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Best AM Reception
I want to rant a short while and then ask a question about AM reception.
Years ago (I think) all radio's had superheterodyne circuits which allowed for great sensitivity and selectivity. I figured that, for all time, all radio's would be superhet circuitry. Now the modern AM radio's I buy are all crap, esp car radio's. They can not pull in stations, for nothing. What modern (new or used) AM radio can I buy that can pull in distant stations? Is there a way to boast the strength of a common AM radio (by placing a pipe alongside it...or some such)? Lately, I buy cheap (old transistor) radio's at yard sales, hoping that some of them will have good AM reception. Very few do have. |
The best receivers were those of the tube days, and were determined by the
number of tuned RF stages BEFORE the first mixer. (Three stages seemed to be the maximum, but even one was very good.) That's where good selectivity began, too. The RF stage(s) kept out the adjacent signals which cause problems when they are allowed into the rest of the receiver. Today's crap, as you put it, lets everything in through the barn door front end and then tries to sort it out with whiz bang, floor noise generating circuitry. If I were a DXer and not a SWLer, I would get a WWII military receiver. Those were no-frills radios that could just about hear anything that was on the air. And when a band was open, the receiver would sound dead -- except when there was a signal. 73, Bill, K5BY |
"MossadAgent86" wrote in message ... I want to rant a short while and then ask a question about AM reception. Years ago (I think) all radio's had superheterodyne circuits which allowed for great sensitivity and selectivity. I figured that, for all time, all radio's would be superhet circuitry. Now the modern AM radio's I buy are all crap, esp car radio's. They can not pull in stations, for nothing. What modern (new or used) AM radio can I buy that can pull in distant stations? Is there a way to boast the strength of a common AM radio (by placing a pipe alongside it...or some such)? Lately, I buy cheap (old transistor) radio's at yard sales, hoping that some of them will have good AM reception. Very few do have. I've picked up US medium wave stations in winter on a Sony 2001D (2010) in the UK using the sync mode. Getting an RX with a sideband selectable synchronous detector will make big difference. -- Simon Mason Anlaby East Yorkshire. 53°44'N 0°26'W™ http://www.simonmason.karoo.net |
WShoots1 wrote:
The best receivers were those of the tube days, and were determined by the number of tuned RF stages BEFORE the first mixer. (Three stages seemed to be the maximum, but even one was very good.) Uh, most tube (consumer) radios didn't have *any* RF amplifiers before the mixer. They did have one tuned circuit before the mixer - which is more than you can say for most radios today. I don't recall ever seeing a radio design with more than one amplifier stage before the mixer. Today's crap, as you put it, lets everything in through the barn door front end and then tries to sort it out with whiz bang, floor noise generating circuitry. I'm not so sure the radio is usually the problem today. It's not that hard (or expensive) to make a decent AM radio. The problems with AM reception a - Noise. Back in the 60s the only real noise source in your car was the ignition system, and that was relatively easy to filter. Today your car is full of computers - which seem to do a pretty good job of drowning out the ignition noise! Home environments are even worse. - Interference. There are roughly 5 times as many stations in the U.S. as there were in 1950. More recently, the vast majority of daytime-only stations have been allowed to run at least a few watts at night. New stations have been authorized on channels where formerly only one station was allowed to operate at night. (for example, I remember a time when WOAI was the ONLY station in the US or Canada allowed to operate at night on 1200. Today, there are 17.) IMHO the most important component of good AM reception is the antenna. A few hundred feet of wire hooked to just about any halfway-decent radio will bring in plenty of DX. -- Doug Smith W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com |
Take a look at the GE Super Radio and the CCrane Radios -- URL's:
http://www.ccrane.com/radios_and_antennas_index.asp http://www.ccrane.com/ge_super_3.asp Some antenna accesories there also http://www.ccrane.com/am_antennas.asp -- el lector se guarda Amateur Radio is the best back-up communications system in the world, and that's the way it is. Walter Cronkite "MossadAgent86" wrote in message ... I want to rant a short while and then ask a question about AM reception. Years ago (I think) all radio's had superheterodyne circuits which allowed for great sensitivity and selectivity. I figured that, for all time, all radio's would be superhet circuitry. Now the modern AM radio's I buy are all crap, esp car radio's. They can not pull in stations, for nothing. What modern (new or used) AM radio can I buy that can pull in distant stations? Is there a way to boast the strength of a common AM radio (by placing a pipe alongside it...or some such)? Lately, I buy cheap (old transistor) radio's at yard sales, hoping that some of them will have good AM reception. Very few do have. |
MossadAgent86:
