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Reviews For: Panasonic RF-4900 Communications

Category: Receivers: General Coverage

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Review Summary For : Panasonic RF-4900 Communications
Reviews: 1MSRP: Approximately $350.00
Description:
10 band communication receiver.
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0014
KA8DLL Rating: 2009-06-04
Desktop shortwave receiver Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
This is the second RF-4900 that I have owned. The first one I sold and I felt it was a big mistake so I bought another one. They sell on e-bay from about $100.00 to about $250.00. I would give it about $150.00 value compared to other shortwave radios that would be it's competition.
This is indeed a tabletop radio. It is about the same size as my Hallicrafters SX-130. The Panasonic was made in the early 80's and the Hallicrafters the mid 60's. I have to agree with an earlier review that this is a big empty box. There are ventilation slots on the top but after hours of operation no heat can be detected from them.
The first thing Panasonic did was make the radio look nice. Pretty much all black surface with just a hint of chrome. The next feature that I found is it has chrome handles on the front for carrying. A very nice feature is the large tuning dial connected to a two speed transmission for tuning the radio. This radio will run on D cells or can be plugged into the wall. There is a switch for turning off the lights to conserve power. One of the best features is the high quality audio from the large front speaker. The sound approaches the Hallicrafters tube sound. All the knobs feel solid and of high quality. My only complaint here would be the antenna trimmer control doesn't seem like it does much.
The actual performance of this radio is pretty good. It has a very stable BFO and the sensitivity is comparable to my Hallicrafters or a Realistic DX-440. The selectivity in the narrow position is slightly less thin than my Hallilcrafters SX-130, which has a crystal filter with a phasing control.
To sum this radio up, this is a very nice radio in the $150.00 range which has stood the test of time and is a pleasure to use.