[HCDX] Grundig YB400PE

["Mike Brooker" <aum108@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

After 9½ years of service, several trips to the Kripalu Center and other
yoga retreats, and a pilgrimage to India, my 1993 Panasonic RFB-45 virtually
died.  One day it was working fine; I was listening to Imus on WFAN in the
morning, but at lunch hour I tried to listen to Jim Rome on WGR-550 and
found the tuning had completely conked out.  (since CHUM axed the sports,
I've been taking my dx rig to work, just to listen to Rome!) Since the cost
to have it fixed would be almost as much as a new radio, I chose the latter
option.  Yesterday I got a Grundig Yacht Boy 400 PE, for $CDN195 at
Bay-Bloor Radio, a long-established electronics shop in downtown Toronto
at -- DUH!! -- the corner of Bay and Bloor streets.

The YB400PE is slightly larger and maybe an ounce or two heftier than the
RFB-45, and takes 6 AA batteries, not 4.  The jury is still out on battery
life.  I haven't done any serious dxing on it yet, but so far I like it.
It's got some features the RFB-45 didn't have, like a clock display that
doesn't disappear when the radio is turned on, 40 pre-sets (RFB-45 had only
18) and a dial light.  Of course for serious AM dxing, it won't beat my
trusty old 1978 RF-2200 that's been pulling in DX since the Carter
administration.

What's with the stupid name "Yacht Boy"?  Why don't they call it a "Yacht
Girl", given the typical male predilection for slapping feminine monickers
on cars, boats, and other machinery.

Hopefully this YB400PE will pick up as much good karma as my RFB-45 did.
Maybe I will take it with me on another Indian pilgrimage, to Kerala and
Tamil Nadu, later this decade!


73

Mike Brooker
Toronto, ON

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