Ultralight AM/FM radios

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+1 on that Troy. If anyone has found an aaa powered mp3 player with sd slot and am/fm, then please share it with us all :). AM is obviously crucial if you are anywhere away from cities etc. I would see radio function as more of a bonus though in an mp3 player. If I was really planning to listen to any radio while hiking I would bring a dedicated unit which would work better.

I’ve also been interested in am/fm radios to bring hiking, but am also interested in shortwave radios too. Anyway here are the models I’ve found which look good

The Kaito a200 is great and is so small it makes you fee a bit like 007 when you use it, but with batteries the weight is 3oz.

Granted, this much more expensive, but for 3 ounces you could instead take a Degen DE1127 which has am/fm/sw and a 4gb mp3 player (I think the voice.radio recorder functions are useless though).

Or you could bring the Sony SRF-S84, which Dale suggested at the start, and a YooMee BEAT51 (Lightest and cheapest for the sound quality it gives you that I have found 2.2oz and $16) portable speaker for a total weight of 3.8oz (with batteries). This would provide much better sound than the kaito and would be more versatile since you could also hook it up to an mp3 player.

If you want a VERY good signal for the price and weight, then the TECSUN PL-380, at 7oz is an excellent option. Then for stereo sound and slightly better signal look no further than the Tecsun PL398BT, Tecsun PL390, or Tecsun PL398MP depending on the features you want. Kinda heavy at 11 ounces, but for some (including me) it may be worth it.

Loren, this radio does not have aaa batteries but an internal rechaegeable..

http://www.ccrane.com/radios/am-fm-radios/cc-witness-plus.aspx

I, like you, have been on a quest to find the same type of radio you seek, but i have yet to come across one, perhaps one but it looked cheapo and crappy. I emailed CCrane once to make sure that radio above has annexternal speaker which i think it does, but they never returned my email.

Considering that Black Diamond now has their headlamp ReVolt which by itself can charge aaa batteries, i saw this as an opportunity to find a radio with mp3, am, fm with aaa and thus have no need for extra charger for AA

Its really hard to find any radio (with external speaker) and am fm that takes aaa IME

By the way, for what its worth to anyone, do not ever buy the Grundig radio REI sells. It takes aaa, but the stations creap on you up or down, making it insanely aggrevating, if not worthless.

The Degen DE1123 runs on AAA batteries, receives am/fm/sw and has 2gb flash memory for mp3's, or voice/radio recording. I too would rather have SD card capability, but this is close. It has a speaker as well. 81g/2.9oz without batteries.

There's another post on this currently–it seems extremely interesting to me.

It's not really ultralight or anything at 10 oz, but it's about as multifunctional as it gets. I currently carry a Kindle anyway, which only weighs a few ounces less.

http://www.meetearl.com/

Fitz, that does look good, but is a little pricey. Would be great though if you wanted to be able to record some radio shows.

Sorry for going slightly off topic here, but I don’t know how many of you carry a cell/mobile phone with you while hiking. I carry it for the same reason that will sometimes carry my car keys and that is that I have no choice. I need these things for the return journey home. I’ve decided to forget about finding a radio with an inbuilt mp3 player as it seems most of them compromise on the radio aspect in order to jam an mp3 function in there. I’ve instead decided instead to just buy a lighter cellphone with good battery life, mp3 player, sd slot etc. Replacing my cellphone makes more sense for me than bringing a separate mp3 player mostly because it will save weight overall and is likely to have a small inbuilt speaker to boot. I may as well save some weight and get a new one which allows interchangeable batteries (which my battery hungry iphone does not). I will then take a dedicated lightweight radio also.

If anyone needs it, GSM Arena has a good database which includes all the weights. I’ve pretty much decided on the Samsung S5690 which is waterproof and pretty light for its functionality at 3.5 oz.

Back to radios, here is a rundown of the fm/am/shortwave options which I am considering for hiking:

Tecsun PL-360 – 6.93oz incl. 3xAA – seems to be by far the best the best overall for detecting weak signals. From what I have read the ETM mode works very well also.
Degen DE1126 – 6.3oz (maybe 4.3oz) – not sure if the smaller weight includes the removable li-ion battery which weighs 2oz
Degen DE1127 – 5oz (maybe 3oz) – again, not sure if this includes the removable li-ion battery
Degen DE15 – 4.1 oz incl. 3xAAA – has some bad reviews, but is one of the lightest.

