Lighter radio?

[Chris Chastain]

My radio (I know… no flames please) is my luxury. It weighs about 6.5 oz with batteries.

Does anyone know of a lighter one?

Requirements:
Speaker (non-negotiable)
usable selectivity/sensitivity
AM/FM/Weather bands
batteries AA or AAA

Thanks!

[Joseph Reeves]

I carry this radio and have found it to be exceptionally good at receiving AM stations from "Outside" while hiking and kayaking here in southeast Alaska. It does OK with FM and is decent with WX stations, which allows me to use it instead of my VHF on longer trips to save that radio's battery for communication. It comes with a plug in FM/WX wire antenna when using the speaker, though the ear buds work better since they are longer. I carry an extra length of wire to pick up the WX broadcast when we are remote. It is easy on batteries. Also has an alarm.

It weighs 3.3 oz according to the specs – but I'm not sure that includes the batteries. I didn't see this particular model on the Sangean web site, but it looks like there is another version. A google search found one at someplace called Dealtime.

The radio and our digital camera fit inside the padded case seen on the empty bivy sack in this picture. It is small!

[Robert Carver]

I know it is only am/fm, but I use the Sangean SR-3. It is a great little radio. Weighs 3oz, runs on 1 aaa battery. I've not found a spot where I wasn't able to get a station.

[Chris Chastain]

Man that one sounds like it would hit the spot, but sadly it's discontinued. I've had a standing search for that model on Ebay for many months, hoping to find a used one, but have never seen one come up.

I was hoping someone here might have an alternative.

Take good care of that one… might be irreplaceable!

[Joseph Reeves]

I'll keep it with my Rangefinder analog camera and the zippo; none of them will ever become obsolete.

The Sangean 400 is 2 oz over our limit, but has all the correct stuf. Another option is to try a large Radio Shack store and see if they have one in the back. I know they carried the 300 a few years ago.

[Gordon Smith]

I agree, the DT300VW is a great backpacking radio. It's worth it to try to track one down if you can. It's lightweight and reception is excellent. In 2007, in the middle of the Wind Rivers, I was able to pick up NWS weather broadcasts and also some local FM stations. At night AM stations from all over the western US came in loud and clear. It's a nice piece of kit to have if you have to hunker down in bad weather for a while. The internal speaker works pretty well, though it sounds better with earbuds.

G

[jim jessop]

I use a Roberts Sports R988

3 band – LW, MW, FM

110 gm or 3.9 oz which includes its 2 x AAA batteries. (checked on my scales)

It's a superb performer too. I love it.

[Chris Chastain]

> The Sangean 400 is 2 oz over our limit, but has all the correct stuf

I checked it out and the DT-400W does seem nice. I can't find the weight specs on the Sangean site… even in the .pdf manual.

I updated my locale to show USA. I'm not sure that a UK model would have the right bands/freqs.

[Dan Cunningham]

Chris, according to THIS site, the DT-400W is 3.6 ounces. Not sure how reliable that info is, but there ya go. :)

[Chris Chastain]

> the DT-400W is 3.6 ounces

Aw man, nice.
Thanks for that!

[Dale Wambaugh]

The County Comm GP4-L is 3oz/85g without batteries (2-AA's). It doesn't get weather bands, but covers AM/FM and 5 SW bands and has an LED light too. At $22, it's a steal.

http://www.countycomm.com/gp4light.htm

SPECIFICATIONS:
RUN TIME:
Radio: 150 hrs at 40% Volume
Light: 70 Hrs

FREQUENCY RANGE
FM 76-109 MHz
MW 520-1740Khz
SW 5.20-18.30 MHz
SW1= 49 Meter Bands 5.20 – 6.20 Mhz
41 Meter Bands 7.10 – 7.30 Mhz
31 Meter Bands 9.45 – 10.45 Mhz
SW2= 25 Meter Bands 11.01 – 12.05 Mhz
21 Meter Bands 13.60 – 13.80 Mhz
19 Meter Bands 15.10 – 15.60 Mhz
16 Meter Bands 17.55 – 18.30 Mhz
SENSITIVITY
FM < 10 microV
MW-AM < 1 microV/Meter
SW-AM < 30 micro V
POWER REQUIREMENTS
3-4.5 Volts DC via side jack (no adapter included)
2 each "AA" batteries
DIMENSIONS: 3.4" X 2.55" X .83"
WEIGHT: 85 Grams not including batteries
SPEAKER: 40 mm in diameter, 4 Ohms, .25 watt
EARPHONE JACK: 3.5 MM, Earphones Included
CLOCK: 12 Hour Format with Wake Up to Radio Alarm Feature

[Chris Chastain]

> At $22, it's a steal.

Wow, no kidding.
I haven't done any SW listening in years.
Maybe it's time to start?

Do you own one of these, Dale?

[Joseph Reeves]

I was interested in the COUNTY COMM GP-4L shortwave/Medium Wave radio enough to start an order. The company charges $25 to ship 2 3 ounce radios to Alaska, which is, of course a scam.

[Rick Dreher]

I too have an SR-3. It was the smallest I could find with a speaker, but sadly lacks the weather band. Reception is usually good, but I've been in spots in the central and southern Sierra where I got nada, although at night when some of the clear channel stations crank up you never know what you might be able to snag.

These little analogue radios seem to be a dying breed, which is too bad.

[Chris Chastain]

So it IS analog?
Is the display backlit?

[Chris Chastain]

For anyone that gives a crap…

I finally settled on the Sangean DT-400W.

Great reception, illuminated display, clock, 90 min auto-off, weather alert, lock switch disables controls.

About 3.9 oz including antenna wire and belt clip.

[Mark McLauchlin]

Would there be any reason this would not work in Australia or outside the US in general?
Apart from;
"NOAA Weather Alert Emergency Channel sounds a very loud audible tone when an extreme weather condition is imminent and/or a police emergency or a child abduction has occurred or any type of public awareness becomes critical. "

[Joseph Reeves]

Chris,

Glad you went with the Sangean. I would appreciate a field report after you've had it out on a couple of trips.

Joseph

[Chris Chastain]

I don't think so Mark.

My understanding is that the weather channel freqs are US specific.

I think the FM band is the same? 87.5 – 108.0 mhz – 100k steps

The AM (MW?) band is switchable on this radio from the US 520-1710 khz in 10k steps to the European 522-1629 in 9k steps.

Not sure what the band is in Oz… I'm sure you know.

[Chris Chastain]

Be glad to, Joe, but I suspect I won't be able to get as far from a transmitter as you can!

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