HD Radio Update

Not too much to say...

--->HD FM is as great as ever here,
with some good 2nd channels,
and a really nice NPR station
that has classical / NPR / BBC audio
usually, on 3 chaanels for one.

No peculiar interference noticed at all.
Of course the non-HD radios have decent
IC front ends, from the $10 Sony Pocket AM/FM
to the $15 Radio Shack AM/FM and the
amazing Sony ICF-38 AM/FM ($25).

---> HD AM: I still get 1010 WNDS NYNY
with 1030 WBZ Boston booming its HD, maybe
a few minutes later into sundown before
it becomes clear. As for getting the WBZ HD
lock, that comes and goes, and when the extra
fidelity kicks in, it's kind of un-nerving...
..the people all sound different.
HD AM is a definite non-event. They should have
used the extra information for extra range..
...now THAT would be fantastic, and actually
revive AM. As it is, the noise around home and
office is so bad it limits AM's use. I love getting
information, though. Bloomberg 1130 is fantastic
to tune at night to make sense of this recession.

How to tune a cheap pocket radio

If you are not familiar with fine-tuning
a cheaper radio, here is the
"finger-tweezers" technique:

---press your thumb and forefinger together
as though you were pinching or making
tweezers

--put the thumb on the radio case and the
finger on the tuning wheel

--as you roll your thumb and finger
together and apart, you can tune
tiny increments of the dial

---that's it, a fine-tuning mechanism for
little analog radios

The Radio Shack AM/FM Pocket radio

I bought the Radio Shack Model 12-467 radio
on sale for 9.99 (usually 14.99, I hope this
wasn't a clearance), and it is a great deal.

--sensitivity is very good
--selectivity very good
--the sound is clear and loud on speaker
--and headphone sound is excellent, with
good bass


Compared to Sony's pocket radio (hailed below),

--the tuning isn't quite as smooth (but still good)

--not quite as sensitive

--a bit more noise-immune

--the headphone drive is proper!!
(drives mono signal across both left and right)

--the headphone level is workable
(has to have a headphone attenuator in the Sony)

--the power supply is slightly odd
(3xAA, instead of 2 AAs)

The build quality and solidness is up there
with the Sony. The size is almost the same
(a bit clunky for a shirt-pocket).

This is a great little radio, if you happen by
a Radio Shack.

Vextra VX2093

Another in my cheap-o radio review series.

Got it at Rite-Aid pharmacy for $9.95.

FM:
-sensitivity: fair at low end, ~OK across the rest of the band
-selectivity: poor but predictable..captured by strong stations,
and it goes catch a good number
--tuning: tweaky. You have to understand you will get 3 hits
on a station (the discriminator curve) and park it in the middle.
..it's workable, though

AM:
--a lot like FM..OK sensitivity, wide selectivity..
some stations lost to locals. Tunes very nicely though
--the reception washes out above 1300 khz, though..

Audio:
---not much low freq. at all
---very clear high end
---the cheap headphones are surprisingly good for AM
---the speaker is loud but really tinny
---the headphone jack pushes mono in both L and R of
headphones: excellent compromise

Overall, the tuning is nowhere near like the pocket radio
Sony ICF-S10MK2. The Sony is way ahead, for $10.
And if you use a mono adaptor and attenuator headphones,
the Sony has way better fidelity.

But...the headphone jack on this hooks up properly,
and the volume does not blast headphones like
with the Sony. For local AM and FM, and walking
around, this is OK. Just don't expect much for
rural service or late night AM-DX.

the Craig shower radio

Since there aren't many easily bought radios out
there in the stores these days, and since CVS had
the Craig "AM/FM splashproof shower radio"
on sale for $6.50 (down from $13), I figured I
would do a review of this cheapie
(Craig model csr1301). Quick take:

AM:
--OK sensitivity (not super) across the whole band
--tuning is a bit tricky, but the damping of the water
seal gives it good stability when you take your hand off
--selectivity was good..I could seperate NYNY 1010 WNDS
from 1030 WBZ (much closer, same direction) no problem
--sensitivity: fair to good. Gets all the locals fine, but barely
gets the local-tiny stations. The $10 Sony pocket unit
is much better (though, it's better than scads of radios
under $50 on AM)
---house noise: strangely, not trounced by dimmers and
CFL lights as badly as others....not bad at all!

FM:
--almost pointless below 92 FM. Got 1 out of 6 usuals.
--92-108 FM: sensitivity fair-good, selectivity bad
--drift: a bit squirrely

Audio:
--loud
--clear
--midrange only
--honky tone when cranked

If you want AM news in Suburbia, in the shower this is a good radio.
Otherwise, it's OK for the price (shower-proofing is
worth something), but you get what you pay for.
If you have strong local FM and aren't picky about station,
you can get some toons.

