On Aug 7, 9:31 am, "Frank Dresser"
wrote:
"D Peter Maus" wrote in ...



Probably some bad Metamucil. "Vintage" is not a word I'd apply to
this rig. Late 70's, early 80's at best. And not a performer.

[snip]

It sure looks "vintage" with it's 7 segment red LED display, membrane
touchpad and Love Boat era graphics -- all in a woodgrain box. But Passport
has it "New for 1994".

The Passport review is odd. Listed among the radio's disadvantages are such
potential showstoppers as the crummy membrane keypad, FM stations breaking
into the SW bands, hissy audio, excessive digital whine, single bandwidth,
wildly varying sensitivity from band to band, mediocre dynamic range and
other more nitpicky stuff.

Passport did like the radio's ergonomics, display and footprint. And the
American Electrola will interface with an IBM compatible.

A quote from the review:

"It's about time: an affordable world band radio designed for the way most
normal people listen. Not a portable -- most world band listening is done
at home, not on the road -- and not a techy DX tabletop model that's evolved
from ham gear."

Affordable, in the case of the American Electrola, meant $319.19.

I should say I had no particular interest in the American Electrola. I had
already bought a DX-440 for less than half the AE's price. I liked, and
still like, my DX-440. I even use it at home!

Frank Dresser


I don't DX much anymore, so I find my Yaesu to be largely overkill. My
Degen 1102 does much of the same stuff, and has similar sensitivity.
The Degen is comparable to the DX440, except the 440 has a little bit
finer BFO. I owned a 440 for years, but I gave it away six years ago
or so. I've tested both the Yaesu (FRG-8800) and the 1102 on the same
signals at the same time at my current QTH, and the Yaesu seemed to
just pick up more noise without any discernible improvement in signal.
The Yaesu is now in the closet.

As for the Electrola, it seemed to exist to satisfy the America First
rantings of Harder and other kook domestic SW hosts who wanted an
American made radio to sell on air. It sounds like it was a good idea,
but a bunch of good ole boys didn't have the resources to build a real
radio factory. They should have done what such companies as Apple have
done in the 2000s and play up American DESIGNED, not American BUILT.
The ipod says "Designed in California" on the back. The Chinese tend
to have odd electronics design ideas, such as the infamous 99 minute
sleep timer. Americans want stuff designed by people who understand
American culture and desires. The current tendency is to outsource
everything except top management to China, allowing the Chinese to do
whatever they want as far as design. The Chinese, of course, think
like Chinese, and design with an eye on their home market first. They
can miss the trends in America.