attn DXers who have the Sangean PR-D5 or D15 units

I would like to ask all DXers who have the PR-D5 or PR-D15 Sangean radios how the FM performance is on the radios. I just bought a Tecsun PL-380 which I thought would have some great performance. The DSP works OK, but the reception on some stations at 80 miles is horrendous.
My Grundig G5 gets KQFM-100.1 Hermiston OR (80 mi, 5.2KW) strong with a little static.
My PL-380 gets a THRESHOLD on 100.1. This will not prove so well when there is weak E-skip openings this year. I need to ask about the PR-D5 FM because I want to know if it separates strong non-IBOC locals from others. I.E. is it a good radio for trying first-adjacent frequencies? I now have zero frequencies open below 92.3 due to a new religious translator on 88.9 (thanks KOLU Pasco! Yeah right.) which causes slop on 88.7, a channel that used to be mostly open.
And with May 1st coming so close, I need to ask now. My PL-380 might be going back for a refund in the next couple days.

Otherwise, if the sensitivity/selectivity is not so great against strong locals, I'll have no choice but to keep looking for a 2nd radio. I want to record two frequencies at once, unattended, during E-skip season. I've only done one so far, but there might be weak openings where the MUF only reaches 88 or 89.

-crainbebo

The PR D15 has excellent FM reception. The AM is excellent,as well. The PR D5 is slightly better on AM. but worse on FM. I was surprised how good the FM reception was on the 15.

I got my PR-D5 for the AM reception and it's great. Can't say enough about the AM reception.

I also use if for FM DXIng because of the stereo speakers and the RDS function but I would say my Grundig G8 is actually better in selectivity and sensitivity.

And when I got the Grundig G8, I wasn't even thinking about FM.

The FM reception on my car radio is noticeably better than both.

Thanks gar. Was waiting for a reply from you, especially.
I'm just inquiring because my new PL-380 again, sucks on FM. If it's not getting KQFM...at all...then it's worthless. My G5 had them almost clear as a bell last night, with some static. Wonder if I've got a bad unit, or a version that did not work so well.
May be getting a different radio, maybe the HD Jump, and installing a small element antenna on a tripod. Can't put anything on the roof since I'm in an apartment, but will try SOMETHING in my bedroom.

I have both the PL-380 and the PR-D15. If you want a radio for unattended recordings, especially at the lower end of the FM band for E-skip, I'd say go for the PR-D15.

My PR-D15 is more sensitive, especially at the lower FM frequencies. If there's a station I'm getting on the PR-D15 but not on the PL-380, I can usually get it on the PL-380 by lifting it up in the air so the antenna is up high; however, that won't help for unattended recordings, and the signal is still weaker. Also, the PL-380 has a hissier sound and no tone controls.

Selectivity on both in regard to first-channel adjacents seems about the same. I do get splatter on both radios on a few frequencies adjacent to nearby locals that are 70+ kW, but I have had stations break through via tropo or E-skip.

Regarding the PR-D5, I've never used one, but most reviews say that it has equal FM sensitivity to the PR-D15 but poorer selectivity.

Another radio you might want to consider is the Tecsun PL-390. It's got a longer antenna than the PR-D15 and is supposed to outperform the PL-380. I've seen spunker88 posting about it enthusiastically here. Also, and this might be out of your price range, the Eton Satellit has received raves about its FM performance and RDS (despite its various flaws) on eHam and Amazon. It's over $190, though, which is why I haven't pulled the trigger on it.

You might be able to pick up one of these bargain Radio Shack radios:

http://earmark.net/gesr/2000629.htm

It is supposed to be a clone of something, but I forget what. The FM continues to amaze me - my area is getting packed with LPFM and translators, some 30 miles away that punch right in on my modified radio. Amazing stuff! There is a rim shot about 80 miles away from me - it is almost static free and in stereo. A little country station 60 or 70 miles away punches through, as well as deep fringe signals that aren't receivable normally except with an outdoor antenna on 92.3 and 99.9. 99.9 even mixes with a station 140 miles away on occasion. That is all with the whip. AM is crap - but the stations are there and a small loop brings them right in. If I could find a way to kludge in a better AM ferrite bar, I have no doubt that this thing would be amazing on AM. But they share the ferrite with longwave so I haven't done it yet. Shortwave - I don't care because I don't speak foreign and don't care about religious, but a lot of stations are there.

