Realistic DX-160 Mod Update

This is an update to my previous video on the Realistic DX-160 Shortwave radio.
Here is a link to some of the helpful service and modification information I used.
www.freeinfostuff.com/DX160/DX...

[@Radionut]

I just bought a DX-160 of Craigslist. I went in to do the mods and they were already done. Great sound

[@RadioHamGuy]

That sounds great on the DX-160! Glad to hear that. You have a great Christmas there also Dave!

[@sandpiper9988]

Wow, that sounds great compared to when you first got it. Great job on the mods and thanks for the link.

[@vimmeh]

Great work on the restoration and servicing, the final radio looks as good as any radio you could buy today, I managed to pickup a Panasonic RF-B600L RX from an auction site in a sad state, but promises to be a cracking set when finished. 73 Colin

[@joefaz1818]

Nice job, when I could afford to I bought 8 of them. One of my all time favorite SW radios!

[@stridermt2k]

Nice work on the mods to this great radio! I'm surprised you weren't able to tap an internal supply for LED power, but regardless some nice improvements! I hope this one is still going good for you!

[@peterwillmott7245]

My First radio in 1978........ and the beat goes on 37 years later Great Vid Peter VK3TQ

[@RadioHamGuy]

Peter Willmott Thanks Peter!

[@katabhimaramachari584]

Super sir

[@RadioHamGuy]

I thought you might notice that Todd! Thanks, it is working great, I love it and have been using it a lot here.

[@junglejoecvideogates9705]

Nice one! I have a DX-302 Shortwave reciever I bought new in 1980. It has a full digital freq. counter. Really nice radio

[@RadioHamGuy]

Thanks. The DX-150 was made from about 1970 until 1974 and the DX-160 from about 1975 until 1980 by GRE in Japan for Radio Shack. Mine was made somewhere in the mid to late 70's.

[@skyboy2410]

Larry great video, I am learning a lot from you.

[@fransvanhelvoort1083]

This is a wonderful machine. I have a hole bunch of communication receivers and this one is one of the best (Kenwood, Realistic dx200, yaeshu and more ) After I changed R2 to 4k5 ohm and made a digital frequency display. Super selective and sensitive. Installed a notch/cw filter for perfect cw and ssb sound.

[@NSNorfolk]

Nicely done!

[@rpcomms1]

Nice upgrade,audio sounds fine to me!

[@jannoabz]

Cheers! I'm dreaming of getting my hands on this set, but here in the Philippines shortwave radios like this DX-160 are rare. I enjoyed watching your video and hoping you'll post more videos about shortwave.

[@ate508]

Great job on the walk though on the previous video and the updates on this one. I have one of these on the way and also purchased a DX-300 off Ebay and then learned the counter chip M54826P for the DX-300 isn't available anywhere. Hope this one works when I get it and it will see itself in the ham swap fest next May before it becomes a problem. There is something to be said for analog tuning. 73's KE7JZT.

[@electronicspark1]

Nice video inspiring makes me feel like getting into electronics and post videos and get my bench cleaned up

[@RadioHamGuy]

Thanks, the mods did seem to make a difference that I could hear but it still don't have what you would call a nice sound, it just kind of mellowed it out a little more and makes it a bit more pleasing to listen to I guess.

[@billybonewhacker]

boy an alignment really helped that thing. grt vid

[@RadioHamGuy]

I found the leds on Amazon, there are many listed on there, I don't remember the exact ones though. Just search for led strip lights. I could have run from transformer but just decided to keep it separate so I could display it either way, but I mostly run it on DC so the leds are being used then.

[@ThePauperPrepper]

Very nice job. The DX160 has been reborn. Im getting a roll of those lights. nice tip.

