THE REVIEW OF THE AGES FOR THE DX-160 -

Yes, after a number of months on hiatus JUDAH has returned to finally
produce the long await and highly anticipated review of my new
Realistic DX-160. (I also got a The FRG-7, this review will follow
shortly) My shack, or should I say bedside table now consists of the
afore mentioned radios and a GRUNDIG YB-400, which I use as my digital
frequency counter (since both my big rigs are analog). And not even
god knows where the hell I'm tuning when I'm using my DX-160. In
honor of the two new radios I acquired, I put up an outdoor random
wire antenna…(about 100 feet of insulated copper wire, it runs the
southern and eastern sides of my roof's edging, then half way around
the eastern side it proceeds up on top of my roof, to the highest
point where it is then connected to a pair of VHF-TV rabbit ears I
acquired at the DOLLAR store. (Yeah mock me if you will, or just tell
me how to improve it with no money….) At any rate with the new
antenna in place I sit down for in front of the sweet glow of this
steel signal monkey.

SIDE NOTE: I noticed the floor noise level on my antenna is rather
high. I'm not sure if that is the right term. But on certain bands I
get the Signal meter showing I am at 5 out of 10…for almost the entire
band, and there is a hissing….but no stations. When a station comes
in sometimes it doesn't even move the signal meter, or if it's really
a strong station it will go up from 5. I don't know if it is a power
line or something in the house. I always make sure my computer isn't
running when I'm DXing. And I have checked other appliances. Like I
said it doesn't do it on all bands….some are quite quiet, but others
are noisy as heck. Is there something I can do to improve this….would
an external antenna tuner or some other device help? (since my frg-7
doesn't have an antenna trim feature) Maybe a filter of some
kind….anything….? Remember I'm still kind of a newbie with
electronics….so state things in laymen's terms. (this effect is also
present on my FRG-7)

BACK TO REVIEW:
Before I dive in I should mention that my DX-160 does not have its
external speaker. So I use headphones. Second it has been completely
recapped, and re-aligned…. (Not by me of course sense I barely know
which way to hold my soldering iron). It also has the AUDIO MOD- that
is intended to produce a richer sound. This was all done by Peter
Maus. Who sold me the radio. A great guy to deal with. Very honest,
and definitely a SW expert (at least to me) I was very glad he took
the extra time and care to make the radio the best it could be so I
could get the most enjoyment out of it!! And I do love the
radio….even with it's faults.

Again remember all reviews are in laymen's terms, simply because for
the most part I am a layman.

THE REALISTIC DX-160

It is huge. It seems like they took the housing for an old tube radio
and just transistorized it. I mean this baby is big. This is not
really a bad thing. (For me bigger is better) It gives you the feel
that you're working with something really large and powerful. Large,
yes. Powerful, well….we shall see. It looks much like an old HI-FI
AM/FM stereo of the early-mid 70's minus the cheesy wood paneling. In
fact without closer inspection one might start looking for the eight
track player slot on the side.

With a snap it's on. A warm glow fills the room. The front panel
light is bright. I mean bright. Like read a book with it, bright.
Like standing under a streetlight, bright. Like Carl Sagan, bright.
Well you get the idea. I click to LONGWAVE. A few chugs and
beeps…nothing much to be found. But I live in NEW MEXICO (south
western USA) so that is pretty much a given. I never receive anything
on LW-

I click over to the SW bands. All the big broadcasters come in loud
and clear. However until the unit warms up…. (20-35 mins) it takes
constants twiddling to keep the signal at its best. The sound is
quite pleasing over the headphones, and not quite as good as my YB-400
(which has nice sound especially for a portable)…but still it makes
for pleasant broadcast listening.

Ham radio listening – not so good. In fact….close to terrible. Why?
Too unstable. No sooner do you get them tuned in….then poof it's all
distorted again. Back and forth, back and forth. The BFO knob
twisted hither and yon. I was riding that switch like a two dollar
whor- well you get the picture. Jeez, I love fiddling…but this even
tired me out. So for HAM listening I have to give it a thumbs down.
It is doable…but it's a whole lot of work for not much pleasure.

