Bear with me ULR fans, this is going to take awhile! A little background here...I bought my Sangean DT-210V a year or so ago to accompany me on my motorcycle tours, and to replace a withering Sangean DT300VW which had seen too much unprotected life in my tank bag. The 300 was pretty beat up and had an intermittant earphone jack. I'd never been terribly impressed with the 300 for DXing, but it was a good pal for listening on the road. But everything changed with the DT210V...sensitivity, selectivity, nulling ability, and overall quality of feel was miles ahead of the 300. It worked. Fast forward about a year...
The revolution started. Gary and others discovered the incredible virtues of the SRF-59 and we are where we are now. Viva la revolucion! Except...after I mentioned the DT-210V on the IRCA mail list, Gary bought one...and his spewed turkey feathers everywhere! It was a dud. Images, poor sensitivity and certainly NOT the DT-210V that I had grown to love and cherish. We considered that perhaps the newer versions of this radio had somehow been re-(or de) engineered. Gary sent me his 210V for comparison to my unit. No contest. It was nowhere near as good as my unit. OK, maybe the newer versions were re-engineered and they are all duds after all. I had to find out, and gambled $50 bucks with Amazon. The new unit came in, and is in fact NOT a turkey. It is actually a tad more sensitive than my first '210V on the higher end of the band, and a little less sensitive on the lower end of the band. I smell a quality control problem. During this time I acquired not one but two SRF-59's, primarily for audio phasing per Kevin's excellent article. But I noticed that both Sangeans were significantly more sensitive than the SRF-59's! What? Gary, bless his ULR-loving heart, sent me a completely aligned SRF-59 as a standard for comparison. Yeah, Gary! Some observations after a couple of evenings of listening... My two SRF-59's are down in sensitivity across the band compared to Gary-Certified SRF-59 and my DT-210V's. On a scale from one to five, I'd say they are 2-2.5 below in terms of sensitivity. If it wobbles like a turkey and gobbles like a turkey, well...you know the rest..feathers fly! The comparison, however, between to GC-SRF-59 and the DT-210V is very interesting, each having their strong points. <Begin mini-shootout> The '59 is no doubt more selective than the 210V. I had both in Boise (for a stronger signal, we're 12 miles ENE of our capitol city) during the evening and found that with proper nulling, both KTNN (660) and KNBR (680) were relatively splatter free from KBOI (670). On the other hand, the '210V suffered from a fair amount of splatter. Both KTNN and KNBR were listenable, certainly, but not without some degree of pain. Score one for the Fearless Fifty-Nine. Selectivity: SRF-59:A DT-210V:B Sensitivity, especially combined with audio quality is something else entirely. The '210V is easily as sensitive as the '59, but with the addition of a superior audio section, the '210 for me just seems to eke out the weak ones better, and with a more listenable signal. The '210 has more "punch" than the '59 and with that, produces a more listenable signal. A few days ago, I recorded WCCO (1100 miles) on both radios: in the following link you will find the recording of this session. The first thirty seconds are from the SRF-59, the second from the DT-210V. They alternate from there: http://www.mobile-designs.com/WCCO_SRF-59_DT-210V.WMA Score one for the Trembling Two-Ten Victor. Sensitivity: SRF-59:A DT-210V:A Audio Punch: SRF-59:B- DT-210V:A It is well-documented that the '59 has a simply amazing capacity to null offending stations, local and otherwise. My best test here is Boise's KFXD and Denver's KHOW on 630khz. At thirty-eight and a half miles from our QTH, KFXD isn't exactly a local, but it does put a pretty strong signal here. Twist and turn the fifty-nine to put the exact null on KFXD and KHOW is all alone. Astounding. The DT-210V is absolutely no slouch in this department, the nulls are excellent. But, ULR fans, the '210 cannot eliminate KFXD without a little help from its friend...the companion DT-210V assisting in audio phasing the dickens outta KFXD. Then, and only then, does KHOW stand alone on the DT-210V. Score another for the Frightening Fifty-Nine. Nullability: SRF-59: A DT-210V:B In the next category, there will be some controversy. How can we compare ease-of-use between two radios that are at such a cost differential? I mean, really, the '59 is less than twenty bucks, the '210V is two and a half times as much...currently around $50 US on Amazon. Well, for these 55 year-old fingers and eyes, it is a cost versus value issue. I value 10 (or 9!) khz button pushes! On the other hand, it is really tough for me to smoothly tune the '59. I'll find a signpost frequency, then count up or down in 10khz increments as I tune, and invariably my finger will slip and I'll get lost. Frustrating Fifty-Nine; Tune-Tune-Tuning Two-Ten. Ease-of-use: SRF-59:C DT-210V:A The next category is a no-brainer; value for your DX dollar. OK, kind of. If superior audio quality and digital tuning (and memories) aren't that big a deal to you..if all you are looking for is the absolute cheapest way to get a terrifically sensitive and selective radio with supreme nulling capacity, then the SRF-59 is your machine. If, on the other hand, you don't mind spending more for a radio that sounds smooth as silk, has memories, digital readout, is very sensitive, and won't leave you curled up in a corner in the fetal position sucking your thumb calling out for yo momma in frustration, then the two-ten is an extremely good value. The feel of the radio in your hand reeks of quality. It is solid. The hammer is nailed into the board when you hear the smooth audio, and the nail goes clear through the board when you push the DBB (bass boost) button. Wow. Absolute Value: SRF-59:A DT-210V:B Value/Convenience/Features: SRF-59:C DT-210V:A <End mini-shootout> I'd like to add a big fat caveat here. It has become DXceedingly clear that, due to the extreme variation in quality control from these manufacturers, your mileage may vary with either of these two radios. Tremendously. This is a real problem and there appears to be no cure, other than ex-Navy radio technicians willing to take on the alignment job. There's gotta be a dollar or two in that :-) Ok, there you have it...the impressions from a ULR fan. It is a disease, my friends, and more ULR's is the cure. A self-fulfilling DX prophesy if I've ever experienced one. Thanks, all, for understanding my dementia. 73, Bruce Bacon N7BWB Boise County, ID. DT-210V (2) SRF-59 (3) SRF-M37V (1) DT-300 (1) R8, SRII, CCRadio, etc... Google Earth Coordinates (go ahead, plug this in): 43.39.20.94N 115.58.56.32W _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
