Have to agree with Andy there...I wouldn't trade my R71A for anything. I
bought the new R75 and it sits on top of that - I park one and drive the
other. Absolutely fantastic radios in my opinion...both of them

john
kf4anc

"Jerry" wrote in message
...

I've always been interested in SW radio as a listener and have decided
to get more serious about it to see just how strong my interest really
is. As a start, I want to get a good used radio, and it seems like the
Kenwood R5000 or the ICOM R71A are very popular. It looks to me
like the ICOM has more features, such as CW, RTTY, and a superior
notch filter. This makes me believe it is aimed at the more serious
user. Two web sites that review receivers rate the R71A slightly
higher than the R5000. So, I would expect R71A's to be in higher
demand, but it seem to be the opposite. R5000's seem to sell at
higher prices and I see R71A owners wanting to trade for R5000's.
What am I missing? Which would be a better radio for a beginner?
I will probably start out with DX and broadcast, but may want to
grow into other areas. Thanks for any advice.

Jer