I have had excellent luck using a Radio Shack Loop antenna and a Sangean 606A; - ALSO, I have picked up 770 WABC ( N.Y.C. AM Station) Way down in the Bahamas, on Andros Island, with a $29/95 Short Wave radio and ~15 feet of wire antenna... ( very Quiet ( & relaxing !) Environment) So if your serious about A.M. reception, Big, directional antennas & any reasonable radio seem to be the way to go Dan Subject: Best AM Reception From: "el lector se guarda" Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 07:16:28 -0700 Take a look at the GE Super Radio and the CCrane Radios -- URL's: http://www.ccrane.com/radios_and_antennas_index.asp http://www.ccrane.com/ge_super_3.asp Some antenna accesories there also http://www.ccrane.com/am_antennas.asp -- el lector se guarda Amateur Radio is the best back-up communications system in the world, and that's the way it is. Walter Cronkite "MossadAgent86" wrote in message ... I want to rant a short while and then ask a question about AM reception. Years ago (I think) all radio's had superheterodyne circuits which allowed for great sensitivity and selectivity. I figured that, for all time, all radio's would be superhet circuitry. Now the modern AM radio's I buy are all crap, esp car radio's. They can not pull in stations, for nothing. What modern (new or used) AM radio can I buy that can pull in distant stations? Is there a way to boast the strength of a common AM radio (by placing a pipe alongside it...or some such)? Lately, I buy cheap (old transistor) radio's at yard sales, hoping that some of them will have good AM reception. Very few do have. |
"Doug Smith W9WI" wrote in message ... I'm not so sure the radio is usually the problem today. It's not that hard (or expensive) to make a decent AM radio. The problems with AM reception a - Noise. Yes. - Interference. Yes. IMHO the most important component of good AM reception is the antenna. I'm with you so far. A dime in the antenna is worth a buck in the receiver. A few hundred feet of wire hooked to just about any halfway-decent radio will bring in plenty of DX. True, but as long as we're talking hypothetical best-case scenario, I would opt for low-noise, directional antennas. You can't beat a long Beverage antenna, but a large-enough loop _properly installed_ away from metal objects and noise sources, will do well, especially if it's tiltable. A loop can be used to null interference and, being electrically short-circuited, is quiet. Crane's loop probably does a good job but I never bought one to try. I had a 4-foot-square loop that turned and tilted, and an SP-600 receiver, that made a good combination for AM DXing. SuperPros are overpriced now, IMO, but I believe the extra shielding paid off. As long as we're kvetching about AM, what bothers me is that so many stations just run satellite feeds and there is very little diversity in programming. Broadcasting has become too homogenized. It's fun to pick up distant stations but the program content that made it interesting in the past is rarely there. When you heard the hog report from some little town west of nowhere, you _knew_ you were DXing! "PM" |
"MossadAgent86" wrote in message ... I want to rant a short while and then ask a question about AM reception. Years ago (I think) all radio's had superheterodyne circuits which allowed for great sensitivity and selectivity. I figured that, for all time, all radio's would be superhet circuitry. Now the modern AM radio's I buy are all crap, esp car radio's. They can not pull in stations, for nothing. Nearly all radios still are superhets, they may be crap superhets, but they are superhets. I don't have any radios made in the last few years, but, if people are choosing AM radios based only on price, then they are likely getting poor radios. If most people don't notice the difference between a good radio and a poor one, then the extra money is wasted. I noticed Doug Smith's post on the increase in noise and interference. Those are important points and he's right. What modern (new or used) AM radio can I buy that can pull in distant stations? I have a Realistic DX440, which does a good job. Others have tried and like the GE superradio and CC radio. The GE is much less expensive. What sort of radio are you looking for? A portable, table top or a car radio? Is there a way to boast the strength of a common AM radio (by placing a pipe alongside it...or some such)? Sure. You want a good antenna. An outdoor random wire will get much more signal. A tuned loop antenna can reduce off channel interference and be rotated to null out interfering stations. Lately, I buy cheap (old transistor) radio's at yard sales, hoping that some of them will have good AM reception. Very few do have. Those radios may need repair, or may never have been very good. AM dxing is more of a challenge than it was 25 years ago, but it can still be done. Frank Dresser |
Frank Dresser wrote: "MossadAgent86" wrote in message ... I want to rant a short while and then ask a question about AM reception. Years ago (I think) all radio's had superheterodyne circuits which allowed for great sensitivity and selectivity. I figured that, for all time, all radio's would be superhet circuitry. Now the modern AM radio's I buy are all crap, esp car radio's. They can not pull in stations, for nothing. Nearly all radios still are superhets, they may be crap superhets, but they are superhets. I don't have any radios made in the last few years, but, if people are choosing AM radios based only on price, then they are likely getting poor radios. If most people don't notice the difference between a good radio and a poor one, then the extra money is wasted. In many, many applications today where an AM tuner is included (a low-priced stereo reciever is a good example) the AM circuitry is not even as good as the better "pocket" transistor radios of the 1960's. The designer's view is: "Hey, they aren't buying a stereo rceiver to listen to AM, fercryinoutloud!" - and they save some nickles there. The difference between a workable AM circuit and a really *good* AM circuit is the width of the Grand Canyon. I noticed Doug Smith's post on the increase in noise and interference. Those are important points and he's right. Agreed. What modern (new or used) AM radio can I buy that can pull in distant stations? I have a Realistic DX440, which does a good job. Others have tried and like the GE superradio and CC radio. The GE is much less expensive. SuperRadio III is a very good AMDX machine, but the dial pointer is certainly not the last word in accuracy. Still, with a good longwire, or even a select-a-tenna, it gives excellent performance. My AMDX log from my shack here in SW Michigan is 112 verified stations so far with the Superadio III, and I'm not done covering the bands from all directions yet. Tony |
