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My Annual Non-Techie Question About Portable AM Radios for DX

Steve Green NEPA

Steve Green NEPA

I recently acquired some mad money and intend to spin some decent dial this AM season -- remotely. Far from the incredible racket of the house QTH. Dressed like the Michelin Man. Toting a towering thermos of properly-customized coffee. Maybe a just-nuked tray of Perkins SOS to pick at.
The main issue is a radio.
I see some nice eBay prices on GE Superadios .....$27, $50, 40 .... and wonder how well such things have held up over the years -- decades -- since they were out of the box new. My own II, a gift from 32 years ago, has been battered around so much that a lot of the features have worn off.
1. Has there been any layman's way of determining which are the three 'good' GE SRIII's out of the rumored 1000 turkeys I long ago heard were substandard? Serial numbers? Model numbers? Footprints? In other words, for AM DX ?
2. As a curiosity: Do these tubeless radios endure -- perform -- closer to their conduct .... sensitivity .... better than their older brother tube beasts? I'm certainly no 'refitter' or 'restoring' whiz but question the maintenance of recent waves of gadgets that seem to be more disposable.
3. Being an AM DXer I'm used to analog dials. But has there been a digital AM portable with the AM performance of the GE SR? Maybe some Radio Shack AM-FM-SW rigs that are all over my eMails?
4. Perhaps aboard here are some folks who have dealt with eBay merchants who are of impeccable stature. Please eMail me with those, okay? I see too many testimonials to discern myself; once bitten, you know ....
Thanx for your time and thx in advance to all you pros!
 
From what I've read and heard, GE Superradios 1 and 2 (or are they I and II) are superior to the first editions of Superradio 3 (or is it III), but I've never played with the receiver. If the Panasonic RF-2600 is available and in good shape, I'd recommend that as a top-notch receiver for AM. I've been told that the RF-2800 is also good for that but haven't played with that one.

And I have *absolutely* no idea about who is and isn't trustworty on ebay. Good luck!
 
Hello Steve,

Of your 4 distinct questions, I can respond to only one:

2. In very general terms, I’d say a solid-state portable radio from the 1970s onward is more likely to work well and not suffer degradation as compared to their “older brother tube beasts”. Remember that tube radios often used those old paper/foil/wax capacitors that will degrade over the decades. Not to mention other effects of heat stress from hot tube filaments on all the electronic components.

I don’t know your price range, but I can offer a tip. Don’t overlook “boom box” style portable radios that can often be found at Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other thrift stores. Being larger than pocket-size radios, they may contain a longer ferrite rod antenna which is good for AM DXing. (Larger speakers are also a plus.) Look for a name brand like Sony or Panasonic. Later models have digital frequency displays which I consider a must for AM DXing. Bring some fresh AA and C cells into the store with you so you can test the merchandise. You just might find a real winner at a bargain price. Happy hunting!

-Joe
 
If you’re interested in a Superadio, you might reach out to Chuck Rippel in Virginia. He will re-cap and tune up your Superadio or Superadio II. A friend used his service a few months back. In that case, he had acquired a Superadio II online from eBay and brought it back to spec, in order to resell it. Or if you acquire a Superadio on your own, Chuck will recap and tune it up.
Chuck refers to the Superadio III as “junk”, and won’t even bother with them. Unfortunately, the original Superadio and the II don’t tune above 1600 on AM. The II has an extra tweeter which can really make AM sparkle, but can be a bit harsh on FM. Otherwise internally the II is very similar to the original.
Contact info for Mr. Rippel is available at the link below.

The SWLing Post
 
Actually, my GE SR-II tunes up to 1630 or 1640 kHz. Many other old Sony and Panasonic Portables get up to 1660 or 1670 kHz. I keep mine in the original box in a cool dry environment when I'm not using it for extended periods of time. The last I checked, it was good. I only use it with batteries, which I check yearly, and put in new ones if in doubt, or leave them out. When I check the batteries, I make sure they are in the green on a battery checker. Sometimes you find just one that is totally run down. Probably want to replace them all, with all the same "expiration date". AAs are particularly prone to leakage, if you have those AA backups in the Grundig type radios.
 
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