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#1
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Drake or AOR?
I'm looking for the supreme or next to supreme desktop radio so I can
use it in either my car, at home (no computer hookups planned), or maybe on one of my long bicycle trips. I have found the Drake R-8 and SW-8 and also a mention of the AOR but none found yet. Anybody got any opinions on this? Remember, home, car, bicycle, random antennas and that kind of thing. I have plenty of boatanchors (Vacuum state FETs) and one marine RDF that peaks at just over 4.0 MHz. I have a new Super CB Royce but a CB on a bicycle might get too many laughs. I'm open to any suggestions as long as they are cheap. I'm $$$ limited. Thanks, Bill Baka |
#2
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Drake or AOR?
On 12/26/09 04:11 , Bill Baka wrote:
I'm looking for the supreme or next to supreme desktop radio so I can use it in either my car, at home (no computer hookups planned), or maybe on one of my long bicycle trips. I have found the Drake R-8 and SW-8 and also a mention of the AOR but none found yet. Anybody got any opinions on this? Remember, home, car, bicycle, random antennas and that kind of thing. I have plenty of boatanchors (Vacuum state FETs) and one marine RDF that peaks at just over 4.0 MHz. I have a new Super CB Royce but a CB on a bicycle might get too many laughs. I'm open to any suggestions as long as they are cheap. I'm $$$ limited. Thanks, Bill Baka R-8(x) is not exactly a portable. Exceptional receiver but you'll need some antenna, and a power supply. Intuitive controls. A bit heavy for bike trips. Superb audio. SW-8 is portable, and performs very well. Internal batteries, if you'd like. But not terribly sensitive on the internal whip. That can be improved, somewhat, by a trip to Drake. But still requires some antenna. FM and Air band included. Superb audio, as well. Fits well in a car. Easy to read display. Intuitive controls. Also a bit heavy for bike trips. AOR AR7030+...pricey. Can run you a kilobuck on the used market. Compact. Stands toe to toe with the R8(x) in performance. Excellent audio. The nested menu o/s not really for driving. Now, one you've not mentioned, that's VERY portable, smaller and lighter than the AOR, HIGHLY sensitive, works off battery power, and a whip antenna, excellent audio....you can toss it into a backpack for a bicycle trip and not feel it....Lowe HF-150. When you can find one, it will be less expensive and a better general fit than your other options. No lighted dial without modification. Another small, and very nice performer, though not the best S/N is AOR's AR3030. Sensitivity is good, but headroom is not on par with the others. Small, lightweight, can run on batteries, sensitive enough for a whip antenna. Intuitive controls, nice audio. Looks good. For desktop operation, any of the 5. In order of performance: R8(x), AR7030, HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. In the car, in order of performance: HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. For bike trips: HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. For general purpose/all applications: SW-8, HF-150. |
#3
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Drake or AOR? Addendum
On 12/26/09 04:50 , D. Peter Maus wrote:
On 12/26/09 04:11 , Bill Baka wrote: I'm looking for the supreme or next to supreme desktop radio so I can use it in either my car, at home (no computer hookups planned), or maybe on one of my long bicycle trips. I have found the Drake R-8 and SW-8 and also a mention of the AOR but none found yet. Anybody got any opinions on this? Remember, home, car, bicycle, random antennas and that kind of thing. I have plenty of boatanchors (Vacuum state FETs) and one marine RDF that peaks at just over 4.0 MHz. I have a new Super CB Royce but a CB on a bicycle might get too many laughs. I'm open to any suggestions as long as they are cheap. I'm $$$ limited. Thanks, Bill Baka R-8(x) is not exactly a portable. Exceptional receiver but you'll need some antenna, and a power supply. Intuitive controls. A bit heavy for bike trips. Superb audio. SW-8 is portable, and performs very well. Internal batteries, if you'd like. But not terribly sensitive on the internal whip. That can be improved, somewhat, by a trip to Drake. But still requires some antenna. FM and Air band included. Superb audio, as well. Fits well in a car. Easy to read display. Intuitive controls. Also a bit heavy for bike trips. AOR AR7030+...pricey. Can run you a kilobuck on the used market. Compact. Stands toe to toe with the R8(x) in performance. Excellent audio. The nested menu o/s not really for driving. Now, one you've not mentioned, that's VERY portable, smaller and lighter than the AOR, HIGHLY sensitive, works off battery power, and a whip antenna, excellent audio....you can toss it into a backpack for a bicycle trip and not feel it....Lowe HF-150. When you can find one, it will be less expensive and a better general fit than your other options. No lighted dial without modification. Another small, and very nice performer, though not the best S/N is AOR's AR3030. Sensitivity is good, but headroom is not on par with the others. Small, lightweight, can run on batteries, sensitive enough for a whip antenna. Intuitive controls, nice audio. Looks good. For desktop operation, any of the 5. In order of performance: R8(x), AR7030, HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. In the car, in order of performance: HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. For bike trips: HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. For general purpose/all applications: SW-8, HF-150. One caveat about SW-8. The audio stage is unique. The finals output is not referenced to ground. That is to say it's floating and balanced. If you should accidently take one leg to ground, say in an attempt to run the audio through the car's system, you blow the audio stage. So, auto applications will require some care. Transform the output and you're fine. Not an issue if you use the receiver's internal speaker exclusively. |
