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Sangean DT-300-VW Pocket-Sized Digital Radio with Tuner

Sangean DT-300-VW Pocket-Sized Digital Radio with Tuner

List Price: $109.00
Your Price: $64.94
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: After months of use
Review: After months of use this radio remians my favorite because of: size, reception, clarity and versatility (AM/FM,TV, Weather). My only complaint relates to the eventual failure of the micro/miniature earphone adaptor. I replaced it with an adaptor plug that sticks out on the side and as a result cancels out convenient use as a shirtpocket radio. I have never used the speaker and this feature could be dropped on future editions, making the unit even smaller. Others might like the speaker for use as a pillow speaker but I have always used the earphones for this duty. AAA rechargeable batteries typically last 180-360 minutes in my experience. Overall this is the best pocket radio I have ever owned regardless of cost.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The perfect travel companion
Review: All you need when traveling. Crystal clear FM with very good reception. Presets for your favourite stations. Alarm clock and sleep timer. Built in speaker. All this in a very small unit. Tip: The perfect gift!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not satisfied at all.
Review: Buying a portable radio with a digital tuner sounded like a good idea to me when I bought the Sangean DT-300-VW. I was ready to enjoy some steady reception for my walks around the neighborhood. What I got was a Tic Tac box painted silver with the word 'radio' written in crayon. What a [bad deal].

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Where's the great reception?
Review: Contrary to what others report, the FM reception on my unit is dreadful. I have a couple of cheap FM radios that receive local stations clearly, stations that don't even register on the Sangean. I'm very disappointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: no clip for waistband
Review: Everyone should know that this nifty unit does NOT come with a waistband clip, rather a pouch with a belt loop that affixes to one's belt. This is no problem unless you are going to use it primarily as a walkman; most people do not wear a belt when walking or jogging. I could not find out this information until after I received the unit - then unfortunately it had to be returned.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good Reception on all Bands, earphone plug needs a push
Review: FM and weather sensitivity are as good as I have seen in a portable. Weather reception is better than any of my other weather radios. As opposed to one review, AM reception is only "ok." There are two disappontments. The included earphones at first seemed absolutely terrible (see other reviews above). This is because you have to push the connector in hard the first time you use it, it does not at first make a good connection. It "clicks" when you finally get these in right. These are fine earphones ("ear buds") once you do this. Note that in my model the earphone jack is a standard 3.5 mm now. All my regular earphones fit it. I have only one complaint about reception. The FM bandshape (selectivity) is not very good. There must be no or poor filters on this radio in the IF. I am in a weak signal area and most wanted sensitivity, but I am also very appreciative of selectivity, which this radio lacks. My advice? Great radio, all in all. Push the earphone plug in hard. It sounds excellent on FM. Expect no less. This radio can deliver it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good Reception on all Bands, earphone plug needs a push
Review: FM and weather sensitivity are as good as I have seen in a portable. Weather reception is better than any of my other weather radios. As opposed to one review, AM reception is only "ok." There are two disappontments. The included earphones at first seemed absolutely terrible (see other reviews above). This is because you have to push the connector in hard the first time you use it, it does not at first make a good connection. It "clicks" when you finally get these in right. These are fine earphones ("ear buds") once you do this. Note that in my model the earphone jack is a standard 3.5 mm now. All my regular earphones fit it. I have only one complaint about reception. The FM bandshape (selectivity) is not very good. There must be no or poor filters on this radio in the IF. I am in a weak signal area and most wanted sensitivity, but I am also very appreciative of selectivity, which this radio lacks. My advice? Great radio, all in all. Push the earphone plug in hard. It sounds excellent on FM. Expect no less. This radio can deliver it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An awesome portable
Review: For some strange reason, Amazon has posted no information on this truly awesome unit. It is an ultraportable radio with AM, FM, VHF TV (Channels 2-13) and the weather band. It has nine presets per band and includes earbuds, plus has an internal speaker for listening without headphones. It also has a built in clock with long and short range alarm.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I LOVE the Sangean DT-300VW; not perfect but better.
Review: For those who've given up on getting adequate FM reception from a "walkabout" type radio, the DT-300VW should be very appealing. That includes many dog walkers, joggers, commuters, bicyclists, campers, hikers, and sailors among others.

