Always Up For A Good Deal

I like my toys. I mean, what fun is life with no toys?

I wouldn't say I'm a fanatic, although I have been known to drool over such things as cars, street bikes and such. Some guys I know do fall into the fanatic category...And you know the ones. They spend money they don't have to get their fix. I try to keep my whims on the logical side.

My wife understands and she supports me in my hobbies. She probably figures that in order to keep me from becoming a fanatic she should at least let me have my fun and humor me in my endeavors. Who knows what she really thinks but she never gripes.

About a month before Christmas we were out shopping and we stopped in the local Radio Shack to check deals on batteries for the load of gifts our five year-old was about to gain... That would surely need a truckload of batteries. While perusing the store, I spotted a Grundig S350DL on the shelf, setting out for display. I pulled it down and fiddled with it a bit. Of course, with all the steel, concrete and flourescent lights, I couldn't pick up a damn thing, but I was confident in the radios ability to pull in stations. Afterall, it was a Grundig.

Whilst fiddling, the wife comes rolling around and spots me. I briefly laid out the radio, price, etc. She stated that wasn't a bad price considering some of the rigs that are on my wishlist. Thinking that may have been enough of a hint for a Christmas gift, I put the radio back in its place and meandered out of the store.

Christmas came, and to make a long story short, no radio. Now, I had just watched "A Christmas Story" with the wife and kid a few nights before and the thought started going through my head that maybe it would be a last gift surprise hiding in the corner somewhere. Ralphie got his Red Ryder BB gun against all odds, why shouldn't I get my radio?

Alas, no radio.

Poo-poo on Ralphie.

Fast-forward to December 28 and we are - where else - but Radio Shack buying batteries. And where else was I but in the last aisle looking at the Grundig. The old lady sneaks up behind me (Just like always) and says "You should go ahead and get it". I told her it could wait and she immediately lets me know in no uncertain terms that we weren't leaving the store without the Grundig. So I go to the clerk and ask for a boxed one. The clerk stated they were out of stock but that we were more than welcome to take the demo.

Floor models, demos, whatever you wanna call them, always make me a bit uneasy, especially when they don't knock off a few bucks for you. But the radio had that classic look similar to the Panasonic RF 2200 that I have always wanted. It had all kinds of knobs...big ones, little ones, a nice stout antenna. And it said GRUNDIG! Against my better judgement, I took the radio, no box, no manual...nothing but the radio.

The next day, buyer's remorse started to set in. As I was tuning around with it I noticed that once you switched to the SW2 band, the frequency started bouncing all over the place. After some tinkering I realized it had a bad switch but I could find a sweet spot and it would stop twitching on me.

After a bit more playing I realized I was getting some bad imaging from a station around 17,000KHz...I happened to be in the 8,000KHz area. That was all I needed.

I promptly took the radio back. I figured they would give me some static at the store because it was a demo...kinda like a car from a buy-here pay-here lot with the "As Is: No Warranty" sticker in the window.

I must have looked kinda pissed because the manager promptly refunded my money with a smile.

I then suggested we go to Universal Radio up in Columbus. She agreed.

Upon arrival I was greeted by a vast array of toys. Mouth watering toys. I hadn't been to Universal in a couple of years and forgot how pleasant it was just to be inside there. I talked to one of the guys in there and told him of my story with the Grundig. As I was talking to him I noticed about 5 S350L's in the used radio area. I thought either they are popular and they like to keep a few on hand or I wasn't the only one unhappy with it.

After much discussion he sold me on the new CC Radio SW from C. Crane. He stated that for the price there was no better radio.

I got her home and immediately put some batteries in her and let her rip. Boy, what a radio. I didn't even have her hooked up to the external antenna and it was picking up stations as clear as a bell.

If any of you out there have kinda blown off the CCRadio SW because it doesn't have Kenwood, Grundig, or whatever on it, you need to at least test drive this radio. I'm not going to go into a review of it here, but I will tell you that you are doing yourself a disservice by not at least considering one. You won't regret it.

And wouldn't you know it, two days later I came across a Panasonic RF 2200 for $50.00. It does have a few issues, like a very dirty sounding volume pot, rusted coil springs for the batteries, and the need for a serious alignment. Fairly easy doings. I have my other radios to listen to, so this one will be my project.

Stay tuned...