#58: The CC Skywave SSB: A first look 

Get the XHdata instead because it's the exact same thing but has antenna port and isn't over priced. Same sweatshop company just selling under different brand. C Crane is scam.

Darrell Foust I purchased 4 radios from them 13 years ago, and a couple more since. They are always nice and most helpful. I have talked to Sue a few times over the years. Great company. 📻🙂

Another side note... About 2 years ago, I was camping in a ravine (hell gate campground in northern California) and was trying to get an FM station on my skywave ssb. Could only get one. I added about 10 inches of tinfoil to the antenna and got all kinds of stations. With that discovery, I purchased an aftermarket antenna that is about a foot longer and viola! It doesn't collapse as much as the original but I'm not going for looks. I also made a youloop with a 12' loop instead of the 6' loop and it REALLY kicks butt now.

Quite so. That was a ridiculous demo.

@@alexandermenzies9954 he's not going to go to the meter bands I'm out of here

The SSB demo was anything but "awesome".

edit/add on - communication skills, comparative analysis. beyond a doubt the best electronics review l've seen on youtube. if ccrane or another manufacturer, of your choice, isn't trying to hire you for marketing or as a spokesperson, they need to wake up? 👍

Patrick McBride get your nose outta there.

GREAT REVIEW??????? He tuned-in a couple of AM BROADCAST BAND stations, and NOTHING ELSE! "Great review", yeah, right!!!!

Get the XHdata instead because it's the exact same thing but has antenna port. Same sweatshop company just selling under different brand. C Crane is scam.

Kandi Klover I have both the C.Crane, and now the XHData. If one already have the original Skywave, or cannot take the higher price, then go with the XHData. If you don’t have either, I’d go with the C.Crane. Long term quality is the big issue here. C.Crane developed their radio themselves, spending a lot of money. The have very strict quality control, and radios are checked at the factory and when they get to California. They have an excellent warranty, and tech support. C.Crane also has Weather Band. The XHData gets a bit better MW , but no weather. It also sounds a bit better. A rechargeable 18650 battery on the XHData/ C.Crane takes “AA”. And can use rechargeables. Both are excellent radios. As for being the same radio, I don’t think so. I HAVE heard the XHData and the Digitech AR-1745 sold by Jaycar. Many have compared these two and they are very similar. If you don’t want Chinese radios, get the Panasonic RF-562DD. It’s made in a sweatshop in Indonesia............ Or.... just build your own. (📻🙂)

GhostsOfAsia I’ve never had a problem with that. It should handle it better than most. 📻🙂

That's a hard one. I might like the SkyWave SSB a bit more than the PL-880. The Sky Wave of course covers the WX band whereas the PL-880 does not. I think the SkyWave does a bit better on the AM broadcast band (lower noise), especially if aided by a loop, and is a bit nicer for receiving SSB (to my ear), but the ergonomics of the PL-880 are nice as well. I haven't done any objective comparison on battery life between the two. They're both nice radios.

Well I have one of those radios and when I go outside on a long wire or inside on a long wire it will pick up things all day long on the 40 m BAND and others it's a real good HF radio I don't know why he just went through a.m. and FM probably weather it's a good radio it's one of the best

When you are tuning the MW band the radio uses a internal ferrite antenna and turning the radio allows you to get the strongest signal or sometime null out a weaker station. The clip on antenna is usfull for short wave while the extentable antenna wirks well on airband and FM statiins. Hope thus helps.

@@robertl.fallin7062 - makes perfect sense! Thanks for the info!

To answer my own question, in case anyone else is interested, I now also own the Skywave SSB. Compared to the Eton "Grundig Edition" Satellit, the muting while tuning is very similar, but with some differences. In regular SW mode, if you spin the tuning knob at a certain clip, the Skywave SSB mutes down but then seems to tune fairly smoothly without too much popping (rapid audio recovery) between frequencies, although the amount of popping seems to vary a bit depending on what SW band one is tuning. I cannot quite find a tuning rate on the Eton that eliminates the popping between frequencies quite as effectively. That said, in SSB mode, there is a longer delay when recovering audio between frequencies on both radios, and that severely limits the speed one can effectively scan and identify signals. Manually tuning to scan the SSB bands is rather harsh and fatiguing on both. Generally though, apart from some user interface quirks and the above mentioned muting, I am very impressed with the Skywave SSB for such a compact radio, and its sensitivity in my, admittedly, still limited testing seems to put it right on par with the Eton in most ways and on most bands. Even AM (MW) sensitivity is surprisingly good on the much smaller Skywave SSB and nulling seems stronger than the Eton Satellit. Once I also receive my Tecsun PL-660 (mainly ordered due to its buttery smooth tuning with no muting between frequencies, and its very effective sync), I'll likely upload some of my own comparison videos so people can see how the three radios perform side by side. Thanks again to Radio Physics and Electronics for all the excellent review videos!