[@KevinTrotman]

Nice job on all those mods! I wish I had not gotten rid of my DX-160 now. It meant a lot to me since I saved up money from my first job as a grocery sacker to get it. I never did like the way that radio drifted though. Maybe it was only mine, but I would constantly have to tweak the frequency to stay in tune with broadcast SW stations. I'm sure it could have benefited from an alignment, but I never opened the case on it even after becoming a ham! Enjoyed the video! 73 de N5PRE

[@RadioHamGuy]

Thanks Dave, yes, 12 volt is pretty common in radios by using a transformer to reduce the voltage for the circuits and diodes to convert from AC to DC required. 100 milliamps is a tenth of an amp, so very little.There are stick on lettering kits that I use once in a while if it is a more important project but if I am not to concerned about the project I don't worry about it too much but they are good to use like on a front panel or something.

[@RadioHamGuy]

Thanks! I think they all drift in the same way, just the design and components used. I leave mine powered up all the time since I run it on a 12 volt power supply that I use to power other things also and it draws very little current. Mine seems quite stable leaving it powered up all the time now. I use it to monitor 3885 Khz AM in the background and just keep the RF gain low so the volume is low but I can still hear a little and turn up when I want to hear more. 73..Larry

[@electronicspark1]

Nice lab shop setup Good LED use ideas

[@MooreBass]

Ok, ignore by last question, you did do a bunch of mods, very nice. 73's Butch, W4DXZ

[@pesnyaozemle]

I think DX-160 is one of the most beautiful radios.

[@cmvb69]

Where did you hook up the dc cord to the receiver, what two points ?

[@RMoribayashi]

How's the radio these days? I had one back in the 70's that served me well for nearly a decade. My oly mods were a homebuilt 1MHz crystal calibrator that was invaluable for calibrating the bandspread and a few years later an IF output jack for pocket LED frequency counter. I got very good at adding and subtracting 455. Now, of course, there are microcontroller based counters that subtract the IF for you. It'd be interesting to see how (and where) you'd add a display to the 160. You might also consider adding a switch to disable the internal ferrite rod antenna. While the radio is pretty resistant to AM overload it's able to pick up a lot of close by RFI like fluorescent light ballasts, computers and IR devices like remote controls and computer mice (those things can give out a lot of radio noise).

[@Radionut]

How did you get those leds in?

[@RadioHamGuy]

Yes, that is very good advice! Thanks..

[@cmritchie04]

what is the link for the leds? if you want to could you have disabled the stock lights and run the leds of the Transformer and have it switched on by normal on/off switch?

[@handsomeclem208]

I wonder if anyone has come up with bandspread charts for 120, 90 & 22m ISWBC and 160m Ham bands?

[@ry491]

Hi , I am thinking of doing the audio mod on my DX160 like yours . I am having trouble finding the right solder joints on the back of the board . I canm find the caps ok but the back of the board where I need to solder is not so easy to identify . Does the mod make much difference . I find mine hard to listen to on AM broadcast stations . Any tips . Great videos . Best regards from Thomas (UK)

[@Rekmeyata]

How much is one those DX160 worth now without mods done and needing alignment?

[@Radionut]

If I pay for shipping and pay you for the work will you dot 260 the same way ?

[@RadioHamGuy]

Thanks!

[@craftsman123456]

I went to do the mod and noticed that you said you replaced c58. Was that with a dielectric? The video seems to show noting was replaced after the .1uf disk was removed. Am I missing something. I know the video is old but do you have the linked document as it appears the link is now bad. I can't seem to find this mod anywhere.

[@RadioHamGuy]

This radio is a single conversion receiver so it does not have an I.F. frequency, just a mixer stage so no IF. Very simple design that way but does have some drawbacks. Still very sensitive however.

[@lacey397]

very nice ..i am looking for one now

[@TREEHUGGAH1]

hey that radio really looks sharp with those awesome lights!!!! nice job.you will never guess what santa is rumored to have brought to me for Christmas?? yup a DX160!!!!!! and an original speaker.wow i cant wait to eyeball it on Christmas day.hope you have a happy,healthy and blessed Christmas!!!!! ho ho ho MERRY CHRISTMAS 73,KB3YJO

[@PseudoOrientHiroshi]

This improvement can be done in DX150a???

