regulation, but for some reason manufacturers omit those frequencies. Probably because it costs something (in engineering and in dollars) to implement a "DC to daylight" design. The manufacturers don't really have any incentive to do this, and include the "missing octave" (above the medium-wave AM band, and below the start of HF at around 3 MHz), because very few of their customers care about this, because there isn't any commercial or social programming using these frequencies. The semiconductor companies which make specialized ICs for receiving middle-wave AM, VHF FM, etc. probably don't make chips specific to these frequencies because there's no commercial demand. If you want a radio which receives these, they're certainly available "off the shelf". "Communications receiver" radios like the Icom IC-R8500 will do this very well indeed - that one receives everything from 100 kHz to 2 GHz, except (in the U.S.) for those cellphone band frequencies I mentioned. These receivers aren't cheap, of course. Or, build any of numerous LF/MF receiver designs out there on the net... a simple MW AM superhet design can be adapted easily enough, or use an NE602 and make a single-chip direct-conversion receiver (add a transistor or two to drive a loudspeaker). There is something though because years ago the FCC was considering pulling a station's license because their programming "appeared to be intended for domestic audiences". If they were trying to abuse an "international short-wave" station license to do domestic broadcasting, I'm not surprised. The FCC regulations on stations for those frequencies are very clear - they're to be used only for broadcasting programming to other countries. You have to have at least 50 kilowatts of transmitter power, _and_ a directional antenna with at least 10 dB of gain (which means "big!") aimed at the specific area your broadcast is intended to serve. The FCC points out that the costs are high (maybe a million dollars) and it's not a very efficient way to reach international audiences these days. The frequency uses are coordinated between the FCC, and other ITU countries, to minimize interference in these broadcasts between countries. I haven't read the ITU regs (a treaty to which the U.S. has been signatory for a lot of decades) but I strongly suspect that the international agreements for these frequencies _forbid_ signatory countries using them for in-country broadcasting... there are other frequencies set aside for that. The FCC's regulations are quite clear: § 73.788 Service; commercial or sponsored programs. (a) A licensee of an international broadcast station shall render only an international broadcast service which will reflect the culture of this country and which will promote international goodwill, understanding, and cooperation. Any program solely intended for and directed to an audience in the continental United States does not meet the requirements for this service. These aren't new regs; this section dates back to 1963 and was last amended in 1973. Need I mention that the station was full of dissidents who were very critical of the US government ? No, you don't need to mention it, because it's really rather irrelevant. The FCC regulations apply to _any_ US organization that wants to set up an international broadcast station. Dissidents have a right to equal treatment before the law, _and_ they have an equal obligation to respect the rules (or step up and face the consequences for not doing so). So, if that group of dissidents applies for an international broadcast authorization, asked for a frequency assignment, and then tried to "re-purpose" their station in a way which is _specifically_ prohibited by the regulations, it's not surprising they got slapped... and I have no particular sympathy for them. I expect a similar thing would happen to any other "international" broadcaster that tried a similar stunt. |
#43
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Quality AM radio
"Can you cite the regulation in which they actually mandated this?
