w2xq.com On The Table 1 of 17 This following material was written between 1994 and 2002. It appeared on my TRS Consultants' trsc.com web site (no longer in operation) until March 2002. Since then we have not actively sought out new receivers to review. Nevertheless the information may be of use or interest to those interested in older receivers. References to sources known to be no longer available are retained for context, and appear as strikethrough-formated text. This document was prepared in June 2012. The PDF format enables flexibility in presentation and we opted to add some additional comments, indicated by highlighted text. Thomas R. Sundstrom, W2XQ Contents Table Top Receivers..........................................................................................................................4 Hallicrafters S-38.........................................................................................................................4 Magnavox RCU-2........................................................................................................................4 Hammarlund HQ-150..................................................................................................................5 Hallicrafters 8R40........................................................................................................................5 ICOM IC-R71A...........................................................................................................................6 Kenwood R-5000.........................................................................................................................6 Japan Radio Company NRD-535D..............................................................................................6 Lowe HF-150...............................................................................................................................7 Drake R8B...................................................................................................................................7 Ten-Tec RX-320...........................................................................................................................8 WiNRADiO WR-1500e...............................................................................................................8 ICOM IC-R75..............................................................................................................................8 Grundig Satellit 800 Millennium.................................................................................................8 Ten-Tec RX-350...........................................................................................................................9 Desktop Photographs......................................................................................................................10 Portable Radios...............................................................................................................................12 SONY ICF-2010........................................................................................................................12 Panasonic RFB-65.....................................................................................................................12 SONY ICF-SW55......................................................................................................................12 SONY ICF-SW100....................................................................................................................13 SONY ICF-SW07......................................................................................................................13 Radio Shack DX-398.................................................................................................................13 Sangean ATS-909.......................................................................................................................13 FreePlay Global Shortwave.......................................................................................................13 Sangean ATS-505.......................................................................................................................14 Yaesu VR-500............................................................................................................................14 Yaesu VR-500............................................................................................................................14 SONY ICF-SW7600GR.............................................................................................................14 © 1994-2012 TRS Consultants. All Rights Reserved. w2xq.com On The Table 2 of 17 Transceivers....................................................................................................................................15 Yaesu FT-901DM.......................................................................................................................15 Japan Radio Company JST-135.................................................................................................15 Kenwood TS-940S.....................................................................................................................15 Japan Radio Company JST-245.................................................................................................15 VHF Transceivers...........................................................................................................................16 ICOM IC-27H............................................................................................................................16 Yaesu VX-5R.............................................................................................................................16 Vertex VX-150...........................................................................................................................16 Postscript 2012...............................................................................................................................17 Grundig etón E-100....................................................................................................................17 Radio Shack HTX-200...............................................................................................................17 Rsdio Shack PRO-2041.............................................................................................................17 Radio Shack PRO-106...............................................................................................................18 Yaesu FT-8800R.........................................................................................................................18 Yaesu VX-6R.............................................................................................................................18 A reminder......................................................................................................................................18 receivers and transceivers on the table... Since 1952 more than a few receivers and transceivers have crossed the threshold and wound up connected to antennas at our homes. Some of the receivers were around for less than a year for purposes of developing computer programs to control the receiver; others were here only for a few weeks while writing test reports. The opinions expressed below are mine, they are subjective and they do not necessarily agree with published receiver reviews or with comments of other users. © 1994-2012 TRS Consultants. All Rights Reserved. w2xq.com On The Table 3 of 17 Table Top Receivers • Drake SPR-4, SW8, R8 and R8A • Grundig Satellit 800 Millenium • Hallicrafters S-38, SX-28A, 8R40 and S-53A • Hammarlund HQ-129, HQ-140 and HQ-150 • ICOM R-71A and IC-R75 • Japan Radio Company NRD-525 and NRD-535D • Kenwood R-2000 and R-5000 • Lowe HF-150 • Magnavox RCU-2 (WWII vintage) • Radio Shack DX-150A and DX-394 • Ten-Tec RX-320 PC receiver and RX-350 DSP receiver • Watkins-Johnson HF-1000 (loaned to us for a short while) • WiNRADiO WR-1500e PC receiver • Yaesu FRG-100B Reflections. In 1952 our first shortwave receiver was a 9-year-old Hallicrafters S-38. The first of a very popular series, it had two half-moon dials – tuning and bandspread – and a variable BFO. No power supply suggests it would be wise to use an isolation transformer for safety. Radio Australia, Radio Netherlands, the BBC, the VOA and the Armed Forces Radio Service were frequent visitors. The Magnavox RCU-2 was quite different from the receivers of the day. A floor console made of polished Mahogany, the left side top opened to access a record player. The right half was a huge half-moon dial with 3 bands to tune from 540 kHz to 18 MHz in AM mode only. A pair of 6L6 tubes drove audio to two huge 15-inch electromagnetic speakers. When the volume was turned up it could be heard a mile away. For use aboard Navy ships in WWII, the radio was highly shielded to prevent enemy submarines from © 1994-2012 TRS Consultants. All Rights Reserved. w2xq.com On The Table 4 of 17 picking up the inherent oscillator signals. Ten years after the end of the war, it took more than six months of back-and-forth correspondence with Magnavox, the Navy and the Library of Congress to first get the manual declassified and then get a photocopy. The Hammarlund HQ-150 had a Barker & Williamson Model 370 SSB Receiving Adapter and a Heathkit SB-620 Panadapter attached to it. Of all the receivers, this is the probably the best I have ever owned for MW TA (trans-Atlantic)