C Crane CC Skywave AM, FM, Shortwave, Weather and Airband Portable Travel Radio with Clock and Alarm

I was a little apprehensive about spending $90 for another radio. I've had many,but the reviews convinced me this was the ultimate travel radio. After spending a day using it, I am very pleased with my purchase. I like the fact it can go everywhere(and it will)and can fit into a pants or jacket pocket. I also like having ten presets with easy access. There are more presets available,but ten is more than enough on each band. The ATS feature is a nice bonus,as well. ATS works nice on Shortwave,but there are so few Shortwave stations worth listening to. Most of them are in a different language and 90% of the English transmissions are of a religious nature and are worthless to me. Honestly, I was expecting Sangean PR D5 performance on AM, and this is the only shortcoming I have found. The AM is excellent.but not quite as good as the PR D5, my usual reference. Maybe it;s the size,but it is far better than any radio this small I have ever owned. The FM is exceptional. The Skywave can really separate the signals. We have a 10,000 wattt station on 1070 two miles from here. WBAL in Baltimore on 1090, about 140 miles from here will come in. For example, the CCrane EP, the best AM long distance radio I have cannot receive it. Selectivity and sensitivity are both superb. The included headphones are high quality and the FM sounds great. It's nice having the Weather band. I haven't used the Aircraft band yet. There are only a few small regional airports near here. I have and have had many radios. This little gem will be with me everywhere, The sound is not tinny at all, and it;s only slightly larger than two pocket radios I have the CCrane Pocket and The Sangean DX200. The speaker on the CCrane is tinny. There is no deep bass feature. The sound out of the Sangean is better with the extra bass feature, and it is nice the Skywave has voice and music settings. Both talk and music sound better on the music setting. The Skywave is a winner. It is a lot of radio in a very small package and it is worth the 30 or so extra dollars over a traditional pocket radio.

Well, UPS stopped by a couple of hours ago..... Let me give a little history. About a year ago I went radio crazy and bought 5/6 radios, the most expensive about $60. Had analog SW on a few. Well, anyway, got frustrated with the SW after a few hours of "searching" around. Also, had hoped to "pull in" distant AM stations late at night. That didn't work out either (I think that's called DXing). If I'm not mistaken, about the time I quit foolin' with my radios C Crane announced the Skywave. Frankly, I can't remember what caused me to consider and then buy this radio. For the past couple of hours, I've been going through the instruction book (which is great) and trying out some of the functions and bands. On shortwave picked up a station in Nashville (I'm in Virginia Beach). Nice country music....then, the station sent me to another frequency and it turned to one of those whack-job so-called Christian stations. Used the ATS and the radio picked up a bunch of channels on SW. I'm listening to one of those now. Haven't a clue as to where it is???? Speaker is fine. I think it's amazing that it's so small and sounds so good (hey, I'm an old guy and my hearing ain't all that great). Size seems perfect. If it were smaller the buttons would be too small. And, see no advantage of it being larger. I'm maybe five miles from our airport and the tower frequency comes in decently. Tried a few local FM stations and they were fine. So far it's been easy to learn the functions. As I mentioned a well-written instruction booklet. Anyway, as I said, I've only had this a few hours (dang, I just heard Beijing....wow, that's cool.....of course, I could be wrong). This is surely meeting all of my expectations and then some. (China radio international, yes, I guess it is China) This is cool. Frequency is 6020 and it's 9:30 PM EST. Here's a link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Radio_International For newcomers, I'd suggest going through the instruction booklet front to back. Sure made it easy for me. This is not what I would call an inexpensive radio. That said, based on my limited experience with several other small radios this is fairly and reasonably priced for what it is. I surely have no buyer remorse and I'm sure this will provide many hours of great radio listening. Hey, I'm listening to China for cryin' out loud!!!!! Changes I'd like to see. Yes, just one. A filter to get rid of those darn Christian stations (Yes, I know I'm sure I ticked off a bunch of people with that comment.) If you're on the fence about buying this, I can think of no reason you shouldn't. The specs and features are accurately described. It is what it is and that's fine with me. Regards, George EDIT: BTW, before ordering I called Amazon and they said, Yes, this is the latest model with the changes. EDIT: 12:15 AM Radio Havana 6000 Don't forget about the bandwidth button, it makes a difference.

