Of the three winners, the SRIII is the most sensitive, has very good
sound,
is noise-free, and is the least expensive, but the radio's display is so
bad
that serious dxing is virtually impossible for me without another radio
nearby to tell me what frequency I'm listening to.

Thanks for the report -- nice job.

I am obviously in the minority on this, but I just cannot for the life of me
see why the Superadio's dial calibration is a big problem for people. You
say that serious DXing is virtually impossible -- why? Hell, I don't even
look at the dial most of the time. I tune in a station, and listen until I
hear a station ID. Even if you have a digital read-out, you still don't
know what station you've got until they identify themselves -- so wait until
they say the frequency. You never have to wait long. A lot of the time,
I'll listen to AM at night without any lights on at all -- doesn't matter
what kind of display I've got, I'll be able to tell what I'm listening to.
I think the Superadio III is a great radio for DXing -- it would still be a
great radio for DXing if it didn't even have a dial.

You're right about the SRIII being fun to listen to. It's a great radio for
nighttime listening. You pick it up, turn it on, and just start tuning. And
you can hear things you're not going to hear on any of your other portables.
Sure it doesn't have a dial light, but if you're just listening and not
being serious about it, then it's a sweet radio.

In my comparison test, the radio's lack of accurate tuning was a significant
problem because I was trying to make a written record of how each radio
performed on every single frequency. And since this radio picked up things
that no other radio was picking up, then I was really having a problem
trying to identify frequencies during its test. For my purposes, digital
tuning would have been an enormous help.

Back in the 70s, my dxing hobby included the component of logging stations
by frequency. All I had back then was analog tuning and nothing to check the
accuracy against other than waiting for a known station to identify itself,
and then try to estimate the frequency of the new station. That was even
tougher back then because you had stations like WLAC calling themselves "15
WLAC" even though they were actually on 1510. Now digital displays are so
common that stations say their real frequency, even on FM. I think it also
helps their arbitron ratings to mention their exact frequency.

In article ,
lsmyer wrote:
Back in the 70s, my dxing hobby included the component of logging stations
by frequency. All I had back then was analog tuning and nothing to check the
accuracy against other than waiting for a known station to identify itself,
and then try to estimate the frequency of the new station. That was even
tougher back then because you had stations like WLAC calling themselves "15
WLAC" even though they were actually on 1510. Now digital displays are so
common that stations say their real frequency, even on FM. I think it also
helps their arbitron ratings to mention their exact frequency.

I think the FCC cracked down on announcments. I used to listen to
a local alternative music station, KJET, who announced themselves as
"sixteen hundred". Then one day, late 1980s, they had a "mark down
sale" and started announcing as KJET 1590.

Mark Zenier Washington State resident

not knowing the frequency you are on is an extremely serious problem in my book



"Brian Running" wrote in message ...
Of the three winners, the SRIII is the most sensitive, has very good
sound,
is noise-free, and is the least expensive, but the radio's display is so
bad
that serious dxing is virtually impossible for me without another radio
nearby to tell me what frequency I'm listening to.

Thanks for the report -- nice job.

I am obviously in the minority on this, but I just cannot for the life of me
see why the Superadio's dial calibration is a big problem for people. You
say that serious DXing is virtually impossible -- why? Hell, I don't even
look at the dial most of the time. I tune in a station, and listen until I
hear a station ID. Even if you have a digital read-out, you still don't
know what station you've got until they identify themselves -- so wait until
they say the frequency. You never have to wait long. A lot of the time,
I'll listen to AM at night without any lights on at all -- doesn't matter
what kind of display I've got, I'll be able to tell what I'm listening to.
I think the Superadio III is a great radio for DXing -- it would still be a
great radio for DXing if it didn't even have a dial.

not knowing the frequency you are on is an extremely serious problem in my
book


I guess that explains why there was no MW DXing in the days before digital
frequency readouts. I knew there had to be one!

thats right, everyone was too busy making charts to figure out where
frequencies were on their dial

if you knew anything about the history of DX'ing you would know
frequency readout WAS a big issue. many articles were written on how
to figure out where you were on your radio dial.

I wouldn't waste my time MW DXing on anything less than an RF-2200

I guess that explains why there was no MW DXing in the days before digital
frequency readouts. I knew there had to be one!

if you knew anything about the history of DX'ing you would know
frequency readout WAS a big issue. many articles were written on how
to figure out where you were on your radio dial.

I only know about my history of DXing, Cap, which goes back to the late
'60s. I'll tell you what, here's how it works for me -- you turn the tuning
knob until you hear a station. Then, some time after that, someone at the
station says, "This is 740, WRPQ, Baraboo" or whatever. There you go! Now,
I admit, this isn't very fussy, or neurotic, or anal-retentive, so it may
not satisfy everyone's needs. But, it's very enjoyable.

I wouldn't waste my time MW DXing on anything less than an RF-2200

You must be a professional DXer. To the majority of the rest of us, who
have jobs, families, lives, etc., MW DXing is how we waste our time.
Deliberately! Imagine!

Honestly, aren't you guys wound a little tight? A radio like the Superadio
III is an extremely enjoyable device to use.

= = = (the captain) wrote in message
= = = . com...
thats right, everyone was too busy making charts to figure out where
frequencies were on their dial

if you knew anything about the history of DX'ing you would know
frequency readout WAS a big issue. many articles were written on how
to figure out where you were on your radio dial.

The Captain,

Doh - It did not take a Rocket Scientist.

You have two strong 'known' AM Radio Stations on the Dial
.... and anything between them was between them [.]

Once you had a Log Book of 50-75 AM Stations IDed on the Dial.
+ Plus a few "By-Frequency" Log Sheets to cover the Dial.

You 'know where you are' On-the-Dial and only have to Listen
to what is out there; to find out "Who Their Are".

A Frequency Counter or Digital Display is NOT Required
to Enjoy Listening to your good old Analog Dial Radio )

DX-Memories of the 1950s and 1960s ~ RHF
..
..

I wouldn't waste my time MW DXing on anything less than an RF-2200

I guess that explains why there was no MW DXing in the days before digital
frequency readouts. I knew there had to be one!

"the captain" wrote in message
om...
thats right, everyone was too busy making charts to figure out where
frequencies were on their dial

if you knew anything about the history of DX'ing you would know
frequency readout WAS a big issue. many articles were written on how
to figure out where you were on your radio dial.

I wouldn't waste my time MW DXing on anything less than an RF-2200


It is hard. Counting up or down in 10 kHz steps from a known station!
After the death of Einstein back in the fifties, lesser scientists had to
scramble to develop the digital readout. Even radios which supposedly had
well marked frequency divisions would only mark every 20 kHz on half the
dial! 20 kHz!! How could anybody ever figure where 1210 kHz was supposed
to be? Figuring that out is even harder to figure out than a killfile!!!

Frank Dresser

"Brian Running" wrote in message You

Hell, I don't eeven look at the dial most of the time. I tune
in a station, and listen until I hear a station ID.

Okay, you can randomly DX, Have fun trying to find a particular station.