Radio | C. Crane Blog

May 31, 2022

The Voice of Baseball’s Play by Play – by Jessica Crotty

Watching youth baseball and softball has reminded me how much love there is for this game. I’ve seen the girls on my daughter’s team practicing with their parents, learning the game, and having fun. It feels great to be in person again.

One thing I would love but have noticed isn’t present, is play-by-play for youth sports. One of the fondest memories many of you have shared is the announcers for baseball games that you’ve listened to on the radio. I started to wonder at what age play-by-play announcing starts. I know when my son played youth football, there were announcers. It also made me wonder how many announcers in the pros started out this way.

September 27, 2019

Words From Bob 2020 Catalog

From Bob, This year our catalog cover is based on one of the most famous TV commercials of all time. It was the day Apple® announced Macintosh computers during the 1984 Superbowl. . . the first iPhone® was released in 2007. Now that we are all significantly attached to our brilliant pocket phones, maybe it’s […]

July 16, 2019

Pros and Cons of WiFi and Internet Radio

We’ve received a lot of emails and several comments about the confusion surrounding “internet radio”. What is it? How does it work? How do I pick the right radio? So we put together some of the pros and cons and then a few additional considerations. In this post, we aren’t recommending one particular radio over another but rather giving you some points to consider when making your decision so you can pick the right product for you.

First, let’s establish that there is a pre-requisite to using WiFi Internet radio –

You need to have a high-speed internet connection. Most internet radios will work on WiFi. Some have an option for a direct Ethernet connection (that network jack on the back of the radio that provides a connection to the router. Sometimes a USB to Ethernet adapter might be necessary.).

Let’s jump into the benefits for you as a listener – Continue Reading

June 24, 2019

Radio Buddy for the Garden by Bob Crane

I’m not able to weed eat my yard like I used to so my long time gardener, Bill, comes in every two weeks and helps with the grueling part. He is as bad as I am about the necessity of having a radio to listen to while he works. He is also a fantastic radio […]

September 20, 2018

The Only Communication Immediately After a World-Wide Internet Crash will be Radio . . .

The Internet is about 20 years old, yet we depend on it as if it was an amendment under the Bill of Rights. It has given a quantum leap in knowledge to half of the world’s population. Probably each one of us is concerned about content, speed and how it changes all facets of our lives including our jobs. The pace of change seems to be accelerating.

I have taken very small excerpts from the well written articles listed below. They are probably the most frightening articles I have read in 10 years. We can safely presume many more hacks and viruses have made their way into our computers without becoming public knowledge. The full articles below are available on Wired Magazine and the Wall Street Journal online or mobile. Search the title and publisher for the full article (a subscription may be required to view the full articles).

July 9, 2018

Evolution of the CCRadio- Survival of the Fittest

Select-A-Tenna – AM Antenna

C. Crane started in 1983 selling AM antennas. After starting 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. Continue Reading

May 30, 2018

Hurricanes And How Radios Are Essential In Times Of Emergency

H. Irma Eye_ CC2E

Millions of Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and Caribbean residents had an old friend help them get through the toughest days of a dangerous 2017 hurricane season: AM/FM radio. Many didn’t have a radio of their own, but instead would gather around a business with one or in someone’s car. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, every day at 3pm, the Governor would share over the radio what resources would be distributed, if any, as well as any new updates with the storms. Continue Reading

January 23, 2018

Did You Get a Smart Speaker for Christmas?

FM Transmitter 2 with Amazon Alexa Echo Dot

Updated 01/22/19

Smart Speakers are wonderful because you will probably have better access to the audio you want, but not always. Since my life seems under control, I am completely uninterested in 99.9% of the abilities or “skills” of all smart speakers including Alexa’s except for one . . . radio.

November 7, 2017

Thank You for Protecting Our Freedom

We want to take a moment to honor anyone who has served or who is currently serving in our U.S. Military. Everyone here at C. Crane is so grateful for your service and the freedoms that it protects. These words from Coulby Dunn’s Veterans Day speech Nov 7, 2007 will hopefully give you pause in […]

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