RME 50

[ny1h]

I have recently acquired an RME 50 with matching speaker, serial no. G01A.
I am having trouble finding information on this receiver.
My main question: "Were they any good and what is it worth?"
A Google search will bring up lots of pictures, but very little information.
"How many were made?"

Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.

Bob NY1H

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Two versions. Earlier one used some loctal tubes. Other then for the plug-in narrow band FM adapter and some cosmetic changes, the circuit is the same as the RME-45B. RME-50 was only around for a year or two so I suspect they didn't make a boatload of them.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Not bad receivers overall, reasonable quality and utility, above something like a Hallicrafters S-40 but below a Hammarlund, HRO, etc.

What it's worth is becoming more and more a case of what it means to you or how much you value it. As Pete said, it's one of their lower production sets, but not as desirable to collectors like a 75A-4, SX-88, or other receivers might bring.

Then again, none of them are as pricey as they were a few years ago either.

[KM1H]

Thats kind of a stretch Todd!

Id put it above a S-40 series and well below a NC-173 or HQ-129X which was its direct competition.

Carl

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Pretty much what I said, Carl. Not as good as some, but better than others. I didn't find the RME stuff too bad until the 6900 era. Can't remember the other, lesser models they offered then. 4950 maybe? Had one with a screwed up vernier, was disappointed upon opening it up at the shoddy design of the mechanism. Somewhere along the line quality took a nose dive.

I've got Chuck/KW's old RME-69 here, well-built and fun to play with. Nowhere near as hot as the pre-war Super Pros, but considering its era, not a bad performer. The 6900 was a ghost of a receiver. That heavy tuning knob was the best part of it.

[WQ9E]

I think the RME-99 was the last of the good general coverage RME receivers.  I have a couple of RME-45B receivers (the loctal version RME-50 is effectively a 45B with added NBFM) and they are OK but far from great. 

I actually like the 6900 OK, the selectivity might be considered a little tight for AM but it works well for typical conditions here in the midwest.  It also is nice on CW/SSB although if you are a big fan of S meters you had better have the angle just right to see it.  I have a 4350 with the matching CW/SSB adapter that I need to get on the bench.

I have another RME that looks like the predecessor to the RME-99, the cabinet and dial are different.

[KM1H]

The 69 has to be one of the ugliest radios made

And its the only one that even the ads said you needed a preamp for the higher bands. Yeah sure, 4 RF stages generating noise! Anything will work if you never go above 40M I dont think most on this forum realize there are higher bands 

I have a 45, likely the first run as the final inspector signed it off in 11/45, DB-22A, VHF-152A and speaker all set up on display, its sure purty.

But for a GC band scanner the NC-200, NC-240D or the NC-240CS in one of the floor to ceiling racks blows it away. Even the 1939 HQ-120 and SX-24 is better.

[WQ9E]

One of the ER articles noted that the NC-173, HQ-129X, and RME-45 had similar new list prices but a couple of years later there was a big spread in used resale price.  The significantly lower price for the used RME-45 would lead one to believe it didn't perform as well as its National and Hammarlund counterparts.

Attached are photos of my RME mystery receiver.  I assume it is a prototype on the way to becoming a RME-99; unlike the 99 the large band spread dial is not calibrated.  It also is in a non-standard case.  After the RME-99, band spread was mechanical instead of electronic.