From reviews it seems that the Tecsun pl-360 is an absolutely excellent radio, but is the heaviest. So good in fact that I would probably end up using it at home sometimes coupled with a better antenna. For the tecsun or the degen de15, may be possible to save some weight by sharing batteries with another device you already bring with you.

I recently took the Kaito KA-200 radio on a trip and was very impressed with the reception. It was picking up stations that my Bose car stereo couldn't reach in the same area. Far better than the Grundig pocket radio that the outfitters always sell.

It is small, light and has a speaker, but it is only AM/FM mono.
There is no bass response because of the small speaker, but the mid-range on up has good fidelity.

I don't need bass response in the outdoors and really only need it for news, weather and maybe NPR.

This is good for those people who can't or don't like to wear headphones. Otherwise, you can go smaller and lighter on the no speaker radios, but I wonder if AM reception would be as good with the smaller ferrite antenna required for a smaller radio?

$20 with free shipping is good

I'm skeptical of the analog tuner

How much does it weigh?

2 AA batteries is normal but a little heavy. Is it big enough for NiMH batteries which are a little bigger? How long does it run?

Re: Kaito KA-200,

Analog tuning can be better for tuning remote/week stations. I think this is why my other radios do so poorly in the mountains.

I don't have an accurate scale with me. I seem to remember it being about 2.5 oz empty.
It uses AAA batteries. So if you use Lithium batteries, it should be around 3.5 oz total.

NiMH batteries do fit. There is a little extra space.

I have yet to run out of juice on my first set yet so I can't review battery life.

I do wish it were waterproof.

that's weird, both you and Dale say analog tuners get weaker stations better which is opposite my experience – I'll have to do more testing : )

Jerry,

It is going to vary with the radio and conditions. The gearing on the tuning dials vary a great deal and I have seen none on the smaller radios that I am impressed with. Larger high quality desktop AM/FM/SW radios have selectable gearing on the tuning knobs so you can really split hairs. This feature is much more useful for AM/SW listening. On a smaller radio, you can roll back and forth while turning the radio to get optimal reception.

So, an apples and apples comparison is difficult. I know that my analog Sony SRF-S84 is more sensitive than a Sony SRF-M85W or SRF-M85V armband style radios with digital tuning, as well as a Sangean DT-120. I've been able to test those radios side by side and I think it is a fair comparison on cost and design. I don't think testing a cheap analog against a high quality digital model is a good comparison. On FM, any small radio without a telescoping antenna is using the headphone ground wire for the antenna and that can vary, as can the position of the headphone wires. Just re-arranging the wires on my lap can make a big difference in reception. Likewise, adding a long wire to any shortwave receiver can make a huge difference.

Here's an interesting radio in my collection: the Sony SRF-H4 headset radio. Lighter than you think at 4.4oz with battery. It is analog AM/FM with DX/Local and Megabass switching. Turn your head into a wilderness boombox :)

Here's a pre-cursor to M37W

M35 – 2 AAA batteries:

I have this rough example of a SRF-M37V with AM/FM/TV/Weather, runs on one AAA. Kinda noisy, but okay in town. The TV is the old analog. I wonder of someone will make a radio that picks up the sound from digital TV?

Features:
Compact Walkman receives TV (2-13), AM, FM and weather channels
25 preset stations (5 TV, 5 weather, 5 AM, 5 FM)
Display offers digital clock and battery indicator
Single AAA battery provides lightweight, long-lasting use
Local/distant switch ensures optimal reception

I have one of those. I used to listen to analog TV occasionally. Yeah, too bad you can't get digital TV tuner. Or maybe it's better not to listen to TV when in the wilderness? : )

Gear lust got me a new Tecsun PL-360 AM/FM/SW radio and it landed in my mailbox today. Pretty cool, but not really UL: 6.6oz with 3x AA batteries and without belt clip, 7oz with the clip and 8oz with the AM antenna pod.

I won't be forgetting my Sony SFR-S84 as I still think that is the epitome of small quality radios, put the Tecsun has all the bells and whistles I could ask for in a small radio. I didn't recall that it has a thermometer, which it does. And I did need to read the manual. It has a lot of double function buttons and options. Nothing more complicated than a high end digital point and shoot, but a few little tricks here and there.

Reception is good, and the speaker sound quality is acceptable considering the small size. The earbuds are very good compared to the typical stuff included with a radio.

