I found one of the YB400PEs still on clearance at $129.97 at a nearby radio
Shack yesterday. I bought it, and then went to a nearby parking lot to test
it against my Degen DE1103 and my SRIII. If it had held its own against the
1103, then I was going to keep it.

Sorry Grundig. The YB400 did well, but the 1103 did better. Any station that
the YB400 received, so did the 1103. But there were two stations on AM and
two on FM that the 1103 heard faintly but the YB400 did not. I had my SRIII
there mainly as a reference. There was an AM transmitter a mile away, and it
seemed to bother the SRIII much more than it did the other two. It even
prevented the SRIII from getting a couple of the stations that both of the
smaller radios heard.

I like a lot of the features of the YB400. It seemed to have a lower noise
floor than the 1103. And the Grundig's button layout and volume knob is much
better than the layout of the 1103. I really liked the YB400. And I strongly
considered keeping it anyway. But then I remembered how the radio's lack of
a tuning knob was one of the reasons I sold an earlier version a few years
ago. Still, I can see why people have loved the YB400 so much over the past
ten years. It's a very nice radio.

But maybe it's time to move on. I truly think Degen has raised the bar with
its 1103. I now consider Degen and Tecsun to be superior to the former Big 3
(Sony, Grundig & Sangean). And the next radio I buy will probably be the
Degen 1105.

Thanks for the well written report. I still own my YB400PE, it was my first
SW radio. Mostly use it for tracking down outside interference now, but it
still goes on trips ;-)

That little portable let me hear the sinking of the LEADER-L 200 miles N of
Bermuda, as the frantic Captain told nearby Canadian Destroyers that he was
holed and sinking fast. About 10 minutes later a 600' ship and all but two
of her crew had perished. Halifax Military Rescue Coordination Center and
several Canadian Warships hundreds of miles away were as loud and clear as
they could be. So I will never underestimate the power of those little
radios! Nice to know they continue to advance in quality, and there is still
competition.

Jack

"lsmyer" wrote
I found one of the YB400PEs still on clearance at $129.97 at a nearby
radio
Shack yesterday. I bought it, and then went to a nearby parking lot to
test
it against my Degen DE1103 and my SRIII. If it had held its own against
the
1103, then I was going to keep it.

Sorry Grundig. The YB400 did well, but the 1103 did better. Any station
that
the YB400 received, so did the 1103. But there were two stations on AM and
two on FM that the 1103 heard faintly but the YB400 did not. I had my
SRIII
there mainly as a reference. There was an AM transmitter a mile away, and
it
seemed to bother the SRIII much more than it did the other two. It even
prevented the SRIII from getting a couple of the stations that both of the
smaller radios heard.

I like a lot of the features of the YB400. It seemed to have a lower noise
floor than the 1103. And the Grundig's button layout and volume knob is
much
better than the layout of the 1103. I really liked the YB400. And I
strongly
considered keeping it anyway. But then I remembered how the radio's lack
of
a tuning knob was one of the reasons I sold an earlier version a few years
ago. Still, I can see why people have loved the YB400 so much over the
past
ten years. It's a very nice radio.

But maybe it's time to move on. I truly think Degen has raised the bar
with
its 1103. I now consider Degen and Tecsun to be superior to the former Big
3
(Sony, Grundig & Sangean). And the next radio I buy will probably be the
Degen 1105.

"lsmyer" wrote in message
...
I found one of the YB400PEs still on clearance at $129.97 at a nearby radio
Shack yesterday. I bought it, and then went to a nearby parking lot to test
it against my Degen DE1103 and my SRIII. If it had held its own against the
1103, then I was going to keep it.

Sorry Grundig. The YB400 did well, but the 1103 did better. Any station
that the YB400 received, so did the 1103. But there were two stations on
AM and two on FM that the 1103 heard faintly but the YB400 did not. I had
my SRIII there mainly as a reference. There was an AM transmitter a mile
away, and it seemed to bother the SRIII much more than it did the other
two. It even prevented the SRIII from getting a couple of the stations
that both of the smaller radios heard.

