Joe Analssandrini wrote:

In my opinion, and in the opinion of several of my friends who have
seen/worked with it, the AOR AR7030 Plus is the "Rolls-Royce" of
short-wave radio.




Appropriate automotive analogy, here. Although I wouldn't say
the 7030+ is a Rolls-Royce. It doesn't leak oil. And it doesn't way
more than your house. But build quality is high, and it has a
luxurious feel.

Maybe a Daimler, or a Van den Plas.


This radio has been much maligned for it's operating system.
This criticism is simply a lot of noise. Work it for a couple of
hours, and the O/S becomes second nature. The O/S is also the
reason why this much performance comes at such a reasonable price.
This much radio, with every function on a dedicated switch, would
come in at more than twice the price. Early models have been
revised, to accomodate more reliable encoders, improve performance,
and generally make it sing and dance more smoothly. Current
versions of 7030+ are reliable, exceptional performers, and
amazingly versatile.

If you have a decent antenna installation, this radio is
difficult to overload. Lord knows, I've tried. If you DON"T have a
decent installation, no matter, sensitivity is more than adequate to
compensate. And you can install a simple whip for indoor
installation. Filters are selectable, and self centering. And
nearly all functions of the radio can be operated automatically,
which can be entertaining to watch, and highly convenient, if you're
not in the fiddling mood. If you prefer manual operation, you may
select virtually any function you wish, for manual operation, while
retaining automatic functionality for others.

The radio is highly configurable. It will remember all your
preferences for each individual frequency you put into memory.
Memories are tuneable.

Like a fine dog, it will be anything you want it to be. You
just don't have to take it out three times a day.

Remote control has more buttons, so dedicated functionality is
available in hand held form, across the room.

It makes a dandy, although almighty expensive, clock radio.

I've been playing with a 7030+, now, for a couple of years.
Audio is very good. Out of the box, it's works well, and more or
less intuitively, if you have any computer experience at all. With
a little effort and experience, it's one of the most convenient
radios I've yet encountered. I use it almost exclusively, now, to
the point that I've sold off several of my other radios, including
my long time benchmark R-71.


Recommendations are to get the notch/noise blanker accessory.
Expensive, but worth it if you find you enjoy deep DX.

An external speaker is hardly necesary, but makes for very
nice very long term listening.

As a beginner's receiver, 7030+ may be a bit of overkill, but
if you find you get sucked deep into the hobby, it's a radio you can
grow into, but not out of.



Then buy a Wellbrook ALA 330S Active Loop Antenna (either from THE
SHORTWAVE SHOP or the factory). This antenna (the very best in my
experience) can be mounted outdoors, in an attic (where I have mine),
or even in your room (if no one in your family objects to a 1-meter
loop as a "decoration"). A rotator (I use an nexpensive Radio Shack
one) is very helpful, especially on frequencies below 6 Mhz. Even if
you have the space to put up a first class outdoor wire antenna, you
will probably find, as I have, that this antenna is the best one
currently available for summertime listening when atmospheric noise
and thunderstorm activity are at their peak.



An alternative is the RF systems MTA--Magnetic transfer antenna.
This is a passive, with unobtrusive appearance, if that's an issue,
and it's astonishingly quiet. And impossible to overload, if you
live in a high RF environment. I've recently been doing some tests
with a homebuilt version of the MTA. A storm came along and wiped
it off the map. But the results were impressive enough, that I've
ordered an MTA, and when installed, I'll put up some side by side
audio files of reception with the MTA, vs other antennae I'm using.

All evaluated on the 7030+.