"Brian Denley" wrote in message
...
Michael wrote:

The point I was trying to make is that using minimal differences in
stats is not a good way to demonstrate which is the superior raido.
There are statistics and then there are statistics.

Michael


Michael:
BTW, I agree with you that the R-75 is a pretty damn good buy for the
money. The only place we don't agree is that it's SSB perfomance is
somehow better than the kilobuck receivers. They have all the ECSS tools
too. The real shame is that all these manufacturers apparently don't
think SWL has a future and have dropped out.

--

Hiya

The IC-R75 doesn't have any real "statistical" advantages over the radios
that we have been comparing it to. I prefer it for ECSS/Utility/DX'ing/HAM
over the R8 series primarily due to the twin pbt. It is not a "miracle"
feature, but I find I can use it to make any signal that is strong enough to
hear good enough to listen to. The 1 hz synthesizer is also handy as are
the multiple steps of amplification.

And... It cost less too :-)

One of my friends has an R8, R8a and he recently purchased an R8b. He also
has a mint condition Kenwood R-5000. He has also used my R75 for several
weeks when we did receiver swaps. Given the IC-R75 twin pbt and the vaunted
R8b ssb selectable AM sync, his favorite radio to use is the R-5000. He just
likes it. So, I'm sure the larger part of what radio is the better radio can
be determined by the most important feature of any radio. The user.

I'm also disappointed that there are fewer and fewer tabletop models being
produced. I dont think manufacturers feel that sw listenership is on the
way out, though. I'm sure they realize that sw is still a widely used and
practical medium for broadcasters to reach the third world. For the most
part, listeners in third world countries tune in to get news and
information. They aren't into it for any "hobby" appeal. They just want
the info that they couldn't get otherwise. It would go to reason that third
world listeners wouldn't be in the market for rigs like the R8b, IC-R75 or
NRD-545. They would be well served with a capable and economical portable
like the ones being churned out in China by Degen. As far as most of the
western/modern world is concerned, with internet and satellite
communications widely available, sw listening for content is a second string
medium. It is less reliable and it is always of a lesser quality as far as
the clarity of the transmission. It is true, however unlikely that the
internet could go down and satellite com could be interrupted for any one of
a number of reasons. If that does occur, you can count on it coming back up
in a fairly short time. Not to mention, solar occurrences that are intense
enough to wipe out satellite communications would also wipe out hf
propagation. So, for getting information of all kinds, you dont have to
worry about needing a pricy tabletop sw rig. It isn't 1920-1980 any longer.
For the most part, the only ones left in the western/modern world who want
an expensive sw tabletop rigs are hobbyists like us. So, I can see why
fewer and fewer manufacturers are sticking with making tabletop sw radios.

Michael