Radio Shack 2000629 $18 NEW at RS

[ratboy]

I got one from radioshack.com last week. The box was kind of "funky" (shows wear), but the radio looks perfect and works great. I like the tuning in SSB, even with the BFO. I'm having good results with about 20 feet of wire clipped to the whip. I might buy one of the Degen cheapo loop antennas, as I have a window right where I listen at most of the time.

 

[SCPD]

Post is kind of old but I found out something about this radio

You hear how overload problem is in this radio. I figured it out. There are two variable transformers that sit left and right of a crystal below the control pcb.
These are out of adjustment. I had to use my ears which took a lot of time. I tuned the radio to 14.144Mhz then switched on the bfo and inserted earphones

Using a home made plastic screwdriver I adjusted the right transformer until it barely squealed then adjusted the left transformer till it squealed

Then readjusted the right transformer out of the squeal then until the raspy. white noise turned to smooth noise floor. Checked strong HF stations for overload ie WWCR1. Then checked ham bands.

Doing this enough can bring decent results and maintain sensitivity.

I picked 14.144mhz because that is center of the hf band on this radio

Now my radio sounds good and strong stations dont make it chirp.

I know some here will tell me to use test equipment. I have none.

Another issue is this radio thru time drifts slightly off frequency. A simple readjustment on the third variable transformer beneath the control pcb will fix it. its the one to the right of the variable that sits right of the crystal. I found it by just inserting a metal screwdriver into it's core enough to notice heavy drift off frequency. I used a volmet in upper side band to tune it to natural sounding as possible. Keep the bfo knob dead center doing this.

If you attempt this I am not responsible if you crumble the iron cores. You must use plastic screwdriver and be very gentle. Never use metal screwdrivers. They change inductance in the emf.
During adjustment tiny twists are movement counter clockwise. Very slow very short movements. Dont move one to far then if you do dont worry. Turn both cores all the way clockwise then start with the right core then the left core using my routine mentioned above.
There is no schematic and no alignment procedure online for this radio. I used my intuition.
Thanks

Sent from my VS415PP using Tapatalk

 

[Boombox]

There is a schematic online, I forget which site. Free. Look for Sangean ATS-505.

Same radio, with some small adjustments in software, and maybe the audio chip has changed. I think the RF circuitry is the same.

I don't see why Sangean would mess around too much with it for Radio Shack (although, admittedly they have done it before -- the DX-370 has the Sangean ATS-800A board inside, yet tunes the X-band and has no 9 khz button while the ATS-800A tops out on MW at 1610 and has a 9 khz button).

Thanks for the tips. I'll leave mine alone, but am glad to have the procedure handy just in case...

73
Boombox

 

[SCPD]

There is a schematic online, I forget which site. Free. Look for Sangean ATS-505.

Same radio, with some small adjustments in software, and maybe the audio chip has changed. I think the RF circuitry is the same.

I don't see why Sangean would mess around too much with it for Radio Shack (although, admittedly they have done it before -- the DX-370 has the Sangean ATS-800A board inside, yet tunes the X-band and has no 9 khz button while the ATS-800A tops out on MW at 1610 and has a 9 khz button).

Thanks for the tips. I'll leave mine alone, but am glad to have the procedure handy just in case...

73
Boombox

These Radio Shack brands of Sangean brands are low cost revisions. Things will go off spec.

 

[Boombox]

I'm curious as to what you mean about Radio Shack Sangeans being "out of spec".

You mean the QC is lessened on the Radio Shack versions?