As a kid, what was your most "drooled over" communications receiver? (Include photo)

[W8WCA]

My grandfather had a Radio Shack Patrolman 10. That radio covered just about everything from AM broadcast band, shortwave, VHF Low, FM broadcast, VHF High and UHF. I remember him cranking it up on WWV and using it to set all the clocks in the house. At the time, it was a pretty amazing radio to have all those bands in one box.

I had one of those and it got lost in a move (Somewhere around 1976 or so) sure have missed it over the years!!

 

[Under30]

For me it was both the Astronaut 8 and the DX-160. I was using a Heathkit AFM-1, an oddball receiver, not very sharp, but for $2.00 at a church yard sale it was my pride and joy at 11 years old.

 

[VK3RX]

After I started my first job I bought a new Realistic DX150A. Used it for a few years then lusted after a Trio 9R59DS, which I thought looked like a REAL radio..

Bought one new after I moved the 150A on, then immediate disappointment due to the constant frequency drift

Moved it on, and over the years have had quite a bunch of receivers, including in recent times an Icom R9500, which would be the best I have owned.

 

[ratboy]

I had several really, and mildly disappointing HF radios over the years.

I biught a Realistic DX-302A at a hamfest. it had several dead 1 MHZ bands that the demo conveniently passed over. The creep that sold it to me refused to give me my money back. It turned out that he had tried to do a mod on it, and cooked a couple of plastic caps. Cost me about $60 to fix it, and then it was just a bad sounding, drify, but good looking receiver.

Yaesu FRG-8800, my first "good" and new receiver. Bad filters and it had a habit of locking up if you touched it in the winter without discharging yourself first. Too coarse tuning steps, and rubber tire on tuning knob rotted in months.

Icom IC-735. Not a bad radio when it worked. Amazing number of bad solder joints in it. I got very good at taking it apart, retouching any bad looking joints, and testing while it was still apart. When it began blowing PS fuses when it got keyed up, I was done and traded it in for a Kenwood TS-450sat. I really liked that one.

Winners were JRC 515 and 525, Kenwood R-1000, TS-450SAT, and TS-850SAT. RS SX-190, better looking than it worked, but not bad.

 

[LesWurk]

Mine was a Allied 2515, still have it, saved forever to buy it, mail order from Chicago to Ontario Canada, took forever to receive it.
Used it for ham with a DX 60 Heathkit xmitter when I got my ticket, drifted bad and had horrible backlash on tuning. Still have the box, manual and dust cover also, No it's not receiving signals now, but has audio.

 

[Omega-TI]

Mine was a Allied 2515, still have it, saved forever to buy it, mail order from Chicago to Ontario Canada, took forever to receive it.
Used it for ham with a DX 60 Heathkit xmitter when I got my ticket, drifted bad and had horrible backlash on tuning. Still have the box, manual and dust cover also, No it's not receiving signals now, but has audio.

You know the Allied A-2515 looks exactly like the Lafayette HA-700. Were they the same OEM?

 

[Blackswan73]

Allied Radio bought out Lafayette sometime in the late sixties if I remember correctly

B.S.

 

[Omega-TI]

Allied Radio bought out Lafayette sometime in the late sixties if I remember correctly

B.S.

That would make sense then. Thanks for the info.

 

[Omega-TI]

 

[ratboy]

Allied bought out Lafayette? Uhh, I don't think so..

Lafayette Radio Electronics - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Blackswan73]

Circuit City purchased Lafayette Radio. Circuit City also bought part of Tandy who owned Allied Radio which became Radio Shack. However, both the Lafayette receiver and the Allied receiver were made by Trio, which became Kenwood

B.S.

 

[Omega-TI]

Circuit City purchased Lafayette Radio. Circuit City also bought part of Tandy who owned Allied Radio which became Radio Shack. However, both the Lafayette receiver and the Allied receiver were made by Trio, which became Kenwood

B.S.

One of their rigs...

 

[pjxii]

I read a feature article about the Drake R7A and Sherwood SE-3 combination in the 1984 World Radio Television Handbook and that became my holy grail receiver. 15 years later got a Drake R7. Eventually got the Sherwood, as well.

 

[ratboy]

I was kind of disappointed with the R7/R7A due to the ergonomics. The receiver itself was great, but the operation was a turnoff. JRC had it down to an art, the only flaw on the 515 was the Delta Tune detent problem, and the knobpot mod solved it.

 

[W8WCA]

I read a feature article about the Drake R7A and Sherwood SE-3 combination in the 1984 World Radio Television Handbook and that became my holy grail receiver. 15 years later got a Drake R7. Eventually got the Sherwood, as well.

View attachment 167094

Great Receivers I sure miss the R7 I had - it is on my next to purchase when/if I can swing it (Even though not much on now days)

 

[mbott]

(Not quite as a kid) Over the years after my retirement, I was able to assemble my "Dream Team" of receivers: Icom IC-R75, JRC NRD-535DB, Icom IC-R71A. Kenwood R-1000, Kenood R-5000 and the Yaesy FRG-7. Sold all when I felt I could do it better that SWMBO is something happened to me. Did buy another IC-R75 to supplement the SDRs and the Kiwi. Had a DX-160 in the shop that I also held on to. If I were re-acquire one of these, to would have to be the NRD-535DB.

 

[Omega-TI]

Great Receivers I sure miss the R7 I had - it is on my next to purchase when/if I can swing it (Even though not much on now days)

Yeah, that "not much on now days" really bites. I blame the Internet. It's the major reason I only invested in lower end models like the Eton Elite Executive and an RSP1 because I've become a "sometimes casual listener". The draw just is not there for me like it used to be. If there was more out there than religious broadcasters and stuff I cannot understand, I would have gone all-in. I really miss the old days of REGULAR English broadcasts from stations like Radio Nederland and others. As a kid I would get on their mailing lists, get program schedules and other goodies to keep me tuning back in. Sad, but like they say, times change and life goes on.

 

[W8WCA]

Here is 1 I really miss the R7 (I later had a NRD535 liked it better than this NRD525)

 

[Omega-TI]

Here is 1 I really miss the R7 (I later had a NRD535 liked it better than this NRD525)

View attachment 167670

I really like that photo of your listening post, I hope you don't mind, I cleaned up the image a tad for better viewing.

 

[W8WCA]

I really like that photo of your listening post, I hope you don't mind, I cleaned up the image a tad for better viewing.

Nice work! That was from a old film photo