cd637299 said:
Do either of these antennas really make that big a difference DXing on AM?
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Superradio II
- Thread starter cyberdad
- Start date
Do either of these antennas really make that big a difference DXing on AM?
As much as I miss the old AM DXing days of the 70s, what I don't miss was the analog tuning dial where you often had to try to guess what frequency you were tuned to and would have to count frequencies away from known ones to arrive at a specific other frequency.
That's why I chose the Sangean PR-D5 instead of a Superradio. It has a 200 mm ferrite antenna too.
DXing AM with a digital frequency display is a dream come true from the past.
They sure do!
That's why I chose the Sangean PR-D5 instead of a Superradio. It has a 200 mm ferrite antenna too.
DXing AM with a digital frequency display is a dream come true from the past.
They sure do!
C
cd637299
Guest
^ that. Both of you above have heard my clips from a certain place....without that "help", I'd say forget it!
cd
cd
My Terk loop makes a big difference for me on weak stations during the day like these examples of weak Orlando stations.
Notice the difference when the loop is there vs when it is not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oqdiPW3_Z8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkuUrZzxBdE&NR=1
I don't notice any real difference with nighttime DXing, though.
Notice the difference when the loop is there vs when it is not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oqdiPW3_Z8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkuUrZzxBdE&NR=1
I don't notice any real difference with nighttime DXing, though.
gar fla said:
That was my next question: is there any advantage to pulling in night time DX with these antennas?
I did come across a Superadio tech page a while back. Lots of interesting info on the versions, and at the bottom of the page, links to three other GESR sites.
http://earmark.net/gesr/
One of those links is a GESR faq page.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze20h45/radio/superadio/gesr_faq.html
Me? I've got a couple of Radio Shack 12-655 "TRF"s, one modified and one unmodified. I bring them out a few times each DX season for a little nostalgic DX.
http://earmark.net/gesr/
One of those links is a GESR faq page.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vze20h45/radio/superadio/gesr_faq.html
Me? I've got a couple of Radio Shack 12-655 "TRF"s, one modified and one unmodified. I bring them out a few times each DX season for a little nostalgic DX.
gar fla said:
Amen to that. That and the advent of resources -such as this forum- on the internet, have made the DX hobby much more enjoyable for me. It allows me to DX, while working in my home studio, with ease. Where as, the old methods and analogue technology made the hobby much too time consuming for me to be able to participate in it, as much as I am now able.
~BG
Interesting stuff....Thanks, guys.
I'll put the external loop antenna on my "to do" list. I've been thinking about getting one for quite a while.
Day three with my "dollar radio", and I'm not quite prepared to call it the best portable I've ever owned, but it certainly is a very good one. I didn't realize how spoiled I've gotten by digital tuning (not to mention a dial light). But, getting back into analog has been easy enough....the old "like riding a bicycle thing"
In addition to being the biggest bargain ($1) ;D, I'd have to say the SR-2 is one of the best sounding rigs I've ever owned....either via the speaker or headphones. I also was surprised to read that the SR series is notoriously "underwhelming" on FM. I live about 44 line-of-sight miles from the downtown Chicago sticks, and this is one of the few units I've owned that delivers a clear, clean signal on all of 'em without endless fiddling with the antenna. I've already talked about how the SR-2 has good AM sensitivity, selectivity, and is good at nulling strong locals. On balance, for what it can do (meaning no SW, bandwidth control, etc.) it stacks up pretty well with my Yacht Boy PE-300 and Realistic DX-75, which are overall the best that I've personally owned. Also the radio was described in the online article as known for having issue with the accuracy of the tuning dial. I guess then I'm lucky...mine's just about perfect. And as stated yesterday, all the pots are static free....pretty remarkable for a unit 25+ years old.
On the minus side, the SR-2 is a noise magnet. On FM, I like to use my Whole House FM transmitter to listen to my music library or streaming audio. When I do that, I get an annoying hum that I've not been able to completely eliminate. Admittedly the hum comes from my PC and its connection to the transmitter. But the hum is absent on other radios....including the car radio. (The hum is also not present on broadcast stations. On AM, I know I have several noise sources in the house. Air conditioner and fans, dimmer switches, TVs, computers, video game consoles, etc. Unlike my other radios, The SR-2 "hears 'em all". The ability to null certainly helps get rid of most of this....but in the process can null the station I'm trying to hear!
On the minus side,
I'll put the external loop antenna on my "to do" list. I've been thinking about getting one for quite a while.
