It's so ironic you posted this Mark as I've had my eye on this Panasonic RF4900 that's for sale nearby

I was a huge SW listener when I was younger. Had QSL cards from all over the world. It was really interesting pre-internet and during the cold war. I also had a full spectrum scanner and a CB radio modified with extra frequencies, a Silver Eagle mike and it put out 1kw! Talked SSB all over the world. 

I have a floor model 1937 Westinghouse SW radio that I'm sending to an antique radio guy here in PEI for repair. I'm anxious to see what I can pick up now that I live on the east coast.

My location is pretty poor too Daryl, I'm surrounded by high tension lines, in the middle of suburbia, noisy, but still workable. I just put up a new wire today, higher and longer. It at about 15' high and is 60' long. I started out at about 40' x 8' high with a simple piece of insulated wire as the lead in. Worked ok, adding the grounded 50 ohm coax lead in really made a huge difference. I have to adjust the trim as I move up or down the freq. Next is to make an appropriate Balun to match the wire to the lead in. I'm going out for a listen tonight, and at first glance, the reception is better.

Todd, If the 4900 is good price, and the condition can accurately be described, I'd grab it. The only difference between the 48 and 49 is the 49 has a blue display that also reads in MW and FM. The 48 does not. Test drive it to make sure it is viable. They are apparently notorious for dirty pots and switches, and many have the band switch break, which is big trouble to repair. Like all old analog radios, The electrolytic caps can go south with age. I seem to have lucked out so far. Besides the complex switches, they'd be easy to restore.

It's a 2022 Todd. Haven't had it on for 20 years!

Todd, where you live, you could do a very long wire, and probably have zero RF interference. You are really in great location for the hobby. Get with it and do a shack. I'm coming out to Gaspe' in July to vacation  work on my father in laws old farmhouse he bought...on 38 acres (which we hope to own one day). The radio is coming with me and I'm doing a mega longwire.

In my mind, there is just something magical about analog radio, and I bet it makes a comeback...just like vinyl.

Man, all those memories are coming back. I had so many radios- vintage AM, CB's, scanners. I'm starting to get the bug again! There's a Sony 230 World Zone for sale in Regina. Fantastic early 1970's radios. They are usually $1000 on eBay. Seller want's $600.

There's a Radio Shack DX-400 for sale for $100. Apparently it's a good radio as well and closer to my budget. 

I may end up with this one if the seller will ship.

I remember listening to Radio Moscow in the early 80's. Always sounded like the announcer was talking from a cave! There was lots of jamming going on as well. 

Canadian Poncho wrote:

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It's so ironic you posted this Mark as I've had my eye on this Panasonic RF4900 that's for sale nearby

I was a huge SW listener when I was younger. Had QSL cards from all over the world. It was really interesting pre-internet and during the cold war. I also had a full spectrum scanner and a CB radio modified with extra frequencies, a Silver Eagle mike and it put out 1kw! Talked SSB all over the world. 

I have a floor model 1937 Westinghouse SW radio that I'm sending to an antique radio guy here in PEI for repair. I'm anxious to see what I can pick up now that I live on the east coast. 

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Ya, we were just talking about this the other day.

I should get some "ears" on my pickup truck. My Mother in law has a brand new vehicle CB in the box that she'll give to me. 10-100

Carl Stevenson wrote:

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Is there any point in a scanner any more? Isn't a lot of it scrambled now?

I had one about 15 years ago, that was a hoot!

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 Yea, not much on there anymore Carl. Listening in on the phones used to be hilarious.

The scanner at least looks good beside the radio!

Solar conditions can play a lot into what you receive. I remember talking to gypsy taxi cab drivers in New York city one summer evening with my CB radio- only because atmospheric conditions were right. Radio Moscow used to have an English language service- mostly for propaganda. I remember picking up "The Voice of Free China" in Taipei, Taiwan back in the day. I sent them a QSL (reception report) and in return they sent me newspapers from Taiwan, and a Voice of Free China decal.

Here's a link that's almost as fun as having a shortwave radio:

http://radio.garden/live/

This site shows a globe of the world that you can move and zoom in on. Each "dot" is a radio station. Click on any dot to listen to that station. Some great stuff. I sometimes have it on at work. One day I listened to an English FM station in Nigeria, the other day one in New Zealand. Some of the dots for larger cities also bring up a number of stations on the right side of the screen- some include police and fire services. 

In the late 70's I was on a forestry lookout tower for a very long summer. Luckily I was one of the few lookouts that  had fairly dependable power there. I had built a few Heathkits (Remember those?) and ended ordering a SSB Receiver to build to pass the time and listen to the world out there.

Took me quite while as it was fairly complex but I did look forward to hearing many fascinating conversations.  Due to great luck or great skill it did turn on and worked flawlessly once I had it complete.

For a while it was neat  to listen to the voice of Moscow and the VOA and mentally compare their views of the world. As for personal conversations there were a few interesting ones but I seem to remember that most

 were between radio hobbyists and were usually about their equipment. Got kinda dull.

Probably should have kept it as it was a neat piece but gave it away a few years ago.

That's one nice looking radio Todd! Great that you got it fixed up, should give you hours of pleasure. For me, it's also about looks, I have to have something that is nice to look at, and your radio absolutely has that in spades.

Was the china radio in the 11000 range? I hear one station very clearly in that range. Hook up a 75' random wire outside about 30' in the air, with a cheap antenna tuner, a 50 ohm lead in, and she'll really pull. I can only dream of your lack of RF interference and lot size Todd. I'm absolutely surrounded by RFI here, so it has become a challenge to find the right placement, grounding, length and matching for my random wires. I have a 5 input remote antenna switch coming so I can really experiment without the coax clutter in the shed.

On another note, I blew up my RF4800 amplifier IC by trying to power the unit with a car battery. I messed up on the polarity, misread the + - on the back of the unit. Although I could still use it through the rec out into a Bose Bluetooth, I was convinced that was probably it for this radio, but low and behold...I found a NOS chip on eBay for $21. Removed the old and replaced it with the new...and it actually worked! One good thing was it allowed for a good cleaning! Lessons learned, but it also gave me the confidence to go deeper into a vintage radio if need be.