Use Google to research this topic, there have been several threads on it and I
think the Delco car radios were usually rated highly. My stock stereo in my '92 Subaru does a fine job on AM. jw K9RZZ Milwaukee |
J999w wrote:
Use Google to research this topic, there have been several threads on it and I think the Delco car radios were usually rated highly. My stock stereo in my '92 Subaru does a fine job on AM. I've had really good luck with most car radios. Nighttime reception is usually very good, especially considering the short antenna. On the weaker stations the reception will vary noticeably as the car turns in different directions. A ground plane effect by the body, I would imagine. I've been scrounging the salvage places for a Sony shortwave dash radio, but no luck. Most places have never even heard of it. mike |
if
people are choosing AM radios based only on price, then they are likely getting poor radios. If most people don't notice the difference between a good radio an I don't thimk that's the problem. Even the expensive AM/FM radios made today sem to not be able to pick up AM anywhere near as well as the old ones. I would call all of the modern AM radios I have seen very very very poor at picking up radio signals in the AM broadcast band, although good at picking up signals in the FM broadcast band. I have come to the conclusion (my opinion) that the real reason today's AM radios are so poor as compred to the old ones of the 70's and earlier is that today's manufacturerrs think that AM isn't popular, so why bother making it pick up AM good? FM is the popular band. Well, they're right that FM is the popular band, and that AM isn't popular anymore like it was in the early 70's and before. But to me, that still isn't any excuse to make cheap radios. In my opinion, IF a radio is sold as covering the AM band, then it SHOULD be able to pick up the AM band good. But unfortunately, that's not the case. In my opinion, if you want good AM reception, you're probably better off going with an old radio manufactured in the early 1970's or before. Somewhere in the 1970's (1975?), FM first gained popularity over AM |
In many, many applications today where an AM tuner is included (a
low-priced stereo reciever is a good example) the AM circuitry is not even as good as the better "pocket" transistor radios of the 1960's. The designer's view is: "Hey, they aren't buying a stereo rceiver to listen to AM, fercryinoutloud!" - and they save some nickles there exactly. That has been my experience also. No matter what modern radios I buy or hear at someone else's house (no matter what the price is) does not do good at picking up AM and in fact, is very poor at picking up AM, while the FM side is good. While the old radios I have seen pick up AM as well as today's radios pick up FM. The FM broadcast band first gained popularity over the AM broadcast band sometime in the mid-1970's to late 1970's). altthough I'm not sure when the manufacturers decided to stop making AM reception on radios any good. The older radios are probably the better bet for good AM reception, in my opinion. |
"Tony Meloche" wrote in message ... In many, many applications today where an AM tuner is included (a low-priced stereo reciever is a good example) the AM circuitry is not even as good as the better "pocket" transistor radios of the 1960's. The designer's view is: "Hey, they aren't buying a stereo rceiver to listen to AM, fercryinoutloud!" - and they save some nickles there. The difference between a workable AM circuit and a really *good* AM circuit is the width of the Grand Canyon. Huh. That's got me wondering if one or more of the suppliers has come up with a cheap, crummy AM section. Generally, I don't expect most of the manufacturers to do much design. They like to use as many industry standard parts as possible. If the crummy AM section becomes the industry standard part, it will greately drive down the manufacturing volume of the better part, even if there's only a nickel's difference at the start. Back in the AA5 days, there was a AA4 which didn't use an IF amplifier tube or a second IF transformer. They were around, but they were known poor performers and not very popular. Another possibility is poor alignment, especially with ceramic filters. Inexpensive ceramic filters might not fall exactly on their nominal frequency. I have a Realistic DX-100 like that. I suppose it was factory aligned at 455 kHz, but the IF had a double peak. I realigned it to the center frequency of the ceramic filter and the adjacent channel rejection got much better and the sensitivity went up. Doing a careful alignment takes a little extra time but the manufacturers hate that sort of thing, especially on assembly lines. I noticed Doug Smith's post on the increase in noise and interference. Those are important points and he's right. Agreed. What modern (new or used) AM radio can I buy that can pull in distant stations? I have a Realistic DX440, which does a good job. Others have tried and like the GE superradio and CC radio. The GE is much less expensive. SuperRadio III is a very good AMDX machine, but the dial pointer is certainly not the last word in accuracy. Still, with a good longwire, or even a select-a-tenna, it gives excellent performance. My AMDX log from my shack here in SW Michigan is 112 verified stations so far with the Superadio III, and I'm not done covering the bands from all directions yet. Tony Just have to count those 10kHz steps, especially if you're DXing in the dark! Frank Dresser |