My other gripe is the actual tuning dial. Or I should say the band
spread ...Who the hell was smoking the Shortwave CRACK ROCK when they
came up with this brilliant design. Someone was on some REAL BAD WEED
that day! Even when I got the manual to explain it. (Which Peter was
kind enough to mail me, long after the transaction. Did I mention
he's a really cool guy) Anyway, even after I studied that at length,
I still needed a ruler, a pocket calculator, three sheets of paper and
a mechanical pencil to figure out what frequency I was on. **Okay,
divide by 6; carry the 2; multiple by the square root of- oh S%@T!!**
All I want to know is what frequency I'm listening to, not brush up on
my high school algebra. The FRG-7 is a dream to tune by comparison.
(Even my old DX-300 was a dream compared to this. I no longer own
that radio…it was a turkey. Although it sure looked cool. I WOULD
LOVE TO FIND A NICE DX-302 all modded out!!! Keep that in mind if you
have one. I hear when they are modded that work pretty nicely….and
they do look sweet…..but I digress…..

Well let's break it all down shall we- (REMEMBER: My unit was
re-capped and aligned, if yours isn't your results may vary)

AUDIO – GOOD-Not excellent, but good. It's not quite the sound I get
from my Grundig YB-400 or the FRG-7 (which has a very rich warm sound)
even with the DX-160-audio mod. But for broadcast listening is
pleasant.

SENSITIVITY- GOOD TO VERY GOOD -Falls behind the FRG-7 in this
department. But holds its own against the YB400 (using the whip
antenna) once it warms up. Now granted I'm using an external outdoor
antenna on the DX-160…so it is not exactly a fair comparison…but it
does have decent sensitivity. (And I am in a very poor reception
zone). All the major broadcaster on SW (BBC, Radio Japan, Radio Cuba,
Radio Netherlands, Radio Australia) come BOOMING in. I usually have
to trim down the antenna a bit to make them more listenable.
ADDITION SIDE NOTE: The antenna trimming knob – is very cool. Daddy
likes! I definitely feel all radios should have this option.

STABILITY- GOOD TO NOT SO GOOD -Once it warms up it is pretty stable
on Broadcast SW. Maybe an occasional twist here and there on the band
spread just to tweak it. But for the most part once it's all warmed
up you can tune it and leave it. HAM/CW stuff…can you say carpal
tunnel syndrome! Expect to be manipulating knobs all night long….very
unstable. But I still can manage to get something listenable tuned in
for a few minutes (or seconds) at a time. This is due to my rigorous
analog training on my COBY CX-CRAPOLLA. Who says those cheap radios
don't come in handy. I still have it by the way. Great for
traveling. (Did I mention it was under 10 bucks new….) Okay focus
Judah…..DX160….DX-160.

SELECTIVITY – FAIR – can't hold a candle to the YB-400. FRG also has
far better selectivity. It's not terrible. But when there is a
really powerful station next door to a weaker one. Expect to get some
mingling if you're trying to tune in the weaker. And in some
cases….just don‘t bother. I should also mention I don't seem to get
a lot of ghost signals. Even with a good size antenna, I don't get AM
bleeding through or duplicate bogus SW signals…. (This was the curse
of my DX-300) In this respect it blows the DX-300 away.

BUILD QUALITY – EXCELLENT-Built like a tank. If treated right should
last well past your lifetime. (But like any piece of electronic
equipment, don't drop it. Nuff said.

PRICE: Worth 50-75 bucks to me. I don't feel you're getting ripped
off even you pay anything under 99 bucks with shipping included. Why
do I say that? It has a very high FUN FACTOR rating to me. And it
will to you to, if you're a knob turner. It definitely is more fun
than my YB-400. Punching in a frequency on a digital keypad is just
pansy!! You heard me PANSY! No offense to any pansies out there….
(As I suppose this is not a politically correct term). But keypad
tuning was never the same to me, as tuning the old fashion way. But
that's just my preference. Basically you're hard pressed to get a
table top radio with a tuning knob any cheaper than this baby.

