junius wrote:

Overall, my preference tilts slightly toward the SW8, in a
comparison of the E1
and SW8, although there have been more than a few times that the E1 has
produced a more usable copy on a signal than the SW8.


How would you compare the performance of those two receivers when using
their whip antennas on HF? The SW8 is known for being somewhat
insensitive on it's whip, particularly the earlier versions. Drake made
an improvement to the whip in 1994 by redesigning the matching impedance
of the whip's input circuit. Contrary to what some believe, Drake never
added a pre-amp to the SW8 whip circuit. However this was done on the
Sat-800 which is closely related to the SW8. It's why the Sat-800 is
more sensitive on it's whip for HF than the SW8.
What year was your SW8 made?