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Anyone got any Shortwave radios?

AdamAnt316 said:
Nice collection! :thumbsup: The (catalin?) set at the top looks similar to my 1952 RCA 2X621:
View attachment 2879636
Also, your Sharp portable looks to have been 'inspired' by the Grundig "Ocean Boy" series, of which my Transistor 16 (and Transistor 5000, aka Satellit 205) seems to have been derived:
View attachment 2879637

And you've got some nice Zeniths there! Is the T-O an 8G005 or G500? The console appears to be a 1937 model (possibly a 10S153), with "target" tuning rather than the 6T5 eye tube they started using in 1938 as in my 9S262. Nice Telechron clock on top, BTW! :)
-Adam
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Yes it's a catalin I believe it's a 66X-8. Nicknamed the Tuna Boat. Have no idea how it got that nickname. Surprisingly, it works better on SW than it does AM for right now. Just got an original antenna in the mail today along with a couple of 12SQ7s. So I'll replace the trash antenna and the weak 12SQ7 that's in it now. You're RCA radio probably has a similar chassis just no SW.

The Sharp is a Japanese made radio doesn't mean it wasn't built to somebody else's specification. It's a nice radio.

The TransOceanic is a G500. It's my favorite of the series, either tube or solid state. I think it's the best looking TransOceanic ever made. Without going to look, I believe you're correct on the model number of the Zenith. I actually like the bulls eye tuning better than I do the. It was a pretty forlorn radio when I first saw it. Somebody had painted it white and then added gold highlights. The only thing good about that is that it preserve the knobs and the veneer. I had a couple of the 262s. Those are also nice. Radios. One of them actually came with its original box.

Collecting Telechron clocks is another thing I do
 
I've got a few SW receivers kicking around, I used to have more, but I've given away most of them.

Although I rarely use them, I have and am keeping:

Tube units: Halicrafters S-120 that belonged to a deceased uncle, and a WWII-era military receiver, I forget the model.

I also have several portable units: A Soviet radio (again, forget the make), a Realistic portable that was my great grandmother's in her later years, she used to leave it on and listen to the police/fire/aviation calls, a small Panasonic, and a JVC M70 boombox (SW version).
 
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AdamAnt316 said:
Next, a Yaesu FRG-7700, which is newer still. A follow-on from their earlier FRG-7 and 7000 receivers, it eschewed the Wadley Loop of its predecessors in favor of a more conventional digital tuning setup along the lines of the Kenwood R-1000 it competed against in the market. It's missing the power button cap, but seems to be complete otherwise, and is said to work. It should be interesting to see how it compares to both my R-1000 and FRG-7. Here are some photos:
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I'm a fan of Kenwood radios, their ham transceivers, their old general coverage receivers, and their stereo tuners.

I own an R-5000, and in the job I had back in the eighties I had some experience with the FRG-7 and the R-1000. I'd like to hear how the the FRG-7, FRG-7000, and R-1000 compare in your estimation nowadays. I'd like to pick up a R-1000 one of these days, always look for them at hamfests. Loved the simplicity of that rig, the R-600 is even simpler.

Not really interested in Wadley Loop radios anymore (the PLL was a game changer in receiver design), and passed recently on a FRG-7. However, if a miracle occurred and I stumbled across a Barlow Wadley XCR-30 at a low price, I'd bring it home.
 
sanford12 said:
Yes it's a catalin I believe it's a 66X-8. Nicknamed the Tuna Boat. Have no idea how it got that nickname. Surprisingly, it works better on SW than it does AM for right now. Just got an original antenna in the mail today along with a couple of 12SQ7s. So I'll replace the trash antenna and the weak 12SQ7 that's in it now. You're RCA radio probably has a similar chassis just no SW.

The Sharp is a Japanese made radio doesn't mean it wasn't built to somebody else's specification. It's a nice radio.

The TransOceanic is a G500. It's my favorite of the series, either tube or solid state. I think it's the best looking TransOceanic ever made. Without going to look, I believe you're correct on the model number of the Zenith. I actually like the bulls eye tuning better than I do the. It was a pretty forlorn radio when I first saw it. Somebody had painted it white and then added gold highlights. The only thing good about that is that it preserve the knobs and the veneer. I had a couple of the 262s. Those are also nice. Radios. One of them actually came with its original box.

Collecting Telechron clocks is another thing I do
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I think the "tuna boat" thing is due to the large size, but yeah, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Not sure why it wouldn't work as good on AM as it does on SW, since high frequencies are usually harder to manage with tube circuitry than the lower ones in the AM broadcast band. The 2X621 does have a shortwave band; they just moved it above the AM scale on the dial glass for some reason. Covers a wider range of frequencies than your 66X-8, though there's definitely something to be said for bandspread on these dials.