Day three with my "dollar radio", and I'm not quite prepared to call it the best portable I've ever owned, but it certainly is a very good one. I didn't realize how spoiled I've gotten by digital tuning (not to mention a dial light). But, getting back into analog has been easy enough....the old "like riding a bicycle thing"
In addition to being the biggest bargain ($1) ;D, I'd have to say the SR-2 is one of the best sounding rigs I've ever owned....either via the speaker or headphones. I also was surprised to read that the SR series is notoriously "underwhelming" on FM. I live about 44 line-of-sight miles from the downtown Chicago sticks, and this is one of the few units I've owned that delivers a clear, clean signal on all of 'em without endless fiddling with the antenna. I've already talked about how the SR-2 has good AM sensitivity, selectivity, and is good at nulling strong locals. On balance, for what it can do (meaning no SW, bandwidth control, etc.) it stacks up pretty well with my Yacht Boy PE-300 and Realistic DX-75, which are overall the best that I've personally owned. Also the radio was described in the online article as known for having issue with the accuracy of the tuning dial. I guess then I'm lucky...mine's just about perfect. And as stated yesterday, all the pots are static free....pretty remarkable for a unit 25+ years old.
On the minus side, the SR-2 is a noise magnet. On FM, I like to use my Whole House FM transmitter to listen to my music library or streaming audio. When I do that, I get an annoying hum that I've not been able to completely eliminate. Admittedly the hum comes from my PC and its connection to the transmitter. But the hum is absent on other radios....including the car radio. (The hum is also not present on broadcast stations. On AM, I know I have several noise sources in the house. Air conditioner and fans, dimmer switches, TVs, computers, video game consoles, etc. Unlike my other radios, The SR-2 "hears 'em all". The ability to null certainly helps get rid of most of this....but in the process can null the station I'm trying to hear!
On the minus side,
Speaking of loop antennas, does anyone know about the Tecsun AN-200 Medium Wave loop antenna?
I ask because I saw it used on a YouTube video and it really seemed to work great but it's hard to tell the size.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU42YlOmHN4
I ask because I saw it used on a YouTube video and it really seemed to work great but it's hard to tell the size.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uU42YlOmHN4
C
cd637299
Guest
I have seemed to have the same issue with both my II & III since I have gone online, and other electrical noises do seem to come out of these radios.
OTOH, the 6 D alkaline battery life will get you 400 hours of listening! I haven't used AC on these radios for quite some time. Take them on trips....have a tape recorder ready if you wish.
(BTW when I was in Bermuda with mine, I made a point to hook up a long-corded microphone to my tape recorder, because apparently, placing the "built-in mike" next to the Superadio causes buzz. The corded mike causes no problem.)
When we have had power outages, the Superadios perform much better, I have found out!
cd
OTOH, the 6 D alkaline battery life will get you 400 hours of listening! I haven't used AC on these radios for quite some time. Take them on trips....have a tape recorder ready if you wish.
(BTW when I was in Bermuda with mine, I made a point to hook up a long-corded microphone to my tape recorder, because apparently, placing the "built-in mike" next to the Superadio causes buzz. The corded mike causes no problem.)
When we have had power outages, the Superadios perform much better, I have found out!
cd
gar fla said:
I bought one with my Tecsun PL-390 since I got a $10 discount through an Amazon promo making it only $20 and was impressed with it. The loop is about 9" in diameter. When used as a inductive/wireless antenna its okay, it shows a big difference in radios with small ferrite antennas, but on radios with decent sized ones like the PL-390 it only marginally improves things.
It really does great as a wired antenna on my XDR-F1HD which is where I use it now. I can get Toronto and Buffalo stations during the day and its still summer. At night almost every freq gets some signal pretty strong. This is definitely an improvement over the included Sony antenna, but can't tell how it compares to the Terk.
Thanks, it looks like it's the same size as my Terk.
It seemed much bigger in that video and made that station go from nothing to a good signal on what appears to be a good radio. That's why I was wondering.
If it was noticeably better than the Terk, I'd try to get one but being it's the same size, I assume it works the same.
I've been very impressed with the Terk loop but you know when it comes to DXing, we often wish we had something better than we have even if such a thing may not exist.
It seemed much bigger in that video and made that station go from nothing to a good signal on what appears to be a good radio. That's why I was wondering.
If it was noticeably better than the Terk, I'd try to get one but being it's the same size, I assume it works the same.
I've been very impressed with the Terk loop but you know when it comes to DXing, we often wish we had something better than we have even if such a thing may not exist.
I may have to invest in one of these antennas. I'm a little concerned that all they'll do with the SR-2 is attract more noise. But even if that's the case, I have other radios I can use the antenna with. I think I may have even seen the Terk at Best Buy or Radio Shack.
And thanks, cd, for the battery life info. I had been wondering about that....and I assumed it was probably pretty good. But 400 hours? That's impressive. No real reason to have the unit on ac power....at least when DXing.
And thanks, cd, for the battery life info. I had been wondering about that....and I assumed it was probably pretty good. But 400 hours? That's impressive. No real reason to have the unit on ac power....at least when DXing.
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