Re: [HCDX] Grundig YB400PE

["Deron T. Lundy" <dlundy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

At 10:50 AM 1/23/2003 -0500, Mike Brooker wrote:
>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.
[snip]
>  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.

The Yacht Boy 400PE is a good, though not stellar, DX performer.  It can
pull in some tough signals, but my impression is that it really wasn't
designed with any serious DX work in mind.  Instead, it seems to have been
designed for day-to-day listening of major broadcasters (which is exactly
what I use it for).  It has incredibly good audio for a radio its size
(**much** better than the Sony 7600GR), and two well-chosen filters.  The
Yacht Boy is weaker than the 7600GR when it comes to sensitivity.  I use my
7600GR to listen to Kol Israel, something I could never do with the
Grundig.  The lack of a sync detector is a big minus, too, for DX'ing.

Another weakness is battery life.  Frankly, the Yacht Boy is terrible in
this regard.  Mine gets about two hours use every evening, and I must
change the batteries about every one and a half weeks.  Among my other
portables, I have yet to change the batteries in my DX-396, and my 7600GR's
batteries need changing about once every three months.  Admittedly, they
don't get as much use as the Yacht Boy, but, for a comparable amount of
listening, they go much further.  

Something you may want to look into (which is something I'm looking into)
is investing in a couple of good sets of rechargeable NiMH batteries for
the Yacht Boy.  My guess is you won't get as much of a run on them as you
will with alkalines, but you won't be replacing them as often, either...

All of that said, don't get me wrong.  I love my Yacht Boy 400PE, and it's
a great radio.  It just has a few quirks, that's all!  :-)

73s,
Deron, K8OSU
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

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