[@jodiemartine]

Hi, I really liked you vid. The Realistic DX-160 Shortwave radio is a really great radio and I would like one myself. If you ever do any interesting mods on a Kenwood R-1000 I'd be very interested.

[@20014johnss]

Hi there. I just found this receiver on line and bought it. What is the best antenna to use for this model. Right now I am picking up the AM band with just a small wire three foot in length attached.

[@RadioHamGuy]

+Stanley Johnson For the AM band there is a built in ferrite loopstick antenna but for the other bands you can use a wire about 10 feet or longer, best to put up a wire about 30 to 50 feet long run out from a window to a tree or something like that to get the wire out away from noise sources in the house. Or even better, a dipole type antenna fed with coax. But if you can not put anything outside, just use the longest wire you can off the back of the radio and you should still hear a lot of signals, but you might have a little more noise also.

[@MartinHerreraJ]

Excellent receiver. Good afternoon, I have a receiver like yours the Realistic DX-160, the problem is that the variable capacitor broke down and let me know where I can buy, I hope you could help me informing me somewhere where I can find. thank you very much in advance. Sincerely Martín Herrera 73 from Mx

[@parkerriverrat1]

is there a link to where could find those LED strips you are using? Thanks

[@RadioHamGuy]

I do not remember where I got those now but more than likely it was on Amazon. That is where I am getting them from now but different ones for different projects.

[@parkerriverrat1]

@@RadioHamGuy ok thank you sir my dx 160 is all stock just want to upgrade it some.

[@20014johnss]

What part of the country are you in? I am in Houston tx, and I would be interested to know which channels you have picked up and test them myself on my set.

[@RadioHamGuy]

I am in Minnesota. The more active channels are 38 lower side band and 19 AM from this area. If the band is open for skip, you will hear a lot of activity on 6 also.

[@billybonewhacker]

btw what is the i.f. freq for this unit ty

[@torch39]

Outstanding! I love mine and now I have a plan thanks to you. I too have those strip LEDs in my bench-stock. Mine needs a paint job so I'll see if I can find the color code for that. 73. Dave KJ6UFY

[@20014johnss]

The forum that you have in the link has been set up for deletion when you click on it. I also did not find the calibration sections in the manual. I really need to get this done. Also, what do you recommend for an antenna? I have a 70 ft 18ga antenna kit that I installed and grounded. Thank you and best regards,

[@20014johnss]

Disregard the antenna question. I have much better reception now with the antenna that I installed outside. I do need the calibration steps for this model.

[@RadioHamGuy]

Sorry about the link, I see it has changed and I don't know where it went to now. Will have to do some searches on google I guess to find it again.

[@EricLDC]

Now I want one

[@TheHossHobart]

I bought a DX-160 off of Ebay and two screws are missing from the speaker housing. I think the previous owner got into the speaker and did something because the speaker sounds good. I have two problems with my DX-160. One...it needs an alignment done on it. The dial indicator is off and Two...ssb drifts a lot.

[@pu2clr]

Nice work. Thanks for the video. 73. PU2CLR.

[@mutexnet]

Nice job. Do you know what year the Realistic was manufactured?

[@gkiltz0]

They were all between 1975 and 1980, but they are still readily available

[@thefiftypoundbeard3604]

I've looked everywhere for the 12V DC connector you have for your DX-160. I don't know what to search for and have hit a lot of dead ends - any suggestions?

[@RadioHamGuy]

TheFiftyPoundBeard Just search for Anderson Power Pole connectors and you should see a lot of information, that is what I like to use on most of my gear I guess.

[@warplanner8852]

+RadioHamGuy I think he means the chassis DC plug.

[@KB2CWN]

Hi Larry. I sent you a few emails to your ARRL address, have you received them? I have a few question about this radio I wanted to ask.

[@RadioHamGuy]

Hi Frank, sorry, just behind on my messages here but I did send you an email just now.

