Radio Drama: DRAGNET

Jack Webb, star of Dragnet, endorsing Fatima cigarettes.

298 episodes of this 50s classic are available for listening at archive.org:

http://www.archive.org/details/Dragnet_OTR

More on Grundig s450dlx - Best in Class?

The Grundig S450DLX 

What it is:

As stated previously, the S450 has been a shocker for me on all bands, truly all bands - MW / SW AM, and FM.  Super sensitive and quiet and selective, with a 5in speaker and separate bass and treble knobs.  A very enjoyable listening experience for someone who is interested in tweaking out the difficult signals in rich audio (line out & headphones out).  900 broadcasts from Hamilton, Ontario - about 500 miles from my location, and is pitted against 910 - a local (10 mi) 50k watt annoyance.  I have only been able to select and listen to 900 with two radios - the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, and now the Grundig S450.  The Sony locks onto the signal with the sync function selected to lower side band.  On the Grundig I simply position the radio appropriately, and turn down the RF gain.  Clear broadcast reception on AM 900 CHML (who broadcast radio dramas nightly at 10:00 PM EST.  Last night the broadcast was Dragnet.

RF gain knob does what it is supposed to and really reduces imaging of stronger signals on MW and SW AM. Receiver is remarkably quiet for being digital PLL. Increase the gain and you get the RF, but very pleasant to tune quietly with the RF down on SW - which is phenomenal (on par with the 7600GR and maybe a little more selective).

The "DX and Local" switch I find effectively lessens fading. It is not a sync but the effect is similar on fading signals in the DX position (reminds me of the way the 7600gr can lock on a lesser signal via lower and upper sideband sync. It should also be said that this switch on the S450 seems to be more effective than the sync function of the pricier Grundig G3. )

Well, is there anything bad about the radio?



What it isn't:



-Static sound when selecting between AM bands. Maybe this will go away.

-No SSB for SW; no direct entry tuning; no DSP (is this always a con?); no ATS (You see how the Tecsun models are setting new standards!); not really portable per se (although I do carry it around the house whilst listening)
  

Blaupunkt Tube Radio

I did not have much use for this Blaupunkt tube radio (I do not remember the model number).

It featured MW/FM/SW and received well enough on each for a 60 year old tube radio.

The buttons had a nice punch to them.  I found I didn't listen to it but I can't say why that is.  It seemed to me more decoration than instrument.

Grundig Field Radio S450DLX

The Grundig S450DLX beside MPro 2010.  Tons of frequencies to look up on MW AM!

So I also purchased recently the new Grundig (Etón) S450DLX - and I am surprised at its performance especially on the MW AM.

The performance on MW AM is equal to or better than the PR-D5 and CCRadio-SW for DX sensitivity.  Selectivity out-performs the Sony ICF-SW7600GR with lower-side band sync-selectivity:

The Sony ICF-SW7600GR World Band Radio

I like the light-up factor of the Grundig S450DLX:

The Grundig S450DLX really lights up the MW AM!

Photos of the Tecsun PL-390

Unpacking the Tecsun PL-390

I took advantage of a snow day recently (probably the last of the year) and ordered the new Tecsun PL-390 radio.  It arrived the next day, and here is the video of me unpacking it.

As you can see, the package had obviously been opened before.  I ordered the radio from Kaito Electronics USA via Amazon.com.  You can also order this and other Tecsun radios from Anon-Co and their eBay store.  Customer service is supposed to be very high through Anon-Co (I have never ordered from them), and the reverse through Kaito Electronics USA.  I was definitely disappointed with the "unpacking" experience of the Tecsun from Kaito.  Serious electronics consumers always want a fresh, unopened product.  The negative side (since I'm in impulse buyer, this is a huge negative) is that orders from Anon-Co ship from China and take at least 5 days (air) to be delivered.  This is probably why I have not ordered from Anon-Co (despite high reviews of their service).

Internet Radio

Radio is a cooperative experience.

The reason it seems to me why internet radio is not the instant sensation you'd think it would be is that a large majority of radio listeners are interested not only in listening to particular programming but also in playing with their radios.

A word that interests me is "funability".

Here's the enigma: a cube with three buttons that can get you any station you want in the world loses, oddly enough, to a radio of half the capability but 10 times the "funability".

This is interesting.

Fun means options, more buttons to press, more settings to tweak, all in the effort of achieving that perfect sound of something distant. Effort is involved, ingenuity. The radio listener actively cooperates in an acquisition. Enjoyment involves both the acquired and how acquisition takes place.

And so radio listening is not mindless in the same way as television, which requires no such cooperation for the purpose of desired effect. It is more like fishing, or playing Angry Birds, or the Wii.