Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who notes:
The amazing streak of rare radios, never before seen on Ebay or rarely seen there, continues, with the appearance of this Nems-Clarke 1510A receiver.
I attempted to find this radio in the Osterman guide to no avail — it’s not in there, unless I missed it. There are a few informational pages about Nems Clarke on the Internet (see below):
In response to our post about a Panasonic RF-9000 being offered on eBay for $20,000(!), SWLing Post reader, Luke, comments:
I actually just bought a RF-9000 from a Spanish Ebay seller. It might show up in the ‘completed auctions’, not sure. I made an offer of 2,000 Euros and he accepted. Of course I am like most of you who might have seen one in a magazine or book for over 20 years, but never dreamed of actually owning one.
My unit had a few imperfections like a couple of dings and the grille was not 100% with some slight discoloration but I cleaned it up nicely and got some Testors paint to fill in the dings. It came with the cover but with no documentation. Everything works perfectly and there are no dirty or inoperable switches or buttons. Even the lights all work which is a relief.
I can only really compare it to the Sony ICF-2010 and the Satellit 700, both of which I have owned at one time. I still have the Sony. The Panasonic is on a much different level as far as ease of use. And the tuning is super fast with absolutely no audio lag between channels if that is the right description. It is really smooth sailing all the way across the dial and you can go straight from FM into the LW band which is pretty cool.
Another nice feature is the band selection buttons actually have the corresponding frequencies also so there is no guesswork. The odd thing about the unit is that all of those cool buttons that you see pertain mainly to the clock and timer functions.
The shortwave side is fairly stripped down with just a 3-way bandwidth selector, a switch for a noise blanker, a RF gain knob, and a 4 position switch for USB, LSB, etc. That is pretty much it for tuning and knob twiddling and I would had preferred to have a few more knobs for antenna trim and other features to eek out faint signals. I guess I was expecting more I don’t know?
I personally find it to be the best radio I have ever used as far as audio and ease of use. I did some side by side tests against the ICF-2010 for sensitivity and it is about a wash. But for 1/10 the price the Sony wins all day long and you cant beat the sync detector! I find myself amazed that I would ever own a RF-9000 and consider it a great investment. I think this seller is dreaming if he thinks he can get that price for it though.
Thanks for sharing your review of the RF-9000! You certainly have a rare and classy receiver that actually performs–a keeper for sure. If I recall correctly, even the tuning knob feels perfectly weighted on the ‘9000.
Based on what these sell for, I don’t think you overpaid for your ‘9000–indeed, you got it at a bit of a discount.
In response to our post mentioning the Harris RF-505A, SWLing Post contributor, Bob LaRose (W6ACU), writes:
I know the RF-505A very well. It was introduced in about 1969 while I worked at Harris in Rochester. I started working there as a Co-Op student while at RIT and then after I got my BSEE I joined them full time, initially as a Field Engineer but quickly found my way into Marketing and eventually Sales.
Right after the first version came out, the RF-505, I took one home to my parent’s house for a weekend and did some SWLing with it. It was very neat in one respect – it tuned ISB (Independent Side Band) and in those days there were a number of utility stations using ISB (separate traffic on each sideband). To an SWL some of the most interesting of these were the VOA point-to-point links from the East and West Coast, each carrying two simultaneous program feeds for the overseas relay stations!
While overall a good receiver my personal results on the sensitivity of the original RF-505 were not very positive. On the bench with exactly a 50 ohm source it looked good but on a real world antenna it was pretty numb. Eventually, after a lot of internal arguments, they came out with the RF-505A that included a tunable active preselector as shown in the photos. Problem solved.
For a ham or SWL the RF-505 was a real pain in the butt to tune. You could dial in any exact frequency but the decade switches didn’t roll over (either mechanically or electrically) so you had to do a lot of knob twiddling to do any kind of band scanning. The detents on the switches connected to the knobs were pretty stiff so you could easily take some finger skin off tuning around!
