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Sangean PDR5

D

drt

GarFla and others have really given this radio a thumbs up.......... so I've just ordered one at a price that is the lowest I've seen on the item. $74.99 USD.

drt

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4240061

I'm not sure if this web only sale ends this Saturday or at a later date.

free ground shipping for now; in fact RS and a few other places always do free ground shipping, if you have the item shipped to one of their locations.
 
I've had my PR-D5 for just a little more than a year now and I think it's a great solid radio.

The 200 mm internal AM antenna is the same size as the more well known radios for AM DXing. Also, it has the 9k step setting too.

The batteries last longer than I would have expected and the tuning knob is still working fine considering how much it's been tuning and tuning like crazy during the past year.

The FM reception is good, IMO, though I don't know it compares to other radios for FM.

I've also supplemented it with the Terk AM Advantage loop for daytime DXing too and it makes the reception even better on the weak signals.

I really like my PR-D5.
 
How good is the selectivity and overload resistance on the PR-D5? Would I be able to hear decent audio on a very weak signal (weak enough so a radio like the SRF-M37V wouldn't even detect a carrier at all without an external loop antenna) 10 kHz from a local blowtorch (that would probably splatter +/- 70 to 100 kHz on the SRF-M37V before the apparent volume starts being reduced)? I had gotten the PL-380, looking for a pocket radio, and when it turned out it wouldn't work as that, I was hoping it could be used as a clock radio, but unfortunately it fails to bring in a few stations I want at a satisfactory level. One of those is KDIS-1110, where I'm 6 miles from 10kW KSDO-1130. Another, from a different location, is KKDD-1290, where I'm 1/3 mile from 23kW KAZN-1300. (Or would the PR-D5 not work well as a "travel" clock radio?)
 
Funny you mention the Sony Walkman SRF-M37V. That's what I was using before I got the Sangean because it was only about a couple of years ago or so that I rediscovered my old interest in DXing after not having done it for years.

There's a 10 kw nondirectional station about 80 miles away from me in Hernando, Florida - 720 WRZN that's barely audible but not really listenable on my Walkman alone but my Terk loop produces a listenable signal when I put it next to the receiver.

I don't need the loop at all to hear the same kind of listenable signal with my Sangean. Of course, adding the loop to that makes it even better.This is during the day.

As far as overload, I don't have much to compare the Sangean to but I'm very close to 970 WFLA's stick and in the path of their directional signal too. On the top half of the AM band, I can hear a trace of splatter now and then (just enough to notice) from WFLA on all non local frequencies from about 950 up to 1700 during the day.

I don't blame it on the radio itself but the fact I'm so close to the station and they run their IBOC during the day. On my little Walkman, I can actually hear WFLA in the background of non local frequencies from 950 to 1700 during the day.

Fortunately, that all goes away at night.

On my Walkman, I can't even hear a trace of 660 WORL from Orlando (1 kw), about 90 miles away, but on the Sangean I can hear a weak barely audible signal.
 
How close are you to WFLA-970's stick? At my grandparents' house, they are 1/3 mile from 23kW KAZN-1300 (with a minor lobe directed toward them) and 50kW KMRB-1430 (they're in a null). One or the other station is audible on a Panasonic RQ-SW20 (probably comparable selectivity to SRF-M37V, somewhat worse sensitivity) from somewhere in the low 1200s or upper 1100s all the way up to 1710. On the PL-380, it desenses badly, with a 50,00 noise floor from the low 1200s to the low 1500s or so, and a 49,00 noise floor from somewhere around 1000 or so up to 1710. Would the PR-D5 have any trouble at all with KKDD-1290 at that location, for example (~0.15mV/m per radio-locator). According to V-Soft, KMRB has a field of about 3149.9mV/m daytime, and KAZN is around 578.34mV/m daytime, but it's measuring from a spot that's a different direction from the towers.... not to mention also 50kW IBOC KDIS-1110 (271.16mV/m) just under 5 miles away, whose IBOC sidebands are around 60,00 to 61,00 in the daytime on my PL-380 there.
 
Hi GarFla, just curious about your AM reception as well as the FM; from what I can piece together about your location; you must be near the West Chase area or maybe even nearer the Pinellas/Hillsborough county line; I know the joint tower site for 1250 informecial radio and 970 talk is on or near rifle range road practically on the county line....... anyway I figure you could be anywhere from .7 of a mile to 4.3 miles from the 970/1250 tower site and even 4.3 miles is relatively close, since both are 25,000 watts during the day.

Do you get any splatter or bleed over from 1250 as well as the splatter from 970? Also a test of how good the FM section is, would be your reception of the 3,000 watt Family Radio (broadcasting from a 300 foot antenna at the S.E. corner of 4th St and Central in downtown St. Pete; if you can receive 91.7 I would be interested as to how well and if you have to turn the switch to mono for decent reception; also how well do you receive 99.9, the new talk station (WXJB) with tower north of Brooksville? Also 106.5 county and Oldies 107.9 (licensed to Sarasota, same tower location as WSMR's new tower between Laurel and Nokomis); if you can pick up all of these stations at with a listenable signal, I would say the FM band is more than decent.

