Straight out the 80's. Quite a rare Airband receiver. Frequency range is 108 - 142 MHz. Even rarer to find one with the original leather case. Out of all the Signal R-550's I've seen for sale, and there hasn't been that many, none of them have come with the case. So its great to have one that does. In saying that, the Signal R-550's I've seen come up for sale have been in absolutely excellent condition. Similar to my one. But they had the original box and manual. And with the original box, I'd probably rather have theirs than mine. But still, my one isn't a bad a trade-off coming with the case and all.
The R550 [108MHz - 142MHz] is very sensitive and picks up really well. Case not shown here. I'll picture the case in another post soon. This was just a quickie.
So, how well does it work?
Oh, it works really well. Because its only made for airband it seems so finely tuned for that frequency range. I think even the original aerial is specifically tuned for the airband range. It works great. I was testing it out, picking up Birmingham airport. And it picked it up clearer than both the Quansheng UV K5 (8) and the Icom IC R6 [will write a post on this excellent little radio soon]. Given the fact that the Signal Communication Corp. R-550 is from the 80's, I'd say that's pretty impressive. This little radio is like an airbanders dream, and I'm sure when I put my one up for sale, it won't be up for sale for very long.
Batteries
It takes 3 AAA batteries. There is a little connection on the side that looks like it could be an AC power supply adapter port. But I have no idea on what type of voltage / milliamps (mA) specifics it could be compatible with. So I won't risk plugging in an adapter, as I wouldn't want to risk damaging the radio. It's a shame the manual is so hard to find. I would love to have a read through it. But its not absolutely essential as I quickly figured out how to use this receiver, and that's the thing that counts.
And 3 AAA's is quite easy to live with. Might write a post about another Signal radio soon, the R-537. I own that one, too. Not as rare as this one, but still quite a hard radio to find in working condition these days.
They both look quite basic, but they are high quality for their ages. The volume and squelch knobs are made of metal and feel professional and tight to turn. Nice radios. #Japan
I'm selling it
I've got too many radios so this one is now for sale. If you are interested post a comment. I will add a full post on its description etc, with pictures and a video of the radio working. I only sell / post within the UK. Price is £150. I will accept a bank transfer for payment and will post the radio by Royal Mail Special Delivery [included in the price].
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