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- Realistic DX-160 Communication Receiver (1976)
Realistic DX-160 Communication Receiver (1976)
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$575.00
$575.00
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PRIVATE COLLECTION
This fairly common Realistic DX-160 (Cat.-No. 20-152) communication receiver is a rare find because it is new old stock (NOS). This radio is a short-wave general coverage receiver, covering 150 kHz to 30 Mhz. It is completely solid state and was made in Japan for Tandy (RadioShack) in 1976. It weighs 15 pounds and cost $160 when purchased new. It can run from 120 VAC or 12 VDC. In its day this was a popular receiver for first time shortwave listeners. The separate SP-150 speaker is included in this set.
History - Realistic is a brand produced by RadioShack, a division of Tandy Corporation, to market audio and video products for home use. The brand name was phased out in the mid-1990s and discontinued in 2000, then returned briefly in 2016.
In 1967, Radio Shack introduced the DX-150 general coverage (535 kHz to 30 MHz) receiver. Over the next few years, this line underwent several improvements (the DX-150A and DX-150B). In 1975 the DX-160 was introduced with the most noticeable change being the addition of a LW band (150-400 kHz). This family of radios was made for Radio Shack by General Research of Electronics, Inc. (GRE) out of Japan. Shortwave receivers continued to evolve with digital readouts, dual conversion, and other features and the DX-160 was discontinued in 1980.
Technical data
Mechanical Design - The cabinet is made from plated pressed sheet steel. The back has a thin wooden panel over it. Inside there are two main printed circuit boards (PCB). One PCB has the RF components on it, next to the tuning capacitor. The other PCB contains the IF and audio components. There is a ferrite rod for local reception, located along the back, behind the wooden panel. The dial stringing and scale pointer cords look complicated. The power transformer is located on the chassis corner. There is some corrosion near the transformer.
The front panel has a long linear dial across the front. There are five horizontal frequency scales, and 1 band logging scale. They are different colors. There is a small diamond on each scale, at the amateur radio bands. When the main tuning is set to a diamond, the band spread tuning can be used, and is calibrated in frequency. When tuning the main control, ensure that the band spread (on the left) is set to the extreme right-hand end of the scale, so that the main frequency scale is correct. There are six band spread scales, for 3.5, 7, 10, 14, 21 MHz and the CB band. There are other notations on the dial, denoting WWV, Aircraft, Maritime, and Government bands. At the right of the dial is the S-Meter to indicate signal strength.
Below the dial are four small slide switches. At the left is the noise limiter (ANL) on and off switch. Next is the MODE switch that can select AM or SSB/CW. Next is the AVC on and off switch. At the right is the OPERATE switch which selects RECEIVE or STANDBY.
All the controls are along the bottom of the front panel. On the left is the phone jack (for headphones), and then the BANDSPREAD knob, which is a large knob. The next five knobs are small. There is the BFO pitch, the AF gain, the ANTENNA trimmer, the five position BAND switch, and the RF gain knob. At the extreme right is the large MAIN TUNING knob.
Electrical Design - The radio uses one integrated circuit, five FET transistors, six transistors, and 15 diodes, located on two printed circuit boards.
The antenna uses a tuned RF transformer, to connect to the RF amplifier. This uses a FET with a transistor in the DRAIN to control the RF amplification. The RF gain control adjusts the amount of AVC going to this FET. Reducing the RF gain also reduces the antenna input. The SOURCE has a FET to connect it to the mixer, which is also a FET transistor. The FET transistor RF oscillator is injected in to the mixer drain. The output goes to the IF amplifier.
The IF amplifier uses two transistors, and a narrow filter. The first transistor has AVC on its base. The output drives the AM modulator and the AVC amplifier. When switched to SSB and CW, the BFO is turned on, and a balanced modulator is used. This is followed by a transistor amplifier.
There is an Integrated Circuit to drive the speaker and headphones. When switched to AM, the audio comes from a diode in the S Meter and Noise Limiter circuit. This is clearly not a Hi-Fi device as frequency response is only 300 to 3000Hz at -6dB.
The power supply has a mains transformer, and a diode full wave rectifier, to produce 12 volts DC. This is active all the time that the receiver is plugged into a mains supply. The 12 volts external supply can be connected here. The AF gain control has 2 switches, one turns the DC on and off, and the other turns the AC operated dial lights on and off. The DC goes to a series regulator transistor, to supply a regulated DC to the receiver.
