Gary, thanks for your enthusiasm and for educating us on the latest amazing teeny weeny radio technology. I'd like to pipe in because this has been a fun dialog and has prompted me to buy a few early Christmas gifts for myself, including an SRF-59, M37, Olympus WS300M recorder, and a CCrane twin coil ferrite loop antennna, to supplement the Sangean DT210V and Sangean DT300 already in the baby RX-stable.
I've been impressed with the '210 and the '300 over the last couple of years, using them for ultra-lite DXing on my motorcycle tours. Of the mini-rigs, the two tops in sensitivity for me were the '59 and the '210; as such, I'll be commenting on those two only. Overall, with no external antenna, testing with fringe daytimers the winner in the sensitivity department has consistently been the '210, with the '59 down a couple ticks behind it. When listening last night, WBAP was clearly heard on both radios but in the deep fades, the '59 lost signal first and recovered it last. These radios really shine with a little help in the ferrite department, to the point of amazement; surpassing my 25 year old Super Radio II in overall sensitivity and selectivity and giving my Kenwood R2000 a run for its money. Lay the little radios on the ferrite pick-up and it's a whole different ballgame. Twist the knob on CC tuner and the frequency absolutely comes alive - these are real signals, not images. Now, I live quite a distance from any of the Boise locals (20+ miles) so your mileage may vary...but rest assured that you will hear serious domestic DX. The '59 is susceptable to overload when peaking the CC antenna - but, in fact, I've been unable to overload the front-end on the '210V. Pure signal. The Sangean DT210V is actually less susceptable to front-end overload than my Kenwood R2000. In terms of selectivity, the Q of the CC antenna is sharp enough to tighten up the desired listening frequency on both the '59 and the '210. Adjust the direction of the antenna element to null and peak as desired. I would love to test these rigs on the coast, especially with the '210's 9kc digital tuning. Alas, I have learned that my qth (at 3200 feet, with a 5200 foot mountain on the west side of my house) is not good at all for TP's...sigh. Unfortunately, I get audible TP signals only a handful of times a year. So, thank you Gary for piquing my interest, adding to my radio collection with modest $$ output, and enlightening me of the possibilities of UL-DXing. I am really looking forward to reading your Round Two of the mighty-mite shootout. And to all, have a very Merry Christmas, and may '08 bring you that exotic DX catch; be it domestic or from another corner of the world. 73, Bruce Bacon N7BWB Boise County, ID > Sony's phenomenal 30-pin CXA1129N IC, the heart of the > SRF-59, is deeply praised by the Chinese PhD rocket scientist > Dr. Xin Feng on his _http://www.fixup.net_ > (http://www.fixup.net) web site. Those who dismiss pocket > radios as inferior toys are in for a huge shock if they try > out this radio...it is fully capable of almost any DX task > you choose to give it! Superlative IC's have finally made > the tiny pocket radio able to not only compete, but win. > between Sony and Sangean has brought about a true revolution > in pocket radio performance, and a true revolution in > Ultralight DXer fun! > > If you have a little pocket change and a little spare > time, why not order one, and get in on the fun? _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list IRCA@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: irca@hard-core-dx.com