Duh! Can i ask what this means on a radio?, page 1

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Topic started on 16-5-2008 @ 11:45 PM by dgtempe

I know, i think its self explanatory, but i'm not sure.

I went to a yaaad sale and got myself a very nice portable radio-Its called a Superadio. Its a GE product and it cost me $1. Plays beautiful, (I have a thing for radio) the more the better, but this one says: LONG RANGE and it also says HIGH SELECTIVITY.

Does that mean its Short Wave? I know its stupid. I dont see any SW stations on it or anything like that.

So is it just a plain old radio, or will i get more stations on this thing than on my other ones?

reply posted on 17-5-2008 @ 12:21 AM by spacedoubt

Hi DG,

Selectivity means you will have less of a chance of other adjacent channels bleeding into the one that you actually have tuned in. So you'll hear just what you want. Rock on!

This can be on any type of radio.

[edit on 17-5-2008 by spacedoubt]

reply posted on 17-5-2008 @ 12:26 AM by dgtempe

Cool, knew i could count on you!

Just sent you a u2u.

Have a good night.

reply posted on 17-5-2008 @ 12:29 AM by kinglizard

Originally posted by dgtempe
but this one says: LONG RANGE and it also says

It's probably the AM Sensitivity. Switch. to “LONG RANGE” to enhance signal strength for weak and long distance stations.

That is an awesome adio that is now produced by RCA....heck of a deal.

I have a CCRadio-SW on it's way to my home via UPS and am really excited to get it.

reply posted on 17-5-2008 @ 12:47 AM by dgtempe

reply to post by kinglizard

I'm listening to Coast to Coast right now and its awesome!

Get outta here! You're getting my dream radio????

Please let me know how you like it. I'd like to get one.

Enjoy it

reply posted on 17-5-2008 @ 10:38 AM by kinglizard

For sure I will DG. It arrives Monday so I will have some impressions by Tuesday. I get terrible AM reception so I hope the internal twin ferrite antenna does the trick. If not I will be adding This to the setup.

reply posted on 18-5-2008 @ 10:17 PM by Deson

(Thinks about his rather odd radio)

Got an unusual one myself. It's a Zenith Transoceanic. Black with a gold front. Vacuum tube monstrosity. I'd estimate 50's construction. AM with several bands of shortwave. Works too. Mine has not only 2 antennas on it but a removable AM antenna with suction cups.
Leave it to me to have something that's just plain odd.

Typically though I listen now to the radio using my computer and a TV/Radio card. Friends look at me wierd when they see a computer with a set of rabbit ears.

[edit on 18-5-2008 by Deson]

reply posted on 19-5-2008 @ 01:06 AM by dgtempe

That ^ radio sounds like it could be worth $$$

I love my "war" room. I have many radios, computer, lots of electonics and i want a Ham radio and a shortwave radio very badly!!

This is about the manliest hobby i have but i love it!!!

reply posted on 19-5-2008 @ 08:56 AM by Deson

In all honesty, I've never checked out how much it would go for. Bascily I worked at a store similar to Goodwill in operation and I worked in the electronics testing area. So I encountered many a strange device on my workbench. One day that radio was donated and I got it working and proceeded to buy it. I have a collection of very strange items that I gathered. As a friend of mine put it "weird calls to weird."

reply posted on 19-5-2008 @ 07:54 PM by kinglizard

dgtempe I promised I would let you know what I thought about my new radio when I got it so here are my thoughts after 2 hours of ownership.

Initial impressions of the CCRadio-SW AM/FM/Shortwave Radio:

The radio is built like a tank. The fit and finish is as good as I've seen in any electronic device. Its got a decent weight to it, and has about a 4 foot whip antenna for FM and shortwave tuning. There are lots of knobs and buttons on the front and sides of the radio. It has a flip up handle on the top that feels fairly sturdy though it is made out of very dense and rigid plastic. When closed it disappears into the body of the radio and can't be seen...a great design.