NEGATIVES: -The tuning concept for the radio BLOWS!!!! Even when
you grasp the idea of "tuning points" on the main dial (little white
and red diamonds painted on the faceplate) and using the band
spread…its just bad bad bad. It's too much work. In most cases I use
the band spread simply as a fine tuning knob. I crank it almost to
the highest point on the band spread dial, and then just tweak it a
little when I find a station with the main dial. But everything is a
guessing game. I tune a little past 12 MHz on the main dial and then
band spread around till I hear the BBC. Usually I use my YB-400 as a
way to find my general tuning reference point. If your just band
scanning to hear what you hear, it's okay. If you're looking for
something….it'll take some time. No matter how I look at it…this was
a terrible design. The FRG-7, DX-300/302 is a breeze to tune by
comparison. (The preselector – set up on these models is light years
ahead of the DX-160.) And that may not be saying much, but it's
true. Also for HAM radio listening. I rate it rather low. You can
do it…and it's nice they included this option, but it is a real
challenge to enjoy it. And in most cases a lesson in frustration.

ADVANTAGES – It's CHEAP!!! If your on a shoestring budget like me.
It maybe your only chance to own a tabletop receiver. No matter what
anyone says this is truly a shortwave receiver. Why? It feels like
one, when you use it. The weight of the tuning knob, all the little
switched and knobs….it just feels right. You can curl up next to its
glowing faceplate with all the lights out in the house and you feel
like a real DXer. Sure it could be more powerful…but it is still a
respectable piece of equipment if you in the under 60 dollar radio
buying category. I would take it any day over (DX-300, Grundig YB
207, 217,Traveller II, Realistic-351, DAK 101, COBY or anything else
in the under $60 category) This unit can handle a nice long random
wire antenna….most radios under 60 bucks can't. They overload. You
can even use the ANT trimmer on this baby to fix that if it happens,
but I never notice it getting too over loaded to begin with….except
and occasionally super-strong signal. All the radio experts here say
the antenna is vital…if not the most important thing….so having the
advantage to be able to use a good size antenna without overloading is
a big plus.

OVERALL – Fun radio for broadcast stuff. Not a real DXing powerhouse,
but with some patience you may get some nice catches. I recently have
gotten some good stuff out of AFRICA, PRAGUE, AND EVEN A UTILITY
STATION OUT OF NY. If you like playing with knobs….get this baby.
You'll be in twiddle heaven for a very low price.

These are only my opinions. And are simply based off my own
listening, and usage. My comparisons are not based on any actual
testing, but on something much more basic….how is sounds and feels to
me.

Hope this review was entertaining and useful to other SW NEWBIE-NON
TECHIES like me.

WRITTEN BY JUDAH SMITH

Judah Smith wrote:

THE REVIEW OF THE AGES FOR THE DX-160 -

snipped it all

Hi Judah

If your radio has a 50 or 75 ohm input you can probably improve the performance of your antenna by adding a 9:1 impedance matching transformer. You can buy them for about $50 or you can wind your own in a few minutes for about $10 if you have to buy the
parts.

Here's a link to a website with instructions for making one.

http://www.kc7nod.20m.com

I doubt the rabbit ears add to the signal strength. If you don't have a solid connection it'll add noise when you have a breeze.

Otherwise, getting your antenna away from the house will help with lowering your noise level.

Your description of tuning in hams with the DX-160 reminds me a bit of my first radio. I forget the actual brand, but it was an 11 band portable, and I knew it as the "Driftmaster". The tuning skills I learned on that radio came in handy when they
invented video games.

