Shootout: CC Radio EP v/s GE Super Radio II

[@zeniktorres4320]

I have a GE Super Radio II (made in Malaysia), bought mine in about 1992. Still listen to it daily. Very good sound quality. As new and had no issues with it.

[@mojavedesertsonorandesert9531]

Also have the same one made in Malaysia. 📻👍

[@anthonycosta1776]

Good work chuck. I have two ge srII i want you to restore. The modified GE II has MUCH better fidelity and clarity. Definitely better for intelligibility for pulling station out of the mud.

[@dapperdingo]

I had a much used and loved Super Radio in the mid 70's till we parted ways when I joined the military. Last time I saw it was where it was sitting on top of my sisters fridge in S. Philly. Never saw that awesome radio again.

[@JohnGreen-SWL]

Great job Chuck seen the one you did on SWl blog for Thomas . Both radios are very close on all counts

[@whollyunaware5185]

GE Super Radio II - large, and in charge!

[@MarkWilliams-ix1qf]

Great video, thanks so much. Amazing that the 40 year old SR2 sounds so well after the restore. It's a simple design but well done. I have several SRs, and the CCRadio EP also. I prefer the sound of the SRs, mainly due to the better 5" speaker vs the 3" in the EP. The SR treble tone control is better than the voice/music switch for cleaning up DX signals too. I'm amazed the SR can do so well even today.

[@JohnGreen-SWL]

I note that per C Crane website the EP Pro also has a 5 inch speaker .

[@hamrad88]

Thanks for the comparison. GE wins easily. Now if I could just find one that has been restored.

[@rpenc01]

Still have mine. Wife took it to work and the kitchen help greased the bejesus out of it. Have to take the time to finish cleaning it up, mostly done. Then maybe a rebuild. Good to have when the power goes out.

[@mojavedesertsonorandesert9531]

Still have my hand me down GE Super Radio from my dad, works great.

[@NSNorfolk]

It'll work even better re-capped, re-aligned and with a different filter for FM.

[@KarlDahlquist]

Thank your for posting this video!

[@NSNorfolk]

You are welcome. I'm going to make a similar video featuring the SR-3. After working on several of them, have come to the conclusion that radio is severely underrated.

[@michaelbogdanowicz5059]

He the winner 🥇

[@LeeLocke]

Two decent radios you have. I will own a cc one day. Difficult to get hold of here in England. Noce yo listen to your though. Seasons greetings 73 Lee.

[@marcosmza1962]

Beautiful challenge. Obviously, wins the GE, but silghtly. CC Crane, made a great job, the dimensions (and battery eating😅) were solved

[@whollyunaware5185]

I am thinking of picking up a Superadio III (GE) that includes the wide/narrow AM bandwidth option. If you've refurbished any 3's, I'd be interested in your expert opinion of how its performance (sensitivity, selectivity, fidelity) compares to the SR 2.

[@NSNorfolk]

Don’t waste your money on a III. A well working II or better yet, a I will blow a 3 off the table.

[@whollyunaware5185]

@@NSNorfolk LOL, I figured as much. Actually, I already have one of the best SR II's in the world - you refurbished it. I just received it this week and am loving it. (You should have changed the badge to Superduperadio). Thank you so much!

[@robertturner6797]

I have two of these radios one bought from new and a recently purchased one in better cosmetic condition both work very well I was wondering tho how you clean them especially the plastic chrome knobs great radios even so

[@NSNorfolk]

I use Simple Green and a toothbrush on the knobs and a plastic presertavive along with a small parts cleaning brush + the plastic preservative on the cabinet. Seems to work out quite well.

[@robertturner6797]

@@NSNorfolk thanks for replying it’s always a challenge to clean without damaging especially with the newer plastics used

[@NSNorfolk]

I use Simple Green and a toothbrush.

[@bobseigel4954]

@@NSNorfolk was wondering if you had any of the GE 2 that you restored for sale?

