C.Crane CC Skywave SSB vs SSB 2 Shortwave Portable Radio

The new C.Crane CC Skywave SSB 2 AM FM Weather AIR Shortwave Portable Radio has been updated. A Micro USB Jack with an Improved Charging Circuit, an External Antenna Jack for Increased Shortwave Reception, Extended Feet on the Bottom for Stability, and a Speaker Upgrade with a slight increase in Amplification. Do all these extras Make for a Better Radio? Watch, or Read Below to Find Out the Pros, and Cons of the new SSB 2 versus the Original SSB.

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SSB 2 Pros:
Improved Charging Circuit. Now able to use up to One Amp Input to Charge NiMH Batteries Fast.
External Antenna Jack, with included Wire Adapter for making your own Long Range Antennas.
Different Molded Bottom for Stability when not using the Kickstand.
Upgraded Speaker, with a Slight Increase in Amplification. No Distortion at High Volumes.
Headphone Audio has Brighter Highs, and Less Low End. A Plus for Me.
Speaker, and Headphone Audio to be fixed in the next production run of the Radio.

SSB 2 Cons:
Slightly Narrower Tuning Knob. This is minor, but noticeable.
Popping Noise when Changing Bands, and Presets on the AIR band. This is going to be Fixed.
Moderate Level of Hiss on the Speaker, and Headphones at Lower Volumes. Going to be Fixed.
Speaker is still Tinny Sounding. May be Changed?
Price May be Going Up when the Above items are Addressed.
Will have to wait past Christmas for any of the Fixes.

Original SSB Pros:
Speaker, and Headphones have no Hiss at Low Volumes.
Headphones do not Pop when changing Bands, or Presets.
Headphones have More Low End than the SSB 2, a Big Plus for Others out There :)
Using a Shorter Wire Clipped to the Antenna Mast gives similar reception of the SSB 2.
Price should remain the same until they sell completely out.
You can Buy it Now.

Original SSB Cons:
Speaker Distorts at High Volume.
No External Antenna Jack.
Slower Charge Rate with the Mini USB Jack.
More Likely to Tip Over when not using the Kickstand.

Both Radios are Excellent Performers on the Bands, with the Sensitivity Award going to the SSB 2 when using its improved External Antenna Jack, and Long Wire Setup on Shortwave.

If you want the CC Skywave SSB now, I would pick the Original. You will have it for Christmas.

The SSB 2 is to Release Mid December 2022, and will probably sell out fast.

If you don't use Headphones, and love the Feature Set of the new SSB 2, by all means Run, and get Yours Pre-Ordered today.

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[todderbert]

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[SgtSnark]

Hey todderbert, love the channel! Thought I'd provide an update on C. Crane Skywave SSB2 popping and hissing noises when changing channels or listening via ear buds.

I purchased the SSB2 radio in April of this year and I was really satisfied, except for the two issues described above. After conducting a little research, I discovered that the firmware on my radio was version SSB6 and FW SSB7 was released after my purchase. I called the company to inquire about updating the radio and to my surprise, after a single button push on my phone, I was connected to an actual human being! The person who answered, advised that they were aware of the problem and, as I was still within the warranty period, offered to replace mine with a new radio. It arrived today, both problems have been resolved and the overall sound of both the speaker and headphones just sounds a bit better. C. Crane understands the principles of customer service and to me that's worth a few extra bucks for their products so buy once, cry once!

[MikesPOV]

Just what I was looking for, todderbert. Like you, I'm staying with my original Skywave SSB. Here's a fiver for your efforts!

[shawnj]

Wow I love the ccrane radios. I know the price is kinda high but it justifies with the quality radio you get. This radio can do it all for bands and the external antenna adapter is a plus. Speaker is improved to original.

[glennsanders]

I don't understand why they would ship the 1st batch with know problems instead of fixing it first. I do like the improvements.

[joeh]

What is needed is an early morning shortwave bandscan to prove the Skywave SSB2's capability of pulling in weak signals (i e Asia, China, Japan, Korea etc), not just WRMI, gospel huxters etc. Using any reel antenna connected to the radio's jack would be helpful.

[marksommers]

C CRANE Has always seemed over-priced in their products - While they probably work O.K. For the most part, I bought a radio from them years ago, and had a lot of problems with it- However, I've had good luck with TecSun, and I have 5 Different models, 3 with SSB - they have pretty good sound, and so far, I've Had NO Problems with them -- Anyway, Great Vids !

[jonsymmonds]

Thank you for doing a side by side comparison. I found it to be very informative. For the time being, I will stick with the original. The "popping" while switching bands would not be something I would enjoy.

[jlichi]

Nice radio but I think I'll wait for the improvements of the SSB2. That's a lot of money to spend on a first run edition that might develop more problems in the future. Thanks for the video.

[tlebryk]

For an outside antenna, try a dark red magnetwire wrapped around your porch in the direction of least noise. SCIPLUS sells a #26 gauge, dark red, 100 feet.

[KeganDXer]

Happy Thanksgiving Todderbert. I got the original C.Crane CC Skywave SSB in June. I think I will wait for improvements to the SSB 2 before I buy one.

[Tykoon]

No HD FM, No RDS, No DRM. I will wait for the Next update. Maybe I will get My Dream Radio.

[digitalmediafan]

Crazy price and still no RDS. A company who doesn’t seem to listen to its customers !

[nctn]

Great review! Chatt Radio has these for 149

[NTPTM]

Hej Todderbert thanks for the review and comparisons between the new C.Crane Skyway and the new C.Crane Skyway SSB 2 take care and have a nice evening.

[Knife_Collector]

I would love to see this compared to the new Retekess TR110, which seems to have a lot of bells and whistles. FM/MW/SW/LSB/USB/AIR/CB/VHF/UHF/SSB/WX, Antenna jack, headphone jack.
If the quality is there, this should be a great item and at a decent price. Only downfall I have read is speaker quality isn't great

[dstock]

I received the SSB 2 direct from CCrane. I am enjoying all the features in a small package. Sadly, my SSB 2 has the noticeable hiss at 0 volume on both speaker and headphone as mentioned by Todderbert @ 14:20.

Has anyone had this experience with CCrane SSB 2 - and would it be best for me to return this unit and wait for something better (or a later version of this model)?

[b.]

Greatest review channel bar none for radios along with the sadly missed Two Hands and a Radio.

[jeffking]

Excellent video.
I love that C.Crane [ actually] made improvements.
Others [ Sangean, Eton, ….] can LEARN something.
(( the one reason I avoid the Sangean is the def antenna problem. Should be a simple fix or upgrade, but my 1st Gen ATS-909 has the problem - same problem on the 909x and 909x2.😐)).
📻🙂

[rockoorbe]

Intriguing. I want to buy myself a CCrane radio with SSB to compliment the regular CCrane that I already have. I'm sticking around to see what the new radio has in store.