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Reviews For: Davco DR-30

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Davco DR-30
Reviews: 3MSRP: 389.50
Description:
The Davco DR-30 miniature receiver, manufactured from 1965-66, is prized by
collectors for its rarity, breakthrough engineering, and mil-spec construction.
Carrying a price tag of $390, fewer than 600 of these early solid-state radios
were made by the now-defunct Florida company.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0035
W4OP Rating: 2009-07-18
As good as it gets Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I too love the DR-30. The only change I made to mine was to replace the Stettner-trush front panel piston cap with a Johannson piston cap- it is an easy swap and the Stettner piston no longer protrudes from the front panel.
Even on 6M this gem is great. Calibration- excellent.
BTW Jim Loveless was the original designer and named his company DAVCO after his alma mater- Davidson College. Jim was doing extensive travelling post college and required a small portable receiver- thus the Davco. His Dad did the mechanical design which is also way ahead of its time. Sadly, the matching DT-20 TX never made it to market.
K7TA Rating: 2009-07-18
Little Beauty Time Owned: more than 12 months.
What a sweet little receiver - amazed everyone in 1966 ... it's still impressive going on 45 years later.

The Davco DR30 was the first transistorized ham receiver - built solidly on 9 circuit boards, each fitting into a thick aluminum extrusion with teflon wire interconnections. The spring-loaded dial results in deliciously smooth tuning system with zero backlash and no vfo drift.

The DR30 marked the watershed between the big ol' vacuum tube rigs and age of transistorized equipment. Many of its features came from the better quality receivers of its day (Collins mechanical filter, noise blanker, high-Q preselector, and a sensitive front end) Other features came straight from the (then) future of ham radio: A FET front end, low voltage operation (less than 100 mils at 12 volts!), and mil-spec construction.

Today, it's a joy to operate the Davco DR30 - that mechanical filter works great for tuning in SSB; the sharp crystal filter coupled with a tight notch filter makes for nice CW. And it's just the ticket for field day 12 volt operation.
K6DPZ Rating: 2007-12-25
Very interesting radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
If you are luckey enough to have one it is a real keeper have had one for many years and my company services them .The only regrett is they did not come out with a matching transmitter.