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write your own review of the C. Crane Co. CC Radio.
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K0IC
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Rating: 0/5
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Jan 15, 2010 03:46
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It is a cheapo!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Since I am not blessed with a 50 kW AM station nearby it could be my radio works better than it should. My LCD display crapped out also after a few years. Since C.C. Crane Co. apparently does not repair it this is the last C.C. Crane Co. product I am buying from them. I prefer the GE Superradio but I see it is no longer in production sad to say. We are in a bad way when electronics is good enough to get out the door that does not hold up or is repairable.
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ANDREW_P
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Rating: 0/5
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Jan 14, 2010 21:27
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It's crap
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I just got a reply from C. Crane Co. regarding repair of a friend's CC Radio with non-working liquid crystal display (LCD). Their customer service representative wrote, in part:
"In response to your inquiry, the display needs to be replaced when number digits are missing. The parts are no longer manufactured or available for the Original CCRadio. We handle repairs here at C. Crane for the CCRadioPlus and we can replace the display on this model. Your friends may email us or call our toll free number to arrange repairs if they own a CCRadioPlus."
So, no parts available and a CC Radio can't be repaired. What now? Superficially, the LCD looked like it was in good shape; no cracks or bleeding of the liquid crystal, no darkening or fading typical of exposure to temperature extremes. The only problem was that some of the number segments and icons no longer displayed at all. Although I know my friend isn't particularly gentle with possessions, this radio wasn't abused since she bought it several years ago. I decided to open 'er up and take a look for myself. What I found inside the plastic case was a $15 transistor radio that was being sold for ten times what it was worth.
The circuit boards (2 ea.) are single-sided phenolic/paper, typical of cheap Asian construction. One board has the RF components, the other, call it the control board, has the display, a quad flatpack (QFP) ASIC and various miniature snap-dome switches that are actuated by the front-panel control buttons.
The LCD is inside a thin sheet metal bezel that is attached on the second side of the control board such that the attachment tabs are inaccessible under a shield soldered to the first side of the control board. Once the half-dozen solder fillets were removed, the shield came off easily, revealing part of the problem. The LCD flex circuit appears to be high-carbon ink, literally printed onto a strip of plastic; no etched copper foil on Kapton here. I was expecting to find a zero-insertion-force (ZIF) connector or elastomeric zebra stripe compression connector for the LCD, but, no, the flex circuit is threaded through a slot in the circuit board and _glued_ to the first side of printed circuit board. Very likely, if I were to untwist the LCD bezel tabs and try to remove the LCD, this glued joint would disintegrate, as well as a similar glued joint on the back of the LCD glass. (I had a similar experience trying to replace the battery on a $1 Chinese desk calculator last week.)
I've worked in the disk drive industry for over 20 years, and have been involved in many flex circuit designs. We typically use some type of compression connector that provides reliable, gas-tight connections and can be disassembled and reassembled a couple of dozen times, at least. The flex circuits are copper foil on Kapton, and are designed for cost sensitivity. By the late 1990's, the bill of material (BOM) cost of 3.5-inch disk drives had fallen to around $10-$12, and a disk drive is _far_ more complex than the CC Radio. The way the LCD is installed in the CC Radio is simply inexcusable; it seems to be the main reason these radios fail. All functions are displayed on the LCD, and when it fails, the radio is essentially useless. Simply put, it's a disposable product, albeit a rather expensive one. To correct the design deficiency in the LCD installation would have cost somewhat less than $1.00 per unit in volume, a cost increase that would have been easily covered by the price C. Crane was asking for the product. Selling a product like this is a black eye for the C. Crane Company: They saved a buck and damaged their reputation. I haven't had the pleasure of analyzing a CC Radio Plus, but if it is constructed anything like the original CC radio, it should be avoided at all costs.
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KC7JBB
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Rating: 4/5
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Jul 7, 2009 17:38
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Nice Radio but overpriced
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I recently bought the CC+ radio from e-bay so did not pay new price. After reading of the many reported cases of failed LED screens , so I was holding my breath.
The CC Radio arrived with a couple of rubs on the case but a perfect working digital display. Checked out all the functions and, AOK.
I was immediately impressed with the audio, it was very crisp and clear yet with out giveing up depth. Not tinney like my 2010 and not muddy like my CCSW (aka. Redsun 2100). It is good, very good audio, and yes you can tell the differance.
Next I placed the CC Radio on the table next to my GE Super Radio 3, for a little side by side comparison. I might add that I really like the GE's, haveing an SR 1 and two SR 3's. Tuneing to some of the weaker Portland stations, the CC has a definate edge in sensitivity. However my first impression is that it may have less selectivity, this could prove to be a problem for those liveing next to or in the vincinity of powerful boomer stations.
Sueprise! FM is great, what a bonus! Allthough I am not a big FM listner. Weather band works well on the CC with several alert options, and has the NOAA alert on feature.
So to sum it up I like it a lot, but would I buy it at the full price? Probably not. The CC Radio would be a fair desl at about $100.00, so that's why I give it a four. The PLL tuneing is far superior to finding stations than with a GE SR3 and an analog dial that is way off, but ids it worth 3X the price ??????
Good listening
KC7JBB
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N4NYY
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Rating: 0/5
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Nov 26, 2007 17:20
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underachiever, overpiced
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I relocated to souther NJ about 150 from NYC. I needed a radio for AM reception, specifically for WFAN and the Yankees station. This radio was horrible. At the time, it was well of $150. Selectivity and sensitvity were not all it was cracked up to be. I returned it for a full refund. Picked up the GE Superadio III from Amazon for $45, and was a Superior performer when compared to the CCRadio.
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KU4BX
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Rating: 1/5
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Nov 16, 2006 13:45
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Overpriced
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I owned a CC Radio for just over 1 year at which time the LCD display stopped working. Since I had already over-paid for this AM/FM "non stereo" TV and WX radio I decided not to have it repaired. An expensive clock radio for the nightstand and now a boat anchor.
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NS6Y_
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 6, 2006 19:57
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Overpriced but I like it
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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$165 is a lot to pay for an AM/FM radio with weather and lowband TV channels. So, why do I love this radio so much? It's big, the buttons are easy to find, the sound on AM is odd but after a few days you get used to it then it's great. (The sound on FM is excellent! And the FM output to earphones is in stereo.) The sound carries well, easy to hear in the next room for some reason. Has external antenna connections so you can experiment with external ant's.
I have heard of problems with the display LCD, I'm not sure if CCrane has fixed it or not - if this is true, I can expect the display to crap out in a few years. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
This has a weather alert function, when there's a weather alert and you have the function turned on, the radio will show a little red light and when you turn it on it's on the NWS.
I runs on wall power or 4 D cells or external DC power, and has a power out connection too.
After 3 years of using a little $15 radio shack clock/radio permenantly stuck on 12:00 and that takes the skills of a safecracker to tune, I finally decided with all the time I spend listening to the radio, which is a lot, I might as well get a decent one.
Get one from a place with a liberal return policy and try it out, you'll probably find that it's a keeper.
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