Did you ever wondered about short wave radios?
Written: Mar 12 '01
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Pros: World wide radio station receiver.
Cons: Runs through batteries like nothing.
The Bottom Line: Very good entertaining piece of equipment especially if your are on the go and travel a lot away from your country.
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| tarek7's Full Review: Aiwa AM-C80 Personal MiniDisc Player |
Hi there,
Now before we irritate each other though I don't think there is any reason to do so, this title is written not according to the right category simply because my title and brand does not exist in epinions. I have even emailed them and that was almost 2 months ago and they still never put the German great brand Grundig on their site, they apologized in a nice way through email but nothing was done since then. So, I have put effort and time to write this opinion, do you think it's fair to throw it in the garbage because epinions does not carry the brand and does not respond to new ideas of brands and products? When the time comes and they post Grundig as a brand on their site, this opinion will move immediately under the brand title. So, don't re-read it once I move it.
Before you go on reading, you might take your time viewing the radio and there site,
http://www.grundig.com/produkte/audio/welt.html
Please and thank you.
Let me introduce you a new model of GRUNDIG, Yacht boy 400 PE.
They call it the world receiver simply because you can listen to the world. Yup, any radio station in the world. Many of us are wondering why should we listen to the world when it comes to news, when I got my news just at my finger tips on TV or newspapers?
Well, simply you will listen to both sides of the story. Sometimes, people have different opinions, same with countries. I am not saying that some countries are better than others in broadcasting news, all I am saying is that sometimes countries see things in a different way and we, as listeners want to know the truth about matters that we are curious about.
Now, let me tell you what's included when you buy a GRUNDIG WORLD RECEIVER. It comes with an owner's manual, a warranty card, a GRUNDIG AC adaptor for use on 110-120 VAC outlets, a 23 feet reel antenna for short wave reception and earphones (stereo type).
The radio itself is a medium size radio, so it's not a tiny thingy and it's not a huge thingy (like my grandmother's radio). Simply that allows it easy to carry around if you are on a voyage or a trip or even travelling around.
It takes about 6 batteries AA size so you can operate it indoor with the adaptor and outdoor with the batteries. It comes with a protective cover, where it protects it from dust and also protects its finishing from scratch when you put it your bag while travelling.
The radio has a cool digital screen, telling you which frequency you are listening to, also, you have 2 clocks, an alarm and sleep function.
The 2 clocks are a very cool feature for a traveller. Say, for example you are in Egypt, so, you set the first clock on Egyptian local time, in the same manner you can set the other clock on New York time. Now you being in Egypt you can easily follow a special broadcasting of your favorite program in New York, easily following there time instead of calculating each time you want to listen to your favorite program.
I also recommend a professionally engineered outdoor shortwave antenna when you are listening at home, it will give you a better and a stronger signal.
Most of the buttons on the radio are soft touch, you also have the ability to just punch in the frequency of your station using a keypad and get your station right away, that's of course if you know the frequency of the station you want to hear(direct frequency entry), instead of searching for the station the old fashion way. Plus, you also have the auto tuning which automatically stops on stations once a station is nearby that specific frequency.
It also has a (narrow- wide switch ) if you are using the (Wide), it gives you the best audio fidelity while, if you are using the (Narrow) you will be able to minimize interference from other nearby stations. Also, there is another switch that allows you to listen to AM, shortwave, long wave and FM. FM is strictly for local stations, so, you will be able to listen to local stations on that band but on the other side you will enjoy the stereo quality which a short wave does not have. AM broadcast band signals can be heard over much greater distances. Long wave (LW) will not work in the Americas (North and South), simply because there are hardly any stations broadcasting, it is used in Europe and other parts of the world.
It also has a feature called the SSB, a highly efficient way of electronically processing transmitted and received signals for two way communication. Examples of this are maritime and aeronautical communication, so, you can listen to distress or dsc( digital selective calling), ship to shore or ship to ship. I don't use that feature but if you are a professional you will find such a radio a big help.
Another feature you have is a lock button that locks all keys, this will keep the radio from accidently turning on when packed in a briefcase etc.... The radio also has the feature of storing 40 stations, so, you don't have to memorize all the stations frequencies. It also has the ( sleep ) feature, so, you can listen to your program or favorite music station before sleeping without worrying to shut off your radio if you fall asleep.
Also, it has an alarm feature, the cool thing about it is, it can play the alarm as a ring or as a radiostation which actually plays at the time you want the alarm to start on. It has a cute green light if you want to check the time at night as you put it beside the bed.
There are a couple of disadvantages;
1- It runs through batteries like nothing, so, I think you need to buy the rechargeable batteries just to save some money.
2- It has technical disadvantage, from my point of view, let me explain. Say if you are listening at night say at a volume 3, where its nice and quiet ( you don't want to wake up the neighbors do you? ) , and you have the Sleep feature on, it will shut off at volume 3. Now, say you have the alarm on, the alarm will start with volume 3 too, (when its daytime lots of noise in the city), meaning if you are a heavy sleeper, that alarm will not work for you!
3- The radio itself has a back supporting rectangle, which makes the radio itself sit on any flat object with an angle. Now, if you put the radio beside the bed and use it as an alarm clock, if it's dark and you need to see the time you won't be able to see the time in the sleeping position, you've got to get up from the sleeping position to the upright position due to the slant angle which the radio has.
I bought it for 236 Canadian dollars plus tax, it's a bit expensive but its worth it. I listen to Egyptian programs as if I was in Egypt, it's a very good radio when you travel around.
The advantages;
1- It's a world wide radio station receiver as you can listen to international broadcast
2- Its a universal clock
3- Its a cool alarm clock
Advice, if you don't know the frequencies from most of your favorite radio stations, all you need is to buy a short wave guide book, also there is a professional edition book on how to operate this radio professionally, you can order it.
1-800-872-2228 for US
1-800-637-1648 for Canada
Thank you for reading.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 157.00
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Epinions.com ID:
tarek7
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Location: Cape Breton,N.S,Canada
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 7 members
About Me:
http://www.geocities.com/tarek7/mypage.html
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