general coverage Receiver

[WA4JK]

I'm need a good old general coverage receiver for the shop, I'm not looking for a battle tight ham receiver, I intend to listen in on the bands as well as good ol AM Music.. If there is any left in the world. I would like push pull audio. What suggestions have ye all.

[Bill, KD0HG]

SX-28 uses P-P 6V6s.

[WQ9E]

National made several good possibilities (NC-173, 183, or 240 for example).  An SX-42, 43, or 62 from Halli would also give you the FM BCB.

[KC4ALF]

I have a soft spot for the SX-20.

[W7TFO]

Hammarlund SP-200, or the HQ-129 if you are short on dough & resto time.

73DG

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

I'll second the SP-200 series, probably the best bang for the buck as they are quite plentiful still and can generally be had in the $150-$250 range. Just make sure you get the external power supply and connecting cable with it. In top condition it's a better receiver than the SX-28, which I also like a lot. One of the best looking sets ever, a bit pricier than the Super Pro.

Another is the National NC-2-40 series. Well built with an interesting tuning/band change scheme. NC-183D is another, though newer than the others. Never had one, but I bet Carl can comment on both.

[K6JEK]

SX-62.  P-P 6V6's.  AM and FM and everything in between.

No bandspread, no real selectivity.  Good AM sounds fantastic through it.  SX-42 is same thing but with bandspread.

[KM1H]

The SX-62 is a living room radio, I have 2 of them, the other is in the BR. They are pretty useless for tuning ham bands.

I plain dont like the SX-42, especially the dial scale; the one here gets used but never far from one frequency.

My favorites are HQ-120X, 129X, 140X, 150 for Hammarlunds; the 180 can be a handfull when they need service. I have a SP-400X but the lack of a calibrated BS for any Super Pro is a downer.

For Halli it is the SX-17, 28 and 32; the SX-25 looks nice and can be a good performer except on the highest band. All have PP audio.
The SX-71 aint too bad. Some have been picking up the SX-73/R-274 for cheap money.

National includes the NC-173, 183, 200, 240D for the lower priced, the last 3 use PP 6V6's. The NBS-1 is a 183 variant with 3 IF's and variable IF selectivity, a fine GC AND battle radio. The 183D prices have skyrocketed and are coming close to the HRO-60. A basic HRO-50 with the 4 coil set is nice, the 50-1 gets more money.

Collins offers the R-388 which are very often in the $125-150 range.

Carl