I live 30 miles from one FM/NPR station I like and 70 miles from another. I've been through 5 or 6 "walkabout" radios trying to find one that's strong enough to pull in even the closest station without annoying losses of signal.

A problem with most of these is that they receive in stereo but that's a far weaker signal than mono. And in fringe areas, stereo on a walkabout stinks. Some claim to have internal automatic circuitry that switches to mono from stereo in weak signal areas but, if so, I never found one pleasant to listen to while walking. Usually, the more elevated the radio, the stronger the signal and often I've walked holding a radio with one arm straight up and then switching it to the other arm when the first tired. And that was with the closest station. (This radio even picks up the distant station.) THIS radio solves the Mono-Stereo problem with a switch that gives you the option of in which mode to listen.

The DT-300VW's FM mono sensitivity with full quieting and its distance reception approaches that of lower end car radios. Selectivity (the ability to reject nearby signals) is not quite as good but antenna relocation helps. Its Wx channels could be louder but the audio for VHF Ch's 2-13 is quite good.

It slips in a shirtpocket and has a plug-in external antenna which I drape around my neck. Usually I prefer listening to its 1.1" dia. speaker to wearing the earbud head phones because that way I can also hear and use a FRS radio and stay in touch with other dog walkers in the nature preserve in which we walk - as well as when I do my exercises out there. And when walking with a friend, we can both listen. The earbuds (or good headphones) give much better sound fidelity than the speaker, of course.

I wish the DT-300VW's case was waterproof or water resistant. I wish it had S.A.M.E. Wx technology. The plug in antenna will be easy to lose. But this model sure beats any other "walkabout" I've used.

Another alternative might be the cheaper Sangean (100?) AM/FM mono/stereo tuner and buy a separate portable S.A.M.E. Wx receiver. But then, the Sangean 100 doesn't have a speaker and I'd hate to give up that convenience.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fragile, but unique in its class
Review: I bought a Sangean DT-300-VW pocket radio in March of last year. I chose this model because it offered both TV (2-13) and WX (national weather services in US and Canada) with an integral speaker. (I insist on a speaker because I find it awkward sitting around the campfire trying to share one set of earbuds between two-plus people.)

I use this radio when camping, hiking, commuting, and during power-outages. I listen to all four bands it picks up--sports on AM, NPR news FM, NOAA WX, and PBS TV. I've been impressed by the sound it cranks out of its tiny little speaker. I'm sure that an audiophile would call the sound 'flat' or 'shallow' or some such word, and quite rightly, but if you want four bands four people can listen to for four ounces, this is the radio for you.

Reception varies, of course. This design relies on its headphone jack for antenna. With the included headphones plugged in, this little radio receives FM clearly, AM well, NOAA erratically (often lots of static, but you can always get something), and TV quite astonishingly well. I have always used the headphone cord as the antenna; the purpose-built antenna cord is much shorter and less effective.

Battery life has been good, and the radio uses AAAs, which are easy to find. I use rechargeables exclusively, and most chargers which will do AA also charge AAA. The earbuds aren't particularly comfortable, but they're not particularly uncomfortable, either. Their cord tangles if you so much as look at it, but is still working one year later, and showing no signs of giving up.

And now, durability--this radio's downfall, in my opinion. It's a featherlight, take-it-anywhere size, with weather band built in, but it just didn't take kindly to ordinary camping bruises and bumps. I know, I asked a lot of this little gadget. It's been dropped on park-service concrete tables. It's jumbled around in purse and pocket. It's operated bravely through thunderstorms and dewy-damp mornings. It has, in fact, died on me. It comes with a flimsy, leatherette slipcover suitable for decoration, not protection. Skip it. Find a generic neoprene or otherwise cushy, protective, rugged, shock-absorbing, case for this radio.

That's what I'm going to do. Yes, I'm buying a new one--because one year later (2003), I still can't find any other model with a speaker, AM, FM, TV, and WX under four ounces.


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