I'm not saying that Grundig built the radio for Sharp, but rather that Sharp seems to have 'borrowed' some aspects of Grundig's "Ocean Boy" sets, including the multiple vertical dial scales. Of course, Grundig seems to have "borrowed' the rotating drum dial scale from Zenith's Royal 1000 T-O for their original Satellit models, so there was a fair amount of "inspiration" going on at the time.

The G500 is a fine set, and a transitional milestone for Zenith as they switched from loctal to miniature tubes in the T-O line, and simplified the circuitry to save battery life while still offering high performance. As for the 1937 Zeniths go, I haven't seen "target tuning" in action, so I can't tell you which I prefer. I do like the look of a tuning eye in action; my 9S262 has a boring old 6U5 or the like in place of the intended 6T5, which is a bummer for me. It's a shame that the 6T5 wasn't produced for very long, as I think has one of the coolest-looking round eye tube patterns ever, giving a true "bulls-eye" effect instead of the weird shadow wedge of most other round eye tubes. Fortunately, someone has come up with a solid-state version, which may be an option for my 9S in regards to making it look closer to original:
 
I think living a couple of miles from an army base might be part of the cause of poor AM reception. In a low spot surround by hills I bought a radio that had great reception where you wouldn't expect it and where I'm at is high and open and radio reception is poor. It's the same with all my tube radios. Also there's a 40-50 foot ham tower a couple of blocks away.
 
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sanford12 said:
I think living a couple of miles from an army base might be part of the cause of poor AM reception. In a low spot surround by hills I bought a radio that had great reception where you wouldn't expect it and where I'm at is high and open and radio reception is poor. It's the same with all my tube radios. Also there's a 40-50 foot ham tower a couple of blocks away.
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Try running 50 or more feet of wire between two trees, as high up in said trees as you can get them. Connect one end of the wire to the antenna connection on the back of the radio, and optionally tie another wire between the ground connection on the back of the radio and a metal water pipe or another ground source. This should allow for more optimal reception than whatever loop antenna the radio might have along its back cover.
-Adam
 
Tomorrow I'll be picking up a Montgomery Ward Airline 1494A, which is in very good condition. Does anyone know who made these, circa 1980? (Perhaps the same that made the MCS brand for JC Penney??) See below the video and completed eBay sale link for quality images of it. (Not my video/photos, obviously)


www.ebay.com

Vintage Montgomery Ward Airline 10 Band Portable Radio 1494A Works Great READ | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Montgomery Ward Airline 10 Band Portable Radio 1494A Works Great READ at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
 
I'm fairly certain that the Montgomery Wards Airline multiband portable radios from that era, which was likely closer to 1975 than 1980, were made by Sharp.
 
I recently picked up a Halicrafters SX-42, which I have recapped, sounds pretty good, but still needs a little more work.
This is off the web, but it's condition is similar(except the added switch in the headphone socket)
It does everything from broadcast AM to broadcast FM, and everything in between
sx42.png
 
I've had my share of boatanchors...Hallicrafters, Collins, National, and others..Sony, Panasonic...but the audio king was the Hammarlund Super Pro 600 that had amazing AM audio when the filtering was opened up...think it went out to about 10kc. Hooked up a big full range speaker and find a good station on AM broadcast band...oh yeah. Sad but shortwave listening is a mere shadow of what it used to be. Many hours were spent at my place tuning around...the big international broadcasters, pirates, the AM boys down on 3885. Good times.
 
s-petersen said:
I recently picked up a Halicrafters SX-42, which I have recapped, sounds pretty good, but still needs a little more work.
This is off the web, but it's condition is similar(except the added switch in the headphone socket)
It does everything from broadcast AM to broadcast FM, and everything in between
View attachment 2957370
Click to expand...
I had the sx 62 a which is basically a sx 42 in different clothing.Get yourself a nice 12' coaxial and youll be amazed at the audio.
 
John Ess said:
I've had my share of boatanchors...Hallicrafters, Collins, National, and others..Sony, Panasonic...but the audio king was the Hammarlund Super Pro 600 that had amazing AM audio when the filtering was opened up...think it went out to about 10kc. Hooked up a big full range speaker and find a good station on AM broadcast band...oh yeah. Sad but shortwave listening is a mere shadow of what it used to be. Many hours were spent at my place tuning around...the big international broadcasters, pirates, the AM boys down on 3885. Good times.
Click to expand...
Searching for pirate, listening to the hams,and dxing the am broadcast band took up most my time although i did listen to shorwave broadcasters.I alao use to listen to the guys on 3885 as well as the guys on 3898?
 
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