Radio Reception

[You Go Girl!]

What light weight radio gets the best reception on the trail? would one that is in the form of headphones be practical or get good reception? I have a small Sony but the reception is lousy.

[Lone Wolf]

What light weight radio gets the best reception on the trail? would one that is in the form of headphones be practical or get good reception? I have a small Sony but the reception is lousy.

here's what i use http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103050&cp=2032054.2032115&parentPage=family i like them

[mystic]

This is what I used to check weather and listen to music/news at night:

http://www.oregoninstruments.com/product.asp?itmky=309719

The pedometer helps you gauge distances. It has a clock and headphones. It is lightweight and clips to your waist belt.

Put a couple extra batteries in your bounce box.

My reception in lower VA was great. I usually got about 10 or more stations at night. The advantage is that you usually are up high between two valleys.

Oh and it is cheap at $20.

[Terry7]

I used a am-fm radio with a built in speaker. I never wanted my ears plug up. I always wanted to be able to hear what was going on around me. I got the same radio station [106.9 The Lite] all the way from Springer to just south of Damascus Va.

[Footslogger]

What light weight radio gets the best reception on the trail? would one that is in the form of headphones be practical or get good reception? I have a small Sony but the reception is lousy.

=====================================

No idea which one is BEST ...but in 2003 I carried a little "weatherproof" Radio Shack model that ran on a single AA battery. I can not remember EVER not getting at least a couple channels. That said ...the choice of channels (and the types of stuff you get to hear) may be pretty limited in certain areas, but you will generally always have some reception unless you are camped deep in a bowl.

'Slogger

[Skyline]

I've used several different radios in the woods over the past 15 years. All decent. The best was a cheap Walkman that I bought some real headphones for.

Reception? While hiking, you will often pick up one channel from the east, another from the west, at or near the same frequency. As you wind along the trail they will keep changing back and forth.

While in camp, stationary, you can usually find something to listen to on FM. After dark, your choices on AM improve dramatically. Suddenly, you will hear powerhouse AM signals (50,000 watts clear usually) from places like St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Boston. These are generally talk show or sports formats.

I'm still waiting for a wearable/portable Sirius satellite radio that has longer battery life. What they have now works OK on a long weekend trek but the battery dies before most thru-hikers would get to their next town stop to recharge--and even then, they'd have to have access to a recharging unit. The programming on Sirius leaves "terrestrial" radio in the dust, so I'm hoping they will get the powering issues improved. (XM isn't any better battery-wise BTW, and IMHO their programming isn't as good.)

[Terry7]

I've used several different radios in the woods over the past 15 years. All decent. The best was a cheap Walkman that I bought some real headphones for.

Reception? While hiking, you will often pick up one channel from the east, another from the west, at or near the same frequency. As you wind along the trail they will keep changing back and forth.

While in camp, stationary, you can usually find something to listen to on FM. After dark, your choices on AM improve dramatically. Suddenly, you will hear powerhouse AM signals (50,000 watts clear usually) from places like St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Boston. These are generally talk show or sports formats.

I'm still waiting for a wearable/portable Sirius satellite radio that has longer battery life. What they have now works OK on a long weekend trek but the battery dies before most thru-hikers would get to their next town stop to recharge--and even then, they'd have to have access to a recharging unit. The programming on Sirius leaves "terrestrial" radio in the dust, so I'm hoping they will get the powering issues improved. (XM isn't any better battery-wise BTW, and IMHO their programming isn't as good.)
I have heard that you have a hard time picking up the signal. Is this true? I would go satellite if you can get and keep a signal on the move.

[hopefulhiker]

I carried a little sony weather/fm radio w headpones the first part of a nobo hike in 05.

[mudhead]

I carried a little sony weather/fm radio w headpones the first part of a nobo hike in 05.

I killed one of these. I liked it alot before it died. I need a little more rugged I guess.

[Skyline]

I have heard that you have a hard time picking up the signal. Is this true? I would go satellite if you can get and keep a signal on the move.


I don't have much problem keeping a Sirius signal in my vehicle. Rodney has Sirius in his shuttle vehicles, same story.

I have not purchased a Sirius Stiletto (wearable), so I don't know about those from first hand experience. I have seen dayhikers using them in SNP and those I've spoken to report decent results along ridgelines, not as reliable in the hollows.

[johnny quest]

i have one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Eton-M100-Grundig-Portable-Radio/dp/B00000JMRV
while i cant speak to reception on the a.t., here in bum$&@# texas it gets all kinds of shortwave stations, in addition to reg am/fm.
i dont know if they make it anymore but there is a version similar.

[Brushy Sage]

A grundig is topnotch.

[Press]

Another vote here for the Grundig. The shortwave channels are fun to fool around with. I also have a Pioneer Nano, which is an XM portable, but the reception is not great on that if you are basically at ground level in a tent or shelter.

