REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
- WARLOCK
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REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
How do you rate a old realistic dx-394 receiver as a starter shortwave receiver,what sort of antenna would be best for me to put up outside ,would a longwire be ok .
- Admiral
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
Didn't we swap your 7100 for my 394 a few years ago?
I found a random longwire was best for it via a receive only manual ATU.
If it's the same one then the anti-chuff mod is done so it won't drive you insane tuning through the bands.
I found a random longwire was best for it via a receive only manual ATU.
If it's the same one then the anti-chuff mod is done so it won't drive you insane tuning through the bands.
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- Farty
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
I got B model. It's well featured, easy to use, I quite like it. However be aware that performance seems to vary from one unit to the next, so the next one you see could be as deaf as mine is sensitive.
+1 for a nice meaty long wire, it doesn't seem to like my active Watson ant so much as my Yaesu does.
+1 for a nice meaty long wire, it doesn't seem to like my active Watson ant so much as my Yaesu does.
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- WARLOCK
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
Yes admiral it is the very same receiver i have finaly got round to setting it up to use as the cb bands are dead round where i live, Only took me about 2 years to get round to it you cant hurry these things you know,i live in a ground floor flat with no garden what so ever so i will put my 6ft longwire ? up and se how i get on .
- Admiral
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
Someone asked a question about a 7100 the other day and I dug it out of the spare room, had it on since, it's a bit useless on HF, but it's fantastic on MIL/AIR, very, very sensitive, I have a million scanners here and your 7100 is the best for MIL/AIR of the lot
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- GBHgpJON
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
My B works fine, admittedly with a 15m long wire as opposed to a 6 ft one. Try it and see is the best/old fashioned way.
26TM095
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- zippy
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
the 394 is an old entry level radio, the new entry level stuff is much better, pl660s etc, I see the 394 on ebay for £150 and laugh, I bought the last of the stock from my local tandy for £29.99 each, all B models.
Alinco DR135DX, Baofeng UV-5R, TYT MD380 (UHF), Realistic Pro-2035, JRC NRD-545 DSP, whitestick and ½ wave silver pole on the chimney and various lengths of wire draped around the garden.
- Farty
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
Must agree with Zippy. The 394 is ok, but far from outstanding. They're getting bloody expensive these days, yet a brand new Tecsun PL600 or 660 perform way better, are smaller, and are cheaper brand new than a decent 394 is used. Shop about you might even get a new 880 for less than a 20 year old 394, and the 880 would steal its lunch money and flush it's head down the toilet any day of the week.
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- zippy
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
don't get me wrong, there alright, but subject to desensing from ajaceant frequencies and in my opinion aren't worth any more than £50, even in the box.
Alinco DR135DX, Baofeng UV-5R, TYT MD380 (UHF), Realistic Pro-2035, JRC NRD-545 DSP, whitestick and ½ wave silver pole on the chimney and various lengths of wire draped around the garden.
- Farty
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
I can't understand why the market has gone so potty over them recently. They're going on eBlag for close on a one-er, more than a far superior Tecsun costs brand new. Why are people driving up the prices of used mediocre kit like that when new kit is so cheap?
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- zippy
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
they seem to go for top dollar on ebay for some reason, I guess they look all bling-bling and are made to appear like a proper hf set, there okay, really they are, but that's it, okay, but an entry level set, as I said before, they are a £50 set, they should be ideal for youngsters or people on a tight budget, but the greedy bar stewards on ebay just want to sqeeze every last dollar out of their tat, and as long as mugs buy them then they will keep trying to rip people off.
Alinco DR135DX, Baofeng UV-5R, TYT MD380 (UHF), Realistic Pro-2035, JRC NRD-545 DSP, whitestick and ½ wave silver pole on the chimney and various lengths of wire draped around the garden.
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
Some of the much older SW receivers by the same company were much better, including the old analogue DX160, with its metal clad extension speaker!zippy wrote:they seem to go for top dollar on ebay for some reason, I guess they look all bling-bling and are made to appear like a proper hf set, there okay, really they are, but that's it, okay, but an entry level set, as I said before, they are a £50 set, they should be ideal for youngsters or people on a tight budget, but the greedy bar stewards on ebay just want to sqeeze every last dollar out of their tat, and as long as mugs buy them then they will keep trying to rip people off.
Had a DX394, bought when Tandy was closing down for £40, it was a shop demo, no box no instructions, sold it for same, never regretted getting rid of the pile of rubbish!
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Re: REALISTIC DX394 RECEIVER ANY GOOD ???
We bought all 8 of the DX394's Pontefract Tandy's had in stock when they were selling them off, they are toys and barely worth what we paid if performance per pound spent matters,
compared to an old hf set or a decent receiver they are junk, some of the old realistic analogue receivers were better,
For £150 I would look for a hf set with blown finals.
compared to an old hf set or a decent receiver they are junk, some of the old realistic analogue receivers were better,
For £150 I would look for a hf set with blown finals.
W8JI
"An antenna with a poor ground using few radials cannot have a support mast grounded to the radial common point (at least it shouldn't if designed properly) There is no exception to this!
"An antenna with a poor ground using few radials cannot have a support mast grounded to the radial common point (at least it shouldn't if designed properly) There is no exception to this!