I like a lot of the features of the YB400. It seemed to have a lower noise
floor than the 1103. And the Grundig's button layout and volume knob is
much better than the layout of the 1103. I really liked the YB400. And I
strongly considered keeping it anyway. But then I remembered how the
radio's lack of a tuning knob was one of the reasons I sold an earlier
version a few years ago. Still, I can see why people have loved the YB400
so much over the past ten years. It's a very nice radio.

But maybe it's time to move on. I truly think Degen has raised the bar
with its 1103. I now consider Degen and Tecsun to be superior to the
former Big 3 (Sony, Grundig & Sangean). And the next radio I buy will
probably be the Degen 1105.

No mention of how the use of an external antenna would play into the
comparison ??? For example... One would think that a 7600gr, DE-1103 or a
YB-400 is a more sensitive radio then the ATS-909 until you compare them all
using some sort of a substantial external antenna. I'm not disputing your
results, though. I've read that the 1103 is great off the whip. Also... No
question about how great it is for a portable to have a tuning knob. I have
several portables as listed in my signature. I think the most capable of my
radios is the 7600gr. Still... If I want to sit outside and surf the bands
I almost always bring the PL-550 just because it has a tuning knob.

One of the things I really liked about the YB-400 was the rich and defined
audio quality. How do you find that the 1103's audio quality compares to
the YB-400 ??? Is the 1103 respectable ???
--
Respectfully,

Michael

Location: New Jersey
Primary Receiver: R-75 with full Kiwa mods
Antennas: G5RV, 200ft "Frankenstein" roof wire
Additional Radios: 7600GR,KA-1101,KA-1102
PL-550, KA-989, Info-Mate 837, GE-SR III
Westinghouse H-104 (seven tube)
Web Site: http://md_dxing.tripod.com

The sound quality of my 1103 is better than my 1102, but nowhere near as
rich as that of the YB400. To me, the Grundig's sound is legendary as a
small portable.

One new radio does seem to stand out in sound quality, though. I really like
the richness of my Tecsun PL-550. It's about the same size as the Sony 7600,
but its sound is infinitely richer.

I've never had the opportunity to compare the PL-550 directly with a YB400.
Maybe someone can do that for us.

"lsmyer" wrote in message
...
The sound quality of my 1103 is better than my 1102, but nowhere near as
rich as that of the YB400. To me, the Grundig's sound is legendary as a
small portable.

One new radio does seem to stand out in sound quality, though. I really
like the richness of my Tecsun PL-550. It's about the same size as the
Sony 7600, but its sound is infinitely richer.

I've never had the opportunity to compare the PL-550 directly with a
YB400. Maybe someone can do that for us.

Hiya... I have both the 7600gr and the PL-550. I love them both and I agree
with you that the PL-550's audio is more defined/richer then that of the
7600gr. The wide/narrow filter selection on the PL-550 is a big help and so
is the IF switch. Still, the 7600gr with its ssb selectable am sync is much
better for dealing with fade, distortion and hets. I have found the the
7600gr is also more sensitive then the PL-550 off of the whip and with an
external antenna. Not by much, though. The 7600gr is also WAY better then
the PL-550 for medium wave. I think the 7600gr is the more desirable
radio, but you can't beat the PL-550 for the price. It is a very nice radio
for $50.00 vs. the 7600gr at about $140.00

So... That leaves me wishing for a PL-550 with ssb capabilities and an am
sync detector and/or a 7600gr with a lower price, better audio and above
all, a tuning knob :-)

Michael

Michael wrote:

Hiya... I have both the 7600gr and the PL-550. I love them both and I agree
with you that the PL-550's audio is more defined/richer then that of the
7600gr.

Sony has a history of 'skimpy' audio in their portables but they make up
for it with almost every other feature, especially their sync' detector.


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13 of 31 crew of the LEADER-L survived.

Conan Ford wrote:

13 of 31 crew of the LEADER-L survived.

http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWS/MMJun08.html

dxAce
Michigan
USA

"Conan Ford" wrote in message
3.159...
13 of 31 crew of the LEADER-L survived.
It's been a long time, thanks for adjusting my memory.

And thanks Steve for the url.

Jack