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Author Topic: Good modern receiver?  (Read 24915 times)
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kg8lb
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« Reply #25 on: July 14, 2011, 01:32:46 PM »

 As I recall , the TenTec 340 is less than half that price and about 1/3 the cost of the Icom . You could buy about 25 Drake R8s for the cost of a single Icom  Shocked
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Steve - K4HX
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« Reply #26 on: July 14, 2011, 01:36:44 PM »

I've used the AOR too. I didn't like it as much as the Icom. Just a little clunky. It does have some nice options for recording and better demodulation capabilities for VHF/UHF signals. My comparison was mostly at HF.
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kg8lb
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« Reply #27 on: July 14, 2011, 01:45:59 PM »

A bit more in line with the stated price range:http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/475

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/1827
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David, K3TUE
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« Reply #28 on: July 14, 2011, 11:27:28 PM »

Here are the Drake R8 differences from another thread.

I have a late R-8B, [...]
I suspect I'd only sell it if I ever got an Elecraft K3, but even then I'd be torn. [...]


Version Differences (http://www.shortwaveradio.ch/radio-e/drake-r8a-e.htm)

R-8: first version:
    You cannot directly select the different recepetion modes or IF bandwidth filters, but You have to circle through the selection by pressing the MODE or BANDWIDTH buttons several times without a "back" option. So You will have to press the button once to change from USB to LSB but it will take five times to press the button to switch back to USB. In addition, the receiver switches the bandwith automatically when changing reception modes to Drake's recommended fitler setting, the selection has not been accepted by all DXers...
R-8A:
    direct switching of all reception modes and filters with 6 pushbuttons for MODE and BANDWIDTH each, 440 alphanumeric programmable frequency memories
R-8B:
    synchroneous detection with selectable sidebands, 1000 memory channels
R-8E: European version of the original R - 8

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David, K3TUE
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« Reply #29 on: July 15, 2011, 12:28:28 PM »

Okay if you want a relatively modern rx, here's yet another idea. beginning with some assumptions:  Firstly you want a traditional rx with knobs and a front panel.   You don't want to pay more or much more than $1K.  You therefore, are willing to accept something less than super hot professional spook grade gov't level performance.   Ergo, why limit yourself to a rx only box?  You can get a Kenwood TS870 and use it as a rx.  General coverage, AM, FM, CW, slopbucket.   Widely variable passbands.  On AM from 5 KHz out to 14 KHz.  It has been swept by many and its audio response is perfectly flat from zero to its high cutoff.  Because of that it is used for off air audio checks.   for my taste it is actually a little too um, "clinical" sounding; maybe lack of warmth is a better way of putting it.  But, before I made a narrow filter for my 75A3, it was my night time battle condx receiver.  You can always pull the audio out via an ext. speaker jack on the back and use that to drive a line level input to an external audio amp to get a big volume sound.  audio quality is praised due to its 24 bit processing.   

Drawbacks:  well, to me at least, it is all SMT inside so if it breaks, good luck fixing it.   The rx being earlier dsp, some claim it is no good for "competitive operating" i.e. chasing dx and contesting, but if you want a band cruiser for listening and ragchewing it's not bad but let's face it, tubes, and black wrinkle = nirvana. Cheesy
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« Reply #30 on: July 15, 2011, 12:50:12 PM »

Good point Rob and also dont overlook a TS-930/940 as those are around $400-600 and even less if the TX has blown finals or some other easy to fix problem; they are discrete component rigs. Lots of filters available for any BW, you could even change the 455 KHz Kiwa ceramic filter for a 8-12 KHz AM one and use it as the main AM only (or hi-fi SSB Huh) TX as thats where the TX RF goes thru, not the one at 8.8.
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« Reply #31 on: July 15, 2011, 05:49:06 PM »

That's an excellent idea about the TS940.   AM transmit mod here:

http://www.amwindow.org/tech/htm/ts940s.htm
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« Reply #32 on: July 15, 2011, 08:40:58 PM »

Thats a rather different approach.
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« Reply #33 on: July 16, 2011, 02:32:38 PM »

I would err on the side of "Don't own it if you can't fix it or get parts for it".
I owned a Collins 651S-1...hated it and a nightmare to work on. The WJ radios
seem very nice but you have to be a genius to repair them, not to mention owning
$1000's of dollars of test gear to work on them. At least with the Drake & Ten Tec stuff
you can send back to the factory for service...not sure about WJ.
So far in this discussion, there are some great choices and some very hard facts to
consider. Boat anchors: They weigh a lot but you can fix them and modify them to
suit your needs. Modern DDS or A>D>A types are fine unless you can't get parts
or have them properly serviced. If the above doesn't jive for you, then SDR's are the way to
go and here's why: Development continues 24/7/365 and support is usually generous.
In fact, much of the demands made by us users in the industry end up becoming the benchmark for improvements in development...the technology will only continue to grow.
There are tradeoffs as noted before, so I offer this: Tubes rule and sound best (to me) but
you have to lift heavy iron to service...not all of us are spring chickens anymore, and some parts
are becoming scarce. New age types are lightweight packed full of features and many times offer a lot of bang for your buck, but there is always that grey area of audio "artifacts" that seem to bother
us when we compare them to analog types. Not all of us dig the menu thing either and no knobs?
PERISH THE THOUGHT!
A well tuned and lubed 51J4/R-388 or SP-600 get my vote hands down for the BA class.
So far, my favorite SDR is the Flex 5K but for the money the little guy (1500) offers just about everything you need and the audio DSP sampling rate is 48K. Pretty impressive. And if you must have a knob, they offer a USB "Knob" controller. How cool is that? What's more, you can transmit with it. Read the specs here: http://www.flex-radio.com/Products.aspx?topic=F1.5k_features
Just my two cents for what it's worth.
I will now return to my National NC-183 project...twin half moon dials...I wonder if the Iphone has an app for that?
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« Reply #34 on: July 16, 2011, 02:39:57 PM »