"Doug Smith W9WI" wrote in message ... [snip] I don't recall ever seeing a radio design with more than one amplifier stage before the mixer. Two or more RF stages were used on high end single conversion radios to reduce images. These designs were largely replaced with double conversion designs. Frank Dresser |
!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"
html pPaul_Morphy wrote: blockquote TYPE=CITEI agree, Paul. When I was working in the Oil Patch in 1984, my little Datsun (also a bygone name) only had an AM radio. Most mornings on the way in to the office site I would tune in the news and at the end of the hour they always had the farm report. It helped to remind me that there were a lot of people in those areas that made their livings in ways other than by working for the Seven Sisters. On the whole however, other than the local news programs there was little worth tuning in to; even then the AM dial was full of talk show drek./blockquote pbrAs to the original topic, I find I can do some nice DXing with my Radio Shack SW-100. The "direction finder" on the top is actually the ferrite bar, which allows me to turn the antenna up to 35 degrees in either direction without moving the radio. When I add the Radio Shack AM loop antenna, here in southern Maine I'm able to pick a bunch of Canadian stations, both French and English, and a whole lot of balsams. These old radios can be had for about $20 on ebay. pHave fun! pPete Davis blockquote TYPE=CITE pAs long as we're kvetching about AM, what bothers me is that so many brstations just run satellite feeds and there is very little diversity in brprogramming. Broadcasting has become too homogenized. It's fun to pick up brdistant stations but the program content that made it interesting in the brpast is rarely there. When you heard the hog report from some little town brwest of nowhere, you _knew_ you were DXing! p"PM"/blockquote /html |
!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"
html I meant a whole lot of ball games, not balsams. Operator spell check error. Sorry. We have a lot of trees here in Maine, but they're no more worth listening to than the talk show bozos. pPete Davis pPete & Renee Davis wrote: blockquote TYPE=CITE pPaul_Morphy wrote: blockquote TYPE=CITEI agree, Paul. When I was working in the Oil Patch in 1984, my little Datsun (also a bygone name) only had an AM radio. Most mornings on the way in to the office site I would tune in the news and at the end of the hour they always had the farm report. It helped to remind me that there were a lot of people in those areas that made their livings in ways other than by working for the Seven Sisters. On the whole however, other than the local news programs there was little worth tuning in to; even then the AM dial was full of talk show drek./blockquote pbrAs to the original topic, I find I can do some nice DXing with my Radio Shack SW-100. The "direction finder" on the top is actually the ferrite bar, which allows me to turn the antenna up to 35 degrees in either direction without moving the radio. When I add the Radio Shack AM loop antenna, here in southern Maine I'm able to pick a bunch of Canadian stations, both French and English, and a whole lot of balsams. These old radios can be had for about $20 on ebay. pHave fun! pPete Davis blockquote TYPE=CITE pAs long as we're kvetching about AM, what bothers me is that so many brstations just run satellite feeds and there is very little diversity in brprogramming. Broadcasting has become too homogenized. It's fun to pick up brdistant stations but the program content that made it interesting in the brpast is rarely there. When you heard the hog report from some little town brwest of nowhere, you _knew_ you were DXing! p"PM"/blockquote /blockquote /html |
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(Diverd4777) wrote in message ...
Some older models people on this newsgroup swear by are the GE 780, a monster portable AM radio with a huge chrome grill like a 50's Caddy, the legendary Panasonic 2200, the Sony 2010, the Panasonic 1150, and the GE Superadio(s) I and II. Radios which are still available which people like for broadcast band DXing are the GE Superadio III, the Palstar R30, the Drake R8B which people go into raptures over, and for quasi-DXing, the surprisingly good pocket radio, the Sangean DT-200V. Regards, Grumpus MossadAgent86: I have had excellent luck using a Radio Shack Loop antenna and a Sangean 606A; - ALSO, I have picked up 770 WABC ( N.Y.C. AM Station) Way down in the Bahamas, on Andros Island, with a $29/95 Short Wave radio and ~15 feet of wire antenna... ( very Quiet ( & relaxing !) Environment) So if your serious about A.M. reception, Big, directional antennas & any reasonable radio seem to be the way to go Dan Subject: Best AM Reception From: "el lector se guarda" Date: Mon, 10 May 2004 07:16:28 -0700 Take a look at the GE Super Radio and the CCrane Radios -- URL's: http://www.ccrane.com/radios_and_antennas_index.asp http://www.ccrane.com/ge_super_3.asp Some antenna accesories there also http://www.ccrane.com/am_antennas.asp -- el lector se guarda Amateur Radio is the best back-up communications system in the world, and that's the way it is. Walter Cronkite "MossadAgent86" wrote in message ... I want to rant a short while and then ask a question about AM reception. Years ago (I think) all radio's had superheterodyne circuits which allowed for great sensitivity and selectivity. I figured that, for all time, all radio's would be superhet circuitry. Now the modern AM radio's I buy are all crap, esp car radio's. They can not pull in stations, for nothing. What modern (new or used) AM radio can I buy that can pull in distant stations? Is there a way to boast the strength of a common AM radio (by placing a pipe alongside it...or some such)? Lately, I buy cheap (old transistor) radio's at yard sales, hoping that some of them will have good AM reception. Very few do have. |
My stock stereo in my '92 Subaru does a fine job on AM.