#4
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Drake or AOR? Addendum
D. Peter Maus wrote:
On 12/26/09 04:50 , D. Peter Maus wrote: R-8(x) is not exactly a portable. Exceptional receiver but you'll need some antenna, and a power supply. Intuitive controls. A bit heavy for bike trips. Superb audio. My conclusion too. SW-8 is portable, and performs very well. Internal batteries, if you'd like. But not terribly sensitive on the internal whip. That can be improved, somewhat, by a trip to Drake. But still requires some antenna. FM and Air band included. Superb audio, as well. Fits well in a car. Easy to read display. Intuitive controls. Also a bit heavy for bike trips. It is one of 3 finalists. SW-8, AOR AR7030, and one of the Lowes, either an AOR3030 or AOR7030. Beyond that I can go down to the general purpose portables, nice for *old* people to take on a cruise ship but not for me, the eternal teenager and user/abuser of equipment. The Mountain bike weighs about 48 pounds, I weigh 40 pounds over my athletic peak, and a heavy radio would be the least of my problems. AOR AR7030+...pricey. Can run you a kilobuck on the used market. Compact. Stands toe to toe with the R8(x) in performance. Excellent audio. The nested menu o/s not really for driving. I don't even try to tune the radio when I am moving. CD's, cassettes and other accident causers are not in my car or in use when I drive. If I can find a good station before I start then I don't have to tune around. Since I learned to listen for mechanical noise and fix my own car I have been a DIY'er ever since I was 15 on cars, 7 or 8 on radios. t5rwss've not mentioned, that's VERY portable, smaller and lighter than the AOR, HIGHLY sensitive, works off battery power, and a whip antenna, excellent audio....you can toss it into a backpack for a bicycle trip and not feel it....Lowe HF-150. When you can find one, it will be less expensive and a better general fit than your other options. No lighted dial without modification. Another small, and very nice performer, though not the best S/N is AOR's AR3030. Sensitivity is good, but headroom is not on par with the others. Small, lightweight, can run on batteries, sensitive enough for a whip antenna. Intuitive controls, nice audio. Looks good. For desktop operation, any of the 5. In order of performance: R8(x), AR7030, HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. In the car, in order of performance: HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. For bike trips: HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. For general purpose/all applications: SW-8, HF-150. Pretty much the short list I came up with. someone One caveat about SW-8. The audio stage is unique. The finals output is not referenced to ground. That is to say it's floating and balanced. If you should accidently take one leg to ground, say in an attempt to run the audio through the car's system, you blow the audio stage. So, auto applications will require some care. Transform the output and you're fine. Not an issue if you use the receiver's internal speaker exclusively. In the car yes. I want to hear sirens and stuff happening around me when I am driving. There are dozens of speaker sets around here from dead receivers made (you know where, China), that gave up the ghost as soon as possible when the warranty (full) expired. I could strap one under the steering wheel since it is mono anyway and be isolated from the car's 12 volt positive system. I have only seen positive ground on a few European brands from the 1950's and very early 60's. The Lowe, Drake, and AOR each have some unique features that would be killer in one radio. I would like to see a custom comb filter in all of them that could be set to blank the totally repetitive 50 and 60 Hertz noise from lamps and such. If the are two or three SCR's all switching at the same point per sine but different degrees they could be tuned out manually. Not to go overboard, but maybe someone else coming up, could offer a radio with upgradeable modules until you got to the $30,000 super spy radio that gets everything from literally D.C. to daylight. Choices are still nice to have and I would still want to have the radio in my hand before I buy it, but those days appear to be just memories now. Bill Baka |
#5
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Drake or AOR? Addendum
On Dec 26, 6:44*pm, Bill Baka wrote:
D. Peter Maus wrote: On 12/26/09 04:50 , D. Peter Maus wrote: R-8(x) is not exactly a portable. Exceptional receiver but you'll need some antenna, and a power supply. Intuitive controls. A bit heavy for bike trips. Superb audio. My conclusion too. SW-8 is portable, and performs very well. Internal batteries, if you'd like. But not terribly sensitive on the internal whip. That can be improved, somewhat, by a trip to Drake. But still requires some antenna. FM and Air band included. Superb audio, as well. Fits well in a car. Easy to read display. Intuitive controls. Also a bit heavy for bike trips. It is one of 3 finalists. SW-8, AOR AR7030, and one of the Lowes, either an AOR3030 or AOR7030. Beyond that I can go down to the general purpose portables, nice for *old* people to take on a cruise ship but not for me, the eternal teenager and user/abuser of equipment. The Mountain bike weighs about 48 pounds, I weigh 40 pounds over my athletic peak, and a heavy radio would be the least of my problems. AOR AR7030+...pricey. Can run you a