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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from Milwaukee, WI on 10/2/2008
I bought the product to replace a previous radioshack shortwave radio and this radio really dissappointed. It has poor sound quality and could not pick up local stations even at home. I would recommend a different radio.
I bought this radio to replace an old battery powered AM/FM radio that died. I thought for the price, the addition of SW would be interesting. I was wrong. For AM/FM, the reception is what I expected, and it picks up the local stations that I listen to anyway. For SW use, however, it really disappoints. I cannot receive ANY SW broadcasts, and I've got tons of lists of SW stations that I have been trying to tune in to both day and night for the last several days, all to no avail. I'll keep it, just for the AM/FM, but if you're looking for something to allow you to listen to SW broadcasts, look somewhere else.
I bought this to be to experment with listening to the SW band. It can not pick up even local bands and when switched to pick up long distance ones a ton of FM and AM bands bleed through to the SW band. I tried several tricks to help and it only made the bleed through WORSE. DO NOT BUY FOR SW BAND. Your better off saving your nickels and dimes and buying a quality SW receiver or a radio/receiver dedicated to SW radio.
from Sacramento, CA on 6/15/2008
As I stated, the only drawback is the digital tuning, like jumping from 14.000 to 14.005 in 5kHz increments. I can not tune a Ham station running on say 14.003 MHz and what not. Otherwise it has an excellent oscillator and doesnt drift. Frequencies remain stable. THAT IS A PLUS IN MY HAM RADIO WORK!
Receiver sensitivity is fair to poor at best. I do a lot of WWV work and was hoping a smaller shortwave radio would be a easier to use. The price was decent, but it has an extraordinary amount of hiss and hum and the tone control does nothing to help. Sorry and disappointed in the purchase and our local store is a chore to work with on returns. Should have probably kept with a name brand for my purchase instead the house brand. :(
I HAVE TWO ONE ONE A MY BEDSIDE WITH EAR PHONES USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH SATELLITE RADIO AND ONE IN THE DRESSING ROOM TO KEEP ABREAST OF THE EARLY MORNING TALK SHOWS FOR THE PRICE IT COMPARES FAVORABLY WITH ALL THE HIGHEND RADIOS
I purchased this radio a week ago, with a gift cheque I received from a friend. Since I own a pretty good scanner, I felt it would be a good idea to pick up a radio with solid SW capabilities. Certainly, you can spend a lot more for radios that have more options and reception quality. However, this radio is a good buy for someone who wants to make a safe purchase and be satisfied with the basic performance of a DXing product. Tuning is easy for SW use, and the range is pretty good (2-26.5 mghz). Operates on three AA batteries, and you can purchase (separately) a 6V AC converter for home use. You can preset favorite SW, or FM, or AM stations. The reception is decent, and the sound quality is fair to good, depending on the strength of signal. I recommend this product, since it is made by a company that specializes radios, and you will always have a use for it (has alarm, clock, and other basic features of a normal radio). Antenna seems to perform well in receiving strong and somewhat weak signals.
The features are nice but I have returned it too many times. The one I have now is starting to act up and I may just return it again.
from Islip, NY on 10/2/2007
Additional drawbacks:- Sensitivity and selectivity are only fair on this radio. As a result, it will pull in the stronger stations well, but it struggles with weaker ones.- Adjacent channel rejection is poor to fair, due to its single-conversion circuitry.- Single bandwidth setting is too wide (this also hurts adjacent channel rejection)- The tone control is useless. On High, too much hiss is heard.- Two clocks are nice, but they should be in 24-hr format to allow one to display UTC.- Sound quality is only fair, no low end bass.- Lock switch does not lock the backlight.On the plus side:- Easy to use- 30 presets (10 for each of AM/FM/SW)- One continuous shortwave band provides excellent coverage from 120 metres down to 13 meters- Good backlight, easy to read display- SW band button makes traversing bands easier- Very solid construction- Telephone-style keypadOverall assessment:A fair model, but you can do better. Radio Shack's 20-115 (Grundig Mini 300) has better sensitivity and selectivity, is shirt-pocket sized, has better sound quality, and costs [$] less.If you need the extra frills, though, this model is passable.
[1 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
from Wichita Kansas on 8/17/2007
great performance radio the reception on this radio is excellent.
[2 of 2 customers found this review helpful]
This is an excellent portable radio, stations don't drift or fade in my area , it has great sound for it's size, controls are easy to use and they can be locked when you carry it around. Now about the sound, I am deaf in one ear and have a hearing aid in the other and I can understand just what is being said and the music. so as I said you won't be disappointed. (no, I don't work for Radio Shack)