[Premium-Rx] Beacon Hunting

[Terry O'Laughlin]

I should point out that the WJ-340 is not strictly speaking a Premium 
RX.  It has a frequency counter reading the voltage tuned local 
oscillator.  Pretty low tech stuff nowadays.  That said, here's my waste of 
bandwidth.

Years ago, I had a Collins R-389, WJ-357 and WJ-340 in my radio room at the 
same time.  I lived in an urban environment and had a long wire and a 
homebrew LF loop for antennas.  Each of the receivers had their advantages 
and charms.

The R-389 was ungodly heavy, generated tons of heat and the tuning knob 
required the wrists of Charles Atlas to tune, even after a full lube 
job.  The motorized tuning was vital feature.  The RF selectivity was 
outstanding and there was nothing quite like the watching the worm gear 
driven coil racks move as the motorized tuning shuttled the R-389 from one 
frequency to another.

The WJ-357 has a fabulous noise reduction circuit.  It is sensitive, 
selective and the Nixie display has an undeniable vintage charm.  Mine had 
regular trouble with the germanium transistors and wasn't aging well.  It 
was still a fine receiver.

The WJ-340 was clearly the most sensitive.  It equaled the WJ-357 in RF 
selectivity but was no match for the R-389 in an urban environment.  That 
said, it was no slouch either.  The front end was surprisingly unburdened 
by overload and intermod given its broadband design.  It became my clear 
favorite.

I was a NDB DXer for years and worked my way through a SuperPro 200-LF, 
SRR-19, WRR-3A and others.  They were all too bulky for the performance 
level.  I also tried the Icom R-71, JRC NRD-525, Collins 651S-1 and other 
solid-state rigs.  In my opinion, few of the military rigs and none of the 
commercial solid-state radios held a candle to the WJ-340.

Be aware these are subjective opinions.  I don't have a test lab, a decent 
LF location or a substantial antenna.  My loop works very well but picks up 
noticeably fewer stations.  I haven't heard a European LF station since I 
lived 40 miles from nowhere in farmhouse on a bluff with iron bearing 
sandstone ten feet under the foundation and ribbons of copper wire strung 
out over the acres.  (European LF in the heart of the Midwest is a real 
accomplishment)

Terry O'
http://watkins-johnson.terryo.org