Can someone please explain to me though why the S&H is $11.18??? That is
what the guy told me on the phone. So this nine dollar radio 'really' is
$19.98, to the ones that have it, is this worth it in your opinion?

BTW, the pricing and s/h is from the website that someone posted in here.
That sure seems like alot for handling. Does anything else come with it?

TIA

--
~*~*~Monitoring the Spectrum~*~*~
***GO BEARCATS***
~*~*~Oct.15th Payback Begins~*~*~*~
~~~Hammarlund129X/140X~~~
**Heathkit Q Multiplier**
GE P-780
"Diverd4777" wrote in message
...
Randy,

Thanks for the review.
Got an e-mail from K&B ,out in Arizona
with a UPS tracking link.

- Keep us posted !

Dan


In article ,
(Randy Padawer) writes:


Well, my $10 jWIN shortwave radio arrived right on schedule today via
UPS. I bought from hififorless.com. Here are my initial thoughts:

1) The audio is much better than the Bell+Howell unit. Actually, for
a cheapie radio, the Bell+Howell isn't that bad, but the jWIN has a
more resonant ring to it.

2) I like the digital readout. The frequency is not selected via
buttons, but actually by a thumbwheel control (a variable capacitor, I
surmise) on the upper right side of the radio. The frequency is
actually selected analog-style, while the digital display simply
follows and reads the freq. (This is different than almost every
digital radio out there today in which the digital circuitry plays a
large role in tuning the radio.) As a result, the digital readout in
this unit produces no spurious noise or chuffing that I could discern.
Moroever, the display seems accurate -- WWV is right where it should
be in multiple places.

3) Tuning, however, seems a bit more fiddly than the Bell+Howell unit.
On the B+H, when you light upon a station, it stays there, and there
is no backlash when you let go of the frequency knob. On the jWIN,
there is a very minor (yet ever-so-noticeable) backlash, and you'll
find yourself working for just a second or three more to tune in a
station just right -- especially if it's not a very strong station.

4) When the jWIN first arrived, I removed my Bell+Howell batteries and
shoved them into the jWIN, turned on the jWIN, and... oh no... I hear
noise but the digital readout isn't working right. I realized,
though, that these batteries were weak. Putting in some new strong
batteries solved the problem. Interestingly, though, the weaker
batteries powered the B+H unit just fine with no noticeable
degradation in sensitivity (I played with the B+H, swapping out new
batteries, etc.) Clearly, the jWIN is much more demanding with
respect to battery quality -- possibly chalk that up to the presence
of the digital freq readout.

I'll soon dig out last year's Coby 12 band cheapie radio and do a
comparison with all of these units.

I must close with one interesting note, though... I still have my
cheapie Pomtrex from 1992 (a plastic analog multiband shortwave radio
from China which sold for ~$30). The Pomtrex at that time won an
amazing TWO STARS (!) from Passport to World Band Radio, and I concur
-- its sensitivity and selectivity still beat the Coby, the
contemporary Bell+Howell, and my new jWIN. However, the jWIN's audio
is slightly more pleasurable to hear.

(Does anybody remember the Pomtrex other than me? I still enjoy
mine.)

In closing, I was happy to get this unit for $10 plus shipping instead
of $30+ plus shipping. It's a good unit, and the digital freq display
is really unique to this radio in the ten buck price class.

Randy (WA4FJF)

"dxlover" wrote in message
...
Can someone please explain to me though why the S&H is $11.18??? That is
what the guy told me on the phone. So this nine dollar radio 'really' is
$19.98, to the ones that have it, is this worth it in your opinion?

BTW, the pricing and s/h is from the website that someone posted in here.
That sure seems like alot for handling. Does anything else come with it?

Though I'm sure you can do better on the s/h, the radio is still well worth
the $20 price. Keep checking on ebay, I'm sure you can find it cheaper. I
paid $19.95 plus I think $4 shipping for mine, and I think it was worth it..
it's a nice little radio. It's no Drake, but it's a rare bird for sure... a
cheap, tiny, multiband radio with excellent calibration and a digital
readout. I'm quite happy with mine, I don't have to guess where to look for
a station anymore.

Though I'm sure you can do better on the s/h, the radio is still well
worth
the $20 price.

Thanks Brenda Ann, that'll work. ;-) Do you run a length of wire on yours
for shortwave or is the whip sufficient?

Also, how is it on the BCB. (?) Does or would a loop improve it any?

Thanks :-)

**BTW, really enjoying the P-780, did you get the other fixed yet?

--
~*~*~Monitoring the Spectrum~*~*~
***GO BEARCATS***
~*~*~Oct.15th Payback Begins~*~*~*~
~~~Hammarlund129X/140X~~~
**Heathkit Q Multiplier**
GE P-780