Summary: Good AM...otherwise, issues, especially if you live
in weaker signal zones.

little ideas

reducing sound through windows:

---double-glazed helps

---triple glazong adds very little extra suppression

---another layer 4 inches away helps a lot though

---layers that are different weight densities help a lot
(glass 1/8" and acrylic 1/8" <---1/2 the weight dens)
(glass 1/8" and glass 1/4" <----twice density)

---for low frequencies (truck rumbling, etc)
seal window well

little ideas

approx. energy in different batteries:

(radio shack alkaline, 2002)

aaa 1100 mAH

aa 2500 mAH

C 7100 mAH

D 14,300 mAH

9v (aaaa cells) 600 mAH

little ideas

How you can rank job opportunities...
add up scores of estimates in:

---compensation (pay/bonus/etc)

--location

---environment (people, office, etc)

---benefits

---skill growth

---interesting work topics

little ideas

business plans:
your average entrepreneur needs a 'business plan'
to get going. handy for thinking about projects too
very nutshell:

1) summary:
--bus. description (location/product/market,competition/mgmt)
--goals
--financial needs
--earnings predictions

2) market analysis (market/competition)

3) product (descrip / proprietary edge / comparison)

4) marketing strategy (overall, methods, pricing)

5) management plans (org chart, board, resumes, key people)

6) financial data
--personal
--2-year projection
--sources, sinks

little ideas

I made a headphone amp that runs off a 9-v battery
and powers stereo headphones off stereo line-level
cords. Each channel is like this, as you go through it:

---a 100K ohm volume ctl on the input
(center wiper goes to input)

---a 50 uF input capacitor (10 would be OK)

---the base of a 2n2222 transistor is biased via
9v----20k-ohm---(base)---20k-ohm---gnd
(the capacitor feeds into it as well)

---the emitter goes to ground through 100 ohms

---the collector is fed by 9v through 33 ohms

---the emitter is tapped through 200uF for output to
headphone channel

Very smooth glassy-clear sound. You can put the output
of a little walkman phone plug through, and the bass will
open way up.

----------------------------------------------------


The best deal in audiophile super-fidelity
headphones is Grado SR-60s at about $70

updates on items

---->The Sony ICF-38 now gets toted around the house,
on walks, and is used without a loop for AM-DX (BC-DX)
at night. The selectivity works wickedly well with fingernail
tuning. A great one. Might buy one for the parents' camp.

---> The 1-turn (10 ft dia.) AM loop hanging from the house
didn't work out. Too close to all the awful static from PCs,
washing machine, dimmer, CFL lights, etc...
Next try will have to be 15+ feet away.

The Sony ICF-38

Sony just plain rocks. The ICF-S10MK2
was a surprise for a $10 pocket radio, but
you need more speaker and efficieny for
a room-filler or worksite radio:

The Sony ICF-38 is a great portable radio.
It's a handled portable, AM/FM,
AC or DC power, up to 80 hours
on a set of aa batts, and it has a great
speaker on it...not much bass, but very
efficient,loud, and clear. Enough high bass
for good music and excellent voice.

But, how does it tune?

FM: the AFC is always on and a bit annoying,
but you can still smidge the excellent tuning
for a near full set of stations. Sensitivity
is excellent, selectivity is very good.

AM: sensitivity is very good, but the selectivity.
...that's excellent? With a careful finger I
can very easily pull apart
1010-WNDS(nyny), 1030-WBZ(boston), 1060-(business, Bos)
980(Lowell), 1090-WILD(medford)
This thing will get 740-WJIB even when the pocket Sony
Walkman radios can't.....and that says a lot!


Again, like the pocket $10 sony, I had to use the
mono-to-stereo plug for headphones. But that
sound was really super.

This is a very efficient and loud AM/FM portable,
great for taking your show around the house with
you, bringing on weekends. And the tuners
are great.
The famous GE Superadio-III is gone now.
This is a wonderful replacement.
The biggest thrill of all? This thing is only $25-30!

With all the FM stations, AM low-pow and DX fun,
super price, and portablity.....who needs satellite?
(and those monthly fees, ugh).

Best wishes to Sony, and thanks for staying in the game.
They stripped the TV-audio(which is dieing) and the weather
from the $60 ICF-36, but this has AM/FM that is still hot.
If you still make a profit, the ICF-38 was a brilliant move
to less-is-more. Long may it run, I hope.

listening post

A great AM listening post.

