This sale is for a Drake SW8 desktop / portable receiver manufactured by Drake in April of 1994 and displays serial number 4E12950020. The "20" at the end of the serial indicates that this was the 20th unit manufactured in April of 1994.
The SW8 is often desired by preppers due to the fact that it can
operate off of both AC and DC current and can receive the AM, FM, VHF-Air, and
shortwave bands. This is not a wideband receiver, but if you want news
and information from local or international sources and the option of powering
the receiver, this SW8 delivers all of that for you.
This receiver is in beautiful original cosmetic condition.
It is not new and therefore not perfect, but it is in above average condition
and signs of prior ownership are very minor. Please view our pictures for
precise cosmetics.
Operationally the receiver was tested and performed amazingly on the various bands and frequencies with no issues or shortcomings.
The SW8 is a wonderfully made American product that performs
exceptionally well in so many different areas. Because it can be used
with either the telescopic antenna or used as a desktop receiver when connected to a fixed station antenna, it
has a lot of versatility. Some people refer to it as a portable R8
receiver. While this is not actually true, there are some similarities
allowing for such a comparison. Let us review some of them for you and
give you a little background on the SW8.
There are normally a few issues that need to be verified upon
considering the purchase of the SW8 receiver.
We have taken some time to detail clean the SW8. The
receiver has some marking on it common with age and use, but there are no head
turning items to really catch the eye and the SW8 appears to be in above
average cosmetic condition. Please review our pictures for specific
cosmetic condition.
Included in this sale of the SW8 receiver plus:
The R.L. Drake Company was established in 1943 during the height
of WW II and proved to be an innovative leader in the engineering and design of
amateur and shortwave radio products. Mr. Robert Drake produced a unique
amateur radio sideband receiver and took the plans to Hall*icrafters and
Nation*al Radio. When these firms showed no interest in his design and
product, he built the radio under his own name. The first order for 100
units was placed by Universal Services, now known far and wide as Universal
Radio. Thus, the R.L. Drake Company had a very modest beginning, but
eventually their product line grew wider as they showed a knack for great
designs.
The Drake Company discontinued their line of amateur and
shortwave radios in the early 1980's when Japan flooded the market with
portable units that had digital readouts (like the Sony ICF-2001 and ICF-2010
to name a couple) and concentrated on the home satellite market. However,
the hunger for sturdy well-designed amateur and shortwave equipment never went
away and Drake once again entered back into the hobby shortwave receiver market in 1991 with the
announcement of the R8 receiver. The success of this unit was then
followed by the SW8 and then upgrades to the R8 with the R8A and R8B.
What makes the SW8 especially appealing is that it is a desktop
communications receiver that has portable capability. This is uncommon
for those DXers wanting great equipment, but also with a degree of portability.
The Yaseu FRG-7 built in the 1970's also offered an onboard DC power
supply, but was considerably heavier than the microprocessor SW8 and does not
offer digital readout along with many other updated features. In
addition, Eton manufactured the E1 which had many features as found on this
SW8, but the E1 has a history of spotty reliability. Not so with most
Drake products.
Thus, if you want a receiver that will give you killer
reception, portability, and durability, the SW8 is the ticket. Because
the very handle that props up the radio can be rotated for carrying, this SW8
can be transported to the cabin, the yacht, the RV or any number or places
where AC current is not available. Additionally, the SW8 is an excellent
receiver to have for emergencies since it can operate off of readily available D
cell batteries. The SW8 takes 6 D cells in the bottom compartment and the
dial lamp can be turned off to extend the life of the batteries.
The SW8 is capable of receiving transmissions from 500 KHz to
30,000 KHz and can be used in AM or lower or upper sideband. This means that it
can tune into AM radio, marine, amateur radio, and international shortwave
broadcasts. If that weren't enough, this receiver is also capable of
picking up both the 88-108 MHz FM band and the VHF 118-137 MHz aeronautical band. This
is unusual for a serious receiver to pick up all of these frequencies.
Typically, desktop units will not pick up broadcast FM transmissions.
That makes the SW8 especially attractive for you can listen to whatever band
strikes your fancy at the moment.
For our personal use, we don't believe that we have ever tuned
using the air band. We live in a rural area and air traffic is sparse.
However, we really enjoy shortwave listening. Here in the States,
we have been raised on TV to a great extent and AM and FM to a lesser degree.
The world of shortwave is a well kept secret and that is a shame.
On any given night, we generally tune into about a half dozen broadcasts
from overseas that are broadcast in English and that give great news,
commentary, drama, cooking lessons, travel info, interviews, language lessons,
music, and much, much more. The music alone can keep you entranced as we
will frequently tune into Voice of Turkey for music and then re-tune later in
the evening to Cuba for some late night Island sounding club music. While
shortwave is broadcast in a wealth of languages, many of the programs are in
English and thus you as the listener are offered the opportunity to hear music
other than oldies or FM top 20 hits. The best way to describe
international broadcasts are PBS style programs offered with an international
twist.
The SW8 is equipped with some great features:
One of the nicest features is that Drake built the SW8 with a
synchronous detector. During broadcasts, it is quite common to get what is
termed selective fading or distortion. No problem here... just hit the AM Sync
button and the station signal often improves noticeably.
Keep in mind that if you live in an apartment or plan to use the
receiver in an RV or boat, you can use the on board telescopic antenna.
While this antenna will not offer the very best reception that one might
experience using an external antenna, using the telescopic still provides
respectable reception. If you live in a place where you can erect an
outside antenna, the reception of the SW8 will knock your socks off. The
antenna does not have to be fancy as even a random wire about 30 or 40 feet
long will make a huge difference. Thus you have 3 antenna options...a
PL-259 connector for coax cable, terminals for plain wire, or the on board
telescopic antenna.
If you would like to do some more research on this receiver, you
may want to look at eHam where 13 reviewers give it a 4.7/5.0:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/600 (copy and paste this link into your
internet browser)
Dxing.com offers some basic information about the SW8, but also
rates it a 5 out of 5.
http://www.dxing.com/rx/sw8.htm (copy and paste this link in your internet
browser)
Please use the Ebay shipping calculator to determine your
shipping cost. This cost includes proper packing materials for safe
delivery and insurance cost against damage or loss.
Those buyers living outside the USA are also welcome to purchase
from us. We have shipped to 112 countries during the past 24 years on
Ebay and we are happy to ship virtually anywhere in the world. You may
use the shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost.
We ask that you remember that this cost may not include any import, customs, or VAT fees. If you are uncertain of these costs, we ask you to check with your local post office prior to making a purchase from us.
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to look at
our Ebay items!