GE Superadio III

[wa2clp]

You won't find this radio in many stores. After all it's nothing more than a 70's style am/fm portable radio with the old vernier tuning that's big and clunky. You buy the Superadio for one purpose and that's the am receiver and antenna. I'd heard about this radio from a fellow "Ham" who recommended it.

The first night I tried this radio was while on vacation near Brookfield, Pa. It was brand new so I cracked open the box, plugged it in and immediately heard KCNZ "The Fan" from Cedar Falls Iowa on 1650 KHz. Also heard Radio Disney from Milwaukee on 1640. When was the last time you heard any am station from Wisconsin on the east coast? Right next to KDKA was CFRB on 1010 KHz from Toronto. This radio really works! (on AM)

At home in NJ I've heard 950 WPEN every night and many others as well. Of course you have to do some guessing as to what frequency you're on but you get used to that in short order. Also there are external antenna terminals on the back which are perfect for connecting a long wire, fm antenna and ground. I've had some luck with my 125' "snake antenna," which lies on the ground. Missing, however, is a dial light but for the price, you get a basic radio that sounds decent and should run for a long time on those 6 "D" batteries. The sound works best at low to mid range so don't try to blast the volume. And one more thing I just noticed: Strong, local am signals seem to overload the receiver so if you tune about 20 KHZ or so below one of the locals, you hear a 2nd signal from the same station, that's not supposed to be there. This probelm gets worse with use of an external antenna.

Also on FM the Superadio misses the weaker "in between" stations. Even with the AFC off it seems too wide. Compared to my old Panasonic RF-2200 it doesn't rate, on fm but I bought it to tune the am band....

Getting back to that vernier dial: It's about six inches from one end of the dial to the other. With the sunspot cycle at a low point this might be the perfect time to listen for one of those "trans-Atlantic" stations this winter when it's nice and quiet on the am band. Happy listening!

P.S. Using the FCC website you can look-up and search for any of these am stations. You will be able to see day and night am antenna patterns, power levels etc. Very helpful for am dxing.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/amq.html

[WA5KRP]

At one time I had four SR-III's but two went off to college. I LOVE this radio. The one in my shop has been operating continuously for eight years. I frequently find myself tuning the AM band late at night and although I've kept no logs, about the only states I haven't heard are north of Boston.

A google search for SR-III mods will give you some interesting ideas. This site is useful: SuperRadio-III (http://users.netonecom.net/~swordman/Radio/GEsrIIIAlign.htm)

Congratulations. Your modest investment bought a fine radio. It has room for improvement, but overall it is one of the most sensitive AM radios out there and it has great audio to boot.


WA5KRP
Texas

[WA2ZDY]

AM BC listening is so amazing. #Best results I've ever had were in the car on winter nights. #How can an antenna so small compared to the wavelength work so well? #I mean, I know how but it still boggles the mind.

As a child I listened at night to the Grand Ole Opry on WSM 650 with my mother and grandmother. We had no TV, so radio was it. Other stations commonly listened to were WWVA in Wheeling, WV, and WHO in Des Moines, IA. Maybe that had something to do with my radio interest in years to come.

In the winter, I listen from central NJ to hockey games all over the east. #It's nice to be out and be able to follow my team, even if I have to listen to the other team's announcers.

[WA5KRP]

ZDY,


You bet. I love tuning the AM BC bands on winter nights after 11pm local and have been doing it ever since The Old Ranger signed off Death Valley Days on Saturday nights. I've had the most fun doing it out in west Texas where local stations are few and far between. QRN seems to be less of a problem there also.



WA5KRP
Texas

[n2nh]

CLP

Your review was right on target. I've had the Radio Shack version for a decade now (and an earlier one before that). It excells at AM - DX and the FM is very sensitive too. I pull in stations that I can't get even on a SONY hi-sensitivity AM/FM that I have. Beats the Sony 2001 too. Got every state East of the Mississippi, and a few West too. Even got Mexico, most of the Caribbean and a couple in South America. Great radio for picking up shows not in the local area... (Coast to Coast)... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[K8ERV]

The Super has a TRF stage, rare now.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[w8znx]

great radio
prefer the super radio II

now if they would just put
a short wave band in it

yours truly
Mac

[VE1IDX]

That is all we use here at work is the GE Super Radio.I am a broadcast engineer and when we go out and do a remote broadcast and need an off air feed for the announcer I use the Super Radio.Great sensitivity and great sound.they must be tough too.You should see how some of those meatheads handle gear. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[KI6ASV]

I love my GE Super III but I would really like to have a digital display that's backlit.

Maybe it's time for a GE Super IV. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif