Select-A-Tenna – AM Antenna
After C. Crane started to gain momentum selling mostly antennas and radio accessories, we received our first real technological challenge when customers starting asking for recommendations on the best radio. It was pretty easy to select the Sangean 803A as the first radio we offered to our customers. Tuning was precise and voice audio was sharper and more legible than most other radios on the market. With the Select-A-Tenna that we sold, it turned into one of the best radios made for reception. It was a little complex to use as a regular daily radio but it met many customer’s needs. We also carried the GE Super Radio which was much easier to use but lacked some of the functionality customer’s wanted and supply was erratic. It seemed that there wasn’t a good blend of features, performance and ease of use.
In the background we went about acquiring and testing just about every popular radio made at the time. It turns out that most radios are tuned for music and FM. There are many that have too much bass or filtering which distorts the human voice for talk radio and even voices found in music tracks. It turned out nobody was making a radio that made voices sound realistic and very few had good reception. If they did, they were so complicated that you needed a PhD just to turn it on or they were so expensive you needed a small loan to pay for it. It took 10 years to convince a manufacturer to help us make the radio we knew our customers needed and wanted. Something that had some of the most desired functionality (memory presets, clock, alarm), audio tuned for voice, excellent reception and wasn’t too difficult to use.
We started the CCRadio by selecting a speaker and an amplifier designed to react well with voice frequencies. Trying to make a sensitive radio that picked up weak stations was the real challenge. The new solid state chips generated their own static noise that masked the weak signal so that is all you heard. It took months to reduce the noise and make the radio quiet so a weak station was above the noise level. The original CCRadio was introduced in July of 1998 and we haven’t looked back. Grandma Faye gave the best compliment; “you can hear the voices with this radio”. It’s gone through a few different iterations based on customer feedback and changes in technology but the idea behind it remains and it continues to be one of the most popular radios we offer. Models based on our design are still popular worldwide. It took several more years but we eventually invented and received a patent for the Twin Coil Ferrite AM antenna. This allowed us to exceed the reception of our original AM antenna and radio.
Our line of CC Radios has expanded to include different types and styles but the focus on reception and audio remains.
In honor of our anniversary month, 17 years of CCRadios, you can enter to win, tell us your favorite radio story in the comments on this blog and win the CCRadio of your choice. Drawing will be held July 31st. Only one entry per person.
Congratulations to Bob Emery for sharing his favorite radio story! Thanks to everyone who participated! ~Jessyca
In the radio club I belong to, the guys (and it’s all guys, sadly) will always reminisce about their first radio. These guys are collectors and many work in electronics and are hams. They have old radios, new radios, test equipment, antennas, transceivers, you name it. But give them chance to talk about the first radio of their own and they practically tear up and carry on. First radios are usually not high performance. They are the kitchen radio the aunt had and gave them, or the Radio Shack they got for Christmas, a cheap transistor radio. For some it was the car radio and, they now have car radios in their collections – not the car, just the radio- hooked up and working.
It’s because the thrill of radio is the thrill of listening through the air waves, to know that you can hear somebody in different part of the country or of the world. TV is not as much fun. Like many, I think it leaves too little to imagination.
My first radio was a crystal set. This is a common story, and a great one. Your father helps you build it and you can listen to the world – well, the station a mile away – but the thrill is there.
I did later get a radio good enough to listen to the world. I would listen to radio from China. This was before Nixon’s visit. We knew nothing about China. The broadcast was non-stop anti-America propaganda, but interesting. The most fun was listening to the presenters and trying to detect a Chinese accent. Hardly ever did it come through. They spoke the Queens English perfectly.
And the car radio was great for DXing; that is, when I got my turn with the family station wagon. My affection for radio is likely the reason I couldn’t get a date in high school. Ask a girl if she wants to jump in the car and go DXing on the AM band, and see what happens. The answer is, nothing happens.
I’m married for over 40 years now My wife understands my predilection, and does’t say anything when the first thing I pack for a trip is my travel radio. Radio collecting is a good hobby to have, fun, not budget-busting, harmless, and enlightening.
Hello from Texas..
I have been buying CC products for well over 20 years. Been to Fortuna 3 times to your store.
I grew up 100 miles North of San Francisco. In early 80s, while in junior high school and then high school, I would move my clock radio from the kitchen doing dishes to the bedroom doing homework to under my pillow going to bed. All so I could listen to KGO radio. It was news and newstalk and what made me want to get into broadcast news, which I did for 23 years.