I've never heard of it. " The both AM and FM thing I remember distinctly due to my exposure to high fidelity. I'm pretty sure it was in the 1970s. A quick Google does not turn up anything on it though, but that is not uncommon. Much of this older stuff was simply never archived. Suffice it to say I didn't make it up. I didn't imagine it. I find this quite curious, because I subscribed to those same magazines (Stereo Review, High Fidelity, Audio, the Sensible Sound) through the same era, and never read or heard anything about that sort of requirement by the FCC. I've never seen a reference to such a requirement, anywhere. I've never seen a receiver, tuner, or integrated circuit described as complying with a "Part XXX" requirement of this sort (while they're often tagged as complying with Part 15 rules for RF interference). I've never heard tell of a manufacturer being cited for failing to comply, or a bunch of illegal FM-only radios/tuners being seized by the FCC, or any company fined for selling them. And, I know there were a bunch of FM-only tuners and radios being made and sold through that era... Kloss made several FM-only radios, Scott and others made FM-only tuners, I've still got a Dynaco FM-3 in my collection (no AM). So, I'm not sure what you read. It's possible the FCC may have been _considering_ such a mandate (possibly someone in the AM broadcast industry filed a petition to ask for a rule-making of this sort) and this was mentioned in the magazine, but I don't think I've ever seen any evidence that such a mandate was ever actually implemented. There _ought_ to have been plenty of traces, visible over the years and even now, and I haven't seen any. If it had been I suspect that it might have been unenforceable, as being outside the FCC's authorized regulatory powers. The FCC has a lot of authority over what can be _transmitted_, and how, but a lot less over what can be _received_ (and I think even less over the question of what must be _required_ to be receivable). I wonder if I could at least get the date from archives of High Fidelity magazine, to which I subscribed for a time. Please pass the info along if you do find it - I'm quite curious. They used Hirsch-Houck (sp) labs to test everything and though AM was no big deal they tested it anyway to see if the manufacturer was lying in the manual. Of course the consistently found poor performance, but then they didn't lie about it. The AM section was there, I bet some people never ever used it. I suspect _lots_ of people never used it. Even by the 70s, FM (with its better performance and stereo capability) had pretty much kicked AM's butt, as far as quality sound distribution goes. The presence of the AM section was pretty much a "check-box" item for most buyers, I think. They expected it to be there (because they were used to it) and they'd consider a receiver not having it to be "inferior" and thus less worthy of purchase. That's probably why the manufacturers (1) continued to include it and (2) didn't bother to make it a good one - it had to be there to keep their product from losing sales, but its quality was pretty much irrelevant to those sales. The devices which didn't have it, were ones which were being marketed to an audiophile crowd, I think, where people wanted the best FM sound for their dollar and didn't care a fig about AM. |
#45
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Quality AM radio
On 10/14/2017 8:02 PM, Dave Platt wrote:
Please pass the info along if you do find it - I'm quite curious. Don't hold your breath. jureb6006 is full of unsubstantiated nutter conspiracies. -- Jeff-1.0 wa6fwi http://www.foxsmercantile.com |
#46
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Quality AM radio
On Sat, 14 Oct 2017 08:46:13 -0700 (PDT), wrote:
"where are the laws or regulations which "forbid" them? " Poor choice of words, there probably is no actual law or regulation, but for some reason manufacturers omit those frequencies. There were a few cheap AM/FM/SW receivers on the market in the 1960's that used 10.7MHz for the first IF frequency. Trying to listen to anything within about 2 MHz of 10.7MHz was difficult because of spurious receiver responses from the AM broadcast band. So, there was a hole in the tuning range from about 9MHz to 12.3MHz. Is that what you're talking about? There was also a move during the AM stereo wars (approx 1980 - 1995) to require AM stereo in all automotive radios. Manufacturers were worried that there might not be a mass market for AM stereo (which was proven correct) and that the general public was better served by having AM stereo shoved down their throat. Similar requirements have been proposed for satellite radio, and HD FM Radio. To their credit, the FCC has rejected all such proposals. Back to the "Quality AM Radio"... To deal with complaints about lousy mono AM quality, the AMAX certification program was established: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMAX "According to the EIA and National Association of Broadcasters, tuners and receivers that are qualified to carry the AMAX stereo certification logo will capture the widest audio frequency response and highest quality stereo separation of AM stereo broadcasts that modern technology can offer. In addition, AMAX tuners and receivers will capture all of the fidelity transmitted from monaural AM stations. Its audio response is more than two octaves greater than a standard AM radio." So, is your favorite AM stereo tuner AMAX certified? http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheet/motorola/MC13122P.pdf (See Pg 6) Notice that the AMAX spec required a wide/narrow bandwidth IF switch in order to get decent audio quality. I couldn't find anything on how or where to get something certified. Stations still doing AM stereo: http://meduci.com/stations.html Better quality AM receiver retrofit (using C-QuAM modulation): http://meduci.com -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#47