[@robertwynn5844]

I have an older Super Radio 2. What do you charge to restore?

[@JB-js4xi]

I know my GE 10 Band has 1 speaker....and is older but is it KIN to the super radio on any components?

[@NSNorfolk]

Not quite the same. The SR I and II are extremely unique in their performance and sound reproduction.

[@AudiophileTubes]

How would a Yaesu FRG-100 compare to these radios for AM DXing? I have an old 'Frog 100' I have not used in about a decade, and I have one of those small, tuneable desktop loop antennas (for the AM band). I remember placing the loop by the window, and getting all kinds of stations at night. I want to hook up the radio tonight, after all these years. I'm just wondering if the 'Frog 100' compares to these 2 you are comparing. Thanks!

[@NSNorfolk]

With a large, directional outside antenna such as a DKAZ, your Frog -100 should best either of these portables. No directional antenna, IMHO the portables will outperform as they may be rotated to null unwanted stations on a particular channel. Try your 100 anyway, one never knows.

[@anthonycosta1776]

Frg definitely more selective but with the trade off of muddy audio which makes it hard to understand weak signals.

[@PP-ob8zr]

HELLO NSNorfork, Thank you for the video. Do you repair radios on request...Do you have a webpage? I have radios I want someone good to fix. Thank you.

[@NSNorfolk]

Yes, I do but limit myself to the GE SR-1 and SR-2 only. No Webpage. If you go to SWL'ing post blog and do a search on GE Super Radio.

[@PP-ob8zr]

@@NSNorfolkHello, Thank you for the response. I have a SR-3 it dropped on floor...and wouldn't you know right on the tuning button. So it is loose now but lucky my sleeping companion still tunes as long as I keep it flush and the string holds. lol Have a great week.

[@NSNorfolk]

@@PP-ob8zr Thank you for the note, this is going to sound uncomplimentary but on the floor is an appropriate place for an RCA "GE SR-3.." It's an example of corporate cost-cutting at it's finest. Find yourself an SR-1 or 2 on E-Bay or even a CC Radio EP-Pro. Panasonic RF-2200's are excellent also and while I don't re-furb those, Vlado in NC does. He did mine an it's excellent!

[@mikemcmanus3918]

Had a GE SuperRadio II years ago new and it was great to listen to. The CC Radio was OK but not as good to listen to as the GE Super Radio II. Anyone repairing the GE Super Radio II near Pennsylvania?

[@4nradio782]

Great comparison, Chuck. I enjoyed seeing the SR2 you recently upgraded! I've noticed the Superadio has very effective tone controls to aid in DXing. For my ears, there's a small adjustment range of the treble control which makes all the difference when trying to get understandable speech out of a weak signal. The EP PRO's tone controls are good, but the GE's are exceptional IMHO.

[@NSNorfolk]

I agree. There is a "sweet spot" where the MW audio seems to "pop" out of the gumbo. Add to that, you can put the radio on a table or desk and just enjoy the programming. I have heard, and this was years ago, that these radios would run for 200+ hours on the 6 "D Cell" batteries, depending on how loud the volume was adjusted. My Panasonic RF-2200 runs about a day on rechargeable "D" cells after which, I can see the sensitivity start falling off. I don't think the Non-DX'er would notice it.

[@NSNorfolk]

Coming from you, that is a high compliment, indeed! Thank you!

[@tomstrum6259]

You can adjust the GE tone controls to filter out & reduce the "Hiss" noise.....Original Super Radio 1 works even Better 'cause on week AM that tweeter is just extra noise..

[@NSNorfolk]

I prefer the SR-I over the model II for just this reason. They are electrically identical save for the tweeter in the model II.

[@worldwide1376]

Great comparison. Would you mind sharing the part number for the Murata filter? Cheers.

[@NSNorfolk]

180 kHz wide, 10.7 MHz filter. Hard to find now. Be sure to do the alignments after replacement.

