"Telamon" wrote...
"Sean Chercover" wrote:

I've got a Grundig Yacht Boy 400. I got it in 1994, to replace an
analogue
Grundig (can't remember the model name). I had no complaints with the
Grundigs when I lived in South Carolina, or in New Orleans. But I'm now
in
downtown Toronto, which is not a great place to pick up radio signals.
And
the 400 just doesn't seem to perform as well as it used to and the
antenna
is coming loose and it seems like time to find a new radio. I'm now
looking
to move to a Sony SW77 (if I can find a good used one at the right
price) or
perhaps a 7600GR (if I can't get the SW77).

You are further north where signals are weaker than southern US. Some of
the daytime signals you listened to are going to be weaker but night
time should still be as good.

*** Yeah, reception here sure ain't what it was down south. But I think my
radio is also starting to die. Performance has definitely deteriorated in
the last year.


The Sony 7600GR is not going to be the huge step up you probably want.
The synchronous detection will help but it does not work well on weak
signals. It does have a USB / LSB switch but you still need to tune a
clarifier knob.

*** Thank you. That is exactly my concern. I don't want to shell out for
the 7600GR and then find myself wishing I'd taken the leap to an SW77. I
assume that the synchronous detection will offer somewhat better results
than I get with the YB400. But there are drawbacks...the inferior speaker,
the missing band display and LCD singal strength meter, the missing clock
display when the radio is on. These things will probably bug me.

I'm a program listener too. You should be able to get radio netherlands
from the Antilles @ 19:00 UTC, Sat and Sun on 17725 (listed) but they
seem to be on 17735 or 15315. They are also on 17660 at that time but I
don't know where that transmitter is located.

*** Thanks very much for that...I'll listen for them.

My wife
bought me their Justice antenna, and that helps some, but I'm still not
thrilled with the results.

I don't know much about that antenna but have you tried a tuned loop
like the Select - a - Tenna. They have good nulls. This may not be the
best advice, others in the group DX BCB may have better suggestions.

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/mwant/4316.html

*** Actually, I wanted a Select-a-Tenna, but the Justice was a gift from my
wife, so what the hell. It does help, but it isn't the magic bullet that
the C.Crane catalog hypes it as. I was also looking at the Kiwa Loop, but
it ain't cheap, and I'm not sure how to separate they hype from the reality.

I've heard folks say
the 7600GR has bad sound. Since I often listen with my wife, I'm not
going
to be using headphones most of the time.

Make a patch cord from the radio to a stereo to overcome the small
speaker in the portable case.

*** I was thinking about that. The 7600GR has audio out, so that could help
a lot. But the best reception I get is when I'm away from Toronto, so I
want to be able to listen for extended periods through the internal speaker,
as well. Maybe it isn't as bad as some folks say. But I do like the sound
of my Grundig. I'll have to test-drive the 7600GR at the store and see if I
can tell how much the inferior sound will bother me.

Thanks again for your feedback. Much appreciated.

Best,
Sean