In my last reply, I only addressed the muting question for SW and SSB, not the other bands. Air-band tuning is dead-smooth with no muting or popping on the Skywave SSB, whereas the Eton pops very slightly between frequency changes, but it's rather subtle and not annoying. FM tuning on both the Skywave SSB and the Eton Satellit will give slight pops between frequencies, similar to the Eton on Air-band. On AM (MW) the muting/popping on both radios is basically the same as when tuning their SW bands, which isn't really too surprising.

Thank you for your excellent report on this radio -- I know other viewers will find it useful!

One more update: I was listening in a very RFI quiet location today (finally!), using a 23 foot reel-up wire antenna. The audio recovery from the muting while tuning in this case, was actually a little slower on the Skywave SSB than the Eton Satellit. The Eton recovered audio more quickly, and while it popped more during tuning and was more fatiguing in that way, if I was dialling past an active station relatively quickly, I found I would miss it more easily with the Skywave SSB. I really had to deliberately slow down a bit if I was manually tuning about with the Skywave, so that I wouldn't miss a faint signal. When there is lots of RFI and thus background static, the audio recovery is quicker (maybe since it never ducks down as low?) and one can then tune more quickly on the Skywave with less fatigue than the Eton. It is interesting and complex how they behave differently in different situations, and I'd have a hard time choosing one over the other for that aspect of their performance. Both radios performed very well today and were very sensitive with the reel antenna, pulling in lots of faint stations (with the Eton having the slightest edge)... if I was slow and deliberate enough not to miss them! I've never heard of anyone actually finding that muting while tuning is in any way beneficial, and since some DSP-based radios don't do this, I really am puzzled why so many do! I'll soon be testing a Tecsun PL-880, one of the few DSP-based radios that doesn't mute during tuning, and I suspect that it will be the nicest one of the three to just tune around the bands with, hunting for faint stations. Hopefully the sensitivity of the latest production run of PL-880's is on par with the Eton and the Skywave...

Mike Mander z (

As mentioned, the HF bands were completely dead when shooting the video, but there will likely be a follow-up where we listen to some of the amateur bands.

Andrew Nevill Air band works very well. (Just got it-still playing with it) In general-it blows away my old Grundig G-6(Buzz Aldrin)‼️ My Sangean ATS 909 (the old one) performs a bit better but was far more expensive and 3times+ the size.

Cheers for that , I'll have a look to see how much they are and where to get one from

Aircraft flying in from overseas, amateur radio, military are all on SSB

If am reception is good, you don't need to ssb, but it helps if reception is poor, Look up ECSS

I don't have either the AR-1780 or the PL-660, but it compares nicely with the PL-880. I haven't done any head-to-head testing of the two, but as a "go to" radio, I think I would tend to grab the Skywave SSB before the PL-880. The '880 obviously has stronger audio, but on the AM broadcast band, my main interest at the moment, it seems noisier than either of the Skywaves, in my experience.

Radio Physics and Electronics PL-660 has LongWave.

I have the AR1780 and there are a few differences, depending on your priorities. The AR1780 is larger, has LW - no NOAA weather, much slower on scanning , one of the best sounding speakers in this class (on all bands), RDS on FM, no pouch, 2-3 seconds switching between bands, a tad more sensitive - but less selective, 4AA compared to 2. I like (and usually travel with) both! The Digitech is hard to purchase in the U.S. - you have to call Jaycar Customer Service directly (not the store.) CCrane stands by their products better than any other company. (Did I mention price? AR1780 is $129 ($98 US) plus $23 shipping(?), the Skywave is $169.)

