hamfest find National NC 183D
 

today was the day of our annual fall hamfest and i was looking forward to it all week.i usally tend to get to it and try to be the first inline and get to the goodstuff before anyone else.today was no different and i was one of the first people through the door .upon entering my heart just sank as there was no more of the stuff that i use to goto hamfests for i.e tubes , books , old radios ,etc.* (well not much anyways)however i came across some beuatifull old ''boatanchors" including a national 183d which i just had to have so it followed me home.it may not be a collins r390 that i still lust after but with its push pull audio stage and the qaulity that national was known for i'm sure im in for many countless hours of listening.the receiver is very clean with a few scratches and was recently rebuilt.another plus is i got a original manual plus some factory updates and letters from national.

I want it!!!!

That is not only one of the most desireable shortwave receivers ever, right up with a Hammarlund HQ-180, but you really got yourself a beauty!

Congrats!

thanks for the comments f/d. when i first spotted it the receiver was sitting beside a hq 170 and i was debating between which one to buy.the 170 was in the same condition as the 183d but i decided on the 183. i bought the receiveer also in the hopes of getting back into the s/w listening.i use to be involved with s/w bigg time but the audio hoby and its associated gear took over and i lost interest in the one that created this obsession.i've still got a few receivers left incuding my drake r8, 2b,sw 4a,hallicrafters sx 24 ,s40,bc 348,icom r71a, rca ar 88lf , cr91a, and a few others i forget.

Holy crap! Where on earth did that get kept all these years, a museum?? Gorgeous! :thmbsp:
tom

NC-183Ds go for MEGABUX You-Know-Where. They have a stellar reputation as "The Bandswitching HRO" & showed that National did indeed know how to make a radio using post-1935 technology..I'd say you got yrself a KEEPER, there...

i just figured that out sandy.i do have a hro sr and love the coil sets and how you have to change them for each band .and yes ill be keeping it .

fwiw i might be getting a r390 soon also if things work out .btw did you get your sx62a yet?
chris

The HQ-170 is ham-band only, and is worth perhaps 1/4 what the 183D is worth. I'm afraid to ask, but if you don't mind, how much?

oh i don mind at all . i paid $275 cdn for the 183d. i aslo know about the hq 170 being a ham band only receiver.to tell the truth 90% of my listening was on the amatuer bands so it wouldnt of bothered me too much if i got that one either. im just about to go have a listen to the 183d after i type this and hear that good audio that theyre noted fr .

Ain't got the SX-62A in yet...On pins 'n' needles...<grin>...If you get an R-390A, you also need to get an SP-600, & an SX-28...Then you'd have a VERY GOOD collection of some of the finest hollow-state radios ever made...

well hopefully it's packed well and arrives safe sandy.i'll cross my fingers for you.

that would be nice to have all 4 but i'd have to hit the lottery to afford them nowadays.i've seen the sx28 and a older sp200 but never the 600 or a 390.i'm always amazed when i get to see these radios in person as looking at pictures is nice but once you see the radios in person it's quite a rush.

fwiw the nc 183d is nice but i hate riding the gain control and rf gain for ssb so i might get my dad to whip up a product detector for it .

I also won a Sony CRF-160 from about 1970-71, it was their "mid-grade high-end"-if that makes sense-set. Prolly will show up the same day as the SX-62, along w/a JVC 3" TV/AM-FM/Cassette I'm gettin'... Feast or famine. I wanted an SX-42/43, but the 62s are even more rare, needed all of 'em like another hole in my head...As if THAT'S ever stopped me...<grin>

i needed this receiver like a hole in the head also but it's been so long since i bought a new radio .besides theres always room for one more isnt there? :D

They "talk" to you, too, then, I guess? "Please...You WANT me, you know you do...Bid on me, I wanna come live on yr shelf, next to yr mighty, mighty, EK-07" <grin>

:lmao: :lmao: something like that and sometimes i answer back :D

Damn guns do th' same thing, dammittall !!...<grin>

Damn sweet radio there chris. I would have let that one follow me home also!! I have a weakness that those old boatanchors seem to know, and they take full advantage of me because of it !!
Maybe we'll have to start a 12 step program for boatanchor lovers?

Nice score and it's nice to see it in such nice condition. :thmbsp:

I've been going a different track on getting a nice SW radio setup. I've been accumulating parts and such so that when I retire next spring I'll have time to slowly design and assemble a nice high performance receiver.

