Brian Hill wrote:


The R-390 is also one of the quietest radios ever made. You get a lot of
bang for the buck with an R-390. I've heard stuff on the one I used to have
that the modern gear next to it struggled with. I would agree its the best
tube rig ever. I've made a couple hot rod SP-600s that were hard to beat
also.

That is where the weak signal performance comes from. It's not just the
extreme selectivity of the mechanical filters, it's also from the VERY
low noise PTO design. It's hard to match that with a modern PLL circuit.
It can be done... low phase noise PLL systems are out there... but it is
very expensive. Probably as expensive as the original Collins PTO was.

I wouldn't go more than $150 on an average BC-348. There very common.
Scott's right about the performance. There just a fun little rig. There one
of the first BAs I worked on when I was a kid. You could pic em up at the
Army surplus for around $25

If you want to listen to the BBC, though, they are hard to beat. Excellent
sound quality on shortwave.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."