469
Item nr.
Navigation and station hunt.
| Production | USA, 1971. |
|---|---|
| Bands | Beacon (190-400kHz), Broadcast (540-1600kHz), Marine (1,6-4,5MHz), IF is 455kHz. |
| Semi- conductors | 2SA286 (RF), 2SA160 (mixer), 2SA160 (osc), 2SA155 (IF), 2SA155 (IF), SD46 (det.), 2SB113 (driver), 2x 2SB120 (output), 2SB113 (BFO) . |
| Cabinet | Plastic. Weight 960gr w/o batt. |
| Power | Batt 4xAA. |
| Documents | Direction Finder page. |
To determine your position on sea or in a desert or forest, you'll need to measure two stations at known positions. To locate a station, you'll need to measure it from two different known locations. With some feeling for geometry you can fill in the details. By this advertisement (Shortwave Magazine, January 1969) its intended use was for ship navigation. The black knobs next to the dial are for off/volume and tuning, and the band switch is easily found in the right lower corner. On the rotatable antenna there is a little switch for the BFO (which does not help very much). To find directions, it is the best to switch the RF gain to manual with the knob in the left lower corner; this also activates the S-meter. Rotate the antenna until all sound disappears, and then the antenna points towards the transmitter.
Ads for the NovaPal appear from 1968, but when precisely this unit was produced, I don't know. The era of radio beacons has ended with the rise of GPS navigation. Of course, the radio can be used to point Broadcast stations or for 80m fox hunts.
| Obtained | 9/2017 from NVHR Swap Meet; sn=21605. |
|---|---|
| Condition | 6; looks complete and almost intact, but works poorly. |
| Disposed | Sold 6/2018. |
I measured no voltage over the power switch when the radio was switched off, so I suspected the battery leads and this turned out correct. Taking the chassis out of the cabinet was a little intricated but not really difficult; you must take out the antenna assembly with the chassis. 
After soldering the battery connection, the radio gave some sound on the Broadcast band. It appears to be quite insensitive. On the inside pictures, the separate BFO chassis is visible near the bottom.