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| Reviews Summary for Panasonic RF-2200 |
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Reviews: 19
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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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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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JUSTICE
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Rating: 4/5
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Aug 9, 2006 17:59
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Best Analog MW Portable Ever
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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At the time of the RF-2200's release there was quite a stable of shortwave receivers in Panasonic's lineup, a few tabletops and a few portables. I'm not sure if this one was meant to be a shortwave radio with a mediumwave gyro antenna thrown in, but over the years its developed a reputation as the best analog portable for the AM broadcast band ever made.
I've owned the GE Superradio I and II, there's no comparison. They're not even close regarding sensitivity, selectivity and certainly not frequency readout. The '2200 will give you 10 kHz readout and very accurately, too. The only portables that I've ever found to match its pulling power was the Channel Master 6515 Super Fringe and a Nordmende Mesa 9000 series, but neither had the ability to give you frequency readout, and you had to turn the radio (and therefore the speaker) around for nulling out and peaking frequencies, while the '2200 can sit firing the audio right at you while you adjust the gyro antenna. The CM didn't have anything for tone control (though it did have the ability to bring speech out of the static quite well), and the Nordmende just didn't sound nearly as good even with seperate bass and treble controls.
There's nothing like sitting out back or on your front porch cruising the MW band with one of these '2200s just seeing what's coming in, day or night. Modern digital portables just don't give you the same experience as an analog radio.
Now shortwave performance is another matter entirely. First off, the tuning system is unlike anything produced today. There's a reason they don't make them like this anymore. There are marks on the vernier dial to which you tune and hold down a switch that activates a crystal marker tone, which also locks the vernier dial. You then turn the dial (though the readout won't change) until you zero in on the frequency of the crystal marker. While it is fun if you're a hands-on radio person, it can be annoying if you simply want to tune in a station for a particular broadcast. For bandscanning it really doesn't matter unless you find something you like and want to know the frequency, in which case you have to go through the procedure and then retune your previous station.
Sensitivity on shortwave with the whip isn't bad, but reception with an external wire antenna is better. Panasonic made a tuner specifically for this radio, but I don't remember the part number and have never come across one. You can always use any antenna tuner available to match the impedence of your wire, and use the ground screw on the back of the radio. The '2200 is a good enough receiver to make it worth the trouble to set up a good antenna system for it.
While selectivity on MW is fine unless you want to dx Transatlantics, I've been frustrated by the narrow filter choice on the '2200. While the wide filter is great for the best audio on clear signals, there have been too many times when a program I was listening to had adjacent channel splatter which could not be cleaned up with the narrow choice. If the opposite channel was clear then I could always off-tune to that side, but many times that's not possible. From what I've been able to find out, the filters are LC circuits and therefore can't be replaced, such as going from a cheap ceramic filter to a good Murata ceramic filter.
Another problem with the shortwave section of this radio is the bleedover effect from the different SW bands. You can tune on SW1, for instance, and be receiving signals from SW2 or whatever band next to the one in use has a transmisson on it at that spot of the dial. This is a well known issue but I've found that jiggling the band selector will clear it up, so it never bothered me.
FM reception is outstanding, perhaps the best radio I've ever come across for dxing the FM band in a portable. Beatiful seperation and capture.
This radio is truly a classic and, aside from the SW tuning and narrow filter, a pure joy to use any time of day. I think it has a killer look to it, as well.
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RF2900
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 1, 2006 18:34
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old fashoned sound and feel
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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this one is on all day. it has warm audio. makes music on shortave as good as it will sound anywhere. it reminds me of old am car radios. people used to say "good tone" but this expression makes audiophiles cringe.it's "tone" is much better than the later 2900 model. the tuning dial has crystal calibrated analog readout....very nostalgic and fun. if you're not feeling particularly nostalgic that day keep a digital radio around for checking. a bigger problem is tuning in ssb mode. it's quite a challenge, but CAN be done; if only out of pure meanness.the analog dial is a bit rubbery,but surprisingly stable once you leave it somewhere. the later 2900 model had a trimmer cap. one could be added here.i havn't done it yet. i would have to look inside. i was also thinking about a vernier reduction drive. however if it doesn't look good like it belongs there, the collector value is toast. like a lot of older radios, there is room inside to do other mods, but i have other radios.this one's just nice to look at and especially listen to.
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