Searching for a radio with car-stereo like reception

[lurker77]

Hi

I've lurked on this site for awhile and have posted on other radio-info forums before; thanks for the great site!

I'm not a devoted DX hobbyist but have always enjoyed surfing the AM-FM dial on my walkman or clock radio since childhood, my best finds were when flicking around the car radio when driving with my dad. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to drive and sitting in the garage just to listen to the radio was always a tad weird.

Does anybody know of a compact radio that provides a relatively similar reception quality to that of a car stereo? By compact, I mean something that's not much bigger that a counter-top radio or if possible something that is the nearly the size of a Walkman (I doubt that one). I'm also not looking for something that requires additional antennas, the built-in telescopic antenna is enough for me as I'm not looking into hardcore DXing.

Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[rtc]

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3767071

 

[nd2023]

The Insignia portable HD radio is a wonderful portable radio and even does HD.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Hi

I've lurked on this site for awhile and have posted on other radio-info forums before; thanks for the great site!

I'm not a devoted DX hobbyist but have always enjoyed surfing the AM-FM dial on my walkman or clock radio since childhood, my best finds were when flicking around the car radio when driving with my dad. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to drive and sitting in the garage just to listen to the radio was always a tad weird.

Does anybody know of a compact radio that provides a relatively similar reception quality to that of a car stereo? By compact, I mean something that's not much bigger that a counter-top radio or if possible something that is the nearly the size of a Walkman (I doubt that one). I'm also not looking for something that requires additional antennas, the built-in telescopic antenna is enough for me as I'm not looking into hardcore DXing.

Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

AM car radios from the 1960's always amazed me in their ability to pull in signals from farther distances than "indoor radios" of the day & all of this was done with a short whip antenna. Even the older tube type radios of the 1940's & 1950's that claimed super sensitivity with umpteen tubes were poor at best with a similar length antenna. I recall driving around Cincinnati in the early 1970's in my 1964 Impala listening to WLS during the day. I too would love to see that performance in a portable radio with a whip antenna (all portables use relatively tiny ferrite rod antennas), but sadly as time & technology move forward, it seems the great performance we had with that 45-50 year old technology slips farther away.

 

[lurker77]

I should clarify that I live in Canada where HD radio doesn't exist

 

[BRNout]

The Insignia portable HD radio is a wonderful portable radio and even does HD.

...which is not as sensitive as a decent car-stereo.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

I should clarify that I live in Canada where HD radio doesn't exist

In that respect, you are truly blessed.

 

[Oldbones]

What about going to a wrecking yard and getting an old car radio? Shouldn't cost more than $10-15, you can get a 12 volt power supply at Radio Shack, hook up a couple speakers and you're all set.
Some of the Delco & Chrysler radios have AM stereo too (for the few remaining stations that are still broadcasting stereo).

 

[dxer720]

I did that with a AM/FM only radio from an '84 Pontiac Sunbird & no portable (or tabletop) has ever touched it's performance. The early CCRadio (not the plus or 2 models) comes close on AM, but the FM isn't very sensitive. My Sony Walkman ICF-M37V (don't know about the "W" model) has a great AM, & the FM's not too bad either.

 

[ddsparxx]

Hi

I've lurked on this site for awhile and have posted on other radio-info forums before; thanks for the great site!

I'm not a devoted DX hobbyist but have always enjoyed surfing the AM-FM dial on my walkman or clock radio since childhood, my best finds were when flicking around the car radio when driving with my dad. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to drive and sitting in the garage just to listen to the radio was always a tad weird.

Does anybody know of a compact radio that provides a relatively similar reception quality to that of a car stereo? By compact, I mean something that's not much bigger that a counter-top radio or if possible something that is the nearly the size of a Walkman (I doubt that one). I'm also not looking for something that requires additional antennas, the built-in telescopic antenna is enough for me as I'm not looking into hardcore DXing.

Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

If you are willing to make purchaces from Ebay, then I would recommend the DSP radios from Tecsun. Otherwise,I would go with rtc's suggestion. All of these radios perform about the same on FM. The Tecsuns may actually be a little better on AM.

