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Anyone here have first hand experience with the Sangean DT-120 pocket receiver?

gar hi

gar hi

I'm not looking for a DXing machine but something small and similar in size that may have better reception on AM than the Sony SRF-M37 Walkman.

I realize this radio is quite small but I've read many reviews from different sources where it's sold and of course there are bad reviews, as is the case with any radio, but the general consensus is that the AM reception is quite good for it's size.

https://www.amazon.com/Sangean-DT-1...0_SR90,160_&psc=1&refRID=Y9X8YNZCJQCQWE2VHDTG


So if you have or have had this radio, I'd like to know what you think.
 
Hawaiigar,
read the one star comments (5 pages) and the two
star (3 pages) on your amazon link and you'll have
your answer...even after you filter out those who abuse
their stuff and the few dum-dums there are still way
too many negative reviews.
This is not to say yours might be fine...just that the odds
aren't in your favor on this one.
No receiver is perfect...some are just more less so.
 
Out of curiosity, I looked up the one star comments for the Sangean PR-D5 on Amazon (which is 10 pages) and there were the same type of bad reviews, poor reception, things not working, etc.

My PR-D5 is by far the best radio I've ever had!

Fantastic reception and more durable than I could have imagined.

I've used it so much the past 7 years and not even the tuning knob is showing any signs of damage.

So I don't know if negative Amazon reviews are a real indicator of what to expect.
 
Still not sure which Sangean receiver I will get.

I may take my chances on the DT-160 just because of the narrowband function but I guess it's that or the DT-120.

And I know the smaller the ferrite bar, the weaker the AM reception but is it actually possible a radio can compensate some for that the way it's designed?

Can it be engineered in such a way that say a 2 inch bar antenna may be able to get better AM reception than the same size or a little bigger 3 inch core antenna in another radio if it's designed a certain way?
 
Well, I checked to see if either one ships to Hawaii and the DT-160 does not. Other sellers may but the price goes way up too.

Many sellers, including Amazon itself, don't ship some things to Hawaii.

Ebay has it too but surprisingly for a higher price.

So I think I may go with the DT-120 if the answer to my above question is a definite 'yes'.
 
hawaiigar said:
Still not sure which Sangean receiver I will get.

I may take my chances on the DT-160 just because of the narrowband function but I guess it's that or the DT-120.

And I know the smaller the ferrite bar, the weaker the AM reception but is it actually possible a radio can compensate some for that the way it's designed?

Can it be engineered in such a way that say a 2 inch bar antenna may be able to get better AM reception than the same size or a little bigger 3 inch core antenna in another radio if it's designed a certain way?
Click to expand...

Yes. It depends on how hot the IF / DSP chip is, and whether there is an RF amp section (tuned or untuned).

My Sony ICF-38 has only a 50 or 60mm loopstick but because of the hot IF chip (Sony CXA1019 -- which has an untuned RF amp) it nearly matches my SRII (200mm loopstick, tuned RF amp).

The ICF-38 also outperforms my Radio Shack ATS-505 when both are barefoot (the 505 has better selectivity for DXing when using a loop). The 505 has a longer 100 or 120 mm loopstick that's skinny (prob. 7mm). The Sony has a 60mm X 8 or 9 mm loopstick.
 
The 120 is the precurser to the 160. I had the 120. In cities where there a lot of stations I experienced multipathing and bleeding of FM stations. AM is fine. Also,there was no clock. Unless Amazon cleared those problems on the unit over the years, I much prefer the 160, which is similar in size.
 
Thanks for the info on the ferrite core, boombox!

Actually, the DT-120 is smaller then the 160. The 160 is 2.5 X 4 inches and the DT-120 is 1.5 X 3.5 inches.

Being that it's so small, I'm certainly not getting a receiver with a ferrite antenna smaller than the one in my SRF-M37 but I never knew how big that one was in the first place.

It took a lot of searching but I found out something interesting.

It's only a little over an inch long.

This shows the SRF-M37 taken apart. The one photo shows the antenna but it's a magnified photo. I compared toe size of the volume knob on my receiver to the one in the picture and if the picture were scaled down to the same size, the ferrite antenna is only a little more than an inch long.

http://earmark.net/gesr/m37w.htm

And here's a page that confirms the size of the antenna.

"The modern ferrite loopstick antenna, used in most handheld, portable, and even tabletop radios, is a marvel of antenna science. Measuring from perhaps a little more than an inch in length (as in the Sony SRF-M37V Walkman), to about 200mm (nearly 8 inches) in the large portables"

http://radio-timetraveller.blogspot.com/2011/01/unassuming-antenna-ferrite-loopstick.html

So I wondered how big the ferrite core antenna is in the DT-120, so I looked at the model that has a clear casing.

The width of the unit is 1.5 inches and the ferrite antenna is almost the width of the unit.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51zplObbFyL.jpg

So I'd say it's slightly bigger than the one in the SRF-M37.

So assuming the design for reception is good, as boombox explained, the AM sensitivity is likely better than the SRF-M37.
 
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