C. Crane's CCRadio-SW: Not what it used to be?
Nicholas Dreyer
demo by flash178 at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsa-e8Un4F4&feature=related
However I am about to give up on the model after just receiving 2
successive defective units in a row - through a distributor, not
directly from C. Crane. The first produced nothing but steady hum, the
second had what appeared to be a defective tuning dial:
When turning the dial, the displayed frequency would move along
perfectly, regardless of how fast (or slow and steady for that matter)
the dial was turned. After the dial came to rest, the tuner would
rarely be at the frequency shown, sometimes completely silent at the
displayed frequency of a strong signal, i.e. what you saw was
definitively not what you heard after almost any use of the dial.
Sometimes a little jiggling back and forth of the dial would bring the
tuner to the displayed frequency, but sometimes the only thing that
worked was awkwardly pressing the arrow buttons a few times or
switching to another band and back.
Is anyone else seeing these or other problems with recently delivered
C. Crane's?
Two lemons in a row now like this makes me fear C. Crane is developing
production or Quality Control problems.
Nick
Brenda Ann
"Nicholas Dreyer" <gur...@oz.net> wrote in message
news:492b8079...@reader.news4all.se...
The C.Crane CCRadio-SW is a Redsun import. Redsun made a deal with C.Crane
that allows C.Crane to be the sole importer of their radios into the US.
Nicholas Dreyer
That's clear from the many reviews I've seen - the name "Kaito" is
associated with predecessors of the unit as well, but what does all
this say about the quality of the radios now coming through CCrane
now?
I was hoping to buy one new!
Thanks, Nick
|\|.
================================================================================
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I wish I could say I'm not white. Philosophy that turns away
(1965, Frank Zappa in Trouble Every Day From those who aren't afraid to say
-> Freak Out) What's on their mind -- The left behinds
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(1965, Frank Zappa in Hungry Freaks, Daddy
-> Freak Out)
Bob Campbell
>>The C.Crane CCRadio-SW is a Redsun import. Redsun made a deal with C.Crane
>>that allows C.Crane to be the sole importer of their radios into the US.
>>
>>
>>
> That's clear from the many reviews I've seen - the name "Kaito" is
> associated with predecessors of the unit as well, but what does all
> this say about the quality of the radios now coming through CCrane
> now?
>
> I was hoping to buy one new!
You can still buy English, 110 volt version Redsun 2100s on eBay, direct
from China.
Nicholas Dreyer
wrote:
But would they be any better, or should I assume that the manufacturer
is dumping all their lemons on CCrane? Hard to believe, unless the
chinese are counting on the stupidity of CCrane or their US buyers?
Bob Campbell
>>You can still buy English, 110 volt version Redsun 2100s on eBay, direct
>>from China.
>>
> But would they be any better, or should I assume that the manufacturer
> is dumping all their lemons on CCrane? Hard to believe, unless the
> chinese are counting on the stupidity of CCrane or their US buyers?
Hard to tell. But if the reviews here:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/6055
are any indication, I'd say the Redsun version seem to be OK.
RHF
Product "Quality Control" has become a Joke when
it comes to many Radios {Electronic Products} that
are Manufactured in China and, more recently, India.
http://www.passband.com/category/receivernews/
-see- QA: Sashay Over to Sascha
Saturday, September 13th, 2008
http://www.passband.com/qa-sashay-over-to-sascha/
The first few production runs may be OK but there after
so-called Product Quality appears to go out the window;
and the Customer becomes the End-of-the-Line "Inspector".
What Product Reviewers Never Tell You -by- Sascha Segan
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2326330,00.asp
Bottom Line: The product I test and review isn't the same one you
buy.
~ RHF
.
On Nov 24, 8:40 pm, gur...@oz.net (Nicholas Dreyer) wrote:
- There are lots of great reviews of this radio, and even a nice
youtube
- demo by flash178 at
-
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsa-e8Un4F4&feature=related
-
- However I am about to give up on the model after just receiving 2
- successive defective units in a row - through a distributor, not
- directly from C. Crane. The first produced nothing but steady hum,
the
- second had what appeared to be a defective tuning dial:
-
- When turning the dial, the displayed frequency would move along
- perfectly, regardless of how fast (or slow and steady for that
matter)
- the dial was turned. After the dial came to rest, the tuner would
- rarely be at the frequency shown, sometimes completely silent at the
- displayed frequency of a strong signal, i.e. what you saw was
- definitively not what you heard after almost any use of the dial.
- Sometimes a little jiggling back and forth of the dial would bring
the
- tuner to the displayed frequency, but sometimes the only thing that
- worked was awkwardly pressing the arrow buttons a few times or
- switching to another band and back.
-
- Is anyone else seeing these or other problems with recently
delivered
- C. Crane's?
-
- Two lemons in a row now like this makes me fear C. Crane is
developing
- production or Quality Control problems.
-
- Nick
cuh...@webtv.net
girls in some other sites.
cuhulin
Duncan
>
> What Product Reviewers Never Tell You -by- Sascha Seganhttp://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2326330,00.asp
> Bottom Line: The product I test and review isn't the same one you
> buy.
