How to Upgrade audio Vintage Realistic DX-302 Shortwave Ham Receiver

What a great historic receiver. I loved them as a kid. Couldn't afford one at that time. Now, they are very obtainable. This one came from a Heathkit engineer. It was worthy of a audio modification. I am very happy with the results. What ever happened to the classic days of shortwave radio? Hope this is good for you, my friends.

[@atw4321]

Hey Terry that is so ironic 🤣 i just purchased a pristine DX 302 wow what timing to see this video thanks Terry ...termiteaudio

[@yardleybottles6025]

I was going to make a snarky comment about the cracked tuning gear in here, but you slipped in a St. Max Kolbe QSO on me. I will not blaspheme! 🤣 Sounds beautiful!

[@Radionut]

Could you supply a list of the capacitors that you replaced? And also where to get that speaker that you put in. Excellent restoration job thank you

[@alphabeets]

I love stuff like this. Mods cost so little and can make a big difference.

[@duanetrivett750]

Nice job . I enjoy watching some one who knows what they are doing .

[@diregremo]

The best part was watching you wrestle that speaker. I for sure thought the case was going to break. Great mod!

[@johnnyjohn6527]

i just got 1 today . happy as with it 😊

[@pavil58yt]

I've not read any comments but I found that gently applying heat from a heat gun really eased the removal of that speaker. I directed hot air at the magnet for the most part and in short bursts.

[@johncunningham5435]

Excellent Terry! love the modification, huge difference, well done.

[@jeongmincheon226]

Just done! Wonderful audio now!! Many thanks OM!!!

[@mikelee8520]

A great video, still use my DX-302 to this day.

[@radio-etc]

Nice repair＆Upgrade!!

[@MarkWilliams-rh9or]

Thanks Terry, great video. Been looking for one for months in UK. Have the 394 but wanted something solid and reliable. Thanks again.

[@jimkobler8434]

Thank you for an informative video. And your sense of humor also makes the video fun to watch. Now I'm going to look for a DX-302. Cheers.

[@sparkdetect]

Great job, huge difference from before the mod!

[@yardleybottles6025]

Would be nice to have a video showing how to get to and repair cracked gear.

[@moo883jp]

Great Upgrade DX-302 internal Speaker!! Thanks a lot.

[@elkabong6429]

Well worth the struggle, Terry!

[@tomcabrera8223]

Saw one of these for 29 dollars at a hamfest and it was gone when I got back. Always regretted it.

[@RickCutter]

I am working on this mod myself - I replaced the speaker first to see what that alone would do. Wow! Audio Grade caps on order to finish this up.... Speaker just popped right out no problem following your instructions... Thanks .

[@Radionut]

Rick Cutter Could you by chance provide me with a list of values and voltages of all the capacitors you replaced. Did you replace the speaker if you did what did you use? Thank you for your time

[@parkerriverrat1]

@@Radionut C367 Electrolytic or not?

[@kennethreinard5792]

@@Radionut Did you ever get specs on the speaker and caps?

[@kennethreinard5792]

Did you ever get specs on the speaker and cap replacements?

[@RickCutter]

@@kennethreinard5792 I don’t know why I was notified of your response however I offer this, find a speaker with as big a magnet as you can find that fits that cabinet. I do not recall what all the caps are but if you Google this mod you will find then. You may also look for my KZbin channel (shameless plug) and you will find 2 vids on this mod. Hope this helps …

[@retro440]

Nice vintage station, my friend. 73, K0CRX

[@MichaelLloyd]

Nice rework. Every now and then Electronic Goldmine will have some nice 5 inch speakers for pretty cheap. I picked up some to use in a Collins S-line power supply (speaker can be housed with the PSU) a few months back.

[@daveogarf]

BRILLIANT!

[@umajunkcollector]

WOW Terry, you made a RadidioShack sound "Realistic"! Don

[@d-labelectronics]

Good pun on those words man, haha

[@RandomRetr0]

Was just looking for this mod to send a new SWL. I applied it to my old 302 years ago, worked great - although I didn’t remove the internal speaker

[@1967250s]

Next time with glue like that, use some lighter fluid to soften it up. Let it sit awhile. Won't hurt the plastic either. Nice video.

[@worldwide1376]

That's awesome, thanks for sharing. I have one of these shortwaves and replaced all the electrolytic capacitors. Would you be so kind as to share which speaker you put in it? Where did you get it?