yes. car radios seem to do good on AM, even the modern ones. |
"Mediaguy500" wrote in message
... My stock stereo in my '92 Subaru does a fine job on AM. yes. car radios seem to do good on AM, even the modern ones. I was able to pull in WCBS 880 in New York City (clear channel, 880 KHZ) all the way out in Winnemucca, Nevada, on the am radio in my 1971 Toyota Corolla. On the flip side, I was able to get KNX 1070 out of LA as far east as Buffalo NY..... Craig, WPE1HNS Meredith, NH USA Drake R8B/Alpha Delta DX Sloper Sony SW-77 Sony ICF-2010 2 x Phillips/Magnavox D2935 Uniden CR-2021 Knight Kit Star Roamer (permanently tuned to Turkey on 9460) GE Superadio II/Select-A-Tenna Delphi Ski-Fi XM/3" Antennae Tuning since 1963 |
All HF ham transceivers I've had in my cars double as very good SWL
receivers. Phil King Pineapple wrote: "Mediaguy500" wrote in message ... My stock stereo in my '92 Subaru does a fine job on AM. yes. car radios seem to do good on AM, even the modern ones. I was able to pull in WCBS 880 in New York City (clear channel, 880 KHZ) all the way out in Winnemucca, Nevada, on the am radio in my 1971 Toyota Corolla. On the flip side, I was able to get KNX 1070 out of LA as far east as Buffalo NY..... Craig, WPE1HNS Meredith, NH USA Drake R8B/Alpha Delta DX Sloper Sony SW-77 Sony ICF-2010 2 x Phillips/Magnavox D2935 Uniden CR-2021 Knight Kit Star Roamer (permanently tuned to Turkey on 9460) GE Superadio II/Select-A-Tenna Delphi Ski-Fi XM/3" Antennae Tuning since 1963 |
J999w wrote: Use Google to research this topic, there have been several threads on it and I think the Delco car radios were usually rated highly. My stock stereo in my '92 Subaru does a fine job on AM. jw K9RZZ Milwaukee The AM car radios of yesteryear were terrific DX machines. Boyhood friend of mine (this was mid-sixties) had one salvaged from a 56 Buick that he rigged up to a 120AC to 12V DC power supply, and added a wire antenna. Fabulous DX radio! The Old Guy |
SNIP What modern (new or used) AM radio can I buy that can pull in distant stations? Hiya... I can hear most of the 50 kilowatt AM stations here in NJ with the exception of the ones that go directional and transmit in a direction that nulls towards my location. The three that really come in great here are 1100 WTAM Cleveland, 1110 WBT Charlotte and 1090 WBAL Baltimore. Those three stations always sound great here. The radio I almost always use for medium wave is my GE Superadio III. If the conditions are good enough for me to be able to heard them with my GE Superadio III, I can also hear them with most any other AM radio. The difference being, how well the radio handles the noise that is typical of occurring on a weak signal while down low on the medium wave part of the band. My GE Superadio III does great with noise but the draw back is that it is does not have digital tuning for rock solid stability. I also have a small portable digital tuned SW receiver that I use for MW sometimes; the Kaito KA-1102. I have found that little radio does very good with MW DX'ing too. Very little noise on weak AM signals and it is stable too. The draw back for this is that it doesn't have the tremendous rich audio quality of the GE Superadio III. I also use my tabletop R-75 from time to time when I want to use ecss ssb tuning for DX'ing medium wave when images are an issue, but I have found the R-75 to be very noisy. So, even a relatively expensive tabletop is not the answer for ideal AM DX'ing. A close friend of mine has the CC Radio Plus and the GE Superadio II. He tells me the GE Superadio II has better audio definition, but the CC Radio Plus being a digital tuned receiver is better for AM DX'ing in general. From what he tells me, the two radios are about equal in sensitivity, but, he still prefers the CC Radio just for the stability of digital tuning. As far as making or using a new antenna to improve the reception of a current radio.... Once again... If the radio that you have tends to be noisy, adding an external antenna will also magnify the noise as well as the usable signal. If your current radio is unstable, you'll still have to fiddle with the tuner regularly regardless of what kind of antenna you hook up to it. I've seen this antenna system advertised many times, but I have no idea of how effective it is. I'd love to hear from anyone that has used it. http://www.ccrane.com/am-antenna.asp So... My best advice... If you want to spend in the area of $50.00, I'd recommend the GE Superadio III. If you can spend up to $160.00, get the CC Radio Plus. -- Respectfully, Michael Location: Northern NJ Primary Radio: R-75 with full Kiwa mods. Antennas: 200ft "Frankenstein" roof wire, G5RV Additional Radios:GE Super Radio III, PL-550, KA-1101, KA-1102, Kaiwa KA-989, Info-Mate 837, Westinghouse H-104 (seven tube) Home Page: http://md_dxing.tripod.com/ |
On Tue, 11 May 2004 00:32:47 GMT, "King Pineapple"
wrote: "Mediaguy500" wrote in message ... My stock stereo in my '92 Subaru does a fine job on AM. yes. car radios seem to do good on AM, even the modern ones. I was able to pull in WCBS 880 in New York City (clear channel, 880 KHZ) all the way out in Winnemucca, Nevada, on the am radio in my 1971 Toyota Corolla. On the flip side, I was able to get KNX 1070 out of LA as far east as Buffalo NY..... DAMN! KNX in Buffalo is impressive! Craig, WPE1HNS Meredith, NH USA Drake R8B/Alpha Delta DX Sloper Sony SW-77 Sony ICF-2010 2 x Phillips/Magnavox D2935 Uniden CR-2021 Knight Kit Star Roamer (permanently tuned to Turkey on 9460) GE Superadio II/Select-A-Tenna Delphi Ski-Fi XM/3" Antennae Tuning since 1963 |
(Grumpus) wrote in message om...
