Refer to the above post that has a link to the RCA Superradio being offered by Sears. That unit is the same one as my Optimus. They are branded under a number of different names.

I'm the one that posted the Sears link above. I have never seen this radio branded anything other than GE or RCA.

If you have an Optimus that is the same as the Sears model, I'd like to know the model number and see pictures. It's news to me. What model number Optimus do you have?

A lot of people in the past thought the Optimus 12-603 and 12-903 copycats were related to the Superadio, until they looked inside. The differences go far beyond a few changed switch positions. Their circuitry is entirely different, as they are based on a different chip.

Just be aware that if you get an original GE Superadio III...the bass, treble, and volume controls are not of the best quality. After only a few years of normal use, mine lost their ability to function properly (they got very noisy, or didn't work over a certain part of the control). I've owned two of these radios, and I can tell you that no amount of Deoxit will return these controls back to normal. The controls are truly crappy! The volume control was so bad in my first GE SR III, it only worked when you turned it half way up.

I should have learned the first time, but I went and bought a second radio. The second one ended up having the same problem, after a few years. So, I opened the radio up, found where the audio was being fed into the internal amplifier, and bypassed it altogether. Now there's a newly installed RCA line out jack on the back cover, so this radio can be played through my home stereo. I like the AM tuner way too much to just throw the thing away.

If I do decide to get another high performance AM radio, I'll look into C. Crane's "CCRadio-EP":
http://www.ccrane.com/radios/am-fm-radi ... io-ep.aspx

review:
http://radiojayallen.com/cc-radio-ep/

Just got home from work and checked the model number. It's a 12-603A. Sorry about that.

No problem. I just didn't want anyone to get the impression that buying the Optimus will get them a radio as good as a Superadio.

Fine for AM talk radio, but they don't give you anywhere near the sound volume and quality that the Superadios do.

Also, mine suffered from the notorius frequency drift, and I returned it the first week for a refund. I'm not sure if they ever corrected that defect.

Thanks for the info, wiscojim. That Jay Allen guy makes it read like it's just as good (or better) than the SR III. Maybe I'll look for a used SR II instead. Before that happens, I need a job!

@JohnS: either they really cheapened the construction of the SR3's, or you got a couple bum ones. I've bought three of them: an early one, bought sometime in the early to mid-1990s (tricky varactor tuner, but works well otherwise), a medium early one (late 1990's -- tunes well and works well), and another medium early one that I got for my mom, it works like the second one. All were made in China.

Haven't had the problem with the tone and volume controls, but maybe they have gone cheaper since then.....

Wish they still made the Superadio 1 -- now that was an AM radio. Built like a tank (comparatively speaking), and sounds like one. First time I turned mine on, thought I had a car radio from the 60's or 70's.