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What is BEST all-tube, general coverage receiver under $1000? Under $2000?
My 2 cents:
Most of the best older tube receivers (R390, R390A, National HRO's, Hammurlund Super Pro's) did not have built in product detectors for SSB reception. You will have to add a product detector if you buy one of those. Product detectors can be had for under $200. The best of the group is the R390A. I own the R390A, & the HRO-50, HRO-60 & the SP210 Super Pro. All are excellent receivers. The HRO's use plug in coils which makes changing bands a P.I.T.A. The HRO's & the Super Pro have great audio, but the R390A is a much better all around receiver. It (R390A) is a pain to work on however. Another good receiver is the National NC183D, but again, no product detector for SSB. For a tube radio that does it all out of the box, I'd vote for the Drake R4A or R4B with auxillary crystals for your SW frequencies of interest, or an add-on FS-4 frequency synthesizer. They provide excellent out of the box reception on AM, SSB & CW. They are stable, have 4 stages of selectivity & provide passband tuning. As far as tubes are concerned, not to worry. There are literally millions of tubes available either NOS (new old stock) or used from many many suppliers. I don't think you have to spend $2,000 for a very good radio. A top condition R390A, with an add-on product detector should cost you $1,000 or less. A minty R4A or R4B all crystalled up will go for around $300-$400. An FS-4 frequency synthesizer for the Drake will be in the $400 range. Terry W8EJO C. J. Clegg wrote: Looking for the best all-tube general-coverage (0.5-30) receiver I can get. Need good operation on SSB and CW and capability on AM, along with sensitivity, stability, ruggedness, and availability of replacement parts e.g. tubes (that last one might be difficult...). I'm thinking Collins 51Jx or R-390, although I remember that I really liked an old Hammarlund I had once... Would like to stay under $1000 but if I had to I suppose I could go as high as $2000 for something that's really mint. What do you guys recommend I look for? |
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