Operation - The operation is completely straightforward: connect a random length of wire as antenna (terminal A1), turn the AF gain up until a hiss is audible, the RF gain should be at the right stop, the AVC on Fast, the ANL on “off“.
With the band switch, you can now select one of the bands A (long wave, 0.15 - 0.4 MHz or 150 - 400 kHz), B (medium wave, 535 kHz - 1.6 MHz), C (maritime communications band 1.6 - 4.5 MHz) or one of the shortwave bands D (4.5 - 13 MHz) or E (13-30 MHz). For tuning in a station on a known frequency, the station must now be in the corresponding shortwave band, which is a great challenge, especially on the higher bands due to the poor reading accuracy of the sets analogue dial. With careful detuning of the band spread dial, the signal can be tuned to maximum, and if necessary, the signal can be tweaked with the antenna trimmer by matching the wire antenna.
With the main tuning set to the red marks, you can hunt for waves in the amateur radio bands by using only the band spread dial to tune. With the BFO switched on, CW and single sideband transmissions coming from radio amateurs are also audible.
The DX-160 was considered a “low budget“ all-band receiver corresponding to the state of the art in the 1970s without any outstanding extras. The dial reading inaccuracies quickly limits its practical use for Ham Radio operators, apart from tuning around in the shortwave and ham bands for listening enjoyment.
Dimensions (WHD): 14.5W x 6.5 H x 9.25 D inch
Net weight: 5.3 kg / 11 lbs 10.8 oz
See demo on Instagram here: www.instagram.com/p/C1GEx9oPpBH/
1975 Radio Shack Catalog (see page 136) www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1975_radioshack_catalog.html
History - Realistic is a brand produced by RadioShack, a division of Tandy Corporation, to market audio and video products for home use. The brand name was phased out in the mid-1990s and discontinued in 2000, then returned briefly in 2016.
In 1967, Radio Shack introduced the DX-150 general coverage (535 kHz to 30 MHz) receiver. Over the next few years, this line underwent several improvements (the DX-150A and DX-150B). In 1975 the DX-160 was introduced with the most noticeable change being the addition of a LW band (150-400 kHz). This family of radios was made for Radio Shack by General Research of Electronics, Inc. (GRE) out of Japan. Shortwave receivers continued to evolve with digital readouts, dual conversion, and other features and the DX-160 was discontinued in 1980.
Technical data
- Principle: single conversion superheterodyne, IF 455 kHz
- Operation modes: AM/SSB-CW (with BFO)
- Frequency range: 150 kHz - 30 MHz, plus 5 spread amateur radio bands
- Frequency display: analogue dial
- Signal strength indicator: S-meter
- Signal processing RF gain, noise limiter, AGC x 2
- Features: ¼" Headphone Jack @ 8 ohm, S-Meter, Mute Line, ANL, Dial Lamp, Standby, Bandspread, Antenna Trimmer, AVC.
- Ranges: .15-.4, .535-1.6, 1.55-4.5, 4.5-13 and 13-30 MHz (Coverage gap from .4-.535 MHz)
- Bandspread bands: 3.5-4, 7-7.3, 14-14.35, 21-21.4 and 28-29.7 MHz plus CB channels 1-23.
- Selectivity: 4 KHz (-6 dB), 18 KHz (-40 dB)
- Sensitivity: (10 dB S+N/N, thru IEC dummy antenna), 250 KHz: 50 uV, 1 MHz: 100 uV, 2.5 MHz: 3 uV, 7 MHz: 4 uV, 21 MHz: 4 uV
- Image rejection: 250 KHz: 48 dB, 1 MHz: 65 dB, 2.5 MHz: 45 dB, 7 MHz: 35 dB, 21 MHz: 20 dB
- AF output power/speaker: 700 mW at 10% distortion / No internal speaker
Mechanical Design - The cabinet is made from plated pressed sheet steel. The back has a thin wooden panel over it. Inside there are two main printed circuit boards (PCB). One PCB has the RF components on it, next to the tuning capacitor. The other PCB contains the IF and audio components. There is a ferrite rod for local reception, located along the back, behind the wooden panel. The dial stringing and scale pointer cords look complicated. The power transformer is located on the chassis corner. There is some corrosion near the transformer.
