Looking for the best all-tube general-coverage (0.5-30) receiver I can
get.

Need good operation on SSB and CW and capability on AM, along with
sensitivity, stability, ruggedness, and availability of replacement parts
e.g. tubes (that last one might be difficult...).

I'm thinking Collins 51Jx or R-390, although I remember that I really
liked an old Hammarlund I had once...

Would like to stay under $1000 but if I had to I suppose I could go as
high as $2000 for something that's really mint.

What do you guys recommend I look for?

"C. J. Clegg" wrote in message
news

Looking for the best all-tube general-coverage (0.5-30) receiver I can
get.

Need good operation on SSB and CW and capability on AM, along with
sensitivity, stability, ruggedness, and availability of replacement parts
e.g. tubes (that last one might be difficult...).

I'm thinking Collins 51Jx or R-390, although I remember that I really
liked an old Hammarlund I had once...

Would like to stay under $1000 but if I had to I suppose I could go as
high as $2000 for something that's really mint.

What do you guys recommend I look for?

Have a look on ebay for a RACAL RA17 , they tend to go cheaply as there are
so many about. No problem with replacement valves.

Steve H
G0LMV

My 2 cents:

Most of the best older tube receivers (R390, R390A, National HRO's,
Hammurlund Super Pro's) did not have built in product detectors for SSB
reception. You will have to add a product detector if you buy one of
those. Product detectors can be had for under $200.

The best of the group is the R390A.

I own the R390A, & the HRO-50, HRO-60 & the SP210 Super Pro.
All are excellent receivers. The HRO's use plug in coils which makes
changing bands a P.I.T.A. The HRO's & the Super Pro have great audio,
but the R390A is a much better all around receiver. It (R390A) is a
pain to work on however.

Another good receiver is the National NC183D, but again, no product
detector for SSB.

For a tube radio that does it all out of the box, I'd vote for the
Drake R4A or R4B with auxillary crystals for your SW frequencies of
interest, or an add-on FS-4 frequency synthesizer. They provide
excellent out of the box reception on AM, SSB & CW. They are stable,
have 4 stages of selectivity & provide passband tuning.

As far as tubes are concerned, not to worry. There are literally
millions of tubes available either NOS (new old stock) or used from
many many suppliers.

I don't think you have to spend $2,000 for a very good radio. A top
condition R390A, with an add-on product detector should cost you $1,000
or less.


A minty R4A or R4B all crystalled up will go for around $300-$400. An
FS-4 frequency synthesizer for the Drake will be in the $400 range.


Terry
W8EJO


C. J. Clegg wrote:
Looking for the best all-tube general-coverage (0.5-30) receiver I can
get.

Need good operation on SSB and CW and capability on AM, along with
sensitivity, stability, ruggedness, and availability of replacement parts
e.g. tubes (that last one might be difficult...).

I'm thinking Collins 51Jx or R-390, although I remember that I really
liked an old Hammarlund I had once...

Would like to stay under $1000 but if I had to I suppose I could go as
high as $2000 for something that's really mint.

What do you guys recommend I look for?

Steve,
You're asking the Ford vs. Chevy question...and everyone will have their
favorite. There may not be one answer, at all. Given the top price
you're willing to pay, you can have, arguably, any receiver you want
that might be available. Your broad spec could be met by a myriad of
receivers. Entering the Ford vs. Chevy argument, I'd recommend the
Collins 51J4 or the R-390A. Cheaper but entirely usable would be the
Hammarlund HQ-180AC. There are many, more esoteric, radios that can be
had up to $2000, to be sure. You did mention, however, the implied
ability to repair and maintain. Beware of equipment that is beyond a
reasonable hope of home or local repair. For example, many excellent and
modern receivers, especially military or high-end commercial, either
require a depot repair environment or parts and modules that are
virtually "unobtanium". What's not been said is what you really want
to do with the gear. Is it simple short-wave listening or serious
collecting? Maybe you could pass on more details about your
requirements? And, which side of the pond are you on? de Jeep/K3HVG

One more thought, check the reviews of many receivers he

http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/54

and

http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/82

and

http://amfone.net/ECSound/JNRECS.html

The last by John, W3JN, (one of the real tube radio experts) is written
specifically for AM mode.


C. J. Clegg wrote:
Looking for the best all-tube general-coverage (0.5-30) receiver I can
get.

Need good operation on SSB and CW and capability on AM, along with
sensitivity, stability, ruggedness, and availability of replacement parts
e.g. tubes (that last one might be difficult...).

I'm thinking Collins 51Jx or R-390, although I remember that I really
liked an old Hammarlund I had once...

Would like to stay under $1000 but if I had to I suppose I could go as
high as $2000 for something that's really mint.

