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Reviews For: Radio Shack DX-160

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Radio Shack DX-160
Reviews: 48MSRP: $160 (ca 1975)
Description:
General coverage receiver, solid state, analog readout, single-conversion, AM - SSB, coverage 150Khz to 30 Mhz.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00483.6
KA8NSG Rating: 2008-06-26
Good rig to start with Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I got mine back in 1976. Spent hous listening to it. You name it SW broadcasts, Ham radio, CB, and AM broadcasts. Always used mine a back receiver when I got my ham license in 1981. Its been a good receiver for me. Sure mine has its downs too, and the its showing its age and use. It needs to be benched and reworked and recalibrated and such. Still have mine today and still use it much. Its not perfect no, but neither is my Heathkit HW 16! Someday I will get mine refurbished I hope and hope to upgrade with a more capable receiver, but I wont part with mine as I have too many memories with it. Ron, KA8NSG
SPIDER89119 Rating: 2008-06-25
a pretty piece of junk Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this new when I was a kid. I remember being so excited to get it. I've had it for all these years, only occasionally pulling it out of the closet only to be reminded of what a dog it is. The only semi-positive thing I can say about it is that it was so-so for DXing the AM broadcast band. That's if I can remember correctly, since that band stopped working a week after I bought it! The radio got nothing on LW, and very little on SW. As far as Ham reception goes, what little I got was usually impossible to make out using the terrible SSB on this unit. Oh yeah, I could also listen to CBers, but they were nowhere near where they were supposed to be on the dial. I now have a Sony 7600GR, and that little portable is light years ahead of the DX-160 in performance! Next I am going to get rid of my DX-160 and get a Palstar R30cc.
N4OI Rating: 2008-04-09
Revered Place In Attic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Wow! I just ran across my old DX-160 on its shelf in the attic today. I bought it with my very first paycheck from my very first full-time job back in 1970! Although my Drake R8 will make sure the DX-160 stays in the attic, I will never part with it -- too many great memories of listening to Cold War broadcasts, numbers stations, ship-to-shore phone calls -- and, of course -- hams. I have since become a ham -- directly as a result of my days with the DX-160. Great times! 73 de Ken - N4OI
K6JPA Rating: 2008-01-27
You Never Forget Your First... Time Owned: more than 12 months.
You're either going to love it or hate it.
Personally, I was 13 years old when it hit the shelves at my local Radio Shack, and this was the receiver that introduced me to the hobby. I neighbor had one, and we often used it together. Somehow, my neighbor came across a spool of telephone wire, and he must have had enough strung around his rear yard in various forms of antennas to reach across town!
I BEGGED for one each year from "Santa". I must have had 20 Radio Shack catalogs strategically placed around the house trying to spark interest with my parents. Unfortunately, "Santa" never came through for me on this request.
I ran across a very nice one with speaker a few years ago, and purchased it for nostalgic reasons. I know it drifts, and dial accuracy is very marginal, but it doesn't matter one bit to me. It will always hold a prestigious position in my shack.
VK5JNL Rating: 2008-01-12
One Fantastic Radio Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Our friend who wrote the last review must have had a really bad experience with his 160. The one I have has - to be sure - been put on the bench and "fettled". After all, it is now well over 30 years old. However, after tweaking, it is streets ahead of an ICF-6800 I have, it is stable, it is spot on the dial, and it has really nice audio. I use an OCF Windom to drive it and I have no complaints at all. If you see one on EBay or elsewhere, buy it. You won't be disappointed. Mine is a keeper.
KA2SHU Rating: 2007-10-04
A Good Looking Period Piece Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I just purchased a real clean example of this radio with matching speaker. I have thouroughly tested this radio with respect to its age and the state of the radionic art when it was produced.

The Good: A Good looking set with a colorful dial and lots of controls and switches. It has a nice looking s-meter and has decent construction. The radio has very low power consumption and would run a long time on a 12 volt battery supply. The dial is very well lit as well as the s-meter. The radio is quite sensitive on MW. It's large enough to put lots of stuff on top of it.

The Bad: The calibration of the bandspread dial in conjunction with the main slide rule is a sorry example of Blind Mans Bluff. Knowing where you are requires a new setting for the band spread dial. The radio's stability is very poor. It takes at least 25 minutes for this radio to really settle down. The sensitivity drops off sharply above 20 MHz. The image rejection is very poor. The AVC switch produced no decernable differences in reception.

The Ugly: Without a doubt, this radio has the most dreadful audio I have ever heard. AM sounds as if it's being piped through a flint whistle. I have tried many quality outboard speakers but there is no relief. I have tried several modifications on the audio output circuit with little success. It's really tough to listen to for any length of time.
NB7I Rating: 2007-08-29
Drifter Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I had one when I was a kid, and it almost ruined my interest in shortwave. I had to keep one hand on the bandspread to follow the drift. I must have had a lemon.....
N6KYS Rating: 2007-08-28
A nightmare in the hamshack Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This receiver is only good for the most casual applications.....eg. in a cottage at the lake hooked up to a long wire strung up in a tree...that's it (meanwhile, pray that it gets stolen while you're away). It will entertain, but what a mess to use in any serious application, especially in the hamshack. Very poor dial calibration....IF alignments were worse than poor in these radios. Sensitivity was sporadic, depending on the band, and drifting was pathetic. Only buy one of these if it costs maybe $20 and you want to elmer a kid, for example. Otherwise, save yourself the grief and get something better.
KU2US Rating: 2007-08-17
I LOVE IT Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I gave this little blast from the past a "5", for one reason. Its ability to pull out those weak stations. I have owned over 20 different recievers in my lifetime, but very few can match the sensitivity. Drift? let it warm up for 5 minutes, it goes away. For AM BCB Dx'ing it is super. Yes, frequency location may be a problem, but hunting for a station or being "suprised" is fun. Its built like a rock, sensitive, great and usefull antenna trim, good BFO & AVC. For the $$ these beauties are selling for on Ebay, get one. The DX-160 brings back the FUN in SWL/BCB Dxing. My antenna is a 102' G5RV Ham dipole. I also use an external tuner to help. I have had this radio for over 20 years now with no problems. It seems that the less than stellar reviews are comming from those who are radio afficiendos-OK, its not a Grundig or an Icom, but in many respects it outperforms the lot of them. I know, I have owned many of them. For a single conversion this radio's front end is HOT. I have a 50KW AM station 20 miles from me (WHAM-clear channel), No problem with the DX-160. Over-all, a great working, great looking and enjoyable radio that will let you snag some rare ones-with a little patience. Ken-KU2US
W6PMR Rating: 2007-06-05
OK $30:00 radio! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I can only suppose that the "great" and "good" reviews are based on a lack of knowledge about receivers.
I can only repeat what some of the other reviewers have to say. Numb sensitivity above 12-15mhz. Awful tuning backlash and dial calibration is just a wishful thought. For Ham use other than listining to strong stations that are somewhat far apart, (Poor selectivity rears it's single conversion head) it is useless on CW,
drifts a bunch on SSB and the audio amp is a case study in being under powered.
That being said it's an OK BC band garage radio, looks good on a display shelf and if you buy it for $30:00 or less you don't feel that bad about owning this radio. I have one up on the shelf and that, dear fellow radio people,is where it shines, as an object to look at and talk about.....certainly not to use.