My quibbles are really only worth half a star. So this review should read 4.5 stars. I own a Grundig Yacht Boy 400, a Tecsun PL-200, a Grundig G6 Buzz Aldrin Edition, a Tecsun PL-380 A Tecsun PL-660 and the Skywave. For my needs, this is my favorite radio, though each of the others has particular strengths the Skywave does not. My purpose was to use the radio camping during long bike touring trips. At night I keep myself company DXing far from human made interference. With only two batteries, this radio is light and small. And good rechargeable batteries last a long time with this unit. Reception is great, though the sound is not as good as my PL-360, which has great headphone output for quality audio in a little radio. After trial and error I hit on using a very thin (28 gauge?) 23 foot external wire attached to the antenna with clip for enhanced SW reception. It balances some front end overloading with great reception. Not uncommon to get Russia, Australia, South East USA, and China from campsites in Oregon after dark. AM is good too. Not bad FM. For comparison, each of my other units have at least one thing the Skywave does not, but none are as good overall. The PL-200 has a gain switch, the PL-360 has better FM, the PL-660 is more versatile, the G6 has a more detailed display and nifty rotary tuner, and the Yacht Boy has a better speaker. It is the best of all of them, but heavy and drains batteries. My only quibble with the Skywave is the sound is sometimes not loud enough. The last quarter boost just isn't there. The display light cannot be locked. And there is no external antenna jack. For my goal of a light camping buddy, this beats all the others I own. BTW. If you are new to DXing, don't expect to get better stations just because they are distant. Instead, you often get the same weirdness broadcast locally. But with DXing, the weirdness comes in more varieties.

I love my Skywave! This radio has been awesome. It goes with me everywhere. In the evenings, I can even get shortwave in the house. There were a few requirements I had as I started looking for a portable radio. 1) Rechargeable. It's a true bummer to be left with dead batteries and a dead radio. 2) Weather (WX). I think weather is our most immediate threat. Plus, any other emergency will probably be covered by NOAA. The NOAA website had this to say: "Working with the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) Emergency Alert System , NWR is an "All Hazards" radio network, making it your single source for comprehensive weather and emergency information. In conjunction with Federal, State, and Local Emergency Managers and other public officials, NWR also broadcasts warning and post-event information for all types of hazards – including natural (such as earthquakes or avalanches), environmental (such as chemical releases or oil spills), and public safety (such as AMBER alerts or 911 Telephone outages)." 3) Weather alert. It's nice to be able to turn the radio off, yet be alerted to a tornado in the area. God forbid we ever have another national disaster, but I'd trust my Skywave to keep me informed. 4) Shortwave. I wish the Skywave had side band. But, shortwave will most likely be the communication standard during an extended disaster. Plus, shortwave is fun! 5) Radio alarm. This is a great feature for everyday convenience! 6) Small enough for daily carry. So, a few notes on my experiences so far. The rechargeable option works! But, I was under the impression I could power the radio from a USB battery charger. This is not the case. The radio draws so little current that the USB battery pack shuts off. I believe a USB battery pack would charge the Skywave batteries, but once you turn the radio on the charging stops. And so does the battery pack. Basically, you will be left without radio until the batteries are charged. This isn't a fault of the Skywave, it's just the nature of most USB battery packs. The weather alert is a tone. It doesn't turn the actual radio on. You get a beep, beep, beep, and need to turn the radio on to hear the alert. It dose work though. I'm a first time shortwave listener, and I can tell you that it is a blast! It's a thrill to pick up radio stations in Tennessee and Cuba with great clarity and regularity. I live in Texas by the way. Other stations depend on the weather, etc.. But, I've heard Chinese and Japanese so far. And a lot of Spanish. Which, living so close to Mexico it's pretty easy to pick up. I use a 23ft piece of wire at times to really reach out there. I attach it to the antenna with a binder clip. There's portable reels designed for this that are available for around $15. Note: The one from C. Crane is "capacitor loaded." From what I understand, a capacitor is used to make the 23' act as a much longer antenna. Not all shortwave reel antennas have this. I'll probably pick up a Crane antenna in the future. The radio is well laid out and intuitive. Coming from a HAM radio background, intuitive on a radio is impressive! There's nothing worse than trying to set up your radio and not remembering how to. The Skywave makes it easy to remember! As far as reception, I don't have any other shortwave radios. But, I can tell you that the Skywave is the best radio in the house for AM! It even rejects noise from the fluorescent lights, where other radios buzz. Note: AM uses the internal antenna. So, no need to extend the telescopic antenna. I've been real happy with my Skywave. It goes with me everywhere! I like that I can lock out the buttons while it's in a bag also. No worries of it coming on and draining the batteries. Speaking of which, the batteries last forever! Even if I was buying regular alkaline batteries, I wouldn't hesitate to leave the radio on all day at work.