(Diverd4777) wrote in message ... Some older models people on this newsgroup swear by are the GE 780, a monster portable AM radio with a huge chrome grill like a 50's Caddy, the legendary Panasonic 2200, the Sony 2010, the Panasonic 1150, and the GE Superadio(s) I and II. Radios which are still available which people like for broadcast band DXing are the GE Superadio III, the Palstar R30, the Drake R8B which people go into raptures over, and for quasi-DXing, the surprisingly good pocket radio, the Sangean DT-200V. Regards, Grumpus A while back I did a side-by-side comparison of my Panasonic RF-2200, GE Superadio III, and my CCRadio and found the CCRadio had better sensitivity than the other two. I could get strong, clear programming on the CCRadio that I could hardly hear on the other two radios. |
Some older models people on this newsgroup swear by are the GE 780, a
monster portable AM radio with a huge chrome grill like a 50's Caddy, LOL......you know it baby, make that a GE P-780. ;-) You own one, you'll know why. For the newer ones in here. Get you one of them (I can't believe how cheap they go for) and get you a loop and lazt susan turntable and you have a *SERIOUS* BCB setup. BIGGER the loop, the better. I have a nice 30X30 mounted on the back of my table with mine and it's sweet. Here's a few links to take a look at. http://www.transistor.org/collection/ge/ge14.html http://www.transistor.org/feature/jutson/details.html ~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~ Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier Hammarlund HQ140X Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios) RCA Victor *Strato- World* RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain) 1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402 OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451 Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+Howell ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft. 500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated) 120ft. 12 AWG Sloper 2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas Radio Shack Amplified Antenna 30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap) * Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable* *21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop* |
Some older models people on this newsgroup swear by are the GE 780, a
monster portable AM radio with a huge chrome grill like a 50's Caddy, the legendary Panasonic 2200, the Sony 2010, the Panasonic 1150, and ************rest of good ones snipped******* You forgot the dynamic duo of the Hammarlund HQ129X coupled with the Heathkit Q Multiplier, that's a BCB duo to be reckoned with, I'm not saying that because I own it either, I read numerous times that phrase and heard it did just as well on the shortwave bands especially with the *Q*.....that's why I made sure I was gonna win that auction no matter. ;-) ~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~ Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier Hammarlund HQ140X Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios) RCA Victor *Strato- World* RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain) 1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402 OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451 Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+Howell ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft. 500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated) 120ft. 12 AWG Sloper 2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas Radio Shack Amplified Antenna 30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap) * Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable* *21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop* |
I could get strong, clear programming
on the CCRadio that I could hardly hear on the other two radios. Compare it with a GE P-780 ;-) ~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~ Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier Hammarlund HQ140X Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios) RCA Victor *Strato- World* RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain) 1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402 OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451 Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+Howell ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft. 500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated) 120ft. 12 AWG Sloper 2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas Radio Shack Amplified Antenna 30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap) * Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable* *21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop* |
Now the modern AM radio's I buy are all crap, esp
car radio's. They can not pull in stations, for nothing. That's why I have a 60,000(original miles from the aunt) 1983 Dodge Omni. Well, that's not why, she gave it to me, but it has an AC Delco radio in it, that has either five or six (I think five) preset push-buttons. But they aren't 'buttons'..they're slants (I call them, real thin.) That is one good AM car receiver. I don't know if it has a tube in it, I wouldn't think. But when you turn it on, the backlight will come on but the sound won't for about five seconds, and it says that in the original radio manual in the glove compartment. The one speaker is directly above it, all I need, a good DXer for a cruise. It has just two knobs, but the on/off/volume knob also has a pull-out attenuator which works like a dream. My suggestion is, if you're truly wanting a good AM radio (I don't do music-so loss of FM isn't a biggie) go to a 'good reputable' junkyard and get you one that is strictly just for the BCB. The one up here where I live, actually two of them,as soon as you walk in they have hundreds that they've pulled and have in a glass cabinet. They don't cost that much either and your problem is solved.;-) ~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~ Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier Hammarlund HQ140X Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios) RCA Victor *Strato- World* RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain) 1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402 OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451 Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+Howell ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft. 500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated) 120ft. 12 AWG Sloper 2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas Radio Shack Amplified Antenna 30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap) * Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable* *21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop* |