Also, if you are south of Hillsbourgh Ave, I would be interested in how well you receive WSVD 1450 out of City Island, Sarasota with the water skip; I would imagine it would be decent during the day; the nighttime reception might be another story.


Sorry to ask so many questions, but I am curious in
St. Pete,
drt
 
Hi Drt. I'm in the Town and Country area on Waters Ave. not far from Westchase. I looked at the map and I'm about 4 miles from WFLA's stick.

The strange thing is, I don't get any splatter or anything from 1250 even though they are closer. I used to think 1250's towers near Alonzo high school were those of WFLA.

I'm home now so I listened to 91.7 and it has good stereo reception and the antenna doesn't have to be in any specific spot to get it. I figure they don't run RDS because I think it should register. 99.9 has a weak signal that I can only hear when the antenna is in the right position. 106.5 is a good signal that registers on the RDS. 107.9 is a weak signal and the stereo goes in and out when the antenna is in the best position.

For what it's worth, I can hear a weak signal of 1060 WLNO from New Orleans right now midday. That's one I didn't think I could get here. When I first got the Sangean, I used to get a weak but very good listenable signal from WWL all day here too when I nulled out WGUL. For some reason, that stopped and I can now hardly hear anything under WGUL's splatter. I don't know what happened there.

If you want, I can show you all my DXing videos with the PR-D5 which includes nighttime distant reception of AM stations from Tampa, Daytime AM reception from Honeymoon Island in Dunedin and also Daytona Beach, daytime AM reception in Lettuce Lake Park NE of Tampa, FM tropo, and FM sporadic e.
 
Thanks for all the info GarFla; I've seen the videos from the beaches and was impressed.

I was surprised that 91.7 comes in well in stereo without even adjusting the antenna; WSRZ 107.9 I can get stereo all the time, but do have to adjust the external antenna just in the right position to get stereo all the time on my Grundig.

I look forward to getting this radio, but I think the due delivery date will be Monday or Tuesday, when I will be away; which is why I am having it sent directly to my nearby Radio Shack, rather than get a pick up slip and have to drive 17 miles to the UPS office.

According to the google maps on radio locator, 970 and 1250 share the same tower site; of course I know that Radio-locator could be wrong; I know for years they (1250) was near Sligh and Habana Ave, in the Egypt Lake area, then WTMP - 1150 took over that tower site (and now WTMP has a CP to move to the Citurs Park area and 1470 (whatever their call letters are this month) has a CP for a night time tower at that Egypt Lake location. (for some strange reason, I used to recieve 1250 better when they were at Egypt Lake and not as powerful)

Thanks for the info.............. now I can't wait to get the PDR5, if they come out with a version with a signal meter and the weather band; then I think it would be the perfect radio, but it sounds near perfect now and I could not resist the 25% percent off sale.

drt,
st. pete
 
I remember looking forward to the the delivery when I got mine. I got mine from some big radio store in New York (forget the name now) and paid about the same price after delivery.

I didn't know WHNZ and WFLA share the same location. If so, that puts them at only a little over 2 miles from where I am. I didn't think that was WFLA because I didn't notice any overload or weird sounds with WFLA on the radio when I drive close to the towers. I then assumed they were those other towers located near the Pinellas County line when you're going west on Hillsborough.

I also listened to 1450 WSVD and they have a good signal with just a little snow in the background.
 
Thanks for the additional info. Still just curious, on 1450; could you hear the 1450 out of Brooksville in the background?

Here (about 4 blocks from the bay near downtown St. Pete), I get WSVD 1450 clear as a bell all during the day(no snow) and for about 30 -60 minutes past sunset, then after that, they are still dominant but not as listenable as the skywave from all the other 1450's kicks in.

drt. st pete
 
I listened again and I don't hear anything in the background of WSVD. The bit of snow I hear in the background is only during breaks in the music. That's a good signal considering the distance.

Being as you're in St. Pete, have you ever had the chance to go to the beach there and see what you can get?

You might be able to hear KTRH on 740 better than where I was due to a weaker signal from the dominating WYGM.

I also looked on Google Maps for WFLA and sure enough it is located closer to me than I thought, where those multiple towers are behind Alonzo high school. I just never imagined they shared the site with another station. No wonder they affect the radio as they so where I live.
 
I've been up and down the beaches last January (2009) from Indian Shores, then Passe-a-Grille and then by the USCG Blackthorne Memorial (by the north
Skyway fishing pier) , but at the time I didn't have a good dx'ing radio and so I just parked and used my car radio for dx
'ing and I didn't have very much time and/or patience to eek out all the stations you did.

