QRZ! Ham Radio 4/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 4.iso/files/arrl/tis/swrigrev.pt1

Internet Message Format | 1994-11-20 | 29KB

From: [e-mail] (John LLoyd)
Newsgroups: rec.radio.info
Followup-To: rec.radio.shortwave
Subject: SW Radio Reviews
Date: 5 Jul 1994 16:09:58 GMT
Organization: Clemson University
Lines: 1229
Approved: [e-mail]

Below is a collection of SW receiver reviews written by readers of
Rec.radio.shortwave. The number following the brand and model number
is the number of readers, who indicated they use this type of receiver.

All credit for these reviews should be given to the readers of this
group and not me.

John Lloyd

Radios Reviewed:

AR3000
DAK DMR-3000
Emerson PSW-4010
Grundig Satellit 500
Grundig Satellit 700
Icom IC-R70
Icom R-71A
Japan Radio Company NRD-515
Japan Radio Company NRD-525
Kenwood TS-450
Lowe HF-150
Lowe HF-225
Magnavox 3625
Magnavox AE-3805
Panasonic RFB-65L
Philips AE3905
Realistic DX-342
Realistic DX-375
Realistic DX-380
Realistic DX-390
Realistic DX-440
Sangean ATS-803A
Sony 2010
Sony ICF-5100
Sony ICF-5900W
Sony ICF-7601
Sony ICF-SW20
Sony ICF-SW33
Sony SW-1
Sony SW-15
Sony SW-55
WATKINS-JOHNSON HF-1000

*****************************************************************

Sony 2010 - 3

I found it VERY easy to plug in and start listening. The supplied
instructions are adequate for what they do, but are not really
enough to really start enjoying the radio.  The whip antenna works
great at home, but just doesn't cut it at work (way too much
metal/interference). Even the supplied wire antenna does not seem
to help at work (I have not yet tried it at home (no real need).

*****************************************************************
Realistic DX-342 - 1

I've owned this little radio for about a year now and am really
pretty happy with it.

Advantages:  Size - Measuring approximately 4 3/4 x 2 5/8 x 1,
you can take this little mini anywhere!  Even slip it into your shirt
pocket!
SW bands - Covers 9 SW bands: 49m, 41m, 31m, 25m, 21m, 19m and 16m.
MW, FM, FM Stereo (thru headphones)
Travel Power lock
Push button control
Runs on two AA batteries or AC adapter
Travel pouch
Carrying strap

Disadvantages:  It's an analog unit, guys and gals, no digital display.
No back stand
Antenna does not rotate up

I've had a lot of fun with this little receiver.  The SW sensitivity
is quite good for my area of the country, Cleveland, Ohio.  The
speaker has a nice sound and improves thru the earphones.  FM stereo
thru headphones is great!  MW DXing is surprisingly good!  I can
grab signals from Boston, Chicago, New York and Cincinnati much better
than on my Magnavox AE 3625 Digital!

Summary:  A nice little travel radio that's fun to fiddle with or
take for travel when you're in a pinch.  Radio Shack has discontinued
this model so you might be able to find it on sale for around $50.00.
I love the size!  Ideal for travel!  I'm beginning to think that
anything larger is too cumbersome.  I do miss the Digital Display and
all the features that go with it: Freq. display, Alarms, world time
display, etc.  If I were buying today, though, I'd consider what else
is out there for just a bit more money.  For example, the new
Sangean 606 is only slightly larger and has all the digital features
mentioned above that I miss.  I 've seen it priced for as little as
$179.95!

*****************************************************************
Realistic DX-375 - 1

It costs $99.99 though I got it for $89 since I had a coupon for a
rebate. For the price I think I got a good deal. It has digital tuning
and direct input of frequencies which allows tuning to be a pretty
simple job and not a time consuming act of patience. It uses two C type
batteries... I use rechargable ones and they last a pretty long time..

It is not small enough to carry in your shirt pocket but it could fit in
the front or side pocket of an average sized backpack. It is just great
when you are walking back home from school/work ... it can be easily
carried in one hand as you catch up on the news from
BBC/Deutschewelle/Radio Australia/etc.... as you walk home..
I get decent reception of all the `big stations' even indoors and have,
on occasion also been able to tune to Radio UAE....

The sleep function is perfect for someone like me who likes to fall asleep
with music... the FM sound is pretty good in stereo (headphones)... The
AM reception is also fairly good but it has a very high tendency to catch
those Bible bashing stations...probably a reflection of the region where
I live...

