I bought a DX-394 several years ago at a Radio Shack closeout and have
used it as a bedside radio mostly at night. I am beginning to think
that the bad rap this little receiver is stuck with isn't quite
deserved. Actually, the radio is not totally bad. It is sensitive,
stable and predictable with no surprises
I live in a region where both AM and SW stations are subject to
deep fades of the worst kind. The worst kind are the fades where the
carrier disappears but the sideband(s) quack away at full volume,
making the program painfully unreadable. I have found that using
exhalted carrier makes the program listenable if not perfect. Here's
how you use the excellent stability of the DX-394 to overcome deep
selective fading on an AM signal.
(1) Switch on the cw position
(2) Carefully zero-beat the signal with the fine tuning control
(3) Reduce the RF gain control until the signal starts to weaken.
This seems to give the best ratio of signal to injected carrier.
(4) Using the fine-tuning control, find the spot where the fluttering
noise from the undesired sideband is lowest (the DX-394 does not have
great filters)
(5) Enjoy the program. The sideband may fade out but you will not get
the "Quack-quack" as you are supplying the carrier.
The only other radio I can do this with is my Sony: all the others
drift too much to make this method useful. I have also clipped the
purple "chuffing" lead. There are no other mods.