Jim,
I was impressed by this guy’s threads on basic, old, transistor radio “revival”.
His simple, well illustrated threads at Instructables are written for the novice radio tinkerer.
First, instructions for a GE P780B. (I have one of these, they’re built like tanks and are worth seeking out.)
Second, an American made, Zenith portable. The Zeniths from the 1950s to 1970s are very well made and have audio and DX qualities that place modern portables to shame.
Regards, – F.G.
JWR Replies: I also recommend the G.E. transistor radios. The technology was improved slightly with the SupeRadio series, which was made for G.E. in Japan starting in the 1970s. These used a perfected superheterodyne circuit and large speakers for full, rich sound. When paired with an inductive antenna enhancer (such as a Terk, Select-A-Tenna, or Kaito brand) to boost the built-in ferrite rod AM antenna, you have a great AM and FM DXing radio with quite good monaural sound.