Anyone DXing Tonight

[vendo81]

Originally Posted by electroking

Has anyone experienced the Racal RA-17 triple conversion receiver? You see
several of those in the listening room in the 1962 movie Dr. No, (alright, you
see Ursula Andress as well!). What a receiver, especially when properly cleaned
up and restored (mine isn't yet).

Hi Electroking...Yes my good friend in Hawaii has a unrestored Racal receiver. I remember asking about it as I had never heard the name. I'm not sure which one it is but I remember it looking similar to the Collins 388/URR I'm buying. I didn't hear it in action but I do remember him telling me that it is right up there with the best in what he collects.It must be nice as he only collects the best of the boatanchors.

[Sandy G]

I have an RA-17 that I had restored by Howard Mills in Maryland. Very good receiver, the tuning system takes some getting used to, though. Still prefer my Collinses. Another one to consider if you ever run across it is a Rohde & Schwarz EK-07. At 150 + LBS, it is a REAL boatanchor...But what a receiver it is ! It'll get stuff outta the mud that the R-390s just THINK they hear...And all the controls have that super-precise "Germanic" feel to them-Like the difference between a Mercedes & a Ford.. One thing I DO like about the RA-17 is the built in speaker...It ain't much, but it gets the job done...

[sprman55]

Hi using the SX-17 i got WBBM 780,740canada,and 860 CJBC with nice music. Using the Scott and a ant 6 feet long got a bunch of stations ,WLW,WBBM,CJBC,WAOI,local got WSM,WMRO.Signals on some had rapid flutter on them.Sprman55

[sprman55]

Hi using SP-600 JX-6.I got the following signals here are down with rapid flutter. 1630 Iowa City KCJJ, WRDW Augusta GA. 1640 WKSH WIS.. Radio Disney, WTNI Missiipi Espn radio. The AM bands are weak here using both longwires to get signals up.May be the meteor showers that peak on morning of the 12th,The Perseids showers.Sprman

[Brian]

Opened the HR500 and 3 of 4 tubes are Lifetime Realistics. 4th is original. Dos not look like any repairs under the chassis. Careful cleaning of controls especially the band selector switch that must be silver plated as it was very tarnished. Damp cloth wipe down of the inside of the cabinet that still has the tube layout chart and used only a soft brush on the topside of the chassis, nothing else as it was so clean.

Did copy the values for the 4-section electrolytic.

I ran a ground wire to a screw on the ac outlet and hooked up the radio with the strung wire and turned the set on. The very low level hum is gone, probably the grounding. All switches are quiet and the scratching and intermittent selector switch now rock stable.

I think I may try to replace the cheap oem speaker to see if I can improve the fidelity. It has no tears and no scratchy but just an elcheapo resulting in typical shortwave radio limited sound quality. I'll also start looking for a set of replacement tubes for backup or 2 sets.

Can not wait to fire it up tonight.

[electroking]

Originally Posted by Brian

Opened the HR500 and 3 of 4 tubes are Lifetime Realistics. 4th is original. Dos not look like any repairs under the chassis. Careful cleaning of controls especially the band selector switch that must be silver plated as it was very tarnished. Damp cloth wipe down of the inside of the cabinet that still has the tube layout chart and used only a soft brush on the topside of the chassis, nothing else as it was so clean.

Did copy the values for the 4-section electrolytic.

I ran a ground wire to a screw on the ac outlet and hooked up the radio with the strung wire and turned the set on. The very low level hum is gone, probably the grounding. All switches are quiet and the scratching and intermittent selector switch now rock stable.

I think I may try to replace the cheap oem speaker to see if I can improve the fidelity. It has no tears and no scratchy but just an elcheapo resulting in typical shortwave radio limited sound quality. I'll also start looking for a set of replacement tubes for backup or 2 sets.

Can not wait to fire it up tonight.

Hello Brian,

Isn't this a hot chassis radio with no power transformer? If so, be careful
with grounding, or smoke may come out!

Just give me a listing of the tubes, this will let me tell you more about this
matter.

[Brian]

The design is the same as the S38 series so it is a hot chassis. I made sure I measured the AC cord for cahssis ground before plugging it in so I plugged it in correctly. No smoke nor "electrical feeling" as I touched the chassis. I'll get a list of tubes to you tonight when I get home. The only 1 I remember is the 50C5 off hand.

I did leak some WD-40 into the tuning and bandspread shaft bushings rather than trying to wash out the old dried lubricant hoping it would work and it seems to have, no squeaking last night and very smooth turning. Hopefully it will stay as I'd prefer not dismantling the shafts and having to restring the unit.

Was listening to Chaina reporting on the Olympics last night but sadly it was not in English, just enough English words and cheers to know what the subject matter was.