What do you guys recommend I look for?

C. J. Clegg wrote:
Looking for the best all-tube general-coverage (0.5-30) receiver I can
get.

Need good operation on SSB and CW and capability on AM, along with
sensitivity, stability, ruggedness, and availability of replacement parts
e.g. tubes (that last one might be difficult...).

I'm thinking Collins 51Jx or R-390, although I remember that I really
liked an old Hammarlund I had once...

Would like to stay under $1000 but if I had to I suppose I could go as
high as $2000 for something that's really mint.

What do you guys recommend I look for?


Virtually all of the high end military vacuum tube boat anchors were
designed before SSB became common. They require an external converter
or the addition of a product detector and AGC mods to work properly.
The only receivers I can think of that meet your requirements are the
Hammarlund HQ-180 and the National NC-400. The 180 is quite common but
the 400 is very rare and pricey.

Regards, Roger

--
Remove tilde (~) to reply

Remember the USS Liberty (AGTR-5)
http://ussliberty.org/

Boy, this is a question that could require a lot of beers among friends to
fully explore.

Fred Osterman's Third Edition "Receivers Past and Present" (now out of
print), is a good source of information to curl up in front of the warm
winter fire and memorize.

The fact is that modern high end solid state receivers are better than the
older tube models. They have product detectors, 1 Hz stability and readout
and some even have dsp. However, you want a tube model. There is an
implication that you want the tube model based upon nostalgia and/or
aesthetics. Those values are subjective, so you will need to see how the
radio makes you feel and what features bring joy to you.

I have some radios that use multi-position switches to tune in a station.
They are excellent for tuning in stations at a known frequency, but terrible
for "tuning around". Some look great in a rack, while others look great in
their original cabinet. Tuning in sideband or cw is great with a product
detector. I like to use full avc on cw, but others like the manual gain
control. In short, it is all subjective. I recently purchased an old
Lafayette KT-200 radio for $25 (that is the S-38 wanna-be with s-meter).
Got it working and was shocked that, with the rf amplifier working full
strength on the broadcast band, it is probably the best broadcast band
receiver I have with a short antenna.

For short wave listening, I like the radios with push-pull audio, so if that
is a big interest, look for radios with push-pull audio. The old SX-62 was
not bad for audio, but not a good all around communications receiver.

The RA-17 is unique because it uses a Barlow-Wadley loop for stability. The
390A has a number of wonderful features and a lot of die hard supporters.

In the end, many collectors find that no radio is perfect. So, they collect
as many as they can. Collectively, they have all the features they want.
This requires a large room - preferably a heated museum. Better to be able
to turn them all on at once, with a multi-antenna switch.

Now, where is the beer.

Colin K7FM

C. J. Clegg wrote:
Looking for the best all-tube general-coverage (0.5-30) receiver I can
get.

Need good operation on SSB and CW and capability on AM, along with
sensitivity, stability, ruggedness, and availability of replacement parts
e.g. tubes (that last one might be difficult...).

I'm thinking Collins 51Jx or R-390, although I remember that I really
liked an old Hammarlund I had once...

Collins R-390A is one of the best RF performers around. The audio quality
stinks and I would not consider it even slightly field-maintainable, but
if you want to pick weak signals up out of the muck you can't beat it even
with the latest Watkins-Johnson rig.

An outboard product detector will give you greatly improved SSB performance,
and will still make it under your price barrier if you can find one. If you
can find two, please call me because I want one too!
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

I'll agree that the R-390 or the A version are about the best.
For general coverage, consider an R-392. Doesn't have all
of the bells and whistles of the 390/A, but basically the same
rig, far cheaper. Of course, as others have pointed out, no product
detector.

Another possibility is a Halli SX-117, which does have true SSB.
Its primarily a ham band receiver, but with an external synthesizer
in place of the LO xtals, it works fine as a general coverage
rig. Restored one recently, and its performance is impressive.
It will haul in signals my TS-830 will not.

Steve

For the info of all, in case you haven't seen his ad, there's a Canadian
guy that sells a very nice product detector kit on Epay. The price
(about $175) is a lot less that the HC-10 or the several "CV-xxx" SSB
converters. It has worked (on my gear) very well. It also will work
with virtually any receiver with an I.F. of either 455 or 500 kHz. That
could dispel worries of no SSB detection capability on a given receiver.
Also, there's a company out West (S&S Engineering) that sells a
multi-offset VFO that will convert any suitable receiver to general
coverage. I did an article for the Drake R-4C (et al) using this unit.
It beats the heck out of the Drake synthesizer abomination. FYI, the
article was in ER, last year. Regards K3HVG