Ham radio outlet who sold me the radio back in the 80s was of no help. I do thank you for getting back to me but according to the responses from radio reference is that the radio would need to go through a complete re-cap due to the age of the radio as well as a new ram battery replacement. By the time all the money was invested in it, it would cost $200 to $300 hundred which is about what the radio is worth. I am still weighing my options but for $600 to $700 i would be able to buy a better radio that still is supported, I have not been able to find a guy that would even look at the R71 and this is discouraging....

I will look at some of your recommendation as well but at this time $100 to maybe $200 is all I can justify for this radio that has in the past been criticized for poor audio to begin with....