 

[pianoplayer88key]

If you live near strong signals, the car radios should be MUCH better than the Tecsuns or the Sony SRF-M37V/W. For example, my grandma lives 1/3 mile from a 23kW on 1300 and a 50kW on 1430, both of which reduce power at night. On the Sony, those stations are heard loudly from about 1200 or 1230 or so all the way up to 1710. The Tecsun (PL-380 or PL-300WT aka Grundig G8), while they only leak +/- 12-18 kHz or so off their assigned frequencies depending on the bandwidth setting, will desense significantly across much of the band, being fairly severe from the upper 900s all the way up. On the other hand, my parents' 2002(?) Honda Accord and 1999(?) Chevrolet Astro radios, while they struggle a little with a semilocal on 1280, do fairly well on most other stations (1230, 1260, 1330, 1460, 1480), which the other radios struggle with.

 

[ddsparxx]

I forgot about living too close to towers..I also find that that the (earlier, don't know about the lastest) portable Insignia HD radios overload on very strong FM signals.

 

[drt]

Since Lurker77 is looking for a smaller radio (or not bigger than a small table radio), another recommendation would be the Sangean PR-D5, I bought mine on sale at Radio Shack or $75 USD. (normally $100...... alright 99.99!) Haven't yet check the www.RadioShack.ca site to see if this model is available at RS in Canada, I would suspect it would be.

The sensitivity is as good as the three car radios I am familiar with 2010 Toyota Yaris Sedan, 2007 Toyota Corolla and a 2004 Toyota Avalon). Of course in the house, the reception isn't generally as good due to brick and mortor and all the electrical interference, but when I've taken the radio in the car and pulled over and compared the reception at various places, the reception of the Sangean is a good; that said, it comes up short in selectivity on the FM band; whereas my car radio will pick up a stong local 90.5 and also a weak 90.7, the Sangean normally won't, unless the weaker signal is stronger than usual.

Also the Sangean (unlike the Insignia) has AM as well as FM (sensitivity and selectivity on the AM band is outstanding. Also the Sangean has RDS on the FM band, which can aid in identifying a station.

The Sangean has two small speakers, but for it's size the stereo separation and sound is good and it can be carried in one hand. (also has an aux input as well as the usual headphone jack)

drt,
st. petersburg,fl

 

[drt]

Here I live in Canada's southermost province (Florida! ) and I was unaware that in Canada that Radio Shack is now the Source and on their website there are no Sangean radios at all. There are plenty of Grundig radios on their website, however.

I have two dx'ing radios, the other is as good or better in sensitivity than the Sangean PR-D5 and definately better in selectivity, but it is bulky and heavy and last time I flew, the rotating external AM antenna drew some questions, I couldn't tell whether the TSA agent was just curious or actually concerned about security. (Gundig Satelite 750 - AM/FM/LW/SW, but no RDS pn FM)

drt,
st. petersburg,fl

 

[Mid West Clubber]

You might try a GE Superadio Any Model,, or look up any of the Grundig Radios. the G3 is real good and can be found at most Ratt Shacks,, but dont my it there,, the first probelm you have they will spit in your face and call you a habitiual returneemm Re briing in 3 models and you are a habitial returner.. If you WANT A GREAT fm/am AND bAsic SW reception,,with no SSB,, order the Grundig or also known as Eton// GL350DL,, its about 80 to 100 bucks,, but dont go to ratt shack.

 

[NoWayNoCC]

I have a GE Superadio, and it's positively the worst radio I've ever had for reception. I kept hearing about how great these radios were, but I positively cannot see why.

 

[ddsparxx]

I've been hearing about the quality issues of the GE Superadio III; I have one and it doesn't seem to be messed-up. The ones that became RCA branded, are probably worse.

 

[Tom Wells]

For AM, here's one you can't beat. It is a car radio, and I have about 6 like this, because it is the best model
I've ever encountered. It was made by Bendix corp, an avionics manufacturer.
Note the two push-pull Germanium output transistors for pretty darn good-n-loud output.
These are very easily modified to produce 40-20,000 audio by just removing one or two tiny capacitors, but already have pretty
good high-frequncy response.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1968...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item564134aeed

One of the main reasons I prefer old Chrysler Corp products was because of the superior radios.
I was able tell the difference as a boy, when I would always try out everyone's car radios.

If you want portability this would be a little more difficult but not impossible to arrange.
A 12 v laptop battery would run this many hours @ the 1.1 a draw.
Removing the transistors off the front and coupling in a more "efficient" amp would also be easy.
The whip antenna works well, but if you couple in a tuned loop, you get a dx monster.


