Photo by James Case from Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.A., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Quick verdict
The SR-35 is about as simple as a radio gets: a tuning wheel, a volume wheel and a speaker that is big for a pocket set. It is a good pick for anyone who wants AM/FM without menus or buttons.
The Sangean SR-35 is a handheld AM/FM radio with a built-in speaker. It skips the display and presets and keeps the controls to a tuning dial, a volume dial and a band switch. The SR-35CL is the clear case version, and Sangean also offers it in black and white.
What you get
The SR-35 covers AM and FM, and Sangean says it uses PLL tuning inside, though you tune it with a rotary wheel and a dial scale rather than a digital readout. The speaker is 2.25 inches, rated 8 ohms with 0.15W of battery output. There is a headphone jack for private listening. Retail listings mention a tuning indicator light, a power light and a telescopic FM antenna. It runs on two AA batteries. Sangean lists the size at 2.83 x 4.9 x 1.28 inches and the weight at 0.41 lb, so it fits in a jacket pocket easily.
What I like
I like how little there is to learn. You turn it on, roll the wheel to a station and listen. The 2.25 inch speaker is larger than what you find on most pocket radios, so it works for talk radio or a ball game without earbuds. Sangean pitches it as sensitive enough to pull in distant AM and FM stations, which is what a small radio like this should do well. The clear SR-35CL version is handy for anyone who wants a see-through case.
Things to know
There are no presets, no clock and no display, so returning to a station means finding it on the dial again. FM is mono through the speaker. Output power is modest at 0.15W, which is fine for a desk or a porch but not a noisy job site. Sangean does not publish a battery life figure.
Bottom line
Buy the SR-35 if you want a simple, affordable radio with a usable speaker and nothing to configure. If you want digital tuning with presets in a similar size, the Sangean DT-200X is worth a look. You can see more small sets in my portable and pocket radio reviews.
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