The front panel has a long linear dial across the front. There are five horizontal frequency scales, and 1 band logging scale. They are different colors. There is a small diamond on each scale, at the amateur radio bands. When the main tuning is set to a diamond, the band spread tuning can be used, and is calibrated in frequency. When tuning the main control, ensure that the band spread (on the left) is set to the extreme right-hand end of the scale, so that the main frequency scale is correct. There are six band spread scales, for 3.5, 7, 10, 14, 21 MHz and the CB band. There are other notations on the dial, denoting WWV, Aircraft, Maritime, and Government bands. At the right of the dial is the S-Meter to indicate signal strength.
Below the dial are four small slide switches. At the left is the noise limiter (ANL) on and off switch. Next is the MODE switch that can select AM or SSB/CW. Next is the AVC on and off switch. At the right is the OPERATE switch which selects RECEIVE or STANDBY.
All the controls are along the bottom of the front panel. On the left is the phone jack (for headphones), and then the BANDSPREAD knob, which is a large knob. The next five knobs are small. There is the BFO pitch, the AF gain, the ANTENNA trimmer, the five position BAND switch, and the RF gain knob. At the extreme right is the large MAIN TUNING knob.
Electrical Design - The radio uses one integrated circuit, five FET transistors, six transistors, and 15 diodes, located on two printed circuit boards.
The antenna uses a tuned RF transformer, to connect to the RF amplifier. This uses a FET with a transistor in the DRAIN to control the RF amplification. The RF gain control adjusts the amount of AVC going to this FET. Reducing the RF gain also reduces the antenna input. The SOURCE has a FET to connect it to the mixer, which is also a FET transistor. The FET transistor RF oscillator is injected in to the mixer drain. The output goes to the IF amplifier.
The IF amplifier uses two transistors, and a narrow filter. The first transistor has AVC on its base. The output drives the AM modulator and the AVC amplifier. When switched to SSB and CW, the BFO is turned on, and a balanced modulator is used. This is followed by a transistor amplifier.
There is an Integrated Circuit to drive the speaker and headphones. When switched to AM, the audio comes from a diode in the S Meter and Noise Limiter circuit. This is clearly not a Hi-Fi device as frequency response is only 300 to 3000Hz at -6dB.
The power supply has a mains transformer, and a diode full wave rectifier, to produce 12 volts DC. This is active all the time that the receiver is plugged into a mains supply. The 12 volts external supply can be connected here. The AF gain control has 2 switches, one turns the DC on and off, and the other turns the AC operated dial lights on and off. The DC goes to a series regulator transistor, to supply a regulated DC to the receiver.
Operation - The operation is completely straightforward: connect a random length of wire as antenna (terminal A1), turn the AF gain up until a hiss is audible, the RF gain should be at the right stop, the AVC on Fast, the ANL on “off“.
With the band switch, you can now select one of the bands A (long wave, 0.15 - 0.4 MHz or 150 - 400 kHz), B (medium wave, 535 kHz - 1.6 MHz), C (maritime communications band 1.6 - 4.5 MHz) or one of the shortwave bands D (4.5 - 13 MHz) or E (13-30 MHz). For tuning in a station on a known frequency, the station must now be in the corresponding shortwave band, which is a great challenge, especially on the higher bands due to the poor reading accuracy of the sets analogue dial. With careful detuning of the band spread dial, the signal can be tuned to maximum, and if necessary, the signal can be tweaked with the antenna trimmer by matching the wire antenna.
With the main tuning set to the red marks, you can hunt for waves in the amateur radio bands by using only the band spread dial to tune. With the BFO switched on, CW and single sideband transmissions coming from radio amateurs are also audible.
The DX-160 was considered a “low budget“ all-band receiver corresponding to the state of the art in the 1970s without any outstanding extras. The dial reading inaccuracies quickly limits its practical use for Ham Radio operators, apart from tuning around in the shortwave and ham bands for listening enjoyment.
Dimensions (WHD): 14.5W x 6.5 H x 9.25 D inch
Net weight: 5.3 kg / 11 lbs 10.8 oz
See demo on Instagram here: www.instagram.com/p/C1GEx9oPpBH/
1975 Radio Shack Catalog (see page 136) www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1975_radioshack_catalog.html