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| Reviews Summary for Panasonic RF-2200 |
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Reviews: 20
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Average rating: 4.5/5
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MSRP: $On ebay as of 12/14/05, can be h
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Description: General coverage receiver with AM/FM
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Product is in production.
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More info: http://
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write your own review of the Panasonic RF-2200.
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KD5MTB
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 23, 2012 06:57
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QUALITY LIKE THIS IS HARD TO FIND
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I HAVE OWNED THE RF-2200 FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS. IT IS ONE OF THE FINEST RADIO’S THAT I HAVE OWNED. I WILL BE COMPARING IT TO MY KENWOOD R-2000 FOR SW AND TO MY GE/RCA SUPER RADIO III FOR MW LISTENING. FIRST, LET ME MENTION THE THINGS THAT I DO NOT LIKE ABOUT THIS RADIO, EVEN IF THEY ARE PETTY. 1. I WISH THAT THE LIGHT COULD BE TURNED ON AND THE RADIO OPERATED HANDS FREE INSTEAD OF ON A SPRING LOADED CONTROL THAT TURNS IT OFF WHEN YOU LET GO. 2. I WISH THERE WAS A POP OUT FOOT ON THE BACK SO THAT THE RADIO COULD SIT BACK AT AN ANGLE WHEN I’M USING IT. 3. WITH A HEADSET, IT IS MONO AND ONLY HEARD IN ONE EAR. (EASILY FIXED WITH RADIO SHACK MONO/STEREO ADAPTER, BUT STILL...). 4. NO EXTERNAL ANTENNA JACK. (AGAIN, A RADIO SHACK PLUG ATTACHED TO A SHORT WIRE WAS A QUICK FIX.) 5. IT DOES TEND TO DRIFT A BIT WHEN LISTENING TO SSB, BUT IF I WANT TO LISTEN TO SSB, I FIRE UP MY HF RIG. BUT I HAVE NEVER FOUND A SW RADIO THAT I LIKED TO USE FOR SSB. BUT THE 2200 IS AS GOOD AS I HAVE FOUND FOR SSB LISTENING.
FOR SW LISTENING, IT HOLDS IT OWN WITH MY KENWOOD R-2000. THE R-2000 IS ON AN 80 FT. LONG WIRE ANTENNA TOPPED OFF WITH A MAGIC WAND ANTENNA (PURCHASED ON EBAY FOR $20.00). MY RF-2200 IS USING THE PULL UP ANTENNA. SO FAR IT IS AN EVEN MATCH. SOMETIMES THE KENWOOD DOES BETTER, SOMETIMES THE 2200 DOES BETTER, SOMETIMES IT’S A TIE. I THINK THE 2200 HAS BETTER NOISE REJECTION.
FOR MEDIUM WAVE LISTENING, I THINK THE 2200 BEATS THE SUPER RADIO III HANDS DOWN. EVERY STATION THE SR III PICKS UP, THE 22OO DOES ALSO. THE RECEPTION IS CLEANER, WITH LESS NOISE ON THE 2200. PLUS THE TUNING DIAL IS MUCH MORE ACCURATE, SO YOU CAN TELL WHERE ON THE DIAL YOU ARE. ALSO, THE ROTATING MW ANTENNA IS A SUPER PLUS.
THE SOUND ON THE 2200 IS AS PLEASING TO THE EAR AS THE FRONT FIRE SPEAKER ON THE R-2000. I REALLY LIKE THE TONE CONTROLS BEING SPLIT BETWEEN BASS AND TREBLE. THERE IS A REALLY WIDE RANGE OF CHOICES TO MAKE THE SOUND PLEASING TO MY EAR, AND FOR ELIMINATING ANNOYING NOISE.
EVEN THOUGH THIS IS AN ANALOG RADIO, IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO CALIBRATE IT, (WHICH ONLY TAKES A FEW SECONDS ONCE YOU GET THE HANG OF IT) IT IS DEAD SOLID ON THE MARK ON THE BAN SPREAD DIAL. YOU DO HAVE TO CALIBRATE AS YOU GO FROM BAND TO BAND, BUT THAT DOES NOT BOTHER ME. ALSO, I LIKE THE BAND WIDTH FILTER. THE NARROW WIDTH IS STILL PLEASING TO THE HEAR, UNLIKE MOST RADIOS. I ALSO USE THE NARROW BAND WIDTH TO FINE TUNE STATIONS.
MY OTHER PORTABLE RADIOS ARE THE GRUNDIG G5, G6, KENWOOD R-600 AND SANGEAN ATS 818 ACS. WHILE ALL ARE FINE RADIOS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT, NONE BEAT THE 2200 IN MY OPINION.
I HAVE USED THIS RADIO WITH MY SONY ANLP-1 LOOP ANTENNA AND THE RESULTS WERE SUPERB. I HAVE NOT HAD THE RADIO LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW ABOUT BATTERY CONSUMPTION. I AM USING RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES TO SAVE ON THE COST. IF YOU CHOOSE TO BUY ONE, BE SURE IT HAS THE CARRYING STRAP. THIS RADIO IS A LITTLE HEAVY AND IT WOULD BE AWKWARD TO MOVE AROUND WITHOUT ONE.
TO SUM UP, THIS RADIO IS A REAL PLEASURE TO OPERATE. IT IS MADE OF QUALITY MATERIALS AND REEKS OF QUALITY IN IT’S FEEL AND PERFORMANCE.
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KA2AYR
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 2, 2010 21:23
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Wish I still had mine
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I had one of these as a teenager, I guess around 1976. At the time, shortwave was a hopping place and there was much to listen to. It seemed very sensitive compared to several other receivers I had at the time. Yes, the receiver is analog, but was quite precise as a consumer product of the day. Yes, I do remember it drifted and needed a course correction once in a while. It had excellent broadcast band reception with the rotatable ferrite loop antenna. Also had an on-board power supply and ran on D cells. Seems like there are quite a few on eBay.