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Quality AM radio
On Sun, 15 Oct 2017 09:28:57 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote: Back to the "Quality AM Radio"... To deal with complaints about lousy mono AM quality, the AMAX certification program was established: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMAX Some more detail on AMAX, improvements to AM broadcasting, and AM stereo: http://www.radioworld.com/am_king -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#48
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Quality AM radio
On Sat, 14 Oct 2017 21:43:47 -0400, micky
wrote: In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 14 Oct 2017 11:40:27 -0700, wrote: On Thu, 12 Oct 2017 21:46:56 -0400, micky wrote: In sci.electronics.repair, on Thu, 12 Oct 2017 12:52:42 -0700, wrote: On Thu, 12 Oct 2017 14:32:06 -0400, micky wrote: In sci.electronics.repair, on Thu, 12 Oct 2017 06:09:17 -0700 (PDT), wrote: On Thursday, 12 October 2017 12:32:06 UTC+1, wrote: On Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 11:44:10 PM UTC-4, MOP CAP wrote: Does anyone have a recomendation for a quality AM receiver? I have a cabin in the low Sierras and have trouble receiving AM. I would prefer one that would not require an outside antenna. Thanks, CP Mpffff... This is an easy one. If you are looking, primarily, for good reception over top-notch sound (mostly wasted on AM anyway), and this is to be a single-purpose device, look for something like a solid-state GE "Super Radio" or similar. They are fair-enough sounding and far better than average at AM DXing capabilities. Low in cost for very good results. http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-GE-S...AOSwbRJZvvX 8 I keep one of these at our summer house that is no slouch at all. The AM band is pretty busy, especially at night. I've heard of the GE Superradio, but didn't think I needed anything more at that time. Is the GE Superradio especially good on FM as well as AM? ,,,,, Hard-Core would be a Communications Receiver, something in the Hallicrafters, Collins or National lines - which are a whole different can of worms, do want an outside antenna, and likely will contain tubes rather than transistors. I don't have the best antenna. I took 4-wire phone line, solder two pair together at one end and one pair at the radio-end so it goes down and back twice and it was stretched down the stairs. I think I should more it to the attic. And, one of these will truly separate fly-poop from pepper. Give it an 80' longwire and you will be getting AM from Hawaii - or thereabouts. Counting back and forth twice, it's 80' or a little more. Maybe I should shorten it to 80' ??? Peter Wieck The old Vega/Ocean radios are very cheap dx sets. Some mericans might not like their origins. But don't worry, they don't run Kaspersky. I run Kaspersky but I lie about what I'm doing so when they report back, it will just confuse the Kremlin. I thought all phone line wire was twisted pair. All the indoor phone wire I've seen has been 4-wire untwisted. Red, yellow, black, and green. If that's the case then I would think your setup would tend to keep radio waves, AKA interference, out. Maybe that's why your antenna isn't working very well. Eric Thanks but it's not twisted. My next-door neighbor is, but that's another story. You know, I was thinking about the solid phone wire, 4 conductors, two twisted pairs, surrounded by a loose fitting jacket. The stuff you run inside walls. But of course I didn't think enough 'cause then I would have thought about the flat 4 conductor interior phone wire used for extensions and the like. Duh. Eric My attempted shortwave antenna didn't use that either. It used the round white wire with for separate, unattached conductors inside, each with its own separate insulation. Don't you remember those days? Yeah, I remember that wire. I though that the wires in them were twisted pairs though. Not a very high rate of twist though. Are you sure those wires aren't twisted pairs? Eric |
#49
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Quality AM radio
