Buy Sangean PT-80 AM/FM Professional Digital Stereo LW/SW Shortwave World Band Travel RadioSangean PT-80 AM/FM Professional Digital Stereo LW/SW Shortwave World Band Travel Radio Product Description:
- 45 Presets
- Auto Tune System
- Single Side Band Reception
- 2 Alarm Timers
- 5 Tuning Methods
Product Description
Deluxe AM/FM Digital LW/SW World Band Receiver, PLL Synthesized Tuning, Continuous coverage,45 presets,Auto-Scan,SSB,2 timers, Fine Tune, 2 alarm timers
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
A Pleasant Surprise
By Tim
I'm very seldom pleasantly surprised by a radio, but this is an exception. Having owned and used most of Sangean's shortwave radios - but none from the Pro Travel series - I thought I'd give the PT-80 a try, mostly out of curiosity. My expectations were quite low, since the PT's have never generated much interest among radio enthusiasts. It must be because they haven't actually tried the top of the series, the PT-80.As a reference point, I would put the Sangean PT-80 right next to the Sony ICF-SW7600GR. The two radios are the same size, have their own respective pros and cons, and are comparable in many ways. The Sony has the advantages of its synchronous detection and superior SSB operation. It offers a better travelling pouch and a handy manual on shortwave frequencies as well. Clearly, it was designed for the MW/SW enthusiast. The Sony also costs $40 more than the Sangean.The Sangean PT-80 has respectable sensitivity, especially on AM and shortwave. I placed it, frequency by frequency, next to the Sony, and off the whip it was a tie. The Sangean has superior speaker tone, whereas the Sony sounds like a cheap pocket radio. It also has a stable whip antenna (the Sony's wobbles terribly), better ergonomics, a better window design, an excellent tuning wheel, and it comes with a power adapter, unlike the Sony.The only disappointing feature with the Sangean is the SSB: it offers good sensitivity but only moderate to poor selectivity. Strong signals can be clarified well enough, but weaker signals tend to be lost in other signals. So, if you're especially interested in listening to HAM operators, the PT-80 is not for you.I far prefer the Sangean PT-80 over the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, even though it has fewer features. It seems to me the Sony is primarily a portable/travel radio. With this excuse in mind, one could forgive its idiosyncrasies, especailly the poor audio. Whereas, the Sangean, although plainly called and advertised a portable/travel radio, needs no portable radio excuse. It could suffice as a desktop radio, even a bedside radio - although the constantly lit tuning light (when the radio is on) can be annoying at night. It's an ease and a pleasure to scan the shortwave band using the well-functioning non-muted tuning wheel. I consider this an essential feature, and a shortwave radio that lacks it is a pariah. The ergonomics are so sensible that a quick review or two of the manual is all you need. And the respectable audio quality - through both the speaker and the headphone jack - prevents listener fatigue. It's good enough for listening to music at a low volume.Interestingly, little or nothing is heard in favor of the Sangean PT-80. I suspect this is due to its "travel radio" categorization, which makes many serious radio enthusiasts overlook it. It's certainly at least as good as the Sangean ATS 505, and its sensitivity off the whip antenna (here in New England) is probably a bit better than the ATS 909. During a protracted house move, while my other radios were packed up elsewhere, it provided me with many hours of simple enjoyment, scanning the shortwave band late at night and finding many well-received stations. I wouldn't recommend it as a radio enthusiast's primary DXing/SWLing unit - primarily because of its limited SSB capability. But as a second radio and a fine reasonably priced multi-band travel radio, I certainly would recommend it.*Footnote: The Sangean PT 80 radio is identical to the Grundig YB 80.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
An underrated radio
By Emily S. Keene
I have been a radio hobbyist /"DXer" since the age of eight. At one time or another, I have owned over 250 radios, most of them shortwave receivers. I am not a technically-inclined person - I just love radios and love listening to the world. That said, I have had this radio for a good many years now and it is my absolute favorite. I have had "affairs" with other radios with more bells and whistles, but then I weary of them and return home to my uncomplicated, wonderfully sensitive and good-sounding PT-80. It picks up everything I want to hear with steady, clear sound, it picks up the CB'ers from the highway better than anything else I own, and I can always get a clear signal quickly on SSB to listen to hams or pirate stations. It picks up MW stations that nothing else in the house can hear, and doesn't get affected by interference like a lot of the other radios in our multi-computer house ( with fluorescent light bulbs in the living room, and enough electronics going at one time to rival a Radio Shack store...). Reviewers in other publications always said this radio was overpriced, but I have divested myself of an E1, a Grundig Sat 800, a Drake R8, and many other expensive radios and kept this great little radio because it is fun to use, and I can hear the world, with a solid and steady signal, without fiddling around with complicated settings and controls.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.More than I expected
By Trakehner
I ordered this radio and looking at the description I expected to buy an AC adapter....it came with one. Then figured the roll up SW antenna might be a good thing...nope, it came with this $15 item. Ear buds? Nope, came with those too! The radio came with actually useful items, what a lovely surprise.
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