Cheap and Cheerful World Band Radio Contest

Round One

I've always been obsessed with 'Cheap and Cheerful' world band radios. It's not a matter of being tight-fisted: I just get a kick out of tuning in the world on something that's simple and inexpensive.

Of course, it's not easy to find a world band receiver that's both cheap and cheerful. As with anything else in life, you usually get what you pay for. In radio terms, this means something that looks like a WWII Army receiver, but typically receives shortwave as if it were a 1977 toaster oven.

On the other hand, over the years I've owned cheap world band radios that blow me away with their performance. For instance, I once bought a Sangean SG-789 for $40 at an ANARC Convention in Montreal. It was a black brick with a plastic bandwidth screen that warped in the sun. However, this radio once captured All-India Radio, using just a 3' length of wire connected to a tent trailer.

This is why I recently announced the 'Cheap and Cheerful World Band Radio Challenge'. My goal was simple: to compare some of the cheapest world band receivers with each other, to find out which offers the best 'bang for the buck'. Well, with the help of The Shortwave Store www.shortwavestore.com, Radio Shack Canada www.radioshack.ca, and Sangean Electronics www.sangean.com -- all of whom have generously provided me with samples for testing -- I now have the results of Round One.

Contestants

Here are the analog radios that I tested for Round One, in alphabetical order. All have extendable whip antennas, and the ability to connect mini-plug headsets.

The Grundig FR200 AM/FM/SW1/SW2 radio has been written up in this space before. Styled to resemble a military portable, the FR200 runs off AC, DC, or by hand-charging its built-in rechargable batteries using a side-mounted crank. SW1 covers 3.2-7.6 MHz; SW2 covers 9.2 to 22.0 MHz. (As a result, the FR200 has the best coverage of all Round One contestants.) The FR200 also comes with a built-in LED flashlight. Its crowning feature is a fine-tuning dial: this allows you to navigate precisely and smoothly through the FR200's tight bandspread. C$49.99 at Radio Shack Canada and The Shortwave Store, which also sells the FR200 for US$39.95.

The Grundig Mini World 100 PE radio is the smallest analog shortwave portable on the market: 2.5" wide by 4" tall by 3/4" thick. Despite its small size, the Mini World offers AM, FM, and six shortwave bands. SW1 covers the 49 meter band (5.8-6.3 MHz). SW2 covers 41 meters (6.95-7.5 MHz). SW3 is 31 meters (9.35-10 MHz), SW4 is 25 meters (11.6-12.15 MHZ), SW5 is 19 meters (14.8-15.75 MHz), and SW6 covers 16 meters (17.45-18.15 MHz). The Mini World 100 PE's tuning dial is a bit stiff, but quite precise. C$39.95 at Radio Shack Canada and The Shortwave Store, which also sells the Mini World 100PE for US$29.95. Note: The Shortwave Store sometimes sells factory-refurbished Mini Worlds for C$29.95/US$19.95. These come with the same one year warranty as new models. The Shortwave Store is sufficiently confident of the refurbished Mini World 100PE, that they sent one to be used as a tester.

The Grundig Traveller II PE radio: This paperback-sized radio features two clocks; one of which can be easily switched through time zones using the Traveller's built-in rotary dial. Radio-wise, this radio covers AM, FM, plus the 49, 41, 31, 25, and 19 meter bands. It has a reasonably smooth side-mounted tuning dial; the Traveller's clock display can be switched between 12 and 24 hour formats. C$79.99 at Radio Shack Canada. C$39.95/$US$29.95 for refurbished units with one year warranty at The Shortwave Store.

The Megasound MT-300 radio: Sold as a 'disposable portable' for world travel by The Shortwave Store, the MT-300 appears to be a clone of the Sangean SG-789 mentioned above. Priced at C$29.00/US$19.95, the MT-300 covers AM, FM, and LW (150-270 Khz), plus the SW 60 meters (4.75-5.1 MHz), 49, 41, 31, 25, 16, and 16 meter bands. The tuning feels a bit light, but is still relatively smooth. Warning: don't leave this radio out in the sun, otherwise the tuning scale and back-mounted info panel may warp.

