AM DX Review: CCRadio-EP + Terk Antenna

[jon]

C.Crane has been unusually slow in getting up to date info out there on the new $70 CCRadio-EP. And the best third party review I've seen is here:
http://www.radioworld.com/article/111354

So, I didn't know exactly what to expect when I bought one. I just completed some rudimentary AM DX testing during the Daytime when you really get a feel for background noise level and local imaging, which is a huge problem where I'm situated, especially from 50KW CFRN-1260 just a few miles away, and many others not much farther away.

The CCRadio-EP plus the recommended $40 TERK Advantage tuned loop antenna (also sold by C.Crane) is a keeper for me, with my focus on high quality AM airchecks and AM DX on a budget. I have yet to do anything more than a casual test of FM but I like what I see.

Lest you be disappointed should you decide to buy the radio with or without the antenna, here are some things I would like to have known BEFORE I bought it, again just on the AM reception side of things:

• For anything beyond locals, the supplied AC Adaptor adds an annoying buzz, which is completely gone as soon as you run it on 4 D cell batteries and unplug the AC Adaptor
• A tuned loop like the TERK or the long gone Radio Shack 15-1853 is a must if you have severe problems (slop and imaging) with powerful local stations, like I do
• But, you will have to run the headphone jack into an external amplifier as you can't hear weak signals even at top volume when using the TERK or Radio Shack
• Be sure the external amplifier does not add RF noise of its own
• Be sure to set the Internal/External Antenna switch to External when using an external antenna or the much higher gain internal antenna "takes over"
• When using the internal antenna, the AM Fine Tuning knob is extremely important, as it tunes the internal antenna
• Always start with the AM Fine Tuning knob set at the locked centre point
• The AM Fine Tuning knob only needs tuning from the locked centre point when slop or imaging from a local station needs to be eliminated by detuning away from the local's frequency
• This radio has an old fashioned analogue radio dial, which takes some getting used to, and can be quite annoying if you are looking for a specific quiet frequency, i.e. - you can't just tune a dial until you see 1460 KHz displayed on some digital display, you have to get to a known station and move 10 KHz at a time
• The headphone jack seems to work fine as a Line Out into an amplifier
• You get slightly more audio gain on the headphones than the built-in speaker, but not enough to eliminate the need for an external amplifier when DX'ing using an external tuned unamplified loop antenna like the TERK
• The radio has a good sized built-in speaker, but only one, so you need to the headphone jack for FM Stereo (which I haven't yet tested)
• There is a Voice/Music switch; I did all my testing in Music mode which appears to be dead flat; there are bass and treble controls to change that

Bottom line: I highly recommend this radio. But I don't recommend any other CCRadio, having tested the CCRadio-2 last June, and sending it back. It has a digital readout, but lacks the switch to disconnect the Internal AM Antenna, which is a must in areas like mine with strong local transmitters so close by.

As for antennas, the TERK has two advantages over the long discontinued Radio Shack tuned loop antenna on loan from radiofan: a little more gain, and a tuning control marked with frequencies.

C.Crane charges a lot to ship into Canada. I lucked into a free FedEx shipping deal, but only to the U.S., so had it picked up by a friend near the border.

[skyvalleyradio]

jon - thanks for a comprehensive review of this new CC Crane product - always appreciated by us DXers when looking for new 'arsenal' in the quest for DX!

[radiofan]

I'm still pleased with my original CC Radio which I got from C Crane back in 1999.

After 12 years it's still running fine, and is still as good as or better than my GE Superadio I and Superadio II and outperforms the SONY ICF-2010.

The only local that gives me trouble with splatter is CKNW, 970 and 990 are never heard here.

Maybe it's time to update. The CC Radio-EP sounds like it would be worth checking out. And the price is about half what the original CC Radio was.

[Eldon-Mr.CFAY]

Hi everyone, Many thanks Jon for the great review of the new C.Crane analog radio. I get the latest C.Crane catalogs all the time and saw it last fall! It looked real good when I first read about it in the catallog. I like the fact you can turn the internal twin coil ferrite antenna off and use an external one completely if you like. Also the fact its only about 70 bucks much cheaper than the regular C. Crane radios and includes their latest twin coil ferrite antenna means a lot to me. I was going to order one for myself for christmas this past year but had a ton of other christmas expenses so couldn't swing it. I will probably order one this year though. Jon I also have a C. Crane regular portable, I think its the first one they put out with just AM and FM. Didn't have the twin coil at the time, its back east at my Ontario address. I ordered it in 2001. Its quite sensitive and selective on AM but not that great on FM.. On FM my GE Superadio One and Two beat it for weak stations. Jim (VE7ROX) has one too that we have used on dxpeditions around the Fraser Vallely and Langley. We heard that expanded band Florida Tourist Format Station (at the time) on 1680 khz. from Denny Ross Park in Murrayville, Langley Township back about 5 years ago or more. The Florida station came in well and also several low power highway and tourist info. (or park stations) from Washington State came in quite good too. This was without any external antenna used.