[shelterbuilder]

...While in camp, stationary, you can usually find something to listen to on FM. After dark, your choices on AM improve dramatically. Suddenly, you will hear powerhouse AM signals (50,000 watts clear usually) from places like St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Boston. These are generally talk show or sports formats....

AM is a funny animal. After nightfall, I understand that there are changes that take place in the upper atmosphere that allow AM radio waves to bounce off of the atmospheric layers and travel many times their normal range. (I used to be a camp counselor at a church camp in the Southern Tier of NY and after the sun went down, I could pick up French Canadian stations as if they were just down the road!) FM isn't affected like this.

[Dingus Khan]

I pick up Montreal (hometown) stations all the time around or North/Northwest of Boston all the time... nice reminder of home :)

I have a Grundig as well under the new name of Elan, and while mine is the larger nautical version with NOAA broadcasts instead of the shortwave, it has a great range and fine tuning close to that of dig.
UHF TV audio is a nice thing to have once in a while, I have never been a big TV fan but it serves a purpose occasionally.

As far as reception, I have never NOT been able a cacophony of stations but do not carry it with me into remote areas so I cannot say how it will perform :(

[take-a-knee]

AM is a funny animal. After nightfall, I understand that there are changes that take place in the upper atmosphere that allow AM radio waves to bounce off of the atmospheric layers and travel many times their normal range. (I used to be a camp counselor at a church camp in the Southern Tier of NY and after the sun went down, I could pick up French Canadian stations as if they were just down the road!) FM isn't affected like this.

You can get an FM "skip" (ionospheric bounce) as the sun is going down and rarely under other conditions.

[Skyline]

Another vote here for the Grundig. The shortwave channels are fun to fool around with. I also have a Pioneer Nano, which is an XM portable, but the reception is not great on that if you are basically at ground level in a tent or shelter.


Not for the trail, but I'm interested in a Grundig at home. As I live in a rural area west of SNP at about 1100' elevation surrounded by the Blue Ridge, Massanutten, and other smaller mountains, I wonder how the home reception would be with just the built-in antenna? Any advice?

The one I'm considering is the G5 you can buy thru NPR (they get a commission!).

http://shop.npr.org/product/show/30845?sc=gaw&gclid=CO3fvKKmlJECFUWoGgod52zXOA

http://www.npr.org/nprshop/downloads/G5.pdf

There is a reference to an external antenna port (antenna not included). I wonder if I'll need that given my locale? Anyone have experience that would help answer that question?

Thanks in advance...

[Critterman]

Not for the trail, but I'm interested in a Grundig at home. As I live in a rural area west of SNP at about 1100' elevation surrounded by the Blue Ridge, Massanutten, and other smaller mountains, I wonder how the home reception would be with just the built-in antenna? Any advice?

The one I'm considering is the G5 you can buy thru NPR (they get a commission!).

http://shop.npr.org/product/show/30845?sc=gaw&gclid=CO3fvKKmlJECFUWoGgod52zXOA

http://www.npr.org/nprshop/downloads/G5.pdf

There is a reference to an external antenna port (antenna not included). I wonder if I'll need that given my locale? Anyone have experience that would help answer that question?

Thanks in advance...

All you need for shortwave is a long piece of wire and then you can even clip to the built in aerial. I used to have a sony icf-2010 which is a classic shortwave and I had a fancy dipole trap antenna in the attic but a 15 ft piece of wire worked about as well. Check out Universal Radio (http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable.html), they have a great selection. The Sangean radios are a good choice also. Some countries ( like the BBC ) have cut back their broadcasts to the US because of the internet.

[Tennessee Viking]

What light weight radio gets the best reception on the trail? would one that is in the form of headphones be practical or get good reception? I have a small Sony but the reception is lousy.
Unfortunatley the small the radio the worse reception you will get. A an emergency weather radio would be something to look into. Not light weigt. But you can hand crank them. So battery use would not be a problem if you run out. And you can dial into a frequency with detail.

There a few MP3 players that do come with radios.

[Montego]

I have a small portable Coby CX 17 - AM/FM/TV/Weather Band radio that takes 2 x AA (same size as my headlight) and only weighs a few ounces (not sure how many) and seems to have pretty good reception. I'll know more once I get on the trail.

[NICKTHEGREEK]

Unfortunatley the small the radio the worse reception you will get. A an emergency weather radio would be something to look into. Not light weigt. But you can hand crank them. So battery use would not be a problem if you run out. And you can dial into a frequency with detail.

There a few MP3 players that do come with radios.

I've worked on military receivers for over 40 years and still do, and I never knew that.:-?

[ki0eh]

Not for the trail, but I'm interested in a Grundig at home. As I live in a rural area west of SNP at about 1100' elevation surrounded by the Blue Ridge, Massanutten, and other smaller mountains, I wonder how the home reception would be with just the built-in antenna?