I still remember my first radio, I was about 8 years old. I hope some of you Baby Boomers enjoyed your “Remco Radio crystal sets back in the old days. I sure did !!! To make a long story short, I got married and moved to the country and raised a family. The radio reception was excellent, static free and clear. When the kids were older, we moved back to the city because I was spending most of my free time driving the kids to the city. The radio reception was terrible, plenty of static and the announcers were fading out. One evening I was able to pick up Coast to Coast Radio and heard a commercial for C Crane. I ordered the CCRadio2 and now life is more enjoyable in the city with my C Crane Radio. Thank you for such a great product. My old radio… R.I.P.
Since I was a young girl I had a radio to my ear, Music is the key to the soul. I would dance to the music, sing like I was a musician in the band, but what did I know, My friend would even place a mic in a boom box and we would create our own band. Radio’s and all the different types never left me. I will collect working and non working radios but soon will have to give homes to some and narrow down to my few favorite. I have 2 ccranes I love and still wish for the ham radio feature or a am/fm/sw crane. I still sing in the car to music I remember-classics from 70-80’s and have one hell of a good time on the open road. Unfortunatley AM radio format has really changed in the car. You used to be able to drive in the country roads and when you lost one station you pick up another. Shame.I still love my EP Crane at night and it is by my ear every night. Keep up great work Mr Crane giving us a well made product and you try to make even better. Staff graet too answering questions
I have the original CC Radio and I love it. I use it in conjunction with my C. Crane FM Transmitter 2 to relay my mp3 collection to me out in the yard during work and play. It is great on FM (my favorite talk station was on FM), but then the radio conglomerate decided to demote talk radio back to AM and I was covered on the CC Radio. I miss getting the TV band since the switch to ATSC. Other than the station buttons at the top, this radio is a top performer. I’ll upgrade to the 2E someday, but can’t right now. I also own a Super Radio III, but the power button is flakey and it doesn’t lock onto the FM transmitter signal as good as the CC Radio.
Thanks for your attention,
Al
I’m 31 years old and I’ve been a radio broadcaster for 12 years and I’ve been a DX’er for about 20 years. Yeah I started young.
I’d mainly been am AM DX’er but in the last 12 months, I switched over to almost exclusively Shortwave DX’ing.
I was living in Redding, California for a year and have a friend in Mobile, Alabama that I would trade frequent notes and reception clips with. Well, from day one of Shortwave Dxing for me, I had one station in particular I really wanted to pick up.
Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporations signal on 9545khz with 10,000 watts. No matter when I checked or tried, I never heard a peep from them, not even a hint of a carrier. NOTHING!
Well, back on May 11th 2015 my friend in Mobile Alabama emailed me about 1230am pacific saying he was logging what he thought was SIBC on 9545. I ran over to my radio, ran outside and plugged in my CCrane SW Reel Antenna first.
I got a hint of audio with some speech but couldn’t discern much as to wether it was SIBC or even something on 9545 and not bleed over from a nearby channel
I then plugged in my H800 Skymatch Active Antenna .. it was up on the roof of my house .. and low and behold.. there was a very cloud and clear SIBC on 9545.
The signal was about a 5 out of 10 with decent audio. After a YEAR of trying, I finally had them… and I even recorded 20 minutes of it, the URL below is a link to the audio:
http://www.onairdj.com/SIBC_9545_05112015_0800_100ampacific.mp3
I was able to confirm this was SIBC by tuning into their webstream!
Want to know whats even stranger? I have not heard a single peep from them since. .nothing. They popped up to quite listenable levels and have never heard from since. Plus, this audio was recorded at 0800UTC.. according to the online schedule, 9545 wasnt even supposed to be on the air then!!
That’s my favorite radio story!
Paul Walker
walkerbroadcasting@gmail.com
Our house when I was growing up was always full of music of all from opera to rock and roll to country and western. But what really stands out in my mind is the talk shows that stayed on all through the night. One talk show host that stays in my mind is Long John……If I remember correctly it came out of New York and we would not be able to here him and his show or any other talk show if it had not been for your radio. I remember my father buying it for my mom because she complained the stations wouldn’t come in clear. I in recent years have followed what my mother and father considered the best radio and purchased one for myself. Your radios last and come in crystal clear. Thank you for quality.