[@sethlavinder]

I caught where you plan to use for cw work, I have been ham 25 years have rusty crusty CW skills and I have never had the pleasures of operating separate TX/RX , especially something that wasn't built to be together like the old Drake B line I had but never transmitted on long ago. At a recent local fest, I picked up a beautiful Heathkit DX-60B and equally gorgeous Drake R4B , very clean well cared for rigs. I have no idea how to go about rigging TR switching. With all the different combinations of rigs you run, would you see fit to make a video going over this topic? Thank You, 73 de Seth - W8FG

[@parkerriverrat1]

great video, I am also going to do this to my DX-302 were did you find the speaker. I looked on ebay saw some but didn't show the magnet size. Thanks.

[@Lindomar850]

Parabéns amigo, irei fazer em meu dx-300, 73 PU5RSL

[@n1kkri]

are you aware of any other similar mods to improve the receive audio of shortwave or ham radios. Would like to know if any mods out there to make a solid state shortwave or ham receiver sound like some of the older tube rigs.

[@jordan390a]

Hi from VE6ZT....Have you done anything with the AX/SX-190 series...? Keep up the great work...! 73....

[@2e0lgz]

Well done de 2E0LGZ

[@chadparker8198]

Question- BTW, solid video. ..but just wondering, if someone were to utilize the headset jack and use headphones, is the audio you get there broadcast like audio or is it pretty much the same low quality audio?

[@atoiler1389]

Hi there. Cool video and upgrade. Thanks. May I ask what antennae you use for the Realistic DX-302 unit? If a tower, anything alternate you might suggest for a novice?

[@eduardopower5254]

Sir what a change! From A to Z. Did you fix the S meter? And it LED lamp? How much you think could be a decent pruce range to pay for one of these? Thanks 73

[@jcharos7672]

PS. That Johnson Ranger was my first rig.

[@alarmman2007]

hi terry i have just acquired a realistic dx300 but i cannot locate any lists of the caps that need changing all the sites i have found don't exist anymore are you able to help please

[@aaronparris8591]

The digital display digit to the immediate right of the decimal point will only show a 9. All the other display digits work fine. Any suggestions?

[@atoiler1389]

Any suggestions (form anyone) on where best to buy replacement capacitors? I am in Canada. Thank you

[@jerrymitchell3655]

I recently acquired a DX-302 to get my feet wet before taking the first step towards a Han License. It has what I found out is a frozen preselector tune, making it impossible to fine tune. So, watching several KZbin videos on how to correct, I jumped in and took the radio apart. I'm now at the point with the preselector tune exposed and can't figure out how to correct the problem. I have pictures but need some direction. Can someone give advice to continue?

[@dancraver3815]

Terry i need ur help i have a president HR2510 WITH LOW modulation and i dont trust but a few to work on it what do u suggest I do

[@chrisr.3122]

Could you list where you got the speaker and a part number?

[@user-nk8nz7ch4o]

Hello - I am new to shortwave & am looking at getting one of these radios, I may want to recap it though, (something I just learned about) They have kits on ebay, is it something that I could do being decent with tools, mainly a soldering gun, or do you do this kind of work?......any advice from someone who has been around this for many years would be much appreciated - my name is Mike, born in 59......Thanks

[@thomasschmalz533]

Will these mods work exactly the same for a dx300?

[@worldwide1376]

You never mentioned what capacitor you replaced at C367. Did you replace it with a polar or non-polar? Electrolytic?

[@parkerriverrat1]

I put in a 100uf 50V electrolytic cap in R367

[@worldwide1376]

@@parkerriverrat1 Thank you, Michael, I appreciate your input.

[@jacksharmonoquinn572]

I found one for sale, what is a reasonable price for one? Been looking for years.

[@laheart1957]

I am just wondering - where to get the mods done on this DX 302. Thanks in advance for your replies,

[@johnsimms3957]

They used really good glue back then didn't they? ;-)

[@jcharos7672]

4 clips, why would they glue it down like that.

[@DIlic-iz9tx]

Why didn't you heat the glue so it would be easier to remove the speaker?

[@graemerichards4689]

I've got one of those radio's here, please tell me why the signal meter is so lazy??????????????

[@lanceashlock9727]

The reciever has a external speaker jack on the rear. Why not just try other speakers on it from the jack?

[@metatechnologist]

"very little drift" actually there is *none* because this has a "wadley loop" circuit according to wikipedia! Which can remove all drift!

[@LonesomeTroubadour]

I think the DX-160 had better audio.

[@hgfhghghgfhfghgfhghg538]

Still sounds shit lol can this be done on the 300