The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Has Anyone Here Actually Tried A Ccrane Radio?

RadioActive · October 3, 2018 10:15 pm

While mostly this forum is about what’s on the radio, this question is about the radios themselves. I had an ancient – but very dependable – Venturer multi-band radio that I kept for years in my bathroom. It was cheap but it worked great for a while. After many years, it’s finally bit the biscuit and I’m tired of spending as much as a new radio on having it repaired, only to see it go again a few months later.

So it’s time for something new.

But what?

My only criteria is that it be something semi-heavy duty and the #1 requirement is that it has great DX AM reception.

I’ve been eyeing the Ccrane (not the cGrant!) CC Radio 2E, but there are two consistent criticisms that keep coming up whenever I read user reviews.

1) The DSP tuning makes it almost impossible to hear weaker stations by muting the sound somewhat as you tune the dial and

2) In case after case, I see people complaining about the presets on the top of the unit breaking or not responding properly after about 6 months or more of use.

So my question: has anyone ever tried this thing or any of their products and if so, how did they work for you? And do you have a radio that meets the above criteria, is still being made and is still for sale? (A lot of the best ones, like the Panasonic RF-2200, are no longer manufactured as the Internet takes over everything.)

g121 · October 4, 2018 11:56 am

hi RA ..

Not the same radio you're talking about but i do have a C. Crane Internet Radio. Bought in 2015July, I use it daily & it's still going strong. I love it. Stations from all over the world & No Interference! : )).

https://www.ccrane.com/item/rad_wifi_ccradio_n/100/cc_wifi_internet_radio_-_with_iheartmedia_owned_radio_stations_pandora__radio-com-cbs

I posted about my C. Crane here in SOWNY back in 2015Aug.
http://gta.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=263

John D · October 4, 2018 1:01 pm

Great thread here. I used to have a Sanyo internet radio; which was pretty good; but it finally gave out. I really want a new internet radio; but it's hard to know which one to buy. I would like Sirius/XM; as part of the package; because I am a subscriber and the biggest thing is to not put me through hoops to get things going. I've read a lot of reviews of various radios on Amazon and the biggest complaint is how hard they are to finally get them working properly. Also as long as I can get the all Dylan all Beatles channel that my Sanyo had would be nice. Thay don't make that radio anymore. Also WFUV out of New York and WWOZ out of New Orleans would be nice. Thank you.

Last edited by John D (October 4, 2018 1:04 pm)

RadioActive · October 4, 2018 1:09 pm

g121 wrote:
hi RA ..

Not the same radio you're talking about but i do have a C. Crane Internet Radio. Bought in 2015July, I use it daily & it's still going strong. I love it. Stations from all over the world & No Interference! : )).

https://www.ccrane.com/item/rad_wifi_ccradio_n/100/cc_wifi_internet_radio_-_with_iheartmedia_owned_radio_stations_pandora__radio-com-cbs

I posted about my C. Crane here in SOWNY back in 2015Aug.
http://gta.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=263

Thanks for that. I think I'm looking for a more traditional AM/FM kind of radio, which this isn't. (Although I briefly considered buying the one you mentioned here.)

I guess what I really want to know is how durable are the Ccrane products? It seems like every review I read from people who just got one delivered are raves. But after 6 months to a year, too many say they either stop working, malfunction in some way or can't stand up to daily use. That's what worries me about buying one.

markow202 · October 4, 2018 1:44 pm

RadioActive wrote:
g121 wrote:
hi RA ..

Not the same radio you're talking about but i do have a C. Crane Internet Radio. Bought in 2015July, I use it daily & it's still going strong. I love it. Stations from all over the world & No Interference! : )).

https://www.ccrane.com/item/rad_wifi_ccradio_n/100/cc_wifi_internet_radio_-_with_iheartmedia_owned_radio_stations_pandora__radio-com-cbs

I posted about my C. Crane here in SOWNY back in 2015Aug.
http://gta.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=263

Thanks for that. I think I'm looking for a more traditional AM/FM kind of radio, which this isn't. (Although I briefly considered buying the one you mentioned here.)

