Zenith Trans-Oceanic 3000-1
 

I just bought a zenith trans-oceanic 3000-1 off of ebay.

I wanted to start shortwave listining ,Im a radio novice.

Is this a good first radio to begin with

Uhh, Yeah...I never thought of T/Os being serious listening sets...Most people get 'em 'cause they are HIGHLY collectable...

Doug, the best time to ask a question is BEFORE you buy it. Now that you own it, a T/O could be a good beginner's set, depending on how well it works.

That's a great radio to start with. When I have asked many old Ham operators and general radio guys over the years how they got started,
they told me that they got an old radio and just started listening !!!
I'm sure that you did not pay near as much as you would have for a
Ham set. I followed the old guys advice and I went out and bought that
exact model used and I loved it. Many of the radio stations that you will bring in with it play some great music but they will have changed frequencies.
Try listeing late at night but not too late..... I miss having one of those things..... I really think your going to enjoy it very much, and It is a top notch unit in my book ..................
See this link, ... http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1...c383700dcd4b41

I'd have gone for one of the old "Tooob" T/Os, but y'all know how I am...IIRC, don't the 3000 also have FM on it, which is a big bonus ? The only thing I know against an S/S T/O would be the "chrome" trim on 'em was kinda cheap & hasn't weathered well...T/Os were pretty pricey sets back in the day, & as such, generally weren't subjected to the rough treatment lesser radios sometimes were...

I have one of the 3000-1 solid state Transoceanics....it does have FM and seems to be about the best "portable radio" for shortwave listening I have seen. One good thing about it is that it has good automatic gain control and good sensitivity which helps to control the fading in and out of shortwave signals which so often happens. On the cheaper shortwave portables there is not enough reserve gain available and the signal totally fades away and then comes back...where on the Transoceanic it remains fairly listenable. It does not have a built in AC power supply so you will need to use either batteries or a universal type "wall wart" adaptor to power it. It has a sub-mini type plug for the power adaptor connection.