[@worldwide1376]

@@NSNorfolk Thank you, appreciate it. Does it matter if the bandwidth filter is of the ceramic or crystal type? Is the latter a better quality filter?

[@NSNorfolk]

@@worldwide1376 You'd have to look at the spec sheet. Murata's are very simple 10.7 MHz IF filters

[@Homer19521]

Did you replace every electrolytic? I read recently that the SMD Murata IF Filters are very good. Better than the old style. Of course you need to make up a small daughter board. I've the GE SRI which is very similar to the II. Wish I would have kept the box. Thanx for the vid.

[@NSNorfolk]

Yes, every electrolytic in the radio and because of its location, the 3 lead Murata filters are best in this application. To be sure the filter is on frequency and not too lossy, I use a function generator in sweep mode, centered on 10.7 mhz to create a Bode Plot of the filter passband and loss. Works out fairly well and have only had to toss a couple of filters.

[@conscience-commenter]

Chuck , where can someone contact you for radio work repair and restoration ?

[@NSNorfolk]

I can help you with an SR 1 or 2. No 3's. Go to my channel, there Is an e-mail link there. There are also e-mail links in the Super Radio article on SWLing.com. Just search GE Super Radio and you'll see my info in the comments.

[@NSNorfolk]

Go here, my E-Mail addy is in the 7th comment from the top: swling.com/blog/2021/02/chucks-re-capped-ge-superadio-ii-might-set-a-new-am-bcl-benchmark/

[@Phills69]

I mean… I’d buy the GE if it was restored the way you have it restored…

[@michaelmattichiii1595]

The super 2 all the way.

[@DriveInFreak]

All of CCs overload/get swamped (go deaf) if they're anywhere even remotely close to (within a mile of) an AM tower, thus the SRs have a major advantage over them. The SR1 and 2 even outperform the renowned Panasonic RF-2200 in extremely high AM RF locations (within a football field of a tower). How'd I find this out? Let's just say my house has a 1KW transmitter in it and a tower in the back yard. My commute to work is murder. 8)

[@NSNorfolk]

That is because it has a tuned front end which helps quite a bit.

[@DriveInFreak]

@@NSNorfolk Yes, that's true, It helps a lot.

[@cpcourtney6570]

Great video! Do you restore Superadios for others or just your own collection?

[@NSNorfolk]

Yes, I do quite a number of SR-1's and SR-II's for others. I enjoy the work.

[@cpcourtney6570]

@@NSNorfolk … thanks for the response. How do I get in touch with you regarding you working on my GE Superadio (1st gen)?

[@NSNorfolk]

@@cpcourtney6570 drop me an e-mail to: [e-mail]

[@cpcourtney6570]

Will do. Thanks.

[@georgeiron8399]

Do you restore these for the public?

[@NSNorfolk]

Yes, and I enjoy it quite a bit.

[@NSNorfolk]

George, if you are interested, drop me a note at [e-mail] and I pass you the info. I do SR-1, SR-2 and SR-3’s.

[@georgeiron8399]

@@NSNorfolk thanks mine are still running okay, but I don't know for how much longer, but if they start to get weak I will definitely send them to you

[@NSNorfolk]

@@georgeiron8399 Don't wait for a failure, at least re-cap the II as its the oldest. If, f'instance' the filter cap blows, it'll spatter acid all over the radio circuit board and you'll have a radio waiting to die. Do 1, see how you like it.

[@richardr2238]

This was not a fair comparison by any stretch, why didn't you tune to a clear AM station ? It is virtually impossible to find a 40 year old GE super radio that has been restored like yours on Ebay, or anywhere ! I have the CCrane radio , and it would be a VERY close second to your " restored" GE! In my opinion the sound quality and tuning sensitvity of my CCrane EP PRO (which also uses a 5"speaker) is as good as if not better than the GE SRII I had !

[@achannel8142]

WTF, over!

[@NSNorfolk]

WTF What?