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Reviews For: Worldstar MG-6000 Multi-band Receiver

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Worldstar MG-6000 Multi-band Receiver
Reviews: 3MSRP:
Description:
Multi-band AM/FM/SW/TV/VHF Portable Receiver
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0033.3
KJ4FVV Rating: 2015-12-24
Good for what it is Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Thrift shop purchase for $15. Some battery corrosion, otherwise in working order. Has public address and included microphone and stand, both of which were still in plastic bags. There is a place in the back for the microphone storage.

First of all, much better than the drifting analog units made today. Sensitivity is ok. Selectivity is something else. Like watching my dad tune his car radio in the late 70s/early 80s. You need a steady hand and slow movements. The fine tuning dial is helpful and a necessity. No drift during 3 hour stretches of use.

I had to hit the volume with contact cleaner. Works well now. That was the only defect I found.

Front panel has antenna, input (for microphone on PA) and earphone jack. All are 1/8" headphone style jacks. The earphone is one side only. For you youngsters, this was common in equipment years ago.

Overall, this would make a good emergency radio. TV can't be used because it's gone digital but weather band is useful. Public service band covers air band then 145-175 MHz. I have tuned the local weather station and a few 2 meter repeaters in the area. It also covers 11 meter Class D Citizens Band.

This radio is not a C Crane radio or an Icom communications receiver but for $15 it was money well spent. Performance is acceptable. I saw no ICs on the board, just transistors that are easily replaced should they fail.
WB6FBF Rating: 2012-11-24
FB portables Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have experience with a number of these sets - the latest in production from the 2000s sold by Emerson and Radioshack. They all have the same basic circuit and layout being made by the Hong Kong Wordstar Radio producer. The selectivity on the AM mode is better thn some other period sets due to the use od a Ceramic Filter in the IF channel. Lacking a BFO & suitable Detector: Code or SSB reception is not practical.
BODEN Rating: 2007-04-14
Good Emergency Radio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The Worldstar MG-6000 is a large analog multi-band receiver of a type popular during the late 1970s. Produced in Hong Kong, and long out of production, many can still be found inexpensively secondhand these days.

The MG-6000 has 2 shortwave bands(4-12 mhz), AM (MW), FM, two TV bands for the old channels 2-13, plus a CB and a VHF band for Air/Police/Weather transmissions.

Minuses: Fitted with two whip antennas, the MG-6000 is quite old-school: single-coversion, no filters and only a squelch control, making for images on the SW bands with some hissing and the occasional heterodyne. The built-in speaker is tiny and partially blocked by the faceplate, making an external speaker a great addition, fortunately, the earphone jack will accept a 3.5mm plug for the latter. Worldstar must have recognized the problem, as the later MG-6100 has a much larger speaker.

On the plus side, the MG-6000 is surprisingly rugged and reliable for such an old 'off-brand' set; it is AC/DC and will run forever on a set of 6 'D' batteries, making it a good choice as an emergency receiver in case of natural disaster or power outages. VHF/AM/FM performance seems quite good, and the TV band recently came in handy to plan a morning commute after heavy rains flooded many local streets and caused a power outage in my neighborhood. A port is provided for a 3.5mm external antenna connection and is recommended on SW, as reception is greatly improved.

As a general coverage SW receiver, the MG-6000 clearly can't cut it by the standards of today's portable digital SW receivers. Viewed as a general purpose or backup all-band radio, however, the set performs well enough, and is much more strongly constructed than many of today's cheaply built emergency or 'survival' receivers.