I own Several CC Radios, they all work great, but reception in upstate is poor except for the WGY powerhouse. While vacationing in Maine over many years, I enjoyed WRKO and WBZ with their late night offerings. When the I first discovered an internet radio advertised on Art Bell I was intrigued and tried out RECIVA on my computer first……what a joy! I have since purchased three internet radios from C. Crane, and they are the best! The latest uses Tunein, and I take one to Maine every year as free Wi-Fi is supplied at most motels. I am retired and have my morning afternoon and night shows on a schedule. Now with Art Bell returning July 20th, and The Rollye James Show streaming Friday nights I am in radio heaven. So pleased with these radios. I’d love to win my choice of another one!
Tropical Band DXing and playing with cheap SDRs!
Back in the late ’60s my father won a world band radio from work. I remember hot summer nights when we would listen to overseas broadcasts, using the big knob to pull in foreign programs with the analog tuner. The world and radio has changed quite a bit since then. Today, stations from across the globe may be picked up with great clarity using an internet connection. However, there was something special about sitting out on the porch with a glass of iced tea close by, hearing programs originating from the other side of the world and magically picked up by the set’s antenna.
I purchased a CC radio as a birthday gift for a long time mentor of mine. She had often complained of not being able to hear her favorite AM stations at night. Once she received it, she would go on and on about how great the radio was. I was new to talk radio and decided to buy one for myself. Now I understand what all the fuss is about and will often listen to talk radio shows when I’m up in the middle of the night. There really is a difference.
My house and my place of employment have poor am radio reception. My use of the old ccradios has resulted in some of my coworkers buying radios from you. While I can no longer listen to TV , my old radios still work well.
Growing up in a village in Alaska with no electricity and no TV, a radio was our only entertainment. In the evenings our family would gather together and listen to the radio, those were the happiest memories I have of childhood. There were several stations to choose from, even Russian stations. We couldn’t understand their words but they had good classical music.
Advertising works… ! I had never heard of CCrane until one night on C2C and decided to give it a shot. I’ve never looked back, ALL my radios have since come from CCrane but that first, believe it or not, was a humble pocket radio I wanted to place under my pillow at nights. For the size best little radio I’ve ever had. Keep up the good work.
I have the cc wi fi radio the first model
And I could listen to Chicago radio stations that I grew up on when I lived there some time ago. We have two other cc radios that are the primary
AM and FM radios around our house
And we like both of them very much.
Eric, Hayward, Wisconsin.
I remember listening to the radio when I was probably 4 or 5 years old, in the mid 1950s. We didn’t have television and I loved the magic of being trransported to other worlds while listening to “The Lone Ranger” , “Inner Sanctum (my favorite)” and all kinds of other shows. I got my first transistor radio in the early 60’s and began my life-long love for Rock and Roll. I was so fortunate to grow up in the San Francisco Bay Area and was turned on to KSAN from the very early days as KYA Top-40 gave way to Tom Donahue’s Underground FM. A big transformation in my life came through my discovery of “Talk Radio” , a few ytears later. I began with listening to Ira Blue live at the Hungry I. I became anashamedly addicted to talk radio. In the early 1970s there wasn’t a whole lot of am talk radio, but I remember Big Al Collins as being one of my regular shows. He came on late at night and talked all night with folks from all over. I still remember him promoting JoJobo beans as a cure-all! These days I still listen to talk radio all day and night. In fact, I don’t even have a television. I have probably 10 radios, several which I ‘ve bought from C.Crane including the CCRadio Short Wave, and a pocket Sangean. I’ve worn out the buttons on my CCrane shortwave! To be honest, I don’t think my life would be what it is without radio. I spent a year or so in the Arizona desert living in a small cabin/hut in a monastery. That’s where I originally discovered the C Crane short wave radio. A monk at the monastery had one which someone left behind, gave it to me to keep me company, and I fell right back into my night-time listening/ talk radio addiction again! I work alone as a house painter so I have several radios and head-phone sets to keep me going throughout the day, as I work, tuned in to the talk-show universe. Let’s face it, I am a Radio Guy. I just turned 65 and foresee no cure for my addiction to radio and I freely acknowledge its importance in my daily life. As one of my favorite talk show hosts says, it’s truly the theater of the mind.