The strap is a little shoddy and I have a feeling I may have to `fix it'
soon... I expect it to pop out any moment....
Despite that, I like it...

*****************************************************************
Realistic DX-380 -2

I've owned a DX-380 for about 9 months now and....
It's a GREAT RADIO!  However, I should qualify
this.  I bought it on sale from Radio Shack for the
bargain price of $129.95!  It regularly retails for
$179.95.  At $130.00, this radio is a real steal!

About the size of a large paperback book, the 380
is feature packed!

*DUAL CLOCKS
*ALARM WITH RADIO/BUZZER
*60 MINUTE SLEEP TIMER
*DUAL BANDWIDTHS
*DIRECT FREQ. ENTRY TUNING
*TUNING KNOB
*SLEW TUNING
*TUNES IN 1 OR 5 KHZ STEPS
*CLOCK DISPLAYED SEPARATELY
*BACKSTAND
*STEREO THRU HEADPHONES
*CONTINUOUS SW COVERAGE...NO GAPS!
*AUTO SCAN UP OR DOWN
*ANTENNA ROTATES AND SWIVELS
*CARRYING CASE

The sensitivity of this radio is GREAT!  With a reel antenna, it's even
better!  I read another review that said reception was lousy....I think
that individual should check his particular receiver as he might have
the rare defective unit.  MW reception is also outstanding and with a
Slect-A-Tenna is greatly improved!  Herein Cleveland, I pick up
Chicago, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh during the day WITHOUT the
select-a-tenna!  With the S-A-T reception gets an added boost!
(these are all 50,000 watt stations)

I have found it to be about the perfect travel size.  I would like
something smaller, like the 606.  This size, however is fine.  I've
carried hardbound books on jets that are larger.  The many features
makes up for it's slightly larger size over a mini.  It does not have
SSB, but I really don't miss it.

All in all, A great radio priced at $130.00! I would not have bought
it for the price of $179.95.  There are other radios in that price
range that ive ya more bang for the buck.  At $130.00, it's a great
deal! If you can get it at that price, snap it up!

I am by no means an expert, but I have a DX-380 and can give some
of my experiences. First of all, I would pay the extra to get the
390 to get the single side band capability.  I miss it.  I miss
it.  Also, the sensitivity for foreign broadcasts (I'm in DC)
without an external antenna is poor.  You get the BBC and some
German broadcast relays from Canada transmitters, some south
american stuff, and that's it.  BUT with a 50 m Cu wire out my
2nd story window attached to the antenna with an alligator clip,
I regularly get Abu Dhabi and Australia at night.

*****************************************************************
Realistic DX-390 - 2

Great mid-sized digital portable.  Good sensitivity and selectivity.
Digital display shows time, frequency, signal strength, and memory
location.  Covers LW (in 9 kHz steps), MW (in 9 or 10 kHz steps)
and SW continuously from 150 kHz to 30000 kHz. FM reception
(88-108 MHz) with stereo through headphone jack. BFO control for
SSB reception.  Built-in timer/clock, 9 programmable memory
locations per band, except 18 on SW.  Good audio output. RF Gain
and AM bandwidth controls.  Keypad frequency entry.  External
antenna, AC-adapter inputs.

A great radio for the beginner or as an upgrade from a smaller
and/or analog unit.

Purchased from Radio Shack for $219 in January, 1992.

I have a new Realistic DX-390 (alias Sangean 813??).  Seems to be
a great value for the price $169 US. I haven't yet heard from
someone who can recommend a radio for the same price that is
better, and can back it up with facts.

*****************************************************************
Grundig Satellit 700  - 3

Truly a world-class portable, digital receiver.  Excellent
sensitivity and selectivity.  Digital display with two separate
clock/timers, signal strength meter, band selection, frequency
readout, and user-definable eight-character "name" for each
memorized station. Has RDS circuitry on FM to decode the newly-
phased-in system for identifying stations by call letters,
format, etc. 512 memory positions,  upgradable to 2048.  Tunes in
.1 kHz increments. Selectable wide/narrow bandwidth for AM mode
reception. Tunes MW in 9 or 10 kHz steps. Keypad frequency entry.
Receives USB and LSB.  Synchonous detector helps pick difficult-
to-receive stations out of the crowd.  Selectable
automatic/manual gain control. Covers LW (150-353 kHz), MW
(528-1611 kHz), SW (1612-30000 kHz), and FM (87.5-108 MHz).
Excellent audio output, with separate treble and bass controls.
Stereo through headphones or external speakers.  Line-level out
(left and right), external antenna, and 12 VDC-in jacks.
Local/DX switch.  Built extremely rugged. Multi-national power
supply included.