Regards,

Mark

On Thursday, July 31, 2003 12:49:38 PM UTC-4, Judah Smith wrote:
THE REVIEW OF THE AGES FOR THE DX-160 -

Yes, after a number of months on hiatus JUDAH has returned to finally
produce the long await and highly anticipated review of my new
Realistic DX-160. (I also got a The FRG-7, this review will follow
shortly) My shack, or should I say bedside table now consists of the
afore mentioned radios and a GRUNDIG YB-400, which I use as my digital
frequency counter (since both my big rigs are analog). And not even
god knows where the hell I'm tuning when I'm using my DX-160. In
honor of the two new radios I acquired, I put up an outdoor random
wire antenna…(about 100 feet of insulated copper wire, it runs the
southern and eastern sides of my roof's edging, then half way around
the eastern side it proceeds up on top of my roof, to the highest
point where it is then connected to a pair of VHF-TV rabbit ears I
acquired at the DOLLAR store. (Yeah mock me if you will, or just tell
me how to improve it with no money….) At any rate with the new
antenna in place I sit down for in front of the sweet glow of this
steel signal monkey.

SIDE NOTE: I noticed the floor noise level on my antenna is rather
high. I'm not sure if that is the right term. But on certain bands I
get the Signal meter showing I am at 5 out of 10…for almost the entire
band, and there is a hissing….but no stations. When a station comes
in sometimes it doesn't even move the signal meter, or if it's really
a strong station it will go up from 5. I don't know if it is a power
line or something in the house. I always make sure my computer isn't
running when I'm DXing. And I have checked other appliances. Like I
said it doesn't do it on all bands….some are quite quiet, but others
are noisy as heck. Is there something I can do to improve this….would
an external antenna tuner or some other device help? (since my frg-7
doesn't have an antenna trim feature) Maybe a filter of some
kind….anything….? Remember I'm still kind of a newbie with
electronics….so state things in laymen's terms. (this effect is also
present on my FRG-7)

BACK TO REVIEW:
Before I dive in I should mention that my DX-160 does not have its
external speaker. So I use headphones. Second it has been completely
recapped, and re-aligned…. (Not by me of course sense I barely know
which way to hold my soldering iron). It also has the AUDIO MOD- that
is intended to produce a richer sound. This was all done by Peter
Maus. Who sold me the radio. A great guy to deal with. Very honest,
and definitely a SW expert (at least to me) I was very glad he took
the extra time and care to make the radio the best it could be so I
could get the most enjoyment out of it!! And I do love the
radio….even with it's faults.

Again remember all reviews are in laymen's terms, simply because for
the most part I am a layman.

THE REALISTIC DX-160

It is huge. It seems like they took the housing for an old tube radio
and just transistorized it. I mean this baby is big. This is not
really a bad thing. (For me bigger is better) It gives you the feel
that you're working with something really large and powerful. Large,
yes. Powerful, well….we shall see. It looks much like an old HI-FI
AM/FM stereo of the early-mid 70's minus the cheesy wood paneling. In
fact without closer inspection one might start looking for the eight
track player slot on the side.

With a snap it's on. A warm glow fills the room. The front panel
light is bright. I mean bright. Like read a book with it, bright.
Like standing under a streetlight, bright. Like Carl Sagan, bright.
Well you get the idea. I click to LONGWAVE. A few chugs and
beeps…nothing much to be found. But I live in NEW MEXICO (south
western USA) so that is pretty much a given. I never receive anything
on LW-

I click over to the SW bands. All the big broadcasters come in loud
and clear. However until the unit warms up…. (20-35 mins) it takes
constants twiddling to keep the signal at its best. The sound is
quite pleasing over the headphones, and not quite as good as my YB-400
(which has nice sound especially for a portable)…but still it makes
for pleasant broadcast listening.

Ham radio listening – not so good. In fact….close to terrible. Why?
Too unstable. No sooner do you get them tuned in….then poof it's all
distorted again. Back and forth, back and forth. The BFO knob
twisted hither and yon. I was riding that switch like a two dollar
whor- well you get the picture. Jeez, I love fiddling…but this even
tired me out. So for HAM listening I have to give it a thumbs down.
It is doable…but it's a whole lot of work for not much pleasure.

