"Mark S. Holden" wrote in message
...
RivaScoot wrote:

Hi,

Since I bought my first shortwave radio (a cheapy Rat Shack) many
moons ago agos, I've become quite used to tuning in stations using
a
knob.

What medium-priced portatop -- not el cheapo or super expenso --
receivers allow tuning with a knob?

Thans,

RivaScoot

The Palstar R30 is a very compact tabletop that can
run on 10 internal AA batteries. People with fat
fingers say the buttons are a bit too small or close
together, but it's got a reputation as a simple radio
that performs quite well. They run $575-$650
depending on if you get one or two Collins brand
filters with it.

Yeah, I'd forgotten about the Palstar. Good idea.

When I was looking for a better "portable", I looked
for a Lowe HF-150 Europa - never found one. The
regular HF-150's turn up used reasonably often. The
HF-150 has appreciated in value over the last few years.

You might find a used AOR AR7030+ for about $1,000.
AOR sold a lead acid battery that could fit inside - I run
mine off NIMH RC car battery packs - it's a very nice radio.

Otherwise, I'd go with the post '96 Drake SW8 over
the Grundig Satellite 800 in part because the Drake
has nice build quality, and in part because the Sat 800
is about the size of an "Urban Assault" boom box.
A few years back there was a guy named Phil
who did a funny photo edit of a Sat 800 to show
a built in microwave oven. One of the reasons it was
funny is the radio is large enough that you could
almost believe it.

Yeah, I can see a few additions there to the cavernous
Sat 800. Hell, there's enough space inside one to put in
a really nice speaker in there without worrying about
spacing. And that's coming from a guy who's had one
since they first came out.

I recently had my Sat 800 in for a general tuneup, and
when I drove up to Franklin to pick it up, I spoke with
the Drake Service Manager, Bill Frost. Really nice guy.
He told me several things:

a) Drake is doing quite well in it's satellite business,
so it's not going away any time soon. They'd moved
their corporate offices from Miamisburg into the plant
at Franklin a few years back.

b) The R8B is it. There is currently nothing in the works
for a replacement, like an R9.

c) Grundig ("They", as he put it) bought the circuitry
of the SW8 and put it into the Sat 800 with a few mods
of their own. (My own speculation is that it was the
audio circuitry that Grundig tweaked, since the SW8
didn't have separate bass and treble controls, for
instance.) Drake was hoping to do another run of SW8's,
but it just wasn't possible. (He didn't elaborate, so I
can't really fill in the blanks.)

d) A big sign on the front door announced that Drake
no longer has any repair parts for their old amateur
radio equipment. I think it also mentioned a place to
contact, but I can't be sure.

I guess I should have asked about the new Eton
receiver, and whether Grundig used the Sat 800 circuitry
again or whether Drake redesigned the circuitry, but
my daughter wanted to go eat some lunch.

--Mike L.