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Reviews For: Radio Shack DX-394

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Radio Shack DX-394
Reviews: 40MSRP: 399.95
Description:
General Coverage Communications Receiver Rating (1-5): H (1) <br> Made In: China 1995-1998 Voltages: 120 VAC 12 VDC <br> Coverage: 150-30000 kHz Readout: Digital LCD 0.1 <br> Modes: AM/LSB/USB/CW Selectivity: 7.2/6/5.7 kHz <br> Circuit: Double Conversion Physical: 9.125x3.5x7.8" 5 Lbs. <br> Features: ¼" Head. Jack, S-Meter, VRIT Tuning, Dial Lamp, Keypad, NB, Fine Tuning, Clock, 5-Event Timer, Scan, Sweep, Standby, Lock, Record Jack, Sleep Timer, Four Tuning Steps. <br>
Product is in production
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# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00403.8
N4UE Rating: 2010-08-02
"toy" radio that kinda works Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have thought long and hard about how to rate this radio. I have been a frequent contributor here and my radio collection grows almost daily.
My delimna, is that the radio is 'kinda good', 'kinda bad'. This is the first radio I have ever had these kind of mixed feelings about.... ha ha
The previous posters hit all the nails on the head about this radio.
It's another in the long line of "GRE" radios made for RS. Mine is the "B" model and made in China.
I guess if there were some GOOD aftermarket filters available for it, it might be a much better radio.
(I have the Service Manual and downloaded ALL the mods for this radio from 'mods.dk', but have not attempted any yet).

Just a brief recap of MY likes and dislikes:

Likes:
- quite sensitive when using an outside antenna
- very stable
- sounds good on SSB, fine tuning is great
- easy frequency entry
- small

Dislikes:
- broad as the proverbial barn door. I have it and several other receivers connected to a good coax switch. The '394 is the only radio that hears multiple signals on the WWV frequencies. Not loud, but they are there.
- small (see above!) I guess I just like 'big' radios. My DX-302 is the same size as my Icom 761. Still, to be fair, this would make a great 'bedside' radio.
- mine might need alignment, 'cause it's a deaf as a stump with the internal whip.

The seller described it as "mint" etc. It wasn't too bad, but the whip antenna and the flip-down feet were missing. I made a whip and feet.

However, I have to wonder....don't Americans wash their hands anymore?
This in NOT the fault of the radio of course, but just a commentary on the usual condition of the radios I purchase (and I buy a lot!). I would be ashamed to sell a radio with funky knobs and I won't use one until I clean them.
Yeah, take all of 3 minutes...... NO, I am NOT a 'neat freak'!
Off the soapbox, sorry for the rant.

ron
N4UE
DXTUNER Rating: 2010-05-17
Good at some things Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
If you can forgive the chunky PLL tuning and the horrible audio quality, then you've got a fairly useful little tabletop DX machine here. The DX-394 is small, light & plastic - the anti-thesis of the Kenwood R-1000 - but it actually receives very well. I use it for snagging LW broadcasters abroad, as well as beacons stateside, things my other general coverage receivers don't hear quite as good.

It just doesn't have that real 'radio feel', however. But for the $100 - $200 it sells for on Ebay, the DX-394 is a darn good buy. For what it can do.
WA7UHR Rating: 2009-10-02
A good receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Have had it only a short while. Paid a whole dollar for it at a yard sale. After some fluff and buff it fired right up. The bands were poppin' with signals. Little rig has lot of options and is not that bad a preformer. For the money (ha) it's by far the best receiver that I own. It went on the night stand next to the bed for some relaxing late evening listening.
KITKAT1963 Rating: 2009-02-13
Great budget radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Mine is the "Rev B" model, I got it second-hand of Ebay for less than £50. Yes, ok, the tuning is clunky, but what do you expect for an entry level HF receiver? Mine is hooked up to a Global AT-1000 ATU, and a 30ft longwire in the garden. On a good night I can pull in signals from the USA quite well, and also the Trans-Atlantic HF transmissions from Gander and Shanwick. It also picks up things like Radio China well too. One of it's best features is the direct entry of frequencies, which is great for following the aircraft from one freq to another. It does just as good a job as my rather tired FRG-7700, but the audio isn't as good. Great little rig for not many bucks!
N8EKT Rating: 2008-06-19
Radio Shack's BEST Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is by far the best receiver Radio Shack ever sold.
I coupled mine with the Radio Shack DSP unit.
I could pick out ANY signal with ease.
At $249.00 Retail, this was a steal!
SWLABN Rating: 2007-12-03
Pretty nice Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
When I was a boy starting in radio I really loved the look of this receiver. It just looked cool high tech, nice screen and buttons and it must have great performace. Well, that is what I thought then but now I just respect the receiver. It looks good in the shack - it's sturdy and has good AM audio. Compared to my late Eton E1, the USB performance leaves a fair bit to be desired. Filters could do with some tweaking.

