SangeanDT-400W Weather Alert Pocket Radio, AM/FM, Yellow

I had been using the Sony SRF-M37 for 6 or 7 years until I had damaged the earphone jack. I have replaced the Sony with the Sangean DT-400W and have no regrets. My experience with the FM reception on the Sangean is that it is superior to the reception on the Sony. For example, I use a whole house transmitter to broadcast a signal from my Sirius Satellite radio receiver on an FM frequency. The Sony was able to pick up that signal most of the time but there where spots in the house where it dropped the signal. So far, the Sangean is definitely picking up the signal in more spots of the house and the signal comes in much clearer than it did on the Sony. The Sangean can even pick up the whole house transmitter in the garage, which the Sony was unable to do.I also have much better reception on the Weather Band selection than I ever had on the Sony. I have not tried the weather alert function on the Sangean (which the Sony does not have).I prefer the structure of the presets function on the Sangean compared with the Sony. The Sony has 10 FM presets and 5 AM presets. However, the Sangean has 19 presets which can be used for either FM or AM, in other words you can have all 19 presets on FM, or all 19 presets on AM, or you can have a mix of any number of AM/FM presets. Also, you can cycle through the presets either forward or backwards with the arrow buttons. If you are not using all of the presets, I am using 10, the favorites button only cycles through the 10 saved stations as opposed to all 19 presets. I have a desktop radio by another manufacturer that cycles through all presets whether they have a station saved or they are empty, very annoying.One downside compared to the Sony is that the Sangean is a little bit bigger, and a little bit heavier. Partly the weight difference is due to the fact that the Sangean uses 2 AA batteries as opposed to the 1 AAA battery that the Sony uses. Another downside is that the earbuds that come with the Sangean have pretty poor audio quality. I use a $5 pair of Radio Shack buds that work great and have much better sound quality. Lastly, I spent about $20 more for the Sangean than what the Sony sells for, it is worth it because you get what you pay for.Bottom line is that I was happy with the Sony SRF-M37 but I am Excited to own the Sangean DT-400W. Also, I am glad that I took a shot on the Sangean which I had no past experience with (as opposed to going with the Sony again, which I almost did.) By the way, the back light shuts off within a few seconds after having pushed a button. It does not stay on for long, so no worries on draining the batteries.This is a quality radio made by a company whose main focus is making radios and because of that, Sangean produces a solid product.

I've had mine for a handful of months now. It is a great pocket radio. I work outside and keep it on all day. I basically listen to AM stations, but my few experiences with FM were fine. FM may sound a little better than AM.Keep in mind that it is a very small radio with a tiny speaker. The laws of physics say that a single, tiny speaker cannot reproduce the full audible spectrum or play real loudly w/o distorting (regardless of B---'s marketing hype). This speaker is mostly for voice, and plays loudly enough to overcome nearly all background noise (I'm including trains and big trucks here). I've never tried the earbuds.It goes weeks between battery changes. The battery indicator's been down to one bar for a week, but it hasn't died yet.It automatically turns off after 90 minutes. I'd rather it didn't but, on the other hand, it a quick, easy way to keep track of time.The weather bands are very handy. Working outdoors, it's nice to be able to check on those clouds that're rolling in.I've dropped it a couple of times. It's been rain splattered a few times. Cleaning chemicals have gotten on it. No problems yet.The only bummer is that I'm so completely satisfied with it that it won't be available when I DO need a replacement ;).joe29 May 2010 addition...I got caught in a thunder storm last week, and forgot the radio was in my shirt pocket. It got soaked and quit working. I opened the battery door, removed the batteries, blew the radio out with compressed air, and hung it in front of a 6" fan, in my work truck. 2-3 hours later it worked as good as new. I left it in front of a desk fan overnight. Great radio.June 2011...I got caught in a sudden thunderstorm again. Radio was in my shirt pocket, and quit working. I repeated the above battery, canned air, and fan routine. The radio was working again a couple of hours later, and works fine now. Again.08 Nov 2011...Guess what... Sudden rain, soaked radio, dead radio, battery removal, canned air, truck fan, working radio. Again. Wish I could add stars.14 May 2012...I broke it. Not the radio's fault, it worked flawlessly 'til I slammed it in a utility cabinet door today. Of course, when the door wouldn't latch I slammed it harder, rather than look first. I'm ordering another right now.12 May 2015...The second one is doing fine.07 May 2016Well, the second one broke. I don't know what happened but the speaker just plays quiet static now. This time I replaced it with C. Crane's CC pocket am/fm/wb radio. It came yesterday and, so far, I can say its controls are a little more user friendly. and the fm works without adding an antenna wire.

I've tried many other small radios in my quest for the perfect radio to take to sporting events. Grundig M400, CCrane SWP just to name a few. This radio out shines them all. What I like best about it is that the ear buds are the antenna or to use the speaker, they include a wire antenna that just plugs in. The sound quality is amazing for such a small unit. The bass boost is a bit boomy for me, but now that may be due to I'm not a bass head (anymore). The supplied ear buds are of good quality and do the job I need them to do exceptionally well.The only downside to this little fellow is the price. True you get what you pay for and this beats the pants off both the $30 Grundig (DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY) and the CCrane SWP $49.99 (poor build quality). The Grundig drifts so bad it's virtually worthless, and both of my SWP's had parts that fell off shortly after opening the package. So, I suppose I just reversed myself....the price is great since the others (that didn't work) cost almost $100 with shipping and tax.I do have to say that the design on the Sangean is as close to perfect as you can get. The buttons are in good locations and are of sufficient size to be hit easily. The battery door is attached so you will never lose it. The reception both AM and FM are very impressive with good interference rejection. The weather band will come in very handy at the stadium. I will be able to track storms before anyone else and get a good place to stand while the field dries. I do wish they would have squared the bottom just a bit so that it would stand up on it's own.In closing.....BUY THIS ONE FIRST AND SAVE TIME AND MONEY LATER! I hope this helped or at least maybe answered a question or two about the radio. Good luck and GO CUBS!