Thanks Brian. Nice website you have there! I like that R-388..........a very
clean sample. I've had a few of those over the years, anong with a 51S-1.
While the S-1 was a nice receiver, it still didn't have the nice
construction of the 51J (R-388) series.
An old friend of mine had one of those units set up on his test bench, tuned
to WWB, with the BFO turned on. This receiver accidently fell off the bench,
and he told me that it didn't shift frequency! Now, this could be an
exaggeration, but those receivers were pretty solid.
About the Sony SW-1.............the only issues I've run into with that
receiver were the electrolytic bypass caps for the audio amplifier and the
synthesizer drifting off frequency. Once you get the receiver apart, it is
pretty easy to replace those electrolytic caps with SMD tantalums and get
rid of that howling problem with the audio.
The synthesizer is also pretty easy to set back on frequency. A nice
receiver. If anybody ever needs the service manual for this receiver, I do
have it in PDF form.

Pete

"Brian Denley" wrote in message
. ..
Great synopsis Pete! Glad you mentioned the little SW1.

--
Brian Denley
http://home.comcast.net/~b.denley/index.html

"Pete KE9OA" wrote in message
...
Most of the newer stuff uses glass epoxy circuit boards and SMD
technology, so actually, it isn't bad. Most of the older stuff did not.
I had an Icom 735, and although it was a good unit, the Kenwood 570 has a
better overall receiver. The 735 uses a dual JFET balanced mixer, while
the 570 uses the same type of quad JFET mixer that is used in the Yaesu
FT1000 series and the Racal 6790. The quad mixer has a theoretical IP3 of
+30dBm if implemented properly, while the dual JFET design is typically
in the +15 to +20dBM range. Mind you, this isn't bad.