Al-one replied:

Mick,
Yes I would also like to find one. The reception sensitivity varies quite a bit with the portables. I have an old National portable AM/FM radio cassette player that is the best I have found to date. Dick Smith has a radio that is supposed to offer long range AM recption but I don't want to take it on a trip and try to get my money back if it's not all it's cracked up to be. Dick Smith also has a short wave radio wth AM (Sangean) which is supposed to be good. My ideal radio would be one that you can plug in an external aerial which you can do with this one. A lot of the car radios have better sensitivity but are more suitable for permanent fixing into a caravan. Again with car radios there are good ones ans those not so good. I suspect these days more technology is put into the CD/MP3 player side than radio sensitivity.
Regards,
Al-one

Member - Toolman (VIC) replied:

Mick,
I have a Sangean ATS 505. It is a very good radio but costs a bit. I was regularly able to pick up Melbourne radio (ABC 774) while living in Canberra although it did tend to fade in and out a bit but at least I could hear the AFL broadcasts while living in that cultural desert. This radio has provision for an external SW antenna which you can purchase from Dick Smith.

I recall Aldi were selling a similar looking radio for around $50 some weeks ago that may be worth looking at.

regards
Toolman

signman replied:

Try to get a radio with BFO for upper & lower sideband also.. Good idea to listen to ..say..the VKS 737 broadcasts for road conditions and other stations that transmit on sideband.

Pyalong replied:

Thanks toolman and sigman,
I generally find I get ABC most places I go.......the No 1 thing I am trying to do is get 3AW about 100kms from Melbourne. What does BFO Mean?
Thanks again
Mick.

Shaker replied:

I have tried both the radios from Dick Smith, the Digitor Outback Radio, by Sangean, & the Sangean ATS 505 & neither radios cut the mustard!
My 30yo Panasonic transistor radio was better on both AM & FM than either of them.
So, I am also on the lookout for a good radio with long range reception ability.

Member - Kingsley N (SA) replied:

I have the SANGEAN from DSE and we use it in our campervan. On the last trip we were able to pick up a very strong AM signal from Adelaide's ABC 891 at Forbes and Hay during the evening and early morning. In fact I rang the program to tell the announcer! This long range was probably due atmospheric conditions. The AM radio waves are reflected between the troposphere (which is lower at night) and the earth's surface. This is called "ducting". I didn't think to try it at the time, but the car radio was probably pulling in the same signal just as well. FM signals do not enjoy this same extended range and are usually limited to "Line of Sight".

The SANGEAN is a sophisticated radio receiver and can tune short wave and SSB. It takes a good few reads of the manual and a cross reference to the ABC shortwave guide to understand exactly how to use the radio. I don't have a SW aerial rigged up but I can easily pick up the scheduled SW broadcasts using the extendable aerial on the set. The AM aerial is internal and aligned with the long axis of the radio, so a bit of twisting and moving about is required to get the best signal. The FM reception is mono except if using the headphones then it is stereo but only the wearer hears it!

The SANGEAN is heavy on batteries so I have a 240V-6V adaptor and I am working on a 12V-6V adaptor for bush camps. It also has a clock and alarm inbuilt.

I agree that a good strong car radio beats the portable anytime, except for SW, mainly for its convenience and quality speakers.

Kings