Henry Kolesnik wrote:
I'm curious as to what users have found when they use the general coverage
in their ham transciever for SWLing and VLF. Has anyone made any AB
comparisons to their SWL gen. cov. RX? Which ones seem to be best? I know
Kenwood and Icom make SWL receivers that look much like a transciever and
might even use the same circuitry, not sure about Yaesu though. The Icom
R-75 looks a lot like the Icom 718 but the Rx has the PS built in. I can't
recall the Kewood models. How about the Kenwood TS-2000 or Icom 756 Pro for
gen cov?
tnx


I us my Kenwood TS-570D(G) for most of my shortwave and ham use, cost
was about $800 a few years ago. I also have a Yaesu FT-857 that was
purchased with $175 rebate (final cost was $599 which included the DSP
unit!). I occasionally use an ATS-909 ($249).

The Kenwood is used with an MFJ differential T tuner (MFJ-986). And
yes, the tuner helps with reception. I have a 135 ft. dipole feed with
ladderline connected to a 4:1 balun (in the tuner).
This is my favorite setup as it is easy to use and has the best
performance, definately because of the antenna and tuner, but also
because the radio has more "front panel" controls and audio DSP. Not as
great as "real" IF stage DSP, but nice when you need it. DSP for CW is
AMAZING. 11 selectable filters from 2Khz to as tight as 50 Hz. External
speaker definitely helps when in the shack. Wireless headphones let me
walk around the house and into the yard, untethered.
The default BCB attenuator was jumpered out for better sensitivity
(there is a small jumper on the main board, just like a small computer
jumper).

The Yaesu is a great radio, 1.8Mhz - 30 Mhz, 6 meters, 2 meters and 70cm
on transmit and a huge Receive range 0.1Khz to around 512Mhz (with some
blank spots).
IMHO one of the best bangs for the buck. It is connected to about 25
feet of tiny 30 gauge wire strung out the window. No ground, no matching
transformer, just connected to the center of the antenna jack. Very
good performance in this "temporary" setup! It has a terrible speaker,
but I use headphone with this rig almost exclusively. It has plenty of
audio to drive an external speaker. It would be my choice if I could
only have 1 radio. House, car, vacation, this rig gets lots of use.
Currently on my nightstand (hence the 30 gauge wire out the window).
It will evetually go into my truck for mobile operation.
The audio DSP is good for SSB and OK for CW (only 3 (?) selectable
filters on CW)

The ATS-909 is what everyone knows already. Not very good off the whip.
A good radio with an external antenna (20 to 60 feet of wire). I use
a 9:1 matching transformer. Eats batteries so the wallwart is always
plugged in. This was my nightstand radio, and will be again when the
FT-857 goes mobile. I wish the tuning knob was bigger and that the fine
tuning on ssb was displayed more accurately on the LCD, but these are
really minor gripes. It is a good radio with many decent functions.
Speaker or headphone, it is an easy listen. FM stereo (through the
headphones) is very good.
But if I was to do it again, I would pass on the 909 and save a few more
dollars and buy the Yeasu.

None of my radios have AM sync, so I have no comment on this.
Listen to mostly AM program, SSB ham, some AM DXing & occasional CW.
Once in a while utes, but not often.

Pat in NJ