Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Crane Radio EP

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Crane Radio EP
Reviews: 9MSRP: 69
Description:
No Frills AM/FM reciever. Has tunable "Twin Coil" built in to maximize sensitivity on AM. 4" Speaker with treble and bass controls.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.ccrane.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0094.6
WISHBONE Rating: 2022-07-15
As good an AM receiver as I've had. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This C Crane EP is about the best radio I've found in my "up north" place on Lake Huron. I'm in a real dead zone, a geographic "shelf" about 150 feet below the general area. We only get signals from the east, across the lake in Canada and a bit from the south but signals from S, SE, SW are very weak. The C Crane is the best of about 4 AM and AM/FM receivers I've tried over 10 years and if kept at a certain angle, pulls in signals that others just don't hear. Good little radio.
K1QQQ Rating: 2022-02-07
-- GOOD RADIOS -- Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Good radios can vanish.

i recall the old Super-Radio. If somebody knew it would vanish buy a few extra !! I ended up with one SuperRadio PLUS that was digital and they discontinued it fast. An old Sony ICF-S5W that was discontinued fast and rate that maybe the best dxing radio ever made for a portable. They still have something very similar in Japan but costs hundreds of dollars.

The C Crane EP ? To me reminds me of the old SuperRadio. Get an extra. (no affiliation with C Crane) All portables I think the knobs etc. wear out.

Otherwise good radios ? Eton..Sangean...some Chinese things like Tecsun but I dislike such as questionable for the long haul. Chinese reputation ?


N5LAZ Rating: 2022-02-06
Super radio at our rural weekend home - only one minor issue Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Not much to add to what others have said, except that the wall-wart supplying DC power is a source of RFI to AM reception. Suggest replacing with a linear supply or operating batt. power.
N0TLD Rating: 2022-02-06
Great DXer Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my EP for a bit over a year now, and I love it. I use it for FM quite a bit, as the audio is smooth and warm, and it's pretty damned selective, especially for an analog portable.

Other reviews list all the features, so I won't bore you with that, but I *will* bore you with this... :)

This thing is excellent for DXing the MW band, on its own with its Twin Coil antenna, or better with an external loop, coupled inductively.

I've pulled stations out of the mire on graveyard frequencies that I can only hear on one other analog portable in my collection -- the Panasonic RF2200, which is simply the king of MW DXing.

It is indeed in the realm of the 2200's performance, and if you are a DXing fool I think you really ought to at least try it. At that price it should be a no-brainer.

Still, as others have noted, there CAN be overloading issues (distortion, images, etc.) and if you live in a strong signal area, you will want to be cautious (be sure you can return it if need be)... but otherwise, this is really a 5 star little portable, analog AM/FM radio.
KC0EKQ Rating: 2015-07-16
Almost a grand slam, but... Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I would give the CC Radio EP a solid 5 on the eHam rating scale if it wasn't so prone to overloading and imaging on BOTH bands.

This is a GREAT radio -- on MW, it hears almost everything my reference rig, the Panasonic RF2200, hears, and is almost as selective on that band as well. In MW sensitivity and selectivity this radio easily outperforms all of my SW portables (from Sony to Grundig to Tecsun) and even my GE Superradio I.

With addition of the Twin Coil Ferrite Antenna fine tuning control, some MW signals can be improved (a few like night and day!) in daytime listening, and it exhibits interesting effects at night. It's a worthy tool for a DXer with which to experiment and just 'play radio'. It only applies to MW, however.

But that's okay because on FM, it is very solid, very sensitive and selective, almost as much as the Panasonic RF2600 (my reference/go-to FM portable, it's a beauty for FM) and the audio is so pleasant that I have been using it on a daily basis for months now.

With a bright-but-not-distractingly-bright LED lit slide rule dial, and smooth, easy, simple controls, the CC Radio EP is damn dear the best currently produced FM/AM portable, period.

But what keeps it from claiming that title is a disappointing and annoying habit of overloading in the vicinity of moderately strong signals. On both MW and FM, and more near the top of each band, images and signal hash cannot be avoided in my location -- which is not some big city or suburb but a pretty wide open rural area in the Ozarks, with a lot of MW and FM broadcast stations in every direction across the entire band(s) -- but this is the ONLY radio I regularly use that exhibits such a weakness for handling strong signals.

Take note that even the very strongest AM and FM signals in my location are 30 to 40m away at their closest, and none of them are regional powerhouse stations; there should really not be an issue with overload on the built-in antennas for both bands.

The only other portables I have which exhibited this kind of weakness are the GE Superradio III (just not a real Superradio, I have never really liked it) and all of those fun but cheap multiband radios with WX, TV, CB, PS and so on. Cheaper radios, by far, which don't see regular use.

There's just not really an excuse for this issue, in my view.

BUT, if you are REALLY in a rural, RF quiet area, this radio would EASILY be your best bet, a solid 5 and likely the best MW radio you've ever used.

As it is for me, it comes close. I still highly recommend it unless you live in an urban or other strong signal location.

