Hi Folks,

Just dropped in to your group for a few questions, hope nobody minds.

My Sony XR-4800 seems to be on it's last legs. I have been MORE than
pleased with it's performance to date, and consider it well worth the
money I spent. It was billed as the, "Freedom Radio", and sold by a
fellow in New Hampshire, USA. I can't seem to find him anymore, so he
probably sold all he had.

I've contacted Jacky's to see if this is still available, or if not,
the next version from Sony with similar features, but I'm flexible as
to brand.

I listen mostly to AM at night while driving, but have come to enjoy
some shortwave as well. (Mostly WBCQ for now, as I have yet to improve
my antenna). I don't own CD's yet, preferring cassette, (I know,
dinosaur!).

I'm also considering trying XM satellite radio as well, so an in dash
car stereo that is capable of interface would be helpful, but I'm not
too keen on the cassette plug-in adapter. Is there another way to
connect the two?

A removable faceplate would be nice as well.

Any suggestions?

Thanks. Donny

I bought a Sony XR-CA640X from Jacky's a couple of months ago. I am very
happy with it. It receives AM/FM and has two shortwave bands. It doesn't
receive 13 meters, but pretty much everything else from 3 MHz to 17 MHz.
The bandwidth is just a tad too wide, as there is sometimes a whistle if
there is a strong adjacent station +/- 5 kHz away; however, the equalizer in
the radio can reduce the noise.

The XR-CA640X has a detachable faceplace and a cassette. It does not have a
CD; however, any Xplod component will work. I bought a CD/MP3 changer and
hooked it up. You can also hook up the Xplod model XM radio unit as well.

I have a mini-review of the radio on my web site:
http://www.sillett.us.eu.org/radio/s...l#sonyxrca640x

Bob

I have a mini-review of the radio on my web site:
http://www.sillett.us.eu.org/radio/s...l#sonyxrca640x

Bob


Thanks, Bob, that was quick!

This is one of the ones I'm considering. I'm not familiar with this
Xplod concept. Is it a bunch of add-on stuff you can buy that's just
plug-n-play or something? So I could have XM, cassette, and CD, as
well as the shortwave?

The faceplate looks like it glows a cool blue. How easy is it to use
at night? One of the things I liked about my old 4800 was that most of
the important buttons were backlit.

Donny

Xplod (as in explode) is just a product line of Sony car stereos. All of
the Xplod components are mix-n-match. The XR-CA640X by default lets you add
one Xplod component. I added the CDX-757MX 10 CD/MP3 changer. You can find
these on eBay for under $150. The CDX-757MX then lets you daisy chain
another Xplod component into it. So one wire runs from the dash to the CD
player, then a second wire runs from the CD player to the XM Radio. The
in-dash player can then control both. I don't know what the model number
for the XM radio is, but I've seen them for sale at either Best Buy or
Circuit City.

You can also add an amplifier to the XR-CA640X, although the thought of
1000W of power for a hetrodyne whistle is rather daunting!

The faceplate does glow blue at night (actually all the time). There is
also a remote control, which is cool. A major drawback is that you cannot
enter frequencies directly with the remote control. All it lets you do is
minic the functions on the faceplate - up/down, seek/scan, etc.

If you click on the LEFT or RIGHT buttons, the radio starts a scan for the
next station. Most of the time it skips over weak or medium stations and
only stops on the powerhouses. But if you hold the LEFT or RIGHT button,
the radio will then tune in 5 kHz increments. The UP and DOWN buttons tune
between the memories (6 for the SW1 band, 6 for the SW2 band).

I wouldn't call it a DX machine, as it is tedious at best to tune while
driving. And it only receives AM. But I find that I'm happy listening to
the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Radio Netherlands, etc. in the car and I'm not too
worried about trying to DX. I listen to Radio Australia in the mornings
while driving to work and Deutsche Welle in the afternoons while driving
home.

Bob


"Donny" wrote in message
...
I have a mini-review of the radio on my web site:
http://www.sillett.us.eu.org/radio/s...l#sonyxrca640x

Bob


Thanks, Bob, that was quick!

This is one of the ones I'm considering. I'm not familiar with this
Xplod concept. Is it a bunch of add-on stuff you can buy that's just
plug-n-play or something? So I could have XM, cassette, and CD, as
well as the shortwave?

The faceplate looks like it glows a cool blue. How easy is it to use
at night? One of the things I liked about my old 4800 was that most of
the important buttons were backlit.

Donny