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Anyone got any Shortwave radios?

Romeo Wolf

Romeo Wolf

Super Member
So I found and acquired my first one today at an Antique store for $35. it's a 1972-75 RDA-172 Shortwave multi-band receiver. It, from my opinion is just perfect. It's got Dual antennas, an Earphone and headphone jack, an external antenna input, another random input, a regular tuning knob and a Fine tuning knob. A dial light and a rechargeable battery indicator. The controls are scratchy and I don't know what the fine tuning knob or squelch control does, nor do they work from my testing, but it does take batteries.
This might be my Endgame radio. What do you think?
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I have a Radio Shack DX-440 (aka Sangean ATS-803a) from the late 1980's, and a Panasonic RF-2200 from 1979.
Both work but I gave up on shortwave listening when I moved to my present location in 1999 because of constant, relentless power line interference.
In 2001, I got a computer and put the radios in storage.
 
hallicrafters-sw-500.jpg


It still works.. SW-500 tube model
 
The fine tuning control usually works with short wave. The squelch control is used primarily for the CB band.
 
I think I have a Realistic DX-160 in my garage in the original box. My dad loved to listen to the same model back in the 1970s.
I also found a Grundig Satellit 700, which goes for some good money on Ebay for some reason. I paid $12 for it at Savers.

I don't think there is anything left to listen too. I don't think the BBC World Service even aims a signal at America anymore because of budget cuts.
 
So I decided to see what that random extra input was for. I plugged an AUX cord into my phone, then into the input of the device. I then played some music into it.

It works! It just works. I also discovered a 12V DC adapter on the right side for what seems like to be for charging the batteries (if they're rechargeable, which I'm not. I'm using 6 Duracell D-batteries)

I also tested the earphone jack. It sounded great and was bass heavy, Hence the tone control. Twas basically blasting at 3. But since it was monoural, it was only coming into the Left channel. My only complaint about it. Other than that, it's no biggie. They only had a single earphone back in the day.
 
I have a re-badged Radio Shack digital SW built by Sangean. Pretty small unit, so sound quality is poor.
 
I've owned several dozen shortwave radios over the years. I've long enjoyed being able to listen to bands beyond the usual AM or FM, so most of the old radios I pick up feature at least one shortwave band. My first was a Hallicrafters S-118, similar to the SW-500 shown above. It was prone to drifting, and the slide-rule dial was far from accurate, but was my gateway to the world once I figured out that I needed an outdoor antenna. Some years later, I picked up a Zenith B-600 portable shortwave radio, the first of many I would own from their TransOceanic line of shortwave portables.

After several years of goofing around with the S-118, I lucked into a pair of extremely nice military-grade shortwave receivers in the R-390A/URR and R-392/URR; it was basically like trading in a Chevette for a pair of Corvettes. Each had five times as many tubes as the Halli, and featured the 1950s equivalent of digital tuning, supported by an extremely complicated mechanism. Here are some pictures of a few of the shortwave radios and receivers I've owned over the years, both tube and solid-state:
ak545_2.jpg

zenith9s262.jpg

rca2x621_1.jpg

bc779_front.jpg

hq129x_setup.jpg

r388_front.jpg

r390a_setup.jpg

r392_front.JPG

nc183d_front1.jpg

starroamer_1.jpg

dx150_setup.jpg

braunt1000_2.jpg

satellit205.jpg

worldmonitor1.jpg

drakessr1.jpg

frg7_1.jpg

rf4900_setup.jpg

dx1000_1.jpg

sanyoboombox.jpg

jvcradio.jpg
 
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I have several, A Grundig table radio with several short wave bands, A Quad AM3 tuner with 2 shortwave bands, A Hallicrafters SX25?, A Zenith Transoceanic 7000 transistorized radio and another Grundig portable digital world band radio GS350DL. I occasionally listen at night, but there isn't much out there, more religious stations than anything else I can receive.
 
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After purchasing a couple of modern, current-model portables, I discovered that I find no SW programming of interest to me, and need no longer consider SW. I missed its hey-day. AM/FM are all the bands I use. I do like looking at the pics, though.
 
Romeo Wolf said:
I also discovered a 12V DC adapter on the right side for what seems like to be for charging the batteries (if they're rechargeable, which I'm not. I'm using 6 Duracell D-batteries)
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Click to expand...
It's for running it off your car battery or external power, not recharging batteries.
 
teal'c said:
It's for running it off your car battery or external power, not recharging batteries.
Click to expand...
Actually, these units could be equipped with rechargeable batteries. I have one of them somewhere, and it came with eight nickel-cadmium D cells installed in the battery compartment. Amazingly, they hadn't leaked.
-Adam
 
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