"dxlover" wrote in message
...
Thanks Brenda Ann, that'll work. ;-) Do you run a length of wire on
yours
for shortwave or is the whip sufficient?

Also, how is it on the BCB. (?) Does or would a loop improve it any?


BCB is fair, haven't tried it with my Select-a-Tenna, but maybe I will
tomorrow and get back to you. For SW, the whip does a usable job, I
wouldn't add too much to it, since it's got no tuned amplifier or anything.

BCB is fair, haven't tried it with my Select-a-Tenna, but maybe I will
tomorrow and get back to you. For SW, the whip does a usable job, I
wouldn't add too much to it, since it's got no tuned amplifier or
anything.

OK Brenda Ann, let me know about the BCB if possible, K? :-)

Whip straight up then? No 15 to 20 ft. of wire?

--
~*~*~Monitoring the Spectrum~*~*~
***GO BEARCATS***
~*~*~Oct.15th Payback Begins~*~*~*~
~~~Hammarlund129X/140X~~~
**Heathkit Q Multiplier**
GE P-780

'K.. just finished with the experiment. Select-a-Tenna works virtual
miracles on AMBCB.. the radio is normally quite broad (though I have not had
any problems with separation of 'local' stations. With the Select-a-Tenna,
I can pull very weak stations out of the QRM (and there is a LOT of QRM
here), and separate weak stations from strong ones pretty effectively. It's
still no DX radio (do you expect it to be?) but with any sort of loop, it is
quite good for everyday listening, and perhaps for stations 50-60 miles
distant.

I don't run any wire connected to it for SW, perhaps a 5' or so wire would
improve it some, but much longer would tend to overload the front end.


"dxlover" wrote in message
...

BCB is fair, haven't tried it with my Select-a-Tenna, but maybe I will
tomorrow and get back to you. For SW, the whip does a usable job, I
wouldn't add too much to it, since it's got no tuned amplifier or
anything.

OK Brenda Ann, let me know about the BCB if possible, K? :-)

Whip straight up then? No 15 to 20 ft. of wire?

--
~*~*~Monitoring the Spectrum~*~*~
***GO BEARCATS***
~*~*~Oct.15th Payback Begins~*~*~*~
~~~Hammarlund129X/140X~~~
**Heathkit Q Multiplier**
GE P-780

'K.. just finished with the experiment. Select-a-Tenna works virtual
miracles on AMBCB..

I had a feeling it would, I didn't picture 'miracles'.....but generally,
the crappier the radio, the better the loop helps improve it.

Example: That GE I got from you. Basically a loop does absolutely 'ziltch'
for it unless listening to/for a 'very' weak station, then it helps.

Thanks for the update, and no, I didn't expect a DX machine...lol...I have
enough pieces around here for that. ;-)

Take care Brenda Ann :-)

--
~*~*~Monitoring the Spectrum~*~*~
***GO BEARCATS***
~*~*~Oct.15th Payback Begins~*~*~*~
~~~Hammarlund129X/140X~~~
**Heathkit Q Multiplier**
GE P-780

Yeah, SH & H via UPS is pricey;
BUT
in the end,
do you want to spend $20 & get a SW radio with Digital readout or not ??
Whats $20 buy??

- Call them & see if they can ship USPS, might be cheaper;


In article , "dxlover"
writes:

Subject: Jwin radio for ~$10 (rather than ~$20)
From: "dxlover"
Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 12:15:46 GMT

Can someone please explain to me though why the S&H is $11.18??? That is
what the guy told me on the phone. So this nine dollar radio 'really' is
$19.98, to the ones that have it, is this worth it in your opinion?

BTW, the pricing and s/h is from the website that someone posted in here.
That sure seems like alot for handling. Does anything else come with it?

TIA

--
~*~*~Monitoring the Spectrum~*~*~
***GO BEARCATS***
~*~*~Oct.15th Payback Begins~*~*~*~
~~~Hammarlund129X/140X~~~
**Heathkit Q Multiplier**
GE P-780
"Diverd4777" wrote in message
...
Randy,

Thanks for the review.
Got an e-mail from K&B ,out in Arizona
with a UPS tracking link.