My other gripe is the actual tuning dial. Or I should say the band
spread ...Who the hell was smoking the Shortwave CRACK ROCK when they
came up with this brilliant design. Someone was on some REAL BAD WEED
that day! Even when I got the manual to explain it. (Which Peter was
kind enough to mail me, long after the transaction. Did I mention
he's a really cool guy) Anyway, even after I studied that at length,
I still needed a ruler, a pocket calculator, three sheets of paper and
a mechanical pencil to figure out what frequency I was on. **Okay,
divide by 6; carry the 2; multiple by the square root of- oh S%@T!!**
All I want to know is what frequency I'm listening to, not brush up on
my high school algebra. The FRG-7 is a dream to tune by comparison.
(Even my old DX-300 was a dream compared to this. I no longer own
that radio…it was a turkey. Although it sure looked cool. I WOULD
LOVE TO FIND A NICE DX-302 all modded out!!! Keep that in mind if you
have one. I hear when they are modded that work pretty nicely….and
they do look sweet…..but I digress…..

Well let's break it all down shall we- (REMEMBER: My unit was
re-capped and aligned, if yours isn't your results may vary)

AUDIO – GOOD-Not excellent, but good. It's not quite the sound I get
from my Grundig YB-400 or the FRG-7 (which has a very rich warm sound)
even with the DX-160-audio mod. But for broadcast listening is
pleasant.

SENSITIVITY- GOOD TO VERY GOOD -Falls behind the FRG-7 in this
department. But holds its own against the YB400 (using the whip
antenna) once it warms up. Now granted I'm using an external outdoor
antenna on the DX-160…so it is not exactly a fair comparison…but it
does have decent sensitivity. (And I am in a very poor reception
zone). All the major broadcaster on SW (BBC, Radio Japan, Radio Cuba,
Radio Netherlands, Radio Australia) come BOOMING in. I usually have
to trim down the antenna a bit to make them more listenable.
ADDITION SIDE NOTE: The antenna trimming knob – is very cool. Daddy
likes! I definitely feel all radios should have this option.

STABILITY- GOOD TO NOT SO GOOD -Once it warms up it is pretty stable
on Broadcast SW. Maybe an occasional twist here and there on the band
spread just to tweak it. But for the most part once it's all warmed
up you can tune it and leave it. HAM/CW stuff…can you say carpal
tunnel syndrome! Expect to be manipulating knobs all night long….very
unstable. But I still can manage to get something listenable tuned in
for a few minutes (or seconds) at a time. This is due to my rigorous
analog training on my COBY CX-CRAPOLLA. Who says those cheap radios
don't come in handy. I still have it by the way. Great for
traveling. (Did I mention it was under 10 bucks new….) Okay focus
Judah…..DX160….DX-160.

SELECTIVITY – FAIR – can't hold a candle to the YB-400. FRG also has
far better selectivity. It's not terrible. But when there is a
really powerful station next door to a weaker one. Expect to get some
mingling if you're trying to tune in the weaker. And in some
cases….just don‘t bother. I should also mention I don't seem to get
a lot of ghost signals. Even with a good size antenna, I don't get AM
bleeding through or duplicate bogus SW signals…. (This was the curse
of my DX-300) In this respect it blows the DX-300 away.

BUILD QUALITY – EXCELLENT-Built like a tank. If treated right should
last well past your lifetime. (But like any piece of electronic
equipment, don't drop it. Nuff said.

PRICE: Worth 50-75 bucks to me. I don't feel you're getting ripped
off even you pay anything under 99 bucks with shipping included. Why
do I say that? It has a very high FUN FACTOR rating to me. And it
will to you to, if you're a knob turner. It definitely is more fun
than my YB-400. Punching in a frequency on a digital keypad is just
pansy!! You heard me PANSY! No offense to any pansies out there….
(As I suppose this is not a politically correct term). But keypad
tuning was never the same to me, as tuning the old fashion way. But
that's just my preference. Basically you're hard pressed to get a
table top radio with a tuning knob any cheaper than this baby.

