Radio Man wrote:

I would love to own one of the receivers mentioned.
My one gripe would be the eventuality of a needed
repair which would be prohibitively costly.

Hi

The key is when you buy one of those radios, track down a service manual - "just in case".

But all manuals are not equal.

The Harris and WJ manuals I've seen are all quite good. My impression is with the manual, anyone with basic knowledge of electronics and access to appropriate test equipment could repair them.

I was less impressed with the service manual for my 6790/gm.

Parts availability is also a valid consideration - it's much easier to track down an LED than an LCD. Likewise, TTL chips are easier to find than custom ones. I understand some of the chips used in the Plessey 2280 are out of production.

But sometimes you find a radio that uses oddball parts, and you can't find documentation. I'd love to find a service manual for my Applied Communications/Norlin SR-2150. And I'm sure it would be a bugger to track down a new plasma display if mine died.
Still, it's a great radio, and I'm happy to have it.