Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN) who shares a link to this National Panasonic RF-2200 on ShopGoodwill.
The bid is currently $78 and ends this evening. You must be registered with ShopGoodwill and have a PayPal account to place a bid.
Note that I’ve had some very good luck in the past with ShopGoodwill, but buying from them is more akin to buying from a flea market than, say, eBay.
Almost always items are sold as-is, no returns, have mediocre low resolution product photos, and are not properly tested. In the case of this RF-2200, it appears the Goodwill employee turned on the radio and tuned the FM band which worked fine.
If you’re willing to take the risk, though, you can often snag great deals on ShopGoodwill.
Dear Sirs,
Could you please help get a perfect Panasonic RF-2200/DR22 radio in an excellent functional and cosmetic condition?
Please write to my E-mail address: [email protected]
Best regards.
Valery Volodin
Russia
I was able to properly lubricate the BFO switch and it is working wonderfully!
I sometimes wish it had just one more band to cover the 1650 to 3900 kHz gap…
It arrived today. Very dirty, but everything seems to work except for the fact that the sound is intermittent when I tried the switches. So I am assuming I’m going to have to take it apart and use some De-Oxit on it.
Excellent! Those switches and pots are very prone to oxidization. De-Oxit to the rescue! Sounds like you got a good one!
Thomas
I sort of expected that based on all of the things I’ve read online, but I guess I have to admit I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to tear this apart. I’m going to look for the restoration guide on line to see where I need to spray the deoxit.
This set cleaned up very nicely. Mainly surface grime.
Sitting here enjoying a cup of coffee and listening to WRMI at my kitchen table this morning. What a fun and enjoyable set.
Dan, A bit disappointing that it’s “very dirty.”
The intermittent switches and scratchy controls are expected. Still, a good cleaning and De-Oxit is probably all that’s needed. Do a search for ‘Panasonic RF-2200 Restoration’ and you’ll find tips and pictures.
If you really want to get in to it, the service manual is available online too.
Enjoy! -Curt
Thanks Curt. It was all surface dust. Cleaned up nicely and the battery compartment is clean. I took the knobs off and soaked them and they came back nicely as well. The BFO switch seems to make the set go quiet so I have to rock the switches to bring it back. I will look for the restoration guide on line.
So I gave it a workout last night and holy crap this is sensitive on a.m. From my location here in Iowa I can’t get WSM on any of my other a.m. radios but this one pulled it in like it was next door. So I did a Clear Channel hunt and logged quite a few. The gyro antenna is awesome.
And the audio is the richest since I owned my old Nordmende Globetrotter in the 80s
On shortwave I forgot how much fun it is to tune an analog receiver. For the past 20 years all I have had was digital. Such a low noise floor, and for a moment I felt like I was 12 years old again rediscovering the wonders of shortwave.
Just wow.
Dan, I like to compare using the RF-2200 versus, say, the Tecsun PL-880 as sort of like driving an old Range Rover or Jeep type vehicle with manual everything versus a modern compact ‘microprocessor on wheels.’
The newer one has lots of convenient digital features, but the old workhorse will get you to more places, and is just a lot of fun to drive.
And yes, it’s amazing for DXing AM broadcast band stations. The only radio I own that even comes close is a GE Superadio II. -Curt
Well stated!
Congratulations Dan, hope you enjoy it. The price you paid isn’t out of the ordinary. You’ll love it, it’s a great AM DX radio and runs forever on batteries.
There’s also a Yahoo Group for the 2200 and DR22, it’s Euro cousin.
Thanks for the tip. I’m going to ask to join the Yahoo group today.
I had the winning bid on this one. It went a little higher than I was hoping, but still at $161 plus shipping, I think it was fair for the condition it was in – and I have been wanting one of these for quite some time. I have purchased from shopgoodwill before, and have had good luck, so when this one arrives, I will let you all know if it was a deal – or a dud!
Cheers
Dan, I paid about the same for one on eBay a couple of years ago. It was in similar (very good) cosmetic condition. I just had to dust it off and do some basic control cleaning when I received it, and it’s been flawless ever since. I haven’t had to do any maintenance since (except change the batteries once.) It’s performance is excellent, the dial calibration is even very accurate. I use it nearly every day. It’s just a fun radio to use! I hope you have similar results. The fact it “worked” on FM is a good sign. -Curt
I assume I have to do a little cleaning on it and possibly de-ox switches for good measure. But I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on it!