General Electric Superadio III AM/FM

Pros: A great value for $40, but doesn't quite match its "word of mouth" reputation.
Cons: Tuner dial calibration is poor, "dated" look and feature set

The GE 7-2887 Superadio III is described as a High Performance Long Range AM/FM Radio by its distributor, Thomson Consumser Electronics (which bought the GE Consumer Electronics brand in 1987). A "high performance long range AM radio" is ...

Pros: Great sound, price is right, ample volume
Cons: tuning dial inaccurate, tuning a little finicky

I had done a fair amount of reading about this radio on the Internet before I ordered it and much of what I read turned out to be true. On AM tuning to 990 (station about 14 miles away, 50kW day, 10kW night) it takes a little fiddling to tune in and ...

Pros: outstanding battery life, low price, good music and voice reproduction
Cons: radio looks cheap, battery cover pops off

This is a review of the General Electric superadio that I have owned for several years. It is a medium sized portable radio made in China for GE. The radio has outstanding AM and FM reception along with excellent music and voice fidelity. These types of ...

Pros: Reception Performance Sound Tuning resolution Controls External antenna terminals AC/DC Price Value Battery life
Cons: Size Weight - with 6 D cells Dial calibration/alignment

This is a great radio for the money. Especially if you pay under $40. I can't imagine a better radio for that price. Old fashioned, no-nonsense controls. Just what you need, no more. It has much better reception and sound than most new radios, largely ...

Pros: Great on the am band. Good sound and great value for the money.
Cons: No dial light. Strong local am stations overload the receiver. FM recption fair.

You won't find this radio in many stores. After all it's nothing more than a 70's style am/fm portable radio with the old vernier tuning that's big and clunky. You buy the Superadio for one purpose and that's the am receiver and antenna. I'd heard about ...

Pros: Powerful reception & good sound.
Cons: Heavy, analog tuning.

I bought two of these - one for my office and one for camping. They were $40 each at Amazon, no tax & free shipping. It brings in the AM talk stations inside our concrete & re-bar building where others won't. Also great for camping, especially when...

Pros: This radio does have better reception within an office building at a moderate price point.
Cons: Lacks digital tuner. Poor antenna design. Big box. Does not honor their warranty.

I bought this radio to work inside of an office building. And for the most part, it does work better. However, the antenna broke off one day when I was moving the antennae to retract it for storage. Sine it was still within warranty, I contacted Thomson Electronics, the division of GE that builds/supports small electronics. I wrote them multiple times to get a replacement antenna under warranty with no response. I finally contacted the Better Business Bureau. Again, Thomson did not initially respond. When they finally contacted me, they indicated the antenna would not be replaced because of abuse and misuse. The radio looks brand new and I do not abuse this radio. I believe the antenna is a poor design. I responded to the reject to again, get no response from Thomson. So, while this radio does work better within an office building, I will not buy another GE product. They do not honor their warranty.

Pros: Price, sound quality and sensitivity.
Cons: Analog frequency readout. Selectivity could be better.

I bought the GE Superadio III about 8 years ago when radio station WHO in Iowa advertised it as a "no fade" radio during late night talk broadcasts. Since then I have owned the Crane CCR and a Sony 2010 and am unsure of the nitche the GE holds in the market place. The GE does have very pleasing sound on both AM and FM. It is monoral (not stereo)however - as the Crane and Sony. The GE does have excellent sensitivity which allowed me to hear over 300 different stations, Mexico, Cuba and around 35 different states from my home in S.W. Michigan. States included California, Colorado and Montana. I used no external antenna. What the GE III lacks is a digital frequency readout so one is always unsure of what station they are listening to. The need for a digital tuner is why I went to the Crane unit. The selectivity of the GE unit was less than the Crane, but adequate. Sensitivity was comparable - Sound quality surpassed the Crane. Bottom line is if you want a nice sounding, cheap, table model radio for general purpose then consider this unit.

Pros: Exceptional reception.
Cons: Poor calibration on the tuning display

I agree nearly completely with all of the comments in the above post, but feel the need to add one comment.

The radio lived up to its claim to be able to receive a signal inside concrete and steel buildings. It tuned in over 40 FM stations when my small Sony only received 6, including some college stations that I didn't even know existed.

Pros: When it works the sound is very good
Cons: Badly built, looks cheap, and works very poorly.

I got this radio for christmas and boy did I get a Lemon. All the knobs are off center and the power button is loose, meaning that I have to hit the radio with my hand to make it play. Then when I change channels I have to do the same thing all over again. This radio is one big disappointment. I can't return it because I don't have all the packing items. Do not buy this radio.

Pros: Thirty-five to forty bucks!!!!! Sound quality is unbeatable. I cannot praise this radio enough!
Cons: None. I am ecstatically happy with my Superradios.

I bought my first super radio I in 1981 and was extremely happy with the sound quality. I had it for 3 months and somebody else liked it so much they stole it... an unorthodox but very positive recommendation. I now own 4 Super radio III radios for the kitchen, work, garage and one in the car. the only problem I've had is the antenna came off of one but it was easily fixed. The sound quality for both talk radio and music is superlative and, for the price, there is NO competition even in radios costing 5 times the price of a Super radio. It is the best value in radios. There is a button for broad band and narrow band tuning which does well with problematic stations. There are a few things that I think everybody should have because they are so good and such a good value- like vise grips, victrinox swiss army knives and at the top of that list is a Super Radio III.

Pros: Sensitive, sound is fine
Cons: Birdies everywhere

I recently bought a GE Superadio III. I've had and Superadio II, and lots of its little brothers (similar radios have been in production for a long time).

It's an ok radio. The large speaker would sound fine if it weren't in a plastic case, and it's very sensitive on AM. I don't listen to FM much, but I could get difficult stations easily.

My main complaint is that there are many, many birdies from about 900 khz to 1200 khz. By "many" I mean at least 50. And loud. Having watched this family of radios grow, I ran into one about 15 years ago with the same problem. The radio hears through them, but it's a pity that they're there.

I shall put it in my kitchen to replace the Spacemaker radio that just died. It sounds fine, but a dxer that had the one I got would be very angry

Jerry O'Dell, W8GND

Pros: Best performing AM/FM for the price
Cons: Oversized, dial-calibration, dark tuning dial needs a light..

While somewhat large for a "portable", the AM reception on this thing is unmatched. Yeah, dial calibration is off 100Khz or more on AM, but selectivity makes up for this. Sound quality is also great (almost like listening to a good-quality tube type radio) and FM is also strong and clear.