i havent use cc radio brand,i have used sony icf 7600 and grunding.iam interested to buy ccradio brand one day. iam dxer from child hood iam came in contact with number of people world wide, thats thru radio.my fovourate story about short wave radio — it was around in 1985 i took part in competition by radio netherland, i sent two enteries one in my name one in my friend name in poland, my friend got the first prize that is one week free trip to netherland, thats all radio make us so proud. i spend much free time listening radio. radio bring us closer too. ABHERAJ JASWAL[ INDIA]
I remember listening to the GE table radio in the mid 60’s in our kitchen. I got my first transistor radio when I was 10 yrs. old. I was tuning around on it one night when I discovered I was picking up stations hundreds of miles from my hometown (Buffalo,NY) It was a whole new world. I discovered DXing. That was our internet back in that time. The radio’s at CCrane (CC2,CCSW WHICH is my favorite )do quite a great job on AM for long distance listening. I have been a CCRANE customer since 1998. My first purchase was the Windup radio which is still working.
My first was also a crystal radio that my father helped me build when I was about ten years old (more than fifty years ago). Still don’t quite understand how it worked–no batteries, just alligator clip it onto something of an electrical nature, and tune it in to a local AM station. Next was a transistor radio that enabled me to listen to stations–AM only–hundreds of miles away. But I was always jealous of friends and relatives who had those big old console radios from the 30s and 40s that had great AM reception and some even had short wave capability–WOW!!!
I became hooked on radios when I was around 8 yrs old. My 2 brothers and myself shared a room in the basement of my parents home. My brothers were older than me so din’t have to go bed as early as me. It was dark and scary and I couldn’t sleep until they came to bed, until my oldest brother bought an AM/FM radio. I found out it I could listen to TV and started listening to the original Star Trek and then found other shows. I forgot my fears and would relax and fall asleep listening to the radio.
when I was a cub scout I built my first radio from a kit to get one of my merit badges as they were called, a project my dad and I worked together. i was about 8-9 yrs old now iam 72. thanks for chance to win radio. BILL DARRAH
I have purchased several CCRadios in the past 16 years…Sadly, but happily I’ve given them all away…My brother and sisters remarked about the great sound and DX capabilities…I’d box it up (I always kept the boxes) and send it home with them…I’ve now done this 3-4 times…I’m ready to order a new CCRadio-2E to add to my CC Skywave and CCRadio-SW…GREAT RADIOS at a GREAT PRICE!!!!…Thanks Jim
Looking back on 40 years as a ham and professional, nothing can compete with two candles,a quiet room and tuning aorund on AM with the CC2E and the Twin Coil Ferrite Antenna. When I do just that, time loses importance and I am happy. SM4KAS, Stefan, Sweden.
Stefan, you have expressed the essence of the topic in a simple and sublime manner.
One of my childhood friends was physically handicapped and mentally bright. We both, being 14, wanted to get into ham radio. So, he ordered a Heathkit AR-3 shortwave receiver to get started. I offered to put his radio together on a desk in his bedroom. About halfway into the assembly, his father entered the room and asked what I was doing. I told him that the radio came in pieces and I am putting it together for John. He asked, why that way? I replied, to save money and have fun. After about a minute, he asked if I am going to buy one of those radios and I said that I want to. To which he replied, “Come into my office downtown and I will finance it for you”. You see, he was the bank president. So, I entered the First National Bank and asked to see the president and was directed to the elevated private office “up there”. He drew up the papers, we signed them based on my income of delivering morning newspapers, and issued a check. I purchased my AR-3 and opened the door of shortwave and ham radio listening. Another loan enabled my DX-40 transmitter and after passing my Novice, I was on the air. That did two things. First was the ham radio and second was an education into high finance, both for life. I always made my payments in cash directly to him in his high office which made me really feel good about paying my debts on time.
now i came to know about c crane coy, its really great to know about this top brand.iam short wave listener from quite long time. still in this internet world short wave radio great role. by short wave listening i know many thing about the world. thats only thru radio. thru radio we know many things. we cant say listening to radio is decreasing. radio had different role in this world. without radio our life is incomplete.radio is just like life companion. cant be a part.
