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):
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!
Friday, I brought home an untested, slightly grimy, Sony ICF-5500W. I purchased it through Goodwill for $20.
I crossed my fingers as I put three C cells in the radio and turned it on. Fortunately, I was rewarded with brilliant audio. I tuned the ‘5500W on AM/mediumwave and heard CFZM, 500 miles to my north, and Radio Reloj, 860 miles to my south. A quick scan on the FM dial revealed that I could also hear all of my local benchmarks. Whew!
Other than the dial needing a little calibration, and DeOxit on a few pots, it’s in excellent mechanical shape.
I started cleaning the radio last night using Q-tip cotton swabs and a vinegar/water solution.
I’d like to restore the hard plastic chassis’ original shine, though.
I was tempted to reach for some Armor All, but stopped myself short. I know it would give the ICF-5500W a nice shine, but would it cause any long-term damage to the black plastic or clear dial cover?
I know there are vintage radio restorers among the SWLing Post readership. Can someone offer advice on what’s the best product to use (or not use!) on my ICF-5500W?
If you have experience, please comment!
For the first time in over a decade, my Labor Day weekend was free of travel, so I was able to make a short pilgrimage to the Shelby (North Carolina) hamfest with my good buddies, Vlado (N3CZ), Dave (K4SV) and Phil (W9IXX).
The Shelby Hamfest–referred to, locally, as “The Grand-Daddy of them All”–has long been regarded as one of the largest hamfests in the southeast US. The last time I attended–most likely in 2004–I was amazed at the number of vendors and, especially, the size of the flea market section (my favorite part of any hamfest).
We arrived just after the gates opened at 8:00, yesterday morning. While there were quite a number of vendors sprawling the Cleavland County Fairgrounds, attendance must have been down as it seemed there were more vendors than attendees.
Still, it was nice to hunt for treasures without so much competition at each table!
This BC-348-R (above) was one of the first radios that grabbed my attention. Though I already have a BC-348-Q, I certainly wouldn’t mind having another one of these classic WWII era receivers.
This BC-348-R was very clean inside and in pretty good original cosmetic shape on the outside. To power this BC-348, I would need to add a transformer or a 28 volt Dynamotor. The seller had it priced at “$100 OBO” (or best offer). I was willing to make him an offer, but even though I kept checking back, I never found the seller at his table. Too bad.
This BC-348-Q–priced at $125–needed a new transformer and a “tune-up,” per the seller.
It’s rare to find a GPR-90 this clean and with a matching speaker.
The seller only wanted $40 for this Hammarlund speaker.
There were a number of Hammarlund SP-600s scattered across the flea market. I have one and can confidently say that it’s a joy to operate–especially on the medium wave band. 
The seller wanted $200 for this Harris–it needed substantial repairs internally.
This gorgeous WWII era ART-13 was the most tempting thing I found in Shelby.
It would look so good sitting next to or above my BC-348-Q.
This one had been professionally restored and was in perfect working order. I’ve seen ART-13s at other hamfests, but never as clean as this one.
The seller wanted over $500. While I know an ART-13 in this condition could command that price, I simply didn’t have the budget for it on this trip. Fortunately, the seller is a friend-of-a-friend and if he still has this ART-13 post-fest, I might just contact him!
The Ten-Tec Argonaut 509 is a classic little QRP transceiver! Someday, I’ll pick one up.
If memory severs, the seller wanted $275 for this used Satellit 750 and $325 (or more) for the 800. I noticed he had sold the 750 by my second pass. 
This Sharper Image shortwave receiver (above) has BFO and tone controls on the back(!) of the unit. Very strange–imagine tuning in an SSB station by reaching behind the radio and tweaking the BFO knob!
The seller wanted $100 for this Hallicrafters portable receiver. Knowing my weakness for anything Halligan, I forced myself to slowly back away. It wasn’t easy leaving it on the table.
