GE 72887 AM/FM Radio
- Display: LED
- Tuning: Analog
- Type: Portable
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GE Superadio III
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.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Great radio for the money!
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 this radio from a fellow "Ham" who recommended it.
The first night I tried this radio was while we were staying in a motel near Brookfield, Pa. It was brand new so I cracked open the box, plugged it in and immediately heard KCNZ "The Fan" from Cedar Falls Iowa on 1650 KHz. Also heard Radio Disney from Milwaukee on 1640. When was the last time you heard any am station from Milwaukee on the east coast? Right next to KDKA was CFRB on 1010 KHz from Toronto. This radio really works!
Using the FCC website, http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/amq.html you can look-up and search for any of these am or fm radio stations. In addition to general information you will be able to see day and night am antenna patterns on graphs. I didn't realize that there were so many "omni directional" low power stations above 1610 kHz. On 1670, for example, there's only 4 stations listed in the U.S. and 2 are in California. I listened there and heard WMWR from Dry Branch, Ga. If you go lower down the band the frequencies are more crowded.
At home in NJ I've heard 950 WPEN every night and its loud: Real loud from "Philly," about 90 miles to the south. Of course you have to do some guessing as to what frequency you're on but you get used to that in short order. Also there are external antenna terminals on the back which are perfect for connecting a long wire, fm antenna and ground. I've had great luck with my 125' "snake antenna," which lies on the ground. Missing, however, is a dial light but for the price, you get a basic radio that sounds decent and should run for a long time on those 6 "D" batteries. The sound works best at low to mid range so don't try to blast the volume. And one more thing I just noticed: Strong, local am signals seem to overload the receiver so if you tune about 20 KHZ or so below one of the locals, you hear a 2nd signal from the same station, that's not supposed to be there.
Also on FM the Superadio misses the weaker "in between" stations. Even with the AFC off it seems too wide. I compared it with my old Panasonic RF-2200 and it doesn't hear, on fm but I bought it to tune the am band....
Getting back to that vernier dial: It's about six inches from one end of the dial to the other. With the sunspot cycle at a low point this might be the perfect time to listen for one of those "trans-Atlantic" stations this winter when it's nice and quiet on the am band. Happy listening!
P.S. Ingredients for success: A clear frequency, an omni transmit antenna, some patience and the GE Superadio, of course.
The first night I tried this radio was while we were staying in a motel near Brookfield, Pa. It was brand new so I cracked open the box, plugged it in and immediately heard KCNZ "The Fan" from Cedar Falls Iowa on 1650 KHz. Also heard Radio Disney from Milwaukee on 1640. When was the last time you heard any am station from Milwaukee on the east coast? Right next to KDKA was CFRB on 1010 KHz from Toronto. This radio really works!
Using the FCC website, http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/amq.html you can look-up and search for any of these am or fm radio stations. In addition to general information you will be able to see day and night am antenna patterns on graphs. I didn't realize that there were so many "omni directional" low power stations above 1610 kHz. On 1670, for example, there's only 4 stations listed in the U.S. and 2 are in California. I listened there and heard WMWR from Dry Branch, Ga. If you go lower down the band the frequencies are more crowded.
At home in NJ I've heard 950 WPEN every night and its loud: Real loud from "Philly," about 90 miles to the south. Of course you have to do some guessing as to what frequency you're on but you get used to that in short order. Also there are external antenna terminals on the back which are perfect for connecting a long wire, fm antenna and ground. I've had great luck with my 125' "snake antenna," which lies on the ground. Missing, however, is a dial light but for the price, you get a basic radio that sounds decent and should run for a long time on those 6 "D" batteries. The sound works best at low to mid range so don't try to blast the volume. And one more thing I just noticed: Strong, local am signals seem to overload the receiver so if you tune about 20 KHZ or so below one of the locals, you hear a 2nd signal from the same station, that's not supposed to be there.
Also on FM the Superadio misses the weaker "in between" stations. Even with the AFC off it seems too wide. I compared it with my old Panasonic RF-2200 and it doesn't hear, on fm but I bought it to tune the am band....
Getting back to that vernier dial: It's about six inches from one end of the dial to the other. With the sunspot cycle at a low point this might be the perfect time to listen for one of those "trans-Atlantic" stations this winter when it's nice and quiet on the am band. Happy listening!
P.S. Ingredients for success: A clear frequency, an omni transmit antenna, some patience and the GE Superadio, of course.
