Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Old March 28th 13, 07:03 PM posted to rec.radio.shortwave
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by RadioBanter: May 2012
Posts: 341
Default Realistic dx-300 purchase

On Wednesday, March 27, 2013 11:01:45 AM UTC-4, D. Peter Maus wrote:
On 3/19/13 21:53 , m II wrote:





Bought used for 90 dollars. It seems well worth it. No scratches and


no corrosion in the battery compartment. Model 1A9 serial 8-0057XX.


Build quality is good, but the controls are a bit on the wobbly side.


Better than the tuning knob on the early Grundig Satellit 800, however.




Once I got it home and practiced learning the controls it started to


remind me of the FRG-7 sitting in the other room. The Barlow-Wadley


tuning scheme is almost identical, with just the location of the knobs


changed to protect the innocent.




At first, the preselector tuning, which is a rotary knob turning a


wide, frequency marked belt was frozen. A minutes of twisting back and


forth has loosened it up nicely. Pure luck, no doubt.




The reception is nowhere near as bad as some have reported. I tied a


three foot wire to the high impedance terminal and got the 10 Mhz time


signal right away. Cuba, at around 6060 Mhz (I forget the exact


frequency...) came in very well also. There was no ground wire attached.




The Digital readout is right on, despite the analog tuning circuitry


driving it.




Is anyone aware of weak points in this set? Any preventive medicine to


delay an early death?




As an extra bonus, the seller threw in a Patrolman 9 at no charge. He


had received it in trade for a half empty bottle of Jack Daniels. It


appears Holland MI is just crawling with derelict neighbours.






mike










The good news is, you didn't overpay. The bad news is this isn't much

of a radio. DX-302 is a much better terrible radio.



DX-300 is, as you've noticed, is a Wadley Loop. It's pretty stable.

And, as far as sensitivity goes, it could be much, MUCH worse. Grundig's

YB-500, comes to mind as an example.



Audio is pretty unpleasant. A better speaker, and a bit of acoustic

padding inside will take out some of the harsh resonances. Change a few

coupling capacitors in the audio stage, and you can broaden the audio

bandwidth, and smooth out some of the harshness.



But broad bandwidth is really the issue with this radio. Selectivity

is so wide, the lower sideband starts on the radio sitting next to it on

the left. The 'Wide/Narrow' switch does little but drop a bypass

capacitor in the audio path, taking the top off the frequency response.

In the days of crowded SWBC bands, this radio could reliably receive 4

stations at once. DX-302 fixed this. Sort of. With filters. Better

filters in later production runs.



GRE made this radio. And it's not their best work. It's not the

paperweight that many call it. That would just be insulting to

paperweights. It's good for a ball game on WGN, once the audio is

addressed. But if you're planning on working the bands...not exactly

your most effective tool.



Now, what can be done? Lots, actually. It's pretty susceptible to

overload. So, keep the antenna short. 20 feet, in some areas may be too

much. Work against a good earth ground. Since cold water pipes are no

longer subject to the same codes as in years past, a cold water pipe may

not be a reliable ground. You'll have to install a ground rod. 8' is

good. 12' may be better, depending on soil moisture and height of the

water table.



A radio of this vintage will have capacitor problems. There will be a

few, if not many, electrolytics that are out of tolerance, or failing.

Replace them. Replace them all. Do it now. Do not hesitate. The radio

police are looking in your windows at this moment, and if they find

you've got a radio that's subpar, with bad electrolytics, they'll send

you to Al Gore's house to explain to him the meaning of the words

'electricity conservation.' As bad as that is, he may also eat you. The

way Mary-Chapin Carpenter ate her fan club. Or Wynonna ate an Old

Country Buffet in Henderson.



After replacing the caps, and you may want to replace some of the

non-electrolytics, as well...especially ceramic discs in the audio

stage, they have a terrifically bad sonic signature, and you will

noticed the difference. Particularly on hard consonants when up on the

bands. This is one of the many shortcomings of R-71, too, so you're in

good company.



And, you'll want to install some filters. Murata ceramics are fine.

There are procedures on the web to show you what needs to be changed,

and how to do it. Not tough to do, but it can be time consuming. Take at

least a week's vacation. And get some rum. Bermuda is preferred. And

some fresh ginger. Infuse the ginger into the rum for at least 24 hours

before you begin. The more the better. It should burn all the way down.



After installing filters, an alignment is a good idea. GRE radios of

this vintage are not particularly good at holding an alignment. So,

you'll want to make sure that the radio has come up to constant

temperature before beginning. In a warm room.



You may have to do this more than once over the life of the radio.

It's not uncommon.



Clean the switches. Replace the pots. Give the case a good cleaning.



And enjoy it. After a week, put it on eBay, and buy a DX-302 with the

proceeds. You'll marvel at the difference.



Until someone puts you in front of a Drake.





Peking Duck is much better!
Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Realistic dx-300 purchase [email protected] Shortwave 1 March 31st 13 03:05 PM
Amp Purchase? Stone-ok CB 7 April 1st 08 09:00 PM
Looking for a scanner to purchase sting2602 Scanner 1 August 5th 06 12:01 AM
New scanner purchase Steve L. Scanner 5 June 9th 05 09:50 PM
help with scanner purchase Chris Scanner 1 December 9th 03 02:30 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:44 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 RadioBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Radio"

 

Copyright © 2017