I got mine for $31, I've heard some people have been picking them up for as little as 17. Well worth it even if you don't put in narrow ceramic filters on FM.

The Radio Shack "bargain radio" is indeed a version of the ATS-505. Perhaps slighly stripped down. My kids got me an ATS 505 for Christmas. I basically agree with the "out of box" review. I was a little disappointed with the FM, but the suggested modifications would probably more than address the weaknesses. I thought AM was somewhat better than the review, but nowhere near as good as my GE Superadio and also not quite up to my (late) YB PE-300. SW performance so far seems above average for a portable in this size/price.

I don't want a radio that I have to immediately pull out, look for the correct wire and pray that I don't tear up any functions. I want a radio that has little or no splatter on a 100KW station 5 miles away, on the first-adjacent frequency. KATS 94.5 is a huge example, and then there's all of the low FM freqs that are gone. With a selective/sensitive enough radio, I have 7 new frequencies that are mostly open: 88.3, 88.7, 89.3, 89.7, 90.9, 91.3 and 91.7. Those are going to be HUGE advantages during e-skip, as there will be openings that don't even make it to the 1st open frequency for my G5 which is 92.3. There will be openings with an MUF of 88-89 mhz only. One new log of a K-LOVE or AFR station at the top of the hour is better than none with no access to that open frequency.
Darn you FCC for allowing KOLU to sign on the 88.9 translator in Yakima! At least I was able to enjoy several new ones on 88.9 including KPRD Hays, KS and KTLW Lancaster, CA before KOLU signed on 88.9, which is unnullable.

-crainbebo

crainbebo said:

I don't want a radio that I have to immediately pull out, look for the correct wire and pray that I don't tear up any functions. I want a radio that has little or no splatter on a 100KW station 5 miles away, on the first-adjacent frequency. KATS 94.5 is a huge example, and then there's all of the low FM freqs that are gone. With a selective/sensitive enough radio, I have 7 new frequencies that are mostly open: 88.3, 88.7, 89.3, 89.7, 90.9, 91.3 and 91.7. Those are going to be HUGE advantages during e-skip, as there will be openings that don't even make it to the 1st open frequency for my G5 which is 92.3. There will be openings with an MUF of 88-89 mhz only. One new log of a K-LOVE or AFR station at the top of the hour is better than none with no access to that open frequency.
Darn you FCC for allowing KOLU to sign on the 88.9 translator in Yakima! At least I was able to enjoy several new ones on 88.9 including KPRD Hays, KS and KTLW Lancaster, CA before KOLU signed on 88.9, which is unnullable.

-crainbebo

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I tend to overlook the fact that a lot of people are really reluctant to open an otherwise working radio. It can be a bit intimidating if you aren't used to that type of work, or don't have a proper soldering station or set of tools. My teardown is intended for people that want to get into the radio, get it down the point where the PC board can be easily worked with. A good solder sucker / de-soldering wick is very helpful. A little brush - even an old (soft) toothbrush and 91% alcohol cleans really effectively. If you follow my instructions, you should be able to successfully modify the radio.

For that specific reception scenario - first adjacent reception is VERY difficult in a portable. Radios tend to use 280 kHz filters out of the box, which means that they cover portions of both adjacent channels. The only effective way of combatting that is a replacement with 150 kHz ceramic filters. The Radio Shack and probably the ATS-505 has two - which will greatly improve adjacent channel selectivity with 150 kHz filters. But - it will also mean you have to match the filters - which is a bit of a hassle (even with three pin sockets).

