Can anyone help me out with recommendations for a good receiver for
mediumwave DX ?

I've narrowed it down a bit, but would like some more advice with regards to
their operation with 240 volt mains and 9 kHz channel spacing.

I presently have a Yaesu FRG-8800, which unfortunately has built in
attenuation when tuning below 1600 kHz making it impractical for dx use on
mediumwave. It is excellent for shortwave operation and also dxing our
"narrowcasters" operating from 1611 - 1701 kHz, but a bit deaf below 1600
kHz. (There is an article online detailing removal of the attenuators, but
it recommends against it if strong transmitters are nearby - I am 10km from
an ABC site transmitting 50 kw on 612, 25 kw on 792 and 10 kw on 936, with
little other than salt water & mangrove swamp in between).


The radios presently under consideration are :

1) GE Superadio 2

I am presently leaning towards a secondhand GE superradio (analog tuning and
they were available locally (from Dick Smith electronics) modified to
operate on 240v.

My concern here is that these radios will be getting on a bit - are there
any long-term problems from the modification to 240 volts, and was the power
supply filtering upgraded to cope adequatly with 100 Hz ripple compared to
the original 120 Hz ripple ?

The other problem is that they are rare as.

2) C Crane Radio Plus

This would be nice, however it appears to be designed to work only with
North American 10 kHz channel spacings, and 110 volt mains.

Is it possible to modify the C Crane Radio Plus to operate with the 9 kHz
channel spacing and 240 volt mains ?

3) GE Superadio 3

Would have to be ordered from overseas (not a problem).
With analog tuning the channel spacing shouldn't be a problem, however will
they run, or can they be modified to run on 240 volts ?

4) Sangean/Digitor "Outback 2"

As a radio of "last resort". Advertised as having "long distance
reception", however it seems as if the audio performance is probably down on
the other choices, I also believe that the MW performance may be somewhat
lacking but I have no way to do a side by side comparison. The big
advantage here is that these are available new in stores right now.


So, is it possible for either of the "imports" to run properly here ?
Are there any other options I should be considering ?
or should I just buy the outback 2 ?

Any other ideas ?