Radio Physics and Electronics Interesting. Thanks. 📻🙂

Jack Kratoville I now have the XHData D-808, which they say is the same radio as the Digitech. It’s a fantastic radio. 📻🙂

Jeff King No warranty repair/swap possible ?

migsven surfing Radio was purchased for me by a friend who tried to save a few bucks-no paperwork. I did hit the “reset “ which solved the problem but set it to “Factory Default” 5Khz Off. The directions to re-align did not work. “Kaito.US” told me I needed a “firmware “ update. No warranty: Sent it to “Kaito.US”, with a $20.oo Money Order ( ten for the update/ten to re-ship) Had radio back in 8 days,And corrected.🙂 The PL660 is an excellent radio. No problem with the CCSkywaveSSB- AWESOME radio ‼️ 📻📻📻📻📻‼️

Jeff King That’s why Sony’s are the King of Shortwave radios. My 7600GR is irreplaceable.

See the comment by Mike Mander, which addresses your question quite comprehensively. Thanks for the comment!

One month later, I love it even more. I didn't talk about the battery life in the video, but it seems acceptable-to-good; I've listened to the radio all night (~7 hours each night at low volume) for 4 nights in a row and the battery meter has not budged. Additional evaluation in SSB mode also proves its mettle as a solid performer for listening to hams. It's currently my favorite radio in this size category, and competes favorably with larger radios, especially when a loop antenna is used. This is a marvelous little radio.

Yes, all radios come from the same factory these days in Guangdong, China. What CCrane is is a middle man, they go the Chinese, ask them to build the radio and put CCrane on it, then you get the middle man mark up.

@@tenfourproductionsllc CCrane has the Chinese factory build the radio to CCranes strict specifications.

No but you can get a CC fleshlight SSB!

Check the response 6 posts above yours - your answer is there

The Digitech AR-1780 looks like a nice radio. I haven't looked hard, but it doesn't seem to be available in the US. Several on-line reviews give it high marks, e.g., swling.com/blog/2017/11/review-of-the-digitech-ar-1780-portable-shortwave-radio/. If I can find one for a good price, maybe a video comparing the two will happen.

I think the C.Crane Skywave SSB and the Digitech AR1780 are based on the same chipset. They're very similar in sensitivity and selectivity and operate in much the same way although they have different style S-meters. While the AR-1780 has an external antenna jack, FM RDS, a thermometer, longwave capabilities, and a longer antenna, the Skywave SSB has the NOAA weather bands and is a wee bit smaller. The Skywave SSB is (50 to 100%) more expensive as well but comes with earbuds, an antenna and a carrying case. I own both and was planning to sell the one I like less but I'm finding it impossible to choose. Both are fantastic radios.

China

Orienting the radio with respect to the offending transmitting antenna is how you null the signal. The crystal set guys know all about that technique. One could say that the radio may be a bit too directive, for some applications, like band scanning.

Not exactly. It's a high quality pocket-sized MW, FM, SW, Amateur, Utility, Air, and Weather band receiver with most of the capabilities of a full-size wideband radio that includes a case, earphones, and an external antenna. Hardly the same thing as a mere AM pocket radio.

@Marco Deo Amazon has an Eton Executive Traveler on sale for only 35 bucks. It has shortwave but is an incredible AM/FM receiver.

@Marco Deo The Eton has a small speaker too. I love it for its great AM reception. It sounds bad on FM (no bass) but is acceptable for talk radio.

Are you talking about when he tuned the radio station on SSB? That is because it is an AM station. Try tuning into some hams on the 80M and 40M bands on LSB. Depending on your country you might hear voice (telephony) around 3.6Mhz to 3.8Mhz and 7Mhz to 7.2Mhz and other amateur bands on USB and LSB

Poor comment. If you have not done a "side-by-side" real world comparison, do not speculate on the possible differences.

Synch detection on the new si4735 chips simply doesn't work. Oscillators are too unstable in combination with the chip. The reason so many radios have them is the cost of those chips is almost zero.

Having a Memory Card Slot & Ability to Digitally Record Would Be A Superb Option IMO

Let us know what you think of it when it comes!

I've had it less than a week. Experiencing same result. I thought it was me. I may send it back.

This is a truly portable radio. This is a pocket sized radio be gosh !

It's meant as a travel radio. I have a Sangean ATS 909X, too big and heavy for my carry on.

Nice units which are probable to a degree but are nearer to table top models. Can put this unit in your pocket not your larger portable units. For the number of frequencies covered, to size and performance to price it's a solid front runner in this class.