CC Radio and others after HDTV transition....

[FM AM]

So what do you think will happen to the CC Radio and similar radios once the transition to HDTV happens?
Obviously no more VHF audio. It would be nice if they would redesign it to more of digital Superadio with good FM reception along the lines of the old GE Superadios 1 and 2, with a similar upgrade in audio. The AM of the current units is good but the FM is extremely mediocre...

 

[mimo]

I have the CC radio plus, I've used a CC radio in Eastern Iowa, New Orleans and Ottawa Canada. The FM is actually quite go0d. I live near downtown Ottawa which is notorious for bad FM reception...4 stations bleed over everything else on every radio but car radios...AND the CC radio. With the CC radio plus, I'm finally able to hear every local station cleanly, plus a few out of market stations which don't really come into Ottawa that well. I'm not worried about the TV band, since it's not being phased out in Canada, I get 5 stations on it, and I'll have them after 2009. The only place the tv band will be useless in the U.S. If you have a lptv station and live in the U.S. you should still be able to hear them on your radio after 2009.

 

[ABQTom]

May I offer my opinion that it becomes very monotonous when every post is about a product with a C Crane label considering the newer, cheaper, and technically superior products offered by Tecsun, Kaito, Degen, Grundig, Eton. Would anyone else like to hear more about these companies and their expanding product lines here?

 

[kenglish]

"May I offer my opinion that it becomes very monotonous when every post is about a product with a C Crane label considering the newer, cheaper, and technically superior products offered by Tecsun, Kaito, Degen, Grundig, Eton. Would anyone else like to hear more about these companies and their expanding product lines here?"

Yeah! Bring 'em on in here. There are plenty of pretty-good radios out there....maybe the OP just has had good luck with the C. Crane stuff. But, it's fine to discuss ALL that are available (maybe in a new thread, though).

Back on-topic....I guess the "TV Audio Reception" modes of these radios will be just as useless/usefull as analog TV sets. You could still use them on an analog source, such as analog Cable TV, or closed-circuit channels on an MATV system. Not much for portable use, unless they can tune a bit below channel 7 (174-180 MHz), to NOAA WeatherRadio (162 MHz).

I wonder, would they work well on a bunch of "standalone" FM-type channels? With the bandwidth of 3.6x the (88-108) FM band, you could squeeze a lot of closed-circuit audio "stations" in there. Might be a good way to pipe ethnic "stations", like we find on Galaxy-25, to a big MATV system in a housing development. Or, lots of "older-than-oldies" and such in Senior's housing.

Hey, maybe we have a new use for the old VHF TV band here? It ain't good for cell phones, with the twelve-foot antennas needed.

 

[BRNout]

I have the CC radio plus, I've used a CC radio in Eastern Iowa, New Orleans and Ottawa Canada. The FM is actually quite go0d. I live near downtown Ottawa which is notorious for bad FM reception...4 stations bleed over everything else on every radio but car radios...AND the CC radio. With the CC radio plus, I'm finally able to hear every local station cleanly, plus a few out of market stations which don't really come into Ottawa that well. I'm not worried about the TV band, since it's not being phased out in Canada, I get 5 stations on it, and I'll have them after 2009. The only place the tv band will be useless in the U.S. If you have a lptv station and live in the U.S. you should still be able to hear them on your radio after 2009.

Can you pick up 92.3 Jack FM from Smiths Falls? Even my Degen DE1103 had a little trouble doing that, thanks to the very powerful local signals that cover Ottawa. If I'm not mistaken, many run at 100 kw.

Basically, I had to have the antenna folded, but sticking up. When I did that, it came in fine. But, the Degen is a very powerful receiver - so I would imagine that a lesser portable would be overloaded by the locals.

 

[w9wi]

I'm not worried about the TV band, since it's not being phased out in Canada, I get 5 stations on it, and I'll have them after 2009. The only place the tv band will be useless in the U.S.

You will, but only for 2-1/2 years. The CRTC has set a drop-dead date for analog TV in Canada, at the end of August 2011. They do say they'll allow exceptions in "remote and northern areas" but I don't think Ottawa qualifies on either point

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/analogue-tv.html

 

[BRNout]

But hey, those TV-band radios will still pick up certain Russian FM band signals down in the 62-66 MHz range!! ;D

Let's hope that this forces a redesign on a lot of these consumer radios with a focus on decent AM and FM reception. Weather band would be a nice addition to a lot of these radios (recognizing that the CC Radio has this feature already).