I have done work on radios for people in the past for a nominal fee - if you want to go that route. I don't do it for free - because if I did every DX'er in the country would be sending me radios. I charge $25 - you pay postage each way. Way under what I should charge for labor - it basically covers parts and shop supplies. No guarantees, but I've never failed to fix something. Contact me off list if you want me to work on any of the models above to boost the FM selectivity.

cyberdad said:

The Radio Shack "bargain radio" is indeed a version of the ATS-505. Perhaps slighly stripped down. My kids got me an ATS 505 for Christmas. I basically agree with the "out of box" review. I was a little disappointed with the FM, but the suggested modifications would probably more than address the weaknesses. I thought AM was somewhat better than the review, but nowhere near as good as my GE Superadio and also not quite up to my (late) YB PE-300. SW performance so far seems above average for a portable in this size/price.

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I am pretty critical on my AM evaluation. GE sets the bar pretty high - and I have little sympathy for manufacturers that skimp on ferrite bars.

There's two ATS-505s on eBay for bid, as well as a $55 + shipping buy it now. Everything else is in the $100+ range, and that's out of my budget. So I might purchase one over the weekend, and then I'll give rburcecarter5 a PM for shipping to him. I want those 150 khz filters like a kid in a candy shop wants Kit Kats! We are now 1 week officially from the start of E-skip season (May 1st) and I don't want to miss out on a humongous opening due to no good radio in my possession for the low FM dial (88-92).

-crainbebo

rbrucecarter5 said:

I am pretty critical on my AM evaluation. GE sets the bar pretty high - and I have little sympathy for manufacturers that skimp on ferrite bars.

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Agree 100%, and critical is as it should be, IMHO. The ATS-505 has proven to be a decent balance between portability and performance. Ironic that the out-of-box version is probably not what crain is looking for, while the modified version could be exactly what he wants. One caveat to crain if he's going to take the plunge: I'm overall satisfied with m'y ATS-505, but I'm a little concerned that the build quality may be suspect. Less than six months of what I'd consider to be normal useage, the connection between the whip antenna and the circuit sometimes cuts out on FM. Easy to correct by slight repositioning. The effect does not occur with shortwave.

cyberdad said:

Agree 100%, and critical is as it should be, IMHO. The ATS-505 has proven to be a decent balance between portability and performance. Ironic that the out-of-box version is probably not what crain is looking for, while the modified version could be exactly what he wants. One caveat to crain if he's going to take the plunge: I'm overall satisfied with m'y ATS-505, but I'm a little concerned that the build quality may be suspect. Less than six months of what I'd consider to be normal useage, the connection between the whip antenna and the circuit sometimes cuts out on FM. Easy to correct by slight repositioning. The effect does not occur with shortwave.

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I noticed this on the Radio Shack as well - they rely on spring pressure for the whip to make contact with the PC board.

If you don't mind spending money, cc 2e is one of the most selective radios I have ever had. I had 96.7 wxof blasting in even with 100 kw 96.5 wdbo not being that far from my location. Same with 100.5 the buzz from the ganesville area with wrum 100.3 100kw next door as well. I had a pr-d15 and the fm was pretty decent but am sounded terrible. Even with tone controls. I wonder if the cc skywave may fit the bill? I love the cc skywave. Not as sensitive as the cc 2e but it's almost there.

I have the Radio Shack version of the ATS505 (200629) and it works better on FM than most of my other radios. Selectivity seems good also. I don't know if you'd need to replace the ceramic filter or not. You could always try the radio first.

Not being an FM DXer, I really can't say if it's a good FM DX radio or not.

The AM side is great, you just need an external loop to make up for the thinner than standard ferrite bar. AM selectivity is quite good. The thin loopstick may or may not be a deal breaker but most DXers I know use external loops, anyway, so if you want to DX MW with it just use the loop. (FWIW, I don't need an external loop for my PRD5, though -- though a loop still boosts signals by about a db).

SW on the 505 is very good. SSB not as good as other radios, but SWBC is excellent. The antenna circuit has protection diodes built in, so it would be very hard to 'zap' the radio's RF amp transistor with static electricity in winter.

