problem= all am bands are dead--only rushing noise heard--fm section works
fine: problem occurrs on both ac and battery power. All "computer controlled"
(ie digital tuner, lights, scanning etc) work fine.

sounds like an open circuit in front end...need suggestions as to which
components to check/where to look for the problem.

Any reliable repair shops in Boston, Mass region?

thanx.

my email=

I am not sure if this will help you, as I am not familiar with the Sat500, but
I had a very similar problem with a Sangean ATS818CS (large portable
w/cassette) a few years back. The symptoms exhibited were the same (display,
backlight, power and FM were fine, but no AM or SSB, just rushing noise and
occassional off-frequency garble that was 'almost' a station coming in)...and
it turned out that the pot that controlled the BFO had cracked off of the front
PC board. It took a bit to get to the site of the break, but once there, I
resoldered the pot to the board via some flat bar-wire, and the radio was back
to normal.
Perhaps there is something wrong in the BFO circuitry (if the '500 sports a BFO
or SSB feature), and could be checked out by a local tech.
Good luck, the problem can't be too terrible to be fixed.
Linus