So what is it about the RA1217 that rendered it so dislikable? I have even heard
it referred to as the ‘disasterous 1217’ . In terms of facilities, it differs very
little from the RA117. However there are ergonomic differences, the most obvious
being the reversal of the main tuning knobs and I can see how if you were used to
the RA17 configuration how a reversal would have you spinning the MHz knob instead
of the KHz one. Also, the preselector and attenuator controls are on the left as
opposed to the right, so that might be taken as inconvenient. I have heard it said
that the RA1217 suffered badly from RF overload problems. This is probably true and
partially due to the fact that transistor designs from that era (developed in the 1960s)
were prone to such problems. However, whereas I agree in part with this prognosis,
I have found that if the AGC circuits (there are actually two) are not set up correctly,
then you will find that even switching in all sections of the input attenuator will
not have much effect on very strong broadcast stations. Something else which I have
noticed is that making it only three and half inches high might have resulted in
some mechanical instability. I have found that it does flex very slightly when lifted
from the front. What appears to happen is the D-