-----------
Wooden tripod table
--------
In the backyard, so the noise is radically
reduced compared to in the house.
--------
Terk AM Advantage loop
-------
Sony SRF -M37V digital am/fm/weather/tv
Walkman.
-------
headphones, recorder, attenuator
patchcord
--------
Great for sniffing out those little locals
with niche music.

I'm checking out AM 740 WJIB Cambridge, MA now, lost to noise inside the house.
(big band and crooners) Sounds beautiful outside.

Next up is AM 1090 WILD, a low-power R+B station in Medford MA.

The Grundig Mini 300

Well, curiosity got the better of me and I
bought that ubiquitous Grundig mini 300 radio.
It tested well in a Radio Shack parking lot,
so what the hey..

I love the manual tuning with digital readout.
The speed is much better than digital, and the
noise is lower than it would be as a cheap PLL.

True stereo comes out the headphone jack...great!

I tried a mini 300 3-4 yrs ago and was not impressed
at all. But this is a different beast.

FM: high sensitivity, but there is overloading and
worse sensitivity from 88-90 MHz. Pushing the
antenna down clobbers things. Pushing it partway
down and pointing it around works wonders.
The tuning is a little touchy. The fidelity is very
good, but oddly crunchy sometimes. It seems
the bass causes intermod. distortions when it's
heavy. Not too bad though. This is a great rural
FM radio, and a good suburban or urban, if you
diddle the antenna about. Think horizontal.

AM: Very good sensitivity at long range, very
nice sound, selectivity a bit wide, but tuning
feels nice and smooth for this band. Note:
for low-power daytime AM, lift the whip:
it is used, and really fills in those weak ones
nearby! Good nulling at night, but remember
to tuck the whip antenna down.
Hooking up a 12 ft wire antenna washed in a lot
of shortwave image noise. Don't bother with that
for AM. Would be great with a tuned loop, of course.
Anything with quick tuning would.

Shortwave: This is where the tuning spread, the
squared-off selectivity, and a resistance to swamping
really make for a wonderful tuning experience, a lot
like the pocket 9-band Sony I had once. Really awesome.
Clipping on a 12-ft indoor wire helped a lot above
10 MHz. No swamping. Some swamping with a 50ft
outdoor antenna, but it will depend on the night.
Extraordinary compared to its grungy performance
3 yrs ago. Fairly amazing for the price.

Features:
--It has a clock, and wake-to-music alarm.
Since the controls are as solid and simple
as the S350, I would trust and enjoy this
for travel alarm use. The speaker has no
bass, obviously, but it very loud and clear.
Gramps would have no problem listening
to the ball game. The earbuds that come
with it are not much on the low end,
but are smooth and have an easy high-end
rolloff....very low-fatigue, especially for
AM and SW.

Overall, this is a sweet radio for $30, and
very solid. The AM is very nice and sensitive,
The FM is mashed and touchy but curable
at the low end, the FM fidelity is good and stereo,
and the shortwave is super for a pocket radio.
Gotta love that quick tuning and low noise.

Thumbs up!

Take care of your radio

So many cheap consumer electronics
that go bad sitting around out there.
Here are my top recommendations
for making your radio last:

---Remove batteries when you set aside.
     Batteries still  ooze caustics sometimes
    when they get old.

---Wrap the radio in a plastic  bag!
     Dust makes that volume control
    crunchiness, and can wipe out
    the carbon film of the volume control

---Keep it cool and dry if you can.
     Capacitors inside have a lifetime.
     Hot attics can kill.  Room temp is good.
     A cool basement, if the humidity is
    not high, will make things age slower.

---don't buy speakers with foam
    surrounds around the cones.  Foam
   rot wrecks speakers.  Some are
   still made with weak coated porous foam.
  

more on untuned loops

Untuned loops like to be large single turn things.

I taped two 4 ft long fiberglass driveway marker rods
for a 7 foot span last night and draped wire off the ends.

A 2 turn, 3inch diameter coil was wound onto one side,
to couple to the pocket radio.

The reception boost was fantastic.
3-4 turns on a 24inch square were not even close.

It's awkward to find supports and clearance, but ~18 ft
of wire straight across a 7 ft top boom, hanging down
(with the mentioned coupler to radio) is a fantastic
BCDX loop antenna. It would make a great thing to
take camping away from houses and wiring, since
it packs up into a hand-reel (of 22ga) of wire, some
tape, and two fiberglass rods. You could kite-string it
from a tree and tune the continent for $5-10, plus
a pocket radio like the $10 Sony.