I first heard of your CCPlus and Versa Corder on Coast To Coast A.M with Art Bell. Both work excellent and still enjoying many of your older and newest radios. Thank You
My love of radio, above all other media, began as a young child. Our family would gather around the radio to listen to stories and good music – just like in a Norman Rockwell scene. Radio was (and still is) magic to me. I would sneak over to the bureau when nobody was looking, reach up and turn the radio around to look in the back for the people. They always hid themselves faster than I could turn the radio to look inside. I was CERTAIN they were there, though, and thought I would catch them eventually… if I were only fast enough.
Wanting better AM reception, I turned to consumer reviews on the internet. That’s how I found CCrane and could not be happier with the purchase I made. It’s my daily companion! I travel across town once a week to paint with my mother and sister, and there is no radio there. I feel absolutely naked without it, and would love to win my choice of a portable that I can take with me wherever I go.
When I first started fiddling with a radio that included shortwave, I hardly knew which bands were which. I tuned into a Spanish station which was coming in real strong and thought I was getting Bogota, Buenos Aires or whatever. “Whoeee! Listen to what I got!” I didn’t know that MW was AM, and the station I had was KTNQ, 1020AM, its studio at that time 3 blocks from our apartment.
I have been listening to Radio since I was a youngster, starting with a crystal set then a couple of transistor models. Always loved going to my grandfathers house and listening to his big Zenith shortwave radio. I currently own 5 CCrane radios and a Grundig 750. They are in regular daily use and the hobby just gets better and better for me as I learn more. Sure enjoy your blog and the website too!
i started with a fada am/shortwave radio but wanted to update so got a hallicrafter tw-2000.this was ok for a while but not nearly as good as the legandary collins r-388 i used in the air force.i ultimately got a kenwood 5000 but still wanted a better specility am radio and bought a ge superadio and a cc radio plus.using these with my radio shack loop brought me my radio nirvana.that in addition to my radio plus antennas is the ultimate.
I have several radios from C Crane. The Original CC radio which is still operating. You graciously replaced the light when it went out. I also have the pocket radio, an old wind up emergency radio and a smaller portable radio that I listen to in my backyard connected to my I phone so I can listen to Jazz on Sirius XM radio.
The customer service at CC has always been excellent and it is a pleasure to call when I need advice, repairs or just to buy a new product. Looking forward to Art Bell and considering a short wave radio so I don’t have to use my I phone at night but let it charge.
I’ve not even received my 1st CCrane radio yet and couldn’t resist the temptation to upgrade after researching further. I can be a little impetuous at times. The customer service woman was highly knowledgeable and gave me ideas of what could be done to further enjoy and expand the usage of the CC2-E which I decided to purchase instead. She told me not to open the package, but refuse and send back unopened which would allow me to pay for 1 shipping charge instead of 2. (This I knew, but some might not.) She put in my order and gave me a better price with a free in line accessory to use. It seems they really care about their customers and educate them on how to take advantage of the features available. It would cost more, but give me more in the end! It can be used with my smart phone when away from home or the desktop. It hopefully will be everything I expect.
I still have — and use — a Sangean ATS 803A that Bob claims was the first radio sold by CCrane. And it is still a great radio; sensitive, selective, great shortwave, pretty good SSB, and OK sound. ROBUST! This radio still chills outside in winter to play rock music while I ride the trainer on the covered porch, and swelters outside in summer to broadcast the late night ball game. In Wisconsin that is a 100 degree temperature swing!
803A complex? Not by today’s standards, unless you compare it to the CCrane radios of today. But CCrane radios are not only easy to use: the CCRadioSW is superb in every respect, the CCRadio 2E Enhanced even better (if possible, however no shortwave and the ham band so far is mercifully little used with no local disasters).
The CCrane radio site underemphasises an important point: radio optimised for the human voice also creates superior music acoustics. Our ears have been “tuned” by evolution for 400,000 years to the human voice; we’ve been optimised for non vocal instrumentation for less than 40,000. Sure other radios will more accurately recreate the sonic extremes found in rock and roll or avant guard jazz. But the overall “sound picture” with the most subtle tonal gradations is best reproduced by a CCrane! Listen to a classical music station, especially through a piano solo (notoriously difficult to accurately reproduce). I have compared the CCranes to my B*s*, T*v*l*, C*mbr*dg* S**ndw*rks, and others: the CCranes win on sensitivity, selectivity, AND OVERALL SOUND. On Shortwave the CCRadioSW outperforms the S*n*, the beloved S*ng**n, and all my old and new Gr*nd*gs (the GINORMOUS Satelite 800 holds its own unitl AM, where the CCrane models cannot be equalled.)
