* Crossposted in SCANRADIO
* Crossposted in SHORTWAVE
* Crossposted in RADIO_HOBBY-ALL
* Crossposted in NET202_RADIO
* Crossposted in TECH
(c) 1996 Bill Cheek   2 of 12
   Rated sensitivity is 1-uV (nominal). Audio output is 200-mW into an
8-ohm load.  The board is about 11.5"L by 4.5"W.  Thickness, including the
shielded radio compartment is 18mm or 0.71".
   Weight of the WinRadio card is 565 grams, and I'm here to tell you it's
a hunk!  Heavier than any PC card you ever stuck in a computer!  I'd submit
it to be about like a handheld scanner, though. Despite its weight,
WinRadio is very secure in its slot after the hold-down screw is tightened.
At first, I was a little concerned, but not anymore, and mine was installed
in a tower case where the card is horizontal.  It would be even more secure
in the common desktop case where it would reside in the vertical position.
Basically, the specs and physics of WinRadio are sound and there are no
glaring showstoppers to merit the jaundiced eye. The rest of this article
covers it all; the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful.
INSTALLATION & SETUP
   WinRadio is a snap to install and set up. The nearly 3/4" thickness of
the board calls out and begs for an empty slot to be adjacent to it on the
component side of the board.  My computers never have empty slots, though,
so I installed mine in Slot 1, closest to the RAM and power supply.  If you
don't have a choice, you can slip a thin cardboard or a couple thicknesses
of plain paper between it and the adjacent card in order to avoid shorts.
THE WINRADIO PC CARD
   Setup consists of an easy software installation and one, count `em, one
jumper on the card.  There are eight jumper positions, the default one of
which is likely to work fine for you, but if not, it's easy to make a
change and try again.  This jumper setting is for the port address of the
card, the selectable range of which is 0180h through 01B8h.
SIMPLE SOFT / HARDWARE SETUP
   There are only two external jacks on the metal mounting strip of the
WinRadio card:  a BNC jack for the antenna and a phone jack for the
external speaker.
   Speaking of which, one of the worst downsides of WinRadio is the need
for an external speaker, preferably the amplified kind, since the stock
200-mW output is about like that of a handheld scanner.  It's petty weak
and won't drive a speaker very loud.  Radio Shack's #21-541 or #32-2040 are
good  amplified speakers for this purpose. This "wart" (low speaker volume)
is understandable and tolerable because you don't want to pull any more
power from the PC than necessary.  If your PC has a Soundblaster or other
sound card, you can patch the WinRadio audio out to the LINE-IN jack on the
sound card.  Otherwise, use headphones, or an efficient or amplified
speaker.
SOFTWARE CONTROLLED
   WinRadio is, of course, controlled by software, of which you get a
version for MS-DOS and one for Windows. I hadn't tested the DOS version by
this first report, but the Windows control program is slick , wicked, and a
real beauty!
   The Windows radio graphic appears full screen on the monitor after
WinRadio has been fired up.  In other words, you're sitting in front of a
"virtual" radio.  Physical control is as follows:
1.  Mouse point & click, or
2.  Keyboard commands, hotkeys, or
3.  Various means of automation or semi-automation.
CONTINUED TO WINRADIO REVIEW 3/12
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