I just received my Ccrane catalog and they have a new pocket radio, a Sangean DT180V Pocket radio. AM/FM/TV Digital radio. Weight 1.7 oz.

Looks pretty nice. $59

Dan

>>>"Has anyone tried the XM/Delphi MyFi portable satellite radio on the trail?"<<<

I have the same radio, and yes it does have similar issues as GPS units. If the overhead cover is thick, you will likely have difficulty getting a signal.

Dan said: "I just received my Ccrane catalog and they have a new pocket radio, a Sangean DT180V Pocket radio. AM/FM/TV Digital radio. Weight 1.7 oz.
Looks pretty nice. $59"

It's not on Sangean's web site-- too new I guess. Either way, it looks good for AM/FM. I like the one AAA battery setup. I have several AAA devices and it makes it easy to swap spares or prioritize if you really run low.

With all these headphone-type radios, the headphones you use can make a difference in reception-- experiment if you have others around the house.

I did notice there are other suppliers with prices more in the $44 range. J&R is taking pre-orders on a white version that will be released soon-- we must have our electronic jewelry, eh? :)
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4098946

Edited by dwambaugh on 05/16/2006 10:56:11 MDT.

I ordered a County Comm GP-4L from Universal Radio and it arrived today. For $22, it's a keeper. It is easy to set up the clock and alarm. Tuning is accurate (the LCD reads close to the broadcast frequency). Reception is good. The speaker is so-so --- about what I expected. The earbud headphones are a throw-away-- use a pair from one of your other noisemakers. I guess you could keep them for a back-up-- they do work.

So, it is light, small, cheap, recieves well, will wake you up in the morning, pulls in international broadcasts, runs on AA batteries (reports are good on battery usage)and it will light up your tent with an LED bright enough to read by. I like the Spartan design-- does exactly what it needs to do and not a thing more. Kinda retro -- like an AM/FM/SW Coleman stove :)

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/0247.html

I believe the Sinclair AM radios are the lightest, though I can't remember how much mine weighs. (.25oz??)
They don't market the FM anymore, but you may find one used.


http://www.sinclair-research.co.uk/products.php?p=74c527

Trying to bring this thread back alive for a moment to ask:

ANYTHING NEW ON THE UL FM RADIO FRONT?

(I'm looking for a tiny receiver to keep me company on the A.T. this year. Thoughts?)



THANKS -- ED

Edited by edbarkowski on 03/20/2010 10:42:56 MDT.

I have the predecessor to this radio. Not tiny exactly, but plenty small and very lightweight. Well made. Great reception. Bonus for backpacking is the ability to receive NOAA weather radio broadcasts. AM is nice option too. At night you can pick up AM stations from hundreds of miles away. Great way to relax in the tent in the evening.

G

Edited by swearingen on 03/19/2010 09:27:50 MDT.

I use one of the Nike/Philips armband radios-- toss the armband and use generic earbuds. 2.1oz with one AAA battery.

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Nike-PSA110-Armband-Radio/dp/B0002L59BW

I think the trend is towards MP3 players with FM radio built in. The challenge is finding a good one that takes AAA batteries. If you can live with the duration of rechargeable batteries, the selection is huge. None will receive like a pocket portable with a telescoping antenna. They are tiny and most aren't very expensive.

I haven't tried this one, but the specs are representative:
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/950166/Kanguru-Micro-MP3-digital-player-radio/

Any small, light NWS receivers out there with AM/FM/SW?

I am also in the hunt for a lightweight am/fm radio.

The sangean SR-2 looks promising. Anybody ever try it?

Where I live, most daytime talk radio is on AM, just wondering if it is the same on the west coast? I am going to be on the pct this summer, would like to listen to some talk radio, and maybe get some weather predictions.

I'll throw another vote toward a Sangean am/fm/wx radio. I have the older version and it has held up well. Mine is used most often to check weather forecasts on multi-week kayak trips in order to save the battery on our hand-held VHFs for emergencies. It also allows for late night listening to all of the stations most of you can pull in during the day. On occasion we can pick up a Japanese AM station as well. Nothing like listening to Coast to Coast under a tarp in the forest.

Joseph,

What is the battery life like on the model you use?

On their product sheet, there is only one pocket radio with weather channels: the DT400W. Did you have the earlier version of this model?

I also love listening to coast to coast, though it is midnight by the time we get it here in the central time zone.

Edited by blastreach on 03/19/2010 17:14:04 MDT.

Blair,

Battery life is very good. I don't think I've changed it in a couple of years -- it accepts lithiums. Mine is an earlier model, but I recall a similar thread to this some time ago and the person who originally posted ended up buying the newer version. He had a similar experience with reception and battery life; very positive. The version I have also has an alarm and a fool proof locking switch.

Reception is a bit weak for NOAA WX without an extension on the short plug in antennae, I add a few feet of wire and hook it to a tree.

Coast to Coast comes on in southeast Alaska around 9 pm. Interesting article about the program in the Atlantic Monthly in January or February.

Anyone have notes on the Sony SRF-S84?

Wow-- that is tiny!

Online reviews are mostly good and many brags on distant reception. Bears a good look! Price is a little steep, but I'm CHEAP :)

I am in the market and just wondering if any one else have a light wieght radio they would like to share.

Ended up buying the Sony SRF-S84 and really, really like it. Tiny, great reception, incredibly long battery life (on one aaa), well-built, trusted name, etc. I'd buy another. Hiking the A.T. with it, and have about 30 days of use thus far. Grab one on eBay for about $30...

Ditto on the SRF-S84. Comes in at 2.1oz with battery and earbud headphones. It is not as small as I imagined from the photos-- not that it is "big" in any stretch of the imagination: 3-1/8" tall x 1-9/16" wide and 9/16' thick (minus the pocket clip). Analog tuning has excellent discrimination, low noise on AM, can be switched mono/stereo on FM (helps weak signals), bass boost is modest, positive power switch (slides).

Paid $33.99 including shipping on 5/27 to http://myworld.ebay.com/ecbuy_shop/ (in China) and it arrived well packed 6/3. Couldn't be happier!

I was already ordering some other stuff from them so I decided to try it out the County Comm GP-4L. I will post later with a small review. Thanks

Mine just arrived Monday.

Last night I had my collection of weather radios down by the river and tried them all.

Only two were able to obtain out of area NOAA weather broadcasts. My Oregon Scientific WR103, a five year old weather only model that was my best, and the DT400w AM/FM/WX.

The WR103 pulled in two out of area (Davenport IA) stations, Burlington IA and Peoria IL. The DT400w pulled in those two, and half pulled in an additional Northern IA station.

The DT400w needed either the headphones plugged in to act as an antenna or the included short wire antenna. The out of area reception was thin to none without the added antenna.

I used to own a Sony armband AM/FM/WX unit, but found the WX performance lacking when out of urban areas by 20 to 30 miles. In the same locations, the WR103 pulled in 3 or more NOAA stations.

The Sangean looks like a keeper.