 

[mimo]

I have the CC radio plus, I've used a CC radio in Eastern Iowa, New Orleans and Ottawa Canada. The FM is actually quite go0d. I live near downtown Ottawa which is notorious for bad FM reception...4 stations bleed over everything else on every radio but car radios...AND the CC radio. With the CC radio plus, I'm finally able to hear every local station cleanly, plus a few out of market stations which don't really come into Ottawa that well. I'm not worried about the TV band, since it's not being phased out in Canada, I get 5 stations on it, and I'll have them after 2009. The only place the tv band will be useless in the U.S. If you have a lptv station and live in the U.S. you should still be able to hear them on your radio after 2009.

Can you pick up 92.3 Jack FM from Smiths Falls? Even my Degen DE1103 had a little trouble doing that, thanks to the very powerful local signals that cover Ottawa. If I'm not mistaken, many run at 100 kw.

Basically, I had to have the antenna folded, but sticking up. When I did that, it came in fine. But, the Degen is a very powerful receiver - so I would imagine that a lesser portable would be overloaded by the locals.

Yes I hear it fairly well. I only lose it if I extend the Antena more than a quarter of the way up, but if I leave it down, it's perfectly clear. Jack is a 10 thousand watter, the stations that are causing me problems are Ironicly (sp?) the lower powered ones, each running less than 4000 watts. I can also hear the 101.5 the fox with some static, but listenable if I turn the trebble down, and I'm really stoked about hearing NPR out of northern New York state at 89.5, sandwiched between locals at 89.1 and 89.9

 

[mimo]

I'm not worried about the TV band, since it's not being phased out in Canada, I get 5 stations on it, and I'll have them after 2009. The only place the tv band will be useless in the U.S.

You will, but only for 2-1/2 years. The CRTC has set a drop-dead date for analog TV in Canada, at the end of August 2011. They do say they'll allow exceptions in "remote and northern areas" but I don't think Ottawa qualifies on either point

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/analogue-tv.html

I can see that happening. While shopping in December, I noticed it was impossible to find a non HD tv (or non flat screen) anywhere

 

[FM AM]

May I offer my opinion that it becomes very monotonous when every post is about a product with a C Crane label considering the newer, cheaper, and technically superior products offered by Tecsun, Kaito, Degen, Grundig, Eton. Would anyone else like to hear more about these companies and their expanding product lines here?

Absolutely!!! I am somewhat familiar with Grundig, but not the other products that you mentioned. What do you recommend???

 

[BRNout]

May I offer my opinion that it becomes very monotonous when every post is about a product with a C Crane label considering the newer, cheaper, and technically superior products offered by Tecsun, Kaito, Degen, Grundig, Eton. Would anyone else like to hear more about these companies and their expanding product lines here?

Absolutely!!! I am somewhat familiar with Grundig, but not the other products that you mentioned. What do you recommend???

It gets confusing because some of the above-mentioned trademarks are made by some of the others. For one thing, in North America, Eton has the rights to the Grundig name. And, a lot of Grundig models have equivalent models in the Eton line. Some are awesome radios (the Eton E5/Grundig G5 are my faves!) while others are not as good. And, many are made by other Chinese manufacturers. Degen, Tecsun and Redsun are Chinese manufacturers. For example, the E5/G5 was designed by Degen. The Grundig S350 is built by Tecsun. Redsun makes both of the new C Crane SW Radios, which are rebadged Redsun models. It goes on and on.

In general, you're not going to see the Degen, Tecsun and Redsun brand names in stores here in the USA. Their models tend to be badged as something else.

Kaito is the North American marketer for many Chinese brands. The Kaito KA-1103 is actually a Degen DE-1103 - and both are great radios. Great bang for the buck. You can't buy a Degen branded radio here in the US, unless you buy directly from China on EBay. Kaito has the rights to most of them. They're the same thing though.

About Eton/Grundig, they're really working overtime on new models (doing the opposite of Sony - I might add). Next month, they will have two new models coming out: the Grundig G4 with MP3 recorder (a rebadged Degen DE-1104) and the Grundig G6 which has AM/FM/SW and Aeronautical bands. And, in March, the Grundig Satellit 750 will be coming out. And, their Eton E1 is a top-rated item. Check out http://www.etoncorp.com/View_All

Personally, I find the Sony SW7600GR to have slightly better AM/MW reception than most of the above - but is absolutely outclassed by the E5/G5 and DE/KA-1103 when it comes to FM reception. SW reception seems pretty even between them. And, the Sony doesn't have the ability to cruise through the frequencies using an analog-style dial like the others mentioned. You need to use buttons, making scanning more awkward. I find that to be a big minus. In the sub $200 range, I think the E5/G5 is the best and it's my favorite.

All cool stuff though. I can't wait to get my hands on this G6 to listen to aeronautical frequencies.