AM Radios

MarioMania

Active Member
I have notice the old AM Radio like from the 70's and 80's goes up to 1690kHz

I was asumming it goes to 1620kHz

I don't know I love listening to AM Radio, I love hearing KIIS & Q106 on AM back in the day
 
The real old AM radios from the 30's, 30's and 40s had the dials calibrated in Kilocycles (and some European sets I remember were calibrated in Meters, or wavelength). I also recall that some had extended range at the high end of the dial for some sort of weather service.

I enjoyed listening to AM radio, especially DXing, listening to stations all over North America at night.

But, shouldn't this thread be somewhere else??
 
The real old AM radios from the 30's, 30's and 40s had the dials calibrated in Kilocycles (and some European sets I remember were calibrated in Meters, or wavelength). I also recall that some had extended range at the high end of the dial for some sort of weather service.

I enjoyed listening to AM radio, especially DXing, listening to stations all over North America at night.

But, shouldn't this thread be somewhere else??

Lots of fun.I have picked up as far as Colorado (live in Wash state) doing late night DX on AM. Its almost a hobby in itself. Enjoy
 
Yeah I'm a sucker for old AM radios, own 2 GE Super radios, 2 Sony 7F-74W's (ones shortwave, a 1941 Zenith 7S558 console also shortwave...I could keep going, lol..
 
I need to spend some time to restore my really good AM set. Its a 1934 EH Scott Allwave 15. I have a 1947 Scott 800B and a wartime production Scott SLR-12B. All are excellent performers, and the military rig is still dead-on accurate on the dial despite no restoration. Its had all of 3 parts replaced in it that I know of, and I changed those just to make it go again. Scott built amazing radio equipment, but you better have some muscle to move one. They did not believe in lightweight gear at all. The military radio weighs about 70 lbs.
 
My 1943 Hammerlund 129x still sees regular use both for local broadcast and SW listening…..
My favorite is the sound and feel of a well called baseball game….
Showing my age a bit.

MJ
 
I have a FEW Angel Modulation radidios...Lessee, an R-389/URR that receives from 15KC to 1500KC.. Actually, you can "Kludge" it a bit & get WLAC Nashville on 1510... On the OTHER end, its sposed to be able to pick up Funky stuff like Groans, tweeks, twerks-NOT Miley, though-and some of that other bizarre stuff. It has 32 or so glowing firebottles, cost Uncle Sugar $4500 in big, round, 1954 dollars. There were maybe 750 made, perhaps half survive. No, you CAN'T have it-Don't even ask. The next one in my stable is a West German EK-07. It picks up the standard range of a good SW receiver, 500KC to 30.1MC. Hooked up to my KIWA MW loop, I've logged AM one-lunger daytimers outta Virginia & Kentucky from my NE Tenn QTH. Its from c. 1965, is about half Tooobs, half Soiled-State, & the other half typical Cherman Tiger Tank solidarity build. Sposedly 1000 were made 1958-73 they cost the W German Army $6K apiece, & there are maybe 2-3 dozen on this side of the pond. I have several E.H. Scotts, an RBO-3, an SLRM, & an 800-B. But the real stars of my show are my lowly Arvins, a 2 tube model from '38, & its 3 tube big brother from a couple years later. Hook a decent antenna to 'em, they'll PLEASANTLY surprise you..
 
My 1943 Hammerlund 129x still sees regular use both for local broadcast and SW listening…..
My favorite is the sound and feel of a well called baseball game….
Showing my age a bit.

MJ

Among the half dozen primordial memories I have as a three or four year old in Berkley MI is listening in the evening to Ernie Harwell on this old radio shaped like a baseball that sat on the kitchen table. It was white plastic with molded seams, slightly smaller than a bowling ball, probably tube. We sat around it like it was FDR doing a fireside chat. My dad played rec league baseball and he'd come in still in his uniform and I thought he was part of what was on the radio.

Later when I became a more mature Tigers fan I would notice that sometimes Ernie would remark about people in the stands who caught foul balls that they were visiting from Cass City or other places and in my mind's eye the guy either had a big balloon that said Cass City or had some big name tag they gave you at the stadium. It was just a little joke he did.
 
My 1943 Hammerlund 129x still sees regular use both for local broadcast and SW listening…..
My favorite is the sound and feel of a well called baseball game….
Showing my age a bit.

MJ

Wow! Back in the 50s, I used to take my bedside AM radio under the covers at night so that i could listen to the Pacific Coast League games without my parents knowing that I was listening.

My Dad's receiver was a National NC (?) 100, multi band coverage, and wonderful black metal case. I ended up with a Hallicrafters 38 or something like that. Still remember the smell of the hot tubes.
 
Later when I became a more mature Tigers fan I would notice that sometimes Ernie would remark about people in the stands who caught foul balls that they were visiting from Cass City or other places and in my mind's eye the guy either had a big balloon that said Cass City or had some big name tag they gave you at the stadium. It was just a little joke he did.

Ernie made up a lot of stuff to keep the announcing interesting.

Struck him out. He stood there like a house by the side of the road and watched it go by.

Throw to second, throw to first. TWO for the price of one.

Line drive DEEP to left center. It is LOOOONG GONE!

Foul into the upper deck and the man from Walla Walla will take home a souvenir.
 
Am mw dxing can be lots of fun and can be done with any radio capable of recieving the am broadcast band.nighttime is the best especially during the winter.ill warn you though like audio gear once you start youll want to get a better receiver,then a outdoor antenna etc...

Myself, im into both the audio gear and general coverage shortwave rceivers and have my fair share of both.my prize receivers are my drake r8 and my collins hf 2050.until recently i would of included the national nc 183D(sorry sandy i no longer own it):sigh: i still own other various tube sw receivers though including a rca cr91a.
 
Ernie Harwell was great.... I too miss the days in my youth DXing with my Crystal radio and long wire...back in 59 there were tons of good AM radio to be had...
 
You can build one for not a whole lot. Try antiqueradios.com and search the forums for 6LE8 transmitter. There are a few variants, all of them pretty cheap to construct. If you can get ahold of one of those "Talking House" things that real estate agents use, the older ones transmitted on AM, and some have an aux input. If you can get one of those cheap, plug it into an ipod or cd player and away you go.
 
quick look on ebay comes up with a talking house transmitter, $35 + shipping, that will do the job. Probably about as cheap as you're going to find for a no-assembly rig.
 
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