Good portable radio?

[Greggo]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

I've had the same problems with finding an good, automotive radio that is easy to select FM channels when driving around the country.

During our very brief foray into the motorhome world, I'd be going down the highway doing white knuckle driving of that beast and so afraid to take my eyes off the road to even look at, let alone try to turn on the radio.

[onetim]

The Tivoli Model One is an option for all you nostalgics. It looks great, sounds even better, has a smooth as silk analog tuning knob, can run on 12 volts, has separate inputs for external AM and FM antennas, and has an AUX in for ipods and other sources.
Tivoli Audio - Model One AM/FM Table Radio

[Mike Lewis]

I bought a Tivoli Model One several years ago. I was disappointed in it; the radio kept drifting off station, as I recall, and I never got it to perform well. I guess I got a bad one.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

I bought a Tivoli Model One several years ago. I was disappointed in it; the radio kept drifting off station, as I recall, and I never got it to perform well. I guess I got a bad one.

Probably a defective PLL circuit. I've heard nothing but good things about the Tivoli, and with PLL, frequency drift is essentially eliminated.

[Mike Lewis]

Tim's post reminded me that I still had the Tivoli, packed away in a box. I found it, unpacked it, and plugged it in. I've had it on a weak AM station for a couple of hours now and it seems to be working okay. I'm glad he reminded me that it will take 12V power.

I've already ordered a Sangean PR-D7. I'll compare them and take the one that works best on my next trip.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

Tim's post reminded me that I still had the Tivoli, packed away in a box. I found it, unpacked it, and plugged it in. I've had it on a weak AM station for a couple of hours now and it seems to be working okay. I'm glad he reminded me that it will take 12V power.

I've already ordered a Sangean PR-D7. I'll compare them and take the one that works best on my next trip.

Mike, I think you'll find them both good at pulling in weak stations, but the Tivoli will probably have better sound quality - better speaker. A friend has the model two, which has another same sized box with just a speaker so you can separate them and get stereo sound. I was amazed at the sound quality considering how small they were, and that the source was just FM radio.

[cpaharley2008]

I do not consider the Tivoli a portable radio which to me means you can carry it with you while it is playing. I like the Sangean MMR model which is a portable Amazon.com: Sangean MMR-88 AM/FM/Weather+Alert Emergency Radio. Solar/Hand Crank/USB/Flashlight, Siren, Smartphone Charger: Electronics

[Mike Lewis]

Well, for my purposes I was just looking for a radio that I could move from my house to the trailer and use it in either. I wanted one that would work either on internal batteries or 12V. The Tivoli would work for this if I were happy with it. The Sangean will also.

[Mike Lewis]

Now that I've had time to think about it, I remember the problem I had with the Tivoli. When I bought it I lived in the Baltimore-Washington area, which is crammed with commercial radio stations. When I tuned the Tivoli to WTOP, an FM news station, it would drift off to pick up a strong signal from a country music station on an adjacent frequency. I didn't have this problem with my car radio or the Icom receiver, so it might have been a selectivity problem with the Tivoli. The radio's analog dial and display have that cool retro look, but you can't tell precisely where it is tuned. I gave up on it after a few months. Down here in the Florida panhandle with its much less crowded (and less interesting) broadcast environment, the Tivoli might work okay.

[Mike Lewis]

I received the Sangean PR-D7 today. I'm very impressed with it-- the radio will pick up weak stations very well. I'll take it with me in the trailer and keep the Tivoli at home as a bedside radio. The Tivoli is heavy enough that I won't knock it off the nightstand when I'm flailing around in the dark.

Thanks, everyone.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by Mike Lewis

The Tivoli is heavy enough that I won't knock it off the nightstand when I'm flailing around in the dark.

Do you do that often?

(Sorry Mike but I had to. You teed it up. )

[cpaharley2008]

I got my Sangean MMR-88 today also, really nice little unit, has lithium rechargeable from 12v or 120v, crank and solar back up, plus a clock. I like it.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Do you do that often?

All the time. Sooner or later everything on the nightstand hits the floor. It's a given.