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| Reviews Summary for Radio Shack DX-399 |
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Reviews: 5
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Average rating: 4.2/5
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MSRP: $129.99
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Description: Compact, digital full range SW receiver
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More info: http://
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write your own review of the Radio Shack DX-399.
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AE5DY
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Rating: 5/5
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May 25, 2004 01:38
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GREAT radio for the price I paid!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I just got the last one that RS had for $30! Unbelievable! It is much better than the DX-396, which I paid $70 for 3 years ago. No SSB, but other than that, a great radio. I can honestly say you cannot get a better radio for this price! Check out your local RS...they might have one of these just laying around...
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MARTESQUE
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Rating: 5/5
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Nov 30, 2002 17:57
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High performance for size
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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I agree with the previous post, 8HHAGGIS must have gotten a bad one. Nice thing about Radio Shack, bring it back and they'll fix it.
I bought mine for $60 at close-out, AFTER I returned a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 PE. The disappointment I experienced with the Grundig was quickly replaced with the enthusiasm I had for the DX-399 (made by Sangean, btw). Reception is very good and the sound is stronger (considering the much smaller speaker)on both AM & FM. Plus, it had ALL the features found on the Yacht Boy. Great travel and bedside radio. Too bad they're discontinued.
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KI4PS
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 21, 2002 02:54
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Great for Price and Size
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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The previous comments from 8HHAGGIS makes me believe he got a BAD ONE. I purchashed two at $49.97 close-out at RS. The rating of 5 is because for the price, size, and quality; it's a nice little radio.
My two 399's are nothing like his. I live one half mile from a 50 KW AM station with no problems. The freq. is right on the mark. YES! The radio is small, so it puts out 180 mw of audio, but the audio quality is great on mine (again for it's size).
Being a ham and using my rig with amp (approx. 1 KW) and having the little radio in the same room on AM/FM/SW I experience no problems. I've also have the Sony 2010 and DX-398 and compared the 399 next to them. Again, the audio is lower but the 399 receives every program that the others do.
In closing, if I had paid $130, then I would have looked for something else or put a few extra bucks towards a bigger radio. At $49.97 it's an excellent deal to me.
PS: The only con I see is when I connect my 160 meter antenna to the radio. It does overload the front-end, but then I live very, very close to the 50 KW AM station. With a 20/30 foot piece of wire it's fine.
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8HHAGGIS
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Rating: 1/5
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Aug 20, 2002 10:31
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mediocre
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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DX-399 is less sensitive than the cheaper analog DX-397. The bandpass filter was asymmetrical and skewed to the upper sideband, so unless one tuned about 1 to 2 kHz high, the sound of AM stations was tinny and slightly distorted. The radio is appallingly sensitive to cross-modulations from local AM stations -- even 1 kw-ers! -- and local ham transmitters. A ham about three blocks from me blew out the entire SW bands every time he keyed on his SSB rig. The digital tuning whine and hiss is irritating. Audio output is low, and the AVC is so poorly designed that carrier variations clip the audio stages during typical fades; very annoying. The DX-397 does not do that. Tuning is OK but when you scan, audio mutes. Ergonomics poor: takes a long time to learn ANY function. Even setting the clocks was fussy and complicated. Furthermore, the display reverts back to time after a few minutes, disabling the tuning buttons until you press more keys. My copy of the radio had an inoperative display backlight. I was SO disappointed with this receiver that I returned it for a cash refund -- useless. My old 1947 7-tube unrebuilt Magnavox console radio could pick up clear reception of SW stations in the 31, 25 and 19 m bands that were just noise in the DX-399. I would rank this receiver as one of the poorest I have ever used in 50 yrs. of SW and BC dx'ing.
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SCHUYLHOOK
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 12, 2002 13:20
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It was a great price...
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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$70 on sale at Radio Shack in August 2001. It is able to pick up Radio Albania, Radio Israel, RHC, and Voice of Korea (North Korea, just barely, though). I brought it to Jamaica on vacation in September, and you can imagine I learned immediatey about the terrorist attacks via BBC. I have enthusiastically gotten back into shortwave radio, which I think is an extremely important mode of communication. I would appreciate a more radio-savvy person to review the DX-399. It doesn't have SSB. Next (hopefully this year) I will get a Sony ICF-2010. I owned a DX-100 from 1983 to 1996.
Thank you.
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