NEGATIVES: -The tuning concept for the radio BLOWS!!!! Even when
you grasp the idea of "tuning points" on the main dial (little white
and red diamonds painted on the faceplate) and using the band
spread…its just bad bad bad. It's too much work. In most cases I use
the band spread simply as a fine tuning knob. I crank it almost to
the highest point on the band spread dial, and then just tweak it a
little when I find a station with the main dial. But everything is a
guessing game. I tune a little past 12 MHz on the main dial and then
band spread around till I hear the BBC. Usually I use my YB-400 as a
way to find my general tuning reference point. If your just band
scanning to hear what you hear, it's okay. If you're looking for
something….it'll take some time. No matter how I look at it…this was
a terrible design. The FRG-7, DX-300/302 is a breeze to tune by
comparison. (The preselector – set up on these models is light years
ahead of the DX-160.) And that may not be saying much, but it's
true. Also for HAM radio listening. I rate it rather low. You can
do it…and it's nice they included this option, but it is a real
challenge to enjoy it. And in most cases a lesson in frustration.

ADVANTAGES – It's CHEAP!!! If your on a shoestring budget like me.
It maybe your only chance to own a tabletop receiver. No matter what
anyone says this is truly a shortwave receiver. Why? It feels like
one, when you use it. The weight of the tuning knob, all the little
switched and knobs….it just feels right. You can curl up next to its
glowing faceplate with all the lights out in the house and you feel
like a real DXer. Sure it could be more powerful…but it is still a
respectable piece of equipment if you in the under 60 dollar radio
buying category. I would take it any day over (DX-300, Grundig YB
207, 217,Traveller II, Realistic-351, DAK 101, COBY or anything else
in the under $60 category) This unit can handle a nice long random
wire antenna….most radios under 60 bucks can't. They overload. You
can even use the ANT trimmer on this baby to fix that if it happens,
but I never notice it getting too over loaded to begin with….except
and occasionally super-strong signal. All the radio experts here say
the antenna is vital…if not the most important thing….so having the
advantage to be able to use a good size antenna without overloading is
a big plus.

OVERALL – Fun radio for broadcast stuff. Not a real DXing powerhouse,
but with some patience you may get some nice catches. I recently have
gotten some good stuff out of AFRICA, PRAGUE, AND EVEN A UTILITY
STATION OUT OF NY. If you like playing with knobs….get this baby.
You'll be in twiddle heaven for a very low price.

These are only my opinions. And are simply based off my own
listening, and usage. My comparisons are not based on any actual
testing, but on something much more basic….how is sounds and feels to
me.

Hope this review was entertaining and useful to other SW NEWBIE-NON
TECHIES like me.

WRITTEN BY JUDAH SMITH

Great revues! Lay-mans words that a layman can understand!!!

Ernie

wrote:
On Thursday, July 31, 2003 12:49:38 PM UTC-4, Judah Smith wrote:
THE REVIEW OF THE AGES FOR THE DX-160 -

[...]


Great revues! Lay-mans words that a layman can understand!!!

That would be a ten year old article.

George

Ernie

On Wed, 25 Sep 2013, George Cornelius wrote:

wrote:
On Thursday, July 31, 2003 12:49:38 PM UTC-4, Judah Smith wrote:
THE REVIEW OF THE AGES FOR THE DX-160 -

[...]


Great revues! Lay-mans words that a layman can understand!!!

That would be a ten year old article.

I always liked the review from Popular Electronics that Radio Shack
reprinted in some ads (maybe it was for the DX-150), about how great
reception on the highest band was, I think they even said "great image
rejection". No wonder Radio Shack reprinted the review.