>
> ~ RHF
Hate to point out the obvious but this is always the way in
manufacturing. Make sure the review issue is faultless and then
manufacture the rest as cheaply as possible, value-adding to reduce
component and assembly costs at regular intervals. They learned it
from us and it's as true for Chinese radios as it is for American cars
and British TV programmes. Ever heard of the Leica M8? Their first
digital rangefinder, a snip at £4000. Problem was, it was so sensitive
to infrared and ultraviolet that anything black came out purple. All
the reviewers were assured that this was a mere glitch and happily
wrote their best-camera-ever glowing adverts. However it wasn't and
the cameras rolled off the line so flawed that after the public
threatened to demand refunds Leica handed out free filters, and the
reviewers were forced to explain themselves. So at least if a Chinese
radio arrives faulty you haven't blown a six year loan on it. I ask
the importer to check mine before they send it and so far so good, no
flaws above inherent design faults.
But yes you are right, production cost steadily falls through the
manufacturing span of a product as savings are made.
RHF
Part of what he wrote and implied was that Magazine
and other 'commercial' Reviewers usually are GIVEN
a One-of-a-Kind {Cherry-Picked} Item by the Manufacture
to review that is in-fact the Best Example {Pre-Tested to
Specification and Tweaked} of the Product; and not just
the 'average' production run item that a Consumer may get
Off-the-Shelf in the Retail Store.
For Shortwave Radio {Amateur/Ham} Products the eHAM
Multi-User Reviews are usually a better indicator of 'average'
Product Quality then any single Review by one individual
- - - imho ~ RHF
.
Nicholas Dreyer
wrote:
>"Nicholas Dreyer" <gur...@oz.net> wrote in message
Thanks for the pointers, Bob. At $69 plus $43 shipping from China it
sure is the cheapest deal.
Unfortunately I got caught with 2 bad CCranes in a row from a
distributor (Matt Williams of DepotEco) who gave me intelligent and
instant service (including sending off a replacement before even
getting my original back). He got burned by CCrane on the deal since
they would not reimburse him for all the shipping costs back and forth
to me for which I was never charged. This quality Control fiasco at
CCrane and their treatment of him means they will likely loose him as
one of their best advocates and distributors. A real shame, which I
let them know.
I, however am a little leery of possibly getting stuck with yet
another bad one sent all the way from China for $43. CCrane is
responsive on the phone (even while I was complaining about the two
not directly bought from them), so I will try a third one directly
through their store. They say they will thoroughly test the unit
right before shipping it out - which they don't do for their
distributors. If that one fails to perform, I at least know they will
take it back for a quick refund which I will then put into my
fall-back option, the Grundig D350 DL.
Nick
Nicholas Dreyer
wrote:
>"Nicholas Dreyer" <gur...@oz.net> wrote in message
Nicholas Dreyer
I agree, and eHAM reviews helped turn me to the CCRadio-SW. So I am
giving CCrane one more chance by asking them to send me a unit that is
thoroughly tested just before being shipped out, which they have no
problem doing, though only upon request. The upshot from this
experience does confirm what you are saying regarding this particular
radio: There appears to be a much greater chance of picking up a
faulty unit now than when it first came out.
NIck
Nicholas Dreyer
wrote:
>I at least know they will
>take it back for a quick refund which I will then put into my
>fall-back option, the Grundig D350 DL.
>
>Nick
Ooops, meant S350 DL, of course . . .
Duncan
This is absolutely the case!
justtis
either the S350DL or the CCrane SW.
In fact the only complaints I had regarding the S350DL were/are minor
drifting and the sound(on AM--muddy)which was just upgraded by me, using the
Kiwa audio upgrade kit, which really made a vast improvement in listening
pleasure on the AM band. Improves the FM enjoyment as well.
Minor drifting I can live with, it's a good radio although the case is
very cheaply made. Seems like the same grade of plastic they used to make
those popcorn whistles from...you know the ones made in Taiwan.
The CCrane SW, at least mine, is one hot little radio. Very nice sound,
receives very well on all bands and is one attractive set as well. It's
very good on batteries too although not anywhere near the S350DL in that
regard.
The '350 just keeps on playing and playing on a cheap set of Dollar store
cells(D's).
Both sets also have the option of using 4 X AA cells or D's which can be a
plus when rumaging through the battery drawer for replacements. 'Borrow a
few from the kid's toys if need be.
I also have the CCRadio Plus which is also slated for the Kiwa audio
upgrade. This set is not near as sensitive as the SW version and unless
you want/need the weather feature, should probably be overlooked for
something much better and "less" expensive.
There is a sensitivity upgrade(adjustment) by Kiwa but I feel these
adjustments should have been made at the factory in China not as an after
market expense.
"Nicholas Dreyer" <gur...@oz.net> wrote in message
news:492cda4...@news.motzarella.org...
Bob Campbell
>
> I, however am a little leery of possibly getting stuck with yet
> another bad one sent all the way from China for $43. CCrane is
> responsive on the phone (even while I was complaining about the two
> not directly bought from them), so I will try a third one directly
> through their store. They say they will thoroughly test the unit
> right before shipping it out - which they don't do for their
> distributors. If that one fails to perform, I at least know they will
> take it back for a quick refund which I will then put into my
> fall-back option, the Grundig D350 DL.
Probably a good idea. If you get a 3rd dud from Crane, then it may be time
to look elsewhere.
In the FWIW department, I have ordered radios from China in the past (Degen
1102, Tecsun PL 230, Tecsun BCL 2000). The latter is the same as the
Grundig S350 (original non DL version), which I also have. All perform
fine.