It's not a 'stripped down' version of the ATS505, as someone suggested here. It's the same radio, with a better AF chip (at least in the one I got -- it's possible Sangean versions also have the new AF chip, also).

I've used my ATS505/200629 on SW and MW for over a year, and have had no problems yet with the antenna. Sangean has been using spring-like 'forks' to connect whip antennas to the main PCB for years (since the ATS803A in 1989), and sometimes they need more solder on the PCB board over time. However, most of my older Sangeans (dating from the 1990's for the most part) are fine.

The only Sangean I had to add solder to -- or hard-wire -- was my 803A (DX440 actually), my oldest one. It still worked, but the whip antenna connection made scratch noises when the radio was moved. Hard wiring the whip to the PCB solved the problem. But that is almost a 30 year old radio.

I also hard wired a second Sangean radio's whip just to prevent any possible issues -- it's a radio I was using daily and I already had the back off to add protection diodes which it didn't have. So I hard wired the whip just in case.

Other Sangeans I have have presented no problems. So I wouldn't let that possibility worry you much.

I'm going to have to send the PL380 back to Kaito Electronics within the next few days. Get the $56 (including SquareTrade warranty) back to my card, and then I'll get the ATS-505, send it to rbrucecarter5 and potentially enjoy incredible FM DX.
However, is there anything Bruce can do about the cut-out FM connection? Tightening up maybe? I don't want to work for 6 months and die. I'd like for it to work for years.

-crainbebo

boombox4 said:

I have the Radio Shack version of the ATS505 (200629) and it works better on FM than most of my other radios. Selectivity seems good also. I don't know if you'd need to replace the ceramic filter or not. You could always try the radio first.

Click to expand...

I'll say this for the ATS-505, the audio quality on FM with a decent pair of headphones is very good. I use the ATS-505 to listen to streaming music from my computer (via a Whole House FM Transmitter). The resultant audio with headphones is clearer than my Kenwood stereo tuner/amplifier, SRF37 Walkman, or ipad/iphone. I hadn't expected this, and was pretty amazed. I'll also second what boombox said about the AM selectivity. Pulling out distant signals from strong local ones has been pretty easy.

rbrucecarter5 said:

I am pretty critical on my AM evaluation. GE sets the bar pretty high - and I have little sympathy for manufacturers that skimp on ferrite bars.

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The PR-D5 has a 200mm ferrite bar.

Google '200mm ferrite antenna' and it's highlighted in the results.

rbrucecarter5, a light bulb just popped up in my brain.

If I get the ATS-505 modified with filters, will it cause overload in areas where strong stations are located? I'm worried about that. Currently my G5 is trash on several frequencies (most notably 93.5, 95.3, 102.3, 102.5, 103.3) due to overload from all of my local stations (I am 5 miles from KATS-94.5, a 100kw station, and about 7 miles from three more 100KW FMs.)
I don't want to be disappointed!

P.S. we are taking my G5 to a radio shop near Downtown Yakima tomorrow. That said radio's antenna is hooked up to a square-shaped O-ring, and a screw. The screw came out, causing the whip to stay in, but point downward almost toward the ground. Never screwed around with the whip, never bent the antenna accidentally, never sat on the antenna accidentally - it's only been 10 months. We'll see what the old guy can do. He's helped me old G5 before (just a few months before it died for good).

-crainbebo

Crainbebo,
It's been a while since I had the back off my 505 (200629), but Mr. Carter could probably add solder to the pad on the PCB, or just hard wire the whip to the PCB with a hank of flexible hookup wire (which is what I did to my DX-390 / Sangean 818, and also what I did to the DX440 / 803A I mentioned in my post).

I'm no tech, so if I can do it, he probably could do that if it were that important to you.

I haven't noticed any overload on my 505 with the stock filter. But then, I haven't DXed FM with it, just did a few FM bandscans last summer. Didn't notice any overload then -- if there was any, it wasn't major, 'cause I'd probably remember that. I'm maybe 7-8 miles from a few FM transmitters, but I'm also in a hole, so you may or may not have some overload. Mr. Carter could probably give you a much better answer on that for sure.