Inhaltsverzeichnis
Bearcat DX1000
Manufactured by Bearcat, Electra Company, Cumberland, IN.
In 1983, Bearcat developed an ambitious shortwave receiver; before that, the company had got its reputation mainly from scanner receivers, which had been developed by Uniden.
Technical data
- Frequency range: 10 kHz - 30 MHz
- Frequency display: digital display, 1 kHz
- Frequency memories: ten memory channels
- Features: Clock, Timer
Power supply
- Mains operation: 220 V mains adapter for 12 V =.
Dimensions
- 370 x 135 x 245 mm, weight 8.5 kg
Accessories
- wire antenna
Operation
Earlier the brand Bearcat was known mainly for scanner receivers, with which different kinds of radio services could be intercepted, but the use of such receivers was illegal in Switzerland. In 1983 Bearcat launched a „real“ shortwave receiver, competing with the portable sets from Sony, Panasonic (DR-31), Philips (D 2999) or Yaesu. The set was developed by Uniden, this company had already a good reputation from the development of the CR-2021, the technically improved successor of the Sony ICF-2001.
The Bearcat receiver looks impressive, the reception performance and the workmanship were not quite as impressive as its appearance, this fact quickly gave the set a bad reputation. Compared to the USA, it is even more difficult to find it in this country.
The tabletop set can be set up at an angle with the carrying handle, and at this slight angle the controls on the front panel are within easy reach. The DX1000 is designed as a portable unit and is powered by a centre-positive 12V mains power supply or alternatively by eight UM-1 mono cells. To maintain the clock and memory contents, the receiver requires three additional UM-3 AA cells; the battery compartment is also located behind the metal cover on the back.
The left quarter of the front panel is taken up by the loudspeaker grill, below which is the 6.3 mm jack socket for the headphones.
The right quarter of the front panel contains the tuning knob, unfortunately made of plastic and without a good flywheel effect, next to it the control for the squelch SQUELCH and the fine tuning knob, which allows tuning between the 100 Hz steps of the PLL synthesiser when single sideband reception is activated. Above this are the analogue signal strength meter and the red LED display, which indicates the operation frequency at 1 kHz or alternatively the time.
The middle front panel segment has three sections:
In the top row are the LED indicators for the operation modes, tuning modes, etc.\
In the middle row, there is a volume control in the form of a double potentiometer, the outer ring is the tone control; below this is the two setp RF attenuator, a real RF gain control is unfortunately missing on the DX1000. Next to it a large number of round keys are located, and further right, the square numeric frequency input keys. The sets also lacks a marking of the „5“ key, which would make frequency input easier for visually impaired listeners.
The bottom row contains push-buttons for functions whose settings cannot be saved. Next to the main switch are the buttons for the IF filters, the noise blanker, the AGC speed and the tuning steps 100 Hz and 1 kHz, but the frequency display only indiactes the frequency with an accuracy of 1 kHz.
When the unit is switched on for the first time, the time must first be entered in 24-hour format using the numeric keys; pressing the E(nter) key starts the clock. You can change to the second time zone (e.g. for GMT) by pressing CLOCK, now only the hour has to be entered and saved with E(nter).
To operate the receiver, first the type of frequency setting must be selected: The MANUAL key switches between frequency setting with the tuning knob (indicated as tuning mode DIAL) and frequency entry via the numeric keypad (tuning mode KEY). The frequency is entered in kHz and confirmed with E(nter) - the receiver immediately jumps to the frequency. Entries with a dot (.) are treated as MHz entries.
When searching for a station with the tuning knob, the STEP button can be used to select between 1 kHz and 100 Hz tuning steps; for optimum tuning during CW and single sideband reception, the FINE TUNING button can be used to fine-tune between steps.
The operating mode buttons let you select between AM, USB, LSB, CW and also FM reception (for example, for tracking CB radio traffic at 27 MHz); to receive a shortwave broadcast station, select AM. Depending on the reception situation, the „barn-door wide“ 12 kHz filter can be used, or in case of adjacent channel interference, 6 kHz and especially for CW and SSB reception, the 2.7 kHz filter are to be used.
The volume control is used to set the volume to a comfortable level.
As a portable receiver, the DX1000 performs quite well with short or telescopic antennas; long-wire antennas can lead to overloading of the input circuits easily - the set was not designed for European conditions with high field strengths.
In critical cases, the attenuator can be used to reduce overloading, and an antenna tuner such as the FRT-7700 can do a good job.
By pressing MEMO, a numeric key and E(nter), a received frequency can be stored; by pressing MEMO, a numeric key and RECALL, a previously stored frequency can be recalled. The manual provides information on the programming options for the search function and timer. An external tape recorder can even be activated via relay contacts switched by the timer function.
In terms of reception, the Bearcat DX1000 may not be able to keep up with other receivers with the same features and price: it tends to overload at high signal levels, which makes the reception of weak signals in broadcast bands with many strong stations very difficult. I classify the set as a collector's set; in terms of reception performance, it is quickly eclipsed by an FRG-7, R-1000 or even the Sony ICF-2001D. It occupies a nice place in the collection thanks to its external appearance, but the DX1000 is rarely found second hand.
Technical principle
Double conversion with a high first IF, PLL frequency synthesis.
Components
The set is equipped with semiconductors.
Technical documentation
- Bearcat DX-1000, operating instructions