I guess what I really want to know is how durable are the Ccrane products? It seems like every review I read from people who just got one delivered are raves. But after 6 months to a year, too many say they either stop working, malfunction in some way or can't stand up to daily use. That's what worries me about buying one.

And if you have a smartphone of TODAY - its pretty much an internet radio.

Fitz · October 4, 2018 5:06 pm

markow202 wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
g121 wrote:
hi RA ..

Not the same radio you're talking about but i do have a C. Crane Internet Radio. Bought in 2015July, I use it daily & it's still going strong. I love it. Stations from all over the world & No Interference! : )).

https://www.ccrane.com/item/rad_wifi_ccradio_n/100/cc_wifi_internet_radio_-_with_iheartmedia_owned_radio_stations_pandora__radio-com-cbs

I posted about my C. Crane here in SOWNY back in 2015Aug.
http://gta.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=263

Thanks for that. I think I'm looking for a more traditional AM/FM kind of radio, which this isn't. (Although I briefly considered buying the one you mentioned here.)

I guess what I really want to know is how durable are the Ccrane products? It seems like every review I read from people who just got one delivered are raves. But after 6 months to a year, too many say they either stop working, malfunction in some way or can't stand up to daily use. That's what worries me about buying one.
And if you have a smartphone of TODAY - its pretty much an internet radio.

The smart phone is good for radio. I have the Tune In app and it works well and sound quality issues are improved with connection to a Bluetooth speaker. The other issue being data plans and the fact that overage can be costly.

Lap Top and PC users can just google any radio station and get the link to the station and a listen link. (90% of stations have a stream ( Even CKNT).

The problem essentially for me is that there is not much to listen to even on internet radio. The brightest spot is SiriusXM.

I do listen to WBFO FM ( NPR) in the car but for the last week plus it is barely coming in. Not sure if there is a problem with their transmitter. I tried all the other receivable Buffalo stations in the car today and all were coming in. and so I am ruling out atmospherics albeit at 10,000 watts it is weaker than most commercial stations.

cash · October 4, 2018 6:00 pm

Eton

https://www.amazon.ca/Eton-Shortwave-Bluetooth-Streaming-NGWFBTB/dp/B01K2LQAZ0/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1538690306&sr=1-4&keywords=grundig

Fitz · October 4, 2018 6:56 pm

I should add that the internet option seems to be the best one b/c of reception issues ( on terrestrial radio) for distant AM stations and the crowded FM dial in the gta. Does not really make sense to listen to a bad signal except if the station does not stream. Any wonder that shortwave has almost disappeard. Not needed any more.

Last edited by Fitz (October 4, 2018 7:01 pm)

RadioActive · October 4, 2018 8:18 pm

cash wrote:
Eton

https://www.amazon.ca/Eton-Shortwave-Bluetooth-Streaming-NGWFBTB/dp/B01K2LQAZ0/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1538690306&sr=1-4&keywords=grundig

Interesting. I'll look (listen?) into it. How is the AM/DX reception on this radio?

Chrisphen · October 4, 2018 9:37 pm

I have a kaito voyager for around-the-house use and for traveling. It's fairly good, and works well after two years. I recently bought a Tecsun pl-880 and it has been excellent so far.

andysradio · October 5, 2018 4:00 pm

I have had the Crane 2E for 2 years. Good radio. No issues I have notice except one oddity: on a weak AM signal, if you jump to it via memory or changing bands, the radio will not grab the station. If you go up or down one frequency and back, it comes in. I emailed them about it but there was not a clear answer. Still I am use to it. The dope: the 2E is slightly better on AM than my GE Superadio II. The GE though is slightly better on FM.
If you want a good internet radio also check out the Sangean WFR-28

Dan Sys · October 5, 2018 8:49 pm

The FM antenna was substandard on my C Crane. It snapped off after only a few months of normal use. My letters and messages of complaint about the matter were ignored by the staff at C Crane. In comparison the antenna on my trusty old GE Superadio II is still holding out after a good 30 years of normal use.