The AM section in the Cambridge Audio Model T500 tuner is good, and it is a
dual conversion design. The sound of it is nothing to write home about, though. Pete "Mediaguy500" wrote in message ... In many, many applications today where an AM tuner is included (a low-priced stereo reciever is a good example) the AM circuitry is not even as good as the better "pocket" transistor radios of the 1960's. The designer's view is: "Hey, they aren't buying a stereo rceiver to listen to AM, fercryinoutloud!" - and they save some nickles there exactly. That has been my experience also. No matter what modern radios I buy or hear at someone else's house (no matter what the price is) does not do good at picking up AM and in fact, is very poor at picking up AM, while the FM side is good. While the old radios I have seen pick up AM as well as today's radios pick up FM. The FM broadcast band first gained popularity over the AM broadcast band sometime in the mid-1970's to late 1970's). altthough I'm not sure when the manufacturers decided to stop making AM reception on radios any good. The older radios are probably the better bet for good AM reception, in my opinion. |
If I were a DXer and not a SWLer, I would get a WWII military receiver. Those
were no-frills radios that could just about hear anything that was on the air. And when a band was open, the receiver would sound dead -- except when there was a signal. I know and totally agree with what you said. Do you mean though for a car? If so, where would one find one of these? Would it mount in a car or take some ingenuity? That's kind of the way it is with that old Delco, is it possible it has a tube in it? No volume right away just like my tube receivers here at home. It'll be quiet while I'm driving a straight ten mile stretch along the river slowly turning the knob and then bam- there's a station, or if two are on top of each other, I pull out on the on/off/volume and presto, I have only one station. I love it and will keep it till I die, but if I could find what your talking about, I'd definitely put it in and moves the Delco inside or maybe keep both of them in there. :-D ~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~ Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier Hammarlund HQ140X Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios) RCA Victor *Strato- World* RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain) 1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402 OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451 Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+Howell ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft. 500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated) 120ft. 12 AWG Sloper 2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas Radio Shack Amplified Antenna 30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap) * Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable* *21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop* |
A few hundred feet of wire hooked to just about any halfway-decent radio
will bring in plenty of DX. That'd look killer while driving. ;-) ~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~ Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier Hammarlund HQ140X Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios) RCA Victor *Strato- World* RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain) 1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402 OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451 Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+Howell ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft. 500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated) 120ft. 12 AWG Sloper 2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas Radio Shack Amplified Antenna 30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap) * Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable* *21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop* |
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I have a Realistic DX-100 like that. I suppose it was factory
aligned at 455 kHz, but the IF had a double peak. I realigned it to the center frequency of the ceramic ************rest snipped**************** You have one of those Frank? You like? LOL. I love mine. I had two and traded with DXZoner, who used to post in here about a year ago. It was my first 'I thought' real receiver. I think the definition of your 'first' receiver is the one that peaked your curiousity and then you continued in the radio hobby. That's the DX100 for me. Matter of fact, I went in the living room about fifteen minutes ago and turned it on to let it warm up. It's in mint condition, got the box and papers for it. Had a tech buddie of mine get in it with his equipment and he said it was just a tad off. I don't know how much a tad was/is. But I'll measure it with my DX399 hooked to a yo-yo antenna wire from Bil'ls company (that antenna has been everywhere and been put through crap) and match it up to see the exact freq. at it's always dead on. But it has to be on for about a good 45minutes to be stable. How's the drift on yours? When does it even out for you on your piece? ~^Monitoring The Spectrum^~ Hammarlund HQ129X /Heathkit Q Multiplier Hammarlund HQ140X Multiple GE P-780's(GREAT BCB Radios) RCA Victor *Strato- World* RCA Victor RJC77W-K(Walnut Grain) 1942 Zenith Wave Magnet 6G 601M Cathedral/ Ross#2311/Rhapsody-MultiBand DX100/394/*SUPER*398/399/402 OMGS Transistor Eight/Realistic 12-1451 Henry Kloss Model One/Bell+Howell ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Alpha Delta DX Sloper 57ft. 500ft. 12AWG. (non-terminated) 120ft. 12 AWG Sloper 2 Radio Shack Loop Antennas Radio Shack Amplified Antenna 30X30 DiamondLoop(six section 830pf Cap) * Diamond Loop mounted to Lazy Susan TurnTable* *21/2X2ft.FiveSpoked~Penta-Loop~PancakeLoop* |