The mountains aren't as bad signal blockers for shortwave as dimmer switches, fluorescent lights, power lines, and the like. As AM radio fades in popularity these generators of radio frequency interference (RFI) proliferate.

Try tuning an AM radio in your house to a locally unused channel during the day, and see if turning off lights and other devices cuts down on annoying buzzing sounds.

Hopefully your area is sufficiently rural that you only have your own house to de-buzz for a quality listening experience.

[Wise Old Owl]

I've used several different radios in the woods over the past 15 years. All decent. The best was a cheap Walkman that I bought some real headphones for.

Reception? While hiking, you will often pick up one channel from the east, another from the west, at or near the same frequency. As you wind along the trail they will keep changing back and forth.

While in camp, stationary, you can usually find something to listen to on FM. After dark, your choices on AM improve dramatically. Suddenly, you will hear powerhouse AM signals (50,000 watts clear usually) from places like St. Louis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Boston. These are generally talk show or sports formats.

I'm still waiting for a wearable/portable Sirius satellite radio that has longer battery life. What they have now works OK on a long weekend trek but the battery dies before most thru-hikers would get to their next town stop to recharge--and even then, they'd have to have access to a recharging unit. The programming on Sirius leaves "terrestrial" radio in the dust, so I'm hoping they will get the powering issues improved. (XM isn't any better battery-wise BTW, and IMHO their programming isn't as good.)


Excellent post uh-Sirus and XM are now one and the same company. How did you justify spending roughly $250 for a radio? Or did you do something different?

[Skyline]

Excellent post uh-Sirus and XM are now one and the same company. How did you justify spending roughly $250 for a radio? Or did you do something different?


Although some insiders are saying an FCC decision is imminent (and others think it will drag out awhile longer), Sirius and XM have not yet merged. They both want to, but competitors like "terrestrial" radio have been trying mightly hard to block the merger.

I bought a Sirius unit for my vehicle that cost about $59. One for home that cost about $99, but then I bought an external antenna for that to get better reception.

Where I live, radio choices are pretty pathetic. Sirius has changed all of that for us.

[Wise Old Owl]

Very interesting upgrade folks – I should have done this sooner.

http://www.nextag.com/Sirius-Stiletto-SL100-PK1-513406492/prices-html (http://www.nextag.com/Sirius-Stiletto-SL100-PK1-513406492/prices-html)

This is what I use on the trail with good results - the AM can be a little sloppy in the mountains – but it works, won’t kill batteries, and digital memory and display. Don’t forget you can stuff lithium batteries into it. I swapped out the buds for buds with plastic clips so they hang on your ears even if you wear a hat.

http://www.123radios.com/BuyItNow.asp?PID=471 (http://www.123radios.com/BuyItNow.asp?PID=471)

[ki0eh]

How about a UL crystal radio for AM - if you camp by yourself you might almost be able to hear it, and no batteries required!

[ki0eh]

(Obviously, substituting a diode for an actual crystal..)

[Terry7]

Very interesting upgrade folks – I should have done this sooner.

http://www.nextag.com/Sirius-Stiletto-SL100-PK1-513406492/prices-html (http://www.nextag.com/Sirius-Stiletto-SL100-PK1-513406492/prices-html)

This is what I use on the trail with good results - the AM can be a little sloppy in the mountains – but it works, won’t kill batteries, and digital memory and display. Don’t forget you can stuff lithium batteries into it. I swapped out the buds for buds with plastic clips so they hang on your ears even if you wear a hat.

http://www.123radios.com/BuyItNow.asp?PID=471 (http://www.123radios.com/BuyItNow.asp?PID=471)
Can you store the music straight to the unit with out using a computer?

[JohnnyBongo]

I always like to bring my Kaito WRX911 with me on the trail. It's a small single conversion analog, with am/fm/sw. The reception is very good on am/sw, and pretty good for fm. It's a great little radio for being so small and inexpensive. I bought mine from surplus computers for about $20. It's really stingy with the two AA's too, mine lasted for about 4 months.

[parkinson1963]

I use dollar store radios the FM ones, runs on those flat watch batteries.

bad ear phones, but if you spend another dollar you can get better head phones.

Easy to replace and no sadness when your expensive Sony falls in the water, trust me it will.

[Bob S]

I have a Grundig G4 Executive Traveller radio (E-Bay $35.00), it’s the size of a normal pocket radio, it has AM, FM, and shortwave, it runs on 2-AA Batteries. It an analog radio with a digital readout. It’s fairly sensitive, I get good reception on all bands everyplace I have used it. It’s going on 5-years old, gets lots of use & abuse and is still going. It’s scratched up, but working.

[88BlueGT]

Has anyone used a Zen (a small MP3 player w/ built in radio) on the trail? If so, let me know how you like it.

[88BlueGT]

The Zen Muvo btw.