IN looking at pictures for one of those Radio Shack receivers, it looks
quite a bit like what I remember the layout of my Hallicrafters S-120A
junk receiver looked like. I should open that thing and look. But it
made me wonder if we saw the same generic transistor receiver used by
various companies in different cabinets. If nothing else, both receivers
had the circuitry on one board, and the tuned circuits on another, which
can't be good for good design.

I always liked the look of the Ameco R5, especially since it had an extra
band that went from 30 to 54MHz, just the SP-600. But that had to be an
even worse receiver than the DX-160 and the like, precisely because of
that added band. I can't really imagine it was very useful, stability
wise or image rejection wise. But boy, all of those things looked so good back
then, a world beyond me because I didn't have the money.

That pocket Grundig radio, the Mini Traveller or something, that I got at
a garage sale a few years ago for 2.00 can't be worse than those 40 year
old solid state analog receivers. And yet, it is in some ways so much
better. It has an LCD frequency counter on board, so you actually know
what frequency you are tuned to. And then to make tuning easier, the
limited tuning speactrum is broken down into smaller segments. TO offset
that, the thumbwheel tuning doesnt' make it so easy to tune the receiver.

I paid around $80 Canadian for that Hallicrafters S-120A in the summer of
1971, clearing out my accumulated birthday and Christmas money, and it was
junk. But you can buy a number of recent shortwave portables for the same
price, or somewhat higher, that are nearly infinitely better than that
Hallicrafters. Better readout because it's digital. Better tuning beause
it's not got a sliderule dial with backlash. Better image rejection
because it converts up to a high IF, then down to a lower frequency.
Better selectivty because it uses ceramic filters rather than just IF
transformers. And pretty good SSB reception, because they have actual
product detectors. That Hallcrafters never worked on SSB, too low a BFO
level, until I used a potentiometer between the antenna terminals and the
antenna, so I could attenuate the signals. And by the time the incoming
signal was weak enough so the BFO would be strong enough, virtually no
signals were receivable.

I am surprised I've never seen any DX-160s or that level of receiver at
garage or rummage sales. LIke I said a while ago I was really surprised
to find a TMC GPR-90 at a garage sale, and only $20. I sure wouldn't spend
more than that on a DX-160 or the like.

Michael

On Thursday, September 26, 2013 1:03:17 AM UTC-4, Michael Black wrote:
On Wed, 25 Sep 2013, George Cornelius wrote:



wrote:

On Thursday, July 31, 2003 12:49:38 PM UTC-4, Judah Smith wrote:

THE REVIEW OF THE AGES FOR THE DX-160 -



[...]





Great revues! Lay-mans words that a layman can understand!!!



That would be a ten year old article.



I always liked the review from Popular Electronics that Radio Shack

reprinted in some ads (maybe it was for the DX-150), about how great

reception on the highest band was, I think they even said "great image

rejection". No wonder Radio Shack reprinted the review.



IN looking at pictures for one of those Radio Shack receivers, it looks

quite a bit like what I remember the layout of my Hallicrafters S-120A

junk receiver looked like. I should open that thing and look. But it

made me wonder if we saw the same generic transistor receiver used by

various companies in different cabinets. If nothing else, both receivers

had the circuitry on one board, and the tuned circuits on another, which

can't be good for good design.



I always liked the look of the Ameco R5, especially since it had an extra

band that went from 30 to 54MHz, just the SP-600. But that had to be an

even worse receiver than the DX-160 and the like, precisely because of

that added band. I can't really imagine it was very useful, stability

wise or image rejection wise. But boy, all of those things looked so good back

then, a world beyond me because I didn't have the money.



That pocket Grundig radio, the Mini Traveller or something, that I got at

a garage sale a few years ago for 2.00 can't be worse than those 40 year

old solid state analog receivers. And yet, it is in some ways so much

better. It has an LCD frequency counter on board, so you actually know

what frequency you are tuned to. And then to make tuning easier, the

limited tuning speactrum is broken down into smaller segments. TO offset

that, the thumbwheel tuning doesnt' make it so easy to tune the receiver.



