Panasonic Panasonic DR49

[sjcroc]

Sorry if this is not the correct forum for this question. I am looking at a National Panasonic DR49 for general shortwave listening and have no experience or knowledge of this receiver. Would it work well for general listening?
Thanks, Steve

 

[eagle2046]

The Panasonic DR49 is also known as the RF-4900. Never had one but read pretty good reviews on it, of course it does have some cons like any radio. Worth about $150-250 depending upon it’s condition. Weighs about 20 pounds so not really a traditional portable. It includes both wide (5 kHz) and narrow (3.4 kHz) filters for AM/shortwave, plus features like antenna trimming, RF gain, and a BFO for single sideband (SSB) listening. Read the reviews at EHam, pretty good overall.

 

[dxace1]

I have one available . . . location is Maryland. The 4900 these days is considered a collectors radio for nostalgia but actually is quite a fine receiver. If you get one in good condition there is one person in the U.S. who will overhaul and replace capacitors and install LEDs etc but at a cost of several hundred dollars. These are truly beautiful radios, examples of still Made in Japan radios that retain their beauty and with some work can continue working for years.

 

[pjxii]

Sorry if this is not the correct forum for this question. I am looking at a National Panasonic DR49 for general shortwave listening and have no experience or knowledge of this receiver. Would it work well for general listening?
Thanks, Steve

I had either the RF-4900 (same thing) or it's sibling RF-4800 a number of years ago. Others have commented on performance but I want to tell you that it is pretty big and you'll need a good amount of desk or table space, it's as wide and almost as deep as a rack mount professional receiver.

 

[eagle2046]

From what have read there were improvements on RF-4900 over the RF-4800.

 

[pjxii]

Sorry if this is not the correct forum for this question. I am looking at a National Panasonic DR49 for general shortwave listening and have no experience or knowledge of this receiver. Would it work well for general listening?
Thanks, Steve

Can I ask why this receiver specifically, is there one available to you locally?

If the price is reasonable and you have the room, and if it's local take a look at it in person then go for it.

Please let us know what you decide. We all may have different opinions but we all like helping people with this hobby.