RadioBanter - Review: $19.99 Coby CX-CB91

In the previous Heartland America catalog, I saw this AM-FM-SW radio. It had a
real tuning knob, so I had to have it. It's the same size as the popular jWIN.

Well, it didn't exactly work properly right out of the bubble pack. The volume
control circuit is open. Volume goes from nothing at the minimum setting to
wide open the rest of the way.

Tuning is very stiff, so much so that I had a tendency to overshoot the desired
frequency due to the force I had to put on it. Too, it was hard to tell when
the mechanical limits were reached. (I was afraid of breaking something.) The
digitally displayed frequency seems accurate, though. But it has some
deficiencies, too.

Although the tuning goes 100-200 kHz past the posted SW ranges, it doesn't
cover the 6, 12, and 17 MHz bands. Here are the posted SW bands:

5.60-5.80
7.15-7.40
8.60-9.10
9.85-10.65
13.35-16.05*
15.15-16.40*
20.85-23.20
* Note the overlaps.

The sensitivity seemed comparable to that of my Grundig eTR7. And AM & FM
worked well. Oh, and the stereo ear buds that came with it may be better than
those that came with the eTR7. G

A trivial thing, but the volume control was marked with an OFF position, and
that was what is referenced in the operating instructions. But the actual ON
and OFF are two front panel buttons.

I'd send it back to Coby in NY for the warranted repair or replacement, but I'd
be obligated to pay the shipping cost both ways. Nuts to that for this cheapie.
I'll just repair it someday and maybe loosen up the tuning, too.

All of the above considered, I don't recommend buying it, should it show up
somewhere else, mainly because of the poor SW band coverage.

In the same catalog was a factory refurbished YB-300 for $49.99 after $10
mail-in rebate (I hate those).

Neither of these receivers are in the newest catalog. Instead are a YB-400 for
$99.99 after $20 mail-in rebate and a Sat-800 for $349.99 (no rebate), both
factory refurbished.

Bill, K5BY