KF4CQR Rating: 2014-07-19
Great AM Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Great AM. Nice, rich audio; sensitive receiver. I listen to it every day.

I bought this radio about 6 months ago; it works as advertised. This is the best portable AM receiver that I have owned. Weak stations on any of my other portable AM radios are “hissy” and barely audible. When I tune this radio to the same stations, they come in with “full quieting”.

There is a distant, low power station from me that I love to listen to about 30 miles straight line distance from my home. It is virtually impossible to listen to it with any other portable or even my car radio. When I tune in with this radio, it sounds like it is in the neighborhood.

FM sounds good as well.

I am truly pleased with this product.

KF4CQR
SCANNUT99 Rating: 2012-05-01
WOW GREAT AND WELL BUILT AND FUN Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I live in an urban setting and this radio even during the day can pick up weak signals next to strong. What people have to realize is the fine tuning has to be done in conjunction with rotating this radio. That is how a radio with a built in twin coil am rod is designed to work. This is a radio for a person relaxing on a Lazyboy with the radio on a table next to them and it is then easy as pie to tune and rotate. Sound is superb and People need to understand that all portables with internal antennas are DESIGNED TO BE ROTATED!! The fine tuning is for frequency tuning of the coil and this is a fun inexpensive radio, far superior to the Super Radio 3. Well built, sturdy construction and a wonderful light that stays on even when just using batteries. Built rock solid it is not a toy. And with two band widths, and seperate bass and treble, this is a winner all the way around. Fun to use and very retro not only in design but construction quality. They just don't make them like this anymore.
KC2TOF Rating: 2010-12-27
Good, but overload problem. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This radio is reviewed based on CCRadio-EP's performance in Queens, New York City, a difficult rf environment, loaded with 50kw local stations: 660 WFAN, 710 WOR, 770 WABC, 880 WCBS, 1010 WINS, 1050 ESPN, 1130 WBBR, 1190 WLIB, 1280 WADO(50 kW day), and 1560 WQEW. I used a GE Superadio III as a "benchmark", or, rough comparison. Both radios fared pretty much equal. Audio response defined primarily the difference between these two radios. CCRadio-EP pleasingly favors more mid-range and high frequency audio response, giving a very perceptible clarity, while the GE S III has more bass, with the mid-range brought out by diminishing the bass response. Selection of "voice" (narrow BW) on CCRadio-EP sometimes further cut through interference.
Daytime testing involved reception of a selected (for their relative difficulty) group of radio stations on the ends of the band.
My house has high definition TV's, cell phone chargers and computers, which at times virtually destroy reception of most out-of-town and some local stations (WABC and WINS get the TV buzz saw!). At times these things are not in use, leaving only the house wiring and the aluminum siding to produce one nasty effect: most stations come in from only one direction.
Results: WICC, 600 from Bridgeport, listenable. WTIC 1080 Hartford received, but somewhat noisy for continuous listening. WPHT 1210 Philadelphia, listenable, good. Small oldies rock station from central-southern New Jersey, 1410, listenable, good, a "nice catch".
Reception basically equal on both receivers up to this point. However, for the CCRadio-EP, the end of the band, from 1530 to 1700, is rendered useless by WQEW, Radio Disney 1560, not even allowing in the least, reception of another local station, WWRL 1600! In fact, all stations above 1560 suffer that same fate. The exterior tuning trimmer helps marginally, at best.
I fail to understand why a tuned front end rf stage was not designed into this radio, with which it could have trumped the performance of most of the other competitors on the market. The GE S R III handled these same frequencies above 1560, utterly impervious to Radio Disney's presence there. Most of the other vintage transistor radios in my collection do the same. In all fairness, CCrane-EP does fine in this location at the high end, if 1560 is nulled out off the end of its ferrite antenna. Moreover, nowhere else on the BCB was this overload problem found.
Selectivity of both at night is adequate, with WJR heard next to WABC, and WHAM 1180 heard next to WLIB 1190, and therefore, so on.
I want to recognize the CCRadio-EP and the Superadio III as basically well crafted long distance receivers, worth being listened to, in order to come to decision based on one's own preferences. Without the high end problem, the CCRadio-EP would deserve a 5. In light of the overload I would call the performance a solid 4.
Mike Rogers
KC2TOF
LRDHEAT Rating: 2010-12-07
Depends Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
In an urban setting with numerous locals, the EP will be problematic. During the daytime, a chaotic mish mash of images is heard above about 1300 KHz at my location. At night, with locals at reduced power, I still have problems between 1440 and 1600 KHz. In addition, the audio from the locals can be distorted! The audio is good. The tunable twin coil is usually not necessary...can help with some weaker signals. The night light is cool...a retro look. Below 1300 KHz, the radio is well behaved, as sensitive as the Sangean PR-D5, has decent selectivity (can null locals well enough to get weak stations 10 KHz away from local's frequency). The nulling is quite good on the portion of the dial that the locals do not mess things up.

I would have to guess that the EP would be an outstanding radio in a rural setting. For the minority of folks that reside in rural settings, the radio likely would rate a 5.