If I remember correctly Harris built them for about a five year period and then replaced them with the RF-550, which was a monster of a receiver with all kinds of advanced features. It included a keyboard with electronic display.
Great memories!
Thanks so much for this RF-505A insight, Bob! I had a hunch that band-scanning wasn’t the RF-505A’s strong suit–it would be incredibly cumbersome to scan with so much “knob twiddling.”
It must have been pretty amazing to work for the legendary Harris corporation. Thanks for sharing!
Harris RF 505A
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes:
These days as shortwave continues on the decline, we’re seeing some great rarities, receivers that have never been seen before on the used market. One of these is [top of page], a Harris RF-505A.
Click here to view the RF 505-A on eBay.
Another rarity, is a Microtel PR-700B receiver, information about which
can be found on Page 355 of the Osterman master guide to receivers.
Microtel Model PR 700B
Click here to view the Microtel PR-700B on eBay.
Last but not least, and this has never been seen before — a Drake DSR-2, apparently unused in its original packaging, which sold in flash for about $1300:
The Drake DSR-2
Click here to view the Drake DSR-2 on eBay.
Thanks, Dan! I’m a little surprised you haven’t at least jumped on that Harris receiver! I would be very tempted if I had the shelf depth for a rack-mounted commercial receiver.
Commenting on our post regarding the Kurzwellen Empfänger Siemens receiver, SWLing Post reader “13dka” writes:
Some more info (mostly about the tuning procedure) [of the Kurzwellen Empfänger Siemens] here:
http://www.shortwaveradio.ch/radio-e/siemens-e311-e.htm
BTW this site is a comprehensive source on classic shortwave radios that enjoyed some popularity in central Europe.
Indeed! I have stumbled across ShortwaveRadio.ch many times before doing research and meant to mention it here on the SWLing Post. Thank you for the reminder!
What’s so impressive about this site is that it’s in both German and English.
If I ever make it to the excellent Friedrichshafen ham radio convention, I’ll have ShortwaveRadio.ch bookmarked on my smartphone to help me ID all of those amazing European boat anchors in the flea market!
Thanks again for the tip!
Once again, the intrepid Dan Robinson has discovered an eBay gem. Dan notes:
From eBay Germany comes this rarely seen and apparently in beautiful condition relic:
Wow–Dan–what a beautiful receiver! It has a dial blind like my BC-348-Q, but a dial design like my Hammarlund SP-600. The best of both worlds, in my opinion.
And the green indicator lamps? Classy!
I assume, by the design, that this is a Cold War era receiver? I’m afraid I’m not at all familiar with Siemens receivers of the era.
Post readers: If you can shed light on this particular Siemens receiver, please comment!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shared a link to this rack of classic cold war era receivers. The starting bid is $943.75 and there is no shipping cost as it’s local pickup only (no surprise there).
Here’s the description from eBay:
LOCAL PICK UP ONLY Paso Robles Ca. 93446. Good condition, rack of Communications and Amateur Radio receivers. Includes Hallicrafters R-46B loudspeaker, two each Hammarlund SP-600 JX-26 receivers with one frequency readout as shown above the top receiver, a National NC-300 receiver with calibrator accessory, and a Hallcrafters SX-101A receiver with calibrator accessory. The rack cabinet is included. All have normal wear for vintage electronics, worn with faded, chipped and rust spots. The SP-600 receivers (both) dial slips and may need repair. All units may need further repair, alignment, or refurbishing. Local pick up only, I can help loading into your vehicle. 70hi 22wide 20deep weights about 600 pounds
I think this would be a great deal if all of the equipment was in working order. I suspect this seller hasn’t tested anything and is, most likely, not a radio enthusiast. I bet the reason the SP-600 dials are spinning freely is because the tuning lock is engaged on each unit–possibly a good sign that the previous owner took care of the equipment. All of it looks good (cosmetically) for its age.
If I were interested, I’d go by and check this out in person prior to bidding.