- Keep us posted !

Dan


In article ,
(Randy Padawer) writes:


Well, my $10 jWIN shortwave radio arrived right on schedule today via
UPS. I bought from hififorless.com. Here are my initial thoughts:

1) The audio is much better than the Bell+Howell unit. Actually, for
a cheapie radio, the Bell+Howell isn't that bad, but the jWIN has a
more resonant ring to it.

2) I like the digital readout. The frequency is not selected via
buttons, but actually by a thumbwheel control (a variable capacitor, I
surmise) on the upper right side of the radio. The frequency is
actually selected analog-style, while the digital display simply
follows and reads the freq. (This is different than almost every
digital radio out there today in which the digital circuitry plays a
large role in tuning the radio.) As a result, the digital readout in
this unit produces no spurious noise or chuffing that I could discern.
Moroever, the display seems accurate -- WWV is right where it should
be in multiple places.

3) Tuning, however, seems a bit more fiddly than the Bell+Howell unit.
On the B+H, when you light upon a station, it stays there, and there
is no backlash when you let go of the frequency knob. On the jWIN,
there is a very minor (yet ever-so-noticeable) backlash, and you'll
find yourself working for just a second or three more to tune in a
station just right -- especially if it's not a very strong station.

4) When the jWIN first arrived, I removed my Bell+Howell batteries and
shoved them into the jWIN, turned on the jWIN, and... oh no... I hear
noise but the digital readout isn't working right. I realized,
though, that these batteries were weak. Putting in some new strong
batteries solved the problem. Interestingly, though, the weaker
batteries powered the B+H unit just fine with no noticeable
degradation in sensitivity (I played with the B+H, swapping out new
batteries, etc.) Clearly, the jWIN is much more demanding with
respect to battery quality -- possibly chalk that up to the presence
of the digital freq readout.

I'll soon dig out last year's Coby 12 band cheapie radio and do a
comparison with all of these units.

I must close with one interesting note, though... I still have my
cheapie Pomtrex from 1992 (a plastic analog multiband shortwave radio
from China which sold for ~$30). The Pomtrex at that time won an
amazing TWO STARS (!) from Passport to World Band Radio, and I concur
-- its sensitivity and selectivity still beat the Coby, the
contemporary Bell+Howell, and my new jWIN. However, the jWIN's audio
is slightly more pleasurable to hear.

(Does anybody remember the Pomtrex other than me? I still enjoy
mine.)

In closing, I was happy to get this unit for $10 plus shipping instead
of $30+ plus shipping. It's a good unit, and the digital freq display
is really unique to this radio in the ten buck price class.

Randy (WA4FJF)

"Diverd4777" wrote in message
...
Yeah, SH & H via UPS is pricey;
BUT
in the end,
do you want to spend $20 & get a SW radio with Digital readout or not ??
Whats $20 buy??

- Call them & see if they can ship USPS, might be cheaper;

I've found at least two stores where you can get it for a total of $16.81..
that's a little better, at least..

http://att.dealtime.com/xPC-Jwin_JX_M14

- Call them & see if they can ship USPS, might be cheaper;

Yeah Dan, I had thought about that already. I'll ask 'Ali'--the guy who
answeres the phone there on Monday to see.

I just didn't know if it was kinda scammy, you know, nine dolar
radio....twelve dollars shipping.....that's what I was thinking. Did you
get one Dan? How much does she weigh? Or Brenda Ann can answer the
question.

I 'think' I'm leaning to grabbing me one if someone in here can give me a
good 'pitch' on it. ;-)

**like I really need another radio....lol.

--
~*~*~Monitoring the Spectrum~*~*~
***GO BEARCATS***
~*~*~Oct.15th Payback Begins~*~*~*~
~~~Hammarlund129X/140X~~~
**Heathkit Q Multiplier**
GE P-780