On Thu, 12 Oct 2017 04:32:03 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote: And, one of these will truly separate fly-poop from pepper. Give it an 80' longwire and you will be getting AM from Hawaii - or thereabouts. Yeah, that's the conventional wisdom. I have a different view. A bigger broadband antenna does not produce a better AM signal. What happens when you install a bigger antenna is that you simultaneously increase the signal and the noise pickup with the SNR (signal to noise ratio) being constant. At BCB (broadcast band) frequencies, the atmospheric and man made noise is quite high. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Atmosphericnoise.PNG Hearing a distant station with good fidelity and low noise is not so much a matter of having a strong signal, but more a matter of reducing the noise. The noise can be switching power supplies, motors, appliances, and mixing between two or more out of band stations. The antenna does not need to be huge. See various version of the PA0RDT mini-whip antenna for clues on what can be done with very small antennas: http://dl1dbc.net/SAQ/miniwhip.html https://www.ebay.com/sch/Ham-Amateur-Radio-Antennas/4672/i.html?_nkw=mini+whip+antenna https://www.google.com/search?q=pa0rdt+mini+whip&tbm=isch -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
#51
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Quality AM radio
On Sat, 14 Oct 2017 17:25:58 -0700, Dave Platt wrote:
The FCC's regulations are quite clear: § 73.788 Service; commercial or sponsored programs. (a) A licensee of an international broadcast station shall render only an international broadcast service which will reflect the culture of this country and which will promote international goodwill, understanding, and cooperation. Any program solely intended for and directed to an audience in the continental United States does not meet the requirements for this service. These aren't new regs; this section dates back to 1963 and was last amended in 1973. So what? American domestic SW stations have been broadcasting to a domestic audience since at least around 1970 when I was entertained by HL Hunt sponsored right wing propaganda on radio station WINB. It reached a peak around the Y2K period when overtly racist neo-nazi babblers could be found among the end time preachers, conspiratorialists, and other kooks of domestic SW radio. Domestic SW broadcasting has been a real world fact, if not a legal fact, for decades. I'm not aware of the FCC enforcing any speech codes or domestic SW broadcasting requirements in modern times. Maybe it's not enforceable? I dunno. No, you don't need to mention it, because it's really rather irrelevant. The FCC regulations apply to _any_ US organization that wants to set up an international broadcast station. Dissidents have a right to equal treatment before the law, _and_ they have an equal obligation to respect the rules (or step up and face the consequences for not doing so). So, if that group of dissidents applies for an international broadcast authorization, asked for a frequency assignment, and then tried to "re-purpose" their station in a way which is _specifically_ prohibited by the regulations, it's not surprising they got slapped... and I have no particular sympathy for them. I expect a similar thing would happen to any other "international" broadcaster that tried a similar stunt. Kookcasters don't have the budget for their own radio station. They buy time on brokered SW stations. A broadcaster like the Jeremiah 33:3 Ministries guy has been kicked off at least a couple of stations for not paying his bills. A real loss for those who need to learn every kooky detail on the Masonic/Alien/David Rockefeller Conspiracy which controls EVERYTHING. I haven't heard ADV in a while. Sometimes broadcasters go vagabond, sometimes they're just gone. |
#52
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Quality AM radio
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#53
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Quality AM radio
On Friday, October 20, 2017 at 8:08:16 AM UTC-4, amdx wrote:
On 10/13/2017 9:16 AM, wrote: Just a few things in general from questions asked: a) GE Super Radios are very good general consumer radios with excellent AM and FM capacities. b) I am a bit of a collector of radios, with one foot pretty deep into Audio as well. So, I have a large number of comparison points from the 1920s through the 1990s. Of all of those, the best AM reception I get (without an external antenna) is on my Zenith RD7000Y TransOceanic. With an external antenna, it would be the Hallicrafters SX16. The Halli is a beast in weight, takes an external speaker, lots-O-real estate and will heat a small room in the winter. It is also my only communications receiver - chosen because I tripped over it (no kidding) at a flea-market, the seller was an old friend, and the price was right. Tied for second place: Grundig Satellit 700 and my B600L TransOceanic. Tied for third place: The GE, YB500 and H500 TransOceanic. All of the above are very good radios, all but the GE designed specifically with DXing in mind, and really with very little to choose between them.. The GE is a happy accident of good design and good execution resulting in a pretty hot radio. On the audio side, I own two component tuners with AM sections. The Soundcraftsmen T100 AM section is an unhappy joke. I can get the local torches reasonably well (KYW being one). But no real distance. On the other hand, the Dynaco AF6 is not half-bad for AM. I have never tried it with other than the ferrite antenna on board, but I suspect it may have hidden depths with a very good antenna. It also helped that I aligned it for AM when I got it. Being able to do AM and SW alignments is a side benefit of the hobby, but does give me a good base for judgment. But, if an inexpensive, reasonably well sounding stand-alone portable radio is desired - the GE Super Radio is a fine option with not a half-bad FM section as well. Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA Finally some recommendations for his question. I agree with the GE Super Radio, it is a good radio at a reasonable price. If you want to go up in price the Sangean ATS 803A was good and then there is the Sony 2010. 3 of them for sale on Ebay as I write. Mikek As much as I hate to disagree with Peter, let me offer this example as a potential candidate for a quality AM radio (about two weeks left on auction for those reading this from the future): https://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-L...AOSwGNtZ2TO t John Wolcott, CT |
#54
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Quality AM radio
On 10/21/2017 1:40 PM, John-Del wrote:
On Friday, October 20, 2017 at 8:08:16 AM UTC-4, amdx wrote: On 10/13/2017 9:16 AM, wrote: Just a few things in general from questions asked: a) GE Super Radios are very good general consumer radios with excellent AM and FM capacities. b) I am a bit of a collector of radios, with one foot pretty deep into Audio as well. So, I have a large number of comparison points from the 1920s through the 1990s. Of all of those, the best AM reception I get (without an external antenna) is on my Zenith RD7000Y TransOceanic. With an external antenna, it would be the Hallicrafters SX16. The Halli is a beast in weight, takes an external speaker, lots-O-real estate and will heat a small room in the winter. It is also my only communications receiver - chosen because I tripped over it (no kidding) at a flea-market, the seller was an old friend, and the price was right. Tied for second place: Grundig Satellit 700 and my B600L TransOceanic. Tied for third place: The GE, YB500 and H500 TransOceanic. All of the above are very good radios, all but the GE designed specifically with DXing in mind, and really with very little to choose between them. The GE is a happy accident of good design and good execution resulting in a pretty hot radio. On the audio side, I own two component tuners with AM sections. The Soundcraftsmen T100 AM section is an unhappy joke. I can get the local torches reasonably well (KYW being one). But no real distance. On the other hand, the Dynaco AF6 is not half-bad for AM. I have never tried it with other than the ferrite antenna on board, but I suspect it may have hidden depths with a very good antenna. It also helped that I aligned it for AM when I got it. Being able to do AM and SW alignments is a side benefit of the hobby, but does give me a good base for judgment. But, if an inexpensive, reasonably well sounding stand-alone portable radio is desired - the GE Super Radio is a fine option with not a half-bad FM section as well. Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA Finally some recommendations for his question. I agree with the GE Super Radio, it is a good radio at a reasonable price. If you want to go up in price the Sangean ATS 803A was good and then there is the Sony 2010. 3 of them for sale on Ebay as I write. Mikek As much as I hate to disagree with Peter, let me offer this example as a potential candidate for a quality AM radio (about two weeks left on auction for those reading this from the future): https://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-L...AOSwGNtZ2TO t John Wolcott, CT Are you sure, or is the owner of a $550 handheld transistor radio just going to to insist it is high quality? At best the ferrite rod will only be 4" long and probably only 3-1/2". Mikek |
#55
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Quality AM radio
On Saturday, October 21, 2017 at 4:14:48 PM UTC-4, amdx wrote:
On 10/21/2017 1:40 PM, John-Del wrote: On Friday, October 20, 2017 at 8:08:16 AM UTC-4, amdx wrote: On 10/13/2017 9:16 AM, wrote: Just a few things in general from questions asked: a) GE Super Radios are very good general consumer radios with excellent AM and FM capacities. b) I am a bit of a collector of radios, with one foot pretty deep into Audio as well. So, I have a large number of comparison points from the 1920s through the 1990s. Of all of those, the best AM reception I get (without an external antenna) is on my Zenith RD7000Y TransOceanic. With an external antenna, it would be the Hallicrafters SX16. The Halli is a beast in weight, takes an external speaker, lots-O-real estate and will heat a small room in the winter. It is also my only communications receiver - chosen because I tripped over it (no kidding) at a flea-market, the seller was an old friend, and the price was right. Tied for second place: Grundig Satellit 700 and my B600L TransOceanic.. Tied for third place: The GE, YB500 and H500 TransOceanic. All of the above are very good radios, all but the GE designed specifically with DXing in mind, and really with very little to choose between them. The GE is a happy accident