It was possibly assumed the set would be used primarily on one of the many SW bands where a ferrite antenna would not be sufficient.
What antenna are you using with the set, how long is it?
The Radio Museum gives the frequency bands for the
Ekco A731 as;
SW1 Band............20.88 - 22.1 MHz
SW2 Band............17.43 - 18.4 MHz
SW3 Band............14.92 - 15.75 MHz
SW4 Band............11.51 - 12.125 MHz
SW5 Band............9.33 - 9.95 MHz
SW6 Band............6.98 - 7.4 MHz
MSW Band...........2.36 - 8.0 MHz
MW Band.............520 - 1650 kHz
Mike