Radio Reviews

Just came back from Birch Run, Michigan (the real-life test site of my pair of TA280s AA model).

Some 150 outlet stores scattered around the whole block. To go from one section to another, driving is often required. A pretty ideal place to use FRSs, especially your spouse/kids have very different preferences of stores to visit.

I fully-charged a set of Maha 1550mAh NiMH AA batteries for each unit and started them off at around 10:00am. With frequent conversation, it lasted thru the day until I turned them off at around 10:00pm with 1 bar (out of 3) left at the battery indicator.

I don't know the capacity of the proprietary Motorola NiMH battery for TA28x but Motorola claims 11 hours of 'normal' usage (5%/5%/90%). My 1550mAh NiMH AA setup beats this handily. Also, just imagine how much $$$ you are going to save from those disposable alkalines.

I am quite pleased about the performance of my batteries as well as the FRSs so far. Highly recommended.

I just finished the my own drain test with 3 x Maha 1550mAh AA NiMH batteries in TalkAbout TA280. The results are quite interesting.

TB is smart enough to tell it is being powered by original Motorola proprietary NiMH rechargeable (3.6V, have 3 contact points) or Alkaline AA adaptor kit (4.5V, have only 2 contact points).

I put 3 FULLY-CHARGED 1.2V NiMH into the Alkaline AA adaptor and started up the FRSs. The battery indicator showed only 2 (out of 3) bars. It was working without strange behavior though. I left them on and it ran out of power 30 hours later !! The battery indicator stayed at 2 for more than 18 hours and dropped to 1 for the rest. I used it occasionally (just to see it was still alive).

I think when you install the AA Alkaline battery kit, the TB is expecting 4.5V (= 3 x 1.5V). However, 3 x AA NiMH 1.2V batteries yielded only 3.6V (< 4.5V) and this attributes to the 2 (out of 3). On the other hand, AA NiMH can deliver stable 1.2V for 80% of the discharge cycle which attributes the 'long-standing' 2 and 1. Whereas Alkaline poses a steeper discharge curve than NiMH.

I will try them again to test how the 'real-life' performance (duration, range) will look like using NiMH in Alkaline adaptor.

The radio on this walkman is nothing to rave about. It picks up a lot of interference on FM from strong stations, but AM is a little better. The cassette part of this is excellent, however. It sounds great and the XBS system works well. Even with it on there's no sound distortion, even at high volume. Rewind and Fast Forward are really quick. It can wind a tape faster than any other walkman I've had. Also battery life couldn't be better. The batteries last a long time and even when they are weak the tape player still runs and the volume still goes up all the way without distortion, unlike other walkmans. The previous model, the RQ-V65, which I own, has a much better radio and I use it all the time. But when the volume control wore out I purchased this model thinking it would work exactly the same since appearance and control layout were similar. The radio didn't, however. Fortunately I had my old one repaired and since I was more interested in the tuner I sent this one back since I didn't need it anymore. But if you're looking for a good cassette player and don't care about the radio this is an excellent choice. It's definitely better than a Sony (which puts out no bass at high volume).

This is a great cheap personal cassette player. It is fairly lightweight and quite unobtrusive. If you are not out to look extra fancy this is a great player. Also it gets excellent battery life. I can listen to tapes all week long at work for almost a month(3.5 weeks on last set), usually about 3 hours average a night, on just two AA batteries. (I use only Duracell).

Overall, the RCA clock works quite well. I have a little trouble waking up with the alarm...doesn't get loud until the end. But, it is well worth the money!

In addition to the features listed in the product review, this radio also has a battery back up. The front panel is huge, angled, and hard (impossible) to set things on. The displayed numbers are smallish. Reception can be very sensative to how the power cord is routed. Despite the few disadvantages, I like this clock radio, especially the digital seek tuning with 10 presets. It appears that it has the capability for the two alarms to tune to different stations, but I didn't test it.

this system is very good for what you pay for it but its sorta slow reading the cd. its got good bass but also lacts trebble and clairity...but what do you expect from a system that costs that much?...overall its a very good stereo.......for the price that is

I was praying for a boombox for my birthday, and this one is truly awesome. It's a little slow reading CDs, but the looks and easy-use make up for it. It's inexpensive, but contains great quality. This is a perfect item for people new to getting their own personal music device.

I bought this radio because I wanted an emergency weatherband backup radio and chose it primarily by price and the First Alert brand. You get what you pay for. The AM/FM part of the radio is fine. The local weatherband is hard to catch, there's lots of interference unless you hold the radio, antenna extended, in a certain way. (Even then the reception is not very clear.) However, one of the best features is it comes with an A/C adapter.