The ETM tuning system is great: hold the button down and it sweeps the band for local stations and it presets them in a separate memory than your "personal" presets, so there is no reason not to use it as you come into a new area. In ETM mode, it jumps to the next program by turning the tuning dial. From my basement room it programmed 40 local FM stations in about 30 seconds. Cool.

It came with a long wire antenna that clips onto the telescoping antenna which extends FM and shortwave reception. There is a clothespin like clip on the other end. I've strung up antennas like this from one trekking pole under my shelter to another pole outside, or to a handy branch. I know it really makes a difference on the SW side.

Other coolness: a back light on the LCD, clock, sleep and alarm functions, station scanning, USB charging for NiMH batteries, signal strength and signal to noise readouts, switchable FM stereo, and LOTS of presets. It did come with a case and belt clip as well as the two external antennas.

I like the form factor a lot. It is like a TV remote and you can hold it without blocking any of the controls. I think it's too tall for a shirt pocket carry.

I got this one on eBay from a US supplier for $46.99 total. Considering that the County Comm GP4-L is now $44 (plus shipping) and the level of sophistication with the PL-360, I think it is a bargain.

FYI, this one does long wave and the frequency spacing is switchable so you can use it world-wide.

So, no buyer's remorse at all. I cant wait to get up in the hills at night to see how it does.

Basic radio in FM mode with the SOny SRF-S84 for comparison. The telescoping antenna extends to 15"

In AM mode with extenal AM antenna in place

SW mode with the clip-on long wire antenna

And the back side with the battery compartment open and the belt clip in place

I'd never seen this before. So if it's been posted forgive me. But on Amazon I came across a Swiss Army MP3 player. IT's multiple use because it has all of the Swiss Army Classic components (barring tweezers and toothpick) and the Radio/MP3 player functions. All for a stated 32 Grams.

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-SwissBeat-MP3-Player-Silver/dp/B000II55ZY/ref=sr_1_83?ie=UTF8&qid=1370466265&sr=8-83&keywords=alox+swiss+army+knife

At $180 (on sale), it's not for me, but interesting in an Inspector Gadget way.

I'll tape my SAK Classic to my PL-360 :)

That looks great! Such a shame about the extreme price tag. Also not sure about having electronics attached to a knife which I sometimes have to clean.

Dale, the tecsun 360 looks very nice. How is the reception and sound quality from the speaker. It positively makes my Tecsun pl-380 look like a brick in comparison as it weighs 10oz with batteries. Conviniently though, it shares batteries with my headtorch so I suppose the batteries (3oz) are kinda free. I use a case I made from reflectix which doubles as a mug cozy, plus it makes the radio look rather futuristic at the same time. he he.

I couldn't resist.

Hmmm, I would use duct tape or Velcro myself :D

I thought the same of cleaning it. IMHO, it's a geeky urbanite item and a toy for the rich. I put it in the same class with the $40 titanium Inka pen– I like my toys, but the MSRP on that SAK is over $300.

Sound quality on the PL-360 is good — for the size of the speaker. Reception is very good so far as I have tested it. I really want to get out away from all the city electronic noise and see how the SW is. The FM picks up some stations 25 miles away that my other radios are weak on. That little AM antenna pod really works and it's nice to be able to turn the antenna rather than the radio.

I have been surprised by the leaning to radios with speakers. In an UL world, it would seem that earbud-only units would rule. That immediately drops the weight and there is a good supply of used radios with lots of options. With the chatter about bright colors being unacceptable in terms of Leave No Trace, it's hard to imagine a radio buzzing away from across the lake or the next campsite making any friends on the trail. I guess that's the way the market crumbles!

Regarding the want of a radio with speaker,
I can't speak for others, but I myself can't use headphones or earbuds.

I also don't listen to the radio that much. When I do, it is at a volume just loud enough to understand dialogue. I don't usually listen to music.

Sound doesn't carry very far at this volume when all you have is a little 1" or 1.5" speaker.

yeah, same thing, at low volume you can't here it very far away

I was just some place where I heard beating bass notes at 2 AM from 1/4 mile away – that wasn't good, but I just went to sleep

reliable & lightweight w/ noaa channels (and am/fm)?

tia

Mike M,

The subject of the NOAA channels came up earlier in this thread.
The Sangean DT-400W and others have this.
The argument is that you can only reach the NOAA channels when somewhat near the ocean or major waterways.
In many cases AM/FM may be your only option for weather info.