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>