I researched this radio perhaps more than any other. Read both professional shootouts / reviews on Swling and consumer opinions on Amazon & C Crane. The radio was exactly what I was looking for, but I had concerns. More on those later. I've had this radio for 6+ months and have run it through all the paces, from fringe areas in the middle of nowhere to midtown Manhattan. Inside, outside and all atmospheric conditions. It's held up well so far. First, the radio's interface and ergonomics are perfect. It's very easy to use. I like the fact you have multiple ways to tune in signals. There's the rotating knob, fast or slow. There's up and down slew keys with scan, and the scan function is fast. You have memories and direct entry. That's more options than available on most radios. Let me say, I love page memories, it's easier to organize stations / locations and the Skywave offers 10 pages of 10 memories on each band. Unlike the Tecsun ETS, I pick the stations I want in my presets. Sometimes I like the feature, but most times I know what's available. Buttons are well labeled and those hidden features can be incorporated into each station memory. Want 3k bandwidth on one station and 1k on another, voice or music setting, mono or stereo? Save as is and it will call up those settings each time. Very cool. AM is awesome. Very sensitive and no hets anywhere. Bandwidth selector will push out most offending adjacent signals. FM is as good as my G5, G8, PL-390, and better than G6, PL-360 & Sony 7600GR. SW is as good as other portables, Air seems to work well and I've been impressed by the WX band, picking up a maximum of 4 signals from the 23rd floor in downtown Manhattan. My two concerns were speaker audio and dial contrast. My CC Pocket has some fading issues, but the Skywave is sharp and good from most angles. It doesn't show current time and frequency together and instead of the full signal info found on Tecsun models, it simply shows a strength bar. But it is the most accurate signal meter I've seen to date. CCrane boasts that it's audio is tailored for voice. I say it's a little brighter than it has to be, but it can be adjusted a number of ways. And if you're really into digging out tough captures on AM / SW, that bright speaker gives you much more clarity, right down to 1k bandwidth. I've gotten used to it and in many environs, it sounds quite good. My only beef is volume and that's where I take off that 1/4 star. Most times there's plenty of amp to drive the speaker, but on some weaker signals, you have to rotate that control quite a ways. The CC Pocket has the same characteristic. However, plenty of volume on the headphones, and IMHO, those CCrane buds are excellent, better than the Voz buds that are available. Cost? If you consider the headphones add $15 to the package, it's a very nice deal. For the daily use these past 6 months, it's held up very well. Very pleased with this purchase