[@Kennynva]

Nice radio..you might want to make a note that I believe yours is a SECOND version...I started looking at mine (just got it yesterday) and nothing was making since...like my C63 is a 10uf 16 volt electrolytic...nothing was making since...just like in the alignment instructions it would have helped if the instructions said to make sure you turn the band spread dial COMPLETELY CLOCKWISE...before doing the alignment...as I went to like steep 30 and things started to go south(IM from the south) and had to start all over again.

[@kevin326445]

HELLO i have my dads would u consider tuning someone else radio if so please shout me an answer

[@jeromegrzelak8236]

shame they did no make a matching transmitter kg6mn

[@TheHossHobart]

For the sound on mine maybe the speaker was replaced. I keep finding on the internet under mods for the DX-160 that the audio chip isn't made anymore so maybe replacing the speaker is the only way to go. KA8EXK

[@RadioHamGuy]

Yes, or you may be able to tap off from a spot and run into a stand alone audio amp or build up a simple audio amp or use one of the kits out there for audio amps, lot of them out there. Just some more ideas I guess. 73

[@insolentstickleback3266]

I just found this radio at an antique store, $20.00.

[@tubeDude48]

At 6:00 added house lighting zip-cord... *VERY* *TACKY* !!!

[@loosecannonradios]

i realize this is an old video, but i wanted to point out that you did the wrong audio mods to this radio. the mods you found online were for the old style audio chip, and your chassis is one of the new versions. im not sure how your radio sounds, but the capacitors you changed don't do what you think they do. there are mods out there for the new audio chip. you can find them on the antique radio forum.

[@RadioHamGuy]

+loosecannonradios Thanks for that info, I will have to do some more research there then, the radio does sound better than it did before but I was not aware of the different chips I guess.

[@billybonewhacker]

lol sorry i should have paid attention i just saw what looked like i.f. towers.anyway i kinda want one now.its got that great 70 s look ....like you could add it too a rack system lol.peace from Oklahoma city

[@freak55beat]

hi larry cheers for the mods ive just finished. right have a go at this. yep the audio bit more punchy, im a bass player brute force and hope for the best. the world has gone mad on treble bleed, ok so i put a .22 cap across the af gain pot on the 2 hot wires not earth side. wollop ! up came the bass and mid ok. solder it in.it had gone from hmmmm to wow ok. where i live every band 40 over noise static woodpeckers ect.cell phone tower out side........ armed with another .22 i remember my dad in the 60s making 2 valve amp with tone. so i got the .22 soldered it to the chip input and stuck a 1 meg pot controll. wow i heard stations on all bands on ssb as i dialed out the rubbish it worked and with a contest to day i could hear distant station . the audio is 100% better sounds great just have a mess. cheers john

[@RadioHamGuy]

freak55beat Sounds great John, that is what it is all about I guess, experimenting to try to make things better. Sounds like you are having some fun with it to that is great to hear! 73 for now..Larry

[@freak55beat]

cheers larry jon

[@joshthefootballgod]

I have a galaxy dx 959 with a palomar 450 linear. I can talk from east tennessee to the mojave desert.

[@Markinpuff]

I have 2 very nice Dx-160 radios , my first radio I used as as kid, (1979!) basically the reason I'm in ham today. Not experienced enough to align these, don't have the test equipment needed either, would you be willing to align mine, I did replace all of the caps, with original values, but an alignment is necessary. It would be great if you can make a vid on aligning these, and the equipment you would need, I'm wiling to learn hi hi. Let me know what your time would cost, I have many modern high end shortwave radios, but I really love working these radios for the memories and good old feeling they bring back. A very interesting design the fact it does not use a Crystal for frequency stability is interesting to me, but for what it is works remarkably well and the analog tuning is just more fun in my opinion. Email me, I'm good on qrz. Kd2abx 73 Thanks Mark

[@rtybn2012]

By adding the blue LED's you destroyed the original codition which will detract form it value. I have one and the only thing I will be doing is to R&R all the caps and check the alignment and adjust as required. To reduce the possibility of interference I will add some Al tape to the back panel and poke holes as required.

[@mikehernandez264]

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