The Sangean SG-622 is a solid little 12-bander: AM, FM, plus the 60, 49, 41, 31, 25, 21, 19, 16, 15, and 13 meter bands. This gives the SG-622 the second-best coverage of the six radios tested. This radio has nice smooth tuning on both the side-mounted tuning dial and volume knob; the SG-622's silver case is well-finished. US$42.95/C$69.00 at the Shortwave Store; the SG-622 can also be found at C. Crane Company www.ccrane.com for US$49.95.

Despite its slightly different brand name, the Technosonic Megasound MT-500 is a sister to the MT-300. It's slightly larger than the MT-300. For C$39/US$26.95 at The Shortwave Store, you get AM, FM, LW, and nine SW bands: 49, 41, 31, 25, 22, 19, 16, 13, and 11 meters. The MT-500's headset output is designed for a mono earplug: my stereo headset only had one side fired when I plugged it in. Two problems with the model I tested: first, the tuning needle tended to catch near the bottom of the band. Second, the volume level spikes loud when you turn the MT-500 on, unless ths slider is entirely to the end of the 'Min' scale position. This can be a problem if you're listening using an earpiece.

The Test

The date was Thursday, January 30, 2003. Time: 1215 UTC; 7:16 a.m. local time. Propagation conditions were good, with no major solar events taking place to screw up the ionosphere. Location: Ottawa, Canada.

The target station was the BBC's Caribbean service on 6.195 MHz in the 49 meter band. According to the ODXA's "BBC Schedules" chart in "Listening In' magazine, 6.195 MHz originates from the BBC's transmission site in Antigua. Research on the Web identifies this broadcast as coming from a 250 kw transmitter aimed at a 160 degree heading. This site is run on behalf of the BBC and Deutsche Welle by the Caribbean Relay Company Ltd.

Okay: that's enough set-up. I tuned each of the six radios listed above to 6.195 MHz. I then checked back and forth between the radios, to ensure a fair comparison. Based on the Round One readings, here's how these Cheap and Cheerful radios stacked up.

First Place: Sangean SG-622

In terms of overall reception of 6.195 MHz, the Sangean SG-622 achieved a SIO (Strength-Interference-Overall) rating of 544. (1 is worst; 5 is best.) I did notice some background hum behind the station; however this turned up on all the radios, indicating some source external to them all. The SG-622's audio is quite pleasant, with reasonable frequency response. The set showed excellent sensivitity (how well it received the signal) and selectivity (how well it separated this station out from adjacent broadcasts). Overall, the signal was quite listenable, although the treble did come through as a bit hard-edged from time to time.

Second Place: Grundig FR200

The FR200 received 6.195 MHz with an SIO rating of 444. On this receiver, the signal was easy to tune with some tuning room on either side. The FR200's sensitivity was excellent. So was its selectivity: there was no problem separating 6.195 from surrounding stations. The FR200's sound is reasonably pleasant, with slightly more bass response than the SG-622. In fact, on audio quality alone, I found the FR200 actually sounded slightly better than the SG-622, without the sharp-edged treble of the latter.

Third Place: Grundig Mini World 100 PE

Like the FR200 and SG-622, the Mini World 100 PE had little trouble tuning in 6.195. Even with its slightly stiff tuning dial, I was able to slide up to the BBC Caribbean Relay without any cross-talk. SIO = 444; like the FR200 and SG-622, the Mini World 100 PE showed excellent selectivity and sensitivity. Clearly this radio was properly refurbished at Grundig. In the month that I've been using it, I've seen nothing that would indicate any quality problems whatsoever. This said, the Mini World 100 PE's small speaker put it in third place as far as audio quality is concerned.

