Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who discovered this excellent condition Panasonic RF-8000 which recently sold on eBay for $5,100 US:
Dan believes this is possibly a record price for this receiver. I would tend to agree. It does look like a beautiful receiver.
Any SWLing Post readers own a Panasonif RF-8000? What do you think of it?
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Moshe, who writes:
Hi Thomas!
You must see this restoration job from Mr. Carlson’s lab:
Thank you for sharing this video, Moshe! I truly enjoy watching Paul’s videos–no doubt, any radio turned over to him is in expert hands. I love how he explains, in such detail, each action he takes to restore and repair these vintage radios.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Fillippi (N2HUN), who writes:
ShopGoodWill has an Icom R75 going off auction tomorrow:
http://www.shopgoodwill.com/auctions/ICOM-Communications-Receiver-34886788.html
Thanks for the tip, Mario!
As with most (if not all) ShopGoodwill.com auctions, this IC-R75 come with no warranty, is untested and sold “as-is.” I suppose you could receive it only to find that it doesn’t function–that is the risk with Goodwill over, say, eBay.
I’ve purchased from ShopGoodwill before knowing this and was very pleased my item worked.
Still, it’s most encouraging that the receiver comes complete with box, manual and power supply. Those are all good signs. The current price is $378.78 at time of posting. Someone may get a good deal for a spare receiver.
While looking at the IC-R75 listing, the ShopGoodwill screen also pointed out a JRC NRD-525 with an auction end date of November 29.
Looks to be in good shape, but again, it’s being sold as-is in untested condition:
http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewitem.asp?itemid=34929604
Again, thanks for the tip, Mario!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Robert Gulley, who shares this link to an eBay auction for a Zenith Transoceanic D7000Y in an unopened box!
Let’s be clear here: this is no “Black Friday” deal. The seller has this gem listed at $5,800 plus shipping! I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen a Transoceanic listed at this price level.
Of course, as one friend always reminds me: “eBay is there to show you things you’d rarely stumble upon in daily life–you just need a chunk of change to snag it!”
The seller is listing this as-is since he isn’t going to open the box to test the unit. He does claim that if it arrives DOA, he’ll have is repaired free of charge (buyer pays shipping).
Still: $5,800 is hefty sum–several thousand over my threshold! No doubt, a Transoceanic collector will snag this eventually.
(Photo: Mount Evelyn DX Report)
SWLing Post reader, Lindsay (VK3CML), recently contacted me with the following question about his Dansk RX-4000 receiver:
I’m in need of a set of EPROMs, for my Dansk RX- 4000. It uses three EPROMs to program the micro; one of these has developed a fault, which shuts the radio down. Could be interested in another radio if in working order. The EPROMs are 2732/64/128.
I have tried to contact Dansk, and I am still waiting a reply.
Maybe you or someone in your group could help in this matter? Of course, I’m quite prepared to pay all costs.
Thank you Lindsay. VK3CML
Post readers: If you can help Lindsay locate a set of EMPROMs or another RX-4000, please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Black, who reminds us why the Squires Sanders SS-1R receiver (Dan recently spotted on eBay) was so innovative at the time:
It’s legendary because it leaped forward in receiver design, at least at the amateur level, and there was the article in QST in 1963 by Squires about the design. So lots of people knew about the design, even if they weren’t owners.
There’s no RF amplifier, the antenna feeds the mixer trough a tuned circuit. There’s a q-multiplier on that tuned circuit, to improve selectivity (q-multipliers were mostly seen in 455KHz IFs). The mixer was a 7360 beam deflection tube, hard to overload, and a balanced mixer, which was likely a first in ham receivers. After, everyone was using 7360s for receiver mixers, at least until good solid state balanced mixers came along.
I keep forgetting that it is still a dual conversion receiver (except for one band), though presumably to avoid other issues while allowing for a fixed 500KHz tuning range.
But the second IF is at 1 or 2 MHz, higher than the usual 455KHz, a sign of the future, though there were already some SSB transceivers with IFs in the HF range.
It does seem a relatively simple design now, but wasn’t fifty years ago.
The ham band version was the “big seller”, the shortwave version maybe offered because they could. It’s not clear if the front end needed changes to cover the SW broadcast bands. But it would have been an expensive SW receiver, and needing another crystal for each 500KHz tuning segment, a new concept at the time (though a few years later Drake had their SW receivers like that). But that was the trade-off, most receivers did have a 2:1 tuning range, while some were like the R390 , very complicated mechanically and crystals for every band. A subset of 3 to 30MHz meant fewer crystals and a simpler bandswitch but you spent a lot of money for a receiver that wasn’t “general coverage”.
Michael
Thank you, Michael, for the insight! At last glance, the bidding was only at $227.50. I suspect it will go much higher, but perhaps this will end up being a deal for someone.
Lately, fires have been on my mind. No doubt, this is because there are so many wildfires in the greater southern Appalachian region right now, which is in the midst of a record drought. Brush fires start up almost daily, and no rain is in sight. In the mountains, the air is hazy with smoke, and it’s become a struggle for fire departments to contain these blazes, even with help from outside the region.
Living, as we do, in a forest, we’ve always had to think through contingency plans if a forest fire should threaten our home: with only a two hour (or so) warning, what items would we grab and load into our truck?
Of course, we’d likely focus on those things that are irreplaceable and thus essentially invaluable: our few family heirlooms, boxes of photos, documents––you know, stuff you can’t buy.
But what about radios? I hope I’ll never be forced to choose the one thing I should save from my shack, because there are several to which I’m rather sentimentally attached…There’s my Zenith Transoceanic, for example–the first proper shortwave radio I ever owned. There are also a number of vintage radios as well as some SDRs which have become my staple receivers.
In the end, though, there’s no question which radio I’d grab. It would have to be my Scott Marine Radio Model SLR-M, affectionately nicknamed “Scottie.”. True, she’s not even close to portable at a solid 90 pounds, but I’d strap her to the roof of my vehicle, if I had to.
Why? Well, it’s the most pristine vintage radio I own, and I use it daily. If it’s not tuned to Radio Australia in the morning, it’s tuned to my AMT3000 AM transmitter on 1570 kHz drawing in any of a number of stations I relay from my WiFi radio.
Scottie simply isn’t replaceable. Even though my Elecraft KX3 probably costs more in terms of monetary value, I could eventually scrape together the money to buy another KX3. But I couldn’t buy Scottie again. Not this one.
So, there you go: after we’ve saved those things important to our family, I’d grab a 1945 receiver and haul it to safety.
Post readers: Now I’m curious–if your home was threatened by fire or other disaster, what radio would you save? Please comment!