of good design and good execution resulting in a pretty hot radio. On the audio side, I own two component tuners with AM sections. The Soundcraftsmen T100 AM section is an unhappy joke. I can get the local torches reasonably well (KYW being one). But no real distance. On the other hand, the Dynaco AF6 is not half-bad for AM. I have never tried it with other than the ferrite antenna on board, but I suspect it may have hidden depths with a very good antenna. It also helped that I aligned it for AM when I got it. Being able to do AM and SW alignments is a side benefit of the hobby, but does give me a good base for judgment. But, if an inexpensive, reasonably well sounding stand-alone portable radio is desired - the GE Super Radio is a fine option with not a half-bad FM section as well. Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA Finally some recommendations for his question. I agree with the GE Super Radio, it is a good radio at a reasonable price. If you want to go up in price the Sangean ATS 803A was good and then there is the Sony 2010. 3 of them for sale on Ebay as I write. Mikek As much as I hate to disagree with Peter, let me offer this example as a potential candidate for a quality AM radio (about two weeks left on auction for those reading this from the future): https://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-L...AOSwGNtZ2TO t John Wolcott, CT Are you sure, or is the owner of a $550 handheld transistor radio just going to to insist it is high quality? At best the ferrite rod will only be 4" long and probably only 3-1/2". Mikek Did you read the whole description? That baby is sporting two (2!) transistors, which means it has twice as many transistors as a one transistor radio!! John Wolcott,CT |
#56
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Quality AM radio
On 10/22/2017 3:27 PM, John-Del wrote:
On Saturday, October 21, 2017 at 4:14:48 PM UTC-4, amdx wrote: On 10/21/2017 1:40 PM, John-Del wrote: On Friday, October 20, 2017 at 8:08:16 AM UTC-4, amdx wrote: On 10/13/2017 9:16 AM, wrote: Just a few things in general from questions asked: a) GE Super Radios are very good general consumer radios with excellent AM and FM capacities. b) I am a bit of a collector of radios, with one foot pretty deep into Audio as well. So, I have a large number of comparison points from the 1920s through the 1990s. Of all of those, the best AM reception I get (without an external antenna) is on my Zenith RD7000Y TransOceanic. With an external antenna, it would be the Hallicrafters SX16. The Halli is a beast in weight, takes an external speaker, lots-O-real estate and will heat a small room in the winter. It is also my only communications receiver - chosen because I tripped over it (no kidding) at a flea-market, the seller was an old friend, and the price was right. Tied for second place: Grundig Satellit 700 and my B600L TransOceanic. Tied for third place: The GE, YB500 and H500 TransOceanic. All of the above are very good radios, all but the GE designed specifically with DXing in mind, and really with very little to choose between them. The GE is a happy accident of good design and good execution resulting in a pretty hot radio. On the audio side, I own two component tuners with AM sections. The Soundcraftsmen T100 AM section is an unhappy joke. I can get the local torches reasonably well (KYW being one). But no real distance. On the other hand, the Dynaco AF6 is not half-bad for AM. I have never tried it with other than the ferrite antenna on board, but I suspect it may have hidden depths with a very good antenna. It also helped that I aligned it for AM when I got it. Being able to do AM and SW alignments is a side benefit of the hobby, but does give me a good base for judgment. But, if an inexpensive, reasonably well sounding stand-alone portable radio is desired - the GE Super Radio is a fine option with not a half-bad FM section as well. Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA Finally some recommendations for his question. I agree with the GE Super Radio, it is a good radio at a reasonable price. If you want to go up in price the Sangean ATS 803A was good and then there is the Sony 2010. 3 of them for sale on Ebay as I write. Mikek As much as I hate to disagree with Peter, let me offer this example as a potential candidate for a quality AM radio (about two weeks left on auction for those reading this from the future): https://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-L...AOSwGNtZ2TO t John Wolcott, CT Are you sure, or is the owner of a $550 handheld transistor radio just going to to insist it is high quality? At best the ferrite rod will only be 4" long and probably only 3-1/2". Mikek Did you read the whole description? That baby is sporting two (2!) transistors, which means it has twice as many transistors as a one transistor radio!! John Wolcott,CT Less transistors to introduce noise and distortion! :-) Mikek |
#57
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Quality AM radio
Well, there is a pretty good chance that neither of those transistors is being used as a diode... . Although I once had a one-transistor radio that amplified a germanium crystal permeable tuner. Interesting device.
Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA |
#58
Posted to sci.electronics.repair
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Quality AM radio
On Monday, October 23, 2017 at 2:51:54 PM UTC-4, amdx wrote:
On 10/22/2017 3:27 PM, John-Del wrote: On Saturday, October 21, 2017 at 4:14:48 PM UTC-4, amdx wrote: On 10/21/2017 1:40 PM, John-Del wrote: On Friday, October 20, 2017 at 8:08:16 AM UTC-4, amdx wrote: On 10/13/2017 9:16 AM, wrote: Just a few things in general from questions asked: a) GE Super Radios are very good general consumer radios with excellent AM and FM capacities. b) I am a bit of a collector of radios, with one foot pretty deep into Audio as well. So, I have a large number of comparison points from the 1920s through the 1990s. Of all of those, the best AM reception I get (without an external antenna) is on my Zenith RD7000Y TransOceanic. With an external antenna, it would be the Hallicrafters SX16. The Halli is a beast in weight, takes an external speaker, lots-O-real estate and will heat a small room in the winter. It is also my only communications receiver - chosen because I tripped over it (no kidding) at a flea-market, the seller was an old friend, and the price was right. Tied for second place: Grundig Satellit 700 and my B600L TransOceanic. Tied for third place: The GE, YB500 and H500 TransOceanic. All of the above are very good radios, all but the GE designed specifically with DXing in mind, and really with very little to choose between them. The GE is a happy accident of good design and good execution resulting in a pretty hot radio. On the audio side, I own two component tuners with AM sections. The Soundcraftsmen T100 AM section is an unhappy joke. I can get the local torches reasonably well (KYW being one). But no real distance. On the other hand, the Dynaco AF6 is not half-bad for AM. I have never tried it with other than the ferrite antenna on board, but I suspect it may have hidden depths with a very good antenna. It also helped that I aligned it for AM when I got it. Being able to do AM and SW alignments is a side benefit of the hobby, but does give me a good base for judgment. But, if an inexpensive, reasonably well sounding stand-alone portable radio is desired - the GE Super Radio is a fine option with not a half-bad FM section as well. Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA Finally some recommendations for his question. I agree with the GE Super Radio, it is a good radio at a reasonable price. If you want to go up in price the Sangean ATS 803A was good and then there is the Sony 2010. 3 of them for sale on Ebay as I write. Mikek As much as I hate to disagree with Peter, let me offer this example as a potential candidate for a quality AM radio (about two weeks left on auction for those reading this from the future): https://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-L...AOSwGNtZ2TO t John Wolcott, CT Are you sure, or is the owner of a $550 handheld transistor radio just going to to insist it is high quality? At best the ferrite rod will only be 4" long and probably only 3-1/2". Mikek Did you read the whole description? That baby is sporting two (2!) transistors, which means it has twice as many transistors as a one transistor radio!! John Wolcott,CT Less transistors to introduce noise and distortion! :-) Mikek Yes!!! See, was it so hard to see the quality of that radio? |
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