Fourth Place: Grundig Traveller II PE

When it came to SIO, the Traveller II performed slightly better than the second place FR200 with a rating of 544. The set's selectivity was good, as was its sensitivity. However, for some reason, the Traveller II suffered from overloading from a French-language AM station: I believe it was 1150 kHz. I have to assume that the problem is due to some resonance within the radio itself: I live close to the transmitter sites for 580 AM and time station CHU, so I often wrestle with them overloading mu other radios. However, there is no French-language transmitters nearby, so this problem likely has something to do with the Traveller II's internal resonances. The result: although the Traveller II can pull strong stations through the slop, this overload makes it impossible to tune for weak signals. I don't know if this problem extends to the entire line, or just this particular radio.

Fifth Place:Technosonic Megasound MT-500

Years ago, I tested a very similar-looking radio to the MT-500 under the Pomtrex label. Sad to say, that receiver definitely outperformed this one: the MT-500 is not as well put together. For 6.195 MHz, I rated the SIO at 222. It took a lot of tuning to pull BBC out of hiss, heterodyne noise, and slopover from another SW station. The MT-500 has poor sensitivity and selectivity: there was lots of fade on the signal -- even as it remained solid on the Grundigs and Sangean -- and finding it was extremely difficult. The problem here was likely the MT-500's sensitivity, more than anything else. I tested it again at 2:30 UTC on the 49 meter band, and it did pull in some stations clearly. Still, the MT-500 was not sensitive enough to pass this first test.

Sixth place: Megasound MT-300

With an SIO of 232, the Megasound MT-300 was actually slightly better than the MT-500 in receiving 6.195. However, there was so much hiss and slop on the signal -- including some from CHU, which made the MT-300 the only receiver tested to have problems with this local signal -- that I ranked the MT-500 as performing better overall, based on a side-by-side comparison. Like the MT-500, the MT-300 has poor sensitivity and selectivity. Again, like the MT-500, it performed better at 0230 UTC, when it did pick up a few stations on the 49 meter band. The MT-300 is better built than the MT-500, though, without the same quality problems the latter receiver displayed during this test. Still I expected both sets to pull in 6.195 without problems, and neither did.

Unranked comparison: Freeplay Plus from C. Crane Company

While doing this test, it occurred to pull to bring in the Freeplay Plus radio supplied to me by C. Crane Company. This unit, which uses both solar and wind-up power in addition to batteries, has two SW bands and a fine tuning knob for world band tuning. It sells for US$129.95, which puts it outside the 'Cheap and Cheerful' category. Still, I wanted to see what the Freeplay Plus thought of 6.195. The result was an SIO of 344: the Freeplay Plus picked up the BBC quite clearly without interference, but had some fading problems. This would put its sensitivity behind the Grundigs and the Sangean, but put its selectivity slightly higher than the Grundig Traveller II PE.

Conclusions from Round One

Based on this first test --and I caution that one test alone isn't enough to pass final judgement -- I am impressed by the performance of the Sangean SG-622, Grundig FR200, and Grundig Mini World 100PE. The Traveller II PE's problems with AM slop trouble me; especially because it's being caused by a French-language transmitter which is definitely not nearby. Finally, I am disappointed by the performance of the MT-300 and MT-500, and hope that this round's result is an exception. However, I'm not optimistic: standalone tests of both receievers have revealed the same sort of poor sensitivity/selectivity problems.

Given these results, plus my own individual use of these radios on other occasions, I would recommend the first three, reserve judgement on the fourth, and not recommend the last two for round-the-clock world band tuning. As for which one of the top three to pick? For the best combination of size, handling, and performance, I think the Sangean SG-622 has the edge. As for price? at US$49.95, the Sangean SG-622 is good value for money.

This said, the actual best buy that's both 'cheap' and 'cheerful' would have to be the refurbished Grundig Mini World 100 PE from The Shortwave Store. At US$19.95/C$29.95, this radio is a steal. Even new at US$29.95/C$39.95, it's still a good value, as well as being a solid performer.

Meanwhile, the Grundig FR200 is a good choice for anyone who wants world band performance plus wind-up power. It's a bit large for travelling, but not by much. Overall, the FR200's performance is impressive for its price.

That's it for Round One of the Cheap and Cheerful Challenge. Stay tuned for Round Two, where I expect to put at least four newcomers up against the first six 'Cheap and Cheerful' contestants!