An outstanding performer, and worth the price to a serious SWL
or DX'er who requires portability.

Purchased from Universal Radio for $479 in April, 1993.

The Following is a comparison of the SONY ICF-SW77 and the
GRUNDIG     SATELLIT 700:

Both of the receivers you are looking at are pretty solid. The Sony
is slightly smaller and has a somewhat more "finished" feel about
it. The Grundig is SOLID with a much better sound. Neither is as
good a SW signal receiver as the previous Sony, the '2010 (2001).
However, they both have very advanced features; multiple (and in
the Grundigs case, expandable) memories with alphanumeric tags
so that you have a name as well as a frequency, all sorts of
memory grouping and scanning etc. The Grundig has good RDS ident.
on it's FM band, but I have a feeling that this isn't used much,
if at all, in the US. If you intend to buy second-hand, be very
wary of the SW77 - the early version was pretty flakey. The later
version is better but still not as good as the '2010.
I think that the choice comes down to "feel". They are both quite
complex to use, but both work as advertised. Try 'em both as they
have quite distinct operational methods. If sheer performance on
SW is the main point for you, compare them with the Sony ICF2010.
You'll buy it and save some loot !
For what it's worth, I tried them both and settled on the
Grundig. I have my Satellit 700 in daily use and it's performed
without a hitch.

My reasons for the choice were:

1. Performance. The Grudig was much better than the early SW77.
2. Sound. I happen to prefer the slightly bassy Grundig sound to
the somewhat sharper Sony.
3. Power. The Grundig takes D cells and can self-charge Nicads in
the set, which is how I have it set up. (The SW77 used C cells)
They both run down batteries fast. The Sony worse than the
Grundig due to it's smaller cells.
4. RDS. I love it and the SW77 doesn't have it.
5. Feel. I like the, I don't know, Germanic solidity and sheer
heft of the Satellit. A Satellit with a full load of 4AH Nicads
can tip the scales at twice the weight of a SW77. Of course, if
drop one on your foot the Sony would be the better bet ! I
only use the Grudig about the house. I have a '2010 for the
road.

I hope this splurge hasn't clouded the issue for you.

Editor's Note:
I have one of these radios and love it! I sent the following
message to someone just after I bought it.

I just recently forked out $500 and bought a Grundig Satalit 700.
The sound from the radio is truely impressive! I have always
wondered why broadcasters put music on shortwave, because it
alway sounded like garbage. However with the 700 I can listen and
enjoy the music. The 700 has Bass and Treble controls, which
improve the sound quality but the Automatic Gain Control most
likely does the most toward improving the sound (I'm not an
expert, so this is just a guess!). Anyway my  Wife regularly listens
to music coming from a 60m band radio station in  Guatemala, and can
enjoy the sound. However there are some bad points. It is
programable, but I have not worked out how to do it yet. Well
I tried once and gave up. This is not too bad though, because
BBC, Deutche Welle, and about 10 others are stored in a ROM table.
And these frequences actual work (i.e. they are the frequencies for
North America and NOT Germany).
Also I connected a long wire antenna and found my local AM
station on shortwave. I guess the front-end is not good enough to
sort  the signals out when coming from a large antenna. But don't
worry about this  either.
If you only want to listen to the biggies like BBC, Deutche
Welle,  you won't need an external antenna.  I am planning to put
a Pre-selector  between The Radio and the Antenna, and I think
this will cure the problem of AM stations on shortwave and cut
out some interference. Finally I recommend this radio to you. I'm
sure you will have  hours if enjoyment from it.

*****************************************************************
Grundig Satellit 500 - 2

Formerly Grundig's flagship portable SW receiver, this is
still an excellent piece of equipment.  Excellent sensitivity and
selectivity.  Digital display with two separate clocks (only
one displayed at a time), signal strength meter, frequency
readout, and four-character user-definable "name" for each
memorized station. 42 memory positions. Tunes to .1 kHz
increments. Selectable wide/narrow bandwidth for AM mode
reception. Tunes MW in 9 or 10 kHz steps. Keypad frequency entry.
In addition to AM, has three receiving "modes" for LW, MW, and
SW: USB, LSB, and "Sync," which should more accurately be
described as "fine tuning," as this implementation of synchronous
detection operates differently from the Satellit 700 or Sony
2010.  Selectable automatic/manual gain control.  Covers LW
(150-353 kHz), MW (528-1611 kHz), SW (1612-30000 kHz), and FM
(87.5-108 MHz).
Excellent audio output,  with separate treble and bass controls.
Stereo through headphones.  Line-level out (mono), external
antenna, and 12 VDC-in jacks.  Local/DX switch.
Built extremely rugged.  Power supply included.

