Lowe HF-225 Radio Shortwave AM SSB CW Receiver UK CLASSIC Sync Bd & Whip Pre Amp

Description

This sale is for a nice Lowe HF-225 shortwave communications receiver that was manufactured in England from 1990 - 1997.  Designed by the legendary shortwave design guru, John Thorpe, this Lowe represents a wonderful value in the category of DX receivers.  Thorpe has gained quite a following over the years with his influence on a few well designed receivers that have enthralled shortwave enthusiasts.  This particular unit has both the Sync Detector and Whip Amplifier options installed....thus, a really nice example of this receiver as it is "loaded" with available options.  You can see the sync and whip preamp boards in the picture at the top of this listing as these optional boards appear vertical in relation to the main chassis board.
This receiver should really appeal to both shortwave enthusiasts and preppers and the Lowe name carries a lot of respect among shortwave enthusiasts.
Cosmetically, the receiver is in great condition showing some minor signs of prior ownership.  The front panel appears nearly perfect and this is an above average cosmetic example of this receiver.  We did notice some loss of stenciling on the rear panel at the antenna option switch.
Electronically, the Lowe has been fully tested and performs just beautifully.  We were able to tune through the various shortwave and amateur bands and get excellent signals as the unit displayed wonderful sensitivity.  During testing, we discovered that there is a power switch on the rear panel that seems to override the power switch on the volume on/off pot.  It would seem that this switch mod is designed to enable the receiver to remained powered on, but without audio.  In the past, such a thing was done to enable the circuits to remain warm to minimize drift during warm-up.  But this HF-225 is not known to have significant drift and so installation of this modification is unknown.  The switch can be ignored if the new owner does not care to utilize the modification.  It is our opinion that the HF-225 will provide the new owner many years of trouble-free listening.
This particular HF-225 comes with:
AC adapter
automobile cigarette plug (to enable DC power during an emergency)
whip / telescopic antenna
original user manual
original of the scarce Lowe Listening Guide (full of pointers and tips about capturing & enjoyment of shortwave signals)
copy of the less common Lowe Technical Manual (receiver service manual)
Mediumwave circle review copy
Radio Netherlands review copy
Passport To World Band Radio review 1991 copy
Passport To World Band Radio review 1991 copy
WRTH review copy 1990 (World Radio & Television Handbook)
Proceedings review (serious hobbyist newsletter)
EEB catalog advertisement 1994 (Electronic Equipment Bank)
EEB catalog page copy 1993
Advertisement in Passport 1991
Universal Radio catalog page copy of Lowe receivers
Lowe Info Flyer copy
Lowe HF-225 Brochure copy (4 pages color)
Lowe Product Flyer copy
Advertisement #1 (color)
Advertisement #2 (color)
CD containing many of the above plus extra files including the user manual, technical manual, listening guide, schematics, plus other documents containing advertisements, information on antennas, and helps on shortwave reception.  This CD is not sold separately and contains over 500MB of documentation.  Many of these documents can not be found online or in any other source location.
As mentioned briefly above, this unit comes with 2 options....the Sync and Whip options.  The Sync Detector option is highly desirable and helps to reduce the distortion which is often found with shortwave signals.  Since the signals travel over great distances, the listener will frequently experience what is known as selective fading distortion.  The sync detector replaces the shortwave signal's carrier wave with one that is internally generated and thus can significantly improve the audio while listening by reducing the distortion.
The whip amplifier was an upgrade that enabled the HF-225 to more effectively utilize a whip antenna for reception.  We don't recommend using a whip / telescopic antenna for receiving as you just do not get the performance as you can expect with an outside antenna.  In addition, you will likely pick up lots of household noise from computers, lighting, TV's, and a variety of other household appliances.  However, the whip option can be utilized in a situation where you do not have an outside antenna easily available or if you take the receiver on a remote listening expedition.  We have also found it useful as a preamp to boost signals when using an outdoor antenna as you can select the whip setting and then benefit with the increased signal strength.