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BROADMEADOW
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Rating: 5/5
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Dec 9, 2009 19:51
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My favorite
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I bought this radio new in early 80's while in medical school. Since then I have acquired an Icom R71A table top, a Grundig 3400 Professional, a Sony 6800, a Zenith Trans-oceanic, a Sony 2010, and a Sony SW55 and still have all of them. The Panasonic is by far the least expensive of the bunch but has the BEST sound and is as sensitive a receiver as any. I agree if you want to listen to ham chatter, this is not the one, but for pleasant listening to general shortwave and AM/FM if you can get your hands on one of these units, this is about as good as it gets ...for real.
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KB0XR
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 27, 2009 05:42
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Still have mine
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I think I bought mine back in the 70's. It still performs well for me. I also have the accessory antenna tuner designed for it and it helps a bit with reception. I have a shack full of digital receivers/transceivers but somehow they just don't feel as nice as an old analog receiver.
I won't sell mine.
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KB8DNS
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Rating: 5/5
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Apr 25, 2009 20:36
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Awesome analog!
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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Just picked this today at the monthly flea market at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville... Found in after most of the day went by and after a little haggling scored it for 16 bucks! I know some of the legend about this radio and even though it looks dirty and the battery compartment is filled with corroded batteries I wanted it. I know it is not a digital receiver with memories but I have a soft spot for analog rigs. Powered it up and the band switch is the worst, rocked it a few times and it receives! Listening now to NHK on 5960, (Compared it to my Alinco dx-70), analog readout is very close and the receive is super! FM and AM work fine too!
I am going to restore this fine radio and clean it up as best I can. This is going to be a fun project and the radio works well now! Just wait!!
There IS something about analog radios!
I'll post on the results.... 73 Rod KB8DNS
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DARRYL34
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 24, 2009 13:13
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It Is All Its Hyper Up To Be,And More,Really
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I had owned one of these Panasonic RF2200's quite sometime ago(25yrs)as a rookie in my early MW/SW dxing days.To me,it didnt seem like much then,what happend to that old Rf2200,I cant remember.But,in thinking back about it,and other radios I've owned over the years,I decided to shop around to look for another one,and was surprised at all the so called hype,and prices they selling for,WOW!Did I miss out on something back then?Anyways,I ended up getting what I thought was a deal(it was)on Ebay.
The Rf2200 are going anywhere from $120.00 up to one at $400.00 just
recently,01/2009.Cosmetically,the one I received was from a reputable seller,and was in excellent condition.
As far as performance/reception goes it was,and is all its cracked up to be,and then some.The A.M. capabilities are superb,and re; a previous review,I agree,it is not only because of the gyro antenna as stated.This is just a small part of its superb A.M.performance.
One big surprise to me,is that none of the other previously posted reviews commented on the sw capabilities of this radio.The sw bands are really alive on this radio right off the whip,and in saying this,I am not meaning just the easy to grab stations.Adding a ground,and my 40' antenna make this radio a real sw dx contender.I have owned 30-40 receivers good and bad over the years,and this one is right up their with the best of them.
As far as the previous reviews giving this receiver a 2/5,and a 0/5,I dont get it?Perhaps their receivers have internal problems,or other issues,as I think this was the case with my old 2200 back in the day.
This Receiver was/is well worth hunting down,its a definate keeper ! Go get yourself one!
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LW4DYI
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 21, 2008 17:09
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Medium wave master
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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This radio deserves 5 out of 5 for its medium wave performance. Shortwave reception is very good (like the RF-2800, also from Panasonic), but medium wave, believe me, is fantastic. The gyro antenna is not the key of success, although it is very, very comfortable. That is, all medium wave capable receivers provide a ferrite-based antenna, so that is not a novel idea. The key is based on sensitivity AND selectivity values, both excellent. In other words, you will be able to bust not only weak signals: you will be able to do so in cases where you have a monster station at 10 KHz up/down. FM is also very good, but the outstanding feature is MW.
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KI4RHC
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 16, 2008 18:48
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Great Radio!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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I have to counter Counteract's review and zero rating, and say that I have absolutely no clue what problems he/she is referring to. I've owned three of these great radios over the years (I keep selling them to buy something else, and regretting it so I buy another). Never experienced drift even once! Backlash when tuning is another matter, there is a slight bit but once you release your hand from the tuning dial, the tuning DOES NOT DRIFT. A zero rating for this radio should ban someone from eHam. Sorry for this rant, but that is just too wrong and drops the overall rating which it doesn't deserve.
This radio is a real pleasure to listen to, shortwave sounds very good, MW is terrific using the gyro antenna to kill local noise and FM is really good, and very sensitive and selective, the best FM portable I've ever used by far for bringing in distant stations.
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COUNTERACT
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Rating: 0/5
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Sep 10, 2007 19:26
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Not a pleasure to listen to
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Nice concept and design but even for an analog receiver, it drifts so much, it is no pleasure to listen to.
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WA4053SWL
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 12, 2006 16:50
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Panasonic RF-2200, a true radio.
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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Hi there.
I have 3 portable radio to MW-DX, The General Electric "superradio III", The Sony ICF-2010, and Panasonic RF-2200, I love the GE, great, great sensitivy for $50.00, but my favorite is the RF-2200 by its accuracy in the dial, sensitivity and selectivity, S-meter, Sound, Dial Light, tone control Bass-Trebble, and by its elegance [hi,hi]a true radio with Shortwave bands exceptional, sincerely the Sony 2010 never I conform, and the good thing that has is the sinc-detector, 73 to all.
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