An all-around great performer.  Now that it's discontinued,
many outlets are selling this unit at close-out prices, making
this radio an excellent value for the money.

Purchased from Universal Radio for $379 in December, 1992.

I have a Grundig Satellit 500 and am basically satisfied with it.
I miss the 512 memories of 700 and 'SSB clarify' control sometimes.

Yes, its 'sync' is exactly fine tuning in 100 Hz steps. However,
it is rather simple to make it work similarly to '700 and '2010,
because the detector chip is the same in all three. Only a switch
with two pairs of contacts is needed. Another design fault, the
excessive distortion in SSB mode, can be partly cured by adding
two resistors. For serious DX-ers it may be important that the
internal ferrite rod cannot be disabled on MW and LW in both 500
and 700, so the in-house noise may become a problem on these
bands.

*****************************************************************
Lowe HF-150 - 1

The Lowe HF-150 (sold by Universal and EEB) is a nice compromise.
Similar number of cubic inches as the Sony (different shape), but
offering some features of the R8.   Also the Lowe is made with a
mostly solid alumnum case, which is better than the Sony or the
Drake.  The Lowe has dual antenna inputs (wire or SO-239), record
out, audio out, 12vDC in.  It can run off any 12V DC battery.
I use 7 aH gelcells which I recharge.  The Lowe also takes
8 internal AA nicads *OR* disposable batteries.  It will recharge
the nicads with a builtin recharger if you plug it into
an external power supply.  It's a nice semi-portable radio.  It
has a few ideosyncracies, but you might want to look at it.

*****************************************************************
Lowe HF-225 - 2

I've had an HF-225 for a few years now, and I'm pretty happy with
it.  I use it mainly for broadcast listening.  It's connected to
25m of random wire via a 5m coax run inside the house.

I tried using an ATU to improve the matching between the aerial
and the coax, and on some frequencies it gave a (small)
improvement in signal strength, but it was such a pain to keep
retuning that I gave up using it.

I recently bought a "magnetic longwire balun", and this seems to
offer the best of both worlds - improved matching between the
wire and the coax, but no retuning necessary.  It's rather
expensive, though, and it may be that I'd have been just as well
off with a home brew transformer on a ferrite ring...

The other potential advantage of an ATU, filtering out of strong
signals well away from where you're listening, seems to be
completely irrelevant on the HF-225.  I've never yet found a case
where switching in the attenuator did anything beneficial.  The
receiver's front end seems to be excellent in this respect.

I've got the sychronous detector option, and I wouldn't be
without it.  It quite often makes a heavily fading signal quite
pleasant to listen to.  Pity it doesn't have a selectable
sideband option, though - I quite often find myself tuning an AM
signal in the LSB or USB modes to try to get rid of an adjacent
interfering signal.

Would I buy it again?  Yes, unless I decided that I really wanted
a receiver which offered a computer interface.

*****************************************************************
Sony SW-1 - 2

I bought an SW1E over a year ago, for listening to broadcast SW
and FM at home and while travelling. I like this very small radio
a lot. It is maybe expensive for a portable, but the build
quality is very good, - everything looks and feels right.
Battery life is good, and the set DOES work with NiCads (2*AA)
contrary to the instructions. Reception of broadcast SW is good,
either with the whip or clothes-line antenna. I've never noticed
any big problems from adjacent channels either. As a bonus, FM
stereo reception is good through headphones. Audio quality from
the in-built speaker is fair, but you'll want to use phones for
noisy environments. The only bug with this radio is the memory
capacity - only 10 mems is really not enough to cover ALL of AM
and FM.
Summary - if you want a very small portable, and appreciate high
quality (and can afford it), I would recommend the SW1E. Note the
E, which denotes the SW1 kit without the active antenna and brief
case - these add a lot to the price, and I don't rate the antenna
too highly either.

*****************************************************************
Sony SW-15 - 1

I bought one of these puppies on impulse the other day (at my age you
should give in to the occasional impulse, just so they keep coming).
Cost $85; you could probably do better by shopping the discounters.