The tuning knob is really slick. It's got an off center indentation for your fingertip that allows you to rapidly tune the radio with the swirl of your finger. On the left side of the radio it has RCA line out jack's that you can use to hook up to a stereo or computer sound card. This way, you can have true stereo output when listening to FM music stations. As you know, this is a single speaker radio specially tuned to the human voice. I did buy an RCA cable, and attached it to my computer for stereo sound, and it works really nicely though I won't be using it much because the single speaker produces really very good sound when listening to music. What I like about this radio compared to other receivers in it's class is the size of the speaker...it's 5 inches and really can fill a room with sound. Most of the other receivers had 2.5 inch speakers, which would not be very well-suited to listening to music or anything from any distance from the receiver. 2.5 inch speakers are good for traveling radios but I wanted something with decent sound and power.

The radio runs on either 4 AA batteries or 4 D cell batteries. A great feature of this radio is that you can use rechargeables...it even has a setting to charge them inside the radio so you never need to remove them and place them into another charging base. I have low discharge rechargeable NiCad AA and D cells in my radio. A selector switch on the side allows you to switch to either source when not using the plug-in power supply. This way I can deplete the large D cells and still have backup AA to play from. How can you beat that?

The back of the radio has two different connections, one for an AM external antenna and the other for FM...and output for something called 'AM IF Out', I'm not sure what that's for but it has something to do with hooking it up to your computer and using software. I live in the Southwest in a stucco home. Homes that have a stucco exteriors are constructed by first stapling steel mesh panels (chicken wire) to the entire exterior of the home and then covering that with stucco so it sticks. This totally kills a.m. reception and I am no exception. Essentially it turns my entire house into a Faraday cage lol...so I will be purchasing an external twin ferrite antenna that I can mount outside my home, this will give me very crisp a.m. reception. This radio already has an internal ferrite antenna that works unbelievably well. I took it outside, and it delivered very clear, crisp AM sound with no static whatsoever. Unfortunately I live in a stucco house, so it will cost me another hundred dollars to get that type of reception inside.

Anyway I really couldn't be happier with the purchase of this radio.

I LOVE it!!!

[edit on 5/19/2008 by kinglizard]

reply posted on 19-5-2008 @ 10:57 PM by dgtempe

KL, is absolutely beautiful and al those features!!!!! Wow! I definatly know i want one now.
It will take you a few days to sort through every little function, and you'll be even happier then!
Thank you for sharing your new toy with us- if you're like me, i'll be going thru every manual and all the details in the next few days.

AM radio has a wealth of information, great programs, and see if you can find a show called "Lionel" its from New York, and he's an ex prosecutor and he will literally make you laugh so hard!!!

Anyway, enjoy it my friend, and take good care, and thanks for the scoop.

Now i know what i want for Christmas or sooner, i hope.

reply posted on 19-5-2008 @ 11:17 PM by beezwaxes

reply to post by kinglizard

KL,
You'll like that antenna. I use one of them with some of the old tube radios I restore. Reception is tough here by the mountains and it really pulls in the stations.

DG,

You got a heck of a deal on the uber radio. I have one I listen to at work and couldn't be happier with it. I like AM talk too but they sound surprisingly good with music on FM.
There are a lot of options for a sw radio but, if you like the one KL got, it's a good one.

reply posted on 20-5-2008 @ 01:36 AM by kinglizard

beezwaxes,

Do you need to tune the external antenna every time you change to a different AM station?

reply posted on 20-5-2008 @ 02:44 AM by beezwaxes

reply to post by kinglizard

If the station wouldn't come in without the external antenna, yes you do. I can pick up strong stations without it but it sounds like you can't.
It shouldn't be too bad with a digital tuner like you have. If there's a signal strength meter too, -piece of cake.

If I'm trying to pick up a weak station with one of the old radios, I sometimes plug the antenna into my digital stereo tuner with strength meter to get the antenna tuned just right to that station then, switch it back to the oldie that doesn't have such conveniences.

It's all much easier than it sounds. You'll have to fiddle around a little to find the best spot to mount the 'antenna element'(what ccrane calls the outdoor part). A good trick to narrow things down is to walk around with a small portable and see where it plays best.

reply posted on 20-5-2008 @ 03:07 AM by kinglizard

Yeah I can't pickup any AM station from within the house. My radio does have a signal strength meter so I can put that to good use. I've already been scouting good locations for the antenna using my radio so everyone in my neighborhood already thinks I'm crazy....climbing ladders, moving 3 feet and climbing again with radio in hand. lol

Thanks for the guidance bud.