Mark Keith wrote:
wrote in message Will the
FRG-7700 actually perform better than a modern portable still? Reading
through old postings to rec.radio.shortwave opinions seem quite mixed.
I have the FTR-7700 Aerial Tuner for my FRG-7700 and it has the memory
option and the Gilfer Associates improved filters.
Probably better than most portables. But to be honest, I've used no
recently made portables. All the portables I used were in my younger
days when that all I could afford. The radios were usable, but
compared to what I have now, they were horrible. So I'm kind of biased
to be a non-portable type of dude. I consider my IC-706mk2g about as
portable as I need to get. If I have to drag a 12v battery around, so
be it...
It would blow away any battery portable I've personally used. To be
honest, I've never seen a portable that I was too thrilled about when
it comes to SSB reception. But I suppose many are perfectly suitable
for AM-SWL use. I'd rather try that 7700 again myself. It should be
perfectly usable. If you get a better radio, get something good like a
newer Icom or a drake or whatever...Heck, How often does a person
actually require a battery portable to go walk around? I don't too
much. At home, I wouldn't even consider a portable at all if you want
really good performance. But thats just my opinion.. Lets say I had
300-500 bucks to blow. Would I buy a new whizbang portable? No way...
I would chase down an older Icom IC70-71 series, drake , or
whatever...I would also prefer many of the "puter driven" radios
better than many or most portables. IE: ten tec, icom, etc...I guess
all those funky portables I've used over the years left a bad taste in
my mouth. The only portable I have that I like, is my old '58 TO. But
even it's a relic when compared to anything decent these days. Good
for AM-BC though. My main gripe with the "modern" portables that I
have seen is funky readout resolutions, many are limited in res, some
are not very stable, poor image rejection, just overall not up to my
normal expectations. Take for instance my 706g. That sucker has 9 or
10 dial resolutions/speeds you can dial up. I can crawl along like a
snail, or cross the spectrum faster than a ****house rat. Or anywhere
in between. Readout to a single cycle. Try that with the average
portable. But to be fair, the 706g was a $900 radio when I bought it.
It's also an all mode-all band transceiver, so lots of that money
could be invested in better receiver goodies, if you bought a receiver
only. It's less now...About $750? They were $1300-1400 when they first
came out. Kind of like puter hardware... :/ MK
Just IMHO: I have a Frog 8800 (the successor to the 7700) and I'm quite
happy with it as a DX machine. I have a DX396 that I use to listen just
to news (Radio Netherlands and Radio Exterior de Espana) so I don't have
to keep plugging in the 8800-I have to keep it unplugged because any
flicker in power will screw up the microprocessors. The 396 is a nice
radio but unsatisfactory for hard core DXing. (It tunes in 5khz steps.)