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Author Topic: What was your first shortwave radio?  (Read 480732 times)

N9LCD

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #45 on: December 25, 2011, 12:50:16 PM »

Either one of two Zenith's -- a 50's vintage TransOceanic or a late 30's vintage console.  I was always sneaking around, trying to find-out what was out there above the BCB.  I remember by father trying to tune-in Sputnik on the Zenith console except I don't think it tuned above 20 MHz.

The first SW radio I bought was an R-390A.  After a long list of mostly "surplus" receivers, it's still a 390-A, this one Motorola-built!

N9LCD

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K3WEC

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #46 on: December 25, 2011, 08:30:41 PM »

Kenwood R-600.... still use it.
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N4OI

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #47 on: December 29, 2011, 06:09:09 AM »

My first shortwave radio was a National NC-60B (a.k.a. NC 60 Special).  Those five tubes received my first introduction to the Gospel message via HCJB  broadcasts, as well as the best cold war propaganda ever!  Unfortunately, I sold it when going away to school...  I bought a Realistic DX-150B with the first paycheck from my first full-time job.  I still have that second receiver and recently retrieved it from the attic.  Having procured a digital scope and signal generator for a different project,  I treated it to a full renovation and alignment.  That one is now prominently positioned in my shack, near my Drake R8 and Yaseau FT-920! 

Great memories....

73 ES GOD BLESS U ES URS DE KEN N4OI  ;D
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KK4DUZ

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #48 on: December 29, 2011, 02:26:15 PM »

I was given an old Zenith Transoceanic as a young teen. It had a handle and a lid that formed a case when secured. Slightly mysterious and very cool! I loved the glow of the tubes. My imagination ran wild when listening.
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K3ANG

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #49 on: December 29, 2011, 05:02:50 PM »

Allied Span Master from 1959.  My dad built it when I was 7 years old.  Originally in the kitchen, it 'moved' to my bed room.  I cut my SW teeth on that thing.  Not the greatest, but it opened another world to me.
« Last Edit: December 29, 2011, 06:48:05 PM by K3ANG »
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WD4CHP

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #50 on: January 01, 2012, 03:23:04 PM »

Knight Kit Ocean Hopper from the 50's.

I still have it.
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N0FPE

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #51 on: January 02, 2012, 11:51:30 AM »

I had 2   Hammerlund HQ-110 and a realistic DX-100    those were the good old days
« Last Edit: January 02, 2012, 11:54:07 AM by N0FPE »
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W8GP

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #52 on: January 08, 2012, 08:17:41 AM »

Knight Ocean Hopper,1968, the best worst receiver I ever owned!
                     73, Greg
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K5TVC

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #53 on: January 13, 2012, 10:56:40 AM »

Knight Kit Space Spanner
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N9DG

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #54 on: January 14, 2012, 06:52:51 AM »

Realistic DX-160. I'm surprised that there aren't more who started with one of these. A dog of a performer by just about any measure, but it was all that I could afford back in the late 70's. I even was planing on using it with a homebrew QRP TX. That never happened, got the Atlas RX-110 TX-110L a couple years later instead. The RX-110 was a much better RX all around.

Today a Ten Tec RX-320 or a Softrock kit with a PC would run circles around the DX-160, and cost less in inflation adjusted $'s to boot.
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WB9YCJ

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #55 on: January 15, 2012, 10:10:13 PM »

Heathkit GR-81 regen that I eventually used as my first Ham receiver with my newly acquired Eico 720 Tx.  Age 16 - little to no money but amazing how one can get money when they really want something !  Later moved up to a Heathkit HR-10 reciever.
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KQ6Q

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #56 on: January 19, 2012, 12:57:45 PM »

Knight Ocean Hopper, built in 1956 ! next was a BC-455, then an HRO Sr.
First heard hams on 40m AM on my parents living room Bendix Radio-Phono console with 12" dynamic speaker, push-pull 6V6 audio, and loctal tubes in the FM part of the receiver!
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KG4YMC

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #57 on: January 21, 2012, 08:27:54 PM »

Mine was an Eico 711 space ranger communications reciver. They had cool names back then. Remember making several wiring errors, was a kid way back then . I think I had two of the bands switched on the wafer switch.  My dad taught electronics and had a guy that I guess was electronics geek in his night class, He had aligned the radio with wwv. and other radios had it dead on . Remember ssb, even heard  barry goldwater on onetime. pirate station favorite was catching the top ten on wnyc. new york radio . catching some ssb of aircraft, even some short tranmission miltary stuff, seem to come in at odd places between  broadcast bands. numbers  stations . I remember as a kid I knew all the foreign captials . propaganda of mao   on radio china. religious pirate staation s   on 40meters. One guy would blow a shofar, sounds pretty legit , then start in on replaceing the liberty  statue with the anti christ, statue . Used to be a guy on the old marine band that would give weather reports to ships at sea . way before weathe channel . I sold it regret., got dx440 . still have, but use mostly for fm now .memories  kg4ymc terry .
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KB8GRO

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #58 on: January 22, 2012, 08:57:57 PM »

Old Zenith Table Radio with shortwave, made in 1936, I got the info from Zenith. 

Grundig Satellit 750
Drake SW1
Drake SSR-1
Realistic DX160
Radio Shack DX 398
Realistic SW100
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KR4BD

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RE: What was your first shortwave radio?
« Reply #59 on: January 27, 2012, 09:45:27 AM »

My first SW radio was a Knight-Kit Star Roamer.  I saved my lawn mowing money and bought the kit in 1964 for the princely sum of $39.95 plus postage!  It was the first kit I ever built.  I was 16 years old at the time and had little experience with a soldering iron, but the thing lit up and worked the first time I plugged it in!  Used it for many years until I got my ham license in 1975 and then became exposed to a whole new level of radios. 

Radio, in general, has been a great ride for me!  Lots of fantastic memories.
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