I agree with earlier reviews that there is SOME interference on the reception, but I found that it went away when I attached an oblong formation of tinfoil to the end of the antenna, and tied it with string to the lightbulb overhead. Then the reception was particularly good. As a word of advice, however, keep batteries in it if you're planning for an emergency--because when my family had to go into the basement for several days (we heard there was bad weather approaching), we thought for the longest time that the Sima Portable WX-17 AM/FM Emergency Alert Radio by Sima was broken. It wasn't, however. It just needed batteries. We would have saved a lot of headache if we had known this. Otherwise, the Sima Portable WX-17 AM/FM Emergency Alert Radio saved our lives, and I highly recommend it for personal and/or professional use.

I had to bring this boombox back because it has a fatal flaw. The radio tuner stops on every radio station! That means if you want to reach 107.7, you must start down at 80 and press the button at least twenty times - stopping at each station. Once you program the presets this is less of an issue, but do you want to always have to rely on the presets and remote control? This is such a poor design it's hard to believe.

I am amazed at how good this small boom box sounds. I bought it to use in my office and here's a few reasons I love it:

-volume control is highly incremental so you can always find the right volume.

-Looks sleek and sophisticated.

-Has a remote control.

-Does not blare when volume is turned up.

-Sounds better than any of another 5 products I tested in this category/price at a store.

-CD motor is very quiet.

When I started out to find a realtively inexpensive stereo system that played CDs, tapes, and radio, I was hoping to quickly zero in on a particular ite. But I was unprepared for the plethora of chocies facing me when I began to actually try various items out at the local electronics superstore. Suffice it to say that there was an avalanche of different possibilities, each meeting my minimal needs, and yet, having too many other competing models with similar quality but different features. I started out looking at items under $100 and ended up considering items costing nearly $500.

Needless to say, I beat a hasty tactical withdrawal from the store and the salesman to reconsider my options. A day or two later I came back, and after listening to a couple of lower range models decided to order this Sony unit from Amazon as it was even cheaper than buying it at the store. So far we have been well pleased with the unit, with its versatility, its user friendliness (read simple to operate), and it high quality sound.It even has a graphic equalizer to customize the various ranges for a better mix. It also seems quite durable, having endured the relatively primitive setting at the cabin, and works all day without complaint or overheating. I am very satisfied with it, and would consider buying another Sony model after this positive experience. Enjoy!

I keep this in my bedroom, on a shelf behind my bed. The audio isn't very powerful, but the bass stays low, which is good. Why I keep this in my bedroom and not in my sound room is because it is not powerful at all, and better for drum n' bass, emocore, and jazz music. I really don't like the volume buttons, because they're buttons, not a dial, for easy adjustment. It's more of an intimate player, for lack of a better word. If I make mix tapes, I make them here, because they are very good for dubbing and recording. It's an overall good CD player, but it could be better. I like listening to Juxtapose by Tricky with DJ Muggs and Grease on this.

Nice, small, good featured radio. Only thing I don t like is you cannot silently set the alarm, it makes some annoying beeps when you try to set it, at least I haven't figured out how not to. But it is a very nice clock and the radio sounds good too.

This is a great little clock radio. Very compact. It is extremely easy to set. I love being able to go backwards and forwards for each hour or minute function. The three backlight levels are terrific. The power cord is detachable, which tells me it will run fine on batteries, but have not done that yet. The sound of the radio is great, but what do you expect from a Sony! The only down side to this clock radio is that the radio only plays for 30 minutes. I guess I will have to set Alarm B as well!

I just got this Sony ICFCD823 CD clock radio and was somewhat impressed with it. Great styling, excellent Malaysia quality, easy to read LCD display, and wonderful sound are a plus. However, the FM reception is poor. It recieves stations but too many static noise. Another is that the volume is a turn dial instead of digital volume. Also, the feature says that it includes a brightness control. It appears that there is no brightness control and is not mention in the manual either. Maybe I got the 2nd generation of the Sony ICFCD823 cd clock radio.

This clock radio saves a whole lot of space that includes a built-in CD player to your nightstand, or anywhere else you're limited for space. The AM/FM stereo tuner has great reception, and the multi-setting dial makes time and alarm setup a breeze. You also get an extendable snooze timer. The backlit LCD display makes it easy to see what time it is, and brightness control lets you dial in the perfect contrast making it easier to sleep. 5 station presets are great, or you can drop in your a CD for a listen. The best part of it is you can wake to CD! Dual alarm makes life simpler for couples i guess, and the memory backup is great for when there are power outage overnight.

This is a good, reasonably priced antenna for pulling in weak or distant FM stations. I have one at home and one at work, both attached to Proton RS-330 radios. The Terk AM Advantage is better for AM stations, but the tower is OK if that's the only antenna you buy.

Roz

[] This powered antenna helps boosts reception of AM/FM radio stations. Installation was a snap, and Terk includes all the accessories you need to connect the antenna to your tuner. The gain control is on the antenna itself, and is useful for improving the clarity of some stations. I recommend this antenna for those who would like an inexpensive way of improving their radio reception.