kilobuck on the used market. Compact. Stands toe to toe with the R8(x) in performance. Excellent audio. The nested menu o/s not really for driving. I don't even try to tune the radio when I am moving. CD's, cassettes and other accident causers are not in my car or in use when I drive. If I can find a good station before I start then I don't have to tune around. Since I learned to listen for mechanical noise and fix my own car I have been a DIY'er ever since I was 15 on cars, 7 or 8 on radios. * * * * * * * t5rwss've not mentioned, that's VERY portable, smaller and lighter than the AOR, HIGHLY sensitive, works off battery power, and a whip antenna, excellent audio....you can toss it into a backpack for a bicycle trip and not feel it....Lowe HF-150. When you can find one, it will be less expensive and a better general fit than your other options. No lighted dial without modification. Another small, and very nice performer, though not the best S/N is AOR's AR3030. Sensitivity is good, but headroom is not on par with the others. Small, lightweight, can run on batteries, sensitive enough for a whip antenna. Intuitive controls, nice audio. Looks good. For desktop operation, any of the 5. In order of performance: R8(x), AR7030, HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. In the car, in order of performance: HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. For bike trips: HF-150, SW-8, AR3030. For general purpose/all applications: SW-8, HF-150. Pretty much the short list I came up with. someone * One caveat about SW-8. The audio stage is unique. The finals output is not referenced to ground. That is to say it's floating and balanced. If you should accidently take one leg to ground, say in an attempt to run the audio through the car's system, you blow the audio stage. So, auto applications will require some care. Transform the output and you're fine. * Not an issue if you use the receiver's internal speaker exclusively.. In the car yes. I want to hear sirens and stuff happening around me when I am driving. There are dozens of speaker sets around here from dead receivers made (you know where, China), that gave up the ghost as soon as possible when the warranty (full) expired. I could strap one under the steering wheel since it is mono anyway and be isolated from the car's 12 volt positive system. I have only seen positive ground on a few European brands from the 1950's and very early 60's. The Lowe, Drake, and AOR each have some unique features that would be killer in one radio. I would like to see a custom comb filter in all of them that could be set to blank the totally repetitive 50 and 60 Hertz noise from lamps and such. If the are two or three SCR's all switching at the same point per sine but different degrees they could be tuned out manually. Not to go overboard, but maybe someone else coming up, could offer a radio with upgradeable modules until you got to the $30,000 super spy radio that gets everything from literally D.C. to daylight. Choices are still nice to have and I would still want to have the radio in my hand before I buy it, but those days appear to be just memories now.. Bill Baka The AR7030+ has many memory slots (300 I think) and a wireless IR remote. I think it is too big for mounting in a car. Using the 7030 in bright light may require the rear IR sensor to be covered over. The 7030+MB has a noise blanker, though I never really needed it. The auto tracking notch filer is very good. |
#6
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Drake or AOR? Addendum
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#7
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Drake or AOR?
On Dec 26, 5:11*am, Bill Baka wrote:
I'm looking for the supreme or next to supreme desktop radio so I can use it in either my car, at home (no computer hookups planned), or maybe on one of my long bicycle trips. I have found the Drake R-8 and SW-8 and also a mention of the AOR but none found yet. Anybody got any opinions on this? Remember, home, car, bicycle, random antennas and that kind of thing. I have plenty of boatanchors (Vacuum state FETs) and one marine RDF that peaks at just over 4.0 MHz. I have a new Super CB Royce but a CB on a bicycle might get too many laughs. I'm open to any suggestions as long as they are cheap. I'm $$$ limited. Thanks, Bill Baka I find that wearing my tin foil hat and facing northwest works fine for me both in my car and at home. Make sure the shiny side is facing out! Good luck. Douche |
#8
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Drake or AOR?
Watkins-Johnson Radio,,, but, you won't be haulin one of those around on
your two wheeler. www.devilfinder.com Watkins Johnson Radios cuhulin |
#9
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Drake or AOR? Addendum
On Dec 26, 7:30*pm, Bill Baka wrote:
wrote: Snipped The AR7030+ has many memory slots (300 I think) and a wireless IR remote. I think it is too big for mounting in a car. Using the 7030 in bright light may require the rear IR sensor to be covered over. *The 7030+MB has a noise blanker, though I never really needed it. The auto tracking notch filer is very good. This could be a two radio situation, like one for the car, one for home, and maybe one for the bicycle. Depends on $$$ and how much pedaling I want to do. Thanks, Bill Baka The AOR7030 is way too heavy for the bicycle. Besides, your antenna would have to be a vertical whip. They are noisy, plus you are close to automobiles. Then there is the theft issue. Why not a Sony portable for the bicycle. |
#10
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Quote:
Universal has it at a slight discount. It has received some great reviews, and I'm thinking of getting one myself. -Jim |
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