As I got further south than Indian Shores, WWL 870 started booming in (the was early afternoon) as I got further south and there was less interference from WGUL 860, but I was not able to get 740 out of Houston, the Orlando station seemed to rule 740 at all three locations where I stopped. I did get 1060 out of New Orleans and some Panhandle stations.

In February of this year, late morning to early afternoon, I had to go to Sarasota (and regret that I left my Grundig at home) and what I did notice that surprised me was that 620 WDAE was suffering from Cuban interference in the middle of the day once I got to the beaches. (Ana Maria, Holmes Beach, Bradenton Beach, Longboat Key etc)........ WDAE was still dominant, but the Cuban station was plainly audible underneath it. At the time 620 out of Cuba was Radio Reloj, now they have changed their format on 600, 610, and 620 from Radio Reloj to a music and talk format).

Also I totally forgot to check 1600 to see if I could get the station out of Key West, since even on the SKyway the splatter from WRXB 1590 made that impossible. (I have received the Key West station on 1600 before on US 41/Tamiami Trail in the Laurel and Casey Key area)

Will have to try again, most likely when the weather cools down.

drt,
st. pete
 
You should also be able to get 1640 WTNI Biloxi, Miss all day at the beach.

That's pretty good for a 10 kw station that far up on the dial. 800 WSHO is another likely one you should get, only a 1 kw station from New Orleans.

As for 740, even though the Orlando station rules, you should hear a talk station in the background. I just happen to be very lucky that one time there was a lull in the talk on WYGM and I heard the KTRH ID.

I was also wondering if you've tried 1030 for KCTA out of Corpus Christi. It has to be that religious station I hear in the background of that Spanish speaking station but I've waited and waited and they never gave an ID the times I was on Honeymoon Island. I think you may be too close to WHBO 1040 down in St. Pete beach to hear anything though.
 
I've bought a PR-D5 this spring and it's a nice little unit. Picked up some nice E-skip on it over the summer (the RDS function being very helpful on certain occasions!).

Early MW DXing indications are that my DX-440 comes out on top, as I've caught a couple of TAs already (Absolute Radio on 1215 and Holland's Radio 5 on 747), which the D5 was not pulling in. We'll see as the season progresses.

~BG
 
Tincap said:
I've bought a PR-D5 this spring and it's a nice little unit. Picked up some nice E-skip on it over the summer (the RDS function being very helpful on certain occasions!).

Early MW DXing indications are that my DX-440 comes out on top, as I've caught a couple of TAs already (Absolute Radio on 1215 and Holland's Radio 5 on 747), which the D5 was not pulling in. We'll see as the season progresses.

~BG
Click to expand...

Tincap--

Have you ever used the CC Radio Plus or the Grundig G5? If so I'd be interested in your comparisons of those radios to the DX-440 on the AM/MW end.

Thanks.
 
Tincap said:
I've bought a PR-D5 this spring and it's a nice little unit. Picked up some nice E-skip on it over the summer (the RDS function being very helpful on certain occasions!).

Early MW DXing indications are that my DX-440 comes out on top, as I've caught a couple of TAs already (Absolute Radio on 1215 and Holland's Radio 5 on 747), which the D5 was not pulling in. We'll see as the season progresses.

~BG
Click to expand...

I understand an external antenna can be connected to the DX-440. Were you using one with it at the time?
 
gar fla said:
Tincap said:
I've bought a PR-D5 this spring and it's a nice little unit. Picked up some nice E-skip on it over the summer (the RDS function being very helpful on certain occasions!).

Early MW DXing indications are that my DX-440 comes out on top, as I've caught a couple of TAs already (Absolute Radio on 1215 and Holland's Radio 5 on 747), which the D5 was not pulling in. We'll see as the season progresses.

~BG
Click to expand...



I understand an external antenna can be connected to the DX-440. Were you using one with it at the time?
Click to expand...

Yes, the DX-440 does have an external (RCA type) antenna output. However, I really don't know enough about (or have the space for) an effect MW DX antenna. I do have a simple longwire setup, which appears to work well in the upper SW bands.

Having said that, all of my TA DX catches have been made off of the internal antenna.

And radioman148, no I have no experience with the CC Plus or G5. I had considered purchasing one of those, based on reviews and comments which I've gleaned from forums such as here. However, given the catches I've been able to make with the DX-440 so far, I'm interested in seeing how far I can push the possibilities with this particular machine.

I've had my DX-440 for over 20 years and am only now able to find its true potential. Thanks to forums such as this, along with the other technologies and data bases on-line to help verify catches, it makes our little hobby very enjoyable. I actually look forward to these longer nights now... :D

~BG
 
Yes, the DX-440 does have an external (RCA type) antenna output. However, I really don't know enough about (or have the space for) an effect MW DX antenna. I do have a simple longwire setup, which appears to work well in the upper SW bands.

Having said that, all of my TA DX catches have been made off of the internal antenna.
Click to expand...

That sounds like a good little radio.

What's the size of the internal antenna?

Do they still make the DX-440 anymore? I was searching for it and I couldn't find any listed as new.
 
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