"GO BEARCATS" wrote in message ... You have one of those Frank? You like? LOL. I love mine. I had two and traded with DXZoner, who used to post in here about a year ago. I've got mixed feelings about it. The sensitivity and selectitivity are OK. The radio rejects power line noise well. It doesn't use much power, and it looks like it would be easy to make an external battery pack for it if I wanted to go portable with it. The image rejection is poor, especially on the top two bands. The stability is OK for AM.. None of the problems are unexpected on an unexpensive radio. In my opinion, the radio's real drawback is it's tuning. The tuning has too much drag and backlash. It feels rubbery. The dial graduations are too coarse. The fine tuning isn't nearly as useful as a real bandspread. I've only seen pictures of the DX-200. It does have a sort of family resembelance to the DX-100. The DX-200 looks to have better dial graduations and a real bandspread. If the 200 is the 100 with better tuning, it's probably a pretty good radio. The DX-100 is a decent radio for AM DXing. I can often hear WLW during the day here in the Chicago area off the internal ferrite antenna. The radio's weaknesses get more troublesome on the higher bands. It was my first 'I thought' real receiver. I think the definition of your 'first' receiver is the one that peaked your curiousity and then you continued in the radio hobby. That's the DX100 for me. Matter of fact, I went in the living room about fifteen minutes ago and turned it on to let it warm up. It's in mint condition, got the box and papers for it. Had a tech buddie of mine get in it with his equipment and he said it was just a tad off. I don't know how much a tad was/is. But I'll measure it with my DX399 hooked to a yo-yo antenna wire from Bil'ls company (that antenna has been everywhere and been put through crap) and match it up to see the exact freq. at it's always dead on. But it has to be on for about a good 45minutes to be stable. How's the drift on yours? When does it even out for you on your piece? Maybe fifteen minutes to half an hour and there's no noticable drift on AM. It never stabilizes enough to be "set and forget" on SSB. It will drift noticably with room temperature changes. Frank Dresser |
My DX-200 is a drifter. Pretty worthless with tinny sound.
It does "look" cool though.... "Frank Dresser" wrote in message ... "GO BEARCATS" wrote in message ... You have one of those Frank? You like? LOL. I love mine. I had two and traded with DXZoner, who used to post in here about a year ago. I've got mixed feelings about it. The sensitivity and selectitivity are OK. The radio rejects power line noise well. It doesn't use much power, and it looks like it would be easy to make an external battery pack for it if I wanted to go portable with it. The image rejection is poor, especially on the top two bands. The stability is OK for AM.. None of the problems are unexpected on an unexpensive radio. In my opinion, the radio's real drawback is it's tuning. The tuning has too much drag and backlash. It feels rubbery. The dial graduations are too coarse. The fine tuning isn't nearly as useful as a real bandspread. I've only seen pictures of the DX-200. It does have a sort of family resembelance to the DX-100. The DX-200 looks to have better dial graduations and a real bandspread. If the 200 is the 100 with better tuning, it's probably a pretty good radio. The DX-100 is a decent radio for AM DXing. I can often hear WLW during the day here in the Chicago area off the internal ferrite antenna. The radio's weaknesses get more troublesome on the higher bands. It was my first 'I thought' real receiver. I think the definition of your 'first' receiver is the one that peaked your curiousity and then you continued in the radio hobby. That's the DX100 for me. Matter of fact, I went in the living room about fifteen minutes ago and turned it on to let it warm up. It's in mint condition, got the box and papers for it. Had a tech buddie of mine get in it with his equipment and he said it was just a tad off. I don't know how much a tad was/is. But I'll measure it with my DX399 hooked to a yo-yo antenna wire from Bil'ls company (that antenna has been everywhere and been put through crap) and match it up to see the exact freq. at it's always dead on. But it has to be on for about a good 45minutes to be stable. How's the drift on yours? When does it even out for you on your piece? Maybe fifteen minutes to half an hour and there's no noticable drift on AM. It never stabilizes enough to be "set and forget" on SSB. It will drift noticably with room temperature changes. Frank Dresser |
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"Jim Hackett" wrote in message hlink.net... My DX-200 is a drifter. Pretty worthless with tinny sound. The appearant drift of my DX-100 was reduced after I aligned it. The ceramic IF filter didn't peak at exactly 455 kHz. The IF had a dip between two peaks. I was tuning it in on the bigger of the two peaks, but didn't take much drift for it to get detuned. I religned the IF cans to the peak of the ceramic filter, something like 456 kHz. Really very little difference. But after the relignment, I'm sure the bandpass was more symmetrical, and a drift of a few hundred Hz didn't produce so much audio distortion. No doubt the local oscillator was just as drifty as it always had been, but the tuning was a bit less critical. If tuning across a strong station seems to give an unsymerical response on the S-meter, a careful alignment may fix a couple of problems. It does "look" cool though.... And I'm sure making cool looking radios was a big part of the business plan of the Hallidrifters Corporation. Frank Dresser |
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