analog radio

[WA8ZTZ]

Is anyone aware of a current production AM broadcast band (or even including SW) radio that tunes as analog but
provides a digital readout frequency display ? Looking for true analog tuning, not discrete steps, if such an animal exists.

 

[KB4MSZ]

Wow. You would have to just about tap into an analog receiver's IF circuit someplace and couple a frequency counter to it. That's quite a request.

 

[a29zuk]

Palstar R30A?

 

[DS506]

Eton Traveller III has selectable 1 or 10 kHz steps on MW

 

[WA8ZTZ]

Davtron devised an outboard digital frequency readout (model 701) for aircraft ADF sets back in the day when they were all analog and mechanically tuned.
Trying to fly with one hand and simultaneously tune the ADF at night bouncing around in the weather while trying to pick out the Morse
identifier was a bit challenging. With the digital display, you could simply dial in the desired freq, confirm the identifier, and be done
with it. The 701 had to be wired into the ADF's local oscillator circuit IIRC but it was a fairly simple hook-up.

Can't find any schematic or even block diagram for the R30A, only some literature that says it's PLL tuned.
Otherwise there are a bunch of reviews for the radio, seems the owners either love 'em or hate 'em.

The Traveller III is a nice radio, ultra sensitive on AM for its size, but is digitally tuned, not analog.

 

[byndhlptom]

I have seen several "digital dial" units for various older analog ham radios. If the IF is the same they may be an option. I do remember that there was at least one "universal" digital dial unit out there that was programmable for offset/IF.

Try searching for digital dial, digital readout, etc. you may find something workable....

Good Luck

$.02

 

[Boombox]

Wow, you'd have to dig into 1970's digital tuning technology for that sort of radio. Some of the GE World Monitors, Panasonic RF series, and a few Sony's from that era were analog tuned with a digital readout.

My main question would be why? Analog tuned radios with analog dials work on MW quite well -- you memorize the positions, count the channels from known stations, etc. (providing you have a radio with good enough selectivity that you can count the channels).

 

[IC-R20]

The Grundig Field S350 is exactly what you are looking for in this regard. They are made by Tecsun who continues to produce them under the S-8800 product number.

Funny how a simple question always brings out all the useless pseudointellectuals and self obsessed appliance operators.

 

[MrColad]

I wonder if the OP is referring to vernier or maybe even slide rule tuning.

 

[WA8ZTZ]

My main question would be why?

The digital tuned radios all seem to exhibit a muting of the signal as they are tuned between channels. This is probably done
more for consumers than DXers so as to limit the dead air noise between channels. Think of it as sort of anti-AGC, just the opposite
of what you would want or expect. Couple with that a sound referred to as "chuffing" found when tuning between stations.
It is as though the mute and AGC seem to fight each other. Some digital tuned radios are
better or worse than others in regards to muting and chuffing but they all seem to have them to some degree.
Therefore, was just trying to find an analog tuned radio with the convenience of digital frequency display.

 

[WA8ZTZ]

Thanks for all the replies.
Looks like the 8800 may be the answer. Will have to look at it more closely.

 

[Boombox]

The digital tuned radios all seem to exhibit a muting of the signal as they are tuned between channels. This is probably done
more for consumers than DXers so as to limit the dead air noise between channels. Think of it as sort of anti-AGC, just the opposite
of what you would want or expect. Couple with that a sound referred to as "chuffing" found when tuning between stations.
It is as though the mute and AGC seem to fight each other. Some digital tuned radios are
better or worse than others in regards to muting and chuffing but they all seem to have them to some degree.
Therefore, was just trying to find an analog tuned radio with the convenience of digital frequency display.

My Radio Shack 200629 Synthesized World Receiver -- their version of the Sangean ATS-505, available in the 2000's -- has no muting or chuffing between channels, and tuning it is like tuning an analog receiver. The stations do pop in and out abruptly, but if there is no signal (like on SW, or the X-band on a poor night), all you hear is the static -- and tuning sounds seamless. I would guess that a new Sangean ATS-505 would have the same tuning characteristics (the older 505's apparently chuffed). I got my 200629 in 2010 or 2011 -- so I'm guessing that Sangean updated the firmware to their 505 sometime around then.

 

[MrColad]

If you're talking about the Tecsun S-8800 watch this review.

 

[majoco]

Hmmm - I've read through this post a couple of times and often thought that there's an answer here somewhere but I'm reading between the lines on the original post. An "analogue" radio - do you mean one that you turn a knob and you get a digital display of the frequency? Well, most recent 'Transistor' radios do that and some communications receivers going back to the 80's do as well BUT if you want to nit-pick - they are not "analogue" in that the frequency does not change in a linear fashion - in fact the frequency changes in discreet steps - my JRC NRD515 changes in 100Hz steps, my Kenwood R2000 in 50Hz steps, Degen 1103, Tecsun PL600 all change in steps. You can find out by tuning in an AM BC band station, switching on the BFO (or SSB as it's often labelled) and gently slowly turning the frequency knob and hearing if the tone jumps in steps or one linear gliding tone.

You would have to go right back when radios had a two or three gang tuning capacitor driven by a dial cord or a gearbox from the tuning knob and a digital display of the local oscillator frequency offset by the IF frequency. Not common and rather expensive for the time.

 

[WA8ZTZ]

Hmmm - I've read through this post a couple of times and often thought that there's an answer here somewhere but I'm reading between the lines on the original post. An "analogue" radio - do you mean one that you turn a knob and you get a digital display of the frequency? Well, most recent 'Transistor' radios do that and some communications receivers going back to the 80's do as well BUT if you want to nit-pick - they are not "analogue" in that the frequency does not change in a linear fashion - in fact the frequency changes in discreet steps - my JRC NRD515 changes in 100Hz steps, my Kenwood R2000 in 50Hz steps, Degen 1103, Tecsun PL600 all change in steps. You can find out by tuning in an AM BC band station, switching on the BFO (or SSB as it's often labelled) and gently slowly turning the frequency knob and hearing if the tone jumps in steps or one linear gliding tone.

You would have to go right back when radios had a two or three gang tuning capacitor driven by a dial cord or a gearbox from the tuning knob and a digital display of the local oscillator frequency offset by the IF frequency. Not common and rather expensive for the time.

Was looking for the frequency to change in linear fashion (analog). "Glide", as you said, would be a good way to describe it.
The digital frequency display would, of course, change in discrete steps.
Take a look at the S-8800 review video posted above by MrColad… at the 21:40 mark it mentions the fine tuning function
and how there is no muting between the 1 kc steps on the display. It looks like the 8800 tunes in analog fashion.

Otherwise, think of the original CCrane Radio EP or GE Superadio but with a digital readout... that would be nice.

 

[pjxii]

Is there a partcular reason why you asked about current production? Boombox gave the same answer as I would have, radios from the 80's of which I have a few. The Panasonic Commander Series (RF-2600 for example) and a number of Sony models were analog with a digital frequency counter. Despite their age, they perform very well.

The photo of the '8800 actually shows the words "PLL Synthesized" and has a wireless remote control. My Bearcat DX-1000 tunes the same (except no remote), in synthesized 100 herz steps and the fine tuning is analog smooth for zeroing in on SSB but it's certainly not an analog receiver.

 

[chipbutty]

The S-8800 is a completely different and redesigned radio under the hood. Far better than the S350 as well.

The Grundig Field S350 is exactly what you are looking for in this regard. They are made by Tecsun who continues to produce them under the S-8800 product number.

Funny how a simple question always brings out all the useless pseudointellectuals and self obsessed appliance operators.

 

[highwayman1224]

Got an s8800 for Xmas and I love it!