Fitz · October 6, 2018 8:37 am

Tim Brown 2016 wrote:
Fitz wrote:
I do listen to WBFO FM ( NPR) in the car but for the last week plus it is barely coming in. Not sure if there is a problem with their transmitter. I tried all the other receivable Buffalo stations in the car today and all were coming in. and so I am ruling out atmospherics albeit at 10,000 watts it is weaker than most commercial stations.
It's likely interference from CIRV's HD Radio transmission on 88.9. I've been experiencing the same thing in my car for the last few weeks. Too bad, WBFO was pretty much all I ever listened to. WBFO is on WNED HD2 but I'm not sure if it's strong enough for where you drive.

That is a shame. I don't have an HD radio. Would you know when the CIRV HD transmission started as I was not having this problem a month ago.

andysradio · October 6, 2018 12:02 pm

Are they airing CIRV on the HD channel as well?

RadioActive · October 6, 2018 8:36 pm

Dan Sys wrote:
The FM antenna was substandard on my C Crane. It snapped off after only a few months of normal use. My letters and messages of complaint about the matter were ignored by the staff at C Crane. In comparison the antenna on my trusty old GE Superadio II is still holding out after a good 30 years of normal use.

I've heard great things about the Superadio, but it's now consigned to history and the version you're talking about is no longer available. (Amazon still sells one, but it's rife with user complaints.)

I've also heard bad things about the reliability of CCrane products, that something goes wrong with them after 6 months to a year. So I'm probably ruling them out. I went to Radio World on Friday to see the Eton BT Field radio and after watching some online YouTube reviews, I'm pretty impressed. Plus they have it on sale this month for $149. It's not the super AM reception I was hoping for, but it looks like it may meet my needs anyway.

Thanks for all your advice! Whoever thought buying a new radio would be so much work?

RadioActive · October 7, 2018 9:23 pm

Just to follow up: I've spent hours this weekend looking at reviews and videos online for all the radios I was considering. (My apologies to my dog, who must feel slightly neglected by all the time I spent on my computer.)

What really annoys me most is that, while all the models I looked at seem terrific, there's always something wrong with each one of them that makes me wary of buying any of them at all.

Consider:

The Eton Field BT is a nice unit, but according to several different reviews, it seems to fade out around the bottom half of the AM dial thanks to soft muting. Why that would be I have no idea, but several different people made a point of mentioning it.

The various Sangean PRD's are said to be great for AM DX, but they come with a switching power supply, which I'm told by nearly all reviews creates signal noise on that band and that "you should unplug it when you listen to AM." Hardly seems like a solution to me, since this will be sitting in one room - plugged into an AC outlet.

Then there's my original C Crane option. It appears to be the perfect solution, good sound, great AM DX. But review after review after review (including poster Dan Sys, above) indicates something goes wrong with nearly every unit between 6 months and a year of operation. The frequency display stops working, the presets malfunction, the antenna breaks or something else goes wrong. I read so many of these complaints from separate users that I don't think I'd go near one of their products.

So now what? I may just take my old radio in to be fixed again - better the devil you know, even if it costs a little more to repair than this devil may care to spend!

Thanks to all who made suggestions. But really, whatever happened to quality in electronics?

tvguy · October 7, 2018 10:38 pm

There is an easy and inexpensive work-around for the Sangean radios and the power charger noise. Ikea has re-chargeable batteries for under $10 for a set of 4 AA's. The capacity of the batteries - 2450 mAh, will run the radio for a very long time between charges. The quality of the "build" of their radios is top notch. I have had one for years, with no failures.

RadioActive · October 8, 2018 12:29 am

I think the Sangeans I'm looking at take either C's or D's, which may be harder and more expensive to come by in a rechargeable.

Chrisphen · October 8, 2018 10:08 am

That's the only issue I've found with my Tecsun - it uses a novel battery type called a '18650', a 3.7v lithium ion cell slightly larger than an AA. Must be big in China, but definitely not common here.