There were very few console radios at this hamfest; all of them were in poor condition which made it much easier for me to pass them by. 
This 1960’s era Signal Corps TG-34-A Morse code reader was also tempting and one of the last items I viewed in the flea market. The seller wasn’t at the table, so I never bothered asking about the price. If it had been a WWII era reader, it would have come home with me.
Elecraft had a nice indoor display and a steady number of attendees inquiring about their new K3s transceiver and, of course, the KX3.
In the end, I came home from Shelby with very little: only two patch cables and a male SMA connector.
I did, however, get to spend time with my friends, re-connect with a buddy I hadn’t seen since high school, and meet a few SWLing Post readers. I certainly call that a successful hamfest!
In response to our Sony CRF-320 post, SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, comments:
“Thanks for posting this item. I’m the moderator of the Yahoo group for SONY 320 and 330s — they are quite common these days on EBay.
The key, however, is condition and many of them are often suffering from one or more problems common to this receiver including: stuck S-meters, faulty LEDs, gears in the main and AM/FM tuning sections that are dried out and cracked, belts in the recorder (in the 330s) that need replacing, and a variety of cosmetic issues.
Prices for 320s range from the high hundreds near $1,000 and slightly higher, and for 330s usually well above $1,000 to near $2,000 for units that are in 9.0 or higher condition. Prospective buyers of these wonderful radios need to ask numerous questions of sellers so as to avoid problems down the line.”
[…]I will add a couple of things — the 320 on Ebay right now that Tom identified has the old style rotary clock, while the main photo is one with the LED clock, which is more desirable on the used market. The seller of this particular 320 is well known on Ebay for his extensive write-ups of equipment, quite informative and useful, and he has the advantage of access to a local electronics shop that actually still does repairs of 320s and 330s.
Keep in mind that, generally speaking, prices for 320s as I said and depending on condition generally are in the $1,000 range and top out in the $1200 -1400 range. CRF-330s usually bring more because of the added tape recorder in the bottom of the unit. Of course, the market and demand determine price, and anyone who is really after one of these classic radios might be willing to pay more for a 320.
Excellent advice, Dan! Thank you for sharing.
SWLing Post contributor, Guy Atkins, writes:
I’m writing to let you know of a “nostalgia radio” Windows wallpaper graphic I’ve made available to radio hobbyists. This design is called Hertzian Vision, and I created it three years ago for a few SDR enthusiasts/software authors in Finland. I’d like to offer it to your readers too.
My design was inspired by the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention in Bellingham, Washington, which opened initially as a showcase for antique radios.
Here is a link to a folder with two sizes of the wallpaper:
https://app.box.com/s/33qzg7ouo3sztzzbnd36ylytt1cp7u3y\
The two high resolution wallpaper files are 1920 x 1200 and 2560 x 1440 pixels.
This is a fantastic graphic you’ve created, Guy–many thanks for sharing it with us!
On a side note, Guy also informed me that the SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention also operates a low power FM station, (KMRE) that features old time and classic radio shows. You can listen to KMRE online via TuneIn Radio or several other sources.
All morning, I’ve been listening to KMRE via my SStran AM transmitter though my BC-348-Q. Great fun!
[Update: if you have difficulty downloading the wallpaper via the link above, you can download them directly from the SWLing Post server by clicking here and here.]
This week, I purchased a radio that I have lusted after for years: the Panasonic RF-2200.
I justified this eBay purchase because June is my birthday month and…well…do I need anymore justification!?! Just look at this beautiful analog dial:
In truth, I’ve been wanting a benchmark portable medium wave receiver for ages, and I believe there are few better than the venerable RF-2200.
I picked the RF-2200 this morning and I’ve only had it on the air a few minutes. It effortlessly picked up my local benchmark medium wave and FM stations. The audio fidelity is brilliant and the ‘2200 appears to have a very low noise floor. I haven’t had a moment to truly cruise the shortwave bands, but I plan to over the course of this week and shall report back.