How Common Are NRDs?

 How Common Are NRDs?

Just saw BJ Anya of NC State drop a left-handed hook shot to beat LSU in the final seconds in March Madness, but that's neither here nor there on a radio blog.

I saw on HF Underground that veteran DXer Myteaquinn just picked up his dream receiver from when he entered the hobby, a Japan Radio NRD-505. Congrats! This radio is from 1977, a bit before my time shortwave listening. I haven't seen many people even mention NRD-505s, let alone have I ever seen any in real life.

That started me thinking about the number of NRDs sold among the different models. So, here's my really unscientific method: Check completed auctions on eBay. Here are my totals:

NRD-505: 2
NRD-515: 5
NRD-525: 13
NRD-535: 12

I can understand someone selling their 25-, 30-, or 35-year-old receiver, but I'm surprised that so many people have offered their NRD-535s for sale. Such a great radio.

Getting back to the eBay totals, the NRD-505 has always seemed to me to be the uncommon radio of the lot. Considering that the original cost for this was around $2,000 back in the late '70s, I wouldn't be surprised if very few were sold in the U.S. I knew a few DXers who owned an NRD-515, so my perception was that they were at least a bit more common. The '525 and '535 were both really common. The totals from eBay reflect my perceptions, but I don't know if they reflect the ratios of the NRD models sold.