I forgot to mention, that using the SDR while you are on the road or on vacation is really attractive. I imagine using skype with your laptop via the internet to your home station would be a lot of fun but I get the feeling that this is beyond the scope of our group here.
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w3jn
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« Reply #35 on: July 16, 2011, 03:23:08 PM »

Beg to differ on one point, Billy, WJ radios are pretty easy to work on and don't need special test equipment.  The documentation on some is a bit hard to get ahold of, though.

Common problems with WJ radios are shorted tantalum caps (easy to find), blown first mixers (easy to troubleshoot, but the exact mixer is unobtanium), nicad memory backup batteries that puke on the PC board (a PITA to fix, but easy to find), and worn optical encoders.  Most of the rest of the parts are standard off the shelf semiconductors.  All bets are off when you enter the 8711 era, though...

The 651S-1 is really, really easy to work on -- IF you have the extraordinarily rare set of extender cards  Roll Eyes  Finding replacements for those flat-pack DTL or RTL ICs, however....
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« Reply #36 on: July 16, 2011, 04:01:48 PM »

Beg to differ on one point, Billy, WJ radios are pretty easy to work on and don't need special test equipment.  The documentation on some is a bit hard to get ahold of, though.

Common problems with WJ radios are shorted tantalum caps (easy to find), blown first mixers (easy to troubleshoot, but the exact mixer is unobtanium), nicad memory backup batteries that puke on the PC board (a PITA to fix, but easy to find), and worn optical encoders.  Most of the rest of the parts are standard off the shelf semiconductors.  All bets are off when you enter the 8711 era, though...

The 651S-1 is really, really easy to work on -- IF you have the extraordinarily rare set of extender cards  Roll Eyes  Finding replacements for those flat-pack DTL or RTL ICs, however....

Right, exactly my point regarding the 651S-1. It took me 6 months to find two replacement boards, one IF and one Synth as I recall. I gave up. These radios may be easy for you to work on, but not everybody has those skills, much less the patience. More importantly, I think it's easy for us to agree that enjoying using a radio is much more fun than repairing it. Having said that, I'll take the 51S-1 any day of the week. As to the SDR's, reinstall software, updates or swap a board.
My point of view may be flawed but it's the only one I have Smiley
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« Reply #37 on: July 16, 2011, 04:14:01 PM »


So far, my favorite SDR is the Flex 5K but for the money the little guy (1500) offers just about everything you need and the audio DSP sampling rate is 48K. Pretty impressive. And if you must have a knob, they offer a USB "Knob" controller. How cool is that? What's more, you can transmit with it. Read the specs here: http://www.flex-radio.com/Products.aspx?topic=F1.5k_features
Just my two cents for what it's worth.
I will now return to my National NC-183 project...twin half moon dials...I wonder if the Iphone has an app for that?


A number of us here are running SDR-type rigs (Flex and whatevers). I haven't switched on a boatanchor rig in many months. The Flex 5000 is a breeze to use. As far as the USB "knob", Flex has offered the 3rd party Shuttle Pro and Griffin knob on their web site from almost day one. I used a Shuttle Pro 5 years ago with my SDR-1000. My Shuttle Pro now even has a programmed button to do stomp-to-talk.
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« Reply #38 on: July 16, 2011, 05:05:56 PM »

Have you heard of anyone using an Ipad or other tablet to interface with the Flex systems?
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kg8lb
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« Reply #39 on: July 16, 2011, 08:32:13 PM »


So far, my favorite SDR is the Flex 5K but for the money the little guy (1500) offers just about everything you need and the audio DSP sampling rate is 48K. Pretty impressive. And if you must have a knob, they offer a USB "Knob" controller. How cool is that? What's more, you can transmit with it. Read the specs here: http://www.flex-radio.com/Products.aspx?topic=F1.5k_features
Just my two cents for what it's worth.
I will now return to my National NC-183 project...twin half moon dials...I wonder if the Iphone has an app for that?


  Exactly the opposite here. The fun part IS the old boatanchor receiver. The SDR is in the house on the wife's computer and rarely gets use. Pure radio without the TV.

Quote
A number of us here are running SDR-type rigs (Flex and whatevers). I haven't switched on a boatanchor rig in many months. The Flex 5000 is a breeze to use. As far as the USB "knob", Flex has offered the 3rd party Shuttle Pro and Griffin knob on their web site from almost day one. I used a Shuttle Pro 5 years ago with my SDR-1000. My Shuttle Pro now even has a programmed button to do stomp-to-talk.
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