Note that the current bid is 5 dollars an the radio will probably sell for 15 eventually.
You just can't beat the bang for the buck.

I should clarify, I have no idea who the seller is, condition, etc., I only showed the first good example I found of the particular Bemdix "model variant" that ran from the early 60's to about 1970.

 

[Tom Wells]

Hi

I've lurked on this site for awhile and have posted on other radio-info forums before; thanks for the great site!

I'm not a devoted DX hobbyist but have always enjoyed surfing the AM-FM dial on my walkman or clock radio since childhood, my best finds were when flicking around the car radio when driving with my dad. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to drive and sitting in the garage just to listen to the radio was always a tad weird.

Does anybody know of a compact radio that provides a relatively similar reception quality to that of a car stereo? By compact, I mean something that's not much bigger that a counter-top radio or if possible something that is the nearly the size of a Walkman (I doubt that one). I'm also not looking for something that requires additional antennas, the built-in telescopic antenna is enough for me as I'm not looking into hardcore DXing.

Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

AM car radios from the 1960's always amazed me in their ability to pull in signals from farther distances than "indoor radios" of the day & all of this was done with a short whip antenna. Even the older tube type radios of the 1940's & 1950's that claimed super sensitivity with umpteen tubes were poor at best with a similar length antenna. I recall driving around Cincinnati in the early 1970's in my 1964 Impala listening to WLS during the day. I too would love to see that performance in a portable radio with a whip antenna (all portables use relatively tiny ferrite rod antennas), but sadly as time & technology move forward, it seems the great performance we had with that 45-50 year old technology slips farther away.

I'll bet that '64 Impala had the three section whip instead of the 31" FM optimized whip.
I find it makes a big difference on my old cars, the short one is more bad for AM than it is good for FM.
If I had to have one length, I would rather it favor the AM. When I did have the 3-section, I left it all the way up and FM worked no differently that I could tell. Like to get another one of those for two of my cars.
The '66 Plymouth manual advised you to pull the antenna up fully for AM, and down to 31" for FM!

 

[BobOnTheJob]

Hi

I've lurked on this site for awhile and have posted on other radio-info forums before; thanks for the great site!

I'm not a devoted DX hobbyist but have always enjoyed surfing the AM-FM dial on my walkman or clock radio since childhood, my best finds were when flicking around the car radio when driving with my dad. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to drive and sitting in the garage just to listen to the radio was always a tad weird.

Does anybody know of a compact radio that provides a relatively similar reception quality to that of a car stereo? By compact, I mean something that's not much bigger that a counter-top radio or if possible something that is the nearly the size of a Walkman (I doubt that one). I'm also not looking for something that requires additional antennas, the built-in telescopic antenna is enough for me as I'm not looking into hardcore DXing.

Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

AM car radios from the 1960's always amazed me in their ability to pull in signals from farther distances than "indoor radios" of the day & all of this was done with a short whip antenna. Even the older tube type radios of the 1940's & 1950's that claimed super sensitivity with umpteen tubes were poor at best with a similar length antenna. I recall driving around Cincinnati in the early 1970's in my 1964 Impala listening to WLS during the day. I too would love to see that performance in a portable radio with a whip antenna (all portables use relatively tiny ferrite rod antennas), but sadly as time & technology move forward, it seems the great performance we had with that 45-50 year old technology slips farther away.

I'll bet that '64 Impala had the three section whip instead of the 31" FM optimized whip.
I find it makes a big difference on my old cars, the short one is more bad for AM than it is good for FM.
If I had to have one length, I would rather it favor the AM. When I did have the 3-section, I left it all the way up and FM worked no differently that I could tell. Like to get another one of those for two of my cars.
The '66 Plymouth manual advised you to pull the antenna up fully for AM, and down to 31" for FM!

It did have the 3 section whip. My current car (a 2007 Honda Fit) had the most worthless antenna I've seen yet...a 6-7" rubber whip with a preamp that stopped working on FM when I drove near an AM transmitter. I was so desperate that I drilled a hole in the dead center of the roof & place a Motorola NMO mount there & put a 31" whip on it. What a difference. But now that you pointed out that FM doesn't suffer from using a longer whip, maybe I should have left the full 48" or so on it rather than cutting it to 31" (I keep the alan wrench handy for car washes/parking garages). It works quite well on both AM and FM. But I doubt it would pull WLS in Cincinnati...I'll have to try that one day.