Masthead

Radio Shack 20-629

Radio Shack 20-629 I forget exactly what the deal was, but it showed up on Amazon.com for something like $27, and for that I thought it was a helluva deal and snagged one.

Actually, the real reason I bought it is that it's the only radio I own (as I type this) that has single-sideband (SSB) capability. My boat-anchors were all pre-SSB technology.

According to Kevin Raper at The Broadcasters' Desktop Resource, this is actually an update of a Sangean ATS-505P.

It's nice for what it is—a 21st century version of a Zenith Transoceanic. There's a loopstick antenna for AM and that telescopic whip for FM. If you hope to pick up SW you pretty-much have to use an external and plug it into the antenna jack on the side. I had a Sangean wire antenna on a spool that worked fairly well but broke in eight pieces. A regular random wire would likely do just as good or better.

Current status: runs fine.