I recently scored a Cubic 1st & 2nd IF converter module from a military Cubic receiver. It's a hell of a front end, the first mixer local oscillator drive is 1/2 watt!. It has a 10khz, 40.455 crystal filter! There is a nice picture in the listing:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6660&rd=1&rd=1

Lefty

Nice find there Chris, I've been busy myself lately with a Sears branded Yaesu FRG-7 I acquired. Now I'm thinking of getting a transceiver and my ham license. Congrats again Chris.

Awesome unit. Looks like it is built to last forever. I would love to acquire one of these one day.

"Nice find there Chris, I've been busy myself lately with a Sears branded Yaesu FRG-7 I acquired. Now I'm thinking of getting a transceiver and my ham license. Congrats again Chris".

hi dan ,

nice to see you around and thanks for the comments.congrats to you to about thinking about gettting your ham ticket.i wish you luck should you decide to go for it.if you have any questions jim(snapshotjc )should be able to help you as he's a relative new ham himself and could give you a good idea of whats involved.although ive never had a frg 7 im sure its a big step up from the portable that you've been using the last time we talked.

'Awesome unit. Looks like it is built to last forever. I would love to acquire one of these one day."

thanks zenith,they sure are built to last and im sure ill have this one for its next 40yrs of its life.keep a eye out theyre still out there albeit getting a little pricey but if ones patient they can still be found at estate sales etc..

chris

Enjoy that receiver. It's one of the greatest "sleepers" ever. A fabulous performer.

I have a RatShak 60' antenna from the side of the house to yon tree, it feeds about all my sets thru a dist amp, but its amazing what these old guys will do w/a 10' or so length of wire draped over the curtain rods...Would STILL love to lug a couple of my babies down to the WBIR TV tower in Blaine, TN, just this side of Knoxville..It was the tallest structure on earth for a few months 1964-65..I'm not even sure they're still using it..But man-oh-man, what a receiving antenna it should be...

I just strung about 300' of longwire around my property, but I need to tune it properly. I've been listening to hams as far as San Diego and AM stations west of the Rockies on a good day. I regulary pick up hams up and down the east coast, Florida, Maine, NJ, NY, the Carolina's, hams from Ohio usually peg my S-Meter. I've done a few mods on my Yaesu so far, mostly the Gilfer mods, but also did a home brew AGC switch.

I know those Nationals are very highly rated, I don't know much about them since they are normally way out of my price range. Sure looks nice though.

I got my 183D for seems like $250...Now, I've seen 'em go for a LOT more than that. The HROs usually go for quite a bit, but you really hafta want one of those-the early ones have separate power supply, matched coil sets, speaker, etc.. I'd LOVE to get a set of BCB coil sets for my 50T1...

hi dan ,

heres a relatively cheap ant tuner/presdelector that might work good with the frghttp://www.universal-radio.com/catal...amps/2964.html



"I've done a few mods on my Yaesu so far, mostly the Gilfer mods, but also did a home brew AGC switch. "

now why doesnt that surprise me that youve already been in it modding:D .


sandy ,i paid $275cdn for mine which seemed like alot of money to me at the time but now i realize that i actually did good.i'm currently waiting for the matching speaker to arrive that i bought on that famous site we all love so much.goodluck with the broadcast coils for the 50t1 they are rare and when they do show up command a outrageous price.i have a older hro m sitting here that works great but i sure'd like to get a 50t1 someday myself.

chris

I'm currently trying some home made tuners right now, I found some variable caps out of some old radios and made myself a variable inductor with some wire and a cardboard tube, but haven't tuned it quite right yet. I also put a 4khz Murata filter in it, but I think I need to go narrower for SSB usage. Stock one was 6khz. I'd like to put a 2khz one in for SSB.

hi dan ,

the 6khz is good for am but definately not ssb under crowded conditons.the 4 is ok if not the band is not crowded . i use the 4khz more than the 2.3 in my drake so i think itd be fine.2 khz is getting even a bit narrow for ssb and id try to get something a bit wider like a 2.3 or higher but no higher than 3 or you might as well leave the 4khz in place.

cool on the homade tuners.i've had my dad build a few for me a long time ago and they worked fairly well .goodluck and happy listening with the frg.
chris