Yes, I have “radio acquisition issues” and admire some individual features among every member of my tribe, but for overall superior performance AND FOR LISTENING PLEASURE, MUSIC AND VOICE…CCrane wins every time.
Thanks for making that first selection a “keeper”, and for continually improving the result from that high initial standard. Bill
I got my first radio for my 10th birthday, forty nine years ago, a Sylvania, AM only, 8 transistor. It wasn’t the best, but I loved it. I spent most of my time listening to WJR, CKLW and WKNR, Keener 13. Tigers baseball and rock and roll. I have had a lot of good radios over the years, my pride and joy is a Panasonic RF-2200. Earlier this year I decided to add a CCRadio2E to my collection, then a CCRadio-SW, then a Skywave. All are excellent radios, very sensitive, and the selectivity is good, too. I live in the suburban Detroit area, lots of stations packed close together on the bands, but my CC radios perform without a hitch.
Larry
I have a Panasonic RF-2200 as well. Some 35 years after I got it, I still use it every day. Great radio, I agree.
My first radio to which I could claim sole ownership was a green plastic Emerson… one of the first pocket transistor radios. I worked that radio like a modern day teenager with an IPhone. But before that, from the time I was about 5, I always went to sleep listening to an old Philco my dad gave me. The old shows were solid gold… Amos and Andy, Henry Aldrich, Dick Tracy et al. Right now I live in the high desert east of Albuquerque. When everybody powers-down at night, the only radio here that will work on AM is my 13-year-old CC. Radios are an extension of a person’s mind and imagination. I can’t think of a better invention except peanut butter, maybe.
Reblogged this on Califrex's Blog and commented:
I purchased several radios and my favorite I plug in my pillow speaker and go to sleep listening, sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and listen. Love it!
I have been a customer of CCCrane for years. At last count, I have 2 Sangean WX’s, one in CA and the other at Lake Louise, Alaska. Also have a Witness Plus and a Solar Observer. So please enter me in the contest.
At age 7 I began discourses with a firm I met over the radio.
Listened to my parents RCA model 10, enjoyed trying to find far-away AM stations, built a crystal set, but of course, very short range, built a few Heathkits and then got my own Channel Master AM transistor radio, and never stopped listening.
It was probably the Spring of 1964 and I was in the second grade in rural PA, near Philadelphia. I had a little Japanese manufactured 6 transistor (Wow!) portable AM radio. In those days, the American Space program was launching manned rockets pretty frequently, and whenever there was a launch or recovery, my Mom and Dad would let me take the radio to school so I could monitor the NASA activity and report it to my classmates. Those were inspirational days for an 8 year old kid and I will never forget them.
I used to listen to my favorite kid stories; Lone Ranger, Sky King, Henry Aldridge, etc. on a Philco radio in our little kitchen in a small house in the country. I have fond memories of those days and the “adventures of the mind” that that little radio gave to me. I now have your internet radio (wifi) and enjoy some of those same old shows.
As a very young boy in the mid 1960’s, I was fascinated by looking in through the bake light grill openings to our little PHILCO AM Radio that me and my two older brothers would share. I admired all the circuitry and was especially curious about the glow of the vacuum tubes and that smell of heated dust. At one point I asked my brothers where is all this music coming from. They responded that there were tiny little music groups of players (Bands) playing inside of the set. If I looked long enough I might actually be able to see one or more of the bands. I never saw the miniature people inside of that radio but that sparked the desire to investigate the inside of that unit. After my first 115 volt zolt, I realized that was not the thing to do. But my fascination for the design and operation of AM radio and later shortwave was always high on my list of desirable hobbies that I suspect will last a lifetime.
Best Regards, 73,
Todd and Pamela Evans W6TOD
Inyokern, California. The Gateway to Death Valley.
As a young boy in the 1950’s I was totally fascinated with radios. My parents had an old floor model wooden AM/Shortwave radio in the basement. I would sit forever tuning and listening to foreign radio stations, even those that were in a foreign language. The radio made sounds like an airplane engine between stations, I was totally captivated. My first radio was a crystal radio and I would clip it to my metal bed frame, it really worked great. Then one Christmas morning Santa left for me an Am Long Range transistor radio. I couldn’t have been more excited. My interest in radios continued and soon I found myself studying morse code and passing my Novice Class Amateur Radio license. It was magic to be able to communicate with other people over radio. I continued on and currently hold an Advanced Class Amateur Radio License. I am now 63 years old and my passion for radio continues. I was fortunate to have a job for 41 years that required me to use radio for communication everyday. I will never forget the memories of the enjoyment my parents old radio gave me and all of the radios I have had and listened too for all these years.
