Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 Does the job January 1, 2009
P. Brow
Worked as advertised at a reasonable price. Good reception, which is what we were looking for in an exercise radio while we work out or go for a walk.
 Don't waste your money December 1, 2008
F. Portell
I experienced the following problems with this radio:
* I used the radio infrequently and the batteries always went dead after a few weeks even if I didn't use the radio at all!
* The buttons sometimes functioned in error, changing to the wrong preset.
* The silver knob is almost sharp and will irritate you as it's difficult to use.
* It does not have a belt clip but instead has a ridiculously oversized arm band that is made for a gorilla. As a result you can't just clip it on your waist and walk around with it. You either have to use the arm band or put it in your pocket, neither of which is ideal.
* Reception was tolerable but every other radio I have has better reception.
Good Radio for the price November 10, 2008
Laumas (Buffalo, NY)
I purchased this radio to listen to AM radio talk shows and television channels broadcast through FM at the gym.
I have used several other radios in the past for these purposes and this so far is the best of the bunch.
I like the following:
1. Armband, - works well, much better than the one I had from/for Sandisk
2. Battery life with one Lithium AAA battery is well over 30 hours.
3. It has a battery meter
4. Locking feature which prevents accidental turning on when in your bag.
5. Very easy intuitive controls - able to operate while runnning on a treadmill (first of all the devices I have)
6. Good volume (can use over lawn mower and treadmill noise)
7. Very nice price
Didn't like the following:
1. Headphones are kind of cheesy and don't fit well. I recommend buying a replacement right away.
2. Packaging is hard to open
3. Seems a little fragile - I would not want to see the results after dropping this on a hard floor.
 Panasonic RF-SW50S September 28, 2008
Elaine A. Hall (Mission, BC, Canada)
This radio was purchased as a replacement. The reception is excellent in our area - the only one we've found so far that works, and we've tried quite a few different makes and models.
Excellent pocket radio with great reception and sound quality April 2, 2008
Ann E. Revelle (Los Alamos, New Mexico)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having purchased the Sangean DT-110, 120, 180 and the 200VX as well as the Sony SRF-37V and SRF-M97 (as well as several Kaito radios, including the KA11, KA1102, etc.), I can readily say that the Panasonic RF-SW50S is the best radio to use for listening in the close proximity of computing and related RF (Radio frequency) noise generating equipment. Please see my many other very detailed reviews on these other radios. The Panasonic is very ruggedly made and has a very nice display (no clock or automatic turnoff however) with battery status (even if it is turned off by simply pressing preset button #3 and of course while it is turned on) and a lock switch status indicated when it is on or off too as well as 20 individual presets (10 total on am and 10 total on fm chosen in two user selectable operating modes, i,e, mode1 and mode2), etc. The RF-SW50S is only a little larger than the Sangean and Sony units too so that it still just fits the nice, inexpensive hard shell, HS-5, Digital Tech concepts case that I bought from Sears (this product can also be viewed at Sakar International). In addition, I really like the very high quality of the sound of the Panasonic shock wave radio (it also comes with a deep bass boost switch) and the useful DX/local FM sensing switch (with standard city interference or normal DX settings).
I also think the am reception is excellent and strong (I hear Denver from here easily at night). This is equally true of the fm stations, both inside and outside of buildings contrary to some other reviews. The Sangean DT-110 is the next best radio to use near computing machinery, but its fm reception is better than its am/mw reception probably because of its very small size. The presets on the RF-SW50S are very easy to set and chosen with a single key press just like on the SRF-37V.
You should definitely plan on using or purchasing a different set of earphones as the supplied unit is not very useful as well as uncomfortable and inflexible. I also strongly prefer open air headphones and not earbud style earphones for personal safety if listening while walking in a crowded area.
Tuning on the Panasonic is a little clunky compared especially to the Sangean DT-110 with its manual or automatic scan and seek capabilities, but it is nevertheless still very usable with a single switch type button to either be pressed and held to choose the operating mode or also using a separate rotating motion (either clockwise or counterclockwise) for am/fm station tuning (see also below for more details). The one drawback I can see with this arrangement is the constant beeping noise during the tuning of the radio. Tuning can only be accomplished by either directly rotating the mode/tuning button and holding it toward a clockwise or ccw direction (and indicated in the directions as +/-) to advance frequencies semi-automatically or by using a single button rotation at a time in order to advance or retreat by one small step in frequency. By the way, just for the record this tuning operation is far harder to explain than it actually is to perform! Also, from other reviews it seems advisable to purchase an extended warranty too, since it only has a one year warranty (Please read other Amazon reviews on this issue so that you won't be disappointed prematurely if its just stops working). Also, my unit did not come with the 4 Panasonic AAA batteries as advertised by Amazon and others and clearly stated in the enclosed manual for the RF-SW50 radio, so maybe Panasonic just stopped including batteries with the newer RF-SW50S?. My supplier on Amazon, Ace Photodigital in NYC, just to make things even however, very quickly mailed out a package of 4 energizer AAA batteries to me through the US Post office. Panasonic claims 25-26 hours of listening time on a single AAA battery, which I have yet to verify, but based on other similar radios that I have tested it seems quit reasonable, with a little longer operating time expected on am compared with fm for example. It is now very ironic to me after much time and effort that the least expensive priced unit of all the pocket radios available on Amazon also gets the best reception close to computers, monitors, electric lighting and motors, etc. Now, who would have thought of that in advance?
|
