SW Radio with MP3 player for a Trekker

ks_bluechip

Not sure if I should post this in a Trekking forum or here in the Electronics in India forum. I am trying to fill a need felt during long treks (>10 days) in remote Himalayan areas (with no power supply).

A good SW-band Radio to listen to News (like BBC, AIR etc )... to which an MP3 music player can be plugged in (or a combo)? It should be able to run also on Dry Cells (AA/AAA). I hate ear-plugs (for MP3) so must be able to play via a normal speaker.

A google search found two models meeting above:

http://www.amazon.com/Grundig-G4-Por.../dp/B00167KZKG

http://www.amazon.com/Degen-DE1123-P...f=pd_rhf_p_t_4

Anybody used these models? Are they any good?? Any other models or ideas for this requirement? preferably available in India.

Another way to look at this requirement: A Transistor (AM/FM/SW) Radio with a plug-in slot for an MP3 player
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Papaji

KS.. I walk with the radio too but not pvt FM..

ks_bluechip

@Papaji: pvt FM?

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Papaji

All those zealous broadcasters like red fm, radio mirchi, big fm, hit fm.

I like listening to All India Radio broadcasts from local relay kendras.

short wave is nice.. anything vague is great

nycank

Grundig still makes a solid radio. Or carry portable ipod and plug into a pocket radio

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ks_bluechip

nycank: Thanks! Can an Ipod (or any MP3 player) be plugged into a radio?

Then I can just buy a small Local (Indian) transistor radio with AM/FM/SW bands ... that has an "Audio-In" socket to a plug-in any MP3 player! Will this work?

Any specific model suggestions for a transistor radio that has the plug-in capability?

PS: Papaji, I agree AIR's Vividh-Bharati is much better than most of these pvt FM channels
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Papaji

thanks for adding PS... a question - why route the radio through the mp3 player...if you'll be carrying both you can always plug in the earphone jack directly into the transistor radio.

I like to play the transistor on its speaker when i'm liking the scenery around me.. If i'm not liking the scenery around then I'd rather not play the radio

ks_bluechip

No no .... I want to route the MP3 player's music thru the radio ... so I can hear it on radio's speaker (and even my porter/guides can enjoy the Hindi film music by KishoreKumar / Mohd-Rafi etc of the 60s/70s etc. ). I don't like any music through head-phone/ear-plugs that normal Ipods & MP3's have.

I think what you are saying is: The earphone-jack of any MP3 player can be plugged into any SW-Transistor radio ... so that my stored music from MP3 will play on the transistor's speaker? right??
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Papaji

oscar wilde's quote comes to mind - some people spread happiness where-ever they go and some people spread happiness whenever they go ) ..guess you're the former at this point in life

No, that will not work because the earphone socket is a 'line out', not a 'line in' on both the radio and the mp3. You need a 'line in' socket on your radio for this arrangement to work.

ks_bluechip

Exactly what I was thinking ... I will have to find a transister radio that has Line-In (i.e. Audio-In) into which I can plug my MP3 (line-out) with a 2-way cable.

My wife has a Sony Walkman MP3 player (NWZ-B142F 2GB) and I have 2-way cable. So will go out with these and check in some Electronic Stores nearby, if I can play out in any of their small transistor-radios.

PS: I will be surprised if such a transistor-radio is available!
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Swapnil

KS why don't you consider getting FM transmitter instead ? You can attach it to your MP3 player & can listen those songs by tuning your radio ...

Papaji

I think you will have to buy and lug around one of these

http://reviews.cnet.com/portable-spe...5.html?tag=img

ks_bluechip

@Swapnil: I have not understood your suggestion. By FM transmitter do you mean a FM receiver? Perhaps you mean, like those new cell-phones which play stored MP3 music and also receive local FM stations?

Let me clarify: I need this equipment for playing during a long treks, in the remote areas of Himalayas, where no FM stations can be heard (or even AM perhaps). Only SW-bands work there.

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ks_bluechip

Papaji: Your external speakers will be possible solution. But may be awkard to carry while walking on a trek. A compromise solution will be to carry a SW-radio and a cell-phone that plays MP music on a speaker-phone.

Have you seen the Grundig-G4 or Degen-1123 weblinks of my OP? I think they meet my requirements fully. I was only looking for an Indian "equivalent" of that. Perhaps may not be available here.

My actual requirements are:

1. SW Radio to receive AIR & BBC news broadcasts
2. MP3 Player with large volume of Music (2GB via SD-cards)
3. Both of above powered via dry alkaline cells AA or AAA
4. Both playing out via a medium-loudspeaker (not head phone).

Grundig G4, Degen-DE1123 and Karito-KA1121; all meet above 4 requirments. They also have many additional features (which I don't really need) like Timer-based recording of MP3/WAV files from Radio broadcasts, Clock, Alarms, FM, AM reception etc.
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ks_bluechip

I went out and checked in a local Sony store and in Vijay-Sales .... they don't have a SW-transistor, with a Line-In socket!
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