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Hello everyone.? I am new here.? Let me know if I become too much of a pain ...

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I just received a Drake 2B from an eBay seller.? I will admit to a lot of stupidity on my part and a lack of understanding before I pushed the "Purchase now" button.? I purchased this during an emotional stupor because I was looking for a GOOD old tube SW receiver like my Dad used when I was in elementary school in the 60s - a Hallicrafters S-40B.? Mom and Dad were scrimping by with just barely enough money and my Dad picked-up that Hallicrafters from a junk yard and got it working again.? Even though Dad had to walk a mile to work and back because he did not have a car, he gave some priority to buying that Hallicrafters.? And we had a great time listening to stations all over North and South America late into the night (usually ending only when Mom came into the room with her hands on her hips).? I remember the glow on the ceiling and the smell of those hot tubes.? So, after reading a lot of reviews which all kept focusing on the Drake 2B as THE radio to have, I pushed that eBay button and have been waiting where my driveway meets the street ever since.? It showed up yesterday and I unboxed it and started reading the manual.? Boy, am I ever lost!? I am not normally a stupid fellow and I can usually get my brain to cooperate on new and even difficult concepts, but that manual and me have decided to part company.? Surely, there is a better source of information somewhere on how to work this radio!? I have more questions than I believe this group will allow, but let me start with this one:

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If I understand the manual correctly, and a little simple math, if I purchase ten crystals and fill each of the ten slots, that will give me a total band spread of frequencies of (let's see: a 600 kHz spread per crystal, times ten crystals, equals 6,000 kHz of total frequencies) available on this radio.? Of the frequencies usually collectively available on the LW, MW, and SW bands on most of these old vintage radios (specifically, .5 to 30 MHz), this radio will not tune to the LW or MW groups and will let me listen to only 6 MHz (6 MHz!) of the SW group.? Is that REALLY true?? Surely a coveted radio with owners' comments centering around "I will never give it up" to "I should not have given it up" can do better than that!? Is this true, or will someone here tell me where the secret button is that will allow me to tune in the remainder of the HF field?? Really, I think I goofed and bought a specialized radio that was never intended to be in the hands of a "general receiver" fool.

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Richard

W2ONE

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By the way, ever since I unboxed the radio and started sighing heavily with each page turned in that manual, my wife has started standing at the door with her hands on her hips...

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