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Old June 3rd 07, 12:56 PM posted to rec.radio.shortwave
[email protected] mcdonald606a@yahoo.com is offline
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First recorded activity by RadioBanter: Jul 2006
Posts: 30
Default Handheld Shortwave Portable, no SSB needed, which is the best?

On Jun 3, 5:31 am, RedPenguin wrote:
On Jun 3, 5:01 am, Cato wrote:



On Jun 3, 1:02 am, RedPenguin wrote:


On Jun 3, 4:00 am, RedPenguin wrote:


On Jun 3, 3:37 am, RedPenguin wrote:


On Jun 3, 1:57 am, "Al Dalton" wrote:


I love my G5. I am glad I bought it. For the money (about $150) it's top
notch. It has SSB.


Al


"Mike" wrote in message


roups.com...


I might also recommend a Kaito 1102 / Degen 1102. Very sensitive, very
small, digital, memories and SSB. The Passport reviews pretty much
explain that they think this is the best of Chinese mini-portables.
(Personally, I think the DE 1103 / Eton E5 / Grundig G5 is a better
radio, but at a higher price)


Mike


On Jun 2, 6:46 pm, RedPenguin wrote:


I want to get a small shortwave radio, that I can use like a walkman.
I was looking at the Grundig Mini 300PE for the price at my local
radio shack, which is only $30. I notice it had no SSB but I really
don't need SSB, at least not for a walkman type, but if there is SSB
for a portable, I guess I will take it. Should I go with this portable
or no?


I want a nice cheaper radio, under $50, that I can listen to FM, AM,
and SW. I like Radio Habana Cuba, and want to listen to other stations
also. I want a digital readout of what frequency I am on, not 100%
analog, because then I can't see clearly what frequency I am on.


Should I go with this radio, or would there be a better choice that
covers more frequencies, as it looks like the Grundig covers 7 bands.


Yeah, see I like the features of those radios, but so far it looks
like really only the Grundig 300 is the size I need. See I want to go
for walks and take a shortwave radio with me. I have the Sony
ICF-7600GR, that I use right now but it's not really a "walk radio"
that I want to have. That's really what I am looking for. I will be
looking through those radios you guys/gals recommended, then I will
see what decision I can make.


Think the Kaito 1102 would be decent to go with for my walkman type or
should I go with the G5? The G5 looks like it's the same size as my
Sony ICF-7600GR, but maybe I am wrong. I want a powerful radio but not
a powerful size.


I forgot on my last message, what the heck is the difference between
getting a G5 from Grundig or one from Eton or any other company?- Hide quoted text -


- Show quoted text -


The Kaito KA1102 is without doubt a good radio. Good enough for me
that I bought two of them. I also own the Eton E5 which is the same as
the Grundig G5, the only difference being the name on the radio. It
too is a great radio. My oldest radios are a Panasonic RF 2200, and a
Sony ICF 7600D, (ICF 2002). All good radios.


The reason I suggested the Kaito KA105, or even better the KA11,
(or the Degen equivalents), is that I thought you wanted something
small enough to slip into a pocket, about the size of the Grundig Mini
300PE that you mentioned, but a better radio.
I also thought that you wanted to spend $50.00 or less, and the
KA105 would fit those parameters.


You stated, "I want a nice cheaper radio, under $50, that I
can listen to FM, AM,
and SW."


The KA11 is the same size, but a bit more money, however it is still
close to your $50.00.


You may have a difficult time finding a KA1102 for $50.00 or
less, except on eBay (DE1102), for maybe $47.00, but then you will
pay at least $18.00 for shipping from China.
I would be surprised to see an Eton E5, or Grundig G5 going for
$50.00 or less. I bought mine new for $149.95.


A KA1102 in the U.S. will cost a minimum $59.95, from radios4you on
eBay, and add on $10.95 for shipping and insurance. That might be the
way you want to go for the KA1102.


Because of the G5/E5 size, I would thing that it is more then a
Walkman type. The same would go for the KA1102 in my opinion.


When you start getting up to the size of the Kaito
KA1102, and especially the Eton E5, or Grundig G5, you are beyond
pocket size.
Cato


Also, one of the majors reasons I was thinking about the Grundig Mini
300 was that, it's only $30 at my local radio shack, so I wouldn't
have to wait for my money order to get to the company then wait
another week for shipping,


http://www.radiointel.com/phil/2005_phil_port_guide.pdf

another set of reviews on portable SWR;s.. 300 PE getds a poor rating;
tuning is drifty,
impulse shopping SWR at best;


( review from Eham below . . )


My Grundig Mini 300PE performs very well with the exception of the MW
(standard AM) band. My set experiences poor image rejection. Ex. a
station on several miles away (WTOP Wheaton MD) 1500Khz can clearly be
heard at a tuning of 590Khz. That tells that this radio uses an IF
freq. of 540Khz.

I was surprized initially at all the whistles and hetrodynes that
occurred at night time at frequencies above 1000Khz. With some
investigation, I've discovered that this radio is receiving short wave
transmissions from the 5 to 7 Mhz band. At a tuning of 1082.5Khz, WWCR
on 5.070Mhz is tremendously strong. By some simple arithmetic
calculations, it appears that the third harmonic of the local
oscillator (at the 1082.5Khz tuning) is at 4.62Mhz--below 5.070Mhz by
the IF frequency of 450Khz. For the math to work exactly right, the
exact receiver tuning would need to be 1.090Khz, so that the radio's
frequency display may be a bit off by -7.5Khz. Similarly, I receive
other shortwave stations where there is no conflicting AM broadcaster.
The FM/SW telescoping antenna seems to be active on MW; touching it
attenuates reception. It's as though there is no front end tuning.

This is poorer AM performance than a '60s shirt pocket six transistor
radio.

It's hard to believe that this performance is typical for this radio.
If I got a bad one, someone please say so.

Thanks))