The Untuned Loop

Here is a gadget I have seen scarcely covered
elsewhere: the

AM DXers are all familiar with the tuned loops
you can use to boost range. But we are all familiar
also with the constant tweaking and tuning of the loop.

A few years ago, I make an untuned loop and had a good
time tuning it day and night times, up in the mountains
of Maine. So this time, I brought my plain Sony ICF-S10MK2
pocket AM/FM radio, and parts for the loop.

OK...how you make one: you make a big rough single loop
of wire (clipped to itself at the end) on a dining table, hanging
to the floor. You wrap a coupling loop (3-4in. diameter)
around a hand and twist-tie it together. Then you slip
it beret-style over the top side of the radio, and tune away.

Results were a fair boost at night, and a big gain in qty.
of stations in daytime. Going bigger gives major improvement
though. In order to do that, you need a loop "top frame" bigger
than a dining table. Two 4-ft dowels lashed helps. Going from
5 feet to 8 feet, and 13 feet total wire to 20 feet, really brings
the signal in. An excellent untuned loop would be an X-shape
with maybe 4-foot spokes stuck in a drilled block, and wire
taped or eye-hooked out at the ends.

The untuned loop is a little combersome, but I love not
having to fiddle and tune it.

Featured: WILD

WILD, 1090 AM

This is a classic R&B station
(plus R&B done in the classic style)
in Boston, Mass.

Goodreception on the mid-day,
great tunes. They have Af-Am call-in shows and
motivational personalities.
They get fadey before the night regime.
Strength is good, but sometimes fair, in day time.
Not too workable in Wilmington at night, unfortunately.

I love the sound of music on the AM. Deep round sound,
and nostalgic effects. It's pretty rare though.
A shout-out to WILD for bringing rhythm to the Bean.

Super accesory!

I took a chance on an accesory for the
Sony ICF-S10MK2.

I bought a headphone volume control
(inline) at Radio Shack, to make the radio
volume less bashy and jumpy on headphones.

I measured the load resistance while fidlling
the volume control. Halfway down, it has 250 ohms
(while headphones are plugged in)
Why is this cool??
Because, the higher load impedance means that
that output capacitor should have less trouble
delivering deep bass.

Does it work? OH YEAH! Great bass now, though
still needs mono-stereo plug, and the dang attenuator
cost $7. You might be able to get an OK one for less.

Oh yeah...new cheap Sony!

Wow, a Sony pocket FM/AM radio, these days?

Yes, the Sony ICF-S10MK2.

-------------Basics:---------------------
--from the Sears Basics store, for $9.99
--a little under 3" by 5" by 1"
--mono speaker, earphone jack
--2 aa batteries, 40 hour estimate (yay! yay!)
--fit and finish are very good.


Trying it out:

---------------AUDIO----------------------------
--it was hifi/mono into headphones, 1 ear (aaah, shucks)
..so I needed a mono->stereo plug to stay sane.
..very nice sound once that was done. Even the
bass was good.
Volume jumps too fast: headphones w/a volume
control are a good accesory.

---------------FM------------------------------
--tuning, with fingernail-rolling: not bad! ..no backlash
--sensitivity: super, like the little walkman am/fm units
--selectivity: basically good, but hammered by strong-channel
spurs...ouch.

What to do?
---pushing the whip antenna down helped the overload,
at cost to weak campus stations
---HOWEVER: the whip, extended the other way from the
headphone cord, makes a wickedly directional antenna.
On a table or desk, I can pick apart the band and
quash the spurs quite well.
SO, FM, overall: good, with swamping, but with
easy tweaking, super.


-------------------AM------------------------------

The tuning mechanicals were very good (if you roll
your fingernail), as with the FM section.

The sensitivity was great, almost exceptional.
A tad better than the little walkman units,
which are great for their size.

The selectivity: well, this is something clever.
They have a wide-IF sound for fidelity,
but this unit was actually able to slice 1010 WNDS
from NYC away from local monster 1030 WBZ.
Very cool: a mid-width selectivity that works!

Overall, I'd say this is a great pocket radio and
a high performer, way past $10 worth.
And a mono/stereo adaptor still makes the deal great.

What I would fix if I were Sony:
---stereo headphone out would be sooo sweet,
like the little Grundigs.
---the jumpy volume is likely because they anticipate
old crappy earphones: please guys...don't do that!

How about a compromise? Just make the jack
mono that lights both sides of headphones
(w/o an adaptor), and nudge the output resistor
up a bit.

Still, a fantastic unit for $10. And the speaker and
batt-life are good enough to sell this at hardware
stores for the repairman set.