TWiRT Ep. 229 - C.Crane Radios with Bob Crane 10-2-14
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- Опубліковано 18 жов 2024
- Anyone listening to late night talk radio has probably heard of the C. Crane Company and their high-quality consumer radios. As engineers we tend to worry about the studio and transmission end of radio broadcasting. Bob Crane, founder of C. Crane, took a different approach to broadcast quality. He and his engineers work on the receiving end, and it’s making a positive difference. Bob joins Chris Tobin and me to let us in on the magic behind great radio reception.
This is a little old now, and technology has not stopped, but this is still very relevant.
I bought 2 C.Crane radios 10 years ago.
They are still working.
Now I have the CCSkywaveSSB.
A FANTASTIC radio ‼️
You can’t go wrong with any of their radios.
I absolutely love the CCRadio 2E Enhanced and the CC SkyWave SSB. Worth every penny.
Those are the exact two C. Crane radios I own as well - fantastic radios.
I ordered the Skywave SSB radio through Amazon, should be with me in a week or so (at that rate it must be arriving by ship for real 😂) By all accounts CCrane make good specialist radio products. I’m old school, even in this age of DAB, SDR, internet commercial radios, travel radios of this specification and functionality are still highly relevant, and it’s great that companies like CCrane are out there flying the flag for radio enthusiasts 🙏🏽
Both the audio and RF performance of the C. Crane CC2E are exemplary! It is shockingly sensitive and selective on both the FM and AM (MW) bands while delivering rich, clear, and pleasing audio! Using the CC2E during daylight hours when distant AM signals are at their weakest will prove this radio to be a true powerhouse performer!
Several years ago, Crane radios were also carrying the name Sangean. These units seem to have the display problems. The older units before Sangean and those after seem to not have problems with the display. Check out Ebay and you will find that many, if not most Sangean units, have had display digits fading out. Otherwise, I believe that the CC Radio Plus and CC Radio 2 work great.
I still have mine. All the radios are made by Sangean. And my display is bad also. Apparently it was the solder process? Now people complain about the top preset buttons failing after heavy use.
I bought the very first CC Radio and, while I was not overly impressed with the tone of its audio performance, I loved its RF performance! I did not have the display issues that some experienced, but I know why it was happening. It had something to do a part that was glued into place. Over time, the glue could, and did in some cases, detach causing displays to fail. C. Crane was quick to identify and correct the problem with future model updates.
I own two of the CC2E models, one in dark gray and the other in platinum, and this model is far and away better than any previous model produced in terms of audio performance. It sounds terrific! Its RF performance is even better! :-)
My one and only complaint with the C. Crane CC2E is that it is almost physically identical outwardly to the original CC Radio. It has no direct frequency input keypad and must be tuned with up-down keys or its rotary dial frequency selector. However, it does have five buttons that allow programming of preset frequencies, therefore I have devised a crude Q-tune system to allow me to jump to specific parts of the bands quickly. For example, on AM preset 1 = 600 Kc, preset 2 = 900 Kc, preset 3 = 1200 Kc, and so on. I devised a similar system for FM as well.
I know my local ham club has their vx voip phone system and it works great not bad for a bunch of old anoraks. I am hoping to eventually purchase one of the latest versions of their analog 2e enhanced radios from Chris and company. Should be good to pull is Manx radio late at night on 1368 kilocycles medium wave form the Isle of Man in the Uk form the north east coast US. I listen to it nowadays until it gets covered up by two US based stations. Both on either side of them. I am using one of the radios that Dennis worked to design with Bob Crane. The CC Radio Plus, with the Versa Corda. So sad that Dennis passed away from lung cancer just about a year ago. Such a great electrical engineer so much talent. My condolences to all the Abba members that knew him.
c.crane radios are over priced. To get the ccrane3, it’s almost $400 canadian after horrendous shipping, california taxes, import fees. I would look past some of this if the radios weren’t made in china. There are cheaper options that use the same boards for $20% of the cost with more features and on par reception.
Wow, that is a horrible sounding headset on Bob. Surprising that an audio guy would choose that one.
yes i listen to coast to coast am
Leave AM analog!!! If it goes digital, it will make older radios obsolete, in turn making AM obsolete. Internet / Wifi radio is definitely a gimmick. To me, the best CC radio is the EP /EP Pro. The CC radio "2E / enhanced" I have no interest in them. Why? because they are not analog. There is nothing wrong with analogs radios, and in fact, can be superior over digital radios ( if made correctly ). This " radio on a chip" is cheap for a reason. Its fine for basic radios, but not for the high performance AM /SW radios.
Your Crane cc radio's are JUNK , you're aware of the LCD problem , you should be ashamed to sell this.