[Leica] Short wave radio

[lrzeitlin at gmail.com (Lawrence Zeitlin)]

If we are still talking about short wave radio receivers, I have a Realistic
DX-302 which has worked well for the last quarter of a century. I picked it
up at a closeout at the local Radio Shack for about $150. At the time it was
rated as comparable to the Yaesu FRG-7. These names and acronyms are about
as familiar to DX radio fans as Summicron and pixel count are to Leica
addicts. Both radios incorporated a modified Wadley loop design for
frequency stability, although the DX-302 had to warm up for about 15 minutes
before it was really stable.


In the early 1960's I was involved in the communications intercept world of
the NSA. The long range NSA sites typically had a mile radius circular
antenna field funneled into a large bank of Racal communications receivers.
Interesting messages about Russian troop movements were recorded and sent to
Washington DC for analysis. The Racal receivers cost over $6000 each in real
1960's money. I was intrigued by the DX-302 because it had the same
specifications and the same performance as the Racals at less than 1/20 the
cost. Our antenna consisted of a long wire run up to the ceiling and strung
around the walls of the room. The total length was about 60 feet. It was
sufficient to bring in most European stations with excellent clarity. It
could pick up Asian stations too, albeit with more noise. My experience with
COMINT convinced me that it was the antenna, rather than the receiver, that
had the main influence on reception. The longer and more directional the
antenna, the greater the range. I would have liked to string up a 400 foot
rhombic pointing directly at Europe but alas I didn't have the space.


My son was the real radio fan until he entered college and became interested
in girls. Now, with the internet, I hardly ever use the radio except to set
my watch by WWV. The DX-302 just occupies space on the edge of my desk.


Larry Z