Let us now provide a little information about this Lowe receiver.  The stock HF-225 is a highly stable (30 Hz drift after 1 hr) double conversion superhet that operates on less than 300ma of power.  It is supplied with 4 bandwidth filters that give the user a nice selection to use for both AM and SSB and filters have excellent shape factors.  The receiver has good image rejection of all tuned frequencies in the HF bands, and so if you live in a high RF environment, this may be helpful for you.
When evaluating this receiver, it becomes obvious
that this is not your standard desktop receiver.  First of all, there are only a total of 9 controls on the front panel eliminating clutter and placing most needed controls at the user's fingertips.  Despite this scant number of controls, the HF-225 offers the user some outstanding reception.  The main tuning dial and S-meter are illuminated with light green color and the readout gives the user tuning information in 1 KHz increments.  However, tuning is much finer than the display indicates as tuning resolution ranges from 50-500 Hz in AM and 8-250 Hz in SSB (and when using the sync detector in AM mode).  As you tune the display faster, the encoder will speed up tuning so that you can move through the band more quickly.  But if the need for fine tuning is dictated, the receiver is capable of delivering this precision which is especially important when clarifying the signal on sideband.
For the price of this receiver, most manufacturers offer two bandwidths.  The fact that this Lowe offers 4 of them is helpful especially to the program listener and as mentioned.  The total audio distortion is remarkably less than .5% and can only be fully appreciated with an outboard speaker or connection to either an amplified speaker or home stereo system.  If this is done and the signal is strong, the user will be treated to uncharacteristically pleasant sound on the AM commercial and shortwave bands.
Here are some features found on this HF-225 receiver:
Coverage from 30 KHz to 30 MHz
Sync detector (optional and installed)
Whip Preamp (optional and installed)
4 bandwidths of 2.2, 4.0, 7.0, and 10.0 kHz
S-meter
Backlit LCD
Built-in speaker
30 Memories
Dual VFOs
1/4" Headphone jack
External speaker jack
Tone control
Record jack
Attenuator -20dB
Front tilt feet
Modes of AM / LSB / USB / CW
Stability of <30 Hz / hr
200 Hz CW filter
Speed sensitive tuning
Low Distortion (THD less than .5%)
AGC (automatic gain control)
Heavy duty construction
Operates off of 12 VDC
The HF-225 is easy to use and should appeal to beginning DXers.  Its features will be attractive to more advanced shortwave listeners as it is capable of delivering top notch performance during program listening.  While the Lowe does not have all the frills as other receivers, it is competitively priced and delivers outstanding performance.  Passport to World Band Radio 1990 describes the HF-225 thusly:
"Overall the '225 performs very well and sounds unusually good"
Lastly, one thing that we want to mention is that this receiver operates on a lot less power than other tabletop units.  The importance of this is that the HF-225 can listen for a long duration using 12 volts DC.  This would be important during a time of crisis when operating power may be in short supply.  Because the receiver can utilize 12 VDC externally (via the rear input jack), it would be easy to concoct a cigarette plug for use in an automobile.  We listen to a shortwave receiver daily in our vehicle and utilize an amateur radio 2 meter antenna with very good results.  You would not use such an antenna for DXing, but this arrangement offers surprising results (especially when using the whip preamp) and serves as a backup listening plan during a power outage or emergency.  The Lowe would be more thrifty on power than most other comparable receivers as it operates on 1/2 to 1/3 the power and this should appeal to preppers.
If you would like to read more about this fine receiver, here is an especially good page filled with info:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180627165734/http://www.mds975.co.uk:80/Content/lowe3.html
(copy and paste this link into your internet browser)
Please use the Ebay shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost.  This cost includes proper packing materials for safe delivery and insurance cost against damage or loss.
Those buyers living outside the USA are also welcome to purchase from us.  We have shipped to 105 countries during the past 22 years on Ebay and we are happy to ship virtually anywhere in the world.  You may use the shipping calculator to determine your shipping cost.
Please keep in mind that this cost does not include any import, customs, or VAT fees.  If you are uncertain of these costs, we ask you to check with your local post office prior to making a purchase from us.  Thank you!
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