RadioBanter - What's the most enjoyable receiver you've ever owned?

RadioBanter (https://www.radiobanter.com/)

- Shortwave (https://www.radiobanter.com/shortwave/)

- - What's the most enjoyable receiver you've ever owned? (https://www.radiobanter.com/shortwave/63302-re-whats-most-enjoyable-receiver-youve-ever-owned.html)

William, N6PY Bill, of the West Coast A.M.I. Net, 3.870mhz & Friday night
Collins Net, 3.895mhz, has a few articles on the legendary SX-28 in upcoming
Electric Radio issues.

My first SW radio, an unkwon Zentih.
Then My Heathkit GR64., with a Q-multiplier no less.
The excitment of discovering SSB and CW.
Then the Friday my first R2000 arrived.
My wife and I took off work, took her VW transporter
(a bigger version of the MicroBus) to the Red River
Gorge for a mini-DXepiditon.
I was hooked on the R2000. Smooth tuning, great sound.
Well thought out controls for the user. It is still my favorite
SW radio. So much so that I bought another when the
opertunity arrose.
For the mini-DX events we now use a set of DX398s,
good, small radios, but not a R2000. My wife insisted
on a SW of her own when I bought the first DX398
on closeout at radio shack.
Terry

The year was 1973 - the receiver: DX150B
Eventually I added a homebrew preselector... some IF Transfilters...
a frame-loop antenna..
The absolute pinnacle: Picking up Germany and USSR on 872 Khz on
subsequent evenings in the fall of 1976..
from the West Coast of Canada..
As I look over my shoulder, I see the DX150B, its dial lights still
glowing, its sound as sweet....

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
www.coffeecrew.com Colin Newell's Daily Grind
rnewell AT vcn DOT bc DOT ca
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

When I bought my R2000 (used in 1995) I had taken a big step..
still have it.. it has the VHF Convertor and a Collins filter
in the narrow position..

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
www.coffeecrew.com Colin Newell's Daily Grind
rnewell AT vcn DOT bc DOT ca
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Depends what it's used for I guess...I always liked transoceanics
for casual MW use...I still have a 58 model under the table, but
don't use it as the caps were starting to flake out a bit. Back in
the early 70's when I really started listening alot, I used only a
small philco portable, http://web.wt.net/~nm5k/r6.jpg ,but heard a
half zillion stations. Got my moneys worth, thats for sure...
Back in those days, "I was in jr.hi", something like a drake 2c,
which a friend of mine had, was like a cadillac... I didn't own a 2c
until the early 80's...Anyway, as far as my shortwave BC, that philco
probably heard the most stations. After that, and even now, I'm not
really that interested in SW BC...More ham, and utility, etc...I'll
listen to a SW-BC station once in a blue moon these days.
My most fun radio these days? The IC-706mk2g hands down. It does nearly
*everything* in a box the size of car stereo...Of course, it's a
transceiver, so it talks, but it's also wide coverage rcve...Longwave
to 200 mhz straight line, and then from 400-470 mhz. All modes on all
bands...It's quite good on MW-SW, but is also a killer scanner for
VHF/UHF.
Better receiver than most "scanners", and has 4 scan modes. I could
sell every piece of gear in this shack, and leave just that 706, and
still do everything I normally do...Home, mobile, portable. For it's
real dinky size, it's a killer radio...It's no contest rig, but it's
way more versatile than most contest rigs being it covers VHF/UHF also.
These days, the chance of me buying a stand alone receiver are pretty
low. I'd almost always buy a transceiver, so I can really get my moneys
worth...I spent $900 on the 706 in 2001...It's less than that now.
Maybe
$750 plus or minus...So far, not a lick of trouble, and it's on 24/7.
Knock on wood...:/ MK

I get the most use out of my SW2, as it's my bedside radio. I really
like having the R8B and the R-75 for technical sophistication and
computer control, but the SW2 gets the most use.

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 01:33:24 GMT, JerryJ-KY wrote:

As an aside to sdaniel3's thread further down, what's the
shortwave receiver that gave you the most "fun" while
listening?

It doesn't have to necessarily be the best rig, just the
one that was the most enjoyable to work with.

Mine is probably a Grundig S350 bought a few months ago.
Definitely not a top performer, but great audio and
portable.

Great thread Jerry.

My most "enjoyable" would have to be a Sony ICF-2003 purchased back in
the late 80's. It was made in Japan from 1987-1991.

- SSB mode in addition to AM
- external antenna jack
- Continous coverage 153KHz - 30MHz

I received it as a birthday gift after much begging and pleading. Now
I am using a professional receiver, however I still have that little
Sony and it still works great after 15 years.

Lloyd

JerryJ-KY wrote in message .com...
As an aside to sdaniel3's thread further down, what's the
shortwave receiver that gave you the most "fun" while
listening?

It doesn't have to necessarily be the best rig, just the
one that was the most enjoyable to work with.

Mine is probably a Grundig S350 bought a few months ago.
Definitely not a top performer, but great audio and
portable.

I was 12 years old. The Family had an old non-working Zenith 6s222
black dial. By some miracle I was able to get it going again. I
remember late nights tuning that beautiful dial searcing for stories
from around the world. Sure wish I had that old radio again. What a
wonderful experience!

I've had much better receivers since but none has provided the
enjoyment of that old Zenith.

Bruce Kizerian
www.elmerdude.com