But I will continue to use it with my 50ft longwire and wait for some decent propagation!
K2VI Rating: 2007-11-25
very nice for the price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I had one i sold about 9 months ago,I sold it because it was very bad.Well i stumbled across one at one of my customers home and tuned around.I was shocked at how well it sounded and recieved.I come to the conclusion the one i owned was defective or someone went into it with the golden screwdriver.Anyway this one was very stable and for the price they are going for(150.00)it's a super deal.Yes the selectivity is a bit wide i noticed but for a bedside radio it rocks,The broadcast band on this reciever is great,very quiet noise floor and i heard WRVA in richmond from here in virginia beach and it was around 1PM daytime.So in a nutshell for 150.00 to 175.00 for a mint one in the box you cant go wrong.

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Earlier 0-star review posted by K2VI on 2007-05-28

I purchased this one on qth.com for 120.00 thinking im getting a good deal,well this radio has the selectivity of a 10.00 portable am radio.im hearing all kind of noise,images and interference but the target signal is buried under all this garbage.I bought a kenwood r-600 and this is a fine working reciever and i paid 135.00.I cant believe some people would acually pay 200.00 for a plastic piece of junk, the kiwa mods wont help much.get a kenwood,yaesu,icom reciever or a nice drake sw-8.
VE3EFJ Rating: 2007-10-07
Feature rich and execution poor Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I'll cut to the chase.

The DX-394 had the potential to be a good receiver. Instead, for the want of some better IF filters and a little more attention in design, the result is something that excels in mediocrity and disappointment.

Some folks have invested great amounts of time in this radio by switching the SSB filter with the AM filter, installing a better SSB filter, zener regulating the BFO, fixing the audio amp noise and..... In the end, its all very satisfying but the result approximates what you should of got in the first place had GRE even bothered to make something worthwhile.

Out of the box it has many attractive features but it suffers from hissy audio, no selectivity to speak of and a horrid AGC. While these items can be addressed with considerable effort, the result is around a Kenwood R-1000, at best. Save yourself some time and aggravation. Save up some more pennies and buy the Kenwood.

Its a shame, for there is so much potential there. Its sensitive, easy to use and has many features found only in much more expensive SW Receivers. Things like clock, timer, band change and memories. Then the owner finds out that this radio is at least twice as wide as an FRG-7 with an inferior AGC. The AGC can be fixed too.

If "Time is Money", no one is rich enough to turn this radio around. If you want a project radio and enjoy working with SMD then THIS is the radio for you.

I rate this radio a 1. It truly does "need help". After it gets that help an owner is left with an extreme sense of pride in his accomplishment, but the result is still a dabblers SW receiver. The result of all this work is nothing more than what should of been produced in the first place for want of $5.00 more in parts. One isn't making the radio "better", one is making it USABLE. When new, the radio did NOT justify its store price. A DX-398 will blow this thing away.

If you know what a DX-394 is, then go ahead with your purchase.

If, however, you are looking for a SW Receiver, stay far, far away. It is feature rich and execution poor.

You've been warned.
N3JNX Rating: 2007-10-07
Very Poor Receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased one used on E-Bay and it appeared in very nice shape. I then connected it to a 75 Ft long wire antenna. Its the worst receiver I've ever had. The tuning chugs, poor selectivity and noise convinced me to get rid of it. Yes, there are modifications for this radio but I felt it was not worth the effort even though I could have done them myself. If you need a good receiver, pay a bit extra and get a Yaesu, Kenwood or Icom rig.
W4WGA Rating: 2007-08-17
Good for the price Time Owned: more than 12 months.
What do you expect from RS??? For the price it is a darn good radio. I recorded clean radio faxes from the NO NOAA radio from just south of Bermuda using nothing but a 23' wire hung from the spreaders. Beat the heck out of several supposedly high end portables onboard at the time. The only thing that beat it was an AR8600.