Hmmm ... a little bit of new guy nerves, huh? Welcome to VK.
Here's that sticky I suggested:
Show us your portable AC/DC transistor radios!
You ask some good questions. Here are some quick hip shots:
1) Scratchy volume control: the usual "fader lube" not de-oxit electronics cleaner / lube spray, just like on AK.
2) Meter light: they would either not have them or make them switchable to save on batteries.
3) The bands are, well you know what they are. You might be able to stir up some hobbyist hits on the web by googling "Bob Grove", "Monitoring Times", that was the place to go before the internet, probably the same today, basically everything and anything multiband hobby. Not ham focused, just listener. Another magazine big back in the day was "Pop Comm" - Popular Communications. And many of us old timers remember the SW columns and articles in "Popular Electronics" which my high school library subscribed to.
4) Squelch, just like on a CB, cuts out the sound during empty background noise, BFO beat frequency oscillator, provides a signal to mix with either morse code or SSB. It "beats" against these signals like when you tune a guitar and you hear that low frequency wah-wah-wah error. This beat frequency is much lower than RF, (it's AF) and the programming (variation) basically gets shifted from RF (which we can't hear) to AF (which we can). Normal AM however provides its own BFO in the form of a transmitted RF "carrier". RF gain allows you to weaken strong stations and strengthen weak stations.
5) The antennas thing is a whole new discussion, there is a wide variety of approachs.
6) Cleaning and other maintenance: that's another discussion too. The main thing is that it works and these things are pretty reliable.