I want to and will give this five stars once my issue is resolved. This is the second C Crane radio I received this week (sent back the "brand new" CC Pocket due to a broken battery door, dented speaker, and scratched LCD screen). There is so much to like about the CC Skywave- AM, FM, SW, WX, and Air are all fantastic. The sound and reception is great. The problem is yet again with the LCD- there are smudges under the glass, as though it was installed by dirty or greasy hands. Or there is a defect and condensation is inside. Either way, it makes me wonder if I've gotten radios from "orphan" batches, or returned/refurbished radios. I'm sending this copy back too. These are fulfilled by C Crane and I contacted them directly, so I expect some sort of resolution soon. Otherwise, functionally, this seems to be the near perfect weather radio for the price point. It's got an alarm which makes it great for travel or home use, and sizewise it is not much bigger or heavier than the CC Pocket. The Skywave definitely has a better antenna and I really like the buttons and tuning knob. The ability to charge the AA batteries via USB is a nice feature. I'm not blown away by the plastic build quality but the price matches so I can deal with it. I'll update the review when I receive an actual new model and I'm sure I'll be able to give it five stars.

The C Crane Skywave is a great little radio! I have purchased many products from C Crane over the years and they've never disappointed. C Crane is an outstanding company with solid products, good service and honest people. After many years of service my old Grundig TRII died and I wanted to replace it with a similar radio and add the Air band (118-137 MHz). The Skywave was the natural choice and filled that role nicely. The Skywave is very compact. Despite its small size the radio performs amazingly well. The audio is excellent and deceptive for the small size and weight. The radio would make an outstanding travel radio and the features include a clock and alarm function. What it does: The radio receives AM, FM, SW, Weather channels and the Air band (aircraft radio). It has a clock and alarm function. The built in speaker provides decent mono audio output and the included ear buds allow for stereo listening. By the way, the ear buds are good quality and comfortable. There's a keypad for direct frequency input but you can also use the up/down keys OR the conventional rotary knob to select the station. The radio has excellent sensitivity and pulled out weak signals better than some of my larger radios. The weather channels include a weather alert function. It has a short external telescoping antenna, a built in AM antenna and a flip out stand on the back. My only complainant is the small display but that's the price you pay for such a compact unit. The main functions of the display (time, frequency, signal strength and battery) are easy to read at a glance. Some of the other functions of the display are tiny. The radio runs on 2 AA batteries and does not include an AC adaptor but one is available for $15 additional dollars. It seems to use very little power and you could probably get by with batteries alone. If you're looking for a simple AM/FM radio the Skywave is expensive at $90.00 but if you're looking for a small all-band radio packed with features that out-performs some larger radios - it's a bargain !! I would highly recommend this radio as a travel radio that doubles as a clock/alarm. It would also make an excellent emergency radio or back-up to a larger emergency radio. It is a solid little radio worthy of being a gift for close friends. I purchased this radio in 2016 and is still my go-to bak up radio for emergencies. The radio fits nicely in a Pelican 1040 water proof case (not included)

The CC Skywave is a little swiss army knife of a radio. Search my name and radio model on youtube for a full video review. If you got the bucks and want a radio to take with you on your travels around the world, pick this one. This radio was not cheap, and I used gift cards to help me bring the price down. Features I love best about this radio: * Presets: you get 100 per band, and they are fun to use. Just select a number and your there. * Presets: you can manually enter them by pressing and holding the number key..boom..saved just like your car stereo. * Presets: these are smart presets that also save bandwidth settings you were using and if you had Stereo set or not. * AM reception was really good for this size radio, scanning with it brought up more voice stations then static vs my Tecsun 310-ET. * Tone Button. Being able to toggle between Music and Voice is nice. * Sound quality is great for such a small speaker. * FM is fantastic. * Weather Band with Alert mode is a must have in my Tornado warned area. Features I wish it had: * A better tuning knob, mine sometimes does not register forward motion. * Ability to continuously auto scan the Airband. * RDS data for FM. * A way to tune through all your presets like the Tecsuns. I love this company and their customer service. They are quick to deal with any question or problem you may have. The idea that the company wishes to build a radio ground up in the US has me waiting on the edge of my seat hoping that they achieve this dream sooner rather then later. They offer a 60-day return policy on their radios, so you can test drive these units to see which is best for you.