I first heard about you on C2C and purchased an AM/FM/SW radio which sits by my computer. I always have it on when there (often) and am great full to Noory and crowd for steering me to you. I am hoping to win a wi-fi radio should my name be drawn.
Thank you CCrane!
I was raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan north of Green Bay. One of our neighbors in the 1950s was a very old woman we called Grandma Morris. She had a Philco AM-Shortwave radio that had been given to her in 1938 as a gift from her daughter. I used to visit Grandma Morris, bedridden with age and illness, and listen to Paul Harvey News with her. She died when I was a pre-teen, and she left me her radio.
My love of radio began with Grandma Morris’s bequeath. I took the radio home and for the first time ever tuned to the shortwave band. After a few minutes of squeaks and squawks, a clear voice came from the speaker. It was a saying “this is HER-4, Bern, Switzerland. I listened to some music and a newscast and was hooked forever. Here I was in a frozen town half way to the North Pole and listening to a voice from halfway around the world.
The love intensified, and I logged dozens of stations and got QSL cards from all over the world. I saved my money from shoveling snow and cutting grass and bought a Heathkit Shortwave receiver. I assembled it myself and it worked pretty good, but not much better than the old Philco. But I used to listen to Radio Moscow and giggle at how bad their accented English was in the 1950s. Over the years, the Russian accent disappeared and the English became perfect.
In college, I traded my Heathkit for a beat up old Hallicrafters S38C and was able to get it working. Now I was in the big time. Since those early years I have bought and used various tube radios such as the Zenith TransOceanic and the Stromberg Carlson International. I also bought a collection of one hundred antique radios, many of them with shortwave bands.
The first transistor shortwave I bought was a Panasonic RF2800 followed by a Sony something or other. Frankly, the newer radios were more complicated and I began to long for a simpler receiver. Now I only have one shortwave receiver and it isn’t very good: a Grundig Yacht Boy.
I am in the market to buy something better – but simple – but keep wondering if the thrill will be the same. I worry that maybe I can just buy an internet radio and the challenge of DX’ing will be all gone.
We purchased a house 200 miles both of our home in Wheaton, il with no cable TV. I then discovered that keeping up with Chicago area sports teams would be difficult because the radio signal was inconsistent. Then I heard about the CC radio and took a chance and purchased one and all the chicago radio stations came on quite clear. I had no problem hearing any game that was played while we were at our other home. It was a terrific tool for me and i still use it 13 years later.
13 years ago we purchased a house 200 miles north of our home and I needed a way to keep up with the sports teams in Chicago. Without cable TV the cc radio gave me that means to listen to all those teams
First thing I would like to thank you for having such a great giveaway and giving me a chance to win, When I was a kid my dad gave me a very nice radio for a Christmas present. I listened to KOMA out of Oklahoma to get the top 40. I also listened to Wolfman Jack. I don’t have a big stand out story like most Ive read here tonight, all I can say is I have always had a radio in my bag where ever I go. My dad started it all when I was about 9 years old. He knew I loved music and he knew what the perfect gift would be. I also like the late night talk shows like coast to coast. I just came here tonight to find a new emergency radio and saw this give away which happens to be nicer than anything I own. The emergency radio that CCrane carries has all the features I’m looking for plus a 10% discount. Im sorta already a winner.
A long time ago, I was dreaming of discovering some E.T. channel that I could listen to, one night as I was tuning through the AM band with my little Realistic all weather AM/FM Radio something really out of this world happened, I was instantly fascinated by what I was listening to… it was coming from a little AM radio station in Montreal, Canada where I used to live, yes, it was Art Bell that I was listening to for the very first time, and up to when he left Coast… and now as you know, this coming Sunday night he will be back on Dark Matter Digital Network… Woww I really look forward to that… I now have a few CCrane FM Transmitters and a CCRadio EP that I will use to listen to Art Bell and other programs, from any part of the house…. Thank you CCrane for all you have achieved, best wishes for continuity at your new location, long life to you all and to our friend Art Bell.
Claude