On Jul 6, 2:44 pm, Joe Analssandrini wrote:
On Jul 6, 12:14 am, Sky Captain wrote:

Incredible but true. At 6 PM ET my SONY 7600GR could barely pick up
Detroit's WJR-760, but my Freeplay Lifeline delivered a crisp, clear
audio. I'm visiting Gambier, Ohio, about 200 miles from Detroit. A
few minutes ago my Freeplay Plus easily delivered Toronto's CHWO-740
while that station was inaudible on the SONY. Even SW stations sound
better on the Freeplays. BTW, these were side by side tests.

It's been been my experience that Freeplay makes rugged, great-
sounding radios. I realize the 7600GR has a number of enthusiasts,
but I've owned both the G and GR versions of this set and I'm quite a
bit underwhelmed.

Dear "Sky Captain,"

I'm not doubting your experience but I have to say that it doesn't
correspond with mine. I do not own one of the newer Freeplay
"Lifeline" models, but I do own three Freeplay radios: their original
AM/FM (only) Solar-powered/crank model and two of the Freeplay
original models - both the 'A" (SW 3-12 MHz) and the 'B' (SW 6-18 MHz)
and, while these are good performers within their limits, they by no
means equal the performance of any of my Sony ICF-SW7600Gs or 'GRs on
SW, FM, or (and especially) MW. My Sonys even outperform, in every
respect but sound quality (and the broadcast sound quality via the
Sony can easily be improved if desired) my GE Superadios (I, II, and
III).

As a matter of fact, in my own personal experience, I have never owned
or tried a portable radio that performs as well natively (no
additional antennas/external items) on MW as does the Sony ICF-SW7600G/
GR models.

Please note that I am not a MW DXer, but I do listen to distant
stations (including AM 740 Toronto for their great music) from time-to-
time and generally, when I do so, I use one of my Sonys.

Obviously your experience is different than mine. Yet I cannot help
but wonder if your Sonys are performing correctly. Were they purchased
new? From whom? (Just curious.)

Best,

Joe


Hi Joe,

First, let me say I've read your posts for a long time and have
tremendous respect for your contributions to the shortwave hobby, as
well as your technical knowledge, civility, and politeness--qualities
that seem to be in short supply on this board.

That said, I notice you don't own one of the newer Freeplay models.
While the the Lifeline may be hard to find, the Plus can be purchased
from both Universal and CCrane. Although both sets were designed as
emergency radios, they deliver great audio with pretty decent
sensitivity to weak SW signals. Of course, neither has direct digital
frequency readout or PLL, but the Plus does have a SW fine tuning
knob. I recommend you buy the Plus and use it with an ac adapter;
you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Regarding my Sony 7600GR, it's just a mediocre radio with a number a
bells and whistles built in. To answer Telamon's concern, I do have
the DX (news) switch on. I've checked and rechecked all the controls
and everything seems to be working correctly, but SW signal
sensitivity is weak. Also, there is an annoying background hum,
especially when I listen to a strong station, like EWTN. Actually my
G version performed much better but was plagued with a major problem:
it kept turning itself on and off on its own. I bought the G from EEB
in Vienna, Va in 1996 and the GR from Universal in 2005. I've never
had any problems with either company. I don't doubt your experiences
with Sony have been much more positive; I can only share my own story.

Thanks again for all you do, Joe.