For external antennas I llike the Select-A-Tenna Portable Loop made in Wisconsin. Its been around for years and has been widely available in the USA but harder to get in Canada. I got mine about 20 years ago from a Vancouver radio store on Davie street called Dubberleys that has long since bit the dust. Good Store that was there for quite a few years up to the mid-90s!~ I also use our portable ferrite rod loop antennas and they are smaller and very directional plus give about 20 db. gain with the fet amplifier.. Jon we built a 12 Foot (in Height) outside Air-core loop in North Surrey back in 1978 and it used the # 18 gauge stranded wire (speaker wire), worked real well and was inductively coupled to my Radio Shack TRF 655 AM Portable and the GE Superardio one, had a lot of gain and it got KTOB from Petaluma on 1490 like gangbusters at about 3 PM on a summer afternoon. Thats from California. Also KGO and quite a few other stations came in well too. KBRO was there but underneath KTOB as I recall. The TRF 655 was a hot AM ONLY DX Radio put out by Radio Shack in the 1970s. A lot of IRCA and NRC dxers used them. I still have two or three including one in Langley that still works great and its quite sensitive to low power AM stations like 500 watt KWDB In Oak Harbor, Wash. Brings them in quite well in Langley even in the noisy apartment we are at. I generally use my Grundig portable radios and the Select=-A-Tenna for dxing at the apartment though. Also have A GE Superadio as well. As far as the C.Crane radio I wish the new one had digital readout but I can live without it even though I*m so used to digital readouts now, spoiled I guess!

Managed to get CHLW 1310 St;. Paul, Alberta taped the other night off the Grace Wi-Fi Radio. Allso taped Lake 92.7 FM from Slave Lake, Alberta off the wi-fi radio. Didn't know Slave Lake was on FM now, calls are CHLS I believe. Both owned by Newcap. I like St. Paul, Alberta a lot but never visited there when I lived in Alberta in the 1980s. Its in Ne. Alberta and their 1967 Centennial Project (for St. Paul) was a Flying Saucer Landing Pad made of Concrete!!!!

[jon]

If you are interested in FM Stereo, I would hold off on a CCRadio-EP purchase for a bit. I just did some testing with some local FM stations, side by side with a Sony boombox tuned to the same station, and the CCRadio-EP is definitely not delivering the station's stereo audio to the headphone jack with the switch set to FM Stereo. (it only has a single speaker)

Clearly, this is not a lack of properly functioning stereo audio circuitry, as I get stereo artifacts when I tune away from a local station. It appears to be an incorrect signal strength setting in the stereo multiplexing circuitry on the RF side of the FM part of the receiver.

I'll report this problem to Warranty Support at C.Crane and see what they say.


A few updates on the AM side. Ghetto blasters that were designed in the last 4-5 years now sport LINE IN jacks for iPods and other MP3 players. I tested plugging the CCRadio-EP's headphone jack into the LINE IN on a small Sony ghetto blaster and it worked really well, with lots of extra amplification on weak signals using an external antenna. The CCRadio-EP has a low audio "floor" meaning that you can amplify the audio and not get very much background noise caused by the audio circuitry.

I still have not done much with the AM switch set to Voice instead of Music, but what little testing I have done shows some real promise. Tuning becomes really "tight" which should really help make it easier to tune into a weaker station beside a powerful signal. My guess is that it would have worked better than my venerable Lafayette HA-230 (cheapest of the tube-based communications receivers of the 1960s) back then to separate 834 Radio Belize from 830 WCCO Minneapolis. In today's terms, trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific DX might be possible with stations on the European 9 KHz separation.

Again, I'm not saying the CCRadio-EP is in the same class as the ICOM IC-R75, generally considered the benchmark for communications receivers in the under $1000 price range. But, if you are reluctant to shell out $800 new or have a lot of patience on eBay and get one used for $400, the CCRadio-EP is certainly the best choice from everything I can see.

And, finally, a new pair of independent technical reviews has appeared:
http://radiointel.net/radio-receiver-re ... -radio-ep/
Among other things, reading them, I discovered that my complaints about the RF noise from the AC adaptor is a defect. And C.Crane is replacing them for anyone who asks.

Along the way, I found out some slightly lower cost alternatives to the $69.95 + shipping price on the C.Crane site:

1. An Orphan (returned item) from C.Crane - http://www.ccrane.com/detail.aspx?ID=8047
2. A dealer - http://www.123radios.com/BuyItNow.asp?PID=6358

[jon]

I just received my warranty replacement CCRadio-EP. And a full refund for the money I spent shipping back my original radio.

The FM stereo problem is gone. Perfect FM stereo separation off the headphone jack; the radio itself has only one speaker.

Not a trace of the "rather high floor of RF noise" with the AC adaptor that came with this warranty replacement.

You will still need an external audio amplifier -- ghetto blaster with Line In or MP3 player input works fine for me -- when using an external loop antenna like the unamplified tuned loops that I'm using and C.Crane recommends.

Don't think I mentioned it previously, but the little "AM Fine Tuning" knob is a bit of a mystery as it does more than simply tune the antenna. It also works with an external AM antenna, not just the internal AM antenna.

I'm certainly a happy camper now!

[jon]

Just doing my first aircheck off the C.Crane. This one off FM.

I was killing myself, moving the fully extended antenna in every conceivable direction, and all I could get in my basement was a slightly distorted stereo signal off a 100KW local, though admittedly off one of the less desirable tower sites here.

On a whim, I changed the antenna switch from Internal to External, with no external antenna connected, and, poof, perfect reception!