Specs:

Dual Conversion Receiver, 6 1/2 x 4 x 1 1/2 inches, 3 AA or 4.5v DC.

Nine Bands:

FM: 76-108 Mhz, 10.7 Mhz IF.

SW: 5.775 -6.425; 6.875-7.525; 9.375-10.025; 11.6.5-12.265; 15.00-15.65
    17.50-18.15; 21.325-21.975. 1st IF 10.7 Mhz; 2nd IF 455 Khz.

MW: 530 - 1710 Khz; 455 Khz IF.

Analog Tuning dial, volume control, music/news tone switch, 7 position
SW band selector.  FM/MW/SW select buttons double as "on" switches.
"Off" button.  "Hold" button to disable "on" (prevents accidental
turnons) Slide rule, multicolumn frequency display.  Hand strap,
foldout stand to hold at angle on table, soft carrying case. Basic
shortwave guide.  Telescoping antenna. FM/MW/SW "on" and tuning LEDs.
Mono earphone jack.

Subjective Review:

I'm pretty impressed.  Sensitivity is up there with the Pomtrex [:-)]
without the "splatter" of strong stations.  Analog tuning dial
requires a delicate touch but for me that's part of the fun. Drift
seems nonexistent; you get a station and it keeps it without a lot of
vernier twiddling. MW performance was surprisingly good, as was FM.
I'd recommend it as a starter radio.

*****************************************************************
Sony ICF-5100 - 1

I bought this radio in Kuala Lumpur in 1988, and I'm not sure if
it goes by the same model number in other parts of the world. It
is a shirt pocket analog tuned radio with coverage from 6MZ to
about 21MZ in seven bands. The radio is very rugged and has
served me well despite of the physical abuse it has gone through.
Because of its small size the speaker is only small and the sound
from it it a little tinny, but I used it mainly to receive news
in countries without English language news services and in remote
areas while camping etc. I recommend this radio to anyone, who
considers size the most important factor. Cost was about US$70.

*****************************************************************
Sony ICF-7601 - 2

In some respects this is my favorite radio. No bells no whistles
no FM stereo -- just a good solid (feels like a small brick)
analogue unit.  It covers AM, FM and has 10 SW bands that cover
most of the "out of band" frequencies. Band switching on SW is
done by a slide on the front of the radio while buttons are used
to switch from AM to FM to SW. The dial is accurate to 5 kHz so
is very easy to locate a station. I believe that it was simply
the best low cost analogue rig out there.  It's still around and
can be had for well under $100.00.  Grab it!!

I have a 7601 also.  Most of its weight is from the batteries and
the speaker, giving it better tone and volume than smaller,
lighter sets.

As with other cheap analog sets, it wasn't very hot out of the
box.

If you "super tweek" the 7601, it's pretty good on AM, but no
match for a 2010 or Superradio III.  Most of the shortwave bands
peaked up well, but I never could get 19 meters working right.
As with most analog portables, the whip is part of the RF tuned
circuit, so one must be careful to duplicate the exact listening
conditions when tweeking the radio.  Even the presence of
headphones will shift the antenna tuning.

Unfortunately the 7601 picks up FM stations at various places on
the shortwave bands.  If you're far enough away from FM and TV
stations you might have room for an R-390.

When going on trips I usually take my SW-1 because of the
convenience of the presets and the reception flexibility provided
by the active antenna that comes with it.

*****************************************************************
Sony ICF-SW33 - 1

I've owned this radio (SW33)  for about 9 months and use it as my
"carrying around the house rig."  It was purchased to replace a
Sony 7601 that now resides on my desk at college (things
electronic can grow legs on a college campus).  By far the best
features of this unit are its convenient size and excellent
performance on all bands,  AM, SW and FM stereo.  Don't get me
wrong -- this is not a DX machine on SW but for listening to the
major broadcasters, it's excellent.

The single filter selection seems just about right and tuning on SW
is in 1 kHz intervals. This at least gives you a "fighting chance" to
move away from interference. That's a major improvement over the
5 kHz that many radios in this price range allow.  In addition, the
dual conversion design on SW keeps image interference at bay - a
major plus for a small portable.

The radio does not have a keypad so entering frequencies is a bit
clumsy. However, by entering the middle frequency of each of the
major SW bands in the 7 memories (5 memories plus 2 timer
memories) and slewing up or down from those positions you can
get around reasonability fast. The SW bands are changed by a
combination of 2 keystrokes.