I paid around $80 Canadian for that Hallicrafters S-120A in the summer of

1971, clearing out my accumulated birthday and Christmas money, and it was

junk. But you can buy a number of recent shortwave portables for the same

price, or somewhat higher, that are nearly infinitely better than that

Hallicrafters. Better readout because it's digital. Better tuning beause

it's not got a sliderule dial with backlash. Better image rejection

because it converts up to a high IF, then down to a lower frequency.

Better selectivty because it uses ceramic filters rather than just IF

transformers. And pretty good SSB reception, because they have actual

product detectors. That Hallcrafters never worked on SSB, too low a BFO

level, until I used a potentiometer between the antenna terminals and the

antenna, so I could attenuate the signals. And by the time the incoming

signal was weak enough so the BFO would be strong enough, virtually no

signals were receivable.



I am surprised I've never seen any DX-160s or that level of receiver at

garage or rummage sales. LIke I said a while ago I was really surprised

to find a TMC GPR-90 at a garage sale, and only $20. I sure wouldn't spend

more than that on a DX-160 or the like.



Michael

Did you go back to that place just to see if they have more of the good stuff?

On 9/26/13 24:03 , Michael Black wrote:
IN looking at pictures for one of those Radio Shack receivers, it looks
quite a bit like what I remember the layout of my Hallicrafters S-120A
junk receiver looked like. I should open that thing and look. But it
made me wonder if we saw the same generic transistor receiver used by
various companies in different cabinets. If nothing else, both
receivers had the circuitry on one board, and the tuned circuits on
another, which can't be good for good design.


DX-160 was made by the late GRE, of Japan. OEM manufacturer for a
number of companies. So, your supposition is likely correct--You did see
the same radio in different packages.

DX-160 wasn't related to S-120A, however. Actually, DX-160 was a
better radio.

On Thursday, September 26, 2013 5:05:31 PM UTC-4, D. Peter Maus wrote:
On 9/26/13 24:03 , Michael Black wrote:

IN looking at pictures for one of those Radio Shack receivers, it looks

quite a bit like what I remember the layout of my Hallicrafters S-120A

junk receiver looked like. I should open that thing and look. But it

made me wonder if we saw the same generic transistor receiver used by

various companies in different cabinets. If nothing else, both

receivers had the circuitry on one board, and the tuned circuits on

another, which can't be good for good design.





DX-160 was made by the late GRE, of Japan. OEM manufacturer for a

number of companies. So, your supposition is likely correct--You did see

the same radio in different packages.



DX-160 wasn't related to S-120A, however. Actually, DX-160 was a

better radio.

Isn't Alinco part of GRE ? Or maybe the other way around. They seem to have one HF receiver currently in production . It is DX-R8 .

On 13-09-21 07:52 AM, wrote:

Punching in a frequency on a digital keypad is just
pansy!! You heard me PANSY! No offense to any pansies out there….


Key punching ponces everywhere forgive you. Especially those in Holland,
MI. They're more 'sensitive' than the others.


mike





--
It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my
reasons for them!
--Friedrich Nietzsche

On 9/26/13 17:02 , wrote:

Isn't Alinco part of GRE ? Or maybe the other way around. They seem
to have one HF receiver currently in production . It is DX-R8 .



GRE has assumed sales and service for Alinco. But GRE is unable to
manufacture products of its own, due to a Chinese Government action on
the property where the GRE plant was located.


There is an interesting circularity to this thread. Judah's review is
of a DX-160 that I modified, and sold to him.

Truth is, that DX-160 was a fun radio. And from the moment I saw it
in the RS catalog, I wanted one. Took 30 years, but I finally got one.
And at the time it was new, it would have been my best option. WAY to
wide....I mean, the lower sideband started on the radio sitting to its
left. But it was fun. And it was a real radio.