After a lengthy search helped by members of this forum I made the decision that a Sangean MMR-99 would serve as a quality yard radio for hearing KDX while I trim greenery. The radio arrived on schedule via USPS and is now charging which should be done around 10 PM CDT at which time we'll set the audio parameters for AM listening and spend some time tuning around to see what's happening on the dial. Tomorrow will be a nice weather day for a change and the MMR-99 will be the star event as we trim, clip, rake, cut and hang out with birds and rabbits.
You should like this one.
I DO like this one! The New KDX Sangean MMR-99 was taken out earlier today and kept within a range of 10 to 15-feet where I did yard work. An unscheduled event put greater stress on the situation than expected, a jumbo cement truck sat idling at the curb, yet the talk coming over the MR-99 was completely coherent and could be understood effortlessly despite the loud engine. Because of the handy carrying strap I found I actually ended up holding the radio as I topped the hedges with the other hand. After the truck finally drove away the radio's level didn't need to be changed, the speech comprehension remained steady. This is the proudest day of my life, very satisfied with knowing the best forum for radio facts and knowledge, a cut above the one a cut below. It's an inside thing.
@carl-blare
This forum's slogan should be "the original reference for legal low power broadcasting"
Glad you like the radio.
Mark, this forum DOES have its own slogan, which nobody seems to know about even though I've mentioned it before. Several years ago, when this was 'part15.us', I was the first to say that Part15.us is "The Forum of Record for Low Power Radio". At that time, J.P.Janze contacted me and asked if I was 'giving' that slogan to the Forum, and I told him 'Yes! You may have it officially!', but I never saw it used. The expression is borrowed from the New York Times which calls itself 'the Newspaper of Record'. Post the slogan somewhere on the front pages!
I like it!
We have to redo the intro/splash page, as it tends to run on, so we'll try to incorporate it.
A question has arisen after 3-days with my wonderful MMR-99 Sangean Emergency Yard Radio... What is the proper time to recharge the battery? Here is the history so far...
The instructions required fully charging the battery before use, which I did. The instruction said it would take about 3 hours but it fully charged in 1-hour-13-minutes, so maybe it was already partially charged (?) So, I have used the radio a few hours everyday and so far the battery symbol on the LCD screen is down one notch out of four. Do I wait till all the notches go off-screen, or till the radio shuts-off, or can I re-charge at anytime?
After reading the instructions I find nothing about what I've asked.
@carl-blare It's better to charge the battery multiple short times i.e., keep it between 20% & 80% charged. Almost completely discharge it once a month, and then fully charge it right away.
The worst thing you can do is to charge it fully all the time, or let it discharge completely all the time.
@carl-blare It's a LI-ION 18650 battery. Doesn't matter when you charge. You can keep it topped up when not using it like at night just by plugging it in. The icon shows solid 4 bars when charged and it stops when full. You know when full when icons are not going back and forth.
Yes when it was new it was 3/4 charged still. The battery has a built in protection that turns it off so won't get to far discharged. This radio also won't charge by USB adaptor or crank with it on AM on as you may have discovered. This is because the internal charger causes AM interference and the radio's firmware is programmed to not charge if on AM but will charge while listening in the other bands or with it off. You will see the charge light won't go on if playing in AM. I asked Sangean about that.
From the BatteryUniversity.com website (although similar advice is found throughout the Internet, particularly for Smartphones, which also use these types of batteries):
Li-ion does not need to be fully charged as is the case with lead acid, nor is it desirable to do so. In fact, it is better not to fully charge because a high voltage stresses the battery. Choosing a lower voltage threshold or eliminating the saturation charge altogether, prolongs battery life but this reduces the runtime. Chargers for consumer products go for maximum capacity and cannot be adjusted; extended service life is perceived less important.
Oh boy. The next thing is to figure out a way of NOT fully charging the battery. That'll be a trick.
Yes that could be a problem! All you can take comfort in is this....the battery has overcharge protection and also can't discharge below a point as per protection. Same as my LIFE PO4 battery in my UPS backup. A smart charger also has that too.
Also the battery is replaceable and readily available. Just not externally accessible. Don't worry about it.
That is easy. Alright. Good then. Fine. Not bad. pretty good. I understand. The future looks bright. If this website charged money for good low power radio assistance I couldn't afford it. This is a good deal! A nod to Mark and Artisan for sharing knowledge and experience.
After several weeks with the Sangean MR-99 Radio here is a Report Update!
It is a wonderful radio, but it eats up the battery faster than one would expect. If I recall correctly, Mark says he replaced his battery with double the mHa in his radio, and I provided a link to a YouTube video showing 'how to change the battery', so I will be doing that.
@carl-blare If you do that it's a little different than replacing with an exact Sangean replacement as shown in the videos. You need a little electronics know how, not much but a little. These 18650 batteries are available on Amazon and any vape store as e cigarettes use them. When you access the battery and take it out as you see in the video you will see 3 wires connected to the jack from the battery which clips into the circuit board, that is attached to the battery.
You need this with the new battery. To remove it from old battery, carefully with an exacto knife below the positive end cut the plastic liner and remove the plastic covering from the battery and you will see how the whole thing is wired. You need the little round miniature circuit board with the 3 leads attached to the jack. Unsolder the positive and negative leads from the battery and now you have to resolder the positive and negative leads to the new one. Don't mix up the polarity. To solder the wires to the new battery you may have to hold the soldering iron on the bottom negative end for a minute as the large surface acts like a heat sink and disperses the heat. The solder has to flow and adhere to the battery surface. You see how it is done with the old one.
Place some electrical tape around the little round circuit board as it will just hang there inside and it can't short to anything in there. Put back the battery in it's place and bring the leads out through the plastic housing like before. Connect the white jack to the receptacle on the board and check to see the radio comes on. These batteries come in capacities up to 5000mah but increasing to 3500mah from the 2600mah which is easy to get will be good. If in doubt don't screw it up.