The sleep control (shuts the radio off after 1 hour) can let you be
lulled to sleep and the timer alarm can make sure that you get to
work on time (radio shuts down after 2 hours if it is turned on by the
timer). Setting the radio alarm is very easy - once you have set the
clock, but that frankly, is a pain. The clock function, which works
very well (combination world/home time), takes at least 7 distinct
steps to set it. Fortunately the clock is fairly accurate (looses about
0.2 sec/day) so you don't have to reset it very often. The lighted
dial (stays on for 20 sec at the touch of a button) is a nice touch.

Battery life is excellent contrary to the 1994 Passport to World
Band Radio (see below). The radio has a battery "gauge" that is
activated at the touch of a button radio and shows in the display
as a battery icon with 3, 2, 1 or 0 dots inside of the battery outline.
It disappears after about 5 seconds. As soon as the number of
dots reaches 0, the radio shuts off immediately.  I ran a a series of
tests with Radio Shacks Super Alkaline batteries and got the
following results:  3 dots showed for 37 hours, then 2 dots showed
for an additional 11 hours, and finally 1 dot showed for 3.0 hours
for a total of  51 hours. (Radio ran 1.5 to 2.5 hours/day with the
volume control set at 1/2 volume most of the time).  At  $2.89 (plus
5% for tax)  for a package of four AA batteries (the radio takes 3),
that figures out to 4.5 cents/hour which is excellent. This figure differs
greatly from that given in the 1994 Passport (25-30 cents/hour). I have
no explaination for the difference but I stand by my test values.

Would I recommend this radio to anyone?  If you do a lot of band-
scanning, forget it; it will drive you crazy. But at about $140.00 plus
shipping (NYC mail-order) it's an excellent "second"  radio to carry
around for listening to the major broadcasters. I like it!

*****************************************************************
Realistic DX-440 - 2

I have a DX-440 and I think it is a good 'dabble' radio but if I
ever get serious I will look for a > $500 table model.


I love this radio!  It's my main radio and I use it
exclusively at home, moving it from room to room.  It really is
too large for travel

I've found the sensitivity to be tremendous on SW, MW
and FM!  Very rarely do I need to attach a clothsline
antenna!  It has continuous SW coverage, a great sounding
speaker, BASS and Treble controls, two bandwidths, great
sensitivity, good spurious signal rejection...It has
all the features I wanted in a starter radio!  I bought
it about three years ago on sale for $150.00!  I still
don't know why Radio Shack discontinued it.  If you're
looking for a good starter shortwave radio and can still
find one laying about at a Radio Shack store priced to move,
GRAB IT!

*****************************************************************
DAK DMR-3000 - 1

I bought this radio since they have a 30-day money back guarantee
and I did not know if I would like the hobby or the radio. Good
points: direct-entry tuning, 36 station memories, fairly small so
it is easy to travel with, speaker sound was good, reception was
okay, but improved dramatically with the addition of the Radio
Shack 23' rollup longwire ($8.95). Bad points: only 5kHz tuning
steps, only major  broadcast bands tunable (large gaps between
bands), selectivity not so good, no fine tuning, no BFO, no SSB
or CW, poor FM reception. All in all, not a bad radio of $69.90,
however, it left me wanting for more, so I got rid of it.

I have seen a couple of posts asking for a low cost SW receivers.
I have recently bought a DAK Model DMR-3000, for just
$69.90+$6.00 shipping from DAK - a mail order company.
The receiver has a direct access, so you can type in the desired
frequency, and a manual / automatic scanning system. It also has
a dual time clock with alarm and 'sleep' timer. Unfortunately you
can tune only to the commercial frequencies on SW, AM and FM
bands. I have to say though that cheapness comes at a price. The
first receiver I got was defective so I had to ship it back and
ask for a replacement. Now, I received a new one which works very
well.

Compared to my Sony ICF-7601 the DAK unit is an insensitive
brick. The fancy clock and timer features aren't really worth it.
About the only thing nice is the FM Stereo support if you plug in
headphones but the FM sensitivity leaves much to be desired as
well.
Something else to watch for.... That pretty lettering on the
buttons will wear off REAL fast. If you haven't used it much yet
you won't see a wear off REAL fast. If you haven't used it